WHO THE HELL IS LIRA DEEN?

Do you ever get that gut feeling like you’re being set up? That’s where I was the morning after the pendant showed up in my kitchen. I didn’t sleep. Not really. Just laid there staring at the ceiling, thinking about how something I didn’t find ended up in my apartment like it belonged here.

I didn’t touch it. Hell no. I just looked at it from across the counter like it was a bomb waiting to go off. I even left the kitchen light on all night. Like that would help.

By sunrise, my brain was fried, and I needed answers. Real ones. Milo Deen hadn’t responded to any of my messages—not a peep since the job offer. Weird, right? You don’t ghost a tracker you just paid serious cash to. Unless you’ve got something to hide.

So I did what I always do when something stinks: I hunted down the smell.

First stop—Viremont Archives.

I threw on a hoodie, yanked my braid through the back of a cap, and shoved the pendant in a lead-lined pouch. The less it touches the air, the better. Magic objects soak up attention like a sponge. And the way this one pulsed? It was definitely carrying something nasty in its history.

The archives were buried under the city library. Most folks didn’t know the basement even existed unless they were wolves, witches, or city historians. It smelled like mold and old paper and was guarded by the crankiest old clerk in Viremont: Miss Trudy.

“Back again, Nora?” she said without looking up.

“Can’t stay away from your sunny attitude, Trudy.”

She grunted. “No funny business. You’ve got an hour.”

I headed straight for the Pack Records section, swiping into the locked case with my borrowed keycard. I started digging through the Silver Ash archives, cross-referencing family names, heirlooms, bloodline histories—anything that mentioned a pendant.

That’s when I saw it. Not in a book. In a folder.

Deen.

I froze.

The folder was slim, labeled "Lira Deen – Blood Registry: Former Luna." My stomach dropped. I opened it slowly, scanning.

Lira Deen, mate to Alpha Kael of the Silver Ash Pack. Presumed dead. No body recovered. Last seen two years ago.

Two years. That’s a long time for Luna to just vanish.

And Milo Deen? Same last name. Maybe not a coincidence.

A chill ran down my spine. This wasn’t just a lost trinket. This was a Luna-level drama. Meaning this pendant? It belonged to Lira.

And now it was in my kitchen.

I snapped a photo of the file and slipped out, thanking Trudy with a sarcastic smile that got me a middle finger in return. Back on the street, the air felt heavier. Like the city was leaning in, listening.

I was halfway back to my apartment when I heard it.

Footsteps. Close.

I cut through an alley, turned right, then right again. Fast. Quiet. Whoever it was, they weren’t subtle. I ducked behind a dumpster, hand on my blade, pulse thumping in my ears.

They walked past. Tall, black coat, hood up. Not packed. Didn’t smell like one. But definitely not human either.

I waited till they turned the corner, then bolted.

Back home, I slammed the door, locked it, and yanked the pouch out. I dropped it on the counter and just stared.

“Alright, princess,” I muttered. “What the hell are you trying to tell me?”

It pulsed. Once. Twice.

I pulled out the pendant. For a second, I thought I saw something move inside it. Like a shadow. Or smoke. Then, suddenly, it lit up bright blue. Symbols I couldn’t read flickered across its surface.

Then—knock, knock, knock.

My heart jumped. Three sharp knocks. Front door.

I stuffed the pendant back in the pouch, grabbed my blade, and crept to the peephole.

A girl.

Late twenties. Short, brown curls. Wide eyes, wearing a beaten-up backpack and an expression that said she was either lost or very desperate.

I cracked the door, but didn’t remove the chain. “Yeah?”

“Nora Ainsley?”

“Who’s asking?”

“I’m Lira. Lira Deen.”

I almost laughed. “Cute. Try again.”

“I’m serious. I know how this sounds. But I need your help.”

She looked legit scared. Not fake scared. Real, ‘someone’s chasing me and I haven’t slept in three days’ scared.

I shut the door, unchained it, then opened it fully.

“Talk. Fast.”

She stepped in like her legs might give out. Her eyes darted around like she expected someone to jump out from behind my curtains.

“I didn’t die,” she said.

“Clearly.”

“They tried to kill me. Kael’s inner circle. They wanted me gone. Said I was—” she swallowed, “—tainting the bloodline. I ran. I’ve been hiding since.”

“And Milo?”

“My brother. He was supposed to meet you. But he’s missing now. I think they got him too.”

I took a deep breath. My head was spinning.

“So the pendant?”

“It’s not just jewelry. It’s proof. It holds my blood signature. Anyone with a trace of magic can verify it. That pendant proves I’m still alive—and that Kael’s reign is based on a lie.”

I stared at her. She didn’t look like Luna. She looked like a bartender who lost her job and slept in a bus station. But her eyes? They were fierce. Tired, yeah—but sharp.

“And you brought it to me?” I asked.

“No. I didn’t even know you had it. I think Milo did it. Hide it in your place because he knew you could protect it.”

“Girl, I can’t even keep a cactus alive.”

She actually smiled. Just a little. Then it faded.

“They’re going to come for you now, too.”

I sighed and rubbed my temples. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

Silence fell between us for a minute. Then I moved to the window, peeked through the blinds.

Black van. Parked across the street.

“Crap.”

“What?”

“We gotta go.”

“Now?”

I looked at her. “Unless you feel like being tortured for fun by a bunch of jacked-up wolves in suits? Then yeah. Now.”

She stood. I stuffed the pendant deep in my pack, grabbed a charm bomb, and blew the protection seal on the back exit.

“Where are we going?” she asked as we ducked into the alley.

“To see someone who hates my guts but owes me a favor.”

“Cool,” she said. “That sounds totally safe.”

“Welcome to my life, Luna.”

The safehouse wasn’t really a house. It was a condemned tattoo parlor on the south side, run by a witch named Janie who once hexed her own ex-boyfriend into growing feathers. She was nuts, but her words were unbeatable.

She opened the door in a tank top and fuzzy slippers, blinking like she hadn’t slept since last winter.

“Nora,” she said flatly. “You bring drama?”

“I brought a Luna.”

Janie stared at Lira for a long second, then stepped aside. “Well, hell. Come on in.”

We didn’t speak much until the wards were up and the windows blacked out. Then we spilled everything. Janie paced, biting her thumbnail, muttering about blood magic and Silver Ash psycho politics.

“Let me see the pendant,” she said.

I handed it over.

She held it to the light, chanted something soft under her breath, then blinked fast like she’d seen a ghost.

“This thing is loaded,” she said. “Blood. Memory. Binding. It’s not just proof of life—it’s a kill switch.”

“What do you mean?” Lira asked.

“If someone breaks this thing, it breaks the blood tie between her and Kael. That means she’s officially unlinked from the Alpha. Meaning... she can challenge him.”

Lira’s face went pale.

“I don’t want to challenge him,” she said. “I just want to survive.”

Janie looked between us. “You might not have a choice.”

That night, I sat by the boarded-up window while Lira curled up on the couch. She looked small. Fragile. Nothing like the Luna I expected.

“You okay?” I asked.

She opened one eye. “Do I look okay?”

“Nope. Just figured I’d ask.”

She snorted. “You don’t look so great either.”

“Tracker life.”

Silence.

Then she whispered, “I didn’t want any of this. I just wanted to love him.”

I didn’t say anything.

Because I knew what that felt like.

And tomorrow? Tomorrow we were going to stir a whole pack’s worth of trouble.

And there was no backing out now.