HEALERS RECKONING

EPISODE TWO : SECRET IN BLOOD

Lyra's POV

The summoning mark pulsed with malevolent energy that made my teeth ache. I knelt in the mud, studying the twisted symbols without touching them. One wrong move and the backlash could kill us all.

"I still do not see anything," Kallian said, frustration evident in his voice.

"Of course you do not. It is hidden behind layers of concealment magic." I traced the air above the mark, watching how my violet energy reacted to its presence. "This is ancient work. Whoever placed this knew exactly what they were doing."

Beta Thorne crouched beside me. "What does it do?"

"It creates a doorway. A weakness in the natural protections that should surround pack territory." I sat back on my heels. "Like leaving your front door unlocked for thieves. Except these thieves steal life force instead of silver."

Kallian's hands clenched into fists. "Are you saying someone in my family let this happen?"

"I am saying someone made a bargain they thought they could control." I stood, suddenly exhausted. "Dark magic always seems reasonable at first. But it always demands more in the end."

"Can you remove it?" Kallian asked.

I shook my head. "Not yet. If I try now without understanding the full spell structure, the backlash could kill everyone within half a mile." I turned to face him. "I need information. Everything about your family history. Every strange death, every unexplained event."

"Elder Mara," Beta Thorne said suddenly. "She is our oldest living pack member. Nearly eighty years old. If anyone remembers the old stories, it would be her."

I nodded, already moving. "Then we talk to her. Now."

"Lyra, it is nearly dawn," Kallian protested. "She will be asleep."

"Then we wake her up. This curse is not waiting for convenient hours."

Elder Mara's cottage sat at the edge of the residential area. Herbs grew in neat rows beside the door, reminding me painfully of my grandmother's garden. I knocked firmly.

The door opened to reveal a tiny woman with silver hair and sharp gray eyes. Those eyes widened when they landed on me.

"Well," Elder Mara said slowly. "Either I am having a very strange dream or the dead have learned to knock politely."

"Elder Mara, I apologize for the early hour," Kallian began, but she waved him silent.

"Oh hush, boy. I barely sleep anymore anyway." She stepped back. "Come in, all of you. And Lyra Thorn, you especially. We have much to discuss."

The cottage interior was warm and smelled of herbs and old books. Elder Mara made tea with steady hands before settling across from us.

"You know who I am," I said.

"Of course. Your grandmother was my closest friend. I would recognize her bloodline anywhere, especially when it manifests as spectacularly as yours has." Her gray eyes never left my face. "The question is what you have become."

"Something powerful enough to help, hopefully." I wrapped my hands around the warm cup. "We found a summoning mark on the Alpha mansion's foundation. I need to know the history behind it."

Elder Mara's expression grew grave. "I was afraid of this. I warned Marcus years ago that ignoring the old debts would come back to haunt us."

"What debts?" Kallian demanded.

The old woman sighed. "Two hundred years ago, this pack faced extinction. A plague killed half our numbers. The Alpha at the time, your ancestor Aldous Frost, was desperate. He sought help from a traveling witch who promised to save the pack in exchange for a favor."

My stomach sank. "Let me guess. The favor was payment due every generation."

"Every century," Elder Mara corrected. "The witch stopped the plague and saved hundreds of lives. But the price was that every hundred years, the pack would owe her a debt. The nature of that debt was left intentionally vague."

"And the last collection was three years ago," I said quietly.

Elder Mara nodded. "The witch's name was Morgana Vale. She came to Marcus shortly before you were to be mated to Kallian. She wanted you, Lyra. Specifically you. She said your bloodline made you perfect for her purposes."

The room went silent. Kallian had gone very still beside me.

"My father refused," Kallian said hoarsely. "He would never have agreed."

"No, he refused. Quite forcefully. Threatened war if she ever returned." Elder Mara's expression was sad. "Morgana left without argument. She seemed almost amused. And then, exactly one week later, you rejected Lyra at the mating ceremony in front of everyone."

I felt like I had been punched. All this time. All the pain. It had been orchestrated.

"Why did you not tell me?" My voice came out too calm. Too controlled. "Why did no one warn me I was in danger?"

"Because we thought the threat had passed," Elder Mara said gently. "Marcus believed he had handled it. When you ran into the Cursed Forest, we assumed you had simply been broken by grief."

"She controlled me." Kallian's hands were shaking. "She got inside my head and made me destroy the one person I loved most. And then she waited for Lyra to either die or come crawling back weakened."

"Except I did neither," I finished. "I survived. Got stronger. And now she has moved to plan B."

"A witch denied her prize is deadly," Elder Mara agreed. "She will not stop until she gets what she wants."

"Which is what exactly?" Beta Thorne asked. "Why does she need Lyra specifically?"

Elder Mara's eyes met mine. "Your grandmother never told you about your mother's bloodline, did she?"

Cold dread spread through my chest. "My mother died when I was five. Grandmother said it was an accident."

"It was murder." The old woman's voice was firm. "Your mother came from a line of Soulweavers. Rare magic users who can manipulate life force itself. The bloodline was supposed to be extinct, hunted down centuries ago because their power was too dangerous. But clearly it survived."

"And it resurfaced in me," I whispered. "In the forest."

"The Cursed Forest recognized what you were and helped awaken your abilities." Elder Mara leaned forward. "Morgana must have sensed the potential in you years ago. That is why she demanded payment for her collection."

"Collection for what purpose?" Kallian's voice was tight with rage.

Elder Mara hesitated. "The old texts say Morgana seeks true immortality. To achieve it, she needs to harvest the life force of a Soulweaver and complete a ritual during a blood moon."

"When is the next blood moon?" I asked.

"Three weeks from tonight."

Three weeks. I had three weeks to stop her.

"Well," I said with false lightness. "At least I have a deadline."

I stood, feeling my power rise. Violet light danced around my fingers. "We fight her with something she did not plan for. A Soulweaver who is not afraid to use her power."

Kallian rose beside me. "Tell me what you need."

"I need every record you have on Morgana Vale. I need to examine that summoning mark more carefully. And I need to locate the curse's anchor points." I looked at him directly. "Can you do that without trying to protect me from the dangerous parts?"

"No," he said honestly. "But I will try."

We left the cottage as dawn broke. The pack was starting to wake. Normal morning activities that felt bizarre given what I now knew.

As we walked back, Kallian spoke quietly. "Every day you were gone, I looked for you. I went into that forest a dozen times. My Beta and father had to drag me out."

I kept my eyes forward. "And yet you stopped searching."

"Because my father showed me evidence. A piece of your dress covered in blood. He probably faked it. Wanted me to move on."

We reached the mansion. I finally looked at him. Saw the exhaustion, the guilt, the desperate hope.

I was not ready to forgive. But I could work with him.

"Yes," I agreed. "We make her pay."

His hand moved slightly, as if to reach for mine, but he stopped himself. Respecting my boundaries.

Before I could speak, the mansion doors burst open. A woman rushed out. Blonde hair, green eyes, delicate features twisted with fury.

Mira Stone.

"You cannot be serious, Kallian!" she shouted. "You are letting her back in? After she abandoned us? Look at her! She probably brought this curse herself!"

I stepped closer to Mira until we were eye to eye. "I am not natural anymore. The forest gave me power your small mind cannot comprehend. But I did not bring this curse." I leaned in. "Though I certainly could have. Keep that in mind."

Mira's face went pale.

"Lyra is here to help," Kallian said firmly. "Anyone who has a problem with that answers me directly."

Mira fled back inside.

"She has feelings for you," I observed. "How sweet."

"It is not like that," Kallian said quickly. "There is nothing between us. You are my mate, Lyra. Only you."

"I was your mate," I corrected. "Until you rejected me. Remember?"

Pain flashed across his face.

A crack of thunder split the air. As moonlight broke through the clouds, I saw something else. Another symbol carved higher on the mansion wall. This one pulsing with fresh energy.

"Kallian," I said, my voice sharp. "That mark was not there before."

He followed my gaze. "What does it mean?"

I felt my blood turn cold as understanding dawned. "It means Morgana knows I am back, and she just activated the second phase of her curse.”