RISE OF THE WARRIOR LUNA

CHAPTER 2

RUN, WOLF, RUN

Lyra's POV

Snow crunched under my boots as Tessa and I sprinted down the alley, the bar’s neon buzz fading behind us. My heart hammered, gold light still sparking in my palms from that bondweaving flare, stupid power, outing me like a damn beacon. Karl's cedar-and-steel scent lingered on my skin where he’d grabbed me, my Wolf whining like a traitor. Four alphas, Kael, Jasper, Rune, and Finn, were hunting me, and I’d just smashed my favorite skull mug on Kael’s chest. RIP, mug. Tessa’s knife glinted in her hand, her pixie cut plastered with sweat as she scanned the shadows.

“Move, Lyra!” she hissed, her hazel eyes flashing gold. “Those wolves aren’t here for karaoke.”

I snorted, but my gut twisted. Jasper's banishment, Selene’s smug “you’re everyone’s prize” jab, and the way those alphas stared, like I was the key to their screwed-up dreams, had me reeling. My bondweaving, that cursed gift from Mom’s ritual, could bend pack loyalty or break it, but it came with a shadowy voice whispering dark crap in my head.

And Selene knew. How? I’d kept it buried, but now Kael’s Shadowfang goons, Rune’s creepy Ironfang psychos, and Finn’s rogue pack were on our asses.

A howl ripped through the night too close. I tripped over a damn crate, my boot catching like I was drunk. “Screw this snow,” I muttered, catching myself. Tessa yanked me up, her leather jacket creaking.

“Less whining, more running,” she snapped, but her grin was all trouble.

The alley dumped us into a frozen street, dive bars and pawn shops glowing under streetlights. My bondweaving pulsed, hot and wild, like it wanted to break something. That shadowy voice hissed, Take them all. I shoved it down, my head spinning. Last time I let it loose, I’d nearly turned Silverclaw against Jasper. Freaking great.

Footsteps pounded behind us. I spun, spotting Kael’s massive frame leading three Shadowfang wolves, their eyes glowing silver. Rune’s laugh echoed from a side street, his blade-twirling ass closing in with Ironfang claws. Finn’s rogue scent, pine and leather, hit from the left, his pack slinking through the dark.

Jasper’s Silverclaw wolves weren’t there, but I smelled his whiskey stink somewhere close. Four alphas, one me. Shitty odds.

“Lyra", Kael growled, his voice cutting through the cold. Stop running, we can talk.

“Talk my ass!” I yelled, my wolf snarling. His mate bond tugged, making my skin burn, and I hated it. True mate or not, Kael was trouble, and I wasn’t his damn prize.

Tessa shoved me toward a rusted pickup. “Get in!” She dove for the driver’s seat, hot-wiring it like the delinquent she was. I scrambled onto the passenger side, my claw tattoo itching as I slammed the door. The engine roared, and Tessa floored it, the tires screeching.

Kael’s wolves lunged, one clawing the tailgate before we peeled out. Rune’s laugh echoed behind us; it was creepy and scary. And Finn’s rogues were all over us, sprinting towards us with their howl so close to us. I looked back and spotted Jasper’s blond head; he was standing in the distance with Selene beside him. She stood there watching me tangle.

“What’s her deal?” I muttered, gripping the dash as Tessa swerved around a snowbank.

“She’s a snake,” Tessa growled, her knife now tucked in her boot. “Knew about your power. How?”

I shook my head, my braid smacking my face. “No clue. Only you and I knew.” My bondweaving flared again, gold light leaking from my hands, and the shadowy voice got louder: Break their bonds. I clenched my fists, scared it’d take over. The last thing I needed was a feral pack on my tail.

Tessa shot me a look. “Your glowy hands are freaking me out. Can you not?”

“Working on it!” I snapped, but my head throbbed. The shadow’s whisper felt like claws in my brain, and I swear I saw a flicker, a wolf shape in the dark, not real but there. My mom’s ritual did this, tying me to some entity I didn’t understand. Awesome inheritance, Mom.

We hit a dirt road, the pickup rattling like it’d die any second. Tessa cursed, dodging potholes. “Where are we going? Safe house?”

“Yeah,” I said, thinking of the cabin we’d stashed in the mountains. “Need to figure out why Selene’s playing puppet master.” And why four alphas thought I was their ticket to pack domination. Kael wanted my power to save Shadowfang, Rune to burn it all down, Finn for some rogue dream, and Jasper, hell, he just wanted his crown back.

A howl split the air, and the rear window shattered. A Shadowfang wolf leaped onto the truck bed, claws scraping metal. Tessa swerved, yelling, “Hold on!” I twisted, my bondweaving surging, and without thinking, I pushed it out. A gold light hit the wolf, and his eyes went blank; his loyalty to Kael snapped. He jumped off, turning on his own pack, snarling.

“Holy s**t!” Tessa laughed, but I felt sick. I’d broken a bond, just like that, and the shadow voice purred, More. My nose bled, dripping on my tank top. Not good.

Kael’s roar echoed, closer now. “Lyra, you can’t control it alone!”

“Screw you!” I shouted, wiping my nose. But he was right; my power was a mess, and it was calling every wolf in the Rockies. Tessa hit a fork in the road, and I pointed left. “Safe house, now!”

Headlights flashed behind us, Finn’s rogues in a beat-up van. Rune’s Ironfang wolves flanked us on foot, their green-eyed alpha grinning through the snow. Kael’s pack was gaining, and Jasper’s scent wasn’t far away. My bondweaving pulsed, begging to break them all, but I held it back, my head screaming.

Tessa skidded to a stop at a frozen creek, the safe house just across. “We ran from here,” she said, grabbing her knife. I nodded, but a twist hit like a brick: Finn stepped out of the van, his hazel eyes locked on me, and said, “Lyra, I’m not here to hurt you. I’m your cousin.”

My jaw dropped. Cousin? Finn Marek, my childhood friend, was family? Before I could process, Rune’s blade flew, grazing my arm, and Kael’s wolves closed in. Tessa yanked me toward the creek, but a new howl rang out from Jasper, and Selene’s voice carried: “Her power’s awake. She’s ours.”

Golden light exploded from my hands, uncontrolled, and half the wolves froze, their bonds fraying. The shadow laughed in my head, and I stumbled, blood on my lips. We didn’t make it to the safe house tonight.