Chapter 2: The Revelation

LYRA’S POV

My father’s words slammed into me like a silver bullet. 

How on earth could Callia be my half-sister?

I remembered being eight years old when my father brought a small girl into the packhouse. Her clothes were simple, her brown curls messy, but her eyes were wide with awe.

“This is Callia,” my father had said. “She’ll be attending the Werewolf Academy with you. Be kind to her, Lyra.”

And I had. I loved her like a sister.

I never questioned why. Never wondered why she had finer clothes than the other servants’ children. Never asked why, out of all the pups in the pack, my father made sure to throw her a birthday party every damn year.

Now, I saw the truth; my father had taken my mother and I for fools. 

My father inhaled. “Lyra, Eva… I understand you both may be—”

I spun to face him. “How long were you planning to lie to us?”

His hands clenched at his sides.

“Say something, Father!” I demanded.

A muscle in his cheek twitched. Then, at last, he spoke.

“I did it for your own good.” His gaze shifted to my mother. “For everyone’s good.”

My mother’s breath came in short, shallow gasps. Tears streamed down her face. “For everyone’s good? Garrick, is that why you did this?”

His throat bobbed. Then, he said the words that shattered everything.

“It's….because I never loved you, Eva.”

I felt like the floor had dropped beneath me.

Did he…did he really just say that? So everything was just a lie? 

My mother inhaled sharply. “What?”

“I respected you, Eva. You were the perfect Luna, graceful and intelligent. A devoted mother. But you were never my true mate.”

A cold shudder ran through me. My mother trembled violently.

“All these years…” she whispered. “Was it all a lie?”

I had never questioned my father’s love for her. He had always seemed enamoured and smitten. But now…

“I married you because you were Alpha Killian’s daughter,” he admitted, “Your bloodline, your pack’s military strength—it was the key to making Blue Moon Pack what it is today, all within a decade.”

He exhaled, “I loved Callia’s mother. She was my true mate.” His jaw tightened. “But I had to sever our bond to marry you.”

My mother sucked in a breath. “You used me, Garrick.”

My father exhaled. His jaw was tight. “I did what I had to do.”

“So it was never real, dad?” I swallowed hard, “It was all just politics to you, wasn’t it?” 

He turned to me, “Lyra, darling, I—” 

Before he could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. 

“Come in.” My father said. 

The door creaked open and Callia stepped in. 

My blood boiled. Oh? So she actually had the nerves to show her face here? 

“You little bitch—” I stepped forward, hands curling into fists, but she lifted her chin, cutting me off. 

“Now you know the truth.” Callia’s tone hardened—completely different from the pitiful act she always put on around me. Was this her real face all along?

“You deserve it, Lyra. You owed me this.” 

My spine stiffened.

“After what you and your mother did,” she sneered, “stealing everything that rightfully belonged to me and my mother.”

“She could have been Queen. I could have been a princess.” she yelled. “But instead? We were tossed aside like nothing.”

She stepped closer with a burning gaze, “And now, you finally know what it feels like to have everything ripped away.”

I clenched my fists, “Mark my words Callia, I will make sure you—”

Before I could finish, my mother suddenly shoved Callia away and slapped her right across the face. 

“You dare speak to my daughter like that?”

Callia staggered back. But instead of cowering, she let out a slow, bitter laugh.

“Did that make you feel better, Luna?” she sneered, “Slapping me won’t change the truth. It won’t bring back what you’ve already lost.”

My mother frowned and turned to my father. “You see what you’ve caused? She speaks to the Luna and crowned princess of this pack as if she were her equal—after betraying her!”

Garrick opened his mouth, but my mother cut him off with a glare.

“I want a divorce!”

Silence.

“I will not remain married to a man who has lied to me.” My mother continued. “I am the child of Alpha Killian of the White Fang Pack. I will take my daughter, and we will return to our true home.”

For the first time in my life, I saw my father falter.

“Eva, be reasonable—”

Before he could finish, the doors burst open.

A soldier stormed in, breathless.

“Alpha Garrick!” He saluted, then turned to me. “The Alpha King’s Beta has arrived. He has an urgent message on behalf of the Alpha King… and has specifically requested an audience with you and your daughter.”

My heart stopped.

Just last week, the King’s Beta had traveled from pack to pack, handpicking candidates to become Queen Luna for the Alpha King. As an Alpha’s daughter, I’d been one of them—until I was disqualified for already having a mate.

Most she-wolves would’ve killed for the chance to be chosen.

But me? I just wanted to marry Rowan. Honestly, I was relieved when I lost eligibility. Happy, even.

And now... Beta Edmund was back. Why?

The Alpha King—Valrik Thorne? As in, the most powerful ruler in the werewolf Kingdom. 

We’ve never even met. What important message could he possibly have for me?