Chapter Eighteen — Lyra’s POV

Every day of the past week has been one issue or the other. Today wasn’t any better, and now, watching the two shifters growl at me like I’d personally wronged them, I knew that if I engaged, I’d be stepping yet into another storm.

“What do you want?” I asked, cautious of the subtle movements they were making toward me.

“Justice,” the man in front of me growled, his voice low and threatening. I whipped my confused gaze in his direction. Justice for what?

Shaking my head, I said, “You’ve got the wrong person.”

I attempted to step away from their midst but the shifter in front of me extended his claws—a clear threat. The other man growled menacingly, baring his fangs.

“It’s not right that you get to walk around town, free to even work, after what you did,” one of them said.

I suppressed a bitter laugh. “If it makes you feel any better, I just got fired.” I rolled my eyes. “So I guess y’all got your wish.”

“Wish?” The shifter with the extended claws sneered, stepping closer and I instinctively backed away. “That is nothing close to what we wish for you. You shouldn’t get to roam freely amongst the pack while Jared is no longer with us.”

I shook my head, finally understanding what this confrontation was about. First it was Mr. Mason, Jared’s nephew, and now these two—who were connected to him somehow.

“Look,” I tried to placate. “I’m sorry about what happened to Jared, but if you have grievances, you should take them up with the Alpha. Not me.”

“The Alpha is never going to listen to us!” he snapped. “You’re his mate and it’s clear he has a soft spot for you, especially now that you have his son.”

“Was that your plan all along?” The second shifter’s voice cut in from the other side. “To come back to the pack claiming to have his son, so you could escape the wrath of the law?”

I scoffed, the accusation so absurd it almost made me laugh. Clearly, these men were crazy and could not see reason. I had to remove myself from whatever this situation was before it escalated.

“If the Alpha is not going to follow the law, then we’re going to take justice into our own hands.”

Before I could process what that meant, a blow landed square on my face, the impact sending me crashing to the ground. My eyes flared. So, this was what they meant by taking matters into their own hands.

I was up in an instant, but not for long, as another punch slammed me back to the ground. A metallic taste filled my mouth, and I spat, watching the blood stain the ground. Before I could brace myself, claws tore across my arm, the pain sharp and searing as blood gushed out. I bit back a scream, clutching my bloodied arm. A kick struck my face, and I collapsed face first onto the ground. I managed to dodge the next punch they threw my way when I sat up, only to be hit from the other side. Rage burned through me—rage from my best friend’s hatred toward me, from my pack's rejection, from being fired. My blood roared in my ears, the pulse of my rage pounding every nerve. I could feel my wolf surging, clawing her way to the surface, desperate to tear them apart.

“No, no, no,” I muttered in fear, desperation lacing my words as I tried to hold her back. But they kept hurting me, and I refused to fight back. My wolf, however, was done with restraint. If I wasn’t going to fight back, she was going to. And she wouldn’t stop until she killed them.

“No!” I screamed as a bone in my leg cracked. “Please, please…no!” I collapsed as another bone cracked in my arm, and then more. Everything blurred around me as I shifted, my bones cracking and reshaping, fur exploding across my skin.

The pain in my arm no longer bothered me. I welcomed it, along with the rage, letting it flood my senses and fuel the fury building inside like a storm. When my eyes snapped open, I was no longer myself. I was something wild, something dangerous.

I lunged at the closest attacker with a snarl, moving faster than I knew was possible. It was the man who’d first bared his claws. My claws slashed through the air with brutal precision, missing the man as he dodged me by a hair, his eyes wide with horror. But I caught him with my back foot and scratched his face, his scream barely registering in my mind, just another sound lost in the whirlwind of rage inside of me. I felt the heat of his blood spray across my fur, the scent intoxicating and nauseating all at once. My wolf reveled in the power, in the control. Or lack of it. I couldn’t stop. Couldn’t think. Only the rage remained.

The man behind me shifted in an instant, an attempt to match my strength, and charged at me. I pivoted, fangs bared, and tackled him to the ground. His face twisted in terror as my jaws closed around his throat. I could feel the tremble in his body, the fear radiating from him, and it only made me want to tear him apart even more. The pressure increased, a growl rumbling deep in my chest as I prepared to finish him off.

Then suddenly, strong hands grabbed me, pulling me back with a force that matched my own. The scent of the person broke through my haze, familiar and grounding. Kaine.

I growled, resisting, baring my teeth at the man on the ground whose consciousness was slowly slipping away from him. Kaine tightened his grip, wrestling me away from my prey. I wanted to finish it—to finish him. My wolf wanted to exert her rage from years on him.

“Lyra, stop!” His voice cut through the madness, and I felt a strange tug inside, something that pulled me back from the brink—something that was enough to trigger my shift back to human form. I collapsed on the ground, trembling and covered in blood—not all of it mine. My hands shook as I looked ahead, realizing that I might have killed one of my own pack. My vision blurred instantly, hot tears stinging my eyes. What had I done?

“Is—is he dead?” My lips trembled as I asked.

Kaine moved to the man and touched his neck to feel for a pulse. He turned back to me and shook his head in refutation, before shifting his gaze to the other man whose face bore fresh scars from my claws. Oh, God. I swallowed, seeing the evidence of my brutality.

“Get him to the healer. Now!” Kaine commanded, and the man hastily scooped up his friend, disappearing into the darkness.

Taking off his jacket, Kaine moved toward me and draped it over my naked and trembling body. I was shivering, both from the cold of the night and the horror of what I’d done. His arms wrapped around me before I could crumble completely.

“I…I almost killed him,” I whispered, my voice heavy with regret and fear. My chest tightened as I clutched the jacket, feeling the shame of my own weakness, of this uncontrollable part of me I couldn’t escape. I looked up at him, tears filled in my eyes. I knew he didn’t judge me—he never would. But a part of me still felt the need to explain, to reassure him that this wasn’t who I was, that I’d never willingly hurt anyone, that I was still the woman he knew. “I can’t control my wolf, Kaine. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I don’t want to be this…person. I don’t—”

“Shhh,” he pulled me closer to him, his voice gentle as he kissed my hair. “I know, Lyra. You’re not alone in this, I’m right here. I’m going to help you get through this.”

I shuddered, clinging onto him as I sobbed, overwhelmed by everything that was going on in my life. I let myself believe his words, to trust that he wouldn’t turn away. He wouldn’t abandon me. Not again.

His fingers gently tilted my chin up, and our eyes met. Using his thumb, he brushed away tears from my eyes, and without a word, he leaned in, his lips brushing against mine in a kiss that served as a reminder that he would never see me as anything less, no matter what I did.

Exhaustion settled over me, and I felt his arms, strong and reassuring, lift me effortlessly from the ground after adjusting his jacket over my shoulders. The gentle thrum of his heartbeat beneath my ear quieted the chaos inside of me, and I allowed myself to drift to sleep, holding on to the words he had told me.

Just as I began to drift into the safety of sleep, a thought shattered the fragile peace settling over me, filling me with a chill of apprehension.

Sensing the shift in my breathing, Kaine tightened his hold on me, and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

I replied, my voice tinged with the worry I couldn’t hide. “What are you going to do when the pack finds out? They’re never going to believe I was attacked first.”

For a brief, unguarded second, something flashed in his eyes—confusion, doubt, a glimmer of worry, as if he hadn’t fully considered the risk this posed for me until now. But just as quickly, he masked it over with a forced, reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle the pack.”

For the first time, I saw it—the quiet battle he’d been fighting this whole time. A struggle I’d never truly understood until this moment; the crushing weight of his loyalty, the burden of trying to protect everyone and keeping the peace even as it tore at him, the pressure of being an Alpha. And now, because of me, Kaine was plunged into a dilemma—between his duty to the pack and his desire to protect me.

A chill gripped my heart, seemingly colder than any fear I’d felt. I had let my guard down. Again. I had allowed myself to be vulnerable. Again. And now…what if, in the end, he had to choose between me and the pack? And what if that choice wasn’t me?