Fangs of trust

The council hall was a place that smelled like stone and smoke and worn leather. It was a smell that Lyra Valemont knew well. Wolves had been in this hall before, their scents still lingered on the benches. It was a reminder of all the things that had happened here over the years. Lyra Valemont sat in the corner of the hall trying to be quiet and unseen. She didn't want to be noticed by anyone. She had always known she wasn't important. Her hands were twisted together as she pulled on the hem of her tunic. She wished she could just disappear and the night would pass her by without anything happening. At the front of the hall, the elders were sitting on a raised seat. Looking serious and stern. The alphas and beta were moving around carefully looking at everyone and trying to figure out what's going on. Then, there was Kael Draven, her first mate. He was standing in the center of the hall, looking like he owned the place. His black was shiny. His jaw was set. His silver eyes were cold and commanding. He looked like he owned the room. Lyra Valemont felt sick in the stomach. She had thought that this meeting was going to be boring. Now, she was not so sure. Kael Draven started to speak. His voice, clear and loud. “Tonight,” he said. “I choose my mate. The one who would stand by me, the one who would share my bond, and be my partner…” he looked around the hall. His eyes stopped on Lyra for a moment. Her chest tightened. Then he said the name of the person he had chosen. “Isolde Marven.” Lyra felt like she had been punched in the stomach. The name hit her hard. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The world around her started to slow down. The torchlight in the hall began to flicker. Lyra Valemont froze. Her throat felt tight and her mind went blank. She could not think of anything to say or do. Then the whisper began. At first they were quiet. Then they got louder and louder. People were talking about Lyra. How she was not good enough. They were saying that Kael Draven had made a mistake by not choosing her. Lyra felt her face get hot. She was humiliated. She just wanted to disappear and hide. Everything she had built, the careful expectation that she would be invisible, fell apart in a heartbeat. Soren kaelen, someone who had liked her when she was younger, came over to her. Putting his hand on her shoulder. It was warm, reassuring, but somehow felt wrong. “Lyra, it is not as bad as it seems,” he said quietly. His words did not make her feel better, it stung. They just reminded her how she had felt. Like she was nothing without someone else to help her. Lyra mouthed a thank you, but she did not really mean it. She wanted to shout and scream and make Kael take back what he had said. She just sat there quiet and still, watching Kael look at Isolde Marven with pride. Isolde Marven was her best friend and now, Kael's mate. She felt like she was nothing. On the other side, Lucien Throne was standing and watching her. His eyes were dark and calm and were also watching her with a lot of interest. Lyra felt a run down her spine. She didn't know what to make of Lucien Thrones' gaze. It was not mean or funny. It was something else, something she couldn't fully understand. Something that made her feel strange and new. It was protective, quiet, and strange. The hall was filled with whispers and snickers and people looking at her. Kael’s choices had changed everything. Now Lyra Valemont was the center of attraction. Soren Kaelen's hands were still on her shoulder as he was trying to comfort her. “You will be okay,” he whispered. “You always get through things somehow.” Lyra didn't feel like she was going to be okay. She felt like she was going to fall. She thought about all the time she had been ignored and pushed aside. She thought about all the time she had been made to feel like she was not important. Now with Kael's choice, it felt like it was all happening again. Still, she didn't cry. She could not. The hall felt like a cage and she was trapped in the center. Lucien's gaze never left her face. He was watching her with a lot of interest and concern. Lyra felt a pulse inside her, a rhythm that she could not explain. It was like a warning signal that something was happening inside her. She had no idea what it was, but she knew it was something big. The room was loud, the whispers sharp. Lyra Valemont felt like she was going to explode inside. She wanted to vanish into the shadows, but she could not. There were many eyes on her, too many people watching her. Her hands folded into a fist in her laps. With every breath every, and time stretched. Isolde Marven laughed softly as she turned to Kael. Soren murmured something in Lyra's ear. She did not hear what he said. Lucien just stood there, watching her with his dark eyes Then Lyra realized that the pulse she had felt was not just hers. It was something that had awakened inside her. Her first mate had rejected her, and her best friend had taken her place, and her childhood crush had tried to comfort her. Lucien, the calm and quiet one, had noticed her. He had seen her pain and humiliation. And yet from the shadow, someone watched quietly. Lyra Valemont's hands were shaking. Not from fear, nor pain. They were shaking from the power rising inside her. The pack’s whispers and laughter. Isolde Marven triumph…none of it would matter for too long. The omega they ignored. She was starting to awaken.