Chapter 5

_Lyra's POV_

I should have left earlier.

That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I looked at the empty office around me.

The Frostfang Club building was never truly quiet. During the day, it was filled with noise. Players shouting in the locker rooms, staff rushing through the halls, phones ringing nonstop and reporters waiting outside for the next piece of gossip. But at night, it felt like a completely different place. The silence was almost uncomfortable.

I stared at my laptop screen and sighed. The media report in front of me was still unfinished. I had spent hours fixing Ryder’s public image, reviewing old interviews, planning social media posts and creating a strategy to make people see him differently.

It was strange. A few days ago, I didn’t even know his name. Now I was spending my night trying to protect his career.

My eyes moved to the photo on my screen and I found myself staring at Ryder Kane again. The captain of the Frostfang Hockey Club. He was cold, difficult and arrogant, yet somehow impossible to ignore no matter how much I tried. I quickly looked away and frowned at myself.

“Why am I even thinking about him?” I whispered.

I closed my laptop and started gathering my things. I needed sleep. Working until midnight for a man who barely liked me was not exactly part of my career plan.

I placed my bag over my shoulder and turned off the office lights. The moment the room went dark, a strange feeling settled over me.

For a second, I stood there, listening to the silence around me. Something about the darkness made me uneasy but I quickly pushed the feeling away.

“Get a grip, Lyra,” I whispered to myself.

It was just a building. Just an empty hallway and nothing more. I walked toward the elevator. My footsteps echoed softly through the empty hallway. When the doors opened, I stepped inside and pressed the button for the underground parking area.

As the elevator moved down, I checked my phone one last time. There were no new messages and no missed calls. The doors opened with a quiet sound and the moment I stepped out, I felt that something was different.

The underground parking area was huge. Rows and rows of cars stretched in every direction. The concrete walls made every small sound travel far, creating strange echoes.

My footsteps seemed louder than they should have been and I held my bag a little tighter as I walked between the parked cars. I hated admitting it, but the place felt like a maze, with every row looking exactly the same.

The lights above me flickered slightly as I searched for my car.

“Why does every horror movie start like this?” I muttered.

But the sound of my own voice quickly disappeared into the empty space, leaving me feeling even more alone. I pressed the button on my car key and a small beep echoed somewhere ahead. I followed the sound but after a few steps, I stopped.

There it was again. A noise that didn’t belong. Something was moving nearby. My body went still as I listened carefully.

At first, I tried to convince myself that it was nothing. Maybe another employee was still here. Maybe a security guard was doing his rounds. Maybe some animal had somehow wandered inside.

I looked around slowly. “Hello?” I called.

My voice echoed through the empty parking area but no one answered. I swallowed hard and looked around, hoping that someone would appear. “Is someone there?” I called again.

The silence that followed felt worse than the sound I had heard before. I slowly took a few steps back toward the elevator. I was trying to convince myself that I was imagining things but then I heard it.

A low growl.

My blood turned cold. That was not the sound of a person. Slowly, I turned my head toward the noise. Between two cars, something moved in the darkness. At first, I could only see a shadow but then it stepped forward and my heart nearly stopped.

A wolf stood in front of me.

But it was not like any wolf I had ever seen before. It was far bigger than any normal wolf should be. Its shoulders were almost as high as my waist and its black fur seemed to disappear into the darkness around it.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe properly. My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.

A wolf here?

It was impossible.

“Okay,” I whispered. "This is not real.”

The wolf stared at me but it wasn’t the empty stare of a wild animal. It almost looked like it understood me and somehow that scared me more than anything else. I slowly stepped backward. I hoped that it would not follow me. But it did. The wolf moved closer and my breathing became uneven as fear took over my body.

“No,” I whispered. “Stay there.”

Of course, it didn’t listen. It was a wild animal. It didn’t understand my words.

I turned around and ran. I didn’t think about where I was going or what I was doing. I only knew that I needed to get away. My shoes hit the concrete floor as I rushed between the rows of cars but the parking area suddenly felt much bigger than before. Every row looked the same and every turn seemed to lead me deeper into the maze.

Then I heard it. The sound of claws hitting the ground behind me. My heart pounded against my chest as I ran harder. I reached the end of a row and turned quickly, only to realize I had made the wrong choice.

There was nowhere to go. It was a dead end. My stomach dropped. I backed away until my body hit the side of a car.

The wolf stepped into the open space in front of me, blocking the only way out. It lowered its head slowly and I saw its sharp teeth as a low growl escaped from its throat.

My hands began to shake. “Please,” I whispered.

I hated that I was begging an animal but fear had taken over completely. I was terrified and I had no idea if I was going to escape.

The wolf moved closer and I felt my fear grow with every step it took. Then suddenly, another sound filled the parking area.

A growl.

But this one was different. It was deeper and more powerful.The first wolf stopped and turned its head toward the sound. I looked past it and saw another wolf standing at the entrance of the parking row.

This one was different from the first. Its fur was lighter, its body was even larger and something about its presence made the entire parking area feel colder.

The second wolf stared at the first one like it was a threat. I stood frozen between them. My mind was struggling to understand what was happening.

Why were there two wolves here?

The first wolf turned fully toward the newcomer and before I could even react, both wolves moved. They charged at each other with a speed that made my eyes struggle to follow. The sound of their bodies crashing together echoed through the parking garage and I covered my mouth to stop myself from screaming.

The second wolf moved with impossible speed. It was as if it knew exactly what the other wolf would do before it happened. These were not normal animals. They moved too fast.

The black wolf tried to attack again but the other wolf blocked its path before it could reach me. It was protecting me.

But why?

Why would a wild animal risk itself for me?

The second wolf pushed the other one away and the first wolf disappeared into the darkness between the cars. I was alone again with the black wolf that had saved me.

I stared at it. It was breathing heavily. There was a small wound near its shoulder. Blood stained its dark fur.

This animal had just protected me. It had stepped between me and danger without hesitation. I should have been running. I should have been terrified. Instead, I slowly stepped forward.

I didn’t know why I was doing it. Maybe fear had stopped my brain from working properly. Maybe I was making the worst decision possible. But something about this wolf felt different.

“It’s okay,” I whispered softly.

The wolf watched me without moving. I lifted my hand slowly. “Are you hurt?” I asked.

The question sounded ridiculous the moment I said it. It was a wolf. A wild animal. It couldn’t understand me.

But instead of moving away, the wolf stepped closer. My breath caught as it lowered its head and gently touched my hand with its nose. I froze completely. It wasn’t trying to hurt me. It was almost as if it was trying to comfort me.

Then, even more strangely, the wolf moved closer and pressed its head gently against me. The action was so unexpected that I forgot to be afraid. It felt almost familiar, like this creature already knew me....like it trusted me.

My heart started beating faster as I stared into its golden eyes. “What are you?” I whispered.

The wolf looked at me. For a moment, I saw its eyes clearly. They were golden. Not a normal shade of gold but something brighter. They looked strangely familiar....almost human.

Then suddenly, the wolf pulled away. The sound of footsteps echoed in the distance. Voices followed. Security was coming.

The wolf turned toward the noise, then looked back at me one last time. For a second, I felt like it didn’t want to leave. Then it turned and disappeared into the darkness.

By the time security reached me, there was nothing left. Nothing except me standing alone in the middle of the parking garage.

_________

I barely slept that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the wolf again. By morning, I had convinced myself that I had imagined part of it. Fear could make people see strange things. That was the only explanation.

I arrived at practice early, carrying coffee and my laptop. The hockey rink was already alive with noise. Players were skating across the ice and preparing for training. Then I saw him.

Ryder Kane.

And the moment my eyes landed on him, my entire body went still. He stood near the rink. He was speaking with Coach Marcus but the moment I saw him, my steps slowed. Something about him immediately caught my attention.

His shoulder.

There was a fresh injury there, a small cut visible beneath the edge of his shirt. The exact place where the wolf had been hurt. I stared at it, unable to move for a moment.

No. That was impossible.

Ryder noticed me watching him and his gray eyes quickly moved toward mine.

“What?” he asked.

I immediately looked away. “Nothing.”

But my heart was beating faster than it should have been. Because a ridiculous thought had suddenly entered my mind. A thought that made no sense. A thought that was completely impossible.

For some reason, I was comparing Ryder Kane to the wolf that had saved me. I almost laughed at myself.

What was wrong with me?

Ryder was a person. The wolf was an animal. They were nothing alike.

Right?

So why was I even thinking this way?

I had to be losing my mind. I shook my head, trying to push the strange thoughts away. I was probably just tired and scared.