MasukLUCIAN I sat alone in my chambers, but the room felt crowded with the memory of her. Lyra. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, and it was starting to feel frustrating. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her standing in that hall, holding a sword she had no business wielding and looking at me like I was something she intended to scrape off her boot. I am obsessed with her, and I don't even try to deny it to myself anymore. Every moment of my day is consumed with thoughts of her strength and her defiance. I never actually intended for this duel to happen, and I certainly didn't want to kill her. I wanted to break her slowly, to wear her down until she started to question herself and her new life. I wanted her to surrender willingly so I could keep her close, but she was too strong for that, and she refused to break no matter how much pressure I applied. The door opened, and Ophelia walked in. She was wearing something thin and revealing, and she had that look in her eyes that always
LYRA Kael didn’t answer my question about whether he would step in and break the rules. He just looked at me for a long time, his eyes searching mine, and then he gripped my shoulder and told me we needed to start training. I didn't push him for an answer because I knew what it meant, and I knew that if it came down to my life, Kael wouldn't care about the laws of a pack that wasn't his. We spent the next several hours in a blur of sweat and violence, and I pushed myself until my lungs felt like they were going to burst. I worked with Rook first, then Kael, and every movement I made was on point. I had fought Lucian a thousand times in my head already, rehearsing every counter and every weakness I remembered from when I used to watch him train from the shadows. Kael watched me with the eyes of someone who knew me completely, and he didn't try to coach me like I was some inexperienced pup. He just reminded me of what I already knew and what I had already proven to the world. He c
LYRA I stood there in the center of the courtyard, expecting them to look at the ground or start planning their escape routes, but Rook stepped forward and shook his head. He looked me right in the eyes, and his face was set in a way that made me feel like the ground beneath my feet was finally solid. "We trust you with our lives, Lyra," he said, and his voice was loud enough that the Blackfang guards on the perimeter shifted in their spots. "You saved us when we were rotting in the dirt, and you took us in when every other pack treated us like trash. There is no way we are leaving you behind to face that bastard alone, and there is no way we are running while you’re fighting for one of ours." I felt a lump form in my throat, but before I could even say thank you, another voice joined in, and then another. They started to chant my name, a low rhythmic sound that grew into a roar that must have echoed all the way into the palace and into Lucian’s arrogant ears. "Lyra! Lyra! Lyra!"
LYRA I kept my head high as I walked out of the palace, and I didn't let a single emotion touch my face until the heavy oak doors finally shut behind us. The moment we were out of sight of the guards, the mask just fell apart. I turned to Kael, and I could feel my hands shaking so hard I had to ball them into fists. My eyes filled with tears before I could even try to stop them, and the panic came rushing in like a cold tide. "Kael, I’m scared," I whispered, and the words felt small in the open air. I looked at him, and I didn't see the warrior I had become, I just felt like that girl in the snow again. "I don’t know if I can actually take him. Lucian is a monster in a fight, and I’ve never faced an Alpha like him on the battlefield. What if I’m not strong enough? What if everything I’ve done for the last three years isn't enough to beat him?" I started pacing, my breath coming in short, jagged bursts, and I couldn't stop my mouth from moving. "I shouldn't have agreed to those stak
LYRAI didn't care about the laws of the Blackfang Pack, and I certainly didn't care about Lucian’s ego. All I could see was Tomas, a boy whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time, trembling as the guards tightened their grip on his thin arms. I walked straight past the elders, my boots thudding against the stone floor, and stopped right in front of the guard holding the boy."Let him go," I said. The guard looked at Lucian, his eyes wide with uncertainty, and he didn't move an inch. I turned my head to look at Lucian, who was still standing there with that arrogant, kingly mask on his face, and I felt the old familiar fire licking at my ribs. "I said untie him, Lucian. Now."Lucian let out a sharp, dry laugh that didn't reach his eyes, and he stepped down from the dais. "You don't give orders here, Lyra. You’re a guest in my halls, and I’ve already told you the boy is guilty. The matter is closed." Before anyone could react, I reached out and snatched the swor
LYRALucian stood over me, his height making me feel small but not afraid, and he looked at me like I was a fly he was deciding whether to crush or keep in a jar. He leaned in close, his voice dropping into that low, dangerous tone he used when he wanted to remind everyone who was in charge. "This is my palace, Lyra," he said, and I could feel the heat radiating off him. "This is my pack, and these are my laws. If I say the boy is guilty, then the boy is guilty. There is no debate, and there is no second trial. My word is final here, and you would do well to remember that before you find yourself back in chains."I couldn't believe my ears, and for a second, I just stared at him in pure shock. I turned away from him, looking at the semi-circle of elders who were watching us with varying degrees of boredom and malice. I walked toward them, my hands open in a gesture of desperation, begging them to see sense. "You can't be serious," I said, my voice cracking just a bit. "Look at him! T







