Chapter four
977 Words
The Alpha's Choice
The earth trembled beneath Lyra's feet.
Dark silver energy spiraled around her like a raging storm, tearing branches from ancient trees and hurling them through the air. The Blood Moon seemed brighter than ever, bathing the forest in crimson light.
Every rogue wolf backed away with frightened whimpers.
Even Varek, who had spent years hunting the Shadow Heir, stared at her in disbelief.
"No..." he muttered. "This power shouldn't have awakened so soon."
Lyra couldn't hear him.
The strange force surging through her body had drowned out every sound. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and her vision blurred with flashes of silver and black.
Inside her mind, the mysterious voice returned.
"Do not fear your power."
"Who are you?" Lyra whispered.
"The answer will come when you are ready."
Before she could ask another question, a sharp pain exploded through her head.
She cried out as the energy burst outward once more.
BOOM!
The shockwave knocked Varek and his wolves backward.
Lucien struggled to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Lyra!" he shouted. "Fight it! Don't let the darkness control you!"
She wanted to answer.
She couldn't.
The power was consuming her.
Several miles away, Alpha Kael raced through the forest in his massive black wolf form.
His golden eyes glowed fiercely.
His wolf growled inside his mind.
"Faster."
"I know."
"Our mate is in danger."
Kael clenched his jaw.
He had rejected her.
He had sent her away.
Yet the bond between them refused to disappear.
Every instinct screamed at him to protect her.
Branches snapped beneath his powerful paws as he sprinted through the darkness.
His Beta, Damon, followed close behind with a squad of elite warriors.
"My Alpha!" Damon shouted. "Slow down!"
Kael didn't.
For the first time since becoming Alpha King, fear gripped his heart.
Back at the ruined cabin, Varek slowly rose to his feet.
Blood trickled from a cut above his eyebrow.
Instead of anger...
He smiled.
"Magnificent."
The rogue wolves looked at him in confusion.
Varek laughed.
"The prophecy is true."
He pointed toward Lyra.
"If we capture her now, every pack in the kingdom will kneel before us."
The wolves roared and charged once again.
Lucien stepped forward.
"You'll have to kill me first."
Steel clashed against claws.
The battle erupted again.
Lucien fought with incredible speed, cutting down wolf after wolf, but exhaustion had begun to slow him.
A rogue lunged from behind.
Its fangs sank into his shoulder.
"Argh!"
Lucien dropped to one knee.
"Lucien!" Lyra cried.
Varek seized the opportunity.
He rushed forward, drawing a black dagger engraved with strange crimson symbols.
"This blade was forged to suppress Shadow Blood."
He raised it high.
"Goodbye, little heir."
Time seemed to slow.
The dagger plunged toward Lyra's chest.
Suddenly—
ROAR!
A deafening wolf's roar echoed through the forest.
A gigantic black wolf burst from the trees like a living shadow.
It slammed into Varek with overwhelming force.
The dagger flew from his hand.
Varek crashed through three trees before rolling across the ground.
The rogue wolves froze.
Every one of them recognized that wolf.
"The Alpha King..."
Kael stood protectively in front of Lyra, his enormous body shielding her from every threat.
His golden eyes burned brighter than the moon itself.
He snarled.
A warning.
Leave.
Now.
For a brief moment, Lyra forgot everything.
The rejection.
The humiliation.
The heartbreak.
All she saw was the Alpha who had come back.
Kael slowly shifted into his human form.
His dark clothes were torn from the transformation, revealing fresh scratches from racing through the forest.
His gaze met Lyra's.
"Are you hurt?"
She stared at him.
"You rejected me."
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Kael couldn't answer.
Because she was right.
Before he could speak, Varek climbed to his feet, laughing.
"How touching."
He wiped blood from his lips.
"The mighty Alpha has come to save the mate he threw away."
Kael's expression darkened.
"I'll give you one chance."
His Alpha aura exploded across the forest.
"Leave."
The ground shook beneath his command.
Several rogue wolves immediately turned and fled.
But Varek remained.
"You still don't understand."
He looked directly at Kael.
"The Shadow Heir belongs to no one."
He smiled coldly.
"And when she discovers the truth about her bloodline..."
His eyes shifted toward Lyra.
"...she'll never forgive you."
Before Kael could attack, Varek crushed a black crystal hidden in his hand.
Dark smoke erupted around him.
Within seconds, he and the remaining rogues vanished into the night.
Silence returned.
Only the wind whispered through the broken trees.
Kael turned toward Lyra.
"You need to come back with me."
She looked into his eyes, searching for the man who had rejected her before the entire kingdom.
"Why?"
"Because you're not safe."
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
"I wasn't safe when I stood beside you either."
Kael had no reply.
His silence said everything.
Lucien stepped between them.
"She isn't returning to Blackthorn Pack."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"And who are you?"
"Someone who knows the truth."
"What truth?"
Lucien glanced at Lyra before looking back at the Alpha.
"The truth your father died trying to protect."
Kael's expression changed instantly.
"My father?"
Lucien nodded.
"He knew the prophecy wasn't complete."
Kael frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Lucien took a deep breath.
"The Shadow Mark is only half of the prophecy."
"There is another part."
"What does it say?" Kael asked.
Lucien's face grew pale.
"It says..."
"Only the one who breaks her heart... can awaken the darkness that will either save the werewolf world... or destroy it."
Kael felt the blood drain from his face.
His rejection...
Had triggered the prophecy.
And for the first time, he realized the greatest threat to Lyra's destiny...
...wasn't Varek.
It was the choice he had made.
End of Chapter Four
- Writer
