Lyra's POV
It started like any other morning.
Dew still clung to the grass when I stepped out of the workers' quarters, basket in hand, ready to collect herbs from the southern gardens. The air was cool and heavy with the scent of wet soil one of those peaceful mornings that made me forget what it felt like to run.
But peace never lasts. Not for people like me.
"Lyra!"
I turned as Elias jogged up the path, his dark hair still damp with sweat from training. His grin was easy, familiar the kind that had always made the ache in my chest soften.
"You're late again," he teased, bumping my shoulder.
"I was up all night grinding fever root for the healers," I shot back. "Not all of us get to swing swords for fun."
"Fun?" He scoffed, flexing his arm with mock pride. "This is survival, little wolf."
I rolled my eyes, smiling despite myself. "You're insufferable."
He grinned wider and then his expression shifted as a horn sounded in the distance.
Three sharp notes.
The signal for an approaching envoy.
The entire training ground stilled.
"Who's visiting?" someone called out.
Elias frowned. "Alpha Rowan said something about foreign Alphas traveling south. Probably just a patrol check."
But the air around us changed I could feel it. A strange pressure rolled through the pack's bond, heavy and electric, making every hair on my arms rise.
My wolf stirred.
Restless. Alert.
Not in fear but in recognition.
---
By the time we reached the main courtyard, the entire pack had gathered. Warriors lined the steps, their armor gleaming under the noon sun. Luna Aeryn stood beside her mate, her calm expression betraying a flicker of unease.
I stood at the back, clutching my basket, trying to melt into the crowd. But the closer the riders came, the harder it was to breathe.
The earth itself seemed to respond to their arrival horses stamping, wolves shifting uneasily, as if some unspoken hierarchy had entered our midst.
Then I saw him.
He rode at the front of the column tall, dark, utterly composed. His black armor caught the sunlight like it was forged from shadow. His aura was unlike anything I'd ever felt power threaded with quiet command.
The moment his gaze lifted toward the courtyard, I felt my knees weaken.
I couldn't hear his name yet. Didn't need to.
Because my body already knew it.
The world narrowed to a single pulse mine and his, beating in perfect sync.
No.
I took a step back, gripping the edge of the stone wall as my wolf surged forward, howling in recognition.
Not him. Not now.
The Alpha dismounted, his movement controlled, deliberate. The crowd parted like water before him.
And then Alpha Rowan spoke voice loud and formal, echoing through the courtyard.
"Welcome to Riverbend, Alpha Kaelan Draven of the Ironclaw Pack."
The name struck me like a blade.
Kaelan.
My vision blurred. My heart slammed once, hard enough to make my ribs ache.
All around me, wolves bowed their heads except me. I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
Because fate, cruel and unrelenting, had finally caught up.
The man whose name haunted my dreams.
The wolf who should have been my family's ally.
The one whose blood burned through my veins as if it had always belonged there.
My mate.
My enemy.
---
The courtyard thrummed with energy part reverence, part fear.
No one dared speak as Kaelan Draven crossed the stone path toward Alpha Rowan. His movements were sharp and deliberate, every step echoing authority. Even without shifting, his dominance rippled through the air, pressing against every wolf present like a silent command to bow.
And they did.
Warriors who'd never flinched before lowered their gazes. Elders bent their heads. Even Luna Aeryn dipped in respect.
Only I stayed frozen at the back, my pulse racing, heart thundering so loud it drowned out the world.
He was close enough now that I could feel the weight of his presence pressing against my skin like heat radiating from a fire I couldn't step away from.
My wolf pressed against the surface, desperate to rise, to see him.
But I held her down, every ounce of my will bent on keeping her caged.
No one could know who I was.
What I was.
Especially him.
---
"Alpha Draven," Rowan greeted, forcing a thin smile. "Riverbend welcomes you. We're honored to host Ironclaw's delegation."
Kaelan inclined his head in acknowledgment, voice low and even. "The honor is mine, Alpha Rowan. I've heard much about your neutrality. It's a rare thing these days."
The words were polite, but they carried weight a subtle warning.
Behind him, his warriors stood in disciplined silence, their silver insignias catching the light. Darius, his Beta, scanned the crowd with calculated precision.
Then Kaelan's gaze swept across the courtyard.
The shift was almost imperceptible but the air changed. Wolves straightened unconsciously, as if some instinct deep within them demanded obedience.
When his eyes moved over the gathered omegas, I ducked my head quickly, pretending to adjust the basket in my hands.
Don't look at him.
If I looked, I knew I'd break.
---
"Your lands are peaceful," Kaelan said, glancing around the courtyard. "You've done well to keep order so far south."
Rowan's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Peace is our strength. It keeps our pack alive."
Kaelan's tone was neutral, but something dark flickered beneath it. "Peace has a cost, Alpha. You can only buy it for so long before someone decides to take it from you."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Luna Aeryn's hand tightened subtly on her mate's arm.
I could see it in Rowan's eyes the calculation, the caution. Ironclaw's Alpha wasn't a guest he could refuse, nor a rival he could provoke.
For the rest of us, though, he might as well have been a storm walking on two legs.
---
When Kaelan turned slightly toward the gathered omegas, I felt the air constrict again.
His gaze was searching not curious, but instinctive. Predatory.
And though he hadn't looked at me directly yet, I could feel it… the pull.
It burned just beneath my skin, a magnetic ache that refused to fade.
My wolf's voice growled inside me not in warning, but in longing.
Mate.
The sound nearly sent me to my knees.
I pressed my hands against my skirt to hide the trembling, forcing slow breaths.
I couldn't be his mate.
Not him.
Not the man whose name was carved into my nightmares.
---
"Lyra," someone whispered beside me.
It was Elias. He stood close enough that I could hear his heartbeat quicken. His voice was hushed but firm. "You okay? You look pale."
I shook my head faintly, eyes still locked on the ground. "Just… dizzy."
He frowned. "Go inside. I'll cover for you."
I almost nodded almost turned and fled like the coward part of me wanted to when Kaelan spoke again, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade.
"My men will remain here for a few days while I meet with your council," he said. "I hope that's acceptable."
Rowan inclined his head. "Of course. Our home is open to you."
"Good."
Kaelan's tone was calm, but that single word thrummed through the air like the quiet before lightning.
And then he moved.
---
He stepped past Rowan, walking toward the center of the courtyard where the servants had begun unloading their supplies.
The scent of pine and steel followed him. It filled the air, wrapping around me like a chain.
Every step he took drew him closer though he didn't know it yet to me.
My breath caught as the crowd shifted, parting slightly, forcing me forward a single step.
I froze.
So did the world.
Because in one heartbeat one impossible, devastating heartbeat I felt it.
That invisible thread tighten.
He was close enough now that my wolf was no longer whispering. She was howling.
And though Kaelan hadn't turned fully yet, I knew the next heartbeat would bring his eyes to mine.