CHAPTER 10
887 Words
THE FIRST CRACK IN THE CROWN
Lyra's POV :
The forest fell silent.
Darian stepped in front of me.
Riven moved to my other side.
Three directions.
One threat.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Powerful.
Then a group of wolves emerged between the trees.
At their center stood a man wearing the black-and-silver crest of the Draven Pack.
He was one of Cassian's senior warriors.
His eyes found me.
"Lyra Veyne."
I didn't answer.
He stepped forward.
"By order of Alpha Cassian Draven, you are to return immediately."
My heart twisted.
Cassian.
Again.
Always Cassian.
I looked at Darian.
"Is that true?"
Darian's jaw tightened.
"No."
The warrior looked at him.
"You were ordered to retrieve her."
"I was."
"Then retrieve her."
Darian didn't move.
The warrior frowned.
"Darian."
Still nothing.
"You are disobeying the Alpha."
Darian looked at me.
Then back at the warrior.
"I'm changing my orders."
The forest went silent.
Riven laughed.
"Oh."
He looked delighted.
"This is going to be fun."
The warrior's expression hardened.
"Traitor."
Darian drew his blade.
"I've been called worse."
The wolves attacked.
Darian met them head-on.
Riven disappeared into the darkness.
I backed away.
Then one wolf broke through.
He lunged.
I raised my hands.
The shadows answered.
They wrapped around him.
But this time—
they didn't stop.
They dragged him across the ground.
I tried to release him.
Nothing happened.
The shadows kept tightening.
"Stop!"
They didn't.
"STOP!"
Riven appeared beside me.
"Lyra!"
He grabbed my shoulders.
"Look at me."
I couldn't.
The wolf was choking.
"I can't control it."
"Then choose."
"I don't know how!"
"Yes, you do."
His golden eyes locked with mine.
"You're not the frightened girl from yesterday."
My breathing slowed.
"You're the woman who survived."
The shadows trembled.
I whispered:
"Release him."
They vanished.
The wolf collapsed.
I stared at my hands.
Darian approached.
He looked at the unconscious warrior.
Then at me.
"You could have killed him."
"I know."
His expression softened.
"But you didn't."
That shouldn't have mattered.
Yet it did.
---
By dawn, the Draven warriors had retreated.
Darian stood at the edge of the forest.
"You need to leave."
I frowned.
"Where?"
"The Crimson Vale."
I had heard the name.
Kael Ardent's territory.
"Why there?"
"Because the Council won't expect you to go there."
Riven leaned against a tree.
"They'll expect it eventually."
Darian nodded.
"Which means we don't have much time."
I looked between them.
"You two are coming?"
Riven smiled.
"Obviously."
Darian sighed.
"Unfortunately."
I almost smiled.
Then the pendant around my neck burned.
I grabbed it.
A silver line appeared across its surface.
Words formed.
THE SECOND BOND HAS AWAKENED.
My breath stopped.
Riven's smile vanished.
Darian stared.
"What does that mean?"
I looked at them.
Neither answered.
________&__&_________________________________________________________________
Arthur's POV :
somewhere far away—
a man opened his eyes.
Gold.
Cold.
Intelligent.
Kael Ardent.
He sat upright in his bed.
His wolf growled inside him.
Mate.
Kael's expression became unreadable.
He looked toward the northern mountains.
"Interesting."
Meanwhile, in Draven territory, Cassian felt the same pull.
And for the first time, he understood.
The rejection hadn't ended Lyra's destiny.
It had changed it.
He looked toward the horizon.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Lyra..."
His wolf answered.
Find her.
Cassian closed his eyes.
Too late.
She was already becoming someone he might never be able to control.
And somewhere beneath the ancient temple, something that had been asleep for centuries—
opened its eyes.
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