Chapter 5
1433 Words
(Lyra’s POV)
The room was warmer than I expected, quiet, but full of something I couldn’t explain. Like the air had been holding its breath, waiting for me.
He was sitting near the window, still dressed in that rich, dark outfit that looked nothing like anything we wore in the village. His cloak was hung neatly on the back of a chair, his boots placed beside the bed like he had been raised by royalty.
He looked at me with those same golden eyes I remembered from the woods, like they could see straight through skin and bone and into whatever lived beneath.
“You came,” he said, standing slowly.
“Of course I did,” I snapped, the door clicking shut behind me. “You announce to a whole village that I’m your future bride and you thought I’d just sit at home and knit?”
A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips, but he said nothing.
I crossed my arms. “You have some nerve. I don’t know what twisted kingdom you’re from, but around here, we don’t drag women into courtship by screaming their name in public like it’s some kind of festival game.”
He nodded slowly. “I had no intention of causing you embarrassment.”
“Well, you did.” I stepped closer, my heart pounding, but I kept my chin high. “And what’s worse—you already have a wife. That woman. The one who attacked me. What was her name again? Selene?”
His face hardened. “Selene is not my wife.”
“Oh, so you just let random women throw themselves at you and call you mate for fun?”
“She is… complicated,” he said carefully. “She was a mistress. Nothing more. It was a mistake that I ended long before I met you.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Mistress? You make it sound like you’re some kind of prince.”
He didn’t smile. “I’m not a prince.”
“Oh, thank the stars. Because if you were, your people should’ve taught you better manners.” I turned to pace the room, trying to stop the heat bubbling up in my chest. “So what exactly are you, Vaelstryx? Because none of this makes sense.”
He paused, watching me with that strange softness again. “Would you believe me if I said I came here… for you?”
I stared at him. “No.”
“I didn’t think so,” he said quietly, then stepped closer. “But you asked what I am. So I’ll tell you.”
He moved slowly, carefully, like he thought I might run if he stepped too fast.
“I’m a wolf,” he said simply.
I blinked. “A what?”
“A wolf,” he repeated. “Not just any. I’m Alpha of Mooncrest—one of the strongest packs on this side of the realm.”
I just looked at him.
“A what now?” I laughed once, out of disbelief. “Did you hit your head? Are you seriously standing there, in an inn, telling me that you’re… a wolf?”
“Yes.”
“Like, with fur? And paws?”
He nodded. “And claws.”
I stared. “You’re insane.”
“No,” he said calmly. “I’m telling you the truth. The day we met at the stream, I wasn’t there by accident. My wolf caught your scent first. He whined and clawed at me until I turned back. He recognized you.”
“Recognized me?”
“As his mate.”
I swallowed hard, suddenly not finding any of this funny anymore. “You need to stop. This is crazy.”
“It’s real.”
I stepped back. “No. It’s a trick. It has to be. People don’t turn into wolves. That’s not a thing.”
“You’ve always felt different, haven’t you?”
“What?”
He stepped forward, voice low but steady. “Stronger than the other girls. Faster. Like there’s something inside you trying to claw its way out whenever you’re angry or scared. You think that’s normal?”
My throat tightened.
“You felt it that day, didn’t you?” he said. “The speed. The strength. The rage. That wasn’t nothing. That was your wolf.”
“Stop it,” I said sharply.
But he didn’t. “You’re not human, Lyra. You’re like me. Your wolf’s been asleep, hidden. But she’s in there.”
“SHUT UP!” I yelled and instantly covered my mouth in shock at my own ferocity.
I didn’t mean to yell so loudly—but the words hit something raw in me, like a scraped knee that never healed. He stepped back, not in fear, but in understanding.
“Please,” I said quietly, voice shaking. “Just stop lying.”
“I’m not.”
“You are,” I whispered. “Because if you’re not lying, then everything I thought I knew about myself is wrong. My life. My family. Everything. Do you understand how insane that sounds?”
“Yes,” he said. “But that doesn’t make it any less true.”
Tears threatened the corners of my eyes, and I turned away, swallowing them down. I wanted to run. I wanted to scream.
Instead, I heard him say, “Then let me show you.”
I looked over my shoulder. “What?”
“If you want proof,” he said, “I’ll give it to you. I’ll show you your wolf.”
“How?”
He reached for his cloak and moved to the door. “Come with me.”
“Where?”
“To the forest.”
He took my hand and guided me out to the woods. I should have said no. I should have been scared but somehow I felt an inexplicable pull to him like I was supposed to follow him.
It was dark by the time we reached the edge of the woods, but Vaelstryx walked like he could see everything,even in pitch black. I followed in silence, my heart racing with every step.
“You brought me all the way out here just to prove a fairytale?” I asked, trying to sound skeptical even though part of me didn’t feel that way at all.
“I brought you here,” he said, stopping beneath a tall tree, “because the forest is quiet. It listens. Just like your wolf.”
I crossed my arms and stared at him. “If you’re really telling the truth, then prove it. Shift.”
Vaelstryx didn’t speak at first. His eyes searched mine, calm but serious. “Are you sure?”
I nodded, even though my heart was pounding. “Yes. I need to see it for myself.”
He sighed softly. “All right. But prepare yourself—it’s not a pretty sight. Shifting isn’t gentle.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.
“Just remember, no matter what I look like… I won’t hurt you. My wolf knows you.”
That last part made something strange flutter in my chest, but I pushed it away.
He stepped back, pulling off his cloak and jacket. One by one, he removed his boots and gloves, then stood quietly in the moonlight, shirtless in all his manly glory now. For a second, I felt soft flutters in my stomach. He was strikingly beautiful and suddenly, everything went still.
Then it started.
His body jerked forward. I heard bones snap and crack. His arms lengthened, muscles shifting. Fur began to grow across his skin. His face stretched into a muzzle, and his hands turned into paws with claws. The sound of it all made me want to look away, but I didn’t.
A few seconds later, where Vaelstryx once stood… was a massive black wolf.
He was huge. Powerful. With golden eyes that looked just like his. They glowed in the dark and held something strong and familiar.
I stood frozen in shock.
He took a slow step toward me, careful, almost gentle as if trying not to scare me away. And even though he looked terrifying, I didn’t feel afraid. I felt… calm.
“You’re real,” I whispered. “You weren’t lying.”
The wolf sat down, watching me carefully
, waiting.
And that was when it really hit me. Nothing about my life was going to be the same again.
My parents lied to me.
Were they wolves too?
- Writer
