Chapter two
933 Words
Cast Into the Darkness
The cold night air bit into Lyra's skin as the two warriors escorted her through the towering gates of Blackthorn Pack. The celebration behind her continued, but every burst of laughter felt like another knife twisting in her heart. Just moments ago, she had believed fate had finally smiled upon her. Instead, she had become the greatest humiliation in the kingdom.
The massive iron gates groaned shut behind her.
She was no longer welcome.
Tears streamed silently down her cheeks as she wandered down the lonely forest path. Above her, the Blood Moon still glowed an eerie crimson, bathing the ancient trees in ghostly light.
"Rejected..." she whispered, unable to believe the word.
Her wolf whimpered deep inside her mind.
"Why doesn't he want us?"
Lyra had no answer.
For years she had dreamed of meeting her mate, imagining someone who would accept her despite her lonely childhood. Instead, the most powerful Alpha in existence had rejected her before the entire kingdom.
Every painful memory returned at once.
Her parents' mysterious deaths.
Her uncle's constant insults.
The loneliness.
The feeling that she never truly belonged.
She sank to her knees beside an old oak tree, burying her face in her hands.
"Why?" she cried into the darkness.
The forest answered with silence.
Then...
A cold breeze swept through the trees.
The black crescent-shaped mark on her shoulder suddenly burned.
Lyra gasped.
It wasn't ordinary pain.
It felt as though fire flowed beneath her skin.
She clutched her shoulder, struggling to breathe.
"What... is happening?"
The mark glowed faintly, spreading dark silver veins across her shoulder before fading again.
Just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain disappeared.
She stared at the mark in horror.
"What am I?"
Back inside Blackthorn Castle, Alpha Kael stood alone on the highest balcony overlooking the kingdom.
The celebration below no longer mattered.
His Beta, Damon, approached carefully.
"You should be downstairs."
Kael didn't answer.
Damon folded his arms.
"You rejected your mate."
Still silence.
"You've broken the oldest law among werewolves."
Kael finally spoke.
"I had no choice."
"There is always a choice."
Kael's golden eyes darkened.
"You didn't see the mark."
"I saw the fear on Elder Magnus's face."
Damon frowned.
"The Shadow Mark... is it really connected to the prophecy?"
Kael remained silent for several moments before nodding.
"My father showed me an ancient scroll before he died."
"What did it say?"
Kael looked toward the Blood Moon.
"When the child of shadows finds the Alpha King, blood will drown the kingdoms, and the Moon shall weep."
"I cannot allow that prophecy to come true."
Damon sighed.
"But what if the prophecy is wrong?"
Kael clenched his fists.
"If I'm wrong... then I have destroyed my own mate."
Several miles away, Lyra finally found shelter inside the ruins of an abandoned hunter's cabin.
The roof leaked.
The windows were broken.
The fireplace had long gone cold.
Still, it was better than sleeping outside.
She wrapped her arms around herself and sat in the corner.
For the first time in years...
She truly had nowhere to go.
She had no family.
No pack.
No mate.
Nothing.
Her stomach growled.
She hadn't eaten since morning.
Closing her eyes, she tried to sleep.
Then—
Crunch.
A twig snapped outside.
Lyra froze.
Another step.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone was outside.
She held her breath.
The wooden door creaked open by itself.
Moonlight spilled into the cabin.
A tall figure stepped inside.
He wore a long black cloak that hid his face beneath a hood.
Lyra jumped to her feet, grabbing the broken handle of an old axe from the floor.
"Who are you?"
The stranger chuckled softly.
"Relax."
His voice was calm.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"Then leave."
Instead, he walked farther into the cabin.
"I've waited eighteen years to meet you."
Lyra's heart pounded.
"You know me?"
The man slowly lowered his hood.
His silver hair shimmered under the moonlight, and his piercing crimson eyes glowed with unnatural power.
He looked far too young to possess such ancient eyes.
"My name is Lucien."
He smiled faintly.
"And your parents once saved my life."
Lyra's breath caught.
"You knew my parents?"
"I knew them better than anyone."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"Then tell me."
Her voice trembled.
"Who killed them?"
Lucien's smile disappeared.
"It wasn't an accident."
Lyra felt the room spin.
"What?"
"They were murdered."
The words struck harder than Alpha Kael's rejection.
"No..."
"They died protecting you."
The black mark on Lyra's shoulder suddenly began glowing again.
Lucien noticed immediately.
"So..."
His expression became serious.
"It has awakened sooner than I expected."
"What has awakened?"
Instead of answering, Lucien looked toward the forest.
His eyes narrowed.
"We don't have much time."
Lyra frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
A terrifying howl echoed through the night.
Then another.
And another.
Lucien's face hardened.
"They've found you."
Outside the cabin, dozens of glowing red eyes appeared between the trees.
Not ordinary wolves.
Rogue wolves.
Their snarls echoed through the darkness as they slowly surrounded the cabin.
Lyra backed away, fear flooding her heart.
"There are too many..."
Lucien stepped in front of her.
His crimson eyes blazed with power.
"They aren't here by accident."
He drew a long silver sword from beneath his cloak.
"They've come for the Shadow Heir."
The cabin shook violently as the first rogue wolf slammed against the front door.
Another crashed through a window.
Splintered wood flew across the room.
The pack had arrived.
And escape was no longer an option.
End of Chapter Two
- Writer
