Chapter 2 – A Wolf Among ShadowsLyra’s POV
1534 Words
Chapter 2 – A Wolf Among Shadows
Lyra’s POV
The room seemed too small. It's too hot. It was too loud, even though no one dared to breathe.
Alpha Raine's words were still ringing in my head like a scream stuck in a bell:
"Why do you smell like my mate?"“
My heart hurt as I saw the tray on the ground between us, with broken bread scattered like little white stones. I tried to hide how much my hands were shaking by curling them into fists at my sides.
He was so close that I could feel the heat of him, the weight of his gaze, and the wild edge of his wolf pushing right under his skin. His jaw got tight, sharp, and dangerous. His eyes were dark as night with a flash of gold, and they kept looking at me like I was a puzzle with missing pieces.
“Omega,” he said again, quieter this time. “Look at me.”
I didn't want to. The fear was too much. The truth was worse.
But my wolf obeyed even when I didn’t understand.
Slowly, my chin went up.
His gaze stuck me like a punch. Not soft. Not gentle. Sharp. Searching. Hungry in a way that scared me more than any punishment ever did.
The warriors behind us moved around nervously. No one dared speak. No one dared move.
Raine lowered his head a little and breathed in my scent again. Something in him changed. A small tremor went through his body that most people wouldn't have noticed. But I did.
“Impossible…” he muttered under his breath.
I swallowed. "Alpha, I—I don't know what you think—"
"Silence."
The word hit the air like a door that had been slammed shut.
My throat got tight.
He wasn't angry. Not really. But something inside of him was breaking, cracking, and waking up. And every time he looked at me, I felt it too—a pull, a whisper, and a warmth curling under my ribs.
A bond mate?
No. No. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't. I was just an omega slave. I had no family name. No rank. No worth. I wasn't meant to be great. I wasn't meant to be anyone's mate, especially not the Alpha's.
Especially Not this Alpha.
Raine suddenly stood up straight and took a half-step back, as if to shake something off.
But he kept looking at me.
A warrior rushed forward, his voice shaking. "Alpha Raine, what do you want?""
Raine didn't answer right away. He looked at the broken tray, then back at me. His jaw was tight and his muscles were twitching.
"Lyra," he said slowly.
When he said my name, it felt like fire running up my skin.
"You will report to my office after the hall is cleared."
My stomach dropped. "Alpha—"
"That is an order."
He didn't shout. He didn't growl. But the strength in his voice felt like invisible chains around me.
"Yes... Alpha."
He turned around and walked away without saying anything else, but I could still feel his eyes on my back as he left the hall.
I couldn't breathe until he was gone.
---
As soon as the doors shut behind him, all the omegas in the hall turned to stare at me. Some were scared. Some with sympathy. Some of them were shocked and curious, like wolves who had just seen something they weren't supposed to see.
Mira took hold of my arm. "Lyra, what did you do?“
"I don't know," I whispered. "I didn't do anything." I didn't even look at him.
But I did.
And it seemed like he had seen right through me.
Someone hit me in the back of the head. Very hard.
“Stupid girl!” the Head Cook snapped. “You embarrassed the Alpha! You dropped the tray like a fool! Why would he ask for you in his office?”
She pushed me toward the kitchen doors. "Make the floor clean." After that, clean the kitchen. And if you make another mistake today, don't bother coming back.
I quietly bent down and picked up the broken pieces.
My hands kept shaking.
Not because they were afraid of being punished.
Because they were afraid of the Alpha’s words.
A mate bond wasn’t a small thing. It wasn’t a mistake. Wolves didn’t “smell wrong.” They didn’t “seem different.” Not without reason.
Why me? Why now?
What had he sensed?
I swept until the hall was spotless. Until my heartbeat slowed. Until I could breathe again.
But even then, the fear stayed.
Because I knew midnight would come sooner than I wanted, and when it did, I would have to stand in front of Alpha Raine again.
---
My legs felt heavy by the time the sun went down behind the trees. My arms hurt. My back ache from carrying crates and scrubbing floors.
And the Alpha's order still sat like a stone in my chest.
I stood outside his office door, my heart racing so fast that my hands went numb.
Every omega stayed away from this hallway. Only warriors, Betas, and important wolves used this path. For someone like me, the space seemed too big, too clean, and too bright.
I raised my hand to knock.
The door opened on its own before I touched it.
There stood Alpha Raine.
His hair looked a little messy, like he had run his hands through it more than once. After practice, his shirt was half unbuttoned, and you could see the hard lines of his chest. His skin was shiny with sweat, and he filled the whole doorway like he owned not only the room but also the air around it.
His eyes landed on me..
Everything inside of me tightened.
"Come in," he said in a low voice.
I went inside. The door clicked shut behind me, and it sounded like it was the end.
There was only one lamp on his desk, so the room was dark. There were papers all over the place, like maps, patrol reports, and battle plans. But Raine didn't pay attention to any of them.
He looked only at me.
"Closer."
I took one step.
Another.
Until I was standing in front of his desk, feeling too small, too weak, and too breakable under his gaze.
He crossed his arms and leaned against the desk, staring at my face.
“Tell me,” he said softly, “why you smell like that.”
I shook my head. "I don't know, Alpha."
"Liar."
My breath caught.
He suddenly moved, pushing himself off the desk and stepping toward me. He stopped so close that I could feel the heat and wild energy coming off of his skin.
"Do you feel it too?"He whispered, "
I swallowed hard. "Feel what?""
He reached out slowly and carefully and brushed my wrist with his fingers.
A spark shot up my arm so hard that I gasped.
His eyes widened. His breath changed. His wolf pushed forward, and the gold in his eyes lit up the dark.
"That," he murmured. "You felt it."
"No," I said too quickly and stepped back. "It was nothing."
He followed.
"One does not imagine a bond."
"I don't have a bond," I said, my voice cracking. "I'm just a servant."
“I don’t care,” he growled.
His hand reached for mine again.
I jerked my arm back.
His jaw locked. "Why do you fear me?"
A wolf like him could crush a girl like me with just one choice.
I knew what happened to omegas who drew too much attention.
Because I knew what the pack did to weak things.
But he didn't know that.
He didn't know anything.
He took another step towards me, his voice low and rough. "Lyra, look at me."
When I lifted my head, his eyes weren’t cold.
They were burning.
Strong emotions twisted through them—confusion, anger, hunger, and something deeper I didn’t want to name.
“Tell me what you are,” he whispered.
“I’m just an omega,” I whispered back.
He leaned in closer.
"So, how do you explain this?"
He slowly reached out his hand to touch my cheek.
And then—
The office door was hit with a loud, sharp knock.
We both froze.
From the other side, a warrior's voice said:
"Alpha Raine! Emergency at the eastern border! They say… they found a body.
Raine’s hand dropped instantly. His eyes snapped back to darkness.
But the warrior continued, breathless and panicked:
"Alpha, they think it's your mate."
Raine's face drained.
And then his eyes slowly swung back to me.
It wasn't anger now.
It was something worse.
Suspicious.
Shock.
Fear.
And something dangerous, burning right under the surface.
"Stay here," he whispered to me.
Then, louder, "Open the door."
The warrior stepped inside, shaking.
He held something in his hands.
Something small.
Something torn.
Something covered in blood.
And when he opened his palm—
I felt my heart stop..
It was my necklace.
The only thing I owned.
The one I lost last night.
- Writer
