LOGINZANE The knock at my office door is light, almost teasing. Before I can tell whoever it is to come in, the door swings open and she walks in like she owns the place. Lyra. And damn it, she’s got that look again—her hips swaying just enough to make my wolf perk up, a faint smirk curving her mouth like she’s already two moves ahead in whatever game she’s playing. No trace of the earlier shock remains in her expression. “I’m done,” she announces, leaning against the doorframe like she hasn’t just barged into the Alpha’s office without permission. Bloody hell, there’s that sexy attitude. The confident, fiery side of her that I have come to love. This woman will be the death of me. I try to keep my face neutral, merely raising my brow. “Done with what exactly?” “Being left out,” she says, pushing off the frame and strolling toward my desk. “Obviously, you suck at figuring things out on your own. And even you and Rion together? Hopeless. So…” She drops into the chair opposit
LYRAThe walk back is beyond weird. The forest is silent, and everyone who has ever been in a forest knows, it’s never quiet. There are always birds chirping, or leaves blowing. Forest animals moving or wind blowing. Yet right now, there is nothing. It’s eerie.Maria is shaking… Like physically trembling, with her chattering teeth like she’s fight an immense cold. I’m not even sure if she’s really in shock or just faking it. I guess I should give her the benefit of the doubt. Even I’m really freaked out. Zane, however, has the best poker face I have ever seen. He’s dragging someone by the fucking spine like it’s the most normal thing in the world.Damian has not stopped smiling for a second. His eyes fall on Maria often, but even though Zane keeps telling her to just go ahead and run back to the pack… She stays close to him. Which, of course, means she's also closer to Damian. She refuses to run ahead, because “who knows what's out there.” I groan internally. Nope, apparently
LYRA The pain flares white-hot into my back, and my beast roars in my head, pushing to be let out. I can already feel her pushing against my control. My gums tingles in an all too familiar feeling as my canines start to form. Just when Maria starts moving her hand downwards to slice across my back, I hear something crack and the grip on my ponytail disappears. The claws in my back are ripped from my flesh, and a warm liquid trails down my back, sticking my shirt to my skin. Maria's intense scream makes me spin around to face her, and I see her hand in a very unnatural position. Her claws are gone, but there are still drops of my blood on her fingers. Zane is standing between us, holding her wrist, which is turning bluer by the second. His teeth are bared. He looks ready to tear her apart. I should do it. I should rip the bitch to pieces. I clench my eyes shut, desperately trying to control the shift. Balling my hands into fists at my side, my claws dig into my palms.
LYRAI shake all the crazy thoughts out of my head as Zane and I enter the training hall. We immediately fall back into an easy rhythm, stretching together, and the first thing on our training agenda is, of course, the hunt.I turn my back on him as he shifts into his gorgeous black wolf and, for some stupid reason, I’m tempted to drag my hand through his fur. Nope. Zane bends down and pick up his bundle of clothes in his mouth. Which… why?I decide to just ignore his weird move, and I get my answer about thirty minutes in. My lungs are burning, but when I see my opening, I take it—springing for a low branch, ready to haul myself into the trees where his wolf can’t reach me.But he’s too fast.He catches me midair, tackling me to the ground. We tumble, leaves and dirt everywhere, but somehow he shifts us so that his wolf hits the ground on his back, and I land sprawled on top of him.I try to scramble up, but… technically, he caught me. The hunt’s over, right?That’s when his wolf
ZANE Lyra’s face drops at the question. Every last drop of emotion in her eyes disappear. “That won't happen,” she grinds out instantly. It’s not an answer… certainly not the one I wanted to hear. So I say the words that have been on my mind for so long. “Lyra, have you ever given any thought to the idea that we might be fated?" She stares at me, like she is trying to decide if I am joking. Then she releases bitter laugh. "We're not." Gods, her blunt refusal hurts more than that wolfsbane-laced dagger in my chest. My voice is much lower, barely a whisper as I ask, "How do you know?” "Lycans don't get fated mates," she shrugs like it is nothing, yet the words hit like me a blow. Because it makes no sense. If lycans don't get mates. If we aren't fated... then why does my body scream for her in a way it never has for anyone else. Why does she calm me in a way that no one else ever has? Why can she enter my shield? No, she is wrong. She has to be wrong. "How sure ar
Zane I just stare at her. Journal. She just said journal. “How on Earth do you—” The words catch, sticking in my throat as I shake my head. Did she really know? Not just about the relic. Or history. About everything? How is that even possible? My pulse slams in my ears, and I cannot keep the edge out of my voice. “Lyra. How did you…” I exhale slowly, trying to organise my messy thoughts. “You knew? She doesn’t flinch. She does not even look guilty. She simply takes another slow sip of wine and sets the glass down like she has all the time in the world. "Not when you dragged me into the forest on your little fucking mission," she sighs. "But Xander told me the whole history afterwards." I bite back the sudden wave of jealousy at her having such an emotional bonding moment with my cousin. If he shared so much with her, how much did she share with him? Does he know what she is? Are there other secrets between them? Secrets she would not share with me? Gods.
LYRAHis deep commanding voice has a shiver running down my spine.I get on my hands and knees on the couch, and a low hum of approval vibrates in his chest from where he is standing behind me. That sound alone has my thighs clenching so hard I almost gasp. His approval should not turn me on so mu
LYRAThe air inside the hall feels different. It is cooler, heavier, almost like it’s been sealed off from the rest of the world. The space is massive, the ceiling so high it disappears into shadows, and for one stupid second I wonder if that’s intentional. Disorientation first. Fear second.Right
LyraOnly six of us stand in the long hall leading to the obstacle course.Six.The other fourteen were hurt badly enough in the hunt that the hour between tests wasn’t nearly long enough to heal them. They are still being treated in the pack hospital, waiting until they’re fit to continue with the
LyraTest 2There is a knot in my stomach as we line up at the edge of the forest again. The other cadets are all already in their wolf forms, and standing in their packs.Behind us, the warriors who will be hunting us, are all still in human form, preparing for their shifts.The instructor explain







