Lyra dreamed of fire.
Not the kind that burned forests or cities, but silver fire — quiet, endless, and alive.
In the dream, she stood in the middle of a vast dark ocean, the moon hanging low in the sky. The water glowed beneath her feet, rippling with light every time she moved.
A voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once.
Child of the broken bond…
Lyra turned in circles, her heart racing. "Who's there?"
The one the Moon Goddess did not abandon.
The silver light rose from the water, wrapping around her ankles, her waist, her chest. It wasn't painful. It was warm. Comforting. Like being held.
You were rejected by fate, but chosen by power.
"I don't understand," Lyra whispered. "I just wanted to live quietly."
The voice softened.
Quiet lives are for those without purpose.
The ocean vanished.
Lyra jolted awake, sitting straight up in bed, her breath coming fast.
The room was glowing.
Not from the lamp. Not from the city lights.
From her.
Faint silver lines traced her arms, pulsing gently beneath her skin, just like the ones she'd seen on the cracked concrete in the alley.
She stared at her hands.
They were trembling.
"Okay," she muttered. "I'm officially losing my mind."
She swung her legs off the bed and stood up. The moment her bare feet touched the floor, the warmth intensified, spreading through her body like liquid energy.
The air around her shifted.
The curtains lifted even though the window was closed.
Lyra gasped and stepped back.
The movement alone sent a ripple of force through the room, knocking over a chair.
She froze.
"That… wasn't me."
But it was.
Her phone buzzed on the table.
Unknown number.
Again.
She hesitated, then answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice came through, low and calm.
"You felt it too, didn't you?"
Lyra's blood turned cold. "Who is this?"
"My name is Rowan," the man said. "And if I'm right, you just awakened Luna energy that hasn't existed in over a thousand years."
Lyra laughed nervously. "You have the wrong number."
"No," Rowan replied. "I've been tracking anomalies in the wolf network. Power spikes. Energy shifts. You lit up the entire city like a flare."
Her knees weakened.
"That's impossible."
"So was an omega surviving a Supreme Alpha's rejection," he said gently. "Yet here you are."
Silence filled the room.
"Who are you?" Lyra whispered.
"A rogue alpha," Rowan answered. "And the only one who can teach you how to survive what's happening to you."
Lyra looked at her glowing hands again.
Survive.
Not control.
Not understand.
Survive.
"What happens if I don't?" she asked.
Rowan didn't hesitate.
"Your power will consume you. Or worse… it will attract alphas who will cage you."
A chill ran down her spine.
"Kael will feel it soon," Rowan added. "If he hasn't already."
Her chest tightened at the sound of his name.
"I don't want anything to do with him," she said.
"You don't get to choose anymore," Rowan replied softly. "Not with this kind of power."
Lyra closed her eyes.
Rejection had broken her.
But this…
This was remaking her into something dangerous.
"Where are you?" she asked.
Rowan smiled through the phone.
"Five minutes from your building."