Chapter 3: Cursed Blood, Bound Souls.

Lyra’s POV

“Stay back, or I will tear out your throat!” The words ripped from me, half-growl and half-scream. My throat burned with the sound, my voice no longer fully human. The pack’s shadows lunged at me, teeth flashing in the torchlight. Instinct, raw and savage, twisted through my veins. I slashed out, claws carving through the air and wolves scattered back with yelps.

The world was chaos, roars and howls and the crack of bones shifting as warriors half-turned into beasts. My heart thundered in my hollow chest, pounding so violently that it felt like it would split me open.

I had to run before they tore me apart or before I tore them apart.

My body reacted before my mind caught up. My legs bent and I sprang, claws tearing into the earth as I darted through the ring of bodies. Snarls chased me as I plunged into the forest, the shadows swallowing me whole. Branches whipped at my face, while thorns cut into my skin, but none of it slowed me. My monstrous body was stronger and faster.

Behind me, I could still hear their cries. Monster… Hollow… Kill it.

But louder than them all was the echo of the seer’s voice in my head: She will crown or bury you all.

The cursed forest wrapped around me like a trap. The air was heavy with mist, while the trees were gnarled and twisted, their roots reaching like claws. Wolves feared this place, as there are whispers of ghosts and shadows that never left.

But I wasn’t afraid, not anymore, because the real monster was me. I stumbled into a clearing, chest heaving and claws still dripping dirt. My reflection shimmered in a pool of moonlight on the ground, half-wolf, half-shadow and eyes glowing hollow white. My stomach twisted, like this wasn’t me. This wasn’t who I was supposed to be.

A branch snapped behind me. I spun, teeth bared, a growl ripping free and then I saw him.

Kael.

He moved like a predator, silent and controlled, his black coat whispering around him. His eyes glowed in the moonlight, not hollow like mine but sharp, cutting and alive.

“You should have stayed with them,” I snarled, crouching low. “At least then you’d have the numbers to back your threats.”

He didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink. Instead, he stepped closer, his lips curling into that same mocking smirk.

“You think you’re strong enough to face me, Hollow Wolf?” His voice was smooth, but there was steel under it. “You’re not.”

“I’m not your prey.”

“Then prove it.”

Just then, he lunged. The impact slammed through me like thunder. His body collided with mine, claws raking against my arms as my own struck across his chest. Sparks exploded where we touched, painful, searing sparks that weren’t just claws and teeth.

The mate bond. Every time our bodies met, it burned through me, tethering me tighter to him even as we tried to destroy each other.

I roared, slamming him back into a tree. The bark cracked, but he didn’t crumble. His knee drove into my ribs and I snarled as pain shot through me. My claws arced for his throat, but he caught my wrist mid-swing, his grip unbreakable.

“You feel it too,” he hissed, his face inches from mine. As his breath was fire against my skin.

I jerked my head forward, my teeth snapping, nearly catching his cheek. “I feel nothing but the urge to rip you apart.”

But it was a lie. The pull between us was unbearable. Every breath he took dragged at my lungs. Every snarl he gave made something in me scream mine.

He must have felt it too, because for one instant… just one, he hesitated. His claws pressed to my throat, but he didn’t pierce the skin. His eyes flickered, torn between duty and something deeper.

That hesitation nearly broke him. I shoved him off with a surge of strength, sending him skidding across the forest floor.

“Stay down,” I growled, voice shaking.

But he rose, blood staining his lip, his smirk returning even through the pain. “If you lose control again, I will kill you. Mate bond or not.”

The words sliced deeper than any claw.

“Lyra!”

My head whipped around at the sound of my name and that was Eira. She burst into the clearing, her braid half-undone, her face pale and stricken. She carried something in her hand, a charm that glowed faintly blue.

“No!” I roared, stepping back. “Stay away!”

“Please, listen to me!” Her voice cracked as she spoke, while her eyes were glassy with tears. “You can’t fight it on your own. This will help. Just… just let me…” The charm flared brighter and instantly, I felt it. My monstrous form trembled, my muscles weakening and shadows peeling away from me like smoke.

My breath hitched. My strength was fading, not by choice, but because of her.

“Eira…” My voice broke, caught between a growl and a sob. “You knew. You knew all along.”

Her lips parted, but no words came out. That silence was answer enough.

My knees buckled and I crashed to the ground. My claws dug into the soil, desperate to hold on, but the shift was tearing me apart. Bones cracked again, skin split and reshaped and fur slid back into my flesh. The Hollow Wolf form slipped away, leaving me naked and trembling in the dirt.

I curled into myself, shivering. Shame burned hotter than the moonlight above. Then footsteps drew near, not from Eira’s, but from Kael’s.

He crouched beside me and for the first time, his expression wasn’t mocking. It was unreadable, dark and sharp, but softer at the edges. Without a word, he stripped off his coat and draped it around my shoulders.

“You’re reckless,” he muttered. “You’ll freeze before sunrise.”

Gosh! ...I wanted to spit at him. I wanted to scream. But my throat was raw and my body was too weak.

Then the forest shifted again. Leaves trembled as if the earth itself recoiled and footsteps broke through the night, heavy, purposeful and far too familiar.

That was my father. Alpha Dorian Vale stormed into the clearing, his presence blotting out the moonlight. Shadows clung to him, flanked by warriors who moved like a wall of steel at his back. His face was carved in fury, each line etched deep as though anger itself had made him a mask. His eyes, bright and unrelenting, burned like wildfire.

“Step away from her,” he growled, his voice carrying the kind of command that bent lesser wolves to their knees.

But Kael didn’t move, not an inch. His hand tightened on my shoulder, steady and unyielding, as though he had staked his claim before the entire world. His voice came cold, calm and sharp enough to cut through the night.

“She’s not your Alpha’s daughter anymore.” He met my father’s glare without flinching. “She belongs to me now.”

The words struck like lightning, fast, searing and impossible to undo. Silence swallowed the clearing. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath and then, with a motion so swift it split the night in two, my father drew his blade, not at Kael… But at me.

The silver edge gleamed in the ghostly light of the moon, a flash of death in his hands. His face, twisted in anguish and rage, was more terrifying than any enemy I had ever faced.

Why? Why would the man who raised me, the Alpha who once swore to protect me against the world, lift his blade not at my captor, not at my enemy, but at his own blood? At his daughter, at me.