Chapter Twenty-One — Lyra’s POV

My head thrummed violently, the misery echoing through my skull. It felt as if it might split at any moment. A groan escaped my lips, and my hands traveled to my temples, rubbing them in a desperate attempt to numb the pain. The sound of chains rattling jolted me back to my reality, pushing the headache to the back of my mind. My eyes snapped open, and a wave of consciousness washed over me as I looked around and realized Leo was not with me. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lights, I noticed the thick silver chain binding my wrists, it's cold metal biting my skin. Panic surged through me as my eyes traced the chains to the wall, where they were anchored to a heavy hook. Instinct took over, and I tugged at it with all the strength I could muster, my heart racing at the thought of what they might have done to my son. Fear constricted my chest as I pulled harder and even more relentlessly. Just then, a mocking voice sliced through the air, low and mocking.

“You’re a hard woman to find, Lyra Winters.”

I froze at the sound of the voice, dread pooling in my stomach.

“Don’t bother,” the voice continued. “The chains are spelled. There’s no way you’re getting out of there unless Hecate dispels them.”

I didn’t need to see him to know that arrogant, distasteful, and contemptible voice belonged to Thane Blackwood. He stepped into the light, and I saw him, a mere shadow of what he was six years ago, save for his monstrosity. His once black hair had turned gray, wrinkles had formed near his eyes and mouth, a testament to the toll the curse had taken on him, but that filthy smirk still twisted his lips.

“Where the hell is Leo?!” I spat, my voice dripping with anger and contempt. “What have you done with him?”

“Leo?” he taunted, crouching in front of the cage. “You shouldn’t worry about a lost cause.”

I screeched, rage coursing through me as I moved to the edge of the cage, a few inches away from Thane’s smug face. My voice was a fierce growl as I said, “If you dare lay a single finger on him—”

He raised a hand, silencing me. “Spare me the motherly threats, Lyra. You have no power as long as you’re bound to those silver chains. After five years, you think we won’t be smarter?”

I gritted my teeth, struggling against the chains as he leaned closer, a predatory gleam in his gaze.

“This time, I’m not letting you out of my sight. I have waited five years too long, so imagine my surprise and relief when the girl came to us a month ago informing us that you were back with your pack.”

The girl? Was he talking about Isolde? My heart squeezed in my chest at the thought of my friend betraying me.

“I thought it best for you to remain in your pack until the next full moon before we took you. You should be thanking me,” he said, a smug curling up his lips. “It’s quite generous of me to let you roam freely in your pack, to savor your last days before you die.”

I fought the urge to scoff. “We both know that the reason why you left me was because you were scared. You were scared I’d escape again. Who knows? Maybe for another ten years?” I allowed myself a smirk. “By then, maybe you’ll be dead.”

Thane’s eyes glowed red, and his expression turned icy. “I’ll take great pleasure in watching you and your son die.”

Rage reignited in me, and my eyes blazed with fury at the thought of Thane hurting Leo. In a swift contemptuous breath, I spat directly into his face, my voice sharp and unwavering, “Go to hell, Thane.”

Before I realized it, he seized my neck, yanking me toward the bars of the cage until my face was pressed against the cold metal. A sharp sting shot through my throat, and the metallic smell of blood filled the air—his claws were out. I winced as he tightened his grip, his voice a low growl. “You’re going to regret that.”

He released me with a force that sent me crashing to the ground before turning on his heel and striding away.

*****

Through the small window carved into the wall of the cage, I gazed at the moon. In just one night, the full moon would be out, casting its light on whatever fate awaited me. But right now, my only concern was Leo. He was so young, too young, to be threatened by the cruel hands of Thane Blackwood. He had his whole life ahead of him—a bright, beautiful life he deserved to live, not one filled with this nightmare. My anger resurfaced as my thoughts drifted bitterly to Isolde, my supposed best friend. She had to have known what they had planned for me. Could she really be so heartless in me as to let them take Leo, too? To stand by while they plotted to destroy an innocent kid?

The creak of a door opening and closing jarred me from my thoughts. I thought it was Thane, and braced myself, but when I heard the sound of the feminine voice, I immediately knew it was Hecate. I scoffed, leaning back against the walls of the cage, “Have you come to gloat as well?” I asked, not bothering to lift my gaze.

The sound of steel scraping the concrete floor pierced the silence, and a moment later, a tray of food slid through a small opening in the cage.

“You should eat,” Hecate said. “You’ll need your strength for tomorrow night.”

I scoffed, bitterness lacing my words. “Why bother? You’re just going to kill me.”

There was a brief silence before I heard footsteps, followed by the grating sound of metal legs dragging across the floor. Hecate pulled a steel chair close to the cage and settled in it.

“I’ve come to talk to you, Lyra,” she said, her voice smooth and, under different circumstances, perhaps even pleasant. “Aren’t you the least bit curious about how you ended up in this situation?

“Not really. It’s clear as day: my best friend betrayed me.”

“No,” she replied, a hint of amusement in her tone. “I meant how you are the key ingredient to breaking a curse you know nothing about.”

She must have seen my brows lift in curiosity, for she chuckled to herself. “Just as I suspected.” Leaning forward, she continued, “Well, Lyra, I have a long story to share, along with a proposal for you.”

I turned to face her, a mix of skepticism and intrigue washing over me. “Proposal?”

She nodded. “Just between you and me.”

Despite my better judgment, my interest was piqued. I shouldn’t trust the woman who had held me captive for eight months, and I didn’t, not entirely. A part of me expected whatever she had to say to be a web of lies, a ploy to manipulate me into breaking the curse. But then I considered my position: she didn’t need to deceive me anymore. They had already captured me, so whatever proposal she was talking about, I was uncertain of it…but I was interested anyway.

I straightened, turning my back against the wall. “I’m listening.”

In turn, she leaned back in her seat and began. “Twenty-six years ago, a prophecy foretold that the Blackwoods would meet their doom at the hands of a witch—no ordinary witch, but an abomination, a hybrid. Your mother was a witch, and your father was a powerful Beta in the Blackwood pack. At that time, witches were slaves, no more than tools to serve the interest of the Blackwoods, and your father was entangled in a secret affair with one of them.”

Hecate paused, studying my expression, as if gauging my reaction to her revelations. My expression stayed neutral as I listened, curiosity sparking about where her story was leading.

After a moment, she continued. “You see, creatures like you and your son threaten the delicate balance of the supernatural world. There are werewolves, there are witches, but never both in one. Hybrids hold immense power, enough to dismantle even the strongest pack or coven. They’ve always been seen as a threat and are usually killed at birth to preserve balance in the world. Your mother did well to hide you, she never told your father that their affair had resulted in a child,” she scoffed. “Beta Tristan would have been the first to try to kill you if he’d known he had created an abomination.”

“But it wasn’t the abomination that drove Thane Blackwood to hunt down all the witches and their children,” she continued, her tone darkening. “It was the prophecy—it drove him crazy,” she halted, pursing her lips before reiterating, “Mad—it drove him mad. He slaughtered every witch and child in Red Rock, save for me—I’m a barren woman. Your mother managed to escape long enough for you to get out of the town, but somehow, she was caught. Alongside the other witches, she was executed at the tomb. I had never seen a woman with more pain and fury in her eyes. I remember her final words—a curse to wipe out the Blackwood bloodline, just as they had destroyed the witches. And since it was sealed by her blood, by her death, it was only natural that it could only be broken by a newborn from her bloodline.”

My throat tightened as her words sank in. My real mother was a witch, my father a ruthless murderer just like Thane. And Thane Blackwood—he had robbed me of the chance to know her. Anger twisted in me, dark and seething, filling me with vivid thoughts of what I would do to him if I ever got my hands on him. Hecate’s next words shattered my fury, forcing me out of those thoughts with a sickening jolt.

“It was never going to be you, Lyra,” she continued with a sardonic laugh. “You could never be the one to break the curse because you were born before it was made.”

The rage in me dissolved, replaced by a cold realization.

“Besides, you’ve been…compromised by that dumb witch, Salome.”

I raised a brow. “How do you know Salome?”

“When I heard the hybrid child had survived, I started searching for you—moving from town to town, with Crescent Valley as one of my stops. I knew I’d need someone in town to find you, and who better than a witch? But I couldn’t exactly stroll up to her and ask without raising suspicion, so I possessed her ailing sister instead. Poor Salome…she let her guard down, and in a moment of weakness, she let slip the details of a spell that drained her magic, so much that she couldn’t even save her own sister from death.”

Hecate shook her head in disappointment. “For such a ‘brilliant’ witch, Salome was as naive and stupid as Meredith—easy to fool, believing in the lofty idea that there’s a greater good in the world. That single spell, the one that bound your witch side to your fated mate, cost her everything. She couldn’t even tell that her sister had been possessed—something that’s basic Witch 101. The possession spell was too much for her frail sister, and once I withdrew, she died.”

She paused, her gaze narrowing. “By the time I’d traced you, though, it was too late. You had already met him.”

Kaine. His name echoed in my head as I recalled that day—the day we met. It had been a sparring session, one that I begged my father to take me along to. He’d warned me to behave since he was going to be sparing with the Alpha himself.

The moment I entered the sparring grounds, I felt it—a surge of energy, like gravity pulling me toward something…someone. When I looked around, my eyes found him, watching me with a knowing smile. I didn’t know what it meant at the time, but eventually, I understood. It was the mate bond.

Hecate’s voice cut through my memory. “You see, Lyra, you could never fully be who you’re meant to be, not with Kaine Thornfield binding you. Severing that bond between you two—that’s the only way, and it’s what I’ve been working toward all these years.”

I moved closer to the bars of the cage, my curiosity surging as I hung on to every word she spoke.

“I thought a rejection would be enough, but it wasn’t.”

Her words left me reeling, a sense of clarity beneath the confusion. But I had to hear her say it. “What do you mean?”

She gave a cold, satisfied smile. “I orchestrated everything—Kaine’s betrayal, his rejection of you, the plan to mate him with someone else. It was all me.”

My breath caught in my throat. My mind raced, and I blinked rapidly, unable to fully process her confession. “H—how did you do that?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

“Kaine Thornfield’s father was a desperate man. And a selfish one,” she continued, her tone laced with derision. “A man’s greatest fear is death, and when I offered him a solution, he wasted no time taking it. He didn’t care about some alliance; the Ironclaw Pack could stand on its own. What he needed was more time, to live longer, and I gave him that—on the condition that he brainwashed his son to do everything I told him.” Her eyes narrowed in disdain. “Unfortunately, Kaine’s loyalty ran too deep. That was his greatest flaw.”

I didn’t know when the first tear fell, but I felt it—hot and silent—tracing down my cheek. It had been her all along, pulling the strings in our lives. The truth settled in my chest like a heavy weight, and for the first time, I understood. Kaine hadn’t rejected me because I wasn’t worthy. He’d done it because his father had ordered it, and out of honor, he’d obeyed. I was wrong all these years.

Hecate hissed, rising from her seat as she began to pace the length of the cage, her movement restless and sharp. “Save your tears, Lyra. Love makes us nothing but fools. If only the world were half as smart as I am…” she stopped pacing, her eyes locked onto mine with a complacent smile. “Some are driven by love, others by rage. Some are ruled by their emotions, blind to what they could become if they defy the logic of letting feelings control them. Kaine’s love for you made him weak—he couldn’t see that you were a threat to the very security of his pack. And now look at them. His pack is dying. He was supposed to die with them, but I was wrong. I underestimated him. His power is greater than I thought.”

I shook my head, dabbing at the tears on my face. “What are you talking about?”

“Read in between the lines, Lyra,” she snapped, frustration seeping into her voice. “Kaine has to die for you to reach your full potential. Your fated mate needs to vanish, erased from existence. I sent a wolf after him, but he killed him instead. That’s why I’m here—with this offer.”

She crouched in front of me, her face only inches from mine. “If you missed the point of everything I’ve said, let me spell it out. First, we don’t need you to break the curse—Leo can do that on his own. Second, you can never truly become a full hybrid until Kaine is dead. I tried twice, but failed both times. But you can do it. He trusts you. He won’t see it coming. Third—”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I interrupted, my mind struggling to keep up with the weight of her words. “What do you mean Leo can break the curse on his own?”

“The newborn carries the blood of his grandmother—the one who created the curse. You were born before it was cast.”

My head spun. “Then why the hell did you keep me captive for eight months? Why make Thane believe I was the only one who could break the curse?”

“I told you, the witches were slaves to the Blackwoods. We became valuable when they realized we were the only ones who could break the curse. What do you think will happen to me once I help Thane? I’ll be of no use to him anymore. He’ll discard me, and I’ll go back to being a slave. So, I lied. I told him you were all I needed, but when things weren’t working, he started losing faith. I had to give him something—anything to keep that faith alive. So, I told him your blood wasn’t going to suffice. We needed that of your child as well.”

“So, you put me through all that for nothing?” My voice cracked with disbelief. “You tortured me for no reason?”

“I had to make the lie believable,” she replied coldly.

I scoffed. “God, you’re even more ruthless than he is.”

“I’m not driven by emotions, Lyra,” she retorted, her gaze hard. “I only want my freedom, and power is the only way to get it. Join me.”

I recoiled, confusion flickering in my eyes. “Join you in what?”

“Thane will kill you after the curse is broken tomorrow night,” she said, her voice low and dark. “But I can help you—if you join me.”

Against my better judgment, I found myself asking, “How?”

“Leave that to me. All I need is your word. You’ll kill Kaine, unlock your witch side, and join my coven.”

I laughed, a hollow, hysterical sound escaping my lips as tears continued to fall. “Oh my God, you’re delusional.”

“Am I?” she smirked, her gaze piercing. My laughter faded as I met her eyes. “I’m offering you a chance to survive, Lyra. To wield real power. To taste freedom. Your pack will never accept you after tonight. But once you’re a full hybrid, none of that will matter. You’ll be able to live anywhere, control anyone. Together, we can be unstoppable. We’ll take control of the Blackwoods, and the entire supernatural world.”

I fell silent, the weight of her words sinking in.

“I know this is a lot to process,” she continued, standing and moving toward the exit. “I’ll give you time to think it over. I’ll be back at dawn for your answer.” She glanced over her shoulder, her expression almost pitying. “I trust you’ll make the right choice, Lyra—for your survival.”

And with that, she left.