All Chapters of Hiding His Heir: The Rejected Luna’s Return: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

The Blackwood Pack House had always been a structure defined by its echoes. In Lyra’s youth, those echoes were of laughter she wasn't part of, of training commands she was too weak to follow, and of the rhythmic scrubbing of her own hands against the cold stone. Today, the echoes were different. They were the sharp, disciplined footsteps of the Shadow Claws and the high, inquisitive chirping of a child who didn't know he was walking through a graveyard of his mother’s tears.Lyra Thorne stood at the threshold of the Great Hall, her hand resting protectively on Kaelen’s shoulder. She was no longer dressed in the tattered shadow-silk of the Void. She wore a structured coat of midnight blue, the collar lined with the fur of a northern fox, her obsidian hair cascading down her back like a river of ink. She looked like a queen returning to a conquered province, and the pack members lining the hallway seemed to agree. They stood in a tense, silent gauntlet, their eyes darting bet

The communal breakfast in the Blackwood dining hall was usually a theater of hierarchy, where the highest-ranking warriors sat closest to the Alpha and the omegas scurried in the periphery. Today, however, the hierarchy had been shattered. Lyra Thorne sat at the center of the long oak table, with Kaelen perched on a stack of cushions beside her. The Shadow Claws occupied the seats usually reserved for the Alpha’s inner circle, their obsidian blades resting against the table legs in a silent, lethal display of dominance.Silas Blackwood sat at the far end of the table, looking like a guest in his own home. He watched as Kaelen reached for a piece of honeycomb, his small hands sparking with a playful sapphire light. Every time the boy’s magic flared, the pack warriors nearby would flinch, their instincts screaming at them to submit to a power they didn't understand."He eats like a wolf," Elder Hrothgar noted, watching the boy with a mix of fascination and dread. "Th

The tension in the Blackwood Keep had reached a terminal frequency. For three days, Isabella Vance had been a ghost in the corridors, her presence felt only by the lingering scent of jasmine and the sharp, anxious looks of her remaining handmaidens. She had been stripped of her title, her alliance, and her dignity, leaving behind nothing but a raw, bleeding wound of "Rage."Lyra Thorne was in the courtyard, watching Kaelen play with a group of omega pups. The scene was one of deceptive peace—the children laughing as they chased a ball of shadow-magic, the warriors watching with a new, respectful silence. But Lyra’s senses were on high alert. She could smell the ozone in the air, the sign that the Sun King was moving closer, and she could smell something else—the metallic, sharp tang of a specific kind of poison.One of Isabella’s handmaidens approached, carrying a silver tray with a single, perfectly ripe peach. The fruit was beautiful, its skin a soft, fuzzy gold,

The formal cancellation of the Vance engagement was supposed to be a private legal matter, a quiet dissolution of a political contract that had already been rendered moot by war. But Lyra Thorne had other plans. She had ordered the announcement to be made in the Great Hall, in front of the entire pack hierarchy and the visiting emissaries from the Northern territories.Silas stood on the lower dais, dressed in the dark velvet of an Alpha in mourning. Beside him, Isabella Vance was a portrait of shattered elegance, her silk gown tattered, her eyes wide with a manic, frantic hope. She still wore the engagement ring—a massive, silver-set sapphire that caught the light of the violet-hued lanterns.Lyra sat in the Alpha’s chair, her sapphire eyes scanning the crowd with a cold, political clarity. She looked at Silas, then at Isabella, and finally at the Lead Elder of the High Council, who was presiding over the ceremony."Alpha Blackwood," the Elder began, his

The rainy season had turned the Silver Peaks into a theater of gray mist and constant, bone-chilling drizzle. Silas had spent the day in the North Mines, mediating a dispute between the Shadow Claw overseers and the regular pack miners. He was covered in soot and mud, his gold-and-sapphire scars glowing with a dull, suppressed frequency.He sought Lyra out in the library of the North Tower. It was a place of silence and old paper, the only room in the keep that still felt like the past. Lyra was at the central table, surrounded by ancient maps of the Sun King’s original territories."Lyra, we need to talk," Silas said, stopping at the edge of the rug. He didn't wait for her to acknowledge him. He felt a sudden, desperate need to bridge the gap before the world ended. "I need to explain."Lyra didn't look up from a map of the Shadow Valley. "Explain what, Silas? The mine dispute? I’ve already received Malakor’s report. You handled it well. For a guest."