ANMELDENLYRA After hours of rolling around, only to get about 30 minutes of sleep, I gave up and now I find myself in a luxurious car, on the way to the human town to help Ellie pick out the perfect dress. Apparently, Zane agreed to her hosting some kind of “full moon mixer” in the great hall for all the unmated pack members and visiting wolves. The idea? Everyone crams into one space, the moon does her magic, and boom—fated couples everywhere. Love at first scent. My personal nightmare. But Ellie is beyond excited, and of course I'm excited for her, but as we climb out of the car in front of a gorgeous dress store, I can't help the tinge of jealousy creeping up. This entire experience seems so amazing… The perfect dress, the perfect make-up, the perfect night, the perfect mate. An experience straight out of a fairytale. And the probability that Ellie might find her mate is huge. There is often a bit of an age gap between mates, don't know why, but she-wolves find their mates
LYRA I took the longest shower of my life, scrubbing until I was convinced my skin would file a formal complaint. Hot water, expensive soap, my nails digging into my arms—I was on a mission to erase every speck of grime from last night. And honestly? I still can’t believe Zane let me walk around looking like that. My freshly done nails—ruined. My hair, which got a hot oil treatment yesterday, looked like a bird tried to nest in it and then thought better of it. Practically matted. Grey. Alpha of the pack, my ass. Couldn’t even tell me I had half the attic stuck in my hair. I was hoping maybe if I scrubbed hard enough, I could wash off the stress too. Spoiler alert: I couldn’t. Because now I’m lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and I can’t sleep. Not even a little. My body’s exhausted from staying up all night, but my brain is staging a rave in my skull. All I can think about is the full moon. I turn in the bed… again. I have never felt this jittery in my life. N
ZANE 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
ZANEI should be in the back seat. It is where I belong.The Alpha always sits in the back. The Beta drives. It’s tradition, it’s optics, it’s respect. Yet tonight, the back seat is occupied by three unconscious women who smell like alcohol, sweat, perfume, and horrible decisions.So here I am.In
LYRA“The final cadet starting warrior training — Maria López.”My stomach sinks. Tabitha didn’t make it.I swallow hard, forcing myself to keep my face neutral as the weight of it settles in. Tabitha fought like hell. She deserved better. And yet, Maria is staying in her place. Bittersweet doesn
LYRAThe next door opens, and I almost groan in relief. Thank fuck the stupid rock maze gave my arms just enough time to stop screaming. They still ache, but it’s the manageable kind now. The kind I can work through. The next room is long and wide, stark and industrial. Targets line the far wall
LYRAOf course this is what the next obstacle is would be. My arms are already aching in protest, but of course this is what we get.Right in front of us, there are two lanes, side by side, suspended over a large open space.Fucking monkey bars.The bars stretch for at least fifteen meters and they







