Chapter 3 – The Monster in Chains

The darkness swallowed me whole.

I woke up to cold stone beneath me. My head hammered with a pain that felt like it would split me open, and my chest heaved with every breath. The air around me was thick and damp, smelling of nothing but rust and blood.

I struggled to push myself up, my arms shaking until I was finally sitting. I blinked, trying to clear the blur from my vision. The only light came from faint slivers cutting through the cracks in the ceiling.

"Where... am I?" I shouted into the emptiness. The sound just bounced off the stone walls, the only answer I got.

My wolf within me stirred, restless. She was pushing me forward, into the darkness in front.

My body strained, but my legs had moved on their own. Step by step, deeper into the cave.

The sound preceded the vision. Jangling chains, growls and snarls, ragged breathing.

I froze.

Then I saw him.

Chained to the cave wall, on the opposite end of Alley from where I was now standing….. towered a human so large they were beginning to believe he was less man and more monster. His hair long and black, matted. His body was corded tightly, his flesh marred. His eyes glistened in the dark — feral, volatile.

Flesh swelled and shrank, and fur exploded then disappeared. He was trapped between forms, half man and half wolf, with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

I knew him. Everyone did.

Damon Maxmus. The cursed one. Brother of Marcus. Uncle of Kael. The beast.

My breathing stopped.

He lifted his head, slowly. Around me, the rusty chains grinding against stone sounded a deep groan. His shining eyes met mine.

I stepped back.

A low rumble issued from his chest. "Who… who dares…" His voice was gravelly, grating; as if it hadn't been used in decades.

My wolf did not feel scares. I moved forward, step by step.

And then—it happened.

The tug came again, hot and unrelenting. My chest felt like it was being crushed, my heart was pounding, and I felt burning all over my skin.

No. No, no, no.

The mate bond.

It splintered apart between us, as it had with Kael. Constricting. Heavy. Unbreakable.

I stumbled on my feet, falling to the floor as my heart raced repeatedly.

Damon froze. And his eyes widened, flickering, from gold to wild red. "You… Silver wolf…"

He snarled and struggled while the chains rattled as he lunged forward. The walls quaked beneath the force.

"Back off!" I shouted, but my body did not budge.

His growl deepened into a roar, his body twisting tortured, half man, half wolf. His claws tore at the stone.

My wolf nudged me, reminding me I couldn't run. That this was fate.

My world reeled. Two mates. Kael. Damon. How could this be possible?

Damon writhed against the chains, which cut into his skin and left blood dripping on the ground. His breaths came fast and shaky. He felt insane, completely out of his mind.

And then I made a mistake. My hand scraped against the stone as I shuffled another step. A single drop of blood beaded up, then fell. The instant the scent hit him, Damon froze, his wild eyes licking onto my bloody hand.

"Blood…" His voice was deep, shaking. He pulled against the chains again, but this time his movements weren't from rage. They came from pure desperation and need.

I stepped back hastily, clutching my hand. "Back off."

My wolf persisted again. My blood. it was calling to him.

I pushed myself forward, my hand reaching for him even as my mind screamed no. Damon's writhing slowed, his breathing calmed, and the madness in his eyes softened.

The moment my blood met his lips, it was like a switch was flipped and everything inside me went completely still.

He stilled completely. The growls stopped. His body stopped shifting painfully. His chest rose and fell steady for the first time.

His eyes, once wild, turned fully golden. Clear. Lucid.

He looked at me. Really looked at me.

“You…” His voice was rough, but steady. “You are her. The silver wolf.”

I swallowed hard. “I’m Lyra.”

“Lyra…” His lips shaped my name like it was both a curse and a prayer.

He closed his eyes, breathed deeply. For one moment, he was nearly human again. Nearly sane.

"You don't know, do you?" he whispered.

"Know what?" I said.

His eyes popped open, hard with something heavy. "The truth. What actually occurred that night. What happened to your parents."

My heart tightened. My wolf stiffened. "What are you talking about?"

His chains rattled as he shifted, struggling against them with weary strength. "I was there. I… I—" He gasped, his face twisting.

"You killed them," I spat, my voice icy.

His head snapped up. "No. Not like you think."

My fists were clenched. "You butchered my pack."

Pain crossed his eyes. "I followed orders. Marcus's orders."

The name hit me like a dagger.

Damon nodded slowly. "He said it was the only thing to do. They had a secret... something dangerous. I..." His voice cracked. "I did it. I killed them. But it wasn't a battle. It was murder. And I've been living in this bondage because of it."

I stood there panting, my mind a whirlpool of anger and confusion.

"You think I'll believe you?" I whispered.

His eyes met mine, and he held my gaze. "I don't expect you to forgive me. But I can give you the truth—the one thing Marcus would never dream of."

The sound of heavy boots suddenly appeared behind me.

Voices. Guards. And another, more powerful.

Kael.

I turned around, my heart flying.

Kael stood at the entrance to the cave, his golden eyes flaring as they landed on me. then Damon.

His face twisted in anger.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kael's voice boomed, reverberating off the cave walls.

Damon snarled, his wolf flashing once more. "Nephew…"

Kael's fists balled, his wolf surging to the fore.

I was torn between them, the bonds drawing me in two directions, splitting me in half.