Chapter3:The Collar
1426 Words
The warmth inside Lyra’s chest didn’t fade. If anything, it grew stronger.
It wasn’t painful. Nor was it violent.
Just enough for her to notice it. Like a quiet voice whispering beneath her ribs.
North.
She didn’t know how, but she could tell it had to do with ruins her father had just mentioned..
Lyra stared into the empty bowl in her hands.
The broth was gone. The last crumbs of bread clung to the bottom.
Across the hall, the conversation had shifted completely.
The hunt.
Everyone was talking about the hunt.
Hunters at the long tables leaned closer together, voices low but excited.
“The northern ruins?” one wolf murmured.
“Dangerous route,” another replied.
“Good prey though.”
“Old territory. Strong beasts there.”
Lyra’s fingers tightened slightly around the bowl.
The warmth in her chest flickered again.
North.
Toward the ruins.
She lifted her head slowly.
At the Alpha table, her father was still speaking.
“We leave at dawn in three days,” Alpha Brutus announced, his deep voice carrying easily through the hall.
“The strongest hunters will accompany us.”
Kael leaned forward eagerly.
“I’ll lead the first group.”
Brutus gave a small approving nod.
“You will ride beside me.”
Kael’s grin widened.
Across from him, Vespera leaned back in her chair with elegant ease.
“And I assume I’ll be joining as well,” she said lightly.
Lunara smiled faintly.
“Of course.”
Lyra felt something twist inside her chest.
It wasn’t jealousy, – not that she hadn’t caught herself being jealous of her siblings countless times, but she knew this had nothing to do with jealousy.
It was something sharper. Something restless.
Before she realized what she was doing, she stood.
The movement was small.
But in the quiet moment after the Alpha’s announcement…
It was enough.
A few nearby wolves turned.
Then more.
Brutus looked up.
His golden eyes landed on her.
And hardened instantly.
Lyra swallowed.
Her heart thudded loudly in her chest.
But she stepped forward anyway. Just a few steps. Enough to be seen.
Enough to speak.
“Alpha…” she began softly.
The hall fell silent. It wasn’t common for Lyra to speak. Especially not here.
Brutus didn’t answer. He simply stared.
Lyra forced the words out.
“I want to join the hunt.”
The silence deepened. Someone at the far table gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
Kael blinked once. Then twice.
Vespera tilted her head slowly.
Lyra kept going.
“I can track,” she said quickly.
“And I can shoot. I’ve been practicing. I could help.”
Her voice grew a little steadier.
“I just… want a chance.”
The warmth in her chest pulsed again. Stronger this time.
North.
Toward the ruins.She knew instantly that she had done the right thing, or the pulse in her heart would have dimmed.
Brutus stared at her for a long moment.
Then he slowly set his knife down.
The quiet clink against the plate echoed across the hall.
“You want to join the hunt.”
His voice was flat.
Lyra nodded.
“Yes, Alpha.”
For a moment, the hall remained perfectly still.
Then—
Brutus laughed.
It wasn’t a warm laugh. It wasn’t even amused.
It was sharp. Cold.
“You?”
A few wolves at the tables chuckled nervously.
Brutus leaned back in his chair.
“Tell me something, girl.”
His gaze dropped slowly to her neck.
“To what do I owe this…confidence?”
Lyra’s hand instinctively moved to the iron band around her throat.
The collar.
It was simple. Black iron. Old. Heavy.
Thin runes had been carved into its surface long ago. Most wolves assumed they were decorative.
Lyra had worn it for as long as she could remember.
Since she was five.
Her family had always told her it was there to remind her of something important.
Her place. Her weakness. Her worth. Or lack of it.
Brutus’ eyes sharpened.
“How bold of you to stand here,” he continued slowly.
“To show your face in this hall.”
His voice rose suddenly.
“While wearing… he stopped, gesturing towards her neck with his eyes,.. around your neck.”
But he wasn’t subtle enough as every eye in the room turned toward what the Alpha was gesturing at – the collar.
Lyra felt heat crawl up her throat.
She lowered her hand quickly.
“I just wanted to help,” she whispered.
“Help?” Brutus barked.
He stood abruptly.
The chair scraped loudly across the stone floor.
“You embarrass this pack by existing.”
His voice thundered through the hall.
“And yet you think you’re fit to hunt beside my warriors?”
Lyra flinched.
Brutus pointed sharply toward the door.
“You will stay in this house.”
His gaze burned like fire.
“You will not join the hunt.”
The words fell like stones. Heavy. Final.
Lyra’s throat tightened.
She lowered her head slowly.
“Yes… Alpha.”
A few quiet murmurs rippled through the hall. Lyra stepped backward. Then another step.
She didn’t look at anyone.
Didn’t look at Kael.
Didn’t look at Vespera.
She simply returned to the shadowed corner beside the barrels.
Her place.
Her hiding spot.
Across the hall, Kael finally exhaled a laugh.
“That was unexpected.”
Vespera chuckled softly.
“I admire the courage.”
Her smile was sweet.
Mocking.
Kael pushed his chair back and stood.
“Well,” he said casually, “we should get our outfits ready.”
Several servants immediately hurried forward carrying folded bundles of leather and fur.
Hunting gear.
Kael shrugged into a dark leather coat reinforced with wolfhide.
It fit him perfectly.
The sleeves were etched with the Blackrock crest.
Vespera stood as well.
Her own outfit was elegant even for hunting—sleek black leather fitted to her form, silver clasps catching the firelight.
She spun lightly once.
“How do I look?”
Kael smirked.
“Like you’re about to impress the entire pack.”
Brutus watched them both with quiet approval.
“Good,” he said simply.
In the corner, Lyra hugged her knees to her chest.
The iron collar felt heavier tonight.
Like it had grown tighter somehow.
The faint warmth inside her chest flickered again.
Hours later, the hall finally emptied. Torches dimmed. Servants cleared the tables.
Lyra slipped quietly upstairs to the small storage room that served as her bedroom.
A thin blanket. A narrow bed. A single window overlooking the forest.
She sat on the edge of the mattress, fingers tracing the iron band around her throat. The skin beneath it was sore again.
It often was.
A soft knock came at the door.
Then it opened gently.
“Still awake?”
Lyra looked up.
Grandmother Mona stepped inside.
The old woman carried a small clay jar in one hand.
“I thought so,” Mona murmured.
She closed the door quietly behind her.
Lyra didn’t speak as Mona sat beside her on the bed.
The old woman gently tilted Lyra’s chin upward.
The collar gleamed faintly in the candlelight.
Mona sighed softly.
“Again.”
She opened the jar.
A cool herbal scent filled the room.
Ointment.
Carefully, Mona slid her fingers beneath the edge of the collar.
Lyra winced slightly as the cold salve touched the raw skin beneath.
“I’m sorry,” Mona murmured.
“It stings.”
“It’s okay.”
They sat in silence for a while.
Mona worked slowly. Carefully. Like she had done a hundred times before.
Lyra stared out the window.
The forest beyond the estate was dark. Endless. Waiting. Calling.
Finally, Mona finished.
She closed the jar and rested her wrinkled hand gently over Lyra’s.
“Does it hurt tonight?”
Lyra hesitated.
“A little.”
Mona nodded thoughtfully.
Then she leaned closer.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“One day,” she said softly, “you’ll have that collar removed from your neck, and you will wear something else that signifies something better.”
Lyra blinked.
“What?”
Mona smiled faintly.
“A crown.”
Her fingers brushed the iron band lightly.
“And it will burn brighter than this rust.”
Lyra didn’t know why…
But the warmth in her chest flared suddenly. Brighter than before.
Like something inside her had heard those words.
And far to the north…
Beyond the forest…
Beyond the mountains…
Something ancient stirred in the ruins.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD