The First Attack
1238 Words
Lyra’s Pov
They come for me in broad daylight, and I'm alone for exactly three minutes.
The gardens have become my favorite place in the estate. Two weeks had passed since the bounty threat, and the constant guards had started to feel normal. I had grown complacent without even noticing it happen. The pack's best warriors followed me everywhere, their presence a heavy but reassuring shadow. Today, I was tending to the medicinal herb garden I had started as a Luna project, something small and mine in the middle of all this borrowed grandeur. The familiar scent of lavender and mint calmed me as I knelt in the dirt, my fingers working through the soil, pulling weeds, checking roots.
The guard captain stepped a few feet away to take an urgent message from a runner. The other guards repositioned for a quick perimeter sweep. For the first time in days, I was alone. Just me and the warm sunshine on my back. I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the peace. The mark on my neck felt warm, a gentle reminder of Theron. He had been more present since the bonding, softer in small ways, but the fear still lingered in his eyes every time he looked at me.
I did not notice the shadows moving in the tree line until it was too late.
Four rogues emerged from nowhere, fast and coordinated. They moved like they had planned this. My training with Theron kicked in immediately. I dropped the tools and ran toward the estate, heart pounding. But they were faster than me and they cut me off, closing into a tight circle before I made it ten steps. The lead rogue, a scarred man with cold eyes, smiled. "Nothing personal, sweetheart. You are just worth too much."
I screamed for the guards, knowing they were too far. The rogues closed in slow and professional, no panic in any of them, just cold focus. I fought back with everything Theron had drilled into me over the last weeks. I managed to elbow one in the throat and kick another in the knee, hearing a satisfying crack. But four against one was too much no matter how well I had trained. They were not trying to hurt me badly. They were trying to take me alive, because a dead Luna was worth nothing to whoever had put the bounty on my head.
One of them got behind me and clamped a hand over my mouth. I bit down hard, tasting blood in my mouth. He cursed and loosened his grip for a second.
My wolf surged forward, trying to shift, but panic made it difficult. The rogue backhanded me. Pain exploded across my face and my vision blurred. They started dragging me toward the forest line. I kicked and twisted, but their grips were iron.
And then, through the bond, I felt it. Theron's awareness slammed into my chest like fire catching all at once. MATE IN DANGER. His rage was immediate and terrifying.
A massive black wolf exploded from the estate, moving faster than should be possible. Theron, fully shifted, covered ground faster than I had ever seen anything move. He reached us before the rogues made it to the tree line.
What happened next was absolute c*****e. Theron tore through them like they were made of paper, no mercy in any of it, no hesitation, just pure lethal violence aimed with total precision. Blood sprayed across the grass. Bones snapped. The sounds were horrible. I fell back to the ground, watching my mate become the Beast. It was terrifying and beautiful and savage all at once.
The last rogue standing tried to grab me and pull me up in front of him, using me as a shield. Theron's snarl shook the ground. It did not matter. The man was already dead either way. Theron killed him with precise fury, avoiding me completely even in the middle of that much. Four rogues lay dead in under two minutes.
Theron shifted back to human, covered in blood that was not his. His eyes were pure red-gold, the wolf still in control. He dropped to his knees beside me. "Are you hurt?"
His voice was barely human. I touched my split lip, feeling bruises forming. "I'm okay. I'm okay."
He gathered me into his arms, shaking violently. The pack guards arrived too late, staring at the m******e in shock.
Theron would not let anyone touch me. He carried me back to the estate himself, all the way to our rooms, bypassing the pack hospital entirely. He called the healer to our private quarters and would not leave my side while she examined me. Minor injuries. Mostly shock. The healer left quickly, sensing the Alpha's mood.
Theron paced like a caged animal, still covered in rogue blood. “I'm fine. Theron, I'm fine.”
"They touched you, he said. ."They hit you."
He was barely holding himself together. I could feel through the bond how badly his wolf wanted more blood, more violence, anything to undo what had already happened.
I made him sit down and started cleaning the blood off him with a damp cloth. My hands were gentle on his face. "Look at me, I said softly. I am here. I am safe."
Theron's forehead pressed against mine. "I felt your terror through the bond. I thought I was too late."
"You were not," I whispered. "You saved me."
"I almost lost you."
Once he had calmed down enough to function, he called an emergency Council meeting. I insisted on attending despite his protests. "This is about me. I deserve to be here."
He could not deny me, though every instinct told him to hide me away.
In the meeting, Theron's orders were clear. "Find who sent them. Find everyone connected to the bounty. Deploy pack warriors to hunt rogue networks. No mercy. No prisoners."
The elders looked concerned. "Alpha, this level of retaliation will start a war."
Theron's cold fury filled the room. "Then we have a war. No one touches my mate and lives."
Damon supported him but tried to add strategy. "We interrogate contacts. Find the source before we burn the whole network down blind."
We could not interrogate the dead rogues, but they had left scent trails. The decision was made. Hunt down everyone involved. Send a message. Touch Luna, face the Beast.
The meeting ended. Theron and I were alone. He looked at me with haunted eyes. "I cannot do this. I cannot watch you be in danger like that again."
I took his hands. "You do not have a choice. Neither do I. We face it together."
That night I woke up to Theron standing at the window, watching the darkness like enemies lurked in every shadow. He'd killed four wolves to protect me. I wondered how many more he'd kill before this was over, and if there'd be anything left of the man I loved when the bodies stopped piling up.
- Writer
