Chapter 2: The Breaking of Chains

Lyralei stood frozen as Theron's figure cut through the crowd toward her. Each step he took felt like another lock clicking into place on the cage that was meant to be her life.

Her control over the anger, that careful, calculated restraint she'd maintained for three years, simply just….let go. It felt like watching a dam break from the inside. All those months of swallowing insults, of smiling through threats, of pretending she didn't hear the rumors about what he did to the omega girls. All of it rushed forward in a wave that left her breathless.

She had no power to stop what was about to happen. And the strangest part? She didn't even want to.

Theron's smile widened as he approached, that same evil and stupid expression he always wore when they were alone. But tonight he wore it in front of everyone, confident enough to show the monster beneath the mask. Because after tonight, she would be his. Completely, legally and irrevocably his.

The thought made her stomach turn so violently she almost tasted bile.

He was close enough now that she could smell the wine on his breath and the expensive oils in his hair. He was close enough that she could see the anticipation gleaming in those pale blue eyes. A memory suddenly surfaced despite herself. Three weeks ago, he'd cornered her in the library where she'd been writing. She remembered the way he'd plucked the pages from her hands, how his eyes had scanned the words she'd poured her soul into.

"LR," he'd said slowly, realization dawning across his face as he took in the implications. "You're L fucking R. You wrote Moon Rising."

Her blood had gone cold at that moment.

He'd laughed then, the sound cruel and delighted. "A fucking book about freedom. About a woman who runs from an arranged mating and finds love with someone who respects her choices." His fingers had traced her jaw, and she'd jerked away. "How perfectly ironic, Lyralei. You wrote about the one thing I'm going to take from you."

Since that day, his torment had intensified. He knew what she wanted most in this world, and he was going to make sure she never had it. The memory sharpened her rage into something focused and deadly.

Theron reached her side, and the guests nearby quieted, almost as if sensing something momentous was about to happen. The music swelled around them, cheerful and oblivious to the storm raging in her heart. He took her hand without asking, his grip just tight enough to hurt her but she betrayed no emotion at all. "There you are, my beautiful bride."

His thumb stroked across her knuckles in a mockery of tenderness. "Have I told you how stunning you look tonight? That dress fits you perfectly." His voice dropped lower, intimate enough that only she could hear. "I keep imagining what it'll look like on the floor of our chambers."

She felt her wolf stir, restless and furious beneath her skin. Around them, guests smiled and nodded, approving of the charming groom complimenting his bride. They couldn't hear the venom beneath his words. They never did.

Theron leaned closer, his breath hot against her ear. "I can barely contain myself, honestly. Just a few more hours and I'll finally get to hear you scream."

Images flashed through her mind as she suddenly remembered those omega girls whose eyes had gone dead and empty after Theron was done with them. Seraphina, who'd stopped speaking entirely for two months. Carol, who'd thrown herself from the eastern tower rather than endure another night of his attention. The pack had called it an accident. A tragic misstep.

Lyralei knew better and she knew, with absolute certainty, that Alpha Aldric knew too. He just didn't care. His perfect, charming son could do no wrong. The whispers were just jealous lies and the broken girls were just weak.

She felt her hands tremble slightly.

Theron pulled back, his public smile firmly in place as he addressed the watching guests. "I truly am the luckiest wolf alive," he announced, his voice carrying across the hall. "To have such a beautiful, accomplished woman as my mate. A general's daughter, no less. Strong bloodlines for strong pups."

Polite laughter rippled through the crowd.

Something broke inside her chest. Not her heart, that had broken the day her parents died and she'd been sold like property to this monster. No, this was something else. Something that had been holding her together, keeping her compliant and quiet and good. It snapped like a rotten rope and she didn't care about anything no more, at all.

Let everyone be fucking damned.

Lyralei smiled back at him. A real smile this time, wide and wild and absolutely gruesome.

Theron's expression flickered. Confusion crossed his face, followed by something that might have been unease.

"Lyralei..."

Her fist connected with his jaw before he could finish the sentence. The crack of bone on bone echoed through the great hall like a thunderclap. Theron's head snapped to the side, and he stumbled backward, shock and pain twisting his features.

The music stopped, conversations died mid-word and every eye in the hall turned to watch.

Lyralei heard the gasps, the shocked exclamations, the beginning of outrage from the gathered pack members. She heard it all and felt absolutely nothing except the singing satisfaction in her blood. Three years of fear and helplessness and rage. Three years of watching him destroy innocent girls while everyone pretended not to notice. Three years of counting down the days until he'd do the same to her. No fucking more.

Theron touched his jaw, his fingers coming away bloody. When he looked at her, the charming mask was completely gone. Fury blazed in his eyes, raw and unfiltered.

"You fucking bitch," he snarled. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Probably," Lyralei said, and launched herself at him again.

He wasn't ready. For all his warrior training, for all his supposed strength, he hadn't actually expected her to fight back. Men like him never did and it still surprised her how men underestimate women. Her second punch caught him in the throat. He choked, gasping, and she used his distraction to drive her knee up toward his face. He managed to dodge at the last second, grabbing her wrist.

"Stop this," he demanded, trying to twist her arm. "Stop this right now and I might show mercy..."

Lyralei twisted with the motion, exactly like her father had taught her. Use their strength. Let their force work against them. She broke his grip, spun inside his guard, and raked her nails across his face. He jerked back, barely dodging her attack by a hairs breadth. But it was just a feint.

While he was focused on his protecting his face, she drove her knee up with every ounce of strength she possessed, aiming for the target she'd been planning to hit all along.

His sweet and beautiful balls.

The impact was deeply and profoundly satisfying. Theron made a sound somewhere between a wheeze and a scream. His face went white, then red, then white again. He bent double, hands moving to cup his injured pride. And Lyralei, riding the wild high of her own recklessness, hit him there again.

This time he went down, crumpling to the floor like a puppet with cut strings. The mighty heir of the Silver Moon Pack, groaning and gasping on the ground at her feet. Her wolf sang with vicious satisfaction.

For a moment, the hall was completely silent. Then all at once, chaos erupted.

"Guards!" Alpha Aldric's voice boomed across the room, filled with outrage and disbelief. "Seize her! Seize her now!"

Lyralei saw the guards moving toward her, shock clear on their faces but duty winning out as they rushed towards her.

The guards were almost on her. Theron was still on the ground, trying to stand but failing, agony written across every line of his body. She had maybe three seconds before they grabbed her.

Lyralei dropped to her knees beside him, one hand shooting out to grab him between the legs. She felt him stiffen in renewed agony, his eyes going wide with terror.

The guards were almost on her. She could hear their boots pounding against the floor, see their hands reaching for her.

"Stop," she said clearly, her voice carrying across the sudden hush. "Stop right there, or I swear to the moon goddess I'm going to fuck crush his stupid balls right here, right fucking now.”