Exploited by the Alpha

CHAPTER 14 — The Voice That Was Not Hers

White.

Not light.

Not darkness.

Something in between.

Lyra couldn’t feel her body.

Couldn’t hear the mansion.

Couldn’t even remember where “she” ended and something else began.

There was only the hand.

Resting beneath hers.

And the voice.

Closer now.

No longer distant.

No longer searching.

Finally…

The word did not echo.

It settled.

Like truth.

Aiden’s shout felt miles away.

“LYRA—PULL BACK!”

Kael’s voice followed immediately after.

Sharp. Commanding. Strained.

“DON’T LET IT TAKE YOU!”

But the sound didn’t reach her anymore.

Because the moment her palm touched the hand beneath the floor—

The world changed.

Ironfang mansion went silent.

Every guard.

Every servant.

Every wolf.

All froze at once.

Not because they were ordered to.

Because something inside them had been switched off.

Fear.

Gone.

Instinct.

Gone.

Even Kael staggered slightly.

His wolf—his Alpha dominance—had just… disappeared for half a second.

His eyes widened.

“What did she do…” he whispered.

Aiden turned sharply. “That wasn’t her!”

But Kael didn’t answer.

Because he was watching Lyra.

And for the first time—

He couldn’t feel her through the bond fragments anymore.

Not rejection pain.

Not connection pain.

Nothing.

Just absence.

Inside the white void—

Lyra finally saw it.

Not as a shadow.

Not as a shape.

But clearly.

A figure kneeling before her.

Not trapped.

Not broken.

Waiting.

Its head was lowered.

And when it spoke—

The sound was no longer ancient.

It was personal.

My Moonborne…

Lyra’s breath shook.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered.

The figure slowly raised its head.

And for the first time—

The white space cracked slightly.

Revealing fragments of memory.

A throne.

A war.

A moon split in half.

And a girl—

Standing in the center of it all.

Exactly like her.

Lyra staggered backward.

“No…” she whispered. “That’s not me…”

The figure stood.

And the white space trembled.

You forgot.

Lyra’s voice broke. “I don’t remember you.”

A pause.

Then—

The most terrifying words so far.

Because they killed you first.

Outside—

The silver eruption collapsed instantly.

As if something had been turned off.

Lyra fell forward.

Kael caught her before she hit the ground.

But the moment he touched her—

He froze.

Because her body was cold.

Not injured.

Not unconscious.

Empty.

Aiden rushed forward. “Is she breathing?”

Kael didn’t answer.

His eyes were locked on her face.

Because her expression had changed.

Not fear.

Not pain.

But recognition.

Like something had just returned.

And then—

Her eyes opened.

Slowly.

Completely silver.

No pupil.

No iris.

Just light.

She looked at Kael.

But she didn’t see him.

And when she spoke—

It was not Lyra’s voice anymore.

It was calm.

Absolute.

Final.

“Where is my throne?”