Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE: 

THE CONFRONTATION

Lyra pushed open the front door of the pack house. The heavy wood swung inward with a creak that seemed impossibly loud.

The music stopped immediately. The band's instruments died mid-note. Conversations cut off mid-sentence. Laughter evaporated into shocked silence. Every head in the room turned toward her.

For a long moment, nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Nobody even seemed to breathe. They all just stared at her like she was a ghost. Like she was something impossible. Something that shouldn't exist.

Maybe that's what she was to them. A ghost from the past. Someone they'd buried and forgotten. Someone they'd written out of their story.

"Lyra?" Isla's voice finally broke the silence. She stood next to Marcus, one hand on his arm, her face suddenly pale. The color had drained from her cheeks. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Lyra said. Her voice came out steadier than she felt. Stronger than she expected. "Or I used to."

Marcus stepped forward. He looked different than Lyra remembered. Older. Harder. There were lines around his eyes that hadn't been there before. But he didn't look guilty. He didn't look sorry. He didn't look like a man confronting the mate he'd betrayed.

He looked annoyed. Like she was interrupting something important. Like she was being rude by showing up at his party.

"You're back early," he said. His voice was calm. Too calm. "We weren't expecting you."

"Clearly." Lyra's eyes swept across the room, taking in everything. The decorations that celebrated his life with someone else. The happy faces of pack members who'd forgotten her. The children playing in the corner who should never have existed. The celebration of a life that should have been hers. "Fifth anniversary. Congratulations."

Some of the pack members shifted uncomfortably. A few had the decency to look away. But most just stared at her with cold eyes. Judging eyes.

"Lyra, let me explain” Isla started. Her voice trembled. Tears gathered in her eyes.

But Lyra knew those tears were fake and not genuine. 

"Explain what?" Lyra cut her off. Her voice was sharp. Hard. "Explain how my best friend slept with my mate while I was gone? Explain how you got pregnant with his children while he was promising to wait for me? Or explain how everyone in this pack knew about it and nobody told me?"

Isla flinched like she'd been slapped. Some of the pack members had the decency to look ashamed now. They looked down at their feet. They found something fascinating to study on the walls. But most of them just kept staring at her with those cold, judging eyes.

Marcus crossed his arms. His blue eyes were ice. "You were always too focused on duty. On your missions and your negotiations. Isla gave me something you never did, a home. Stability. Children. A real mate bond."

The words hit like punches. Each one landed with physical force. Lyra felt them in her chest, in her gut, in her heart.

"I was serving the pack," Lyra said. Her voice was rising now. She couldn't control it anymore. "I was negotiating peace. You said that's what made me perfect for you…"

"I know what I said." Marcus's voice was hard. Final. Like he was discussing old business. "But five years is a long time, Lyra. Things change. People move on. Life doesn't stop just because you're not here."

"In five years?" Lyra's voice broke. "I was gone for exactly as long as you've been with her. That means you started this before I even left! That means you were with her while you were promising to wait for me!"

Marcus didn't deny it. He didn't argue. He didn't try to explain. He just stood there, his arm around Isla, looking at Lyra like she was being unreasonable. Like she was the problem.

"The pack needed a Luna," he said. His voice was matter-of-fact. Like he was discussing logistics. "I needed a mate who was actually here. You made your choice when you left."

"I left to serve the pack!"

"You left because you cared more about politics than family." Marcus's blue eyes were colder than winter ice. "Isla understands what it means to be Luna. She's here. She's present. She puts the pack first. She puts family first."

Lyra wanted to scream. She wanted to shift and let her wolf tear him apart. She wanted to destroy everything in this room. But before she could respond, before she could even process his words, someone touched her arm.

"Lyra, dear." Her mother's voice was soft but firm. The tone she'd used when Lyra was a child and misbehaving. "Come with me. Let's talk privately."

Helena Ashwood guided Lyra away from the crowd, into a small side room off the main hall. Lyra went numbly, her mind still reeling from Marcus's words. From his casual dismissal of five years of her life. From the way he'd made her sacrifice sound like abandonment.

The door closed behind them with a soft click. Helena turned to face her daughter. Lyra waited for comfort. For understanding. For her mother to wrap her arms around her and say this was all a terrible mistake. For her mother to tell her everything would be okay.

Instead, Helena's expression was disappointed. Her green eyes were cold.

"You embarrassed me," Helena said quietly.

Lyra blinked. The words didn't make sense. "What?"

"Making a scene like that. In front of the entire pack. At Marcus and Isla's anniversary celebration." Helena shook her head slowly. Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Haven't you caused enough problems, Lyra?"

"Caused problems?" Lyra couldn't believe what she was hearing. Couldn't process it. "Mom, they replaced me! He chose her while I was serving the pack! He lied to me!"

"You chose to leave," Helena said. Her voice was sharp now. Cutting. Her green eyes were like chips of ice. "You chose your missions over being here. You chose duty over family. What did you expect would happen? Did you think the world would stop turning just because you decided to leave?"

"I expected my mate to keep his promise! I expected my best friend not to betray me! I expected my mother to" Lyra's voice broke. Tears threatened but she blinked them back. She wouldn't cry. Not here. Not now.

Helena's expression softened slightly, but not with warmth. With pity. The kind of pity you might feel for a child who didn't understand how the world worked.

"Lyra, you were always too ambitious. Too focused on being important instead of being content with what you had. Isla understands what really matters. She knows that a woman's place is with her mate, with her family. She's made Marcus happy. She's given this pack stability. She's been a better daughter to me than you.."

Helena stopped herself. But the words hung in the air anyway. 

Heavy. Final. Devastating.

A better daughter.

Lyra felt something crack inside her chest. Something fundamental. Something that couldn't be repaired.

"Get out of my sight," Helena said tiredly. She rubbed her temples like Lyra was giving her a headache. "Marcus has agreed to let you stay on as pack strategist. You should be grateful for his generosity. Not many Alphas would b

e so kind to a mate who abandoned them. Now go clean yourself up. You look terrible."