LOGINLyra
Fifty rifles were pointed at my heart. The red laser dots danced on my skin like fireflies, but I didn't feel afraid. I felt cold. A deep, heavy cold that started in my chest and flowed out to my fingertips.
The woman in the white suit of the High Inquisitor stepped closer. Her silver hair glowed under the moonlight, and her smile was as sharp as a razor. "You’ve caused quite a mes
LyraThe horizon was bleeding orange. It wasn't sunset. It was the Obsidian Fortress Zade’s home, my only sanctuary burning to the ground.I looked at Zade’s father, Silas. He stood there with a cold, proud smile, holding the leash of the creature that used to be Caleb. The "Alpha" was now a shivering, mindless wolf with white eyes. He whimpered at Silas’s feet, his dignity gone, his soul trapped in the Deadlands because of the deal I had made."You did this," I whispered, my voice trembling with rage. "You let the Crescent Moon Pack attack your own son’s home.""I let a weak structure fall so a stronger one could rise," Silas said. He stepped toward Zade, ignoring me as if I were still just a maid. "You were always too soft, Zade. You wanted to p
LyraThe fall felt like it lasted forever. One moment I was standing on the riverbank, and the next, I was tumbling through a freezing, green fog. My stomach lurched into my throat.Thump.I hit the ground hard. The "dirt" beneath me didn't feel like soil; it felt like powdered bone. It was dry, gray, and smelled like an old grave. I coughed, pushing myself up. The air here was heavy and tasted like iron."Zade?" I croaked. My voice didn't echo. It just dropped dead in the stillness."Here, Little Ghost."A hand gripped mine, pulling me up. Zade looked haggard. His shirt was torn, and his green eyes were scanning the horizon with a look of pure hatred. We weren't in the forest any
LyraFifty rifles were pointed at my heart. The red laser dots danced on my skin like fireflies, but I didn't feel afraid. I felt cold. A deep, heavy cold that started in my chest and flowed out to my fingertips.The woman in the white suit of the High Inquisitor stepped closer. Her silver hair glowed under the moonlight, and her smile was as sharp as a razor. "You’ve caused quite a mess, Lyra Thorne. An Alpha-heir is pinned to a tree, and the Shadow King is a shivering wreck. The Council doesn't like messes.""Then you should have picked a better Alpha to protect," I said. My voice didn't shake. I could feel Zade’s heavy weight against my side. He was breathing, but barely. The black ink was still leaking from his skin, staining the grass beneath us."Kill the beast," the Inquisi
LyraThe cabin felt like it was shrinking. The white light from Caleb’s orb hit Zade’s chest, and the sound that came out of him wasn't a wolf’s howl. It was a scream of pure, tortured shadow."Stop it!" I yelled, throwing myself in front of Zade.The light stopped, and Caleb lowered the orb. He looked at me with a fake, pitying smile that made me want to claw his eyes out. He was dressed in his expensive leather jacket, not a single hair out of place. He looked like the hero of a story, while Zade looked like the monster."Move, Lyra," Caleb said. His voice was smooth, like nothing had happened. "That thing isn't your 'King' anymore. The Council’s poison has turned him into a mindless beast. If you stay there, he’ll tear you apart before I
LyraThe black SUVs roared toward us like hungry beasts. Their headlights blinded me, cutting through the dark parking lot. Zade was slumped against the car, his breathing wet and shallow. The black ink leaking from his ear was spreading, staining his collar."Lyra… go," Zade wheezed. He tried to push me away, but his arms had no strength. "The Council… They don't want a peace treaty. They want a funeral.""I’m not leaving you," I snapped. I grabbed his arm and draped it over my shoulders. He was heavy pure muscle and dead weight but the anger inside me made me feel like I could lift a mountain.I looked at the oncoming vehicles. They weren't stopping. I could see the silhouettes of men in tactical gear through the windshields. These weren't just pack
LyraThe world stopped. The music, the whispers, the clinking of glasses all died the moment Zade hit the floor.The silver bolt was buried deep in his chest, right where his heart should be. Black smoke hissed from the wound. Zade’s eyes, usually so bright and dangerous, were turning a dull, flat gray. He reached for my hand, his fingers trembling, but his shadows were gone. He was vulnerable. He was dying."Zade! Stay with me!" I screamed. I pulled his head into my lap, ignoring the blood staining my obsidian gown. "Don't you dare leave me here!"Robbie, Caleb’s Beta, stepped out of the crowd. He was still smiling that sick, oily smile. He raised a second crossbow, the silver tip aimed directly at my forehead."Don't worry, Lyra," Robbie said, his voice loud enough for the entire Gala to hear. "You won't be alone for long. Caleb wants you back, but he said a dead maid is better than a traitorous one."I looked around the room. The powerful Alphas and Elders were just watching. They







