It was her birthday, but nothing about that morning felt like it would be special. Soap foam slid between Lyra’s slender fingers as she scrubbed the rough floor of the pack’s main hall, on her knees, her hair pulled into a loose bun that kept coming undone, golden strands slipping out of the band holding them back. Beside her, Petra huffed, sweat beading on her face and her sleeves rolled up to her elbows."You ever notice the more we scrub, the dirtier this floor looks?" Petra muttered, wringing the cloth into the bucket for the third time.Lyra gave a faint smile but didn’t answer. She was focused on scrubbing a dark stain near the stone staircase. Everything had to be perfect so they could go to the party that night.The silence between them was broken by shrill laughter and the click of high heels echoing down the corridor. The two exchanged a glance before slowly standing, like people bracing for disaster.It wasn’t the first time someone had passed by while they were cleaning, b

"Accept it!" he barked again, trying to force her into submission. The bond could only be broken if the wolf rejected it too.But Lyra remained kneeling, sobbing, enduring the soul-tearing pain in silence. Determined to fight for the bond until the end.She just didn’t expect the end to come so fast."Guards!" he roared.Two wolves approached."Take this worthless thing out of the clearing. Mark her as rejected. Punish her for refusing to obey me. And once you’re done having your fun with her, throw her out like the trash she is.""Alpha, no!" Petra screamed, running to shield Lyra, but was stopped. "Please don’t do this to her! She’s your mate!"Kael didn’t blink. He didn’t hesitate. He felt no pity.But inside... the scent of roses and mint kept burning. Like a living memory. Like the scent of the woman who died for him. The scent of his mother. That weak she-wolf who didn’t even have the strength to stay alive.The night, once magical, was now poisoned by the weight of rejecti

She was waiting to die.The sound of growls was drawing closer by the second, like thunder tearing through the night, and the omega had decided that waiting for her end was the only thing left to do.But she had already suffered so much...Did she not deserve at least a peaceful death?Had having her heart and body shattered not been enough?Lyra tried to lift her head, but the weight of her own body pressed her into the cold, filthy forest floor. Every breath was a battle, every movement, torture.The wolves were so close...Terror gripped her mind, making her entire body tremble when she realized she didn’t want to die like that. So, without thinking, following the most primal instinct for survival, she tried to move. Her bloodied, trembling arms dug into the earth in front of her. Her legs, numb from pain, dragged uselessly behind her naked frame.Just a little more, she whispered, barely audible, as the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.The sound of paws was deafening now.

The silence between them was as dense as the mist starting to rise in the back of the cave. Lyra remained seated, wrapped in the cloak he had given her, her eyes fixed on the dying embers of the fire. River moved in silence, precise and disciplined. He adjusted his worn, torn pants, how they were still holding together, he didn't know, gathered the leftover fruit in a dark cloth, and buried the fire with cold dirt, covering every trace. It was like he was preparing to vanish from the world, and take her with him.When he was done, he turned to her.It's time. We need to go.Lyra looked up slowly, her expression still wary, weighed down by a bone-deep exhaustion.I'm not going with you, she said firmly, her voice hoarse. I don’t even know you.River took a step toward her, his eyes like shattering ice under the gray light of dawn filtering through the cave’s entrance.If you want to live, you’ll have to stay with me.I didn’t ask for help.But you needed it.Lyra didn’t answer. Her eye

The forest wind whistled through twisted branches, and even with the filtered light of the morning sun, there was a weight in the air. Lyra pulled the cloak tighter around herself, the one River had given her. It still carried his scent: earth, wood, and just faintly, blood. After all, someone always seemed to be dying in no man’s land.The path had been quiet, and she walked for hours convinced that following him was the best option. But as the forest thickened and the growls of rogues became more frequent, Lyra’s confidence began to falter.Wouldn’t it be better to hide among the humans? They’d never find her there. Kael would never know… Would he?That had to be better than getting ripped apart on the road to a lost pack.Do you really think it’s safe to go to a place that was cursed by the elders? Her voice came out firm, but it trembled at the end. The stories about the Alpha of the Blood Moon are anything but comforting. They say he’s a beast, a monster that feeds on other wolve