Chapter 4

Lyra's Pov

The night air was bitterly cold but it was nothing compared to the hollowed feeling in my chest.

I walked with no destination, my steps slow and heavy.

Thick forest surrounded me, its silence pressing in. My legs ached, my body was still weak from the blood loss, but I didn't stop.

Why was I moving at all?

Where would I go?

I had no home. No family. No mate.

The pack I had once called my own had turned its back on me. My mate, the man I had given everything to, had abandoned me, discarded me like I was nothing. He had chosen her. And when I rejected him, he didn't even fight for me.

A ragged breath escaped my lips, my hands trembling as I hugged myself. I tilted my head to the sky, the moon shining bright above me.

“Why?” My voice was barely a whisper.

Tears blurred my vision as I stared at the goddess who had given me this fate. “What have I done to deserve this?”

I was a good mate to him. I loved him. I stayed even when it hurt. I never betrayed him, never gave him a reason to abandon me.

Yet, I had lost everything.

A sharp light cut through the darkness and I froze.

Who was that?

Was it ?

Had he come for me?

A black car, a sleek, expensive vehicle that didn't belong on these roads, blocked my path. The engine hummed low but the headlights blinded.

Panic surged in my veins.

The back door swung open, and a man stepped out.

Tall. Dressed in a tailored black suit. His presence exuded power and dominance, but it wasn't just his appearance that made my stomach twist with unease, but was the way he watched me as if he had been expecting me.

“Lyra,” he said in a deep, smooth voice.

My heart pounded. “Who are you?”

The man took a step closer, his dark eyes gleamed under the moonlight. “Someone who wants to help you.”

I scoffed. “I don't need help.”

“Are you sure about that?” His tone was calm, yet knowing.

I kept walking. “Leave me alone.”

“You want revenge, don't you?”

I stopped mid-way.

My fingers curled into my palms.

Revenge.

The word sent a shiver down my spine.

I slowly turned back to face him. “Love shouldn't be forced. I won't destroy someone just because they destroyed me.”

The man smirked. “Then, I suppose you should see this.”

See what?

He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, and then turned it towards me.

There was a video and it played.

Aaric stood before a group of Alpha's, his face serious.

“Lyra was never fit to be Luna,” he said. “She is unstable, easily jealous, and she tried to harm my pack members, even my own mate.”

My blood froze.

His mate?

I was his mate!

Was.

“I had no choice but to let her go,” Aaric continued. “Lyra is dangerous. No pack should take her in. None.”

The video ended.

I stared at the screen, my entire body shaking. My lungs burned, my chest tightening with pain so deep that I thought I might collapse.

No…

Aaric had done this to me.

He had not abandoned me but he had also humiliated me. He'd let me lose everything and made sure I had nowhere to go.

I nearly laughed.

He didn't just reject me. He had the nerve to blacklist me.

My eyes began to water and my clenched fists trembled.

I told myself I wouldn't cry.

I wouldn't.

But —

My body betrayed me.

A sob tore from my lips and my knees threatened to buckle but I forced myself to stand tall.

How could Aaric do this to me?

After everything.

I lifted my gaze to the man before me. “What do you want in return?”

His smirk deepened. “Three children.”

The world stilled.

“Excuse me?”

“You will bear me three children,” he repeated. “I need them to sustain my legacy.”

A chill ran through me. He spoke so casually, as if he were asking for a mere favour.

My heart pounded. This man — whoever he was — was powerful, dangerous. I could feel it in the air around him.

“What else do you want?” I asked. “Because I don't believe that's all.”

The man chuckled. “You're smart. I like that.”

I waited.

After a moment, he sighed. “You will stay with me until the contract is fulfilled. And in return, I will give you everything you lost — a home, power, revenge, if you still want it.”

I hesitated.

Aaric's voice from the video echoed in my mind. “She's dangerous. No pack should take her in.”

I had nothing.

I had no one.

I clenched my fists. “Fine. I accept.”

The man extended his hand.

I stared at it for a long moment before I finally placed mine in his.

His fingers wrapped around mine, in a firm, unyielding hold.

“Good,” he murmured.

The deal was sealed.

And with it, my fate was rewritten.

The sleek black car sliced through the darkness, its tires barely making a sound on the deserted road.

I sat in the passenger seat, my hands clenched into fists on my lap, my entire body tense.

The man beside me — Jayden — drove with ease, one hand on the wheel, the other resting lazily on the armrest. His posture was relaxed, completely at home in the silence that stretched between us. But I was anything but relaxed.

I stole a glance at him, my stomach twisting.

I finally recognized him.

He was Alpha Jayden.

The Alpha of all Alpha's.

Lyra’s POV

I had only heard his name in whispers, and in tales meant to scare even the strongest wolves into submission.

Alpha Jayden, the ruthless ruler.

Alpha Jayden, the untouchable Alpha.

Alpha Jayden, the man who destroyed those who stood in his way.

And now, I was sitting beside him.

His presence alone made the air thick with something heavy, suffocating. It wasn't just power. No, it was something darker, something I couldn't quite name.

He could have anyone he wanted but he chose me.

Why me?

That question had plagued me since the moment he made his offer.

Why would a man like him want me to bear his children?

There were countless she-wolves who would kill for this kind of opportunity. There were women far more beautiful, stronger and more capable than I was and yet, he had chosen me.

It didn't make sense and that terrified me more than anything.

The car veered onto a long, winding road. Leading to a massive estate. As we passed through the towering gates, my breath hitched.

His pack house wasn't just a house. It was a mansion. No, it was a fortress.

The building loomed in the darkness, its black walls gleaming under the moonlight. Sharp, clean lines. No warmth, no softness — just power.

I swallowed hard.

Jayden parked the car effortlessly and stepped out.

The moment I hesitated, he turned to look at me, his brow arched. “You coming, or should I carry you?”

His voice was smooth, laced with amusement.

I scowled but forced my legs to move. The moment my feet touched the ground, I felt it — his territory. His presence stretched far beyond his body.

I shivered.

Jayden led me inside, his steps confident. The door shut behind me with a soft click, and I realized then that there was no turning back.

The inside of the mansion was just as intimidating as the outside — high ceilings, grand chandeliers, polished marble floors. A house fit for a king.

His Beta, a sharp-looking man with dark eyes, greeted him with a nod but didn't spare me a second glance.

“She's with me,” Jayden said simply, and with those three words. It was as if I became someone in this pack. Beta's eyes flickered with curiosity before he bowed slightly.

Jayden led me to his office, a massive room with bookshelves that reached the ceiling and a desk that looked like it could crush a grown man.

He pulled out a contract, sliding it towards me with an almost lady smirk.

“Read it.” He said.

I did.

My eyes scanned the document, my heart pounding faster with every word.

It was straightforward —

Three children.

No emotional ties.

No obligations beyond what was necessary.

In return, he would provide me with protection, power, and whatever revenge I desired.

It should have been easy but nothing about Jayden felt easy.

I gripped the one, my hands trembling slightly as I signed my name at the bottom. The moment the ink dried, I felt something shift.

I had just done something irreversible.

Jayden leaned back in his chair, watching me with an expression I couldn't read.

“Welcome to my world, Lyra.”