Chapter 2: Locked With the Monster

Kael dragged her through the castle like he wanted the entire pack to watch her break.

The silver chains around Lyra’s wrists bit into her skin with every stumbling step. Each link was ice against her flesh, each pull a reminder that she was no longer pack, no longer protected. The broken mate bond still tore through her chest in jagged waves, a poison that made her lungs feel too small and her heart feel like it was being shredded twice over. 

Every step felt unbearable. 

But Kael never loosened his grip.  

Not once.  

His fingers were locked around her upper arm like a vise, unyielding and furious. He didn’t look at her. He didn’t need to. His rage was a living thing, rolling off him in suffocating waves that made weaker wolves drop to their knees as he passed. 

Pack members scattered, pressing themselves against cold stone walls to get out of his path. Eyes followed them everywhere, wide with shock and something worse—satisfaction. 

“She betrayed him…”  

“She killed the Beta heir…”  

“The Alpha should execute her already.”

The words slithered through the corridor, low and venomous. 

Lyra kept her head down.  

Not because she was ashamed.  

Because if she looked at Kael right now, at the man who once made her heart race with nothing but a glance, she might completely shatter. 

The man who used to let her hands linger a second too long when she served his dinner now looked at her like she was something filthy scraped off his boot.  

Something he wanted to erase. 

The moment they reached his private chambers, Kael shoved the heavy oak doors open with enough force to rattle the iron hinges. He threw her inside without a word.  

Lyra hit the floor hard.  

Pain shot through her knees, sharp and immediate, but it was nothing compared to the ache in her chest. The doors slammed shut behind them with a sound like a coffin closing. 

Silence.  

Heavy.  

Dangerous.  

The kind of silence that came before a storm broke. 

Kael stood near the entrance, a dark silhouette against the firelight from the hallway, watching her like a predator deciding whether its prey was worth the effort of killing. His chest rose and fell with controlled fury. 

Then, slowly…  

He removed his jacket.  

Lyra’s breath caught.  

Not because of attraction.  

Because she suddenly remembered every rumor about Alpha Kael Ravencrest. How violent he became when his control slipped. How enemies begged before they died. How even powerful Alphas from neighboring territories avoided provoking him. 

And tonight—  

He looked completely out of control. 

“You have one chance,” he said quietly. 

That terrified her more than shouting ever could.  

“Tell me why my brother died.”

Lyra forced herself to stand despite the weakness gnawing at her limbs. Her knees shook, but she locked them. She wouldn’t kneel for him again. Not tonight. 

“I already told you the truth.”

Kael laughed softly.  

Coldly.  

“You expect me to believe someone framed you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m innocent!”

His eyes darkened instantly, the gold of his wolf drowning in black. In one brutal movement, Kael crossed the room. His hand shot out, fisting in the front of her gown, and he slammed her against the stone wall. 

Lyra gasped sharply, the impact driving the air from her lungs.  

His body pressed against hers completely, trapping her. Heat and fury and something dangerous bled into her skin through the thin fabric. 

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“You smell terrified.”

“Because you’re threatening to kill me!”

Kael’s jaw tightened, a muscle ticking beneath the sharp line of his cheekbone. For one dangerous second, his gaze dropped to her lips. 

The tension between them became suffocating.  

Broken bond or not—  

Her body still reacted to him.  

A traitorous heat coiled low in her stomach, and her wolf whimpered, confused and betrayed. 

And judging by the darkness flaring in his eyes…

 

His reacted to her too.  

That only made him angrier.  

“You should hate me,” Lyra whispered painfully, her voice barely audible. 

Kael’s grip tightened around her wrists until she was sure the silver would scar. 

“I do.”

But the way he looked at her felt nothing like hate.  

It felt hungry.  

Obsessive.  

Violent.  

His nose brushed slowly against the line of her throat, inhaling deeply. Lyra’s breath shook instantly, a betrayal she couldn’t control. The scent of cedar and storm and him overwhelmed her, dragging up memories she had no right to keep. 

“Then why,” she whispered, “can’t you stop touching me?”

Kael pulled away like she burned him. 

Rage exploded across his face, ugly and raw. He looked like he wanted to hit something. Like he wanted to hit _her_. 

Before he could speak—  

A knock echoed violently at the door. 

“Alpha!”  

Beta Damon’s voice was tight with urgency. 

Kael opened the door sharply, his movements jerky with barely leashed violence. “What?”

Damon didn’t step inside. He kept his eyes on the floor, his posture rigid. “We found another body near the western border.”

Kael’s expression hardened instantly. “Rogue attack?”

“No.”  

Damon hesitated, and when he finally spoke, his voice was lower.  

“The dead wolf belonged to your brother’s patrol team.”

Silence filled the room. 

Kael’s face darkened murderously. “And?” he asked dangerously, each word clipped. 

Damon swallowed hard.  

“He had his tongue cut out.”

Lyra’s blood ran cold. 

She’d seen enough bodies in the healers’ wing to know what that meant. Silence. A message.  

“But that’s not the worst part,” Damon continued quietly, shifting his weight.  

“We found this carved into his chest.”

He handed Kael a bloodstained blade. 

Kael took it, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then he froze.  

Lyra noticed the exact second his breathing changed. The way his shoulders went rigid, like he’d been struck. 

“What is it?” she whispered. 

Kael slowly turned the blade toward her.  

Her stomach dropped instantly.  

The symbol carved into the metal was crude but unmistakable—a circle broken by three claw marks. It matched the mark hidden beneath her pendant. The mark she had hidden her entire life, the one her mother had forbidden her to ever show anyone. 

Fear slammed into her chest, cold and suffocating.  

How was that possible?  

Kael noticed her reaction immediately.  

His eyes narrowed dangerously. “You recognize it.”

“No.”

“Lie again,” he growled, stepping closer. 

“I said no.”

Kael suddenly grabbed her face, his thumb pressing hard against her jaw until it hurt. “What are you hiding from me?”

“Nothing!”

“Then why are you shaking?”

Because she knew that symbol.  

Because her mother had whispered about it in the dark, voice trembling with fear. _If anyone sees that mark, Lyra, they will hunt you to the ends of the earth._  

Because wolves connected to that mark always died horribly.  

And because—  

A terrifying realization hit her like a physical blow.  

The rogues weren’t after the pack.  

They were after her.  

A loud crash exploded outside the room.  

Then screaming.  

Kael released her instantly, his attention snapping toward the balcony. His Alpha authority flared, commanding the room to silence even as chaos erupted beyond the walls.  

Below them, pandemonium tore through the pack grounds.  

Warriors were running, weapons drawn.  

Women screamed in terror, dragging children inside.  

Fire spread across the eastern wing of the castle, licking hungrily at the ancient stone. 

“Alpha!” Damon shouted over the noise. “We’re under attack!”

Then an arrow flew through the open balcony doors.  

Fast.  

Silent.  

Straight toward Lyra.  

Kael moved instantly.  

There was no thought, no hesitation. He stepped in front of her, his body a shield. The arrow pierced his shoulder with a wet, sickening sound. 

Blood splattered across the floor.  

Lyra gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.  

But Kael didn’t even react to the injury. His eyes never left the balcony, scanning for the shooter. Pain was irrelevant to him.  

Because attached to the arrow was a black note sealed with crimson wax.  

Kael ripped it open violently, his blood smearing the parchment. His expression changed as he read, shifting from rage to something colder, harder. 

Then slowly—  

He looked at Lyra.  

Not with hatred this time.  

With something far worse.  

Fear.  

“What?” she whispered, her voice breaking. 

Kael’s voice came out low and terrifying, like a promise of violence.  

“They know who you are.”

Before Lyra could respond—  

The castle lights suddenly went out.  

Darkness swallowed the room whole. 

The fire in the hallway guttered and died. The torches on the walls choked out one by one, as if something was stealing the air itself. 

And from somewhere inside the shadows—  

A deep male voice whispered, low and amused:  

“Found you.”