Chapter 3 - My Father

Lyra's POV

"I have finally found my daughter."

The words echoed through the clearing, stealing the air from my lungs.

My daughter?

"No..." I whispered, shaking my head. "You're mistaken."

The crimson-eyed stranger stepped out of the shadows.

He was unlike any werewolf I had ever seen.

He stood well over six feet tall, his broad shoulders wrapped in a long black cloak that brushed the forest floor. His dark hair framed a striking face marked by an old scar across his left eyebrow. Power rolled off him in waves, so overwhelming that every warrior in the clearing instinctively lowered their heads.

Even the wolves whimpered.

The silver-haired woman bowed respectfully.

"My King."

King?

I stared at her in disbelief.

There hadn't been a werewolf king for generations.

At least... that's what I had always been told.

The stranger's crimson eyes softened as they settled on me.

"You have your mother's eyes."

My heart pounded painfully.

"You knew my mother?"

A shadow crossed his face.

"I loved her."

Silence.

Every thought in my head came to a halt.

"What... did you say?"

"I am Ronan."

He took another step toward me.

"Your father."

My knees nearly gave way.

"No."

The word escaped as a whisper.

"No, my father died before I was born."

"That is the lie they wanted you to believe."

I backed away until my shoulders hit the ancient altar.

"I don't know you."

"I know."

His expression was filled with sorrow.

"And that is my greatest failure."

One of Kael's warriors suddenly laughed.

"What ridiculous nonsense!"

He pointed his silver sword toward Ronan.

"There is no king. There hasn't been one for hundreds of years."

The warrior charged.

Everything happened in a single heartbeat.

Ronan didn't move.

He simply looked at the charging warrior.

An invisible force slammed into the man, throwing him across the clearing like a rag doll.

He crashed into a massive tree with a sickening crack before collapsing unconscious.

The remaining warriors froze.

Fear spread across their faces.

"Monster..."

Ronan's gaze shifted to them.

"If I wished you dead," he said calmly, "none of you would still be breathing."

Not one of them dared answer.

He turned back to me.

"Lyra, come with me."

"No."

The answer came instantly.

"I don't even know who you are."

"You will."

"I have nothing to say to you."

Pain flashed across his face.

"I deserve your anger."

"You deserve nothing from me."

My voice broke.

"For twenty-one years I was alone."

Tears burned my eyes.

"I was mocked because I had no parents."

I clenched my fists.

"I buried the only woman I believed was my mother."

"I was rejected by my mate."

My breathing became uneven.

"And now you suddenly appear, expecting me to believe you're my father?"

Ronan remained silent.

When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"I searched for you every single day."

I laughed bitterly.

"You were too late."

His shoulders fell.

"Yes."

The single word carried decades of regret.

Before either of us could speak again, the silver-haired woman suddenly gasped.

"My King..."

Her eyes widened.

"They've found us."

Ronan's expression hardened.

"The hunters."

The air grew heavy.

A terrifying pressure spread through the forest.

Even the birds that had begun to sing moments earlier fell silent once more.

The ground trembled beneath my feet.

From every direction, cloaked figures emerged between the trees.

There were dozens of them.

Each wore black armor engraved with a symbol I had never seen before—a wolf surrounded by crimson flames.

The warriors from Black Moon Pack looked terrified.

One whispered, "The Blood Order..."

The leader removed his hood.

His icy blue eyes landed on me.

Then he smiled.

"There she is."

He looked directly at Ronan.

"You've saved us years of searching."

Ronan stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body.

"You'll never touch her."

The stranger laughed.

"You know why we've come."

His smile disappeared.

"The last royal heir dies tonight."

He slowly drew a sword forged from shimmering black metal.

The blade pulsed with dark energy.

Every instinct inside me screamed that this weapon was different.

Dangerous.

Deadly.

The silver-haired woman grabbed my wrist.

"Run!"

"But—"

"Now!"

Ronan didn't look back.

His eyes never left the growing army surrounding us.

"I'll hold them off."

"I just found you," I cried.

"I'm not leaving you!"

For the first time since he appeared, he smiled.

It was small.

Sad.

But filled with love.

"If fate is kind..."

His crimson eyes met mine.

"...this won't be our last goodbye."

The leader of the Blood Order lifted his sword toward the sky.

"Kill them all."

At once, dozens of warriors lunged forward.

Ronan's body erupted in blinding silver light.

The force of it blasted through the clearing like a storm. Leaves spiraled into the air, ancient trees groaned, and the warriors of the Blood Order were thrown backward.

I shielded my eyes with my arm.

When the light faded, a gigantic silver wolf stood where Ronan had been.

He was unlike any werewolf I had ever seen.

His fur shimmered like liquid moonlight, and crimson markings glowed across his massive body. His eyes burned the same deep red as they had in his human form, radiating both power and fury.

The forest fell silent.

Even the warriors of the Blood Order hesitated.

"The Royal Wolf..." one of them whispered in horror.

"So the legends were true."

The leader's expression hardened.

"Don't fear him! Kill the king and seize the heir!"

More than twenty warriors charged at once.

Ronan leaped forward with a deafening roar.

The earth shook beneath his paws.

With one swipe of his enormous claws, three attackers were hurled through the air, crashing into nearby trees. Another tried to strike from behind, but Ronan spun, his powerful tail knocking the warrior unconscious before he could land a blow.

The clearing erupted into chaos.

Steel clashed against claws.

Growls mixed with screams.

Magic flashed through the darkness.

I had never witnessed such a battle.

The silver-haired woman pulled me behind the altar.

"You must leave now."

"I can't!" I cried, tears streaming down my face. "He's fighting because of me!"

"He is fighting because you're his daughter."

Her voice softened.

"And because he has waited twenty-one years for this moment."

Another explosion rocked the clearing.

A blast of dark energy slammed into Ronan's side, forcing the great wolf to stumble.

"No!" I screamed.

The Blood Order's leader smiled cruelly.

"He's weakening."

He raised his black sword.

"Again!"

Five warriors stretched out their hands, chanting in a language I didn't understand.

Dark chains burst from the ground and wrapped around Ronan's legs and neck.

The great wolf struggled, snarling as the chains tightened.

For the first time, fear crept into my heart.

They were overpowering him.

The silver-haired woman grabbed my shoulders.

"Listen to me carefully, Lyra."

I forced myself to look at her.

"The pendant your mother gave you is more than a family keepsake. It is the key to an ancient power that sleeps within your blood."

"I don't understand."

"You don't have to—not yet."

She gently closed my fingers around the glowing pendant.

"When the time comes, your heart will awaken it."

A piercing howl echoed across the clearing.

I looked up just in time to see Ronan tear two of the chains apart.

The remaining chains still held him.

The leader of the Blood Order strode forward, lifting his sword high.

"This ends tonight."

He drove the blade toward Ronan's heart.

Without thinking, I broke free from the silver-haired woman's grip.

"No!"

I ran straight into the battlefield.

"Lyra!" she shouted behind me.

The Blood Order leader turned toward me.

His cruel smile widened.

"So the heir comes willingly."

He changed direction, swinging the sword toward me instead.

Everything slowed.

I saw the blade racing toward my chest.

I heard Ronan's desperate roar.

I felt the pendant around my neck become unbearably hot.

Then—

A burst of silver light exploded from my body.

The force sent every warrior flying.

The black sword shattered into hundreds of glittering fragments before it could touch me.

A wave of energy rippled through the entire forest.

The ancient trees bowed as though honoring a forgotten queen.

The glowing symbols on the altar blazed brighter than the moon itself.

Every werewolf in the clearing—including the warriors from Black Moon Pack—dropped to one knee.

Their wolves whimpered in submission.

I stared at my trembling hands.

Silver light danced across my skin before fading away.

"What... what did I just do?"

The silver-haired woman looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"It has begun."

The Blood Order leader slowly climbed to his feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Instead of looking frightened...

He laughed.

A cold, triumphant laugh.

"Excellent."

His gaze locked onto mine.

"We no longer have to guess."

He wiped the blood from his lips and smiled.

"The Moon Princess has awakened."

Those words sent a chill through everyone in the clearing.

Ronan's crimson eyes widened in horror.

"No..."

He lunged toward me with all the strength he had left.

But he was too late.

A circle of black flames erupted beneath my feet.

The ground vanished.

I screamed as I was swallowed by darkness.

The last thing I saw was my father's desperate face as he reached for me—

And missed.