His Father’s Luna : The Betrayed Warrior’s Return

2.A Dangerous Game

Lyra’s POV

The sound of the slamming door reverberated in my ears as I walked past the drafty stone passages of the Crimson Moon keep.

Instead of rushing towards the war room or the mess hall, I made my way through the lower barracks where I kept my personal belongings. There was no point in staying within the walls of the Crimson Moon stronghold anymore.

My chest felt numb as I realized that I was to remain in the fortress for as long as Selena remained with Anton as his mate. Without another thought in my mind, I grabbed my canvas duffel bag, threw it onto my narrow bed, and began packing my few possessions in a hurry.

I almost completed packing, when I detected an odd smell lingering in the stale atmosphere of my tiny chamber. Orchids and vanilla… A familiar, disgusting scent. I tried to warn myself of impending danger, when I was slammed from behind by the door leading into the room.

Four muscular men dressed in full battle gear appeared before me, each of them holding their swords in my direction. Behind them appeared Commander Torin, whose presence in my chambers was unusual. Despite several months spent alongside the commander during countless skirmishes with rival packs, I knew for sure that I wasn’t meeting my old comrade tonight. Commander Torin looked at me with contempt.

“Step away from the bed, Lyra!” he barked.

Before I had a chance to react, two elite members of the Vanguard rushed to me, seizing me from behind. I felt pain in my back as my arms were pulled behind me by the rough hands of the men. I tried to resist, but my struggles were futile as the muscular guards pulled even tighter.

I knew I was no match for these heavily armored warriors in this situation, and yet… I felt the rage burning within me, filling me with a strange energy. Before I realized what happened, I was forced down onto my knees as Commander Torin approached me, looking me directly in my eyes with pure hatred.

“Restrain her,” he ordered.

The commander didn’t search my small room. Instead, he immediately approached my bed and started rummaging through its stuff. He turned the thin mattress, slashed it with his sword, and pulled from its stuffing a leather-bound ledger with Lycan King’s seal and a small vial of glowing, violet fluid.

It was wolfsbane – the highly concentrated liquid that was capable of killing any lycan.

“Lycan King’s private ledgers. Enough wolfsbane to murder an alpha,” Commander Torin snarled, waving the captured items in front of me as if he wanted to scare me with them. “According to Princess Selena, you were caught lingering in the vicinity of the King’s study chamber right before you entered Lord Anton’s chambers. Her intuition suggested you harbored some resentments against your low status.”

I suddenly realized that I had underestimated the princess’s cunning. Selena didn’t intend to get rid of me. In fact, I had seen the proof of her evil scheme. Instead of reporting my suspicions concerning her and her intended mate to anyone, Selena sprinted ahead and placed the fake evidence in my quarters. This way, she ensured that my execution would be fast and irrefutable.

“That isn’t mine!” I exclaimed as loudly as I could, struggling against the guards’ grip. “She planted it! Can’t you smell it? Her scent lingers on the mattress!”

Commander Torin slapped me harshly with the back of his armored glove, sending me spinning on the floor. Blood burst from my mouth as my jaws cracked with the impact.

“Silence, traitor. Drag her to the courtyard. The Warlord’s heir will pass judgment,” Commander Torin growled, turning his back to me and leaving my room.

The guards forced me down the corridors of the fortress, their heavy boots making rhythmic slapping sounds on the slippery floors. By the time we reached the courtyard, the area was swarmed by guardsmen and soldiers alike. I could hear whispers about my imminent execution from all directions as I was thrown on my knees before Lord Anton and his entourage.

Lord Anton looked at me with pure disdain. His jaws were clenched, eyes focusing on the snow that fell around my knees.

“Lycan Lord Anton,” someone called out. It took me a minute to recognize that voice as my former lord’s.

“You have been found guilty of high treason against the pack, theft of royal property, and attempted murder of the royal family,” Anton declared in a resounding tone. His voice sounded completely different from the one I’d been accustomed to hearing. It was cold and ruthless. He knew I was innocent. But banishing a discarded lover would be infinitely more comfortable than challenging his sister.

“I know you are not telling the truth, Lord Anton! Listen to me! It was her!” I tried desperately to appeal to him, but the Lord’s expression remained unreadable as he spoke to the crowd once more.

“According to the law of the Crimson Moon keep, you have to be executed. However, in view of your former contributions to protecting the borders of the territory, I show my mercy. You are stripped of your status as a member of the royal guard. You are stripped of all honors. You are to be banished from our lands. If you are found within our territories by sunrise, you will be executed as a traitor,” Lord Anton declared.

I was pulled to my feet by guards. Without giving me any time to gather my belongings or mount my horse, they dragged me to the heavy iron gates of the fortress and dumped me into the blinding blizzard of the wastelands.

Border winds stung like shards of glass against my exposed skin. I could feel cold seeping through my clothes, stealing the warmth from my tired muscles. But it wasn’t the weather that worried me – it was the threat I heard in the distance.

Snap! Crack!

These weren’t guards patrolling the wastelands – these were hunting dogs sent to execute my death sentence.

Lord Anton was trying to wash his hands of me. He had no intention of executing his lover’s accusations in court. Instead, he wanted me dead out in the wastelands so I would never come back to haunt him. And now, I knew it was too late to go back – I was being pursued.

I forced my legs to run faster, ignoring the icy sting of the snow underfoot. Even though I had barely recovered after the confrontation with Selena, I knew I had no choice if I wanted to survive.

I heard them approaching me – faint sounds of snow crunching underfoot. But these footsteps were rhythmic and precise – this wasn’t a regular patrol. This was a hunting party.

My pursuers were well trained. They used my blood trail to track my movements through the wastelands. There was no place to hide now… until they noticed something.

“Spread out! She’s bleeding! Check the east ridge!” someone barked from somewhere nearby.

This was my only chance. I slid down a rocky hill into the snow-covered waters of a shallow iced-over stream and hurried up the opposite bank to continue my pursuit through the thick woods.

I heard the sounds of arrows hitting trees nearby as I darted deeper into the forest. These hunters weren’t going to let me go easily. They followed my blood trail to the edge of the petrified wood.

“Freeze, Lyra! You can’t escape us forever!” came a threatening yell from somewhere in the snow.

I ducked behind the massive trunk of an ancient oak tree just in time, narrowly dodging a flying arrow aimed at my chest. The snow-covered hunters were closing in fast – these three assassins didn’t have to search for me any longer.

“Don’t make this harder than it should be, straying wolf!” The lead assassin sneered at me. “Even if you make it through the blizzard alive, you’ll die of hypothermia in a few hours.”

The cold wasn’t scaring me anymore – my heart pounded violently in my chest with anticipation. These hunters were going to make a mistake. They were going to underestimate me, thinking that I would fall easily to my death.

I didn’t try to defend myself against the assassins. Instead, I waited until they came closer to me. I reached down into my boot and grasped the cold iron of a dagger I usually used to defend myself in critical situations.

The lead assassin attacked without hesitation. Before I could do anything else, I dropped down to the ground, swinging my arm upward with all my might and sinking the small dagger into the assassin’s throat. He gurgled and died right there on the spot.

Two more assassins advanced, and I knew I was in trouble now. Despite being extremely agile, I could feel exhaustion creeping into my bones with every passing minute.

But I couldn’t allow these murderers to claim victory in the hunt. Using my agility to my advantage, I deflected the s***h aimed at my neck and kicked the second assassin in his knee with all my might. But before I could do anything else, I received a kick right into my ribs from the remaining assassin.

As I landed painfully into the snow with the assassin landing on top of me, I felt the rage growing stronger inside me, blurring my vision and fueling my actions. I couldn’t afford any weakness. I had to win at any cost.

I didn’t hesitate, even though I could see the assassin’s face inches away from mine.

I screamed with pure rage. Grabbing the dagger with my hands, I dug its sharp tip into the assassin’s neck. He was choking and suffocating as he collapsed into the snow with blood pouring from his severed arteries.

I freed myself from my opponent’s limbs and crawled out from underneath him to face the petrified landscape of the waste lands in front of me. The blizzard was slowly covering the crimson moon keep behind the thick layers of snow as the cold winds continued their howling.

I looked at the crimson sky with tears in my eyes. It wasn’t a matter of choice anymore. I had to live… and I was determined to do it regardless of what awaited me in the crimson moon keep.

For several seconds, I was lost in my thoughts. I knew I would never manage to challenge Lord Anton, Commander Torin, and the rest of the pack members without any support. There was a single person in the entire territory who was capable of making me safe – Warlord Fenrir himself.

Fenrir was a ruthless and powerful predator. He didn’t give a damn about any gossip in the pack and didn’t bother dealing with the problems of his young adoptive son. Warlord Fenrir valued loyalty and audacity over anything else, which suited my plans perfectly.

I wiped the blood from my lips and rose to my feet. I was ready to fulfill my mission no matter what awaited me in the crimson moon keep.