Chapter 3 The Alpha’s House
902 Words
The Ironfang mansion stood like a dark fortress at the edge of the forest.
Tall stone walls surrounded it, and glowing lanterns lined the long path leading to its massive iron gates. To Lyra, it looked less like a home and more like a prison.
Two guards pushed the gates open as Alpha Kael approached.
Lyra followed several steps behind him, her heart heavy. The humiliation from the pack hall still clung to her like a shadow.
Rejected.
Sold.
Owned.
Every step toward the mansion made the words echo louder in her mind.
The doors opened before Kael even reached them. Servants quickly lowered their heads as he walked inside.
No one dared look him in the eye.
Lyra stepped into the mansion slowly.
The moment her foot crossed the threshold—
Something strange happened.
A sudden wave of heat rushed through her body.
Her breath caught.
The air around her felt… different.
Alive.
She grabbed the wall beside her for support.
One of the servants noticed immediately. “Are you alright?”
“I—” Lyra swallowed. “I’m fine.”
But she wasn’t.
The floor beneath her feet seemed to vibrate faintly, as if the house itself had noticed her arrival.
At the front of the hall, Kael stopped walking.
Slowly, he turned around.
His silver eyes narrowed.
He had felt it too.
A brief pulse of power had passed through the mansion the moment the omega entered.
It had been faint.
But unmistakable.
Kael studied Lyra carefully.
She stood near the doorway, looking pale and confused.
Weak.
Just an omega.
Yet something about that moment bothered him.
“Rowan.”
A tall man stepped forward from the shadows of the hallway. His dark hair was tied behind his head, and the sharp alertness in his eyes marked him instantly as a warrior.
The Beta.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Take the omega to the servant quarters.”
Rowan glanced at Lyra briefly.
There was curiosity in his gaze, but he quickly hid it.
“As you command.”
Kael turned and disappeared down another hallway without another word.
Lyra watched him go, her chest tightening.
She didn’t know why, but the moment he walked away, the strange warmth inside her chest faded slightly.
“Come,” Rowan said.
His voice wasn’t cruel like the others.
But it wasn’t kind either.
Just… neutral.
Lyra followed him through a long corridor lined with tall windows. Outside, the dark forest stretched endlessly under the moonlight.
“You’re lucky,” Rowan said suddenly.
Lyra looked up.
“Lucky?” she repeated.
“Yes.”
He stopped walking and turned toward her.
“Most rejected mates are exiled or killed.”
Lyra’s stomach dropped.
“Killed?”
“An Alpha rejecting his mate weakens the bond of the pack. Some Alphas eliminate the problem entirely.”
Her fingers curled slightly.
“So why didn’t he?”
Rowan studied her face for a moment before answering.
“That,” he said quietly, “is something I’d also like to know.”
They reached a staircase that led downward.
“The servants sleep here,” Rowan explained.
The lower floor was simple compared to the grand hall upstairs. Small rooms lined a narrow corridor, each with a wooden door.
Rowan stopped at one of them and opened it.
Inside was a small bed, a wooden table, and a single window.
“This will be your room.”
Lyra stepped inside slowly.
It was small.
But at least it was quiet.
Rowan leaned against the doorway.
“You should rest,” he said. “Tomorrow the housekeeper will assign your duties.”
Lyra nodded faintly.
“Thank you.”
Rowan didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, he stared at her thoughtfully.
Then he asked something unexpected.
“Tell me something, Lyra Vale.”
She looked up.
“When you entered the mansion… did you feel anything strange?”
Her heart skipped.
Had he noticed too?
Lyra hesitated before answering.
“I… don’t know what you mean.”
Rowan watched her for a few seconds longer.
Then he straightened.
“Perhaps it was nothing.”
He left, closing the door behind him.
Silence filled the room.
Lyra sat on the edge of the bed, exhaustion finally washing over her.
Tonight had destroyed her life.
Her pack had sold her.
Her mate had rejected her.
And now she was a servant in the house of the most feared Alpha alive.
A tear slid down her cheek.
“I’ll survive this,” she whispered to herself.
But as she lay down on the bed, the strange warmth inside her chest returned.
Stronger this time.
The air in the room suddenly grew colder.
The candle on the table flickered violently.
Lyra sat up quickly.
“What…?”
The window burst open with a loud bang.
Wind rushed into the room.
The candle went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then a soft voice echoed inside her mind.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Awake.
“Daughter of the Moon… you have finally returned.”
Lyra’s eyes widened in terror.
“I—who’s there?”
But the room was silent again.
Outside, the full moon hung high above the forest.
Watching.
Waiting.
And somewhere in the mansion, Alpha Kael Draven suddenly stopped walking.
A strange, unfamiliar energy had just surged through his territory.
His wolf growled uneasily inside him.
Something had awakened.
And it was inside his house.
- Writer
