The Mission

Lyra's POV

I frantically looked around the cabin, expecting wolves to burst through the door, but the room was quiet. A single candle flickered on the wooden table, its warm glow dancing across the walls.

It was already night. Grandpa must have lit the candle while I was asleep.

My gaze searched the room until it finally landed on him. He was sitting on the wooden floor a few feet away, his back resting against the wall, watching me in complete silence.

Relief washed over me, but it quickly gave way to confusion.

"Grandpa?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "Why am I chained up?"

"Lyra," Grandpa said quietly, "it is time for you to know the truth."

I stared at him, unable to understand what he meant.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "If you wanted to tell me something important, why chain me up like this? Let me go, Grandpa. I'm exhausted. All I wanted was to rest on my birthday."

To my surprise, a faint, humorless laugh escaped him.

"I can't," he said, his expression heavy with guilt. "The full moon will reach its peak tonight, and because you turned eighteen today, your first transformation will begin when the moon reaches its highest point."

I stared at him, certain I had misunderstood.

"Transform... into what?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

For a long moment, Grandpa said nothing. His eyes never left mine, as though he was searching for the right words.

Then he finally spoke.

"Lyra..." He drew a slow breath. "You are a werewolf."

I blinked. No, I must have heard him wrong.

"A... what?" I asked, forcing out a nervous laugh. "Grandpa, I think you're getting old because that wasn't funny."

He didn't laugh. He didn't even smile. Instead, he looked at me with an expression so serious that the amusement on my face slowly disappeared.

"You heard me," Grandpa said quietly. "And I won't repeat it because it won't change the truth."

My heart began pounding against my chest.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "No, that's impossible."

I yanked violently at the chains, but they refused to budge.

"I'm human!" I shouted, struggling violently against the chains. "I'm not one of them! I will never become one of those monsters! If that's what I am... then I'd rather die before I ever transform!"

A sharp pain suddenly tore through my chest. I gasped as every muscle in my body tightened.

For a brief second, my hearing sharpened. I could make out the rustling leaves outside, the distant hoot of an owl, and the soft creaking of the cabin as though they were happening beside me.

Then it was gone.

Grandpa closed his eyes for a brief moment, and when he opened them again, they were filled with sorrow.

"I know how much you hate werewolves," he said softly. "Believe me, Lyra, if I could have kept this secret from you forever, I would have. But I can't anymore."

Nothing he was saying made sense.

My parents had been murdered by a werewolf. I had spent ten years training to hunt them. Every bruise, every scar, every sleepless night, and every lesson Grandpa had forced me to endure had been for one purpose.

To kill werewolves.

"You're lying," I whispered.

Grandpa's face twisted with pain. "I wish I were."

A lump formed in my throat.

"Then tell me this isn't real," I begged. "Tell me I'm still dreaming. Tell me I'll wake up and everything will go back to normal."

Silence filled the cabin before Grandpa finally looked me straight in the eyes.

"Your parents didn't hide the truth because they were ashamed of you," he said. "They hid it because they were trying to protect you."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "Protect me... from what?"

Grandpa's voice broke as he answered. "From the truth."

Then, almost too quietly for me to hear, he added, "I'm sorry, Lyra."

I shook my head over and over. "No," I whispered. "I survived because you trained me. You made me stronger."

"Yes," Grandpa said with a sad smile. "I trained you. But your body endured everything I put you through because wolf blood runs through your veins. Not just any wolf blood, Lyra, but the blood of a very powerful bloodline."

Every word turned my world further upside down.

Grandpa drew a long, weary breath.

"Ten years ago, the wolf who came to your home wasn't hunting your parents," Grandpa said quietly.

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

His eyes filled with sorrow.

"He came for you."

My entire body went still.

"Me?"

Grandpa nodded.

"The moment your parents realized the wolf had come for you that night, they did everything they could to protect you. They knew they couldn't win... but they fought him anyway. Every second they held him back was another chance for you to survive."

A painful lump formed in my throat.

"So..." My voice cracked. "They sacrificed themselves..."

"For you."

Silence swallowed the cabin.

Every nightmare, every birthday, and every tear I had cried during the past decade suddenly took on a whole new meaning.

They had all died because of me.

"I should have helped them," I whispered.

"You were only eight years old," Grandpa said firmly. "There was nothing you could have done."

"I should have tried."

"You would have died with them."

I couldn't argue with him.

For years, I had begged Grandpa to let me travel to the capital. I wanted to hunt down the Dravenfords myself and make them pay for what they had done to my family.

"I begged you to let me go," I whispered. "But you always stopped me."

"Because you would have died," Grandpa said without hesitation. "You believed you were only human. There was no chance you could defeat an Alpha or the warriors protecting him."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"And now?"

Grandpa met my gaze.

"Now everything has changed."

He glanced toward the moonlit window before looking back at me.

"You have one month to prepare. After that, you will leave for the capital and apply as a maid at Dravenford Estate. They're looking for new servants."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"You want me to work for the family that murdered my parents?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"I want to kill them all, not work for them."

Grandpa held my gaze, his expression unwavering.

"And if you charge into Dravenford Manor with revenge clouding your judgment, you'll be dead before you ever lay a hand on any of them."

His words hit me like a slap.

"The Dravenfords are one of the strongest werewolf bloodlines in the werewolf world. You are skilled, Lyra, but you are not strong enough to fight an entire pack alone. If you ignore what I'm about to tell you, they will kill you long before you can kill them."

I clenched my fists but said nothing.

His voice remained calm. "That is why you must listen to me carefully."

He paused, giving me a moment to absorb his words.

"Cole Dravenford is their Alpha. If you want revenge, you won't march through their front gates as an enemy. You'll enter their manor as someone no one will ever suspect."

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll infiltrate the manor by pretending to be a wolfless Omega working as a maid."

I stared at him blankly.

"What's an Omega?"

For a brief moment, surprise crossed Grandpa's face before he let out a quiet sigh.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You spent the last ten years learning how to kill werewolves instead of learning how they live."

"Why would I?" I asked bitterly. "All I ever wanted was revenge. I wanted to become one of the wolf hunters in the valley, not learn about the monsters who murdered my parents."

Grandpa nodded.

"I know."

He shifted against the wall before continuing.

"An Alpha commands absolute loyalty."

"A Beta would throw himself into a fire if his Alpha ordered it."

"A wolfless Omega?"

He smiled sadly.

"Most wolves don't even bother learning their names."

I frowned.

"So everyone will believe my wolf never awakened?"

"Exactly."

"But why would pretending to be one help me?"

"Because no one fears a wolfless Omega," Grandpa answered. "They are ignored, underestimated, and rarely noticed. They clean the manor, prepare meals, wash clothes, and move through every corner of the estate without drawing attention."

Understanding slowly settled over me.

"So while everyone thinks I'm harmless..."

"You'll be watching them," Grandpa finished.

His gaze hardened.

"You'll earn Cole Dravenford's trust."

My pulse quickened.

"And when he trusts me?"

Grandpa lowered his head, his shoulders sagging beneath a burden he had carried for ten long years.

"Every day, I prayed revenge wouldn't become your future," he whispered. "I wanted you to grow up free of the hatred that consumed the rest of us."

He drew a slow, trembling breath.

"But after everything they took from us..." His voice broke. "I don't see another way."

He slowly lifted his head and looked me straight in the eyes.

"You'll kill him. That's your mission, Lyra."