Chapter 7: Blood Ties and Tears

LYRA'S POV

I've always loved the rain. As a child, it felt so nostalgic, drenching me in its bliss. It brought back memories of Dad and I playing and rolling in the mud. I missed him so much. Having been gone for nearly five years, and now I'd finally get to see him.

A smile played on my lips as I imagined the father-daughter catch-up we had to make up for.

I arrived at the village gate to cheers and jubilations. The pack members welcomed me with open arms, their chants and praises echoing through the air.

"I'm homeeee!" I yelled, swaying and dancing with them.

But I noticed something was off. Some of the pack members were hesitant, their approach tinged with gloom.

"Welcome home, Princess Lyra," Madam Evelyn said, embracing me. I sobbed gently in her comforting arms. Madam Evelyn had been my godmother since my mother's death, and she had never made me feel the emptiness of being motherless. She was simply the best.

"I've missed you, Ma," I whispered.

"It's okay, dear," she soothed. "You're home now. Come on, let's go inside and get you freshened up."

"Thank you, Evelyn," I replied. "I'll freshen up when I'm done hugging Pa." I pulled away and ran towards the palace, ignoring Madam Evelyn's calls.

"Hold on!..."

The excitement surging through me drowned out every other sound as I rushed towards the throne room, where the meetings were often held. Pa should still be awake.

"Your daughter's homeeee!" I called out as I opened the wide doors, my voice echoing in the empty, dark room.

Following close behind, Madam Evelyn grabbed my arm gently, panting and heaving.

"You're too old for this, Ma," I teased, trying to calm her.

"Ly-ra, you shouldn't be here..." she gasped.

"Uhmm, why not?" I asked, looking up at the shimmering throne. Something else was shining, glistening. It wasn't just the emeralds. It was like beacons of light, multi-colored—green and purple—winking and blinking at me.

I rushed out and instructed the guards to light the torches.

"No-no, Lyra..." Mama Evelyn sobbed.

"What's wrong? Come on, you're weirding me out, Ma!" I protested.

A few of the pack elders joined us as the guards lit the torches and flames. The room was suddenly bathed in the bright light that accentuated its opulence.

I looked at Mama Evelyn. She was sitting on the floor, cupping her face in her hands, clearly distressed. The strange lights I had seen earlier finally took shape.

It was a man. A man on my father's throne. A young man in his 20s, with wavy red hair and a tight, clenched jawline. His features were… beyond manly. He looked like a god.

But something wasn't right. Why was he sitting on my father's throne, looking down at us like peasants... like serfs? With his right palm resting on his jaw.

"Hey!" I barked. "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here? You must be a guard, uh?" I was frustrated at the insolence of a guard sitting on my father's throne.

He didn't reply. I was starting to simmer, to boil.

"Hey! Are you deaf?" I snapped, my voice recoiling with anger. "Such insolence!"

Still no reply. My anger reached boiling point.

"GET OFF MY FATHER'S THRONE! GUARDS!!! IMPRISON HIM NOW!!"

I commanded, but the man remained motionless, as did the guards.

"Are you guys disobeying my orders? Ohhhh, Pa is so going to deal with you all!" I huffed. "Madam Evelyn, where's Pa? Is he sleeping? Why are you crying? Come on, what's wrong? Speak to me!"

The room remained eerily silent until the strange man finally spoke.

"Welcome back home, my loyal maiden," he remarked, a chillingly smooth tone in his voice. "I'm Alpha Ronan."

Without giving me a chance to respond, he continued. "I see you're searching for your daddy, eh? Well, he's… halfway in here with us. Come on, look around! Don't be shy...!" A sinister look twisted his features.

"Get off the throne!" I repeated, my voice shaking with rage.

"The throne should be the least of your worries, buddy," he retorted. "Aren't you supposed to be looking for your pops?"

He was right. My gaze darted to Madam Evelyn and the other pack members. A wave of panic washed over me, making my heart stutter and skip a beat.

I frantically scanned the room, as if searching for a lost item. Then I saw it. My chest tightened instantly, an icy band constricting my breathing, my heart leaping into my throat, choking me with terror.

What I saw… my eyes couldn't quite register it. They fluttered, prickling with unshed tears.

I fell to my knees, my vision blurring.

My father's severed head was nailed to a trophy board in the room.

I felt arms wrap around me. It was Madam Evelyn.

I was numb with pain. Her whispered words of comfort were lost in the cacophony of intrusive thoughts and voices in my head. After what felt like an eternity, something ignited within me. Anger? Fury? Pain? No. It was something worse than all those emotions combined. My head spun, the world a dizzying blur.

I rose to my feet, my voice raw and hoarse.

"WHO DID THIS?"

I screamed, the question filled with a primal rage. I began to transform, my body shifting, fur sprouting, my inner wolf clawing its way to the surface.

"Lyr—" Mama Evelyn tried to speak, but was cut off by a gravelly voice. The voice of the man on the throne.

"I did!"

I howled, a sound filled with grief and fury, tears streaming down my face as I lunged at him.

My claws raked at his throat, a blur of motion. But in the blink of an eye, he vanished, my claws sinking harmlessly into the throne. A tight grip on my arm followed, his voice a mocking whisper.

"You're too reckless," he jibed.

I growled furiously. "And you are dead!"

I wrenched my arm free, a burning electric sensation searing my skin where he had held me. Unleashing a flurry of dagger-like claws, I lunged at him again. He weaved and dodged effortlessly, humiliating my rage.

The elders murmured amongst themselves. "He can't kill her, right?"

"Please stop, Lyra," Ma Evelyn warned, her voice filled with fear. "He's too powerful!" But I was consumed by my emotions, relentless in my attack. Finally, Ronan seemed to tire of the game. He grabbed me by the neck and slammed my body onto the hard marble floor, the force of the impact snapping my transformation back to human form. "You ain't in charge anymore, little nightshade!" he muttered.

Suddenly, the searing sensation on my arm intensified. Ronan's expression shifted, the sadistic smile replaced by a look of shock as he touched his own wrist. He felt it too.

My heart hammered against my ribs. The realization was chilling.

"NO! IT CAN'T BE!"

I screamed, refusing to believe what the sensation implied.

Weakened and battered, I rose and attacked him again, driven by desperation and rage. My breathing was ragged, but with each lunge, I felt my inner wolf howling in hesitation… and acceptance.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!"

I cried out, broken and devastated.

The truth was undeniable, bitterly evident. I fell to my knees, crying and wailing, my eyes wide with horror and terror as I stared up at the killer… the killer I was fated to be with.