Chapter 5: “DEER HUNTING AND FAMILY DRAMA”

DUNCAN'S POV

A lot has changed these past few years— things I never thought I would face. The heir I thought Sophia, my new Luna, would give me... that child, that hope for the future of the Nightshade Lycan pack... it was lost. After six months of her being pregnant, the baby went aborted. The pain I felt was unlike anything before. It broke something inside me. I became angry— angry at the world, at fate, at myself. They started calling me the Angry Alpha. Maybe they were right. I was a different man after that.

Since then, Sophia and I have tried again and again. But no child has come. No heir. And because of this, I traveled far and wide, meeting seers and mystics from all corners of the world. Each one told me the same thing: There’s nothing wrong with me. I am strong. I have the power to lead this pack and to have an heir. But the truth— the bitter truth —they all said was this: I am not with the right wife.

That part haunted me. Who was the right wife? How did I make such a mistake choosing Sophia? I kept asking myself that question in the darkest moments of the night. It was maddening.

Then, things went from bad to worse. The Silent Night pack and I, we fought over territory. It started small but quickly grew into a terrible war. The fights went on for four long months— bloody, painful, and exhausting. And then, the curse came.

I remember the day like it was yesterday. The healers told me the curse was deadly. Only the blood of my heir could save me. Only my child’s blood could break this dark spell and heal me. That’s when the weight of my failure crushed me. How could I be healed when I had no heir? How could I break this curse when there was no child to save me?

Day by day, the curse drained my strength. No one knew about it— not my pack, not my council. If they did, they might think I was weak. They might want to vote me out or challenge my leadership. I am not ready for that. Not yet.

Then, one night, I saw her. Lyra. In my dreams. For five years, she was gone from my life— sent away, cast out. And now, here she was, coming back to me in my sleep.

I sought the advice of Kate, the most powerful seer in my pack. When I told her about Lyra and my dreams, she simply said, “She holds the key to your problem.”

I almost laughed at her. How could Lyra— a woman I believed barren, a woman I sent away— hold the key to my curse and my pain?

“Find out yourself,” Kate told me, and left the room without another word.

I didn’t take her seriously then. I was stubborn, angry, confused.

But this morning changed everything.

I went out hunting with some of my pack. We spotted a large deer— perfect prey. We moved quietly, ready to bring it down. Suddenly, I noticed someone else was hunting the same deer.

At first, everyone laughed when they saw it. A kid— smaller than the deer, barely big enough to hold a weapon— chasing after the huge animal like it was no problem.

They all thought it was foolish. But I didn’t.

I saw strength in that boy. I saw determination. I saw something I haven’t seen in a long time.

I took down the deer before the kid could. When he caught up to us, he didn’t back down. “That deer belongs to me,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

I looked at him— and in that moment, I saw myself. His eyes held the same fire, the same stubbornness.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Am Ryan. Prince Ryan,” he said, without hesitation.

I admired that courage. Most kids would have run away. Not him.

Jack, who was standing beside me, chuckled. “I haven’t heard that name before,” he said.

I asked again, “Where are you from?”

“That doesn’t matter. Just give me back my deer,” Ryan said, his tone firm.

Jack stepped forward, ready to teach the boy a lesson in respect. But I stopped him. There was something about this kid— something others couldn’t see.

I walked closer, keeping my voice calm. “Prince Ryan, it’s important we know where you come from. You are in the wrong territory. You don’t hunt in another pack’s land without permission. Your parents should have told you that.”

Ryan didn’t flinch. “I know I’m in the wrong territory, but the deer ran here.”

I already knew what pack he was from. The Blood Moon pack. They share borders with us at this angle. What really mattered was not where he came from but why he looked exactly like me.

I asked him carefully, “What’s the name of your Alpha?”

“My mother is the Alpha,” Ryan answered.

I knew a woman led the Blood Moon pack, but I never cared to learn her name. Now, I had to know.

“What’s her name?” I pressed.

“Alpha Lyra Wilder,” he replied.

My world shattered.

There was only one Lyra Wilder I knew— the Luna I sent away five years ago. The woman I still thought of, the one I dreamed about. The one who held my heart.

Suddenly, everything clicked.

Lyra wasn’t lying when she said she was pregnant all those years ago.

She was the right wife the seers told me about.

I felt a sudden rush of hope and happiness.

Finally, I would be healed. Finally, I would have my heir— the blood that could save me from the curse.

And I would do anything to have Lyra back.

---

It was hard to believe. After all this time, after the pain and the mistakes, there was still a chance. A chance to fix everything.

Instantly I started loving her again.

Seeing Ryan made me realize what I lost. What I threw away.

I saw my own strength in that boy, his courage, his stubbornness. He carried my blood— and with him, the hope for our pack.

I knew what I had to do.

Lyra was the key to everything.

And I was going to make her mine again, no matter the cost.

---

The anger inside me began to fade. The curse that drained me day by day no longer felt like a death sentence. There was light at the end of the tunnel.

I have an heir.

And I have the woman I should have never let go.

The pack needs me strong. I will be strong.

For them.

For Lyra.

For the future.

...

Today hunting with Ryan marked a turning point.

I will fight to reclaim what was lost.

Because the right wife was never Sophia.

She was Lyra.

And I’m ready to do whatever it takes to bring her home.