Lyrean's pov
"W-what do you mean by that, Raze?" I asked, my voice trembling, my chest burning as though the air itself had turned against me.
He didn't falter. His gaze was steady, heavy, and his tone softened only for me. "Listen to me, Lyrean. I'll explain everything to you, but right now—" his eyes flicked to Talon, sharp as a blade—"I need to take care of the fucker."
The way he said it, so casual, so certain, like my world wasn't already collapsing beneath me, made my stomach twist.
"No," I shook my head, refusing the comfort in his voice, refusing the calm assurance. "You don't get to just… just throw that at me and expect me to wait politely while you kill him. What the hell are you talking about, Raze?"
My words hung in the air, sharp, cutting.
Then my gaze slid to Elena. She stood too close, her face torn between guilt and something heavier, something like pity. And suddenly, the pieces shifted in my head.
I narrowed my eyes. "Elena, is he…?" My throat closed. I didn't even want to finish the sentence.
Her lips parted, trembling, and the silence that followed was a scream on its own.
"Yes," she whispered at last, tears glossing her eyes. "Lyrean, I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you."
The ground beneath me tilted. My pulse roared in my ears.
"You couldn't?" My voice cracked, broke. Rage came next, scorching through the cracks in my chest. "You could, Elena! It's been years—years—and you let me live in the dark. All this time, all the suffering, and now I find out that not only is Raze the leader of this pack, but he's also… he's also claiming to be something he's not?"
"I'm not claiming," Raze snapped, stepping forward, his dominance pressing through the room. "It's a fact. He's the liar here."
"I'm not lying," Talon growled at the exact same time, the sound vibrating deep in his chest. His eyes burned into mine, desperate, demanding. "Lyrean, listen to me—"
"No!" My shout cracked the air. My voice was mine again, fierce, jagged. "I won't listen, not anymore. You think you can spin words and make me choose? You think you can both stand here and tear apart everything I've built?" I pointed at Talon, my body trembling. "Even if my son is yours, even if I can't make sense of any of this, you will never take him from me. Eryx is not yours to claim."
Talon's lips peeled back over his teeth. His voice deepened into that Alpha command he loved to wield like a weapon. "He's mine, Lyrean. I am Alpha. Your Alpha. And whatever I say becomes law."
I laughed then, bitter and broken, the sound tasting like iron in my mouth. "No, Talon. You're nothing. That Alpha you cling to? You're not. You're just a shell, a dog on a leash, led around by your mother like the puppet you are."
His face twisted, rage and shame bleeding together. The pack stirred behind him, restless at my words, but none dared step forward. The air was electric, thick with the clash of power.
"Get out of my pack, Talon." Raze's voice cut across mine, low and lethal. He didn't shout—he didn't need to. The authority in his tone was enough to freeze the room. "I've already done too much by letting you step foot in here without tearing you apart."
Talon's head snapped toward him. "You cannot kill me—"
"You think that crown of yours makes you immortal?" Raze's snarl vibrated through the walls. His aura surged outward, dark and suffocating, sending wolves around us to their knees. My breath caught in my throat. His power… it was nothing like Talon's. It was raw, unshackled, and it filled the room until there was no space left to breathe.
Talon staggered but held his ground, baring his teeth, summoning his own dominance to match. The clash of their wills hit like a storm. Wolves whimpered, some clutching their heads, others pressing their foreheads to the floor in instinctive submission.
I clutched my chest, my heart hammering so violently I thought it might break free. Eryx—goddess, where was my son? Was he hearing this? Feeling this?
"Stop it!" My scream cracked the air, my voice breaking through the heavy haze of power. Both of them turned to me, their glares still burning at each other through the corner of their eyes.
But I wasn't done. My knees buckled, my fury spilling out in a rush. "You don't get to decide his life like he's a bone you're fighting over! He's not a prize. He's not a title. He's my son, my flesh, my blood. And I swear to the goddess, if either of you tries to drag him into this madness, I'll tear you apart myself!"
The silence that followed was brutal. Even the air seemed to hold its breath.
Talon's face shifted—shock flickering there for the briefest moment before he masked it with a cold, cruel smirk. "You think you can protect him from me, Lyrean? From the truth?"
"I already have," I spat. "For years."
Raze took a step closer, his chest rising and falling with fury. "You don't get another chance, Talon. Leave. Now. Before I show her exactly what kind of Alpha you really are."
The wolves shifted uneasily. Some glanced at Talon, others at Raze. The split was already there, cracks widening in the foundation.
And for the first time in years, I realized something terrifying.
Talon wasn't the only one who could command this pack.