THE ALPHA’S BROKEN VOW

CHAPTER 5: A WITCH’S WARNING

(LYRA’S POV)

I couldn’t breathe. Damon’s words echoed in my mind, louder than the roar of the battlefield. You’re a curse, Lyra. The prophecy. It will destroy you.

Those words, spoken in the final moments of our war, still clung to me like a suffocating cloak. I had been certain, after everything, that I was free. But even in the quiet of my newly claimed throne room, where the weight of power rested on my shoulders, I felt nothing but a gnawing emptiness inside. A fear that wouldn’t let go.

I needed answers. And maybe, just maybe, Selene had the answers I sought.

I slipped from my chambers, the stone hallways of the castle cool against my skin. The night air was heavy with the scent of earth and moss as I made my way toward the gardens. The soft rustling of leaves in the trees was the only sound that accompanied me. But even the stillness of the night couldn’t ease the storm inside me.

That’s when I saw her.

Selene.

She stood at the edge of the garden, bathed in the faint glow of the moonlight. Her silhouette was almost ethereal, her long, dark hair flowing around her like smoke. She didn’t look like the enemy I had once believed her to be. In fact, she looked... fragile, in a way. And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that her presence held a kind of power. Something ancient.

She turned, sensing me before I spoke. Her eyes—Kael’s eyes—met mine. But there was something more in them now. Something softer. Something... almost like pity.

“You’re not afraid of me?” Her voice was low, barely a whisper, yet it felt as though it reverberated deep in my bones.

I swallowed hard. “I should be.”

She smiled, a sad, fleeting smile. “Perhaps.”

We stood in silence for a moment, the tension thick between us. I didn’t know why I was here, or why I had followed her into the night, but something was pulling me toward her. A connection I couldn’t explain.

“You’re not my enemy, are you?” I asked, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Selene’s gaze hardened. “No. But you may soon wish I were.”

I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”

She took a slow step toward me, her presence both calming and unnerving at the same time. “You’re running from something, Lyra. But you can’t outrun it forever.”

I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. “What are you talking about?”

She hesitated as if weighing whether to speak the words. Finally, she took a deep breath. “Your mother. She’s alive.”

The ground seemed to shift beneath me. My heart raced, and I took a step back, trying to process her words. “That’s not possible. My mother is dead. She... she was never even a part of my life.”

Selene’s eyes softened, but there was no mercy in her voice. “Your mother is not just any woman, Lyra. She is the Witch Queen. And she has been searching for you.”

My stomach dropped. I shook my head, denying it, but her words wouldn’t leave me. They curled around my thoughts like poison.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I whispered, more to myself than to her.

Selene’s expression darkened. “You’ve been running from her all your life. But the time has come, Lyra. She wants you. She wants to use you to end the werewolf race.”

I took a shaky breath, trying to steady myself. “That’s impossible. My blood—what does it have to do with any of this?”

“The prophecy,” Selene said, her voice grim. “You are the key. Your bloodline—your mother’s bloodline—is the only thing that can bring the end to the wolves. Or the salvation of them.”

My heart thundered in my chest. The prophecy. The shadow. The throne. It had always felt like a curse to me, something I couldn’t escape. But I hadn’t known the true weight of it.

“I don’t... I don’t want this,” I said, the words coming out in a broken whisper. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”

Selene’s gaze softened, but there was no pity in it. Only understanding. “You don’t get to choose, Lyra. Not anymore. You were born for this.”

I took another step back, my hands trembling. “What do I do? How do I stop her?”

Selene didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she took a deep breath and reached into the folds of her robes. When she pulled her hand out, it was holding a small, ancient-looking stone. A glimmer of magic pulsed from it, and I instinctively stepped closer, drawn to its power.

“This is the key,” Selene said softly, handing the stone to me. “You must protect it. It’s the only thing that can stop her.”

I reached for the stone, my fingers brushing hers for the briefest moment. The contact was electric. And suddenly, I felt the pull of something more. Something ancient. It was like a tether being forged between us—Kael’s sister and me. The ties of blood, of fate.

“I can’t do this alone,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

Selene gave a small nod as if she understood. “You don’t have to.”

Just as I was about to say more, the ground beneath us trembled violently. The earth cracked and groaned, and I stumbled, catching myself on a nearby tree. Selene’s expression hardened.

“What’s happening?” I asked, my voice barely audible over the shaking.

“It’s her,” Selene whispered, her face pale. “She’s coming.”

The ground split open before me, and a dark force rose from the depths of the earth, swirling like smoke. It was as if the very air turned cold and thick, suffocating, as the force grew closer. My heart hammered in my chest.

A shadow moved through the garden, a presence darker than anything I had ever felt. And then, from the depths of the darkness, a voice rang out, sharp and unmistakable.

“She’s coming for you, Lyra.”

I froze. That voice. I knew it. My blood turned to ice.

It was my mother.