WOLVES OF ASH AND FIRE

THE EDGE OF DECEPTION

Lyra's POV

I can hear the echo of my own heartbeat in my ears, the stress in the room is nearly overwhelming. Every nerve in my body cries for answers, yet all I receive is silence. The weight of Matthias’s stare on me is oppressive, like if he's softly challenging me to shove him away again, like I did before.

"You shouldn't be here." The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. I try to sound powerful, but my voice breaks slightly. Damn it.

Matthias doesn’t move. His jaw is stiff, his gaze chilly but filled with something I can’t quite place—something that makes my stomach churn with a mix of love and anger.

"You’re not the only one who’s been running," he answers, his voice low, like a snarl. But I'm not running anymore, Lyra. Not from you. Not from this." His words hang thick in the air, each one loaded with finality.

I step back, a flash of terror rising in me. This isn't meant to happen. None of this is meant to happen. I should’ve never let him back in, should’ve never allowed myself to feel anything for him again.

But I did. And now it feels like there’s no going back.

"I don’t need you, Matthias," I say, trying to push him away, but even as I speak, my heart is in conflict with my intellect. Every inch of me wants to close the space between us, to reach for him and let him make all the choices for me. But I won’t. Not again. Not when everything is so dang tough.

His face softens just a little. "You’re lying to yourself," he says quietly, edging closer, his breath warm on my skin. "You need me, just as much as I need you." Whether you admit it or not."

His words hit me like a blow to the belly. They’re too near to the truth. I can feel my willpower crumbling, piece by piece, beneath the weight of his presence.

"Stop," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. You don’t get to rule me anymore. You left. You vanished, Matthias. I have to learn how to live without you."

"Not everything is as simple as survival," he responds, his tone almost sad. "You don’t have to do this alone anymore, Lyra." But you’re making things harder than they have to be."

I shake my head, unwilling to allow his words to take root. I refuse to let him back in, even though a part of me, a deep, hidden part, begs for it. "You don’t get to tell me how to live my life," I say, crossing my arms over my chest, trying to create some sort of barrier, even if it’s only an illusion.

But Matthias isn’t worried. He takes another step forward, and now we’re so close I can feel the heat radiating from his body, see the way his eyes darken with desire—and something else, something scary.

"You’re still that stubborn little girl, aren’t you?" he says, his voice tinged with a trace of laughter, but it’s edged with something darker. Something more possessive.

"Don’t," I warn, my breath trembling. "I’m not the same person you left behind."

"I know," he says, his voice lower now, almost compassionate. "And that’s what scares me."

I swallow hard, the words wounding harder than I care to admit. I want to hate him for abandoning me, for making me feel I was better off without him. But the truth is, I still desire him. And that scares me.

Before I can respond, the door crashes open, and Calder storms into the room, his presence sending a shudder down my spine. He looks at us, an unfathomable expression on his face.

"How touching," he says dryly, but there’s a deadly edge to his voice.But we don’t have time for this. There are greater forces at play presently."

The tension in the room changes, an unseen wall rising between Matthias and me as Calder’s words linger in the air. The moment is broken. The distance between Matthias and me rises, yet the connection, the unmistakable pull, remains.

I turn to Calder, my head racing. "What are you talking about?" I demanded, my voice harsh, breaking through the pressure. "What bigger things?"

Calder’s gaze grabs onto mine, his lips twisting into a grin that sends goosebumps down my spine. "You’ll see soon enough," he says cryptically. "But first, I need your help, Lyra."

I can feel Matthias stiff alongside me, his presence like a storm about to break. "Help? " With what?" I inquire, not sure whether I want to know the answer, but too afraid to leave it unanswered.

Calder draws closer, his eyes flickering between Matthias and me. "There’s a bunch chasing us. They don’t care who you are, or who you used to be. They’ll kill everybody who stands in their way. And right now, they’re coming for you."

The blood drains from my face. "What do you mean they’re coming for me?" My voice is just a whisper, a chilly fear creeping deep in my bones. "Why?"

"You’re the key," Calder adds, his voice quiet, almost respectful. They think you have something they need. Something they’ll stop at nothing to gain."

My mind raced, terror overtaking me. "I don’t have anything! I don’t even know who these people are!"

Matthias’s palm brushes mine, and for a minute, the warmth of his touch is the only thing keeping me grounded. His voice is calm, but there’s an edge of something deeper behind it. "You don’t have to know everything right now. Just know that we’ll defend you. We’ll work this out."

But I’m not sure if that’s true. I’m not sure who I can trust anymore. Matthias has his own secrets, things he’s kept from me for years. Calder? I don’t know him anymore, if I ever truly did.

And suddenly, just as I thought I would die beneath the weight of it all, the sound of tires screaming outside reaches my ears. A car. A fast one.

Before I can say another word, the window shatters with a tremendous bang, the sound of glass splintering into the room filling the air.

I freeze.

Footsteps, quick and heavy, approach from outside the door. And then… a voice I didn’t expect.

"Get down!"

I don’t have time to reply before everything goes black.

The last thing I hear is a muffled blast. And then… nothing.

The world swirls around me, the silence of the moment nearly overwhelming. My brain is spinning, and my heart is thumping in my chest like a drum. For a single second, everything is quiet, but then I hear it: the unmistakable sound of heavy boots, pounding the floor, getting closer.

My breath stops in my throat. I don’t know where they’re coming from or what’s going to happen next. I can't think—can't even understand what just happened. The broken glass, the bullet. My body tenses, every muscle trapped in fear, unable to move.

"Lyra!" Matthias’s voice is a raspy whisper, full of panic, but I can hardly hear him above the ringing in my ears.

I feel a hand grip my arm, pushing me down the floor, toward safety. But before I can make sense of it all, my vision blurs as a person comes out of the darkness. The low light from the hallway exposes a face I never thought I’d see again.

Damon.

His eyes are steely, calculating, the same look he wore when he deceived me previously. The man who played both sides, who departed as quickly as he entered my life. Now, he’s standing in front of me, with a rifle in hand, aiming straight at Matthias.

"Get up," Damon orders, his voice unnaturally calm, yet there’s anger in it. "Now."

Matthias doesn’t flinch, his eyes never leaving Damon’s face. But the tension is clear. One incorrect move, and everything might come crashing down.

"What do you want, Damon?" Matthias growls, his voice low, full of barely restrained anger.

Damon smiles, a wicked smirk that sends a shudder down my spine. "What I wish for doesn't matter. " What you have," he motions to me, his eyes roving over me with the same cold calculation. "That’s what matters."

I can feel the terror build again. "What are you talking about?" I gasp, my throat dry. "You’re nuts. We don’t have anything you wish for."

Damon’s smile spreads, but there’s a bitter edge to it now. "Oh, you do. You just don’t know it yet."

Before I can say another word, there’s a piercing, deafening noise—a gunshot from someplace off to the side. The world tilts again, and for a second, everything becomes absolutely dark.

"LYRA!" Matthias’s voice is a frantic yell, but suddenly another figure enters, obstructing my view.

Damon moves back, a smug grin crossing his face as I hear the sound of something—or someone—falling to the floor.

"No!" I scream, my body tensing, everything inside me screaming as I try to move, but the pain in my chest makes it impossible. I can’t breathe.

The last thing I see is Matthias’s face, his eyes wide with surprise, as the world fades into darkness once more.

"Lyra!" Matthias’s speech is a strained whisper, barely audible, and then... everything becomes motionless.