Chapter 6: Caged

LYRA’S POV

I stammered, “I—I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

But the words felt hollow because I couldn’t look away from him. Gods, my legs trembled and I could feel heat pooling between my legs.

I had just walked in on a man pleasuring himself. And I had stared—no, Goddess help me, I had enjoyed it. My cheeks burned red with shame. 

What the hell was wrong with me?

And who was this man? 

I could feel his scent travel deep inside me. It made me ache in places I hadn’t ached before. 

“I-I should go,” I said, choking on the lump in my throat as I spun on my heel.

But I didn’t make it far. In the next breath, a gust of wind slammed the door shut behind me, and then—he was there.

He grabbed me and shoved me back against the wall, caging me with his towering, dangerous body. One hand gripped my wrist above my head, the other pressed to the wall beside my face, his bare chest brushing against mine.

My breath hitched.

Holy hells.

He was so close I could taste his scent—earth and danger and sex—and my heart went wild in my chest.

My wolf, Alina, stirred so violently I almost collapsed from the force of it.

‘Mate!’

I gasped.

I had a second mate…it truly was possible?

His nose was buried in my neck, inhaling deeply like he couldn’t get enough of me.

My skin broke out in goosebumps as I felt him pressed fully against me. The way he stiffened. The way his hands clenched. The way his lips parted in disbelief as he pressed them to my throat.

Rowan had rejected me, and when he did I thought my life was over. I would've never believed the Moon Goddess had other plans for me.

She handed me over to…this man. He looked like a god—like someone Rowan could only dream to be. His eyes looked like they held nothing but fire.

And yet… for a moment, he looked at me like I was salvation. Like I was the only thing anchoring him to the present.

But it didn’t last.

Suddenly, his face contorted, lips curling in disgust. His hands—which had been holding me like I might vanish—suddenly gripped my cheeks.

I shrieked. 

“No,” he hissed, “This isn’t—this can’t be.”

Then, in one violent movement, he threw me off.

I landed hard on the floor with pain, “Ah—!” I gasped, shock and confusion slamming into me all at once. 

“Get out.” He roared, “Now!”

My heart fractured right then. I scrambled to my feet, too scared to speak. I quickly yanked the door open and ran out without looking back.

What had just happened?

VALRIK’S POV

Fuck.

Who was that girl? 

One of the Alpha daughters, I presume. 

Damn it. I knew the Queen Luna selection was a stupid idea. 

The moment she ran out, slamming the door behind her like she was on fire, I punched the wall so hard the stone cracked under my knuckles.

My cock was still hard, painfully so—and it had nothing to do with what I was doing before she barged in like a damn temptation straight from the Goddess herself.

It was her.

That girl. That trembling, wide-eyed little girl with curves that begged for a man’s hands and lips. She’d stood there, mouth parted, eyes dark with lust—and I felt it. Every damn thing she felt, every pulse of need between her thighs.

She wanted me. And goddess help me, I wanted her too. I wanted her with a hunger I couldn’t suppress.

‘Mate,’ my wolf, Igor, growled with anger, ‘You threw our mate away.’

“Shut up,” I snapped, clutching my temples like that would silence him.

‘You touched her. You scented her. You knew. You looked into her eyes and you felt it too.’

My jaw clenched so tight it ached.

“I can't, Igor. I just can’t.”

‘She is ours!’ Igor roared so loudly it made my head ring. ‘And you treated her like a fucking rogue! Like she meant nothing!’

I wish she could mean nothing. I really did. But she had left her mark on me. 

I turned away from the door, trying my best not to think about her. Not to remember the way her lips quivered, the way her heart raced beneath my palm.

I wouldn’t.

The Moon Goddess must be laughing right now. Giving me a mate after everything. After Sybil. After the war. After all the blood I’ve spilled.

I didn’t deserve a mate. I didn’t want one.

And especially not her. Not someone who could undo me with a single look.

Just then, I heard a voice mindlink to me.

‘Alpha Valrik.’

It was the pack doctor.

‘Just then, a voice came through the mindlink.

“Alpha Valrik.”

It was the pack doctor.

‘Lady Sybil is showing signs of waking up—please come to the hospital immediately.’