WOLVES OF ASH AND FIRE

THE PRICE OF BETRAYAL

Lyra's POV

"You think you can come back into my life like this? After what do you done?"

The words boil on my lips, the rage threatening to burst over, but I keep it back—barely. The person standing before me is a ghost from the past. Calder, my father. Alive.

I don't know if I want to yell or break down. It's like my entire world has moved, and I’m trapped in the center of a storm that’s threatening to rip everything apart.

"You have a lot of questions, I know," Calder’s voice was frigid, too chilly for the father I once knew, the father who raised me, who left without a trace. "But now isn’t the time for a reunion, Lyra."

"You disappeared," I said, fighting to keep the passion out of my voice, but it trembles despite my best efforts. "You left us all to rot. And now you stroll in like nothing happened? How do you think I feel about that?"

Matthias moved forward, his presence a big shadow behind him. I can feel the fire coming from him, the sheer power that hums in the air whenever he’s near. His fingertips brush mine, yet the touch seems like a fire searing my skin, kindling a million feelings I don’t want to experience.

"Let me handle this," Matthias whispered beneath his breath, his voice like gravel.

I ignore him. I don’t need him to handle anything.

"You didn’t just disappear," I said, my voice hoarse with resentment. "You fooled me. You misled us all. You owe me an answer, Calder. And I’m not going until I have it."

Calder smirks, but there’s something different about him now, something darker. He’s not the man I once loved. That man is gone. This one? He’s a stranger on my father’s skin.

"The explanation you want doesn’t matter anymore, Lyra," he adds, his voice calm. "What matters is that you’re wrapped up in something far larger than you understand. And whether you want to accept it or not, you have a part to play."

The words linger in the air like a dare, and my heart quickens. I want to tear into him, demand answers, but there’s something in the way he says it that makes me stop.

Matthias moves closer, his body touching mine, his heat pouring into my flesh. I tighten, but I don’t draw away. The tension between us is intense, even unbearable. I want to shout at him too. I want to shout, tell him to keep out of this, but it’s no use. This entire problem has been his fault as much as mine.

"You don’t get to make demands here," Matthias snarls, his eyes tightening at Calder. "You left. You have no right to come back now and act like nothing happened."

Calder doesn’t move. "You’re right. I left. But I didn’t quit for the reasons you think. And I certainly didn’t leave without a strategy."

The coldness in his eyes sends a shudder down my spine. There’s something hidden behind his words, something dark and frightening that I don’t fully grasp. My chest tightens as the weight of it all pushes down on me.

"You think I care about your plan?" I scoff, trying to mask the horror that’s gnawing at me. "You’re wasting your time. I’m done with you, Calder. I don’t need your games."

Matthias’s fingers brush my arm, and this time I don’t move away. His touch sends a thrill through me, one that makes my stomach churn in ways I can’t quite explain. His strength, his presence—it’s all too much, and it seems like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff, teetering on the verge of something I can’t control.

"You’ll care, Lyra," Calder adds, his voice low and threatening. "The moment you grasp what’s at risk, you’ll wish you’d listened. But by then, it’ll be too late."

Matthias shifts beside me, his eyes fixated on Calder, his mouth twisted in anger. He strides closer, obscuring my view of my father, his body a solid wall of strength and might.

"Enough," Matthias says, his voice low and frightening. "You’ve said your piece, Calder. But I’m telling you—if you damage her again, I will ruin all you’ve achieved. You won’t even have a shadow to hide in."

I can feel the energy crackling between them, a perilous dance of power and pride. It’s clear that Matthias doesn’t trust Calder, and I can’t blame him. My father’s looks, his cryptic words—none of this adds together. I have no clue what he’s planning, but whatever it is, it’s horrible.

I turned to Matthias, my rage pouring out. "Why do you constantly think you can protect me from everything? From him? From this life? I’m not a damn child, Matthias."

His stare relaxes for a little time, but it’s ephemeral. "I’m not trying to protect you from the world, Lyra," he adds, his voice almost sympathetic. "I’m trying to protect you from yourself. From the mistakes you’re going to make, that might destroy everything."

His words fell like a blow to the belly. For a minute, I was stunned, my breath stuck in my throat. He doesn’t see me, not honestly. He sees someone to be shielded, someone weak. But I’m not weak. I have never been.

I walked away from him, my feelings boiling to the surface. "I’m not some damsel in trouble, Matthias. I don’t need help. Not from you, and especially not from him." I point to Calder, my voice shaking with the power of it all. "You don’t get to control me. Not anymore."

Calder laughs, the sound sending a shock of uneasiness through me. "You think you can escape your fate, Lyra? You’ve always been running, but there’s nowhere left to hide."

I feel it then, the pull of the storm. It’s in the air, in the stress cracking between us. It’s in Matthias’s eyes, the way he stares at me like a monster. It’s in Calder’s arrogant grin, the quiet danger of devastation in his stare.

"You think you can stop me, Matthias?" Calder’s voice raises, the challenge clear in his words. "You don’t know what you’re up against. You’re too late to the game."

Matthias takes a step closer, his hand resting on my shoulder, the weight of it both comforting and stifling. "I’ve been playing this game my whole life," he says, his voice low. "And I’m not about to let you destroy her."

I look at Matthias, my chest tightening with feelings I can’t name. I’m angry. I’m afraid. And somewhere deep down, there’s a part of me that’s afraid of what’s to come.

"Then prove it," I pushed him, my voice shaking despite myself. "Prove that you can protect me. Because right now, it seems like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff, and I’m going to fall."

Matthias’s eyes quiver with something—regret, maybe, or something deeper. But before he can speak, Calder turns, his smile fading as he walks toward the door.

"You’ll all regret this," he adds, his voice icy and determined. "It’s already begun."

The door crashes behind him, and for a minute, all I can hear is the beating of my own heart.

The storm is here.

And there’s no escape from it now.

Before I can speak, I hear a noise—distant, weak, but sure. The sound of a gunshot.

And then another.

The earth tilts, and I know—this is just the beginning.