Shrieking filled the room as Lyra snapped awake.
Gasping, she shot up like something had yanked her from deep water. The animal within lunged and spun, lost, desperate. Air ripped into her chest while her hands scraped empty space - like old restraints hadn't vanished.
"No - don't - please - "
A pair of steady arms took hold at her upper arms.
"Lyra."
A sound sliced the dream apart, sharp as steel.
She froze.
Fog lifted. Aching, the world returned.
Boulders stacked into barriers. Flames flicker along rough edges. Pine needles mix with rusted iron, wind heavy above the trees.
Kael.
Now she lay across a broad mattress - no chains, no bars around her. Fresh linens covered the frame. On the walls, markings barely showed, pulsing pale blue.
Suddenly, she touched her wrists. Then came the sharp motion - hands moving fast.
No iron.
Her breath hitched.
"I didn't hurt you?" she whispered, terrified.
Kael squatted down before her, shadows under his eyes, his jaw clenched. Not a word came out - just that single sharp refusal
Flooded suddenly, tears blurred what she saw.
A quiet sob broke loose when her fingers pressed into her cheeks, elbows tucked close. The floor seemed to tilt as her breath came fast, body folding under what had gone wrong. Each shudder ran from her neck down through her arms like a current.
"I can't trust myself," she sobbed. "I don't know when they'll take me again. I could destroy your pack. I could kill you."
Fangs bared when Kael spoke that sharp command - yet his tone stayed even.
"You didn't," he said firmly. "And you won't."
Through her tears, she stared at him. That's something you can't be sure of
"I do," he replied. "Because they underestimated one thing."
"What?"
Close in, he dropped his words quieter. It was him
Frozen torchlight flickered across stone as Kael stepped into the war room - council members motionless, watching. Silence had settled long before his boots crossed the threshold.
Spread out on the rough surface of the stone table, maps carried faded signs - marks left by ancient pacts, streaks of crimson signaling danger. Standing stiff near the walls, his officers held their silence, every muscle pulled taut like drawn wire.
"They've activated her remotely," Kael said without preamble. "That means they have eyes on us."
Something stirred deep in the throat of the silence. The sound crawled across the floor before anyone could speak.
"They'll escalate," one commander said. "Send hunters."
Frost crept into Kael's eyes. "It's done."
The doors creaked open.
Into the camp limped a scout, face drained of color, cuts streaking his arms.
"Alpha," he gasped. "We found him near the eastern border."
Kael stiffened. "Him?"
The scout swallowed. "A tracker. Coventouched. He was asking for… the Moon Reaper."
A hush dropped sharp, sudden. Stillness arrived without warning.
Lyra's hunter.
Fists formed slowly at Kael's sides.
"Where is he now?" Kael demanded.
"Dead," the scout said quickly. "But before he died… he smiled."
For just a moment, Kael let his eyelids fall shut.
This wasn't winning. It stood far from triumph.
A signal flashed just then. It meant trouble ahead.
A whisper ran through her bones first. Silence followed, heavy like stone. Then came the knowing - no words needed.
Something moved beneath her skin, like insects. The air felt off, somehow. Inside her head, her wolf made a small sound of fear, pulling back into the dark corners of thought.
"They sent him," she whispered.
A sudden twist of his body. "Was it really him you felt?"
"Yes." Her voice shook. "He was… looking for me."
Fast as a blink, Kael stepped ahead of her, no hesitation. He stood there before thought could catch up.
"No one touches you," he said flatly.
Her chest tightened.
"You keep saying that," she said softly. "But why?"
For a moment, silence filled the space between us.
Then, quietly, "Because I failed once."
Her breath caught.
"My Luna trusted me to keep her safe," Kael continued, eyes dark. "And I didn't. I won't make that mistake again."
Her words came out shaky. I am not that person, she said
"No," he said. "You're not."
Facing her now, his look held sharp edges, refusing to soften.
"You've gotten worse," he told her.
She flinched.
"Because if they take you back," he finished, "they won't just kill you. They'll erase you."
Her knees weakened.
"That's what they want," she whispered. "To break me until there's nothing left."
His hand moved forward, slow, so she could step back if she wanted. Then nothing rushed it.
She didn't.
Stillness settled as his fingers lay against her chest. A quiet moment held them close.
"As long as it's still beating," he said, "you belong here."
A warmth throbbed through the link, slow but sure. It held without rushing.
Her face found its way to his chest, air filling her lungs with his scent. The moment held still, yet everything moved.
Something shifted - she was calm. A breath passed like quiet. Then nothing broke it.
Out of nowhere, the alarms started to scream.
The eastern wards shattered.
Faster than breath, magic tore overhead, jagged and wild, knocking wolves sideways when old wards shattered - sudden, thin, broken.
A sudden jerk brought Kael's gaze upward.
"HUNTERS!" someone shouted.
A sharp ache tore into Lyra's head, making her breath catch. Pain crashed like thunder behind her eyes.
Not one.
Three.
A single thought pulled in three directions. Her name caught between breaths. Voices tangled like roots underground.
"They're here," she cried. "And they're not trying to take me."
A shiver cut through Kael. What came next?
"They're trying to trigger me," she whispered in horror. "Right now."
Fury ripped through her, claws tearing beneath the skin.
Fingers curled tight. Jaw stretched wide. A sharp cry broke the silence.
Kael took hold of her, pulling her close when the shaking started. He held on tight while her body jerked without warning. The force of it pressed her into his chest. A sudden grip kept them locked together mid-spasm.
"No," she sobbed. "I don't want this - please - "
Shaking began beyond the walls when the blast hit. Ground tremors followed right after.
The witches no longer bothered hiding it. Their actions now spoke loud, out in the open, impossible to ignore.
Out of silence came a roar, Kael lifting his head.
Shaking the mountain came first - then the sound. A rumble tore through stone before fading behind silence.
"LOCK DOWN THE PACK," he thundered.
"ANYONE WHO CROSSES THE WARDS DIES."
A sting came to his eyes while gazing upon Lyra below. He blinked slowly, still fixed on her quiet form beneath him.
"If they want their weapon back," he said grimly, "they're going to have to tear it from my hands."
Away from any map's edge, one grin appeared - then two more joined without warning. Sudden joy stitched across their faces like thread pulled tight.
"The Alpha is attached," one whispered.
"Good," another replied.
"Now," the third said softly, "let's see what she does when he starts bleeding."