Chains Do Not Mean Safety

  The lower holding rooms smelled of stone, iron, and old blood.

  Lyra felt it the moment they dragged her through the gates. The Black Fang compound rose from the forest like a fortress, carved directly into the mountain rock. Torches burned along the walls, their flames steady and unforgiving, casting shadows that twisted across the ground as wolves watched her pass.

  No one spoke.

  That silence was worse than insults.

  The chains bit into her wrists as she was hauled down a narrow corridor, stone steps slick with frost. Her shoulders burned, muscles screaming from exhaustion, but she refused to stumble. If she fell, they would drag her. If she begged, they would remember.

  She would give them nothing.

  The holding room door creaked open, heavy iron scraping against stone. The space beyond was small and cold, barely lit by a single torch mounted high on the wall. Shackles hung from iron rings embedded in the stone.

  Dane Korr shoved her forward.

  “Welcome to Black Fang hospitality,” he said, voice thick with disdain. “You’ll learn your place quickly.”

  Lyra turned to face him, chains clinking softly. “If this is your idea of strength, your pack must be weaker than I thought.”

  His hand flashed out.

  The slap caught her across the face, sharp and ringing. Lyra tasted blood, heat flaring in her cheek. She didn’t cry out. She didn’t look away.

  Dane’s eyes narrowed. “Careful.”

  “Enough.”

  Tyler’s voice cut through the room like a blade.

  Lyra hadn’t heard him enter. He stood just inside the doorway, broad shoulders blocking what little light filtered in. His gaze flicked briefly to Lyra’s reddened cheek, then settled on Dane.

  “You were told to restrain her,” Tyler said calmly. “Don't vent your temper.”

  Dane stiffened. “She provoked—”

  “She’s an omega in chains,” Tyler replied. “If you need to prove dominance over that, you’re unfit to wear my mark.”

  The room went still.

  Dane stepped back, jaw tight. “Yes, Alpha.”

  Tyler waited until he left before turning his attention fully to Lyra.

  Up close, the bond pulsed painfully between them, heat tightening around her ribs. She hated it. Hated how her wolf leaned toward him even now, bruised and bound.

  “You shouldn’t antagonize my enforcer,” Tyler said.

  Lyra lifted her chin. “You shouldn’t let him touch me.”

  A pause.

  “That’s not a privilege you have yet,” Tyler replied.

  The word yet landed with more weight than any threat.

  He moved closer, close enough that she could see the faint scars along his throat, the old bite marks at his collarbone. Proof of battles survived, bonds broken or claimed. His eyes searched her face, clinical and sharp.

  “You’re hurt,” he said.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Everything is something,” Tyler replied. “Especially tonight.”

  He reached out and, without warning, brushed his thumb beneath her collarbone.

  Lyra gasped.

  The bond flared violently, heat tearing through her nerves as the faint mark there glowed brighter, responding to his touch. Her knees nearly buckled.

  Tyler’s hand stilled.

  For the first time, something cracked through his control. Not softness. Not desire. Recognition.

  “Already forming,” he muttered.

  Lyra sucked in a breath. “You said you don’t accept weaknesses.”

  “I don’t,” he said. “Which is why this ends now.”

  He turned sharply to the wall and gestured. “Secure her.”

  The chains were transferred from her wrists to the wall shackles, cold iron locking her in place. Her arms were raised slightly, just enough to strain her shoulders. It was deliberate—discomfort without collapse.

  Tyler watched the process without expression.

  When it was done, he dismissed the guards with a flick of his fingers. The door closed behind them, leaving the two of them alone in the dim room.

  Silence settled.

  Lyra’s pulse hammered in her ears. “If you’re going to kill me,” she said quietly, “do it now.”

  Tyler stepped closer. “Death would be simple.”

  “And this isn’t?”

  “No,” he said. “This is control.”

  He circled her slowly, boots echoing softly against the stone. “You are a complication I didn’t ask for. My pack is already on the edge of fracture. A rival alpha is waiting for a sign of weakness. And fate,” his mouth twisted, “decided to hand me one wrapped in an omega’s skin.”

  Lyra’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t choose this.”

  “Neither did I.”

  He stopped in front of her. “You will stay here until I decide what to do with you.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  “You won’t.”

  Her lips curved faintly. “You sound confident.”

  “I am.”

  The bond surged again, as if agreeing with him. Lyra fought the pull, anger, and fear tangling in her chest.

  “You think chaining me solves your problem,” she said. “It doesn’t. Your pack saw it. They felt the bond. You can’t hide me.”

  “No,” Tyler agreed. “I can use you.”

  Her breath hitched.

  “Ronan Crowe has been testing my borders for weeks,” Tyler continued. “He’s reckless. Ambitious. And very interested in leverage.”

  Lyra stiffened. “You’re baiting him.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll get me killed.”

  “Possibly.”

  She stared at him, disbelief burning through her fear. “You’re insane.”

  Tyler leaned in, his voice dropping. “I’m alive.”

  For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The torch flickered, shadows dancing across the walls.

  “What happens when he comes?” Lyra asked.

  Tyler’s eyes darkened. “Then we see who bleeds first.”

  The door creaked open before she could respond.

  Mara Vale stepped inside, her presence calm and controlled. Her gaze took in Lyra’s chained form, the bruise on her face, the glowing bond mark.

  “So it’s true,” Mara said softly.

  Tyler didn’t turn. “It’s inconvenient.”

  Mara’s lips thinned. “The pack is restless.”

  “They’ll learn discipline.”

  “They’re afraid,” Mara countered. “Not of her. Of what she represents.”

  Tyler’s jaw clenched. “She stays.”

  “For how long?”

  “As long as necessary.”

  Mara’s gaze flicked to Lyra. “If Ronan finds out—”

  “He will,” Tyler said. “Soon.”

  Mara inhaled slowly. “Then you’re playing a dangerous game.”

  Tyler finally looked back at Lyra, his eyes unreadable. “I always do.”

  The door shut again, leaving Lyra alone with the chains and the cold.

  As the torch burned lower, the bond pulsed steadily beneath her skin, a reminder she couldn’t escape.