Chapter 3
1424 Words
Lyra's POV
I didn't come here to kill my mate. I had been sent here. The realization sat heavily in my chest as I stared at Selene.
For years, she had been the one constant in my life. The one person who never lied to me. Never abandoned me. Never looked at me with pity.
Now I wasn't sure if any of that was true.
"You are late," she repeated calmly.
A dead warrior lay at her feet.
The hall was still recovering from chaos. Warriors lined the room with their weapons drawn. The scent of blood lingered in the air.
And somehow, Selene looked completely unbothered. As though she belonged here. As though she had expected this exact moment.
"What is happening?" I demanded.
She looked at me. Not at Kael who stood like a predator ready to pounce, or at the army in front of Selene. She looked at.. Me.
And that somehow made everything worse.
"You hesitated," She whispered with no emotion in her voice.
"Answer the question," my voice was firm as I took one step towards her.
"You found him," Selene said with a small smile on her face.
I stared at her.
"Selene," I was about to growl but I did not.
"You found him," she repeated, "And yet he is still breathing."
Something cold settled in my stomach. Because she wasn't wrong.
I should have killed him. The mission had been simple. Find Kael. Kill Kael. Leave.
Instead, I was standing in the middle of his territory with my wrist trapped in his hand and my entire world falling apart.
My wolf shifted restlessly.
"Mate," she screamed in the back of my head.
"Not now," I groaned mentally, not ready for this conversation.
"Always now," my wolf said back.
I ignored her.
"Why did you send me here?" I asked. A simple question.
For the first time, Selene's expression changed slightly. Not enough for anyone else to notice. Enough for me.
"You know why," she said in a low voice.
"No," I shook my head, and even I was surprised to notice that my answer came instantly.
Because I genuinely didn't know. Not anymore. The certainty I'd carried for years was gone. And I hated that.
I hated that it had taken less than an hour inside Kael's territory for everything to begin unraveling.
A sudden warmth brushed against my hand. I looked down. Kael's grip had shifted. Instead of holding my wrist, his fingers had slid into mine.
My breath caught. The movement was small. Deliberate and Possessive. My wolf practically purred.
"Mine," she screamed again.
I wanted to throw her off a cliff.
Selene noticed immediately. Of course she did. Something dark flickered in her eyes.
"Let her go," she said with her words directed at Kael.
His grip tightened. Not painful but just enough.
"No," The single word landed heavily between them.
The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. Every wolf felt it. Including me.
Power rolled off Kael in quiet waves. Not aggressive but certain. His gaze never left Selene.
"She's not leaving with you," Kael said in a tone that made my spine go straight.
My stomach dropped. Excuse me? Common sense??
"So now you're making decisions for me?" I asked him, and his eyes flickered toward me.
Only briefly. Long enough to make my pulse stumble. Then he looked back at Selene.
"Don't trust her," Kael whispered just for me to hear even with the werewolf hearing.
The words hit harder than they should have. For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
Selene laughed softly. The sound carried no amusement. How did she hear? I have no idea.
"That's rich," Selene said and I was in between both people now.
Kael's expression hardened.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," The confidence in his voice unsettled me.
Not because he sounded certain. Because he sounded disappointed.
Like this wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. I looked between them.
"You know each other," I whispered calmly despite the chaos around us.
Neither answered.Which was answer enough. My pulse quickened.
"How?" I asked them again. But the answer was silence.
I hated silence. Especially when everyone around me seemed determined to weaponize it.
"How?" I repeated.
Selene folded her arms. Kael's jaw tightened.
And suddenly I felt like a child standing between two adults discussing something I wasn't allowed to know.
"You should have left years ago," Kael said quietly.
The room went still. Selene smiled.
"You should have married my sister," Selene's words slammed into the room.
My breath caught. Kael's expression darkened immediately.
Oh. Oh.
Now we were getting somewhere. I looked at Selene. Then at Kael. Then back again. Questions exploded inside my head.
Your sister? What sister? What marriage? What the hell was happening? Selene tilted her head slightly.
"Remember her?" Selene asked with a smile on her face again.
"I remember all of them," Kael answered.
Something in his answer made her smile disappear. The air suddenly felt heavier.
"I didn't come here to discuss the dead," Selene said.
"Then why are you here?" Kael asked.
Selene's attention shifted back to me.
"There," she whispered again.
That was not an answer. I was beginning to suspect she was physically incapable of giving one.
"What does that mean?" Kael asked, with genuine confusion on his face.
"You'll see," Selene smiled and it kind of seemed dangerous.
"I am tired of hearing that," I spoke this time because her eyes were still on me, and I know that this conversation was with me.
For the first time, frustration slipped into my voice. Real frustration. Because nobody was explaining anything.
Selene studied me for several long seconds. Then she sighed. A tired sound. Almost sad. And that bothered me more than anger ever could.
"I told you once that there are truths powerful enough to destroy people," Selene said.
My stomach tightened. I do remember. I was fifteen. We were sitting beside a river after training. I'd asked why she never spoke about her past.
That had been her answer. At the time, I thought she was being dramatic. Now I wasn't so sure.
"You never told me yours," I said again.
Something flickered across her face. Pain. Gone too quickly to be certain. Selene is not someone who would show her expressions out for everyone to see and assess. She always said she hated it.
"No," I shook my head, "You never told me anything."
The accusation escaped before I could stop it. The room fell silent. For a moment, nobody moved. Nobody breathed. Selene stared at me.
And for the first time since she appeared... She looked hurt. The sight made my chest ache unexpectedly.
Because despite everything... I loved her. And realizing that felt like betrayal. My wolf stirred.
We can love more than one person. I hated that she was making sense lately. A distant explosion shook the castle.
The floor trembled beneath our feet. Several warriors immediately rushed toward the entrance. Kael didn't move. His attention remained fixed on Selene.
"What did you do?" I asked her again.
Selene smiled again. There she was. The woman I recognized. The dangerous one.
"The attack outside?" She asked me and that was when realisation slowly hit me.
Kael's expression darkened.
"Yes," I whispered, even though my mind was already forming a theory.
"That was never the real attack," she said with her smile slowly widening.
The room went completely still. Every instinct inside me screamed. Danger. Kael took a step forward.
"What did you do?" He asked her
Selene ignored him. Her gaze found mine. And suddenly I felt fifteen years old again.
Standing in a training yard. Waiting for instructions.
"Come with me," Selene tilted her head.
The words were soft. Simple and familiar.
I should have refused. Instead, my feet moved. Kael's grip vanished from my hand. The loss surprised me. More than it should have.
I followed Selene toward the doors. Questions swirled through my head. Answers remained painfully out of reach. When we reached the entrance, something made me hesitate.
Maybe the bond. Maybe curiosity. Maybe him. I turned around. Kael was still standing where I'd left him.
Watching me. His blue eyes locked onto mine across the room.
And for the first time since we met... I saw something that looked dangerously close to fear.
Not for himself. For me. His lips moved. Three words. The same three words again.
"Do not trust her"
Then the doors closed between us.
- Writer
