Chapter Seven
1199 Words
Lyra POV
I was halfway through convincing myself that I could survive the day without spontaneously combusting when the front door opened downstairs.
It wasn’t loud. Just the soft thump of boots and the whisper of cold air slipping inside—but my body reacted like someone had fired a gun. Every muscle tightened. My pulse kicked up.
Footsteps. Familiar. Lighter than Kael’s. Faster. Younger.
My stomach dropped.
Nia.
I froze halfway down the staircase, gripping the railing like I needed a physical anchor to keep me from floating into the void of terrible timing. She walked into view below—dark hair tucked into a messy bun, backpack slung over one shoulder, cheeks red from the cold.
She looked up.
Our eyes met.
Her entire face went still.
“Lyra?” she said slowly. “What are you doing here?”
I opened my mouth to give some kind of explanation—any explanation—but nothing came out except a weak, “Um.”
Great start.
Behind her, Kael stepped into the foyer, carrying firewood like the embodiment of winter wilderness. His gaze flickered from Nia to me, and something primal passed across his face. Protective. Sharp. Unmistakable.
He stepped closer to me.
Not much. Just a fraction.
But enough to be noticed.
Nia blinked at the movement. Then looked between us. Once. Twice. A third time, slower.
The air thickened around us like the house suddenly had opinions.
“I—uh—wasn’t expecting you back today,” Kael said, setting the wood down a little too carefully.
Translation: He wasn’t ready for this moment.
“Well, surprise,” Nia said, still staring at me. “Why is Lyra… here? Wearing your clothes?”
Her voice wasn’t accusing. Not yet. Just questioning. Confused. But it was the kind of confusion that could go bad fast if mishandled.
I tugged at the sleeves of Kael’s flannel. “It’s not— I mean—this isn’t—”
Kael cut in. “She was hurt.”
Nia’s eyes snapped to him. “Hurt how?”
He hesitated.
Nia saw it.
She saw all of it.
“What happened?” she demanded, stepping toward me. “Lyra, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said quickly. Too quickly. “It looks worse than it is.”
She reached for my shoulder instinctively. Kael moved.
It was subtle. A shift. A step. A tiny adjustment of posture.
But he placed himself between us.
Not blocking. Not aggressive.
Just… there.
Close enough that Nia’s hand paused midair.
She slowly lowered it.
“What was that?” she asked softly. Not angry. Not scared. Just confused in a way that made something inside me twist.
Kael seemed to realize what he’d done a second too late. His jaw clenched. “You shouldn’t touch her. She’s still healing.”
“I wasn’t going to punch her, Dad,” Nia muttered, taking a step back. Her eyes flicked between us again. “Seriously, what is going on?”
I swallowed. Hard.
How was I supposed to explain any of this? That I’d been attacked by a rogue wolf? That her father had saved me? That he’d brought me here for “safety”? That he’d told me I was his mate? That the universe apparently wanted to turn my entire life into a dramatic soap opera?
She would think I’d lost my mind.
Kael cleared his throat. “Let’s sit down.”
Which was code for: This is about to get messy.
We moved into the living room. Nia sat on the edge of the couch, arms crossed, gaze sharp and too perceptive. I perched on the far end like I was afraid the furniture would swallow me whole. Kael stood behind us, posture tight.
Nia finally broke the silence. “Did you two have some kind of fight? Or is this… something else?”
Her gaze flickered to Kael again.
He looked away.
Her eyebrows shot up. “Okay, no. Nope. Dad—why are you acting weird?”
Kael didn’t answer.
She turned to me. “Lyra. Please. What happened?”
My throat closed. My mind scrambled. I wanted to tell her everything. But Kael wasn’t speaking, and my brain was playing hot-potato with the concept of “mate,” so all I managed was:
“There was… an accident.”
Nia’s face paled. “An accident?”
“Not like—a car accident,” I said quickly. “More like a… bad situation.”
“A bad situation with what?” she asked.
Her father tensed.
A heartbeat stretched between us. Long. Tense. Uncomfortable.
Nia’s eyes narrowed. “Dad. Look at me.”
Kael met her gaze. Slowly. Carefully.
She studied him for a long, heavy second.
Then her voice dropped. “Are you hiding something from me?”
He didn’t answer.
And that was answer enough.
Nia stood abruptly. “Okay. You know what? I’m going to go unpack. Then we’re talking. All three of us.”
She grabbed her backpack and headed upstairs, muttering under her breath.
The moment she vanished, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Sweat prickled the back of my neck.
“That went… horribly,” I whispered.
Kael raked a hand through his hair. “She wasn’t supposed to come home today.”
“Well, she did,” I said. “And she definitely thinks something is going on.”
He met my eyes.
Something raw flashed there.
“She felt the bond,” he said quietly.
My stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”
“She didn’t know it,” he added quickly. “She couldn’t place it. But she sensed… something off.”
“Oh good,” I said. “Fantastic. So your daughter now thinks I’m screwing her dad or plotting his murder. Great.”
Kael didn’t smile.
He didn’t even twitch.
But he stepped closer. Just a little. Like gravity tugged him.
“Whatever happens,” he said, voice low, steady, and entirely too intense, “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not even by accident.”
My chest tightened.
“That includes Nia,” he added. “She’ll understand. Eventually.”
I bit my lip. “Will she? Because right now, I feel like a walking red flag. And I don’t want to ruin her family.”
“You’re not.” His eyes softened for a fraction of a second. “You didn’t choose this.”
“Neither did she,” I whispered.
He didn’t have a response to that.
Footsteps thudded faintly upstairs. Nia’s door shut with an edge of frustration.
Kael exhaled slowly, looking toward the sound like it physically pained him.
“This is going to be difficult,” he said.
“For her?” I asked.
“For all of us.”
A chill crawled up my spine.
Because he was right.
Nia had walked through the door expecting home.
Instead, she walked into a bond she couldn’t see, a secret she didn’t know, and a mess none of us were ready to explain.
And somehow, I had become the center of all of it.
- Writer
