CHAPTER 8

Lyra didn’t stop moving until Stormfall’s border was far behind her and the familiar scent of home wrapped around her. Only then did she slow, her lungs burning, her heart still pounding from the ambush… and from him.

Alpha Kaelan.

The name pulsed in her mind. She tried to shake it off, tried to force her thoughts elsewhere, but it clung stubbornly, refusing to be dismissed.

She didn’t know why. She didn’t understand it. She didn’t want to understand it.

But something inside her had reacted the moment he stepped into the clearing, a spark, sharp and instinctive, like her wolf had snapped awake after years of sleeping with one eye open.

A powerful Alpha had appeared, and every instinct she possessed had responded before she could think.

And she hated it. She hated that her pulse still raced. Hated that she could still feel the echo of his presence.

Maybe it will fade, she told herself. Maybe it was just adrenaline. Or gratitude. He saved us, that’s all it was.

But even as she tried to convince herself, she knew it wasn’t true.

As she approached the pack house, Lyra slipped through the shadows, avoiding the main paths. The last thing she needed was someone asking why she smelled like Bloodpine territory… or like rogues. Her red hair was tangled, her scent a chaotic mix of fear and danger.

She reached the side entry and slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind her.

Her hands trembled as she crept down the hallway, every creak of the floorboards making her flinch. She reached her room, shut the door, and leaned against it, exhaling shakily.

Only then did she let herself breathe.

She stripped off her clothes and stepped straight into the shower, turning the water as hot as it would go. Steam filled the small bathroom, fogging the mirror and blurring the world.

But nothing could blur the image in her mind.

Kaelan’s wolf, massive, black as midnight, eyes burning with lethal focus, tearing through the rogues like they were nothing. The raw power in every movement. The way the earth seemed to tremble beneath his paws.

And then his body. Like he was carved from the gods. His muscles were defined in a way she hadn’t seen before. Then there were the scars, no doubt from battles over the years. She needed to stop. He was her best friend's father, the Alpha to her enemy pack, and a lot older than her.

She pressed her palms against the tiled wall, letting the water pound against her back. She needed to get him out of her head.

She finished quickly and wrapped a towel around herself, trying to steady her breathing. She changed into her pyjamas, hoping the soft cotton would calm her thoughts.

She had just sat on her bed when a knock sounded at her door.

Her stomach dropped.

“Lyra?” her father’s voice called. “Are you inside?”

Panic shot through her. Did he know? Did someone see her sneak in?

She calmed her breathing, walked to the door, and opened it.

Her father stood there, arms crossed, dark hair tied back. He scanned her immediately, taking in her damp hair, her pyjamas, her flushed cheeks.

“You’re in bed early,” he said.

Lyra swallowed. “I went for a run and felt tired.”

“At the border?”

Her pulse stumbled. “Just near it.”

His gaze narrowed. “You went alone?”

Lyra’s heart slammed against her ribs. “I caught a faint trail and followed it for a bit. I just… forgot that I was alone.”

His jaw tightened. He exhaled slowly; disappointment and worry etched into the lines of his face.

“Lyra, we’ve talked about this. You don’t go near any rogue scents alone.”

“There haven’t been any sightings in a while. Plus, I can handle myself.”

“That’s not the point.”

Lyra looked away. “I didn’t go far.”

“Far enough that if there were any rogues, you could have been killed,” he said softly.

She didn’t respond.

He stepped past her and sat on her bed, tapping the space beside him. “Tell me exactly what you saw.”

Lyra’s pulse quickened. She couldn’t tell him the truth, that she’d been ambushed, that Alpha Kaelan had saved her, that she’d been with Talia. That she’d stood inches from the Bloodpine Alpha and felt something she shouldn’t have.

So, she chose her words carefully.

“I found tracks,” she said, sitting beside him. “Large ones, and fresh. I followed them for a few minutes, and then there were huge claw marks in the trees. High up. Too high for a normal wolf.”

Her father studied her, and after a long moment, he exhaled. “You should have come straight to me.”

“I didn’t want to worry you tonight.” She lied.

“That’s not your decision to make.” He took her hand, his voice softening. “Lyra… these rogues are dangerous. Stronger than we’ve ever seen. If you had run into them.”

“I didn’t,” she said quickly.

“But you could have.”

Lyra swallowed hard. “I’m fine.”

Finally, he nodded. “We’ll increase patrols. And no more exploring unless you’re with a team. Understood?”

Lyra nodded. “Understood.”

He squeezed her shoulder. “I just want you safe.”

“I know.”

He left a moment later, closing the door behind him.

Lyra fell backwards onto her bed, her breath shaking. She hated lying to him. Hated the guilt twisting in her stomach. But she couldn’t tell him the truth. She would have been seen as a traitor, regardless of who she was.

She sat up and walked back to the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face. Her reflection stared back, tired, tense, her amber eyes too bright.

“Get it together,” she muttered to herself in the mirror.

But her mind kept circling back to the clearing.

If Kaelan hadn’t been there…

If he hadn’t intervened…

If he hadn’t stepped between them and the rogue. Things could have been so much worse.

‘But he was there,’ her wolf, Ember, whispered.

Lyra clenched her fists. “Stop… you too, Ember.” She said out loud.

She’d trained her whole life. She’d fought warriors twice her size. She’d earned her place in Stormfall. She could have protected them.

She should have protected them.

She moved back to her bed and sat on the edge, staring at the floor. She hoped Talia was safe. Kaelan had looked at her with tenderness, not anger.

But after what happened, Lyra still had the urge to check on her. But instead, she crawled under the covers and stared at the ceiling.

“I hope you’re safe, Talia,” she whispered.

Eventually, exhaustion pulled her under.

But even as sleep claimed her, one image lingered behind her eyes.

Kaelan.