Chapter 4: The Blade and the Blood Oath.

Lyra’s POV

“Do it, Father. Strike me down… if you’re brave enough.”

The words left my mouth before I could think, before I could stop them, and once they were out, there was no pulling them back. My voice shook, not with fear, but with fury that burned hotter than the fire still roaring in the clearing behind us.

My father’s hand tightened around the hilt of the silver blade. The firelight made it gleam and for the first time, I saw it clearly, not just a blade and equally not just steel. The markings along the edge shimmered with runes, old and cruel. My stomach twisted. This wasn’t an ordinary weapon; it was made for one purpose. Probably, to kill me.

“You think I won’t?” His voice was low, dangerous and cold enough to make even Rowan flinch behind him. My father’s eyes locked on me, the same pale gray that had once seemed like stone walls keeping me safe, but now they looked like tombstones.

The circle of wolves pressed closer, breaths heavy, growls rumbling in their throats. I felt their hunger for my blood and their fear of what I’d become. My claws dug into the earth. My chest heaved.

Then Kael stepped between us.

Immediately, the world stilled. One heartbeat, two. The crowd rippled with shock as Kael’s broad frame blocked my father’s advance. His coat swayed in the wind, silver embroidery glinting under the blood-red moon, and his scent, earth and steel, cut through the haze of fear choking me.

“If she dies,” Kael said, his voice was steady and commanding, “you’ll start a war you cannot win.”

Gasps spread through the pack like wildfire. Even Rowan’s smug face faltered, confusion breaking his sneer.

My father’s jaw tightened. “This is Vale territory. You have no say here.”

Kael’s lips curved, sharp as a blade. “I have every say. She is mine.”

The word hit me like lightning. Just then, I felt my heart stumble, my breath caught and a hundred voices whispered at once... Mate.

The mate bond seared through my chest, undeniable and violent, pulling me toward him like a rope bound in fire. But Kael’s eyes weren’t soft. They weren’t tender. They burned with warning, not devotion.

“You dare claim her?” My father snarled, his grip tightening on the blade.

Kael didn’t flinch. He leaned closer, his voice low but loud enough for all to hear. “She belongs to me now and if you kill her, Vale… then you’ll answer to the Blackthorn pack.”

Chaos erupted. Wolves shouted and growled, some backing away in fear, while others bristled in rage.

But my eyes weren’t on them. They were locked on the blade my father held. The runes gleamed like blood under moonlight. Recognition prickled down my spine.

“The Oathblade,” I whispered.

The air around us shifted. My father froze for the briefest moment and that pause told me everything. He knew I recognized it. He hadn’t expected me to.

The Oathblade is a weapon forged by Elders long before I was born. A blade made not to harm just any wolf, but to kill the Hollow Wolf... that's me.

“You had it ready,” I said, my voice breaking and shaking at the same time. “All this time, you’ve been waiting… waiting for me to fail.”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. His silence was the loudest confession.

The ground tilted beneath me, my chest caving in. My father, the man I had spent my whole life trying to please, hadn’t been protecting me. He had been preparing to kill me.

“Lyra!”

I turned at the sound of my name, my hope clawing for someone, anyone, to be real. Eira stood near the edge of the circle, her braid messy, her hands raised like she wanted to run to me while her lips trembled. Her eyes were too wide and too wet.

“Don’t,” I said, the word ripping from my throat.

“Please...”

But then I heard it. A whisper, too soft for anyone else but my ears, sharpened by the monstrous shift still simmering in my blood, caught it. The words weren’t pleasing and they weren’t comforting. They were spells.

A chant, low and sharp, slipping from her lips.

My heart cracked.

“You,” I gasped. My claws curled into fists. “You were chanting that night, too. You hexed me.”

Her face crumpled, guilt spilling out of her like blood. “I... I only wanted to protect you...”

“Protect me?” My laugh was broken, sharp and raw. “You lied to me, Eira. You knew.”

The pack murmured, whispers darting like knives. Betrayal burned through me hotter than fire. First, it was my father and now it's my best friend. Who else? Who else would show me their teeth before the night was over?

“Enough!” Rowan’s voice cut through the chaos, dripping with triumph. His smug grin widened as he stepped forward. “Why waste time? She’s cursed. The Seer said it herself. We all saw what she became. Kill her now before she destroys us all!”

The crowd roared in agreement. Wolves snarled, some shifting halfway, their teeth bared and eyes wild.

“The Elders will decide!” My father snapped, though his voice was strained, fraying at the edges.

The oldest Elder stepped forward, her white hair gleaming under the moonlight. Her eyes were sharp as glass. She lifted her hand and immediately, silence fell.

“The Blood Oath,” she said. Her voice carried like thunder, no matter how soft. “By the law of the packs, the cursed one must prove her worth. A trial, by combat or by execution, before the Blood Moon sets.”

My breath caught and at the same time, my blood froze. They wanted me to fight for my life.

“Who will face her?” the Elder asked.

Before anyone else could speak, Kael’s voice broke through the night.

“I will.”

The clearing erupted again, louder, wilder. My heart slammed against my ribs. “What?”

He turned to me, his face carved from stone. “If you are the Hollow Wolf, I will kill you. If you are not, then I will be bound to you forever.”

His words rang with finality, with prophecy and with something older than either of us. The bond between us pulsed, searing my veins, while reminding me that he wasn’t just a rival. He was fate.

I staggered back, my breath catching on my sob. Bound to me… or my executioner.

The pack stared, breathless and hungry for blood. My father’s hand trembled around the Oathblade. Eira’s tears streaked her face, guilt dripping from every look, while Rowan’s grin stretched wider, already tasting my death and then, the world broke.

My shadow stretched across the ground, darker than night and longer than it should have been. I froze. My breath stilled. It moved, without me.

The Hollow Wolf. Its shape rippled on the earth, its white eyes gleaming, its jaws snapping with hunger. It wasn’t just inside me anymore. It was peeling free, a beast made of nothing but darkness and rage.

The pack stumbled back, horror twisting their faces. Even Kael’s breath hitched, though his stance never faltered.

My knees buckled as I stared at it... ooh! At me... At what I was becoming.

The Hollow Wolf turned its head, its glowing gaze locking on mine and it smiled.

The ground split with growls and the night was thick with terror. My heart screamed one thought louder than the chaos:

If the Hollow Wolf no longer needs me to exist, then what am I? And if killing me won’t stop it… what will?