New Beginnings

Lyra’s POV

Three days.

It had been three days since the ceremony, and I was pretty sure I was losing my mind.

Not because of the Moon Goddess’s silence, okay, maybe partly because of that, but because of how everyone was acting. The visiting packs had left with barely concealed disappointment and a lot of awkward condolences. The Elxra pack members kept giving us pitying looks and whispering behind their hands. Even the pack children seemed confused, like they couldn’t understand why their favorite “almost-family” wasn’t celebrating.

But the worst part? My boys were trying so hard to act like everything was normal that they were driving me absolutely insane.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Kael burst into the kitchen with enough enthusiasm to power a small city. “Beautiful day, isn’t it? The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I made pancakes!”

I stared at the mountain of pancakes on the counter. There had to be at least thirty of them.

“Kael,” I said carefully, “there are five people in this house.”

“I like pancakes,” he said defensively.

“No one likes pancakes that much.”

“Maybe I’m stress-baking,” he mumbled, then immediately brightened again. “But they’re really good! Try one!”

Before I could respond, Marcus walked in carrying what appeared to be a hand-carved wooden jewelry box.

“I made this for you,” he announced, setting it on the counter next to Mount Pancake.

I opened it carefully. Inside was a beautiful silver bracelet with four small charms, a sword, a book, a moon, and a wolf paw.

“Marcus,” I breathed, “this is gorgeous, but, ”

“Each charm represents one of us,” he explained quickly. “The sword is Darius, the book is me, the moon is Zane, and the paw is Kael. So you can always have us with you, even when, especially when, ” He stopped, his cheerful mask slipping for just a second.

“When what?” I asked gently.

“Nothing,” he said, forcing the smile back. “Just… always.”

This was getting ridiculous.

“Where are Zane and Darius?” I asked.

“Training,” Kael said, shoving a pancake in his mouth to avoid elaborating.

“At six in the morning?”

“Darius has been training since four,” Marcus admitted. “Zane’s been with him since five.”

“And you two have been stress-baking and crafting since when?”

“Three,” they said in unison.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay. We’re going to talk about this. Right now. All of us.”

“Talk about what?” Kael asked innocently, syrup dripping down his chin.

“About the fact that you’re all acting like the world ended three days ago instead of just… postponed.”

“We’re not, ” Marcus started.

“You made me a jewelry box at three in the morning, Marcus. Kael made enough pancakes to feed an army. Darius is probably punching trees in the forest, and Zane is enabling him. This is not normal behavior.”

Before either of them could respond, the front door opened and Alpha Magnus’s voice carried through the house.

“Boys! Lyra! Come meet our new pack member.”

Kael and Marcus exchanged glances. “New pack member?” Kael whispered.

We made our way to the main hall, where Alpha Magnus stood with a girl who looked about my age. She was pretty in a delicate sort of way, auburn hair braided with small wildflowers, warm green eyes, and a genuine smile that seemed to light up her whole face.

“Everyone,” Alpha Magnus said with the kind of gentle authority that meant this was important, “I’d like you to meet Jadis. She’ll be staying with us for a while.”

The girl, Jadis, clasped her hands nervously in front of her, but her smile was bright and hopeful. “Thank you so much for taking me in,” she said, and there was real gratitude in her voice. “I know arriving unannounced isn’t ideal, but Alpha Magnus insisted.”

“What happened?” Darius asked, and I turned to see him and Zane entering the hall, both of them sweaty and disheveled from training.

Jadis’s smile faltered slightly, and she glanced down at her hands. “My mate… well, my supposed mate, rejected me at our ceremony two weeks ago. Said the Moon Goddess made a mistake.” She looked back up, trying to smile through obvious pain. “The pack wasn’t very understanding about it.”

A collective intake of breath from my boys. They knew exactly how that felt.

“I’m so sorry,” Marcus said immediately, his natural compassion kicking in.

“It’s not your fault,” Jadis replied, and her smile became more genuine. “Honestly, I’m starting to think maybe it was for the best. He wasn’t very kind, even before the rejection.”

“The Moonrise pack wasn’t very… supportive,” Alpha Magnus explained carefully. “When I encountered Jadis on our borders, she was in quite a state.”

“Some of the younger pack members thought it would be funny to chase me off their territory,” Jadis said with a rueful laugh. “I wasn’t exactly in a position to defend myself.”

“That’s terrible,” Kael said, immediately indignant. “No one should treat someone like that, especially when they’re already hurting.”

“Well, you’re safe here,” Darius said firmly. “The Elxra pack takes care of its own.”

“I don’t want to be a burden,” Jadis said quickly. “I can work, help with whatever needs doing. I’m good with healing herbs, and I can cook, ”

“You’re not a burden,” Zane interrupted gently. “Everyone deserves a fresh start.”

Jadis’s eyes filled with tears, not sad ones, but grateful ones. “Thank you,” she whispered. “All of you. I haven’t felt welcome anywhere in so long.”

I watched this exchange with mixed feelings. Everything about Jadis seemed genuine, her gratitude, her hope, even her nervousness. She wasn’t manipulative or calculating. She was just… a girl who’d been hurt, looking for a new beginning.

So why did I feel so uneasy?

Maybe it was just the timing. Or maybe I was being protective of what we had, worried about any change to our carefully balanced dynamic.

“We’ll set up a room for you,” Alpha Magnus said. “Lyra, perhaps you could help Jadis get settled? Show her around?”

“Of course,” I said, and I meant it. Whatever my weird feelings were, they weren’t Jadis’s fault. “I’d be happy to.”

Jadis turned to me with a bright, hopeful smile. “Thank you, Lyra. I’ve heard so much about you already, how you came here as a child, how the pack adores you. I hope we can be friends.”

There was nothing calculating in her words, nothing false. Just genuine desire for friendship from someone who probably desperately needed it.

“I’m sure we will be,” I said, and this time my smile was real too.

As Alpha Magnus led Jadis upstairs to show her the available rooms, I lingered in the hall with my boys.

“She seems nice,” Marcus said quietly.

“Really nice,” Kael agreed. “And she’s been through hell. I can’t imagine being rejected like that and then chased away from your own pack.”

“At least she ended up somewhere safe,” Zane said. “She’ll fit in well here.”

“Yeah,” Darius nodded. “Dad’s right, everyone deserves a fresh start.”

I listened to them discuss Jadis with their typical kindness and compassion, and felt guilty for my earlier unease. They were right. She seemed lovely, and she’d clearly been through a traumatic experience.

Maybe my weird feelings were just about the timing, a new person arriving right when we were all still raw from our own ceremony disappointment. Or maybe I was just being possessive of my boys and our little family dynamic.

Either way, it wasn’t fair to Jadis.

“Come on,” I said, heading toward the stairs. “I should help her get settled.”

“We’ll come too,” Marcus said immediately.

“To help carry things,” Zane added quickly.

“And make sure she has everything she needs,” Darius chimed in.

“And maybe show her the good snack hiding spots,” Kael finished with a grin.

I laughed despite myself. “You guys are ridiculous. But yes, come on.”

As we headed upstairs to welcome our new pack member properly, I pushed down my lingering unease. Jadis deserved kindness and a chance to heal. And maybe having someone new around would actually be good for us, help us focus on something other than our own disappointment.

What could possibly go wrong?