Death

Chapter Five: 

~Daniella's POV

“You are two souls bound in one body. The cursed Omega and the human who died in fire. You are both Lyra and the other who took her place.”

Kieran froze completely.

The words hung heavy in the silence, filling the dungeon with cold air and disbelief.

He stared at me, his expression dark and unreadable. “What did you say?”

The seer stepped back slowly, lowering her head. “Alpha… the woman before you is not the same Lyra who once bore your mark. Her soul has been rewritten.”

Kieran’s eyes burned gold again, not with rage this time, but confusion and fear.

My lips parted as the truth sank in, every piece of my past colliding with this cruel reality.

The seer’s voice broke the silence one last time, trembling like a verdict.

“The Moon has returned what death took, Alpha. You are mated to a reborn.”

The torches flared, the air thickened, and for a minute, no one dared to breathe.

Kieran’s gaze locked on me, his voice sounded low and empty. “Then tell me, who are you really?”

I looked at him, my heart racing. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

The seer’s light flickered once, and the cell plunged into darkness.

I barely slept that night. My head still burned with the seer’s words, her voice echoing again and again. “You are both Lyra and the other who took her place.”

The thought made me sick. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I wasn’t supposed to exist. But I did. And I wasn’t going anywhere.

The door opened in the morning. Nora slipped inside, carrying a tray.

“The Alpha said you can return to your quarters,” she said quietly.

I scoffed. “He’s being generous. Should I curtsy or crawl?”

Her eyes darted nervously to the guards outside. “Please don’t talk like that. They’re watching.”

I rubbed my forehead. “They’ve been watching since the moment I opened my eyes in this cursed place.”

She hesitated. “Your mother… she’s asking for you.”

My chest tightened. “My mother?”

Nora nodded quickly. “She’s not well. The healers said she might not make it through the day.”

I followed her through the hall, ignoring the stares. The whispers were louder now. Everyone had heard what the seer said. The Alpha’s cursed mate. The reborn woman. The freak.

When I reached the small cabin at the far end of the pack house, the smell hit me first — herbs, sickness, something sour and fading. I stepped inside.

An older woman lay on the bed, her hair tangled, her breath shallow. Her eyes opened weakly when she heard the floor creak.

“Lyra,” she whispered. “You finally remembered I exist.”

Her tone was sharp, not loving. I swallowed the urge to correct her. “I came as soon as I heard.”

She laughed faintly, a bitter sound. “You never come unless you want forgiveness. And you’re always too late.”

I moved closer, pulling a stool beside the bed. “You shouldn’t talk so much. You need to rest.”

“Don’t tell me what I need,” she hissed softly. “You’ve done enough damage, Lyra. The whole pack suffers because of you.”

I looked at her, studying the anger that had been building in her for years. “You think I caused this?”

“I know you did,” she rasped. “You were cursed the moment you were born. You failed to shift, failed to obey, failed to be anything but a burden.”

Her words stabbed deep, but I didn’t flinch. “Maybe. But I’m still here, aren’t I? Still breathing, still fighting, still your daughter.”

She coughed hard, clutching her chest. I grabbed the cup of water and lifted her gently. “Drink this.”

She looked at me with watery eyes. “Why are you pretending to care now? Because the Alpha dragged you through the mud again?”

I held the cup to her lips. “Because you’re dying. And because I’m tired of watching people die when I can still do something.”

She drank slowly, her breath shaking. “You sound different,” she whispered. “Like someone else.”

I smiled faintly. “Maybe I am.”

Before she could reply, the door swung open.

Kieran filled the doorway, his eyes burning gold even in daylight. Nora immediately bowed her head and disappeared.

He stepped in without invitation. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said flatly.

I looked up at him. “You sent your seer to pry into my soul, but now I can’t sit with a dying woman?”

“She’s ill,” he said coldly. “Your presence will only make it worse.”

I stood. “You think I’m poison?”

He met my eyes. “I think I don’t know what you are.”

I crossed my arms. “You didn’t know what I was when you marked me either, yet here we are.”

His jaw tightened. “Watch your tone.”

“You watch yours,” I snapped. “You humiliated me in front of your pack, and now you show up acting like you’re protecting me. Make up your mind, Alpha.”

He stepped closer, his voice lowering. “You have no idea what you’ve done to me.”

“Then tell me,” I said, meeting his stare. “Tell me what I am to you.”

He didn’t answer. His eyes searched my face like he was trying to find the woman he once knew. His hand lifted slightly, then dropped. “Lyra never spoke to me like this.”

“That’s because Lyra was too busy trying to survive you.”

He took a sharp breath. “You’re not her.”

“Maybe not. But her heart still beats in me. You can hate me all you want, Kieran, but you can’t deny the bond that keeps dragging you back here.”

He turned away, running a hand through his hair. “You’re a curse.”

“And you’re the one who marked me,” I said softly.

He stopped at the door. “Stay away from me, Lyra.”

I smiled bitterly. “You came here, not me.”

He hesitated, then walked out, slamming the door so hard the walls rattled.

The room fell quiet again except for the faint, weak breathing on the bed. I turned back to the woman.

She was watching me, her eyes glistening. “You really aren’t my daughter, are you?”

I froze.

“What did he mean?” she whispered. “What did the seer see?”

I sat beside her, my throat tightening. “It doesn’t matter who I was. You needed someone, and I came. That’s all you should care about.”

She coughed again, this time harder. Blood stained her lips. I reached for her, panic shooting through me.

“Don’t you dare die on me,” I said quickly. “Do you hear me? Not now.”

She gasped weakly. “You can’t fight the Goddess, child.”

“I fought death itself,” I said, holding her hand tightly. “I can fight a goddess too.”

Her hand went limp.

“No,” I whispered, shaking her gently. “No, not yet.”

Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. I pressed my ear to her chest, searching for a heartbeat that wasn’t there.

The door burst open again. Kieran stood there, his expression darkening when he saw me on the floor beside the bed.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“She’s gone,” I said, my voice breaking.

He looked at the body, then at me. “You did this.”

I shot to my feet, fury rising like fire. “Don’t you dare.”

His wolf eyes glowed brighter, the mark on my neck burning painfully. “You were warned. You bring death everywhere you go.”

I stepped closer, glaring up at him. “If she died because of your arrogance, you’ll regret ever breathing my name.”

“Are you threatening your Alpha?”

“I’m promising him.”

We stared at each other, the tension thick enough to choke on. For the first time, I saw something flicker behind his anger — fear.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the ground trembled softly beneath us.

A whisper moved through the air like a sigh. The torches outside flickered blue. The scent of smoke and ashes filled the room.

I looked down at my hands — faint silver light was glowing from my skin.

Kieran’s eyes widened. “What is that?”

I stared at the glow pulsing from my fingers, my voice trembling. “I don’t know.”

The light spread, crawling up my arms like living fire. The air vibrated with energy, and for a second, I heard a heartbeat that wasn’t mine.

Kieran stepped back, his voice hoarse. “You’re not Lyra. You’re something else entirely.”

I looked at him through the shimmer of the light, my pulse racing. “You’re right, Alpha. I’m not the woman you killed with your silence.”

The glow flared brighter, then vanished, l

eaving darkness and stillness behind.

Kieran’s voice broke the silence. “What are you becoming?”

I looked at my mother’s lifeless body, then at him. “Someone you should be afraid of.”