5

LYRA'S POV.

"Don't tell me you're sulking again." Elektra's voice pulled me out of my train of thoughts as she made her way toward the pavement where I sat.

"I can't help it," I whispered pitifully.

It had been a week since I found my mate. A whole week, and he still hadn’t come for me.

My eyes burned, and I blinked back the tears threatening to spill.

I had thought the pain would ease with time, but every day the hollow ache in my chest only seemed to grow deeper.

It was strange to feel this deeply for someone I had never even seen, but I guessed that was how the mate bond worked.

"Maybe it is all for the best," I muttered.

"What is?" she asked as sat beside me.

"His rejection," I replied. "If he accepts the bond, he'd be more disappointed when he finds out I'm wolfless. Not to talk of this horrible scar I have to carry on my face from now on," I said, cringing internally when I remembered what my reflection looked like now.

"He’d probably be repulsed if he saw me."

Elektra quietly regarded me for a moment. I thought she was going to scold me again, but instead, she gave a sad smile.

"First of all, you're not wolfless, Lyra. You can literally feel your wolf within you. You just haven't shifted yet," she pointed out, but it didn't make me feel any better.

While I had always seen myself as a disappointment, Elektra insisted that I was rather unique.

Maybe I was.

It had never been heard that someone could feel and communicate with their wolf, without having shifted first. But somehow, that was my case.

Ever since I turned sixteen—the age most wolves experienced their first shift—I had begun to feel my wolf.

Mora.

I could hear her voice, mindlink with others, and feel everything every other wolf felt.

Everything…

Except shifting.

"Secondly," Elektra continued. "The King hasn't formally rejected you. And even if he does, that means we are never going to be parted from each other."

I gave a genuine smile now.

Elektra had been the only real family I had. And now that I thought about it, being away from her was going to be different. Difficult.

"You're not wrong." I nodded in agreement and she engulfed me in a warm hug.

We were still in each other's embrace when Madame Jocasta, the servants' mistress, stormed toward us.

"I'm sure you both know that tonight is the full moon," she spat harshly.

We quickly pulled apart and stood to our feet.

"Quit lazying around and get back to work!" she ordered and we scampered off.

****************

By evening, the entire household had descended into chaos. It was always this way on the night of the full moon.

Every unmated she-wolf would soon fall into heat, releasing pheromones that drove male wolves into a lustful frenzy. Dangerous as it was, it still couldn’t compare to the Blood Moon, which was far worse.

Preparations for nights like this always began long before sunset, and the noble ladies were the priority. Sage was burned around their chambers, protective charms were placed on their doors and windows, and Deltas specially trained to withstand the pull of the full moon stood watch outside.

As for the omegas and servants… our safety came last.

Only after every noble lady had been secured were we herded into the fortified grounds, a protected shrine behind the residence where we remained locked away until morning.

It was safer that way.

Or at least, safer than being hunted by males driven mad by the scent of heat in the air.

The household fell into an even greater frenzy the moment the evening gong sounded. Dusk had arrived, and the full moon would soon rise.

"Are all the ladies' chambers secured?!" Madame Jocasta's voice rang out, and she was given a chorus of positive responses.

"Good." She nodded satisfactorily. "You all are released. Go to the fortified grounds."

As soon as she dismissed us, the omegas scattered, everyone rushing toward the fortified grounds. Even though I was no longer unmated, that didn’t make me any safer. Male wolves driven mad by the full moon weren’t exactly known for their self-control.

I hurried toward the servants’ quarters, intending to grab a blanket before making my way to the fortified grounds. The nights were always bitterly cold.

On my way out of the quarters, I bumped into someone and looked up to see my stepsister, Aurelia. Reflexly, I took a step back, the current scar on my cheek leaving me too traumatized to take chances.

"I'm sorry," I quickly apologized and made to continue on my way, but she roughly grabbed my arm.

"Please… I don't want any trouble," I begged.

"There would be no problems if you simply do as you're instructed." she said dryly.

The entire place was literally in a frenzy and she was supposed to be locked up in her chambers by now. What was she doing here?

"My personal maid forgot to burn some sage around my chambers. Get some sage incense and burn it around my bed chambers immediately."

I paused for a moment.

Why was she asking me to do that? Couldn't she have asked her personal maid?

"But..." I hesitated. "I can't. It's almost time for the..."

"Are you disobeying me, Lyra?" she asked, taking a step toward me.

I gulped and stepped back. "No."

Like a predator who had successfully cornered its prey, her lips lifted in a dark smirk.

"If I were you, I'd run along and get the work done before the full moon emerges."

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving me caught in between.

My mind told me to defy her orders and run to safety first, but I feared the repercussions of that decision by morning.

So I ran out of the quarters and headed for the infirmary.

About twenty minutes later, I had finally burnt the sage incense around Aurelia's chambers and was now hurrying through the long, frustrating stretch of hallway.

The chaos outside had grown worse, and soon I could hear guttural growls all around.

Male wolves.

My heart pounded hard against my chest as hot tears burned in my eyes.

"Goddess please..." I whispered as I kept running, hoping to somehow make it to the fortified grounds unscathed.

I finally reached the end of the hallway and dashed through the doorway leading outside, toward the fortified grounds.

I hadn’t even taken ten steps before something slammed into me from the side, knocking the air from my lungs as I crashed onto the ground. I looked up to see a crazed looking guard hovering above me, another one closing in behind him.

My heart dropped and fear locked my body in place. I couldn't scream or fight back because I knew I was outnumbered.

I scrambled around, trying to stand up, but one of them aggressively grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head.

I could feel the other one's hand underneath my gown, making Mora whimper inside me.

"Please..." A desperate whisper left my lips as hot tears escaped my eye.

My body shook violently as cold fingers forced their way between my thighs.

"Aaargh!" The scream tore from my throat.

Then, all at once, the crushing weight on top of me disappeared and I lay there frozen, too stunned to understand what had just happened.

"MINE!!" a furious snarl ripped through the night, and my trembling gaze slowly lifted.

A tall man stood over me, his broad frame shielding me completely. One look at his face and I was awestruck.

One of his eyes was icy blue, and the other… was cold steel grey.

Goddess…

It was him.