A Gift for the Three Alpha's

Chapter 16: Heat and Secrets

"It is just my Omega wolf responding," Lyra said sharply, trying to sound dismissive. "It is not me. Let me go."

Darius was completely unimpressed by her sharp remark. Without hesitation, he pushed his fingers back inside her, penetrating her with renewed purpose.

Lyra tried to hold back. She clenched her teeth, held her breath, forced her body to remain still and silent. But he was relentless. His fingers moved faster, deeper, with more intensity.

She could not hold back anymore.

A moan escaped her lips despite her efforts. Then another. Her body was completely out of her control, responding to his touch with shameless need.

"I am bigger than three fingers," Darius said, his voice low and dangerous against her ear. "And when I take you the way I want to, I will break you in half."

The threat should have terrified her. Instead, her wolf howled with excitement at the prospect. Heat flooded between her legs, and her body became even more responsive to his touch.

She was losing control.

Her eyes began to flicker, the pupils dilating and contracting as her wolf pushed toward the surface. The shift was coming. She could feel it building in her bones, in her blood, in every fiber of her being.

Panic seized her. If she shifted here, if Darius saw what kind of wolf she was, everything would be over. He would know immediately that she was not just some common Omega sent from a minor pack.

She began to fight the shift with every ounce of willpower she possessed.

"What is wrong with you?" Darius demanded, noticing the change in her demeanor. Her skin was becoming too warm beneath his hands. Her breathing was becoming irregular. "You are running a fever."

"I am ill," Lyra gasped out, lying through her teeth. "I think I am ill. Please, I cannot – I need to –"

Darius pulled back, his expression turning to one of disappointed irritation. He released her completely, leaving her shaking on the bed with unsatisfied need coursing through her body.

"You will be trained so that you will know your duties to us," he said coldly, moving away from her. "And when you enter your heat period, you will tell us immediately. Understood?"

Lyra nodded, but internally, she made a different decision entirely. She would never tell them about her heat. She knew exactly what would happen if she did. All three of them would claim her at once. The bonding would be permanent. She would belong to them completely, body and soul.

She could not let that happen.

"You are not allowed to enter the throne room," Darius continued, gesturing for her to get dressed. "You will not seek an audience with me or my brothers without an escort. You go where you are told to go, when you are told to go there. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Lyra said quietly.

"Yes, my Lord," Darius corrected sharply.

"Yes, my Lord," she repeated, the words tasting like ash in her mouth.

When he unchained her, Darius went to the bathroom briefly, leaving her alone in his chamber. Lyra's eyes immediately went to the table where she had seen the maps before.

They were still there. Several scrolls of parchment, each one marked with the Ironfang insignia. Battle plans. Supply routes. Attack strategies.

On impulse, driven by pure instinct and the need to reclaim some control, she grabbed one of the maps and hid it in her clothes, pressing it against her skin beneath her dress.

Darius emerged from the bathroom moments later, his expression unreadable.

"Your training starts tomorrow," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Elena will come for you in the morning. Try not to disappoint me again."

It was a dismissal. Lyra moved toward the door, her heart pounding as she waited to see if he would notice the missing map. But he did not. He simply watched her go with cold, dark eyes.

As she stepped into the hallway, she saw him. Asher was sitting by a large window that overlooked the palace grounds, staring out at the moon with an expression of such profound sadness that it made her heart ache.

She remembered how he had looked during the examination, how uncomfortable and conflicted his facial expression had been, like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

She tried to slip by silently, hoping he would not notice her.

"Lyra."

She froze. Her name on his lips sounded different now. Harder. Colder. Nothing like the boy who had killed for her.

He rose from where he was sitting and approached her, his blue eyes intense and unreadable. When he reached her, he pulled her close to his chest, looking down at her with an angry expression that made her breath catch.

"Did you not know you were supposed to reply 'Yes, my Lord' when a royal blood called for you?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.