BOUND TO THE BEAST I HATE

YEARS OF BECOMING A WEAPON

The pain didn’t fade; It sharpened. Years passed, but the fire never left Lyra. It lived in her. In the way she slept light, restless, always ready to wake. In the way she moved, silent, calculated. In the way she looked at the world, not with innocence, but with knowledge, monsters were real, and they could take everything.

Lyra refused to be weak again, the training grounds were brutal. Dust clung to her skin as she hit the ground hard, air knocked from her lungs.

“Again.” The command came cold and unforgiving. Lyra pushed herself up, ignoring the pain screaming through her body. Her opponent circled her, waiting.

Watching. “You hesitate,” he said, “That’s how you die.”

“I don’t hesitate,” Lyra snapped, lunging forward.

He sidestepped easily, too easily. Her attack missed. His counter didn’t. She hit the ground again, frustration burned through her.

“Get up,” he ordered.

She did, every time, no matter how many times she fell, because falling wasn’t the worst thing that could happen, not getting up was.

“You’re thinking,” he continued, “You can’t afford that out there. Wolves don’t think, they act.”

Lyra’s jaw tightened,“They’re not just wolves,” she said sharply, “They’re organized, strategic, led.” Her mind flashed, glowing eyes, a commanding presence, that man, that Alpha. Her chest tightened, but she forced the memory down.

Focus,“Then stop fighting like a human,” her trainer said, “And start fighting like you want to survive.”

Lyra didn’t respond, she moved, faster this time, more controlled, less hesitation.

She attacked again, and this time, she didn’t miss, her strike connected, her opponent staggered. A flicker of satisfaction ignited in her chest, good, she needed to be better, stronger, and more dangerous, because one day, she would face him again, and next time, she wouldn’t be the girl on the ground.

Later that night, Lyra sat alone outside the barracks, staring at the dark sky, the stars felt distant, unreachable.“Still can’t sleep?” The familiar voice pulled her from her thoughts. Lyra didn’t turn.

“When do I ever?” Mara sat beside her, bumping her shoulder lightly, “You’re going to kill yourself at this rate,” she said.

“Good,” Lyra replied flatly,“As long as I take them with me.

”Mara sighed,“You’re still holding onto that night.”

Lyra’s expression hardened,“Of course I am.”

“They’re not all the same,” Mara said gently.

Lyra turned sharply, her eyes flashing,

“Yes, they are,” “No—”“They killed my family,” Lyra cut in, her voice rising, “They burned everything, You didn’t see it, Mara, You don’t know what it was like.”

Mara fell silent. The tension hung heavy between them. Lyra exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down her face.“I remember his face,” she said quietly, “The one who led them.

”Mara hesitated. “You’ve never said that before.”

“I didn’t need to,” Lyra replied, “I’ll never forget it,” Her voice dropped. “Even if I tried.”

A horn sounded in the distance, sharp, urgent. Lyra was on her feet instantly, something was wrong, voices erupted around the camp, movement. Chaos, preparation.

“What’s happening?” Mara asked, rising beside her. Lyra’s instincts screamed, “Border breach,” someone shouted. “Wolves!”

Lyra’s blood ran cold, and then, it burned. That was it, her chance,

She grabbed her weapon without hesitation.

“Lyra—wait—” Mara called, but she was already moving. Running toward the fight, toward the danger, toward them, her heart pounded, not with fear, but with anticipation. Finally, finally, she would face them again, and this time, she wouldn’t lose everything. This time, she would take something back, even if it cost her life.

The forest was alive with movement, Shadows darted between trees, growls echoed in the dark. Lyra moved fast, her senses sharp, her body ready, she wasn’t the girl from that night anymore, she was something else, now, something forged from loss, something built for one purpose, revenge.

A figure lunged from the shadows, Lyra reacted instantly, dodging, striking, fighting with precision. But this was different. These wolves weren’t mindless, they worked together, coordinated. She took one down, but another came from behind, too fast, too strong. Lyra struggled, her grip slipping, then everything went black.

When she woke, she wasn’t in the forest anymore, and she wasn’t free, the air felt different, heavier, and dangerous.

Lyra’s breath slowed as realization crept in, she had been captured, and deep down, she already knew.

This wasn’t random, this wasn't a chance. Fate had a cruel sense of timing, because wherever she was, he would be there, waiting,and this time, there would be no fire between them, no distance, no escape, only truth.

,and the beginning of something far more dangerous than hate.