LYRA HUMILIATION

Chapter 2: THE PACK'S  SCORN 

Pain.

That was the first thing Lyra felt when she opened her eyes.

A sharp, unbearable pain tore through her chest, as if invisible claws were ripping her heart apart from the inside.

She gasped and sat upright.

Immediately, dizziness washed over her.

The healer's hut spun around her.

The scent of herbs filled the air.

For a brief moment, she thought it had all been a nightmare.

A terrible dream.

Then the memories returned.

The Moon Blessing Ceremony.

Kael.

His cold silver eyes.

The rejection.

Her wolf whimpered inside her mind.

The pain doubled.

"No..." Lyra whispered.

A tear slipped down her cheek.

The door opened.

Hope sparked briefly inside her.

Maybe Kael had come.

Maybe he regretted it.

Maybe—

The hope died instantly.

Three young she-wolves stepped inside.

Girls she had grown up with.

Girls who once called her friend.

Now they looked at her as though she carried a disease.

"You woke up."

Lyra swallowed.

"Why are you here?"

One of them crossed her arms.

"Everyone's talking about you."

The other snorted.

"Correction. Everyone's laughing about you."

Their laughter echoed through the room.

Lyra's stomach twisted.

"I didn't ask for this."

"No?" another girl replied mockingly.

"You seriously thought the future Alpha King would choose you?"

The words struck harder than a slap.

Lyra clenched her fists.

"You should leave."

"We're leaving," the tallest one said.

She stepped closer.

"But first, we wanted to see the girl who thought she'd become Luna."

More laughter.

Lyra looked away.

Anything to avoid their cruel smiles.

The girls exchanged glances.

One shook her head dramatically.

"Pathetic."

Then they left.

The door slammed shut.

Silence filled the room once more.

Only this time, the silence felt worse.

Lyra pulled her knees to her chest.

Her wolf remained quiet.

Broken.

Just like her.

Hours passed.

Or maybe minutes.

She wasn't sure anymore.

Eventually another visitor arrived.

This time it was her mother.

Relief flooded Lyra's chest.

At least someone still cared.

At least someone still loved her.

"Mom..."

Her mother didn't move closer.

Didn't hug her.

Didn't smile.

Instead, she stood near the doorway with disappointment written across her face.

Something cold settled inside Lyra.

"Mother?"

A long silence followed.

Then her mother sighed.

"I warned you not to get your hopes up."

Lyra stared at her.

"What?"

"You embarrassed this family."

The words stole the air from her lungs.

"I embarrassed us?"

Her mother's eyes hardened.

"The entire pack witnessed your rejection."

"Kael rejected me!"

"And now everyone is talking about our family."

Lyra couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Her chest tightened.

"I was the one humiliated."

"Because you aimed too high."

The words landed like stones.

One after another.

Crushing her.

For years Lyra had worked harder than everyone else.

Trained harder.

Studied harder.

Obeyed every rule.

Yet none of it mattered.

Not anymore.

Her mother turned toward the door.

"Rest while you can."

"Mother..."

She paused.

For one hopeful second Lyra thought she might finally offer comfort.

Instead she said:

"Your father wants to speak with you."

Then she walked away.

The door closed.

Lyra felt something inside her crack.

Again.

A few hours later, her father arrived.

Alpha Theodore Blackwood.

A respected Beta of the Stormfang Pack.

A proud man.

A strict man.

A man Lyra had spent her entire life trying to impress.

He didn't sit.

Didn't ask how she felt.

Didn't ask if she was hurt.

He simply stood before her.

Expressionless.

"Father."

His jaw tightened.

"You have brought shame upon this family."

The words hit harder than anything the girls had said.

Harder than her mother's disappointment.

Harder than Kael's rejection.

"Father, I—"

"You will stop speaking."

Lyra immediately fell silent.

Fear curled in her stomach.

He rarely sounded this angry.

"You will not attend pack gatherings."

"You will not appear before visiting packs."

"You will remain out of sight."

Her eyes widened.

"Why?"

"Because your presence invites ridicule."

The pain became unbearable.

Every sentence felt like another knife.

"Father, I didn't choose this."

"No."

His voice turned colder.

"But now we must endure the consequences."

Lyra's hands trembled.

She stared at the floor.

Refusing to let him see her cry.

After a long silence, he finally spoke again.

"There is something else."

Her heart sank.

Something told her she wasn't going to like what came next.

"The Alpha Council has requested a hearing tomorrow."

"A hearing?"

"To determine your future within the pack."

Fear spread through her body.

"What does that mean?"

For the first time, her father's gaze shifted away.

As if he couldn't bear to look at her.

"It means they are considering banishment."

The world stopped.

Banishment.

The word echoed through her mind.

Over and over again.

"No."

Her voice broke.

"They can't."

His silence told her everything.

They could.

And they might.

The daughter of a Beta.

A wolf who had committed no crime.

A girl whose only mistake was being rejected.

Yet they were willing to throw her away.

Tears filled her eyes.

Her father turned toward the door.

"Get some rest."

"Father, please."

He paused.

For one second.

One tiny second.

She thought he might choose her.

Might defend her.

Might fight for her.

Instead, he walked away.

The door closed.

And Lyra was alone.

Completely alone.

Outside the healer's hut, she could hear wolves talking.

Laughing.

Whispering.

Judging.

The entire pack had already decided what she was.

Weak.

Unwanted.

Rejected.

A burden.

As tears slid silently down her cheeks, Lyra stared out the small window at the moon hanging above the trees.

The same moon that had given her a mate.

The same moon that had watched him reject her.

For the first time in her life, she felt abandoned by everyone.

Her pack.

Her family.

Her mate.

Even the Moon Goddess herself.

But somewhere deep beneath the heartbreak...

Something else was beginning to awaken.

Something darker.

Something stronger.

And by the time the Stormfang Pack realized what they had created...

It would already be too late.