Lyra held her ground, her pulse quickening despite herself. There was something about the man—something dangerous but undeniable. His presence, like a storm about to break, seemed to shape the very air around them. Yet, his words had struck a chord. If he's seen Aurora…
She had no choice but to follow his lead, at least for now.
The man's eyes glinted, watching her with a calculating, almost amused look. "You're as stubborn as she is," he muttered, more to himself than to Lyra. "But fine. If you must find her, then you'll need to understand what you're walking into. The forest isn't what it seems."
"I've lived in Silverridge my whole life. I know these woods," Lyra shot back, though even she wasn't certain anymore. Her knowledge of the forest had always been grounded in the pack's territory, the places they frequented. But this… this felt different.
He gave a half-laugh, the sound low and rough, like distant thunder. "You think you know it. But the heart of the forest doesn't reveal its secrets to just anyone. Not even to you."
Lyra narrowed her eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but his words had the ring of truth. He's seen something, she thought. Something about Aurora, or perhaps something more.
"Why would you help me?" she demanded, pushing forward. The suspicion that had been eating away at her would not be quelled. "I don't even know who you are."
The man—Darius, as he had said earlier—didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stepped closer to her, his figure almost blending into the shadows of the trees. "Because I've seen her," he said quietly, his voice heavy with an unreadable depth. "I've seen where she's gone. I know the path she walks. And I know where it will lead."
Lyra's breath hitched, her heart pounding harder. "What do you mean? Where will it lead?"
Darius tilted his head slightly, studying her with an unreadable expression. "To a place where the forest itself has a claim on her. Where even the pack's protection won't be enough."
Lyra felt a cold shiver run down her spine. The weight of his words settled around her like a storm cloud, the tension tightening in her chest. "So… she's in danger?"
His lips twisted into a grim smile. "More than you can imagine."
The silence stretched between them, the forest around them seeming to press in closer, as if listening to every word. Lyra's mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments of this cryptic conversation. What was it about Aurora that had drawn this man's attention? And why did he seem so certain that the path Aurora was on was doomed?
Finally, Lyra forced herself to speak again. "You still haven't told me your name," she said, her voice steady but tinged with an edge. "Who are you, really?"
Darius's gaze darkened slightly, his lips pulling into a faint, enigmatic smile. "I'm someone who has been watching her. Someone who knows the price of ignoring the forest's warnings."
Lyra was about to press him further, but his next words stopped her cold.
"The name's Darius," he said, his tone soft, but there was an undeniable weight to it. "I'm a part of the forest, in ways you wouldn't understand. And soon, you'll see why I've been watching."
Lyra didn't know what to make of him. She wasn't sure if she should trust him, or if this was all just part of a larger game. But she couldn't afford to hesitate. Not when Aurora's life was on the line.
"Let's go, then," Lyra said, her voice firm, her grip tightening around the hilt of her blade. She had to find her friend. She had to bring Aurora back. "Show me where she went."
Darius gave a small nod, his expression unreadable as he began to move forward. The forest around them seemed to part in a strange, unnatural way, the path before them opening up as though the trees themselves were guiding them. Lyra followed, every nerve on edge, every instinct screaming that the answers she sought were closer than ever—but so were the dangers.
The journey ahead would not be easy. She knew that. But she also knew that, for Aurora's sake, she couldn't stop now.
"Stay close," Darius said, his voice cutting through the growing fog that swirled around them. "The forest doesn't take kindly to anyone wandering off the path. And you, little wolf, are already marked."
Lyra glanced at him, the unease in her chest deepening with every step they took. "Marked?" she repeated, her voice quiet but laced with confusion.
Darius didn't answer immediately. He only glanced over his shoulder, his golden eyes flashing with something unreadable. "You'll find out soon enough," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Just be ready."
The air around them seemed to shift, and the deeper they ventured into the woods, the more it felt as if the trees themselves were watching them—waiting.
Lyra kept pace with Darius, her mind whirling with thoughts of Aurora. The further they walked, the more her heart ached for her friend. The hurt she had seen in Aurora's eyes that night, the way she had tried to mask her pain, was still fresh in her mind. Lyra felt it deeply. Aurora was strong, she always had been, but even the strongest wolves had their limits.
As they walked in silence for a while, Darius finally spoke, his voice softer now, more thoughtful.
"You care for her," he said, the words coming out not as a question, but a quiet observation.
Lyra's gaze hardened, but her voice softened when she replied. "Of course I care for her. She's like family." She paused, searching for the right words. "But it's more than that. She's been through so much. The way Kieran... rejected her... it's been eating at her. I can see it. And I can't do anything to take that pain away. All I want is to help her heal, but she..."
She trailed off, the words stuck in her throat. She could see the way Aurora had withdrawn into herself since that night, her spirit battered by the rejection she had never expected, and certainly didn't deserve.
Darius walked ahead for a few paces, then stopped, turning to face her. "I've seen it before," he said, his voice low, almost reflective.
Lyra looked at him, confused. "Seen what?"
Darius let out a quiet sigh, something dark and heavy in the sound, before looking off into the distance. "The kind of pain that shatters a wolf's spirit. The kind of rejection that leaves a mark deeper than any wound." He was silent for a moment longer, and when he spoke again, there was an edge of sadness to his voice. "It changes something inside them. It leaves them hollow, searching for something that feels like themselves again."
Lyra's heart thudded painfully in her chest as she considered his words. She knew what he meant. She could see it in Aurora—the hollowed-out eyes, the tightness of her posture, the way she held herself back from the pack. The wound was deeper than just the rejection. It was the loss of trust, the loss of something that should've been sacred.
Darius sighed again, as though dismissing the thoughts that were weighing on him. "I'm not surprised about Kieran," he added, almost absently. "He's always been selfish. Always more concerned with power than the things that matter."
Lyra blinked, surprised by the sudden shift in his tone. "Wait... How do you know Kieran?" She hadn't expected him to be familiar with the Alpha—let alone so intimately familiar.
Darius's eyes flickered with something unreadable, and for a moment, he seemed distant, as if the past he was referring to was far too heavy to carry. "That was a long time ago," he said simply, his tone closing off the conversation.
Lyra felt the shift in him, the subtle barrier he had erected, and decided not to press further. The way he spoke about Kieran made it clear that their history was complicated, far beyond what she had imagined. She didn't need to know the details—not yet, anyway. Not when they had more immediate matters to focus on.
She nodded, her voice softening. "I just want to make sure she's okay."
"She will be," Darius replied, his eyes meeting hers. There was a steadiness in his gaze, a conviction that Lyra found reassuring, even if she didn't fully understand everything about him yet. "But she needs time. Healing from something like that takes time. And she needs people around her who understand... people who can give her the space she needs."
Lyra let out a breath, feeling a weight lift just a little. She hadn't realized how much she needed to hear those words until now. "I'll be there for her," she said, her voice firm, though the uncertainty still lingered in the back of her mind. "She's my pack. I won't let her go through this alone."
Darius gave a small nod, his expression softening just a little. "I believe you."
The two of them continued walking, the silence between them more companionable now, the tension easing as they moved further into the forest. They didn't need to speak anymore to understand each other. Their shared purpose—to find Aurora, to help her—was enough.
And for the first time in a long while, Lyra felt a small flicker of hope that things might actually get better.