Mag-log inLyra's POVI heard it before anyone else did.Not with my ears — with the fire. It woke inside my chest like something startled from sleep, pressing outward against my ribs, urgent and directionless, the way it always did when something was wrong before the world caught up to knowing it.I was on my feet before my eyes fully opened.The camp was dark. The blood moon was still a day away, the sky above the tree line the deep, indifferent black of early morning, stars scattered and cold. Everything looked still.But the fire didn't lie."Up." I hit the side of Raven's tent as I passed it. "Get up. Now.""Lyra—""Now, Raven."I was already moving toward the northern ridge, pulling my hair back with one hand, the silver flame rising in the other without being asked. It cast the path ahead in pale light, long shadows jumping between the trees.I heard the first howl a second later. Then three more, overlapping, ragged — not a patrol signal. A warning.Then the screaming started.They came
Aiden's POVShe came to the war room at dawn, exactly as she'd promised. No Nicholas trailing behind her this time. Just Lyra, her hair still damp from washing, dressed in the leathers that Raven had given her, instead of anything that belonged to the pack.I tried not to notice how well they suited her."You wanted to talk battle plans," she said, stopping at the edge of the table. Not crossing it,she kept the wood between us like a wall she'd built on purpose."I did." I cleared my throat and forced my eyes to the map instead of her face. "The scouts spotted the first of the Rogue King's forces moving through the northern pass last night. If they keep that pace, they'll reach the valley by tomorrow's dusk. Right as the blood moon rises.""Of course they will." Her mouth twisted, bitter. "He's always had a flair for theater.""You know him.""I know what twenty years of hatred does to a person who used to be an Alpha." She moved closer to the map, studying the markers Grayson had pin
Lyra's POVI didn't sleep.Not because of Aiden, though his face kept surfacing in my mind no matter how many times I pushed it under. It was the bond. Even faint and frayed as it was, it pulsed against my ribs all night like a second, struggling heartbeat, and every time it stuttered, I felt it in my teeth.By the time the sky turned gray, I was already dressed and standing outside Raven's borrowed tent, watching the pack wake around me.They didn't look at me the way they used to.There was no sneering, no whispered "omega" passed between cupped hands. Now they looked at me like I was something they didn't have a name for yet. Not enemy. Not quite pack. Something standing in the doorway between both."You look like you haven't slept," Nicholas said, appearing beside me with two cups of something hot. He handed me one without asking if I wanted it, which was, I was starting to realize, simply how he loved people."I haven't.""Aiden?""The bond." I wrapped my hands around the cup,
Aiden's POVShe walked out of my office without looking back."I wish you won't make my staying here harder than it already is."Her words cut deeper than any blade could.I stood there for a long moment, staring at the door she had disappeared through. The map was still spread across the table. The candles were still burning. But everything felt colder than before.She was here. Lyra was here,and yet she felt so far away. And she even came with another man.The rogue. Nicholas. The way he had stood by the door, watching me like a wolf protecting his territory. The way he had growled at me—growled—like I was the enemy.Like I was the one who didn't belong in my own pack, made me feel all sorts of emotions that I didn't like."Alpha."Grayson's voice pulled me from my thoughts. I hadn't heard him enter,I have been so distracted these days that I'm hardly aware of the presence of someone."What?""The rogues are settling in the eastern barracks. Lyra requested a tent near the training y
Lyra's POVI made the decision to go back to Howler in the middle of the night.I laid on my cot, staring at the canvas ceiling, listening to the chatters of the people. Nicholas was somewhere nearby—I could feel him through the fragile bond we'd been building. Raven was on patrol. Sera was sleeping in a tent of her own.But Howler was dying."If you are not at Howler by then—if the pack does not have its true Luna—everyone dies."The Moon Goddess's words echoed in my head,loud enough that I couldn't shut it off even though I wanted to.I sat up on the cot"Lyra?" Nicholas's voice came from outside my tent. "You okay?""I need to go back." I said. There was silence for some time,then the tent flap opened and Nicholas stepped inside, his face shadowed in the darkness."Go back where?" He asked."Howler." I said swinging my legs over the side of the cot. "The pack needs me. The Moon Goddess said—""I don't care what the Moon Goddess said." He said with a tight voice. "You can't go back
Nicholas POVIt was getting dark when I found Lyra and a Lycan woman I didn't recognize, stumbling out of the treeline, half-dead, covered in blood and ash and something that looked like silver light still clinging to Lyra's skin.My heart stopped for a movement,then it started again, pounding so hard I thought my ribs would crack."Lyra!" I found my foot running towards her before I could think.As she saw me,her face crumpled. And then she was running too, closing the distance between us, crashing into my chest so hard I nearly fell backward."I thought I lost you," I whispered into her hair."You didn't." Her voice was muffled against my shirt. "I'm here. I'm okay."I held her tighter,not wanting to let go,and I was planning on doing that if the lycan woman didn't clear her throat."I'm Sera," she said,like I cared. "I helped her escape. The Rogue King is going to come looking for her. Soon."I pulled back from Lyra but didn't let go. My eyes scanned her face, her arms, her hands,f
Lyra’s POVThe camp of the rogues was nothing like I imagined.Just tents here and there. There was no grand hall or chandeliers . Just that leather patched tents, a fire pit that was more of smoke,than fire... And wolves that watched every step I take like I was a predator.I stayed as close as I
Aiden’s POV I stormed out of the ballroom with my hands clenched and my chest heaving what annoyance. Everything had turned so fast I could hardly understand it. I had claimed Lyra in front of everyone, I had felt the bond settle between us, and then the priestess had spoken, and I had torn it all
Lyra’s POV“Who’s there?” My voice came out thin and trembling.No one answered. I only heard the breeze of Dey leaves.I pressed my back to a tree trunk and clutched my bag to my chest like my life depended on it.And I could say, right now, it really did.My knuckles turned white, and legs felt r
Lyra’s POVAiden’s words echoed in my skull. It was heavy and dismissive. I wanted the floor to swallow me whole. The hall was frozen. Everyone’s head turned to me. They all had disgust and shock written in their faces.My lips parted, but I found no words to say. My chest tightened, making it har







