Chapter Fourteen — Lyra’s POV

I paced the length of the entire living room thinking about what had just occurred—both tonight and the previous night, and wondering what in the world was going on. The first sign Leo showed was just a few days ago when he scraped his knee. Werewolves heal fast, but Leo had healed faster. Too fast. He had been playing in the living room with his favorite toy when he tripped over the rug and fell, scraping his knee. I’d been alerted to this by the sound of his cry. I rushed into the living room just in time to see the wound cover up and his skin go back to normal like nothing had just happened—all within seconds.

At first, I brushed it off, telling myself that Leo was finally getting his wolf. But the convulsing the other day told me that this was something different, and the events of tonight confirmed my thoughts. I’d tried to ignore it, pretend that nothing was wrong and that everything was normal, but I couldn’t keep lying to myself. Something was happening to him, and it terrified me.

Kaine emerged from Leo’s room, closing the door quietly behind him. “He’s asleep now,” he said softly, moving toward me and wrapping me in his arms.

“I’m worried, Kaine.” My voice came out in a crack. “What if something is seriously wrong with him? I couldn’t handle it if anything bad—”

“Shh…” he cut me off before I completed the words, pressing a kiss to my hair and stroking my back. “Let’s not begin to think like that, Lyra. Everything is going to be fine, and whatever it is, we’re going to get through it. Together.”

I remained in his embrace, trying to bask in the comfort he was offering. As soon as I began to feel some level of calm seep in, a knock echoed from the front door.

I looked as Kaine pulled out of my arms. “I sent for Salome,” he explained.

“The witch?”

“She can help us figure out what’s going on with Leo.”

I nodded once, watching as he moved to open the front door and usher her in. Once her eyes landed on me, she stifled a smile in my direction before proceeding further into the living room. She didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “Where’s the boy?” she asked.

“He’s asleep,” Kaine answered.

She paused for a moment, then turned to us, “Do you have something he touches often? A toy, perhaps?”

I blinked, confused, but I walked over to the dining table to pick up the puzzle pieces Leo never seemed to part with. “Here,” I said, handing it to her. “He always plays with this.”

The second Salome’s fingers touched the pieces, she flinched, her body going rigid. Her eyes narrowed on me as she asked, “Has anyone else been in the house recently?”

Kaine frowned, stepping closer. “No. Why?”

Salome’s fingers tightened around the pieces as she shifted her gaze to meet Kaine’s. “This object is radiating with witch energy. It’s pure witch energy—like that of a child.”

Her words settled over me like a cloud storm. “Witch energy?” I shook my head. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s what I thought at first. But I’m not mistaken. Witches can sense each other and can feel each other’s power.” Salome studied the piece for a moment longer, her expression hardening. “If Leo has been touching this, been playing with this…I’ll have to look into his mind—”

“No!” The words left my mouth before I even processed what I would say. Salome clearly did not like me, and I’d be a damn fool to trust her with my child. “You don’t need to dig into his mind. You can ask me whatever you want.”

“Ask you whatever—you can’t even explain what is happening to the boy,” she said, annoyance etched in her sharp tone. Suddenly, her expression shifted to something unreadable and unsettling in her eyes. She started to stalk toward me, her eyes sweeping over me as though she was trying to read me. “You know what—maybe it's not Leo’s mind we should be looking into. Maybe it’s yours.”

Before I realized what was happening, she began chanting, a torrent of spells pouring from her lips. The air around us thickened, the light bulbs flickering wildly as her magic surged. Then, without warning, she reached out and touched me. The second her hand met my skin, a violent force shot through me. Salome’s eyes turned white, glowing with unnatural light, and her head fell back. A powerful energy crackled in the room. I felt something deep inside of me stir—something I didn’t even know existed.

“What the hell are you doing? Get your hands off me!” I screamed, trying to pry her hand away, but my body wouldn’t obey. I was locked in place.

Kaine stepped forward, calling her name. “Salome.”

She didn’t respond. A light bulb burst and I shrieked.

“Salome!” His voice grew louder as he reached for my arm. But still, she didn’t stop. The pressure in the room built, the lights flickered violently and it was like a heavy storm was swirling around us. My arms started to grow hot, and my skin burned, my blood boiling beneath the surface.

“You’re hurting me, Salome!” I cried out.

The sound of Leo’s little voice cut through the chaos. “Mommy, what’s going on?”

At the sound of his voice, she jerked back, her grip finally loosening. I stumbled back, catching myself against the wall, gasping for breath. My arm was red from the impact, and I was sweating profusely. Salome’s eyes turned back to normal, and when she looked at me, there was shock in her expression—shock and something else: fear.

“Wh–what happened to you?” Her voice came out as a whisper, almost like she was too stunned to speak. “What did they do to you?”

Ignoring her, I turned to Leo and forced a reassuring smile, which I doubt did anything to erase the concern and confusion on his face. “Nothing, baby,” I said, going to crouch before him. “Everything is fine. Um…everything is fine. Why don’t I get you back to bed?”

I took his hand in mine, led him back to his room, and put him back to bed.

The anger resurfaced, hot and fast in my chest when I went back into the living room. “You had no right!” My voice shook with fury. “You had no right to dig into my mind. Get out, Salome! Get out of my house.”

She didn’t flinch. “Don’t you want to know what I saw?”

“I don’t care! Get the fuck out of my house!”

Ignoring me, she turned to Kaine and revealed, “He’s a hybrid. Leo is part werewolf, part witch.”

Kaine’s brow furrowed in confusion. “That’s impossible. I’m a full werewolf, and so is Lyra.”

“Is she?” Salome turned to me again. “I’m guessing your father didn’t tell you about your true origins. I’m guessing you don’t even know half the things I saw. Except, of course, the ones you don’t want to talk about.”

I tensed, avoiding Kaine’s confused gaze on me. Although I was seething with anger from Salome violating me, I was curious to know many things. How could Leo possibly be part witch? What about my origin did my father not mention?

Salome’s sharp gaze on me softened as she moved to sit on the sofa. She continued, her voice quieter now. “Twenty-four years ago, a Beta from the pack arrived at my doorstep with a child in his arms, desperation etched into his face. He had just returned from war, carrying the weight of unbearable loss—his friends, his wife, even his newborn child—all gone. It was as if he had lost the will to live and was clinging to this child as his only reason to go on.”

I inched closer, paying keen attention to everything she was saying. Kaine remained fixated on the spot, arms folded against his chest, a hint of disbelief still strewn across his face.

“He begged me—no, he threatened me. He demanded that I suppress the witch side of the child so she could grow up as a werewolf. I warned him about the risks, told him her powers might draw unwanted attention to the pack. But he wouldn’t hear it. He was adamant. So, I did what he asked—suppressed her witch side and bound it to her fate as a werewolf,” she paused, lifting her gaze to meet Kaine’s, “her fated mate.”

My throat tightened, my heart seizing in my chest. “What are you saying?” I whispered, already knowing the answer but unable to fully accept it—to accept that everything I knew about myself growing up had been a lie.

Salome looked directly at me. “That child was you, Lyra.”

I froze. The room tilted and I gripped the chair’s arm, trying to keep my balance as her words crashed over me. The man I’d called my “father”, wasn’t. And my mother…had she even died from an illness? Or was that another lie? Why would my real parents abandon me? Everything Salome said right now implied that I was a hybrid. No, no.

I shook my head vehemently, refusing to believe what her revelation meant. “How do I know you’re not lying? You don’t like me—why should I believe a word you say?”

She scoffed. “You think I’m lying? Would you like me to tell Kaine about the other things I saw—the real reason why the Blackwood pack is after you? Would that prove my honesty?

I shrank back.

Seeing this, she said, “That’s what I thought.”

Salome rose from the couch and made her way to the front door. Just as she reached it, she paused and turned back, her eyes sharp. “You’d better start talking, Lyra. Because from what I’ve seen, the Blackwoods won’t stop until they get what they want. And what they want is you.”

With that she walked out.

I collapsed into the couch, trembling. I couldn’t look at Kaine, but I could feel his eyes on me. He was definitely confused.

“What’s going on, Lyra? I cannot protect you and Leo if I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be protecting you from.” He moved to sit beside me, taking my hands in his. “Talk to me, Lyra. What did they do to you?”

Tears blurred my vision, slipping silently down my cheeks. Kaine pulled me into his arms, and I sobbed quietly. “It was horrible,” I whimpered. “I wanted to die, Kaine. I just… I couldn’t take it anymore.”

His grip on me tightened and he stroked my hair softly, muttering soothing words to me as he urged me to go on.

And so, I began— recounting every agonizing, gut-wrenching detail of the worst eight months of my life…