Lyra
The fire had long since died, leaving behind only a bed of glowing embers and a sky too full of stars to feel real.
Lyra sat cross-legged beneath the moonlight, her mother's journal clutched in her lap, the final page burned into her mind like a second brand.
"Unless the true mate chooses her—fully. Blood to blood. Heart to heart."
Her heart thundered in her chest, an erratic rhythm that didn't match the stillness of the forest around her. Even the trees seemed to hold their breath, like the world was waiting to see which choice she'd make.
Across the clearing, Kade paced like a caged wolf. The faint light caught in the sheen of his dark hair and the fierce cut of his jaw. Every line of his body was coiled tension, the restraint of a man caught between instinct and duty.
He didn't know.
Not yet.
But she would have to tell him. Soon. Before the Council returned.
Because if her mother's words were true, Lyra's life depended on more than just survival. It depended on trust. On fate. On him.
"You've been quiet too long," Mira said, dropping beside her and nudging Lyra's arm with a canteen. "Drink something before you pass out."
Lyra took it with a grateful nod, letting the cool water wash down the ash taste in her mouth.
"She knew all of it," Lyra murmured, glancing at the journal. "About the prophecy. About the Council. About my mate. She knew Kade was the only one who could stop the mark from killing me."
Mira's brow furrowed. "It's more than a bond, then."
"It's a curse," Lyra said. "A tether that keeps me alive, but only if he accepts it. If he chooses me."
"And if he doesn't?"
Lyra looked up at the moon, heavy and bright and so full it seemed to weep for her.
"Then I die," she whispered.
Mira stilled. "He won't let that happen. I don't think he ever stopped wanting you. Even when he rejected the bond."
"I'm not even sure he knows why he did it," Lyra said. "He keeps saying he wanted to protect me. But it was more than that. I felt it—like something else pushed him to push me away."
Mira wrapped her arms around her knees. "If he's smart, he'll wake the hell up soon. Because I swear, if you die before I find out what you are, I'm killing him myself."
That actually made Lyra smile.
"Thanks," she murmured.
Celine bumped her shoulder. "That's what best friends are for."
Later, when the moon had shifted and the stars were fewer, Kade approached her with caution in every step.
"I didn't want this," he said, his voice raw. "You, hunted. Marked. Haunted by a past that should've stayed buried."
"But it didn't," Lyra said, lifting her eyes to his. "And now I have to face what I am."
He hesitated. "Do you want to do that alone?"
Her heart clenched. "Do you?"
They stared at each other for a long moment, the bond between them burning like a taut silver cord. So much unspoken passed between them—desire, grief, regret, need.
And beneath it all, a hunger that refused to die.
She opened the journal, held it out to him.
"Read the last page," she said.
He took it, brows drawing together as he scanned the ink. The farther he read, the tighter his grip on the journal became. When he finally finished, he exhaled shakily.
"This is why your mother ran," he murmured. "Because if the Council had found you, they would have killed you before your first shift."
"Before I could ever become what I was meant to be."
He looked up at her, golden eyes bright with something fierce and protective. "You're not a threat, Lyra. You're a promise."
She stepped closer. "Then why won't you choose me?"
Kade's jaw tightened. "Because I'm afraid."
"Of me?"
"Of what I'll do to protect you," he said. "I've killed before, Lyra. I've done things the Council would never forgive. If they try to take you again—there won't be a Council left."
She swallowed. "Then let them come."
He reached for her, his hand brushing her cheek, fingers trembling.
"I don't know how to love you without destroying everything else," he whispered.
"Then destroy it," she said, voice shaking. "Just don't walk away again."
And then she kissed him.
Fierce. Desperate. Claiming.
Their lips met like they'd been waiting lifetimes. Kade's hands slid to her waist, pulling her against him with a growl that was all wolf and want. Heat flared in her belly, spreading through her limbs as her power sparked beneath her skin.
But just as she reached for his shirt—
A howl ripped through the night.
Low. Close.
Warning.
Kade tensed, breaking the kiss. "We're not alone."
Mira burst into the clearing a second later, her blade already drawn.
"They're here," she said. "Council scouts. Five, maybe more. Closing in fast."
Lyra's heart hammered. "They said we had a night."
"They lied."
Kade's eyes darkened. "We run. Now."
They didn't get far.
The forest turned strange as they moved—paths twisting, shadows shifting. It wasn't normal. It was magic.
Lyra felt it like a pulse beneath her feet.
"This is a trap," she hissed. "They're funneling us."
Mira cursed under her breath. "We're being herded."
Suddenly, a clearing opened ahead, and a circle of silver-robed figures stepped into view, blocking their path.
Matriarch Elira stood at the center, her pale hair glowing in the moonlight.
"Kade. Lyra. Mira." Her voice rang out like a song made of knives. "You've forced our hand."
Kade snarled, stepping forward. "You have no right—"
"She is a threat to the balance," Elira snapped. "Her power is unstable. Her lineage forbidden. The prophecy speaks of ruin."
"And salvation," Lyra shot back.
Elira ignored her. "We'll take her. If she resists… we will end her."
Kade growled, his body beginning to shift.
But Lyra stepped forward first.
"No," she said. "You want to see what I am? Then look."
And she let go.
Her power surged from her like a wave—violet and gold and fire-bright. Flowers bloomed wildly around her feet. Flames danced up her arms. The wind howled with the force of her grief and rage.
The Council stepped back, stunned.
Then Elira sneered. "So it's true. The prophecy lives."
Kade reached for Lyra. "Don't—"
But Elira raised a hand and whispered a word that shattered the air.
And Lyra collapsed.
Everything went black.