Chapter Three — Kaine’s POV

I leaned against the doorframe, watching as the healer’s hands moved deftly around Lyra’s battered body. She was covered in cuts and bruises on her arms, legs, and face, and the sight of her like this stirred a violent storm inside of me. All that filled my head as she nursed Lyra’s wounds was how I would tear apart, limb from limb, whoever or whatever did this to her. The healer, who had been in the pack for as long as I could remember, spread balm over Lyra’s wounds, but my thoughts were far from the healing process.

Several questions roamed in my head. Where had Lyra been all these years? What horrors had she faced? And most importantly, who was the father of her son? I remembered vividly the night before I was to be named Alpha. I had been twenty-two, drowning in the expectations of everyone and the weight of the crown I was about to wield by becoming the Alpha of the Ironclaw Pack. My father had just been diagnosed with a terminal illness over a week ago, and although our relationship wasn’t the best father-son relationship out there, I respected and admired him for the wisdom, loyalty, and strength he had displayed over the years as Alpha of the pack.

For some reason, my father had believed I was absolutely ready to carry on our family’s legacy and lead in the same way he had taught me. So, when people kept asking me about how I felt going into the ceremony, I couldn’t tell them that I was scared, that I had no idea what kind of leader I was going to be because I hadn’t envisaged becoming the Alpha at twenty-two. The last thing the Ironclaw Pack members needed was a clueless leader, and the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint my father by telling everyone how much of a clueless Alpha I was going to be.

I had needed a break, some time away from the reality that was going to be waiting for me the next day, so I snuck out to the one person who could quiet my fears: Lyra. She had given me my present early, the necklace. One thing led to another, and we wound up in bed, for the second time.

Now, as I thought about the boy, who I imagined was no more than five years old, the thought crashed into me like a tidal wave— what if he was mine?

“There’s poison in her system,” the healer’s voice dragged me out of my train of thought. “It looks like she was attacked with poisoned claws.”

“So, a wolf did this to her?” My jaws clenched.

She nodded. “From the different claw marks, more than one.”

I pushed away from the door to go further into the room, crouching just a few inches away from Lyra’s bed to assess the wound myself. Dark veins surrounded the wound, and I traced it up to her back. This indicated that the poison was spreading. I was no stranger to the way poison worked, because I had watched as these same dark veins slowly spread through my mother’s entire body and sucked the life out of her. The thought that something similar was happening here made my chest tighten.

I looked at the woman, and before the question left my lips, she shook her head in affirmation.

“I know an antidote,” she said, sounding as calm and positive as possible to alleviate the worry assailing me. “But I don’t have it with me. I didn’t imagine I would be dealing with a case of poison.”

My pulse quickened. “Where’s the antidote?”

“My house,” she answered. “But it’s a distance away.”

I contemplated what could possibly happen in the time before she got to her house and came back. I was only halfway through imagining the possibilities, all of which were worst-case scenarios, when I felt a hand rest lightly on my shoulders.

“Relax, Kaine. The poison has been in her system for far too long. I don’t think it was intended to kill her—just weaken her or slow her down.”

All packed and ready to leave, she stood up. “I’ll be back. Stay with her until then.”

She didn’t need to ask. I had waited far too long to see Lyra again. There were times when that was the only thought that occupied my head to the point where even hunting didn’t seem to do the trick of offering me enough distraction from thoughts of her. But now that she was back, I wasn’t letting her out of my sight.

With a light squeeze of my shoulder, the healer left. I pulled a chair closer to Lyra’s bed and sat. She lay still, her chest rising and falling in slow motion. The moonlight, which filtered into the room through the only window, cast a soft glow on her features, and I found myself staring at her.

She wasn’t the same girl I remembered.

Six years ago, her face had been softer, untouched by whatever had hardened her in the years since. I could still conjure up a clear and perfect image of her; the way her skin glowed under the sun when we went hunting, the way her large brown eyes rested on me, waiting for my next move whenever we were sparring, the way her nose would scrunch up and her face would contort into a frown whenever her father told her it was time to go home, and the way her smile could brighten my darkest days. Her cheeks had been fuller, with a subtle roundness that gave her an almost innocent look, like she hadn’t yet seen the worst of the world.

Lyra had fled the pack when she was a teenager, and I knew time and hardship would change her. Her once long hair was now cut up to her shoulders, though its color was just as it had been: whitish blonde with a few streaks of black. She was thinner than I remembered. The roundness in her cheeks was gone, replaced by sharper angles, a more defined jawline. Her lips, which once had curved in a wistful smile even while she was asleep, were now set in a neutral line, as though life had stolen her laughter. Dark circles faintly shadowed the skin beneath her eyes, and her skin was paler than it had been back then.

As I looked at her, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of all the lost years between us. I wondered what had happened to her over the years and where she had lived. I hadn’t been able to find her in no matter how I scoured. Seeing her now reminded me of how I could never stop caring about Lyra even if I willed myself to. She wasn’t just some girl who had left without a word. She was my Lyra.

My gaze moved back to her face when her lashes fluttered, and she emitted a soft groan, shifting slightly in the bed. Her hands went up to her head, and the groan was louder. I leaned back in the chair, arms crossed against my chest, watching until her eyes opened. First, she blinked, her gaze unfocused for a moment, then she looked around, disoriented and confused as to where she was. She hadn’t seemed to notice my presence in the room yet, so I broke the silence.

“Hello, Lyra.”

She whipped her head in the direction of my voice and the second her eyes landed on me, they grew wide with recognition. It was as though seeing me triggered something in her as she was ready to jump right out of bed if not for the pain in her side that held her back and caused her to fall back, groaning.

“Hey, hey, hey, take it easy,” I moved closer to her, reaching for her arm to help but she flinched, pulling away from me as though I had a disease.

I deserved that.

Eyes filled with hostility locked onto mine, and in a tone as sharp as a wolf’s claw, she asked, “Where’s Leo? Where’s my son?”

“He’s fine, Lyra. He is with the other kids in the pack playing under the moonlight.” A half-hearted smile touched my lips as I recalled other moments between us. Talking to Lyra had always been effortless—no overthinking, no filters. So, when the thought surfaced, I let it slip before I could stop myself.

“Remember when we used to act as chaperones for them, watching the pack’s children play under the moonlight? They would play hide and seek and some of them would sneak into the forest to hide, then it’d be up to us to find and bring them back?” I chuckled. “Remember when that one kid, Elvis, made us search the entire forest three times, only for us to later find him fast asleep underneath a pile of leaves? That was the longest night of my life.”

Lyra’s expression darkened. “Of course it was the longest night of your life. You haven’t had to worry about anything in your life other than being Alpha.”

I drew back at the sharpness in her voice cutting through whatever lightness I had tried to summon. Maybe I was lying to myself, thinking time would have healed the past between us. And maybe, after all these years, she hated me.

I watched as her gaze flickered to the wound on her side. I could tell from the way she suppressed a wince that she was in a great deal of pain but was trying to mask it.

“You were poisoned,” I informed her, keeping my voice calm. “The healer hasn’t given you the antidote yet, but she should be on her way back.”

Her eyes met mine briefly and in the fleeting moment, I saw nothing. No warmth. Her eyes were hollow, as if the fire that once burned within her had long been extinguished. A part of me feared that she had lost herself, but even worse, she had lost herself because of me.

“How did you find me?” she asked, sinking back into bed and pulling the sheets over her body.

“Leo led me to you,” I told her. “It’s a bit of a story, which I would be happy to tell you over dinner once you’re better.”

“Don’t bother. I won’t be staying.” She paused, then added. “But thank you…for helping me.”

She didn’t appear thankful, no. She appeared pissed.

Sighing, I took a seat in the chair next to her, making sure to keep a bit of distance between us. Even if this wasn’t the first conversation I envisaged us having after all these years, it was enough that she was here. And that she was talking…sort of. Since we were having a “sort of” conversation, I decided to ask one of the questions that had been gnawing at me since I found her in the woods.

Leaning forward, I cleared my throat. “Lyra, can I ask you something?”

“Would you not if I said no?”

I chortled lightly but admitted. “Not likely. No.”

She didn’t say anything more, so I took this as a good sign to go ahead.

“Leo,” I started, and immediately, her body went still. She didn’t even blink a wink. “Who is his father?”

She was tense, I could tell. Even as she snapped her head in my direction, her face contoured into a deep frown, and her voice was laced with fury.

“Why the hell do you care, Kaine? Why the hell do you care what I have done with my life during the last six years?”

“It’s just that, Lyra…we both know what happened the night before—”

“The night before what?” she spat. “The night before you betrayed me? The nerve of you to bring that up!”

“Come on, Lyra. I’m just trying to have a conversation.” I tried to placate her but she wasn’t having any of it.

“Snap out of it, Kaine. He’s not yours, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Her words sliced through the air and that should have been enough to erase my doubts ,because Lyra had never lied to me. Lyra could never lie to me. Then again, the woman in front of me wasn’t the same person I once knew. And something about Leo, the connection I felt when I looked into his eyes, made me question everything.

“I needed to forget about you, Kaine,” she continued coldly. “So, when I left the pack, I hooked up with a random guy. And we weren’t being very careful. You could say it was uh…mind blowing.”

My fists clenched. The thought of her being with another man made rage surge through my veins. My teeth gritted, and I was about to say something when the door creaked open and the healer walked in.

Noticing and probably feeling the palpable tension between us, she asked, “Uh…everything okay?”

I tore my eyes away from Lyra, and without giving the healer a second glance, I stood up and walked out of the room. I knew where I was headed. This wasn’t like the day before, or several days before that, when I had ended up in the bar to try to forget about something that pierced me so deeply. This time, I needed answers. I didn’t believe that Lyra was telling the truth about Leo or that she had been with another man, and worse, that she had actually enjoyed it. So, I was going to confront the one person who might know the truth. Or at least have a more reasonable answer.

The faded neon sign buzzed faintly, flickering with the name of the place, Moonlit Grill though the “G” appeared to have faded off over the years, leaving Moonlit Rill glowing dimly against the dusk. I pushed open the glass door, and the bell above it jingled, announcing my presence. The familiar smell of the place hit me first: greasy bacon, fresh coffee, burgers, and fries.

The tiled floor was worn, evidence of all the foot traffic over the years. And the booths were the same red, cracked in places from years of use. The diner was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone, and secrets never stayed secret for long.

There were a few patrons scattered in the booths who acknowledged my presence with a curt nod. I did so in return, then focused my gaze on the counter, where I spotted her.

Isolde.

She looked up to see me when the doorbell jingled, and a smile spread across her lips. Signaling for me to take a seat, she disappeared through a door with a sign that read “for staff only” before I could even get near the counter. She returned with a flask, then pulled open a cabinet to get out a mug.

Still smiling, she spoke softly, “Dominic said you caught a wild boar without me today. Too bad. I would have loved to see your muscles flexing in action.” Isolde half-filled the mug, then lifted her eyes to me. “Do you want it full today?”

“No, Isolde.” My voice was low, barely managing to keep my frustration in check. “I didn’t come here to drink. Or eat.”

The smile on her face waned and slowly, she set the jug down. “Is something wrong, Kaine?”

“Lyra is back,” I said, cutting straight to the point. “And she has a kid.”

Her expression shifted from shock to something that resembled anger within the zero point five seconds now that she had learned of her best friend’s return to town. My gaze dropped to the counter to see her fingers tighten slightly, where they gripped the arm of the mug. Then she swallowed, her throat working for a moment before she spoke again, appearing surprised even though her expression didn’t seem anything like it. “A kid?”

“Did you know?”

“That Lyra was pregnant? Of course not.” She looked away from me toward the patrons in the corner and she let out a slow breath. “Why are you concerned about this?”

“Because the child might be mine.”

Her eyes snapped back to mine, and I saw something flicker in it for a moment. But just as quickly, it vanished. “It’s not yours, Kaine,” she said with absolute conviction. “Perhaps this might be the best time to mention that…” Isolde hesitated, then tore her gaze away from my eyes.

“That what?” I probed. “What are you not telling me?”

“It’s just that…you’ve got this idea in your head that she was perfect. But she wasn’t, Kaine.”

Confusion settled over me. “Can you stop dancing around in circles and spit it out?”

“Lyra was unfaithful to you before she even left.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Unfaithful.

Isolde leaned forward, her voice low but harsh. “I saw her, Kaine. On the night she fled, she met up with him, she spent the night with him. And it wasn’t their first. I had seen them before. Multiple times. I don’t know who it was. All I know is that it wasn’t you.”

I staggered backward, the ground shifting beneath me. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. But the conviction in Isolde’s voice chilled me. She was her best friend. They shared everything with each other, kept each other’s secrets. I shut my eyes tight, trying not to imagine the fact that Lyra had been seeing another man while we were…together.

And when I opened them again, bloodshot, anger simmering inside of me, I turned on my heel. Without another word, I pushed my way out of the diner, trying to fight the ideas reeling in my head as I made my way back home.

When I pushed open the door, I bumped into Lyra. She had a bag flung over her shoulders, a change of clothing, and was looking ready to run. Again.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”