Episode 5: The Man Who Stole My Kingdom
1053 Words
A heavy silence settled over the forest.
Lyra couldn’t take her eyes off the man standing before her.
Lucien.
The name alone seemed to chill the air.
He looked nothing like the monster she had imagined.
His raven-black hair fell neatly over his forehead, and his crimson eyes gleamed with unsettling calm. Dressed in a tailored black coat embroidered with blood-red symbols, he carried himself like royalty.
As if he belonged on a throne.
“You…” Lyra whispered, her voice shaking. “You murdered my parents?”
Lucien smiled.
“I did.”
No hesitation.
No remorse.
Just the simple truth.
Something inside Lyra snapped.
Her hands trembled as silver energy crackled across her fingertips.
“You took everything from me.”
“I gave you something far more valuable.”
His words caught her off guard.
“A reason to become strong.”
Before she could respond, Kael stepped in front of her.
“You don’t get to speak to her.”
Lucien chuckled.
“The famous Alpha King.”
His gaze lingered on Kael with amused curiosity.
“The man who rejected the last Ashbourne.”
He shook his head slowly.
“I couldn’t have planned it better myself.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“What do you mean?”
Lucien laughed.
“Do you truly believe your decision was entirely your own?”
A tense silence followed.
Kael frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Lucien raised a gloved hand.
“You’ve been asking the wrong question.”
He smiled.
“The question isn’t why you rejected Lyra.”
“It’s who wanted you to.”
Lyra’s heart skipped.
Kael’s expression hardened.
“Enough riddles.”
Lucien sighed dramatically.
“You always were impatient.”
He looked directly at Lyra.
“Tell me, Princess…”
“Have you ever wondered why the bond between you and your mate felt… strangely weak?”
She frowned.
Now that he mentioned it…
Even before the rejection, something had always felt different.
Distant.
Faint.
Lucien’s grin widened.
“Because someone poisoned it.”
Kael froze.
“What?”
“Years ago, one of my followers slipped a rare toxin into your ceremonial wine.”
Kael’s golden eyes narrowed.
“The toxin doesn’t destroy the mate bond.”
“It corrupts judgment.”
“It amplifies fear.”
“It whispers doubt.”
“It makes impossible choices seem reasonable.”
The forest fell silent.
Kael staggered back.
“No…”
Lucien nodded.
“Oh, yes.”
“I didn’t force you.”
“I simply helped you become the worst version of yourself.”
Lyra slowly turned toward Kael.
He looked… broken.
Every memory of that terrible night flooded back into his mind.
The unexplained rage.
The unbearable pressure.
The certainty that rejecting her was somehow necessary.
“My Goddess…” he whispered.
“What have I done?”
Lucien clapped once.
“And there it is.”
“Regret.”
“My favorite emotion.”
Without warning, he vanished.
Only to reappear inches from Lyra.
She barely had time to react.
Lucien gently brushed a strand of hair from her face.
“You have her eyes.”
Lyra recoiled.
“Don’t touch me!”
Silver light exploded from her palm.
Lucien caught the blast with one hand.
The energy shattered harmlessly around him.
“What?”
Lyra stared in disbelief.
He wasn’t even trying.
“Your power is magnificent,” Lucien said softly.
“But you haven’t learned to control it.”
He leaned closer.
“When you do…”
“You’ll be the only one capable of killing me.”
Before anyone could attack, Lucien stepped backward.
The shadows swallowed him.
His voice echoed through the trees.
“The Blood Moon Hunt lasts thirty nights.”
“If you survive…”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Then he was gone.
The forest remained unnaturally still.
No one spoke.
Finally, Kael broke the silence.
“I never wanted to reject you.”
Lyra looked at him.
His eyes were filled with guilt.
“I know that doesn’t erase what happened.”
“It doesn’t.”
“I’ll spend every day earning your forgiveness.”
“You may never have it.”
Kael lowered his head.
“I know.”
Elias stepped forward.
“We don’t have time for this.”
“The Shadow Legion has declared war.”
He looked toward the crimson moon.
“And every pack will soon be choosing sides.”
One of the Ashbourne guards rushed into the clearing.
“My Lord!”
Elias turned.
“What is it?”
“The Eastern Packs have fallen.”
Another messenger appeared moments later.
“The Southern Alliance has surrendered.”
A third arrived, exhausted and bleeding.
“The Iron Claw Pack requests an audience with the Ashbourne Queen.”
Lyra blinked.
“Queen?”
The messenger immediately knelt before her.
“Your Majesty…”
“The realm needs its rightful ruler.”
For the first time, Lyra realized the truth.
She was no longer just an orphan.
She was no longer just the girl Kael had rejected.
Every decision she made from this moment forward could determine the fate of the werewolf world.
She drew a slow breath.
Then looked at Elias.
“If I accept this crown…”
“What happens to my old life?”
Elias answered honestly.
“It ends.”
Lyra closed her eyes.
Images flashed through her mind.
The lonely orphan.
The rejected mate.
The frightened girl who believed she was worthless.
She opened her eyes again.
That girl was gone.
She straightened her shoulders.
Her silver eyes glowed beneath the blood moon.
“Then let the world know…”
A powerful gust of wind swept through the clearing.
The royal crown shimmered.
Every Ashbourne warrior dropped to one knee.
Kael did the same.
Lyra looked toward the horizon, where war was already spreading across the kingdoms.
Her voice rang clear through the night.
“I am Lyra Ashbourne.”
“The last Queen of Ashbourne.”
“And I will take back everything that was stolen from my family.”
Far away, inside a dark fortress, Lucien watched through a pool of enchanted water.
His smile faded for the first time.
“Excellent,” he murmured.
“The game has finally begun.”
- Writer
