Chapter 4: The Beta's Betrayal

Blood poured from Kael’s chest.  

Hot.  

Endless.  

It ran down his torso in thick, dark rivers, soaking the front of his shirt and dripping onto the stone floor with a wet, steady rhythm. Lyra stared in horror as the Alpha slowly dropped to one knee, his breathing turning rough and uneven. Each inhale sounded like it tore through him. The sword buried through his body gleamed under the moonlight, the metal slick with crimson.  

Behind him, Beta Damon stood frozen.  

His hand still gripped the weapon, knuckles white with shock and disbelief at what he’d done.  

Shock filled the room.  

Even the masked stranger looked amused, tilting his head like he was watching a play reach its climax.  

Lyra’s voice cracked violently.  

“Kael!”  

She rushed toward him instinctively, every thought of self-preservation gone. But Kael’s hand shot out faster than it should have been possible. His fingers closed around her wrist before she could touch the blade.  

His grip was weak.  

But possessive.  

“Don’t,” he growled painfully, his voice raw and shredded. His eyes were locked on hers, refusing to let her see him die.  

Lyra’s heart twisted.  

Even bleeding to death—  

He was still trying to protect her.  

Damon looked horrified at what he’d done, his face ashen. “I didn’t have a choice,” he whispered, the words breaking. “They said they’d kill my sister.”  

Kael slowly lifted his head.  

Murder burned inside his dark eyes, cold and absolute.  

“You stabbed me.”  

Damon’s breathing shook violently. “I know. Gods, I know. But they had her. They said if I didn’t—”  

The masked man chuckled softly, cutting him off.  

“Family makes traitors of everyone eventually.”  

Rage exploded through Lyra instantly, hot and blinding.  

“You manipulated him!” she spat, stepping forward despite Kael’s warning grip. “You used his sister to turn him into a weapon!”  

The stranger tilted his head, studying her like she was a fascinating insect. “Of course I did.”  

Kael’s jaw clenched. Then, with a savage growl that shook the room, he ripped the sword from his own chest.  

Blood splattered everywhere.  

It hit Lyra’s face, warm and metallic. She gasped, stumbling back a step.  

No normal wolf could survive that injury.  

But Kael wasn’t normal.  

He stood slowly despite the blood pouring down his body, his spine straightening with predatory purpose. His eyes never left the masked man.  

Terrifying.  

Monstrous.  

Deadly.  

The masked man’s amusement faded slightly, replaced by something more cautious.  

“Well,” he murmured. “That’s inconvenient.”  

Kael’s eyes turned pitch black, the gold of his wolf gone.  

“You came into my pack,” he said quietly, each word measured and lethal. “Hurt my mate…”  

The word _mate_ hit Lyra like lightning.  

Kael realized it too.  

Because silence instantly filled the room, thick and heavy.  

He had rejected her.  

Publicly.  

Brutally.  

Yet his wolf still claimed her.  

Dangerously.  

Possessively.  

Kael’s jaw tightened, a muscle ticking beneath his skin. Then his gaze darkened further.  

“And now,” he finished coldly, “you die.”  

The attack happened instantly.  

Kael lunged across the room with terrifying speed, a blur of black and fury. The masked man barely dodged in time before the Alpha’s claws ripped through the stone wall behind him, leaving gouges deep enough to bury a hand.  

The entire chamber exploded into chaos.  

Furniture shattered.  

Glass burst everywhere, raining down in glittering shards.  

The stranger fought fast—unnaturally fast, moving with a fluidity that wasn’t entirely wolf—but Kael fought like pure rage itself.  

Lyra watched breathlessly, pressed against the wall, unable to look away.  

This wasn’t a fight.  

It was slaughter.  

Then suddenly—  

The masked man smiled.  

And looked directly at Lyra.  

“That child belongs to him, doesn’t it?”  

The world stopped.  

Kael froze mid-attack, his claws inches from the man’s throat.  

Lyra’s blood turned cold.  

No.  

No no—  

Damon looked stunned. “Child?”  

The stranger laughed softly, savoring the chaos he’d created.  

“You didn’t know?”  

Kael slowly turned toward Lyra.  

The room became suffocating, all sound and movement draining away.  

His expression was unreadable.  

Dangerous.  

“Explain,” he said quietly.  

Lyra couldn’t breathe.  

Fear crashed into her violently, drowning out the pain of the broken bond, the fear of the masked man, everything.  

How did this man know?  

The masked stranger took advantage of the distraction instantly. He reached into his coat and threw a black powder bomb against the floor.  

Smoke exploded everywhere, thick and acrid, choking the air.  

Kael roared furiously, the sound shaking the walls. “Get her out!” he barked at Damon, but his eyes never left the spot where the stranger had been.  

By the time the smoke cleared—  

The stranger was gone.  

Only silence remained.  

And the truth he left behind.  

Kael slowly looked back at Lyra.  

His chest was still bleeding heavily, blood soaking through his shirt and dripping onto the floor, but somehow—  

That wasn’t what terrified her anymore.  

“You’re pregnant?”  

His voice sounded almost calm.  

That was worse.  

Lyra instinctively stepped backward, putting distance between them. Her back hit the cold stone wall.  

Kael noticed immediately.  

Pain flashed briefly across his face before anger buried it, raw and possessive.  

“You were going to hide my child from me?”  

“You rejected me!”  

The words tore out of her before she could stop them.  

“I didn’t reject my heir.”  

The words hit her hard, colder than the rejection itself.  

Not _mate_.  

Not _Lyra_.  

_Heir._  

Something cold entered her chest, spreading like ice.  

“So that’s all this is to you?” she whispered painfully. “A child?”  

Kael moved toward her slowly, predatory and deliberate. He stopped when he was close enough that she could feel the heat of his blood and the fury rolling off him.  

“You’re carrying my blood.”  

“I won’t let you control me.”  

His eyes darkened, dangerous and possessive.  

“You already belong to me.”  

Lyra laughed bitterly despite the tears burning her eyes.  

“You destroyed me in front of the entire pack.”  

“And yet,” Kael growled softly, stepping closer until his chest was almost touching hers, “you still tremble when I touch you.”  

Her breath caught.  

Because he was right.  

Even now—  

Broken.  

Humiliated.  

Terrified.  

Her body still reacted to him.  

And Kael knew it.  

That dangerous understanding burned between them, a live wire.  

Then suddenly—  

Damon spoke.  

Very quietly.  

“Alpha…”  

Kael never looked away from Lyra. “What?”  

Damon’s face had turned pale, drained of all color.  

“There’s something else you need to see.”  

The Beta slowly pulled a second blade from beneath his jacket.  

This one smaller.  

Silver.  

Covered in dried blood.  

Lyra froze instantly.  

She recognized it immediately.  

It belonged to Kael’s brother. The dagger he’d carried since he was sixteen.  

“What about it?” Kael asked coldly, his attention finally shifting.  

Damon swallowed hard.  

“We found it buried near the border.”  

Kael’s expression hardened.  

“And?”  

Damon looked directly at Lyra.  

Then whispered the words that destroyed the room.  

“Your brother’s blood wasn’t the only blood on the blade.”  

Silence.  

Lyra’s stomach dropped.  

The room tilted.  

Kael’s voice became terrifyingly soft, low enough that only she could hear.  

“What other blood was found?”  

Damon hesitated, guilt and fear warring in his eyes.  

Then finally answered:  

“Lyra’s.”  

The words landed like a physical blow.  

Lyra felt her knees go weak.  

“No,” she whispered. “That’s not possible. I wasn’t even—”  

Kael’s hand shot out, gripping her chin and forcing her to look at him. His eyes were storm-dark, searching hers for a lie.  

“Explain,” he said. It wasn’t a request.  

Lyra shook her head, panic rising. “I don’t know! I never went near the border! Someone planted it—”  

Damon cut in, voice urgent. “Alpha, the blade was found with traces of both bloods mixed. Whoever set her up knew about the child too. They’re targeting her.”  

Kael’s grip on her chin tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough to make it clear he wasn’t letting go.  

“If you’re lying to me now, Lyra, there won’t be a place in this world you can hide.”  

“I’m not lying!”  

Tears spilled over, hot and furious. “You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to be carrying your child when you looked at me like I was trash?”  

Kael’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle jumped.  

He didn’t answer.  

Outside, the sounds of fighting had faded. The fire still burned, but the screams had stopped. In their place was a heavy, waiting silence.  

The masked man was gone.  

But his words weren’t.  

_That child belongs to him, doesn’t it?_  

Kael finally released her chin, stepping back as if the contact burned. He pressed a hand to his wound, blood seeping between his fingers. His healing was slow—too slow. Something in that blade was stopping it.  

“Damon,” he said quietly, without looking away from Lyra. “Secure the room. No one enters.”  

“Yes, Alpha.”  

Damon moved, but his eyes kept flicking to Lyra like he didn’t know whether to apologize or run.  

Kael’s gaze dropped to her stomach, his expression unreadable.  

“A child,” he murmured. Not a question.  

Lyra crossed her arms over her stomach instinctively, a protective gesture she hadn’t meant to make.  

“What are you going to do?” she asked. Her voice was steadier than she felt.  

Kael’s eyes lifted to hers, dark and storm-tossed.  

“What I should have done from the beginning.”  

He didn’t say it.  

He didn’t need to.  

The possessive look in his eyes said it all:  

_You and my child are mine. And I don’t lose what’s mine._  

Lyra’s heart pounded.  

That should have terrified her.  

It did.  

But beneath the fear, something else stirred. Something dangerous and traitorous.  

Hope.  

Before either of them could speak again, a distant howl cut through the night.  

Not a wolf’s howl.  

Something older.  

Something that made the silver light beneath Lyra’s skin flicker in response.  

Kael heard it too. His head snapped toward the window, his body going rigid.  

“They’re coming back,” he said.  

Lyra’s blood ran cold.  

“They know,” she whispered.  

Kael nodded once, grim.  

“And now, so do I.”  

He stepped forward, closing the distance between them again. This time, he didn’t touch her. He just looked down at her, bloodied and furious and terrifying.  

“Stay behind me,” he said.  

Not a command.  

A promise.  

Lyra opened her mouth to argue, but the look in his eyes stopped her.  

For the first time since the rejection, he wasn’t looking at her like she was a problem to be solved.  

He was looking at her like she was something worth protecting.  

The door shuddered as something hit it from the other side.  

Kael’s claws extended with a soft snick.  

“Get behind me,” he said again.  

Lyra moved.  

And for the first time since he’d shattered her world, she didn’t hate that she obeyed.