CHAPTER 7

Lyra felt it the moment she stepped into the clearing that evening, the kind of silence that didn’t belong in the border woods. No birds. No rustling. Just a heavy, unnatural stillness that made the hairs on her arms rise. This wasn’t the first time she felt it, and it had been days since she found the marks, but this time her senses were screaming at her.

Talia was already pacing when Lyra arrived, her movements sharp and restless.

“You’re late,” Talia said, though her voice cracked with relief.

“By a minute,” Lyra replied. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything feels… off.” Talia rubbed her arms. “Like something’s watching.”

Lyra scanned the trees. “I feel it too. I don’t think we should stay; we need to leave.”

Talia nodded. “I agree.”

Before they could move, a branch snapped nearby.

They both froze. Then another branch snapped. Confirming Lyra hadn’t imagined it.

She knew something felt wrong. This can’t be happening now.

Lyra’s hand flew to her knife. She heard Talia’s breath hitch.

Another sound, low, guttural, unmistakably a wolf, rumbled through the shadows.

“Talia,” Lyra whispered, “behind me.”

Talia didn’t argue. She moved. Lyra was older, better trained in combat, and she needed to protect Talia.

A massive wolf burst from the trees, snarling, with its teeth bared. It wasn’t mutated or monstrous, just huge, scarred, and wild-eyed. A rogue. A strong one.

Then another crashed through the brush. And another.

Four in total.

Lyra’s pulse spiked. “Shift!”

But before they could, the rogues were already on them. If they shifted now, it would give them the perfect opportunity to strike.

The largest lunged.

Lyra shoved Talia aside, raising her knife, hoping for the best.

A blur of pure black slammed into the rogue mid-air, sending it flying away from them.

The impact shook the ground.

A wolf she didn’t recognise, enormous, pitch‑black from nose to tail, eyes burning a bright gold, tore into the rogue with terrifying force. The other rogues snarled and circled, but the black wolf didn’t hesitate. It moved like a storm, all precision and power.

Lyra stared, stunned. She had never seen a wolf like it.

Not in Stormfall anyway.

The rogues were strong, but they were nothing compared to this wolf.

One fell. Then another. The remaining two fled into the trees, whining in fear.

The black wolf stood over the fallen rogue, its chest heaving, its fur bristling. Then it turned, and its gaze locked onto Lyra and Talia.

Lyra’s breath caught.

Something inside her flared. A primal awareness. A recognition of power.

The black wolf stepped forward.

And shifted.

It happened fast, bone, muscle, and shadow folding inward until a man stood where the wolf had been.

A very naked man.

Lyra jerked her gaze away, heat rushing to her face. She’d grown up around shifters; nudity after shifting was normal. But she hadn’t expected… him. He looked like he was carved from the gods.

Talia didn’t flinch. In fact, she seemed calm and relieved.

“Father,” she said, exhaling shakily.

Lyra’s head snapped up.

Father?

The man, tall, broad-shouldered, his skin streaked with dirt and blood from the rogue, moved to grab a pair of trousers from behind a tree on their side and pulled them on with practised efficiency. His expression was cold and controlled.

“Talia,” he said, his voice surprisingly soft. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Talia said quickly. “We’re fine.”

Lyra’s mind raced.

Talia’s father was a pure black wolf. Massive. Deadly.

Alpha Kaelan. Now the rumours made sense.

Lyra’s stomach dropped as what happened hit her. She had just been saved by the Alpha of the Bloodpine pack.

Kaelan turned his gaze to Lyra.

His gaze held no warmth. It was cold and sharp, and he was assessing her intensively, the kind that made her feel like he could see straight through her.

“Who is she?” Kaelan asked Talia.

Lyra opened her mouth, panic rising. For the first time in her life, she was speechless. She felt torn between a schoolgirl with a crush and a bug about to be squished.

Luckily, Talia stepped in front of her.

“She’s an omega,” Talia said quickly. “From one of our allied packs. I brought her here to talk. She’s harmless.”

Lyra blinked.

Talia didn’t look at her, but Lyra understood instantly. She had to play the part; her life depended on it.

Kaelan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “An omega.”

Lyra forced herself to nod. “Yes.”

His gaze lingered on her a moment too long, as if something about her didn’t fit the story. Lyra held her breath, praying he wouldn’t question it.

Finally, he looked away.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” he said to Talia. “Not with rogues this close.”

Talia crossed her arms. “We didn’t know they were this far north.”

“You should have,” Kaelan said. “They’ve been sighted twice this week.”

Lyra stiffened. Twice? Stormfall had only seen signs once. And they were days ago.

Kaelan continued, “If you had shifted, you might have survived. But you didn’t have time.”

Lyra bristled. “We could have saved ourselves.”

Kaelan’s gaze flicked to her again, unimpressed. “You’re alive because I arrived when I did.”

Lyra clenched her jaw.

Talia shot her a warning look, and so Lyra swallowed. Keeping her thoughts to herself.

Kaelan stepped forward. “I’ll escort you to the border.”

Lyra stiffened. “That’s not necessary.”

“It wasn’t a request.”

Talia grabbed Lyra’s sleeve before she could snap back. “Let’s just go.”

They followed Kaelan through the trees in Bloodpine territory. He moved silently, every step controlled, every sense alert. The forest seemed to bend around him, shadows parting as if they knew better than to stand in his way.

Lyra couldn’t stop watching him.

Not because she wanted to. Because she couldn’t help it.

He was all power and danger. He was everything she’d been raised to fear. And yet something inside her responded to him. And she couldn’t help thinking how handsome he was. No, not handsome. He was hot.

When they reached Bloodpine’s western border, Kaelan finally stopped.

He turned to Talia first. “You’re coming home with me,” he said, voice firm, leaving no room for argument.

Talia nodded quickly. “I know.”

Then his gaze shifted to Lyra.

“You,” he said, “go home. Omega.”

Lyra stiffened at the word. She wasn’t used to being spoken to like that, not as the Alpha’s daughter, not as a trained warrior. But she forced her expression to stay neutral. She couldn’t risk revealing anything.

“Yes,” she said quietly. “I will.”

Kaelan didn’t acknowledge her response. He simply placed a hand on Talia’s shoulder and guided her away, deeper into Bloodpine territory.

Talia glanced back once, worry flickering in her eyes.

Lyra gave her a small nod.

Kaelan didn’t look back.

Within moments, they disappeared completely, leaving Lyra alone at the border to another pack, the scent of rogues still lingering in the air.

She exhaled slowly, her pulse finally beginning to settle.

Kaelan had saved her life. But there wasn’t any part of her that thought he believed Talia’s lie about who she was. And the fact that he didn’t question it made her anxious.

She turned back in the direction of Stormfall and ran as fast as she could. The rogues were still out there, but more importantly, she didn’t want Kaelan to see where she was really going.

As she ran, one thought ran through her mind.

If he didn't believe the lie they had told, why was she still alive?