LYRA, THE HEIR-EATER

PROLOGUE: HEIR-EATER

Their bond was a blessing from the Moon Goddess.

When my father, Alpha Cedric, learned from our clan doctor, Levi, that my mother was expecting twins, he was overjoyed. He had always dreamed of expanding his lineage, and the thought of having two heirs filled him with pride. He was so proud that he spent days celebrating in honor of the news.

My father adored my mother, Mariam, the Luna of our pack. He made sure she had everything she needed throughout her pregnancy, and our pack saw her condition as a symbol of hope for the future.

But as the months passed, my mother grew weaker. It was as if something was draining her strength faster than her body could recover. Still, she believed it would all be worth it in the end.

Then, during the final months of her pregnancy, the Oracle delivered a prophecy:

"Two lives cannot share one soul. Darkness will break the pack’s peace, but only one soul can truly save it."

Many believed this was a warning about my mother’s pregnancy; that one twin was cursed, a danger to the pack, while the other would be its savior.

When asked to explain the prophecy, the Oracle answered, “The meaning will be known to all in due time.”

When the labor time came, the pack gathered expecting twin births. I was told her labor was long and difficult, her screams echoing through the packhouse. My mother pushed with all her strength, and finally, my first cry pierced the night.

Moments after my eyes opened and my small body wriggled in the arms of the midwife, but the labor wasn’t over. The midwives prepared for the second pup.

Only, there was no second pup.

"Where is the twin?" one of the midwives mumbled.

The doors suddenly flew open as my father charged in. He had arrived hoping to greet his future Alphas, his twin heirs.

But he found only me.

A single child.

A girl.

The room fell silent. The clan doctor and midwives stood frozen, confusion written all over their faces.

Seeing I was a girl child, my father's smile faded as he turned away from me.

"Where is the twin?" he demanded. "Where is my son, my heir?"

The midwives exchanged uneasy glances as they didn't know how to answer the question.

"We cannot find the twin, Alpha" the Clan doctor answered unable to look my father in the face.

"What do you mean?" my father demanded, his voice low and edged with a dangerous growl.

Everyone in the room trembled as they could feel his wolf was already clawing to be free beneath his skin.

"Didn't the scan show two lives?"

"Two hearts..." the doctor bowed his head, fearing for his life. "I am certain I detected two heartbeats."

"It’s possible she… she ate her twin." he continued, his voice shaking.

The happiness on my father's face disappeared as soon as he heard those words, and his palms closed into fists. For fear of my father's reaction, the midwives took a step back.

Turning to my mother, she was too weak to speak, too exhausted to lift her head.

Grief consumed my father. He stormed out of the room almost immediately as he declared, "A creature like this cannot be my heir."

Gathering outside the labor room, the pack leaders whispered among themselves.

"A cursed child."

"A monster."

"She ate her twin"

"Heir-eater"

To them, the prophecy had come true. "Two lives cannot share one soul..."

They believed I had devoured my twin in the womb, the rightful heir and the next Alpha.

By dawn, the whispers had spread like wildfire, and every pack member had gathered outside our big pack hall. Hoping the whispers were false, they restlessly waited for my father's declaration.

When he finally arrived, he stood on the elevated platform, his eyes filled with anger and grief.

"There is no heir," he announced.

A shout of shock rang out throughout the pack.

Before the noise subsided, one of the midwives stepped forward, carrying me, a small baby wrapped in soft fur.

"This child is not my heir. She ate her twin, my heir, our next Alpha before he could take his first breath." My father, My Alpha announced in rage.

"From this day forth, she is nothing but a servant to this pack, bound by duty, stripped of blood and status. She will have no title, no claim."

Elder Garrick, a respected leader, stepped forward and cautiously asked. "Alpha Cedric, what are you suggesting?"

My father did not hesitate. "She will live as a slave to this pack."

Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd. Some looked horrified, while others nodded as if this was the only logical conclusion.

"The prophecy was clear."

"She ate him, in the womb."

"Heir-Eater"

Through it all, my mother remained silent. Her once-bright eyes darkened with tiredness, and her eyes fixed on the ground as though she could not stand to look at me.

Weak from labor, she just sat at the edge of the platform, wrapped in blankets.

She did not defend me.

She did not protest.

With a final glance at the pack that once celebrated my existence, my father turned their back on me. And with them, so did my mother, the Luna of my pack.

From that moment on, my fate was sealed.

I was given the name Lyra.

But nobody, not even my parents spoke my name with love or compassion. I was treated worse than an omega and lived like a slave.

I am no daughter of Alpha Cedric and Luna Mariam.

I am no heir.

To them, I am nothing but a monster who ate their heir before he could take his first breath.

I am Lyra, the Heir-Eater, And this is my story.