Chapter 6: The Letter He Kept
1639 Words
"My father?”
Lyra stared at Kael.
He didn't answer.
He stood with his back half-turned toward her, looking into the trees as though the forest might give him a reason not to continue.
Lyra waited.
When he still said nothing, she folded her arms.
“You can't just say something like that and then go quiet.”
Kael let out a slow breath.
“My father heard those words years ago.”
“The same words?”
“Yes.”
“From whom?”
“I don't know.”
Lyra gave him a look.
“Of course you don't.”
Kael glanced at her.
“I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
She stepped closer.
“You've spent the entire night telling me that you don't know anything, yet every few minutes you say something that makes me realize you know more than you're telling me.”
“I know pieces.”
“Then give me the pieces.”
For a moment, he seemed to consider refusing.
Instead, he leaned against the tree behind him.
“My father was Alpha before me.”
“I know.”
“He started receiving threats about six months before he died.”
Lyra's expression changed.
“Threats about what?”
Kael looked at her.
“A girl.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Me?”
“I don't know.”
“But you think so.”
“I think it's possible.”
Lyra looked down at the pendant around her neck.
“And you never asked him who the girl was?”
“I was seventeen.”
There was something in his voice that made her stop.
Kael looked away.
“My father wasn't the kind of man who explained things when he thought they might put you in danger.”
Lyra was quiet for a moment.
“Was he a good father?”
Kael's mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile.
“He tried.”
The answer was simple, but there was a weight behind it.
“What happened to him?”
“He left the pack one night.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Did anyone go after him?”
“They tried.”
Kael's gaze dropped to the ground.
“We found him the next morning.”
Lyra's chest tightened.
“Dead?”
He nodded.
“I'm sorry.”
He didn't respond.
“Do you know who killed him?”
“No.”
“Was it a wolf?”
“We never found any tracks.”
Lyra frowned.
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
She could hear the frustration in his voice now.
“That's why you don't trust the elders.”
Kael looked at her.
“Among other things.”
Lyra studied him.
She had expected the Alpha's son to be arrogant.
Instead, she was beginning to see someone who had spent years carrying questions no one had answered.
“Did your father leave anything behind?”
Kael hesitated.
“A letter.”
Lyra looked up.
“You have it?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
He reached beneath his shirt and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Lyra blinked.
“You carry it with you?”
“Everywhere.”
He unfolded it carefully.
The paper was old and creased from years of handling.
He held it out.
Lyra took it.
The handwriting was neat.
The first line made her heart skip.
Kael, if you're reading this, something has happened to me.
She looked up.
“Did you ever show this to anyone?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn't know who I could trust.”
She continued reading.
There are things about this pack that you will learn when you're older. Until then, don't ask questions about the girl.
Lyra's fingers tightened around the paper.
“The girl.”
Kael nodded.
She read on.
If she ever returns, keep her away from the Moon Tree.
Lyra stopped.
“Returns?”
“I noticed that too.”
“Did you know your father was talking about my mother?”
“I didn't know anything about her.”
“But you think he was.”
“I think there's a reason that letter mentioned a girl, and I think there's a reason your mother brought you here.”
Lyra handed the letter back.
“What happened to the original?”
“That is the original.”
“No. I mean your father's notes. Anything else he left.”
“Nothing that helped.”
She looked toward the forest.
“The Moon Tree.”
Kael's expression changed.
“You were there tonight.”
“Yes.”
“Did something happen?”
Lyra hesitated.
“You already know it did.”
“I want to hear it from you.”
She looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I need to know what you're experiencing.”
Lyra almost laughed.
“Experiencing?”
“I'm trying to understand what's happening.”
“So am I.”
“I know.”
She looked down at her wrist.
The mark was faint now.
“Something happened when I touched the tree.”
Kael straightened.
“What?”
“I heard my mother.”
His face changed.
“What did she say?”
Lyra hesitated.
“That's not all.”
“What else?”
“I saw her.”
Kael stared at her.
“In a vision.”
“What did you see?”
“She was running through the forest. She had me with her.”
Lyra swallowed.
“She was frightened.”
Kael's voice softened.
“Did you see who she was running from?”
“No.”
She paused.
“But I heard a man.”
“What did he say?”
Lyra looked at him.
“You can't hide her forever.”
Kael went completely still.
“You heard that?”
“Yes.”
He looked away.
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
“You recognize it.”
“My father used those exact words.”
A chill moved through her.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
She stared at him.
“You really hate that answer, don't you?”
Kael looked at her.
“More than you know.”
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Lyra noticed the blood on his shirt again.
“You're hurt.”
“It's not serious.”
“That's not what I asked.”
He glanced down.
“It's nothing.”
“Sit.”
Kael raised an eyebrow.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“I thought I was the one giving orders.”
“You're terrible at it.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“Apparently.”
He sat on the low stone near the tree.
Lyra crouched in front of him and examined the cut along his side.
It wasn't deep, but the sight of it still made her uncomfortable.
“What happened?”
“Something attacked me.”
“The thing from earlier?”
“I don't know.”
“You're really consistent.”
He almost smiled again.
Lyra tore a strip from the edge of her sleeve.
Kael looked at it.
“You're ruining your dress.”
“It was already old.”
“You don't have to do this.”
“I know.”
She wrapped the fabric around his side.
Her fingers brushed his skin.
The bond between them stirred.
Neither spoke.
Lyra became suddenly aware of how close they were.
Kael seemed to notice it too.
He looked at her.
For a second, neither moved.
Then Lyra pulled her hand away.
“You should rest.”
“So should you.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
She looked toward the trees.
“Because every time I close my eyes, I see my mother running.”
Kael's expression softened.
“I’m sorry.”
Lyra looked at him.
“You don't have to keep saying that.”
“I know.”
“Then why do you?”
“Because I mean it.”
The answer caught her off guard.
Before she could respond, a howl echoed from the eastern side of the forest.
Kael stood immediately.
Another howl followed.
Closer.
His expression changed.
“The patrol.”
Lyra's stomach dropped.
“You think something happened?”
“I know something happened.”
He reached for the weapon at his side.
“Stay here.”
“Kael—”
“Please.”
He looked at her.
“If I'm not back in ten minutes, wake the pack.”
Lyra stared at him.
“Ten minutes?”
“I don't expect to be gone that long.”
“Then why say it?”
“Because I need you to know what to do if I am.”
He turned.
Lyra caught his hand.
Kael stopped.
She hadn't planned to touch him.
She didn't even know why she had.
“Be careful.”
He looked down at their hands.
Then at her.
“I will.”
His fingers closed briefly around hers before he let go.
He disappeared into the trees.
Lyra stood there watching until she could no longer see him.
The night seemed colder without him.
Then the mark on her wrist began to burn.
She grabbed it.
“Ah—”
The pendant around her neck grew warm.
A faint silver light spread beneath her skin.
Lyra looked toward the forest.
A voice whispered through the darkness.
“Lyra.”
Her breath caught.
“Mom?”
Nothing.
Then the voice came again.
“Don't let him find the door.”
Lyra frowned.
“What door?”
Silence.
A branch snapped behind her.
She turned.
Someone stood between the trees.
Lyra's heart stopped.
She knew that face.
And the last person she expected to see standing there...
was Maya.
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