The Alpha's Lie

KAEL'S POV

The voice outside is familiar.

"Darin," I mutter.

My beta. My right hand. The one man in the pack who notices everything and never asks the same question twice.

Behind me, Lyra presses herself farther into the dark at the back of the cave. I don't spare her another glance. I step toward the entrance and kick the fallen branch aside.

Cold air rushes in, carrying the scent of pine, damp earth, and wolves.

Darin stands outside with two others. All three are armed. All three watch me with the alert posture of wolves expecting trouble.

"You've been gone an hour," Darin says. His eyes drift past me and into the dark beyond. "Found anything?"

"Stray," I reply, keeping my voice flat. "Female. Sprained ankle. Tried to run."

Darin's nose twitches as he draws a careful breath. "She's in there?"

"She's hurt." I shift slightly, blocking the entrance without making it obvious. "I'm bringing her in. For questioning."

One of the wolves beside Darin steps forward. Mara.

Her eyes narrow toward the cave. "Let us see her. Pack law. Prisoners get processed at the house."

She says it like it's nothing, like the rule matters more than anything else. But her eyes linger on me a beat too long, the way they always do when something about me unsettles her. I've never called her on it. Tonight isn't different.

I turn my head slowly. I feel the warmth leave my face, my eyes going flat and black.

"I said I'm handling it."

No one speaks. Even the wind seems to fall silent.

"Alpha," Darin says carefully, choosing each word, "it's the Blood Moon. A stray crossed onto our land. The pack wants to see her." He pauses. "They're scared."

"Then tell them I caught her." I drop my voice, quiet enough that everyone leans in. "Tell them she's not a threat right now."

"And if she is?" Mara's question hangs in the air.

I don't answer right away. My gaze shifts toward the dark inside the cave, the place where Lyra's hiding. I can't see her. But somehow it feels like I'm looking straight at her anyway.

"If she is," I say at last, "I'll deal with it." My eyes come back to my pack. "Alone."

Darin watches me closely. Not like a beta watching his Alpha. Like a friend trying to understand something that doesn't add up. He's known me long enough to know when I'm hiding something, and long enough to know it usually means I have a reason. I can see him deciding, for now, to trust that reason without asking for it.

At last, he gives a single nod. "Sunrise, Kael." His voice is calm, but the warning underneath it is clear. "If she's not at the house by sunrise, we're coming to get her ourselves. Pack vote."

I hold his gaze. "Understood."

Darin turns to leave, then stops after a few steps. The others pause with him. He looks back over his shoulder.

"You smell different."

The words are quiet, but every muscle in my body tenses.

"It's been a long night."

He studies me a moment longer, eyes narrowed slightly, like he's trying to place something just out of reach. He isn't looking for a reason to turn me in. I can tell. He's looking for a reason to help me, if it comes to that. Then, without another word, he turns and disappears into the trees.

Mara and the third wolf follow. She glances back once, toward the cave, before the dark swallows her too.

Their footsteps fade until the forest falls silent again.

I wait. Only when I'm certain they're gone do I drag the branch back across the entrance.

The cave goes dark again. I stand there with my back to her.

***********

 LYRA'S POV

"You heard that."

His voice is calm, but the strain beneath it is hard to miss.

I don't answer.

"Sunrise," Kael says. "That's about four hours." He rests one hand against the rough stone wall. "After that, I can't protect you from them."

The silence between us feels heavier than before.

Finally, I speak, my voice rough from exhaustion. "Why are you lying for me?"

He lowers his head, his forehead resting against the cold rock. When he answers, his voice is barely above a whisper.

"Because if I don't, they'll kill you before I figure out why I can't let you go."

The confession lingers in the quiet cave. It sounds like he's trying to convince himself as much as me.

After a long moment, he pushes off the wall and turns around. For the first time since I met him, he doesn't look like an Alpha, or like the hunter who chased me through the forest. He looks exhausted. The weight of his pack sits on his shoulders, and for a second, it shows.

"We have four hours," he says, his eyes meeting mine. "So talk to me, Lyra. Tell me why you're here." He pauses. "Before I have to hand you over."

Outside, the wind rustles through the pines, carrying distant wolf cries across the mountain.

The countdown has begun.