The Poisoned Cup
1376 Words
Lyra’s Pov
I knock the wine from Theron's hand, and everything explodes into chaos.
The glass shattered on the floor. Red wine spread across the polished stone like blood. Theron turned to me, shock flashing across his face. "Lyra, what—"
"Poison," I said, my voice shaking but sure. "I saw it."
The server dropped his tray with a loud clatter that drew every nearby eye, and in one smooth, practiced motion he pulled a blade from beneath his jacket. That single movement was all it took. Chaos erupted across the banquet hall in an instant. More assassins revealed themselves from positions scattered around the room, six total, each of them placed exactly where they could do the most damage, like they had planned this in days. Guests screamed and scrambled for cover, knocking over chairs in their panic. Alphas shifted instantly to protect their mates. Tables overturned with a crash, glasses shattering everywhere.
Theron shoved me behind him and shifted in an instant. The massive black wolf stood between me and danger, snarling with pure fury. Damon and our Northern Territory guards engaged the assassins immediately, weapons drawn, bodies colliding. One assassin ignored everyone else and came straight for me. His eyes were cold, focused only on the target.
My training kicked in before fear had a chance to take over. I pulled the concealed blade Theron had given me earlier and slashed at the man as he lunged toward me. I caught his forearm, drawing blood. He grunted in pain but kept coming anyway, professional and relentless, clearly trained to push through worse than a shallow cut. I dodged as best I could, my heart hammering so hard that I could feel it in my throat. Theron tried to fight his way toward me, but two assassins moved to block him, working together to keep the Beast occupied and away from me. The bond pulsed with his panic and rage. I was separated from him, and the fear through our connection made my hands shake.
The hall had turned into a battlefield. Alphas fought, some protecting their mates, others engaging the attackers head on. Garrett fought alongside Theron in what looked like an unplanned, temporary alliance, their movements surprisingly well coordinated for two men who barely trusted each other an hour earlier. Elena appeared from nowhere, stepping in to help defend me against the man still pressing his attack. "I am not letting you die," she said, blocking a strike aimed at my side. "Too satisfying for Magnus."
We fought together, an unlikely pair if there was ever one. My Oracle gift activated mid-fight. Flashes coming fast, showing me the attacker's next move a fraction of a second before it actually happened. I dodged left exactly when he swung right.. I countered faster than I should have been able. Elena noticed it immediately, her eyes widening as she watched me move. "You are Oracle for real," she said, breathless. "Gods."
Together we took down the assassin targeting me. He went down hard. Across the room, Theron was tearing through his own attackers with brutal efficiency, the Beast fully unleashed in a way I had only seen once before, in the garden weeks ago. Other Alphas around the hall watched him with a mix of awe and fear. This, right here, was exactly why he was called the most dangerous Alpha alive. The last assassin standing tried to flee toward a side exit. Theron hunted him down within seconds and dragged him back, barely alive, for questioning.
The surviving assassin was restrained, bleeding heavily and visibly terrified. Theron stood over him in human form, but the wolf was still visible in his red-gold eyes. The Council Alphas gathered, demanding answers. Theron’s voice was low and deadly. "Who sent you?"
The assassin tried to stay loyal. "I do not talk."
Theron’s claws extended. "You will."
The interrogation was brutal but effective. The assassin broke within minutes. "Elder Magnus," he gasped out. "He paid us. To kill the Oracle girl."
It was exactly the confirmation we needed, real witness testimony that could hold up in front of the full Council. But Magnus himself was already gone, fled sometime during the chaos . A quick search of his private rooms found them empty, every document burned in the hearth, nothing left behind that could be traced. He had clearly known the assassination attempt might fail and had an exit strategy ready regardless.
My Oracle gift surged again without warning, showing me Magnus moving fast toward the western border, already two hours ahead of us. I turned to Theron immediately. "He is running west. Two hours ahead."
Theron looked at me, startled. "How do you know that?"
"I can see him. The Oracle gift, it is showing me."
We organized a pursuit party immediately. Theron took the fastest warriors, Damon, and some allied Alphas who wanted Magnus brought to justice. I stepped forward before anyone could leave without me. "I am coming."
Theron refused. "You just survived an assassination attempt. You are staying in a secured location while we handle this."
"I can track him. You need me."
The argument was short but intense. No time for more. Finally he gave in. "You stay in the vehicle. You do not engage. You just track."
I agreed, but we both knew I was lying if it came down to it.
We raced west. I directed them through the visions. "Left at the fork," I called out at one point. "He is heading for the abandoned border station." My accuracy was uncanny enough that nobody questioned it twice, and the scent trail Damon's trackers picked up kept confirming exactly what I was seeing. Theron kept glancing at me throughout the drive, something between amazement and quiet fear in his expression every time my visions proved correct again.
We found Magnus at the old border station, clearly preparing to cross into rogue territory where Continental law could not easily follow. He was not alone. Six loyal wolves stood arranged around him, ready for exactly this kind of confrontation. Our group outnumbered and outmatched them, but the standoff still hung tense in the air for a long moment before anyone moved.
Magnus saw me and smiled. "The Oracle child. You should have died with your mother."
Rage burned through me. "You killed her. I saw it."
Magnus’s pride showed. No shame in it at all. "I killed dozens like her over the years. Oracles are poison to the natural order. Your mother understood that, at the end. She begged for your life. I promised I would let you live if she went quietly."
His lie cut deep. "She believed me. Died thinking she saved you."
Devastation and fury collided inside me at once. Beside me, I felt Theron's restraint finally start to break entirely, the bond carrying his rage straight into me. This was the man who had destroyed my childhood before I had even understood what I had lost.
Magnus turned to his wolves. "Kill them. Kill them all."
The battle that followed was vicious and final, bodies moving fast in every direction at once. Magnus used the chaos to try to slip away toward the tree line behind the station. I went after him without thinking, breaking the promise I had made in the vehicle without a second of hesitation. Theron saw me go and was torn for half a second between finishing the fight in front of him and following his mate into danger. He chose me. He always chose me. He broke off and followed close behind.
I cornered Magnus in the old station's basement, and he smiled at me like I was eight years old again, helpless and easy to break. He did not know I had spent months learning to be the Beast's mate. I was not helpless anymore.
- Writer
