you lost us
1068 Words
Lyra pushed the door open.
The sight inside hit her like a physical blow.
Kael was on top of another woman. His hands gripped her hips. His face was buried in her neck, inhaling her scent deeply, like a starving wolf finally fed. The woman beneath him arched toward him, her nails digging into his back, her lips parted in pleasure.
Lyra could smell it instantly. s*x. Heat. Another she-wolf’s pheromones thick in the air.
Her legs locked.
Her heart stopped.
So this was the business he could not leave.
This was why he did not come.
This was why she screamed alone in a hospital bed while their son fought to live.
Her wolf, Mira, roared inside her. Her growl tore through her chest, violent and feral, demanding blood, demanding retribution. Her claws burned beneath her skin, itching to rip and shred. Her vision blurred, tears and fury mixing until she could barely breathe.
Lyra opened her mouth to scream.
Before a sound escaped, Kael lifted his head.
His eyes met hers.
He did not flinch.
He did not panic.
He did not look guilty.
He slowly pulled away from the woman beneath him, rose from the bed, and reached for a robe. He tied it around his waist with calm, practiced movements, as if this was an ordinary evening interrupted by nothing important.
Then he walked toward her.
He stopped a few steps away, his gaze flicking briefly to the bundle in her arms.
“Lyra,” he said calmly. “You’re back.”
The words shattered something inside her.
Lyra stared at him, her body shaking, her arms tightening around Eryx as if he might vanish too. Her voice came out raw and broken.
“You were not there,” she said. “I was bleeding. I was screaming. I was giving birth to your son.”
Kael’s face did not change.
“I had matters to handle,” he replied.
A sharp laugh tore from her throat, ugly and full of pain. “Matters?” Lyra demanded. “This was the matter?”
He exhaled slowly, like she was exhausting him.
“Lyra,” he said, “calm yourself.”
That was it.
Something inside her snapped.
“Do not tell me to calm myself,” Lyra said, her voice shaking but loud. “I almost died. Our child almost died. I was alone.”
Her wolf pushed against her control, snarling, furious. Her claws slid halfway out before she forced them back.
Kael shrugged.
A simple, careless movement.
“Because this union was never about love,” he said. “It was duty. The elders forced it. You were chosen for me. Not by me.”
Each word cut deeper than the last.
He turned slightly and gestured toward the bed.
“Seraphina,” he said. “She is my chosen one.”
The woman on the bed sat up slowly.
She was beautiful. Tall. Strong. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders. Confidence rolled off her like armor. She rose without shame, pulled a sheet around herself, and walked toward them.
She stopped beside Kael and placed her hands on his shoulders possessively.
“You see,” she said, her voice smooth and cruel, “you were never worth it, Lyra.”
The room tilted.
“You made Kael break up with me,” Seraphina continued. “The elders chose you because they thought you were his fated mate. But he has always loved me.”
Lyra felt like she was drowning.
Her chest burned. Her vision darkened at the edges. She looked down at Eryx, at his tiny face, at his peaceful sleep, unaware that his world was already breaking.
“You knew I was pregnant,” Lyra whispered to Kael. “You knew tonight was dangerous.”
Kael looked at her like she was discussing weather.
“Pregnancy is a risk,” he said. “Weakness is not attractive in a Luna.”
The words struck harder than any blow.
Seraphina smirked.
“You were always too soft,” she added. “Too hopeful. He needed someone strong. Someone who understands power.”
Lyra laughed again, but this time there was no humor in it.
“I carried his child,” she said. “I lost two before this. I begged you to come home.”
Kael’s jaw tightened slightly, the first sign of irritation.
“You were emotional,” he said. “That is your nature.”
Her wolf howled.
Lyra took a step forward.
Seraphina stiffened but did not move her hands from Kael.
“Get away from him,” she warned.
Lyra ignored her.
She looked at Kael, really looked at him, and finally understood.
There was nothing inside him.
No bond.
No remorse.
No love.
“You chose this,” Lyra said quietly. “You chose her over me. Over your son.”
Kael glanced at Eryx again, briefly.
“He will be provided for,” he said. “That is all that matters.”
Something cold spread through her veins.
“That is not love,” Lyra said. “That is ownership.”
Seraphina laughed softly. “You sound pathetic.”
Lyra turned her eyes to her, and she faltered.
Lyra’s storm-gray eyes were no longer warm.
They were sharp. Dangerous.
“You are standing in my home,” Lyra said. “You are breathing the air of my child.”
She lifted her chin. “And soon, this will be my home.”
Kael did not correct her.
The silence confirmed everything.
Tears finally spilled, hot and unstoppable, but Lyra’s voice remained steady.
“I gave you everything,” she said. “I broke myself trying to be enough.”
Kael did not answer.
Seraphina leaned closer to him, pressing her body against his side.
“You were never enough,” she said. “And you never will be.”
Mira roared.
Lyra’s claws snapped out fully this time. The air vibrated with her barely restrained power.
Eryx stirred in her arms, making a small sound.
That sound saved them.
Lyra inhaled slowly, forcing her wolf back, forcing control.
She looked at her son.
Then she looked at Kael.
Kael scoffed. “You will calm down. You always do.”
Lyra smiled.
It scared him.
“No,” she said. “Not anymore.”
Lyra turned away as she walked out of the room.
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