The Alpha's BREEDER

chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Woman Who Died in My Place

Lyria

"They found a woman's body inside... wearing your clothes."

The guard's words knocked the air from my lungs that for a moment, I couldn't breathe.

"W-What did you say?" I whispered.

The young guard lowered his eyes, unable to meet mine.

"The eastern wing was set on fire shortly after the Moon Blessing Ceremony began. When the guards finally managed to put out the flames, they found a burned body inside your room."

My legs nearly gave out beneath me.

I would have been in that room. If the Moon Priest hadn't insisted that the ceremony begin immediately...

I would have died.

"It wasn't an accident," the guard continued grimly. "The doors had been locked from the outside."

A chill spread through my body.

Someone hadn't just wanted me dead.

They had wanted to make sure there was no escape for me.

The Moon Temple fell silent.

Even the Elders who had looked at me with contempt only hours earlier now wore uneasy expressions.

Alpha Cassian stepped forward.

"Who identified the body?"

"No one, Alpha," the guard replied. "The fire destroyed her face. But she was dressed in the silver ceremonial gown prepared for Miss Ashwood."

I looked down at myself.

I was still wearing that gown.

The only reason I still had it on was because I had been taken straight from my room to the temple.

If I had arrived even ten minutes later...

My stomach twisted violently.

I closed my eyes.

Someone else had died because they were mistaken for me.

A wave of guilt crashed over me.

"Ivy..."

The little servant girl.

She had been in my room.

She had brought me tea.

Please...

Please don't let it be her.

The Moon Priest seemed to read the fear in my face.

"Search every servant's quarters," he ordered.

"Immediately."

The guards rushed from the temple.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop the trembling. Everything had changed so quickly.

This morning, I had been worried about surviving a breeder contract.

Now...

Someone was hunting me.

"My Alpha."

An Elder stepped closer to Cassian.

"I strongly advise we cancel the contract."

Several others nodded.

"The risks are too great."

"If the prophecy has awakened our enemies, the safest solution is to send the girl away."

"Or eliminate her ourselves before someone else starts a war over her."

My head snapped toward the speaker.

Eliminate me?

He spoke so casually.

As if I weren't standing right there.

As if my life meant nothing.

"No."

Cassian's voice sliced through the room.

Every Elder fell silent.

"I gave my word before the Moon Priest."

He looked toward the glowing Moon Mark on my wrist.

"The contract stands."

"But, Alpha—"

"The discussion is over."

The authority in his tone left no room for argument.

I didn't understand him.

Just hours ago, he had looked at me like I was nothing more than a signed agreement.

Now he was refusing to let them sacrifice me.

Was it because of the prophecy?

Or...

Was there another reason?

Before I could think further, another group of guards entered the temple.

Leading them was a tall man with shoulder-length dark hair and sharp blue eyes.

He stopped before Cassian and bowed.

"My Alpha."

"Report."

"The fire was deliberately started using shadow oil."

A murmur swept through the room.

The captain continued.

"The assassin left no footprints, no scent, and no witnesses."

Cassian frowned.

"So they knew exactly where to strike."

"Yes."

The captain hesitated.

"But we found something else."

He opened his gloved hand.

Resting on his palm was a small silver pendant.

Its chain had been burned black, but the symbol engraved on it remained untouched.

A crescent moon that was split in half.

The Moon Priest inhaled sharply.

"Impossible..."

Cassian took the pendant.

"You recognize it?"

The old priest's face turned pale.

"I prayed I would never see that symbol again."

The temple seemed to grow colder.

"What does it mean?" Cassian demanded.

The priest stared at the pendant for a long moment before speaking.

"It belongs to..."

He swallowed.

"...the Order of the Broken Moon."

The name alone was enough to make several Elders step backward. One even made the sign of the Moon Goddess across his chest.

I looked between them, confused.

"I've never heard of them."

"You weren't supposed to," the priest replied quietly.

"They were believed to have been wiped out over five hundred years ago."

"Then how is this possible?" Cassian asked.

The priest's eyes slowly met mine.

"Because someone has brought them back."

"And if the Order is hunting Lyria..."

His voice dropped to a whisper.

"...then they already know who she truly is."

The room fell silent.

My heart hammered.

Who I truly was?

"I'm just an omega," I said.

"No."

The priest's gaze lingered on the glowing mark beneath my skin.

"I fear you have never been 'just' anything."

A loud knock interrupted him.

One of the guards rushed back into the temple, breathing hard.

"My Alpha!"

Cassian turned immediately.

"What happened?"

The guard's expression was filled with relief.

"We found the servant girl."

My shoulders sagged.

"Ivy?"

"She's alive."

I nearly cried.

"But..."

The guard hesitated.

"She says she saw the person who started the fire."

Every eye in the temple locked onto him.

Cassian's voice hardened.

"Bring her here."

The guard shook his head.

"I'm afraid we can't."

"Why not?"

"Because..."

He swallowed.

"...she refuses to speak to anyone except Miss Lyria."

"Take me to her."

The words left my mouth before anyone else could speak.

Cassian turned toward me. His silver–gray eyes searched my face, as if trying to determine whether I understood the danger.

"The assassin could still be nearby," he said.

"I know."

"You could be walking into another trap."

I took a shaky breath.

"Ivy is only a child. If she's asking for me, then she's terrified."

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he nodded once.

"We're going."

The Moon Priest frowned.

"My Alpha—"

"I said we're going."

No one argued.

Within minutes, we left the temple under heavy guard.

The palace corridors, which had seemed elegant earlier, now felt suffocating.

Guards stood at every entrance with drawn swords.

Servants hurried past with lowered heads, too frightened to look at anyone.

News of the attack had already spread.

I could hear whispers following me.

"She's cursed."

"No... she's blessed."

"The prophecy has begun."

"Someone wants her dead."

Each word made my chest tighten.

I hadn't asked for any of this.

I only wanted enough money to save my brother.

Now innocent people were dying because of me.

As we approached the servants' quarters, Cassian suddenly lifted his hand.

Everyone stopped.

"What is it?" Captain Darius asked.

Cassian looked around the empty hallway.

"The scent."

I frowned.

"What scent?"

He looked toward a nearby window.

"Blood."

The guards immediately spread out. A moment later, one of them shouted.

"Over here!"

We hurried outside.

A palace maid lay unconscious beside the garden wall. Her apron was stained with blood.

The healer rushed forward and checked her pulse.

"She's alive."

"What happened?" Cassian asked.

The maid slowly opened her eyes.

She looked directly at him and then at me terror filled her face.

"They..."

She coughed weakly.

"They are inside."

Before anyone could ask who she meant...

A child's scream echoed from the servants' wing.

"Ivy!"

Without thinking, I ran.

"Lyria!" Cassian shouted behind me.

I ignored him.

The scream came again but this time it was filled with pure terror.

I reached the room first and threw the door open.

The tiny room was in complete chaos.

Furniture had been overturned.

Blankets were scattered across the floor.

The single window had been shattered.

And crouching in the far corner...

Was Ivy.

She wrapped her tiny arms around her knees, shaking uncontrollably.

"Ivy..."

She looked up.

The moment she saw me, tears streamed down her face.

"You came..."

I knelt beside her.

"I'm here."

Her small hands grabbed mine so tightly they hurt.

"They'll kill you."

My heart sank.

"Who will?"

"The man with the black eyes."

Every hair on my body stood on end.

"The one who started the fire."

Cassian entered the room just then, followed by Captain Darius and several guards.

Ivy saw them and she screamed which shows she was deeply frightened.

"No!"

She buried her face against my shoulder.

"Please don't let them take me!"

I gently stroked her hair.

"No one is taking you."

Cassian remained where he was, careful not to frighten her further. His voice softened slightly.

"Ivy."

She refused to look at him.

"I need you to tell us what happened."

She shook her head violently.

"He said if I talked..."

Her voice cracked.

"...he'd come back."

Silence filled the room.

I could feel Cassian watching us. I took Ivy's trembling hands into mine.

"Look at me," I said slowly.

Slowly, she did.

"You are safe now."

Her frightened eyes searched mine.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

She nodded weakly.

Then, in a voice barely louder than a whisper, she began.

"I brought your tea but you were gone and so I waited."

She swallowed hard.

"Then a man climbed through the window."

My pulse quickened.

"What did he look like?"

"He wore a black cloak."

"Could you see his face?"

She hesitated.

"Only his eyes. They weren't like ours."

"They were..."

She burst into tears.

"They were completely black."

The room fell silent.

Captain Darius exchanged a troubled glance with Cassian.

"What did he do?" I asked gently.

"He looked around your room. Then he smiled and he said..."

She squeezed my hands until they almost hurt.

"'Even the Moon Goddess can't protect the chosen one forever.'"

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

Chosen one.

He knew about the prophecy before anyone else.

"Then what happened?" I whispered.

"He poured something all over the floor making the room smelled strange."

"Before he left..."

Her voice broke again.

"He looked at me."

I felt her trembling grow worse.

"He knew I was hiding."

"Why didn't he kill you?" Cassian asked quietly.

Ivy slowly reached into her pocket.

"My Alpha..."

She pulled out a small object wrapped in cloth.

"I think..."

"...he wanted me to give this to Miss Lyria."

She unfolded the cloth.

Resting inside was an old silver ring.

Unlike the elegant jewelry worn by the Blackthorn Pack, this ring was ancient.

Its surface was covered in strange markings.

The moment I touched it—

A blinding pain exploded inside my head.

Images that weren't mine flashed before my eyes.

A woman who looked exactly like me was running through a forest beneath a blood–red moon.

A baby crying.

A man's desperate voice shouting—

"Run, Lyanna! Save our daughter!"

I gasped and dropped the ring.

The vision vanished as the room spun around me.

Cassian caught me before I collapsed.

"What happened?"

I stared at the ring lying on the floor.

Tears filled my eyes.

"I..."

My voice shook.

"I've seen that woman before."

Everyone froze.

Cassian frowned.

"What woman?"

I slowly looked up.

"The woman..."

"...who looked exactly like me."