Chapter One — Lyra’s POV

“Table five wants another round.”

Gemma informed me of this when I came back to the counter to fix a customer’s order that I had messed up. My head was always in the game, but tonight, the pub was packed wall to wall.

The constant hum of deep voices, the clink of glasses, and the raucous laughter of men knocking back drinks like it was their last wasn’t doing much to help me concentrate.

I glanced over my shoulder toward table five, and cringed inwardly when I saw the occupants: Rogers, Matt, and a bunch of other mannerless men who were just like the first two I had identified. They were regulars at the pub, all of them known for harassing the female staff.

Gemma could affirm this, and so could Anita, who worked on another shift. Unfortunately, I was no exception.

As much as I tried to avoid serving their table, there were some nights when Gemma had her hands full with something else, and I had to swallow my anger, irritation, and disgust, and attend to their orders, fully aware of what was to come.

“Two bottles of beer for table five,” I said with a forced smile as I lowered the bottles to their table. And with that same fake grin plastered on my face, I asked, “Anything else I can get you?”

“Yes. You.” That was Rogers, with a smirk on his face. “My car is just around the corner if you can take a quick break, if you know what I mean.”

He winked, and Matt and the other guys egged him on, as if the garbage spewing from his mouth was anything to be proud of.

As per the policy in the bar, the smile couldn’t leave my face. My boss always wanted us to give his customers anything they wanted because he knew the kind of regulars he had.

If it was heard that I had called out Rogers for harassing me, I could be facing one of two consequences: a deduction from my weekly salary, or worse, the loss of my job. And as frustrating as it was to deal with regulars like Rogers and Matt, I couldn’t afford to lose this job.

Not only was this the first stable job I had been able to find since I moved into town, it paid me a reasonable wage that was enough to care for Leo, which was all that really mattered to me.

So, I hid my growing irritation and laughed off the nonsense the man had just said. “As you can see, Mr. Rogers, the pub’s full. I can’t afford to take a quick break.”

“How about I wait till you finish your shift here? Then we can go to my place. I would very much prefer to fuck you all night long rather than have a quickie in the back of my truck.”

“No can do. Gotta go home to my kid.”

“You have a kid?” Matt asked, somehow annoyed with that fact.

“He’s five.”

“Well, can’t he stay the night alone? When I was five, my parents used to leave me all by myself every Friday night.”

No wonder he turned out this way.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Rogers, but I’ve got to get back to work.”

I didn’t wait for them to add another asshole comment to the conversation, which was surely going to come if I lingered for even a moment. I turned around, certain they were watching my ass, and headed back to the counter. Gemma, who had noticed the entire exchange, shook her head, looking at me in pity.

“I don’t think they’re ever going to stop trying to get you into the back of their trucks,” she said. “Can’t blame them, though. You look like you fell from heaven.”

That was a compliment, but it didn’t feel like one, given the situation.

“And you attract a lot of attention because of your hair, Lyra. Maybe if you dyed it, their eyes will stop following you as you move around the pub.”

This was the millionth time Gemma had suggested that I dye my long, whitish-blonde hair, and for the millionth time, I was going to refuse.

“I’m not changing my appearance because of lowlifes like Matt and Rogers, who never have the moral compunction to even tip the staff. Now, can we stop talking about them? I can feel the nausea building.”

Gemma shrugged before nodding once and going back to washing the mugs and cups that were piled up behind the bar. I pulled out my notebook and went through it to ensure that I had ticked off all my customer’s requests, as well as to track the tips I had received.

With the number of customers we had tonight, I had hoped that my tips would add up enough for me to get Leo that toy he had always ogled whenever we passed by the toy store.

Unfortunately, my tips were actually short of yesterday’s, and yesterday was one of the worst days I had had when it came to tips. My salary could cover the cost of the toy, but it was already reserved for other expenses like food, babysitter fees, rent, and a bunch of other necessities.

I felt bad that I wasn’t able to get Leo the toy he dreamed of, but I wasn’t giving up. Later tonight, I was going to ask the boss for an extra shift this week, which would hopefully get me enough to buy the toy for Leo.

Thinking about my son brought a smile to my face. Seeing him happy was the only thing that kept me going every day. I could only imagine how his small mouth would spread into a wide grin if I somehow brought home the toy tonight to surprise him. I wished for it so bad. And it hurt that I couldn’t do these things for him. Thankfully, Leo was never one to complain. He was a very content kid who appreciated all the things he received.

“Hey, blondie? Can we get another round of beer?” I heard Matt yell from the end of the bar, disrupting my thoughts.

Sighing and rolling my eyes internally, I reached into the fridge and pulled out two bottles of beer. This was the seventh round for table five, and it should be the last. Drunk men tend to cause a scene outside the pub every night, but my boss told us never to cut off a customer, no matter how drunk they were. And from the way Matt had yelled just now, I could tell that he was well past the point of tipsy.

“Can you pass me the opener?”

“My hands are full. Think you can get it yourself?” Gemma replied.

I reached out to grab the opener that was lying on the counter just past the sink, when Gemma’s horrified voice rang in my ears.

“Oh my God, Lyra. Did your tattoo just disappear?”

I looked down at my arm and froze when I saw that the mark was gone. I knew what that meant. How could I not after the resounding warning the witch gave me that first night? I had been looking at that mark every single day for the last five years. If it was fading, it meant that she was sick and slowly dying. Or, her magic was weak because she had exhausted herself. Or…

None of that even mattered. The mark wasn’t fading. No, it was gone. It had disappeared.

Which only meant two things: either she was dead, or I had been found. I dropped the beer bottle in my hand, and it slipped from the counter and fell to the ground, shattering. In a blur, I took off my apron, tossed it aside, and bolted toward the door, all within five seconds.

“Hey! What are you doing? Where are you going? The pub is full tonight! Lyra!” Gemma called after me, but I was already out the door before she could yell one more sentence at me.

I didn’t care about the pub. What I cared about was at home, and they were coming for him. They were coming for us.

I waited a few seconds for a cab, but when I didn’t see any pulling up to the curb, I took to my heels. My heart was pounding rapidly against my chest, drowning out the blaring horns as I sprinted toward the alley that would take me toward my apartment on the shortest possible path.

As my feet connected with the grass of a small park along the way, my legs burned with desperate steps, and my breath came in short ragged gasps. The branches of trees clawed at my arms, ripping into my skin, but I couldn’t stop—I wouldn’t stop.

In no time, I burst through the door of my neighbor’s apartment, breathing frantically. Leo and the babysitter both jumped, probably wondering what had come over me. But there was no time to explain. We needed to get out of here now. And fast.

“Come on, Leo. We’re leaving.”

I watched his expression shift from surprise to confusion. Then he opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “Now, Leo! Get your things!”

“Lyra, is everything all right?” the babysitter asked.

No, it wasn’t. I had spent eight months as a captive in one of the most ruthless packs in the world. I had barely managed to escape thanks to the pity of one person who took mercy on a heavily pregnant woman going through physical and emotional torture.

I had spent the last five years being happy and free with my boy. And now, all of that was about to be ripped away from me. The mark on my hand had been the indication of a cloaking spell. When I escaped from captivity, the witch who had helped me had given me the mark to hide my location from the Blackwoods. And it had been effective until tonight.

Now, the fact that the mark had vanished meant that there was no cloaking spell anymore. We have been found and they were on their way here right this minute. So, no, nothing was all right!

Leo was taking too much time to get his stuff, so I grabbed his arm and ran to my apartment. I headed straight for the one loose floorboard where I had stored the tiny nest egg I had scraped together. That should be enough to get Leo and I on a train and out of this town before the Blackwoods realized that we were gone. I grabbed Leo’s bag, and stuffed it with a couple of blankets, snacks, and anything else we might need on the run.

“Mommy, what’s going on?” Leo’s soft voice wafted through the room, stopping my frenzy. I turned around to find him staring at me, worry and confusion across his face.

“Come here, Leo. Come on.”

When he neared me, I crouched in front of him and pulled him into a hug. Then pulling away, I cupped his cheek. “You trust Mommy, right?”

He nodded twice.

“Good. I’ll explain everything to you later, baby. But we have to leave right now. Grab whatever you can from your room and meet me in the living room. Just don’t take too much.”

That was all it took to send Leo sprinting into his room, likely for his toys, while I continued to stuff the bag with essentials. Moments later, Leo came back out, carrying a bag filled with toys. All set, I grabbed his arm, and we darted into the woods. It was a shortcut to the train station.

But we hadn’t gone far, when the snap of a branch made me stop in my tracks. The familiar scent of my nemesis wafted to my nostrils. Blackwoods. I had been found.

Instinctively, I searched the surroundings and found a fallen tree nearby, a perfect spot for Leo to hide while I fended off the shifters.

“Go hide over there, Leo,” I commanded.

“No. I’m not leaving you, Mom.”

I admired his bravery, but Leo hadn’t shown any sign of being a wolf. Right now, he was more human than a wolf shifter. In other words, he was defenseless.

“Leo, go! Now!” I whisper-yelled, prompting him to scurry behind the fallen tree. Just when he hid, I sensed someone charging toward me. Before I could turn to block the attack, a blow to my face sent me flying and crashing hard against a tree.

The impact had me groaning out in pain, and once the bitter, metallic taste filled my mouth, I knew I was bleeding. Footsteps closed in, which indicated that they were closer to me than I had thought. I barely managed to find my feet. My back hurt from the impact of slamming against the tree, and I was sure something had broken. It would heal, as it always did, but first, I needed to take care of these bastards.

I put my ear to the ground, listening keenly to try and count the number of steps coming in my direction. I heard two, then four, then six. Three Blackwood shifters after me. They must be pretty desperate after all these years.

I listened again and heard the way my boy's heart thundered in his chest as he whimpered. I didn’t think they knew he was hiding—that was good. But I had to keep it that way.

The shifters were now in sight, charging toward me at full speed as I lay flat against the ground. If I ran, they would follow me. They were faster and stronger. But I was smarter, and that was the only advantage I had.

“Is she dead?” I heard one of them ask.

“She better not be. Thane wants her alive.”

I lay motionless on the ground, pretending to be unconscious as they moved within striking distance. When one of the shifters moved forward to check my vitals, I drove a broken branch straight into his jugular in a quick thrust, causing blood to spray out until he collapsed. The others, alarmed, charged toward me, but I immediately found my feet, mustering the last strength in me to evade their blows.

Not long after, one of their claws connected with my arm, ripping into my flesh. Crying out in pain, I clutched my bleeding arm, trying to evade another blow, but I felt a sharp pain as another of their extended claws drove deep into my abdomen. My legs gave out, and I fell to my knees, blood oozing out of the gash.

They didn’t give me a moment to recuperate as one of the Blackwood shifters, the one who had been trying to see if I was still alive, sent a blow right into my face, which sent me to the ground.

My body was weak, but my healing abilities were kicking in slowly. However, they weren’t letting up. What happened to, “Thane wants her alive?” I thought.

Coughing out blood, I tried to crawl to heaven knows where, but one of the shifters placed his foot on my back, slamming me back to the ground.

“Where do you think you’re going, pretty lady?” He chuckled derisively, and his crew laughed along with him. “See anything, Roger?”

Roger? Though my entire being was weak, I lifted my head just enough to see a man emerge from the woods. My stomach twisted when I saw the man that crossed through my line of sight.

It was Roger, the lowlife regular at the pub where I worked. There was nothing regular about him. Sure, he was still a lowlife, but those extended claws and fangs showed that there was a lot more to him than I had seen before. Usually, wolf shifters could identify themselves even in a crowd. They had a scent. But for some reason, in the two years that I had worked at the pub, I never caught a hint of anything that told me that Rogers was a werewolf.

Rogers yelled from the tree line, “There’s no sign of a boy here—oh wait. There he is!”

Shit! Leo had been found.

“Run, Leo! Run!” I screamed at the top of my lungs but two shifters were already darting in the direction Leo had been hiding.

I trembled with fear at the thought of Leo getting caught, and that fear soon materialized when I heard my boy scream as they got a hold of him. Suddenly, something clicked within me. My bones began to crack and realign, reshaping into my primal form. My fingers and toes stretched into sharp claws, and my skin gave way to my thick white fur.

I hadn’t shifted in years, not since the night I was rejected by my mate. My wolf had gone berserk. I couldn’t control my actions when my wolf took its primal form. Which meant that I couldn’t control what might happen next…

With this newfound strength, I lurched at the shifter holding me down, digging my fangs into his throat and tearing it apart. With him dead and forgotten, I charged, fueled by rage, toward the other Blackwood shifters who had Leo in their arms. I raked my claws across the chest of the first shifter that launched himself at me, which sent him crashing to the ground as he cried out in pain. The other shifters, taken aback by this, stumbled back in surprise. But my wolf wasn’t done yet.

They were going to fall, every single one of them. With a swift, powerful movement, I rushed at another one of the shifters, and closed my jaws around his throat till he stopped struggling, indicating that he was just as lifeless as his other two comrades. Then there was only Rogers, who was holding Leo by the arm.

He fell to his knees trembling with fear. “I’m not a Blackwood, I swear! They only recruited me when they came to the pub looking for you! Please—”

Those were his last words before I stuck my claw in his throat. But before he fell, he dug his claws into my sides, which were already wounded, deepening the wound.

Shifting back to my human form, I collapsed to the ground, feeling life slip away from me. Leo rushed to my side, tears streaming down his face as he begged me not to leave him. The last thing I saw before the darkness enveloped me was the face of my son. Leo…