The morning sun cast long shadows across the training grounds as Lyra stepped into her new world. Three days had passed since Kade claimed her as his Luna, yet everything felt like walking on broken glass.
"Look who decided to show up," muttered Helena, a blonde warrior with scars running down her left arm. Her voice carried just loud enough for others to hear. "The cursed one thinks she can lead us now."
Lyra's fingers clenched around the training sword, but she kept her face blank. Ten years of survival had taught her when to fight and when to endure. This was an endure time.
"Ignore them," whispered Maya, a young she-wolf with kind brown eyes. She moved closer to Lyra during morning drills. "Some people never forget the past."
But Lyra couldn't ignore the stares that followed her everywhere. In the dining hall, talks stopped when she entered. During pack talks, wolves shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Even the children seemed to feel something different about her.
"Tell us about the forbidden forest," little Tommy asked one afternoon, his six-year-old eyes wide with interest. "Did you really see monsters there?"
"Tommy!" His mother quickly pulled him away, shooting Lyra a sorry look mixed with fear.
The rumors never stopped.
"She killed her own sister."
"Bad luck follows her everywhere."
"Why would Alpha Kade choose someone so cursed?"
Each word hit like a physical blow, but Lyra had survived worse. She threw herself into Luna tasks with fierce determination. If they wanted to judge her, she'd give them something worth judging.
She organized patrol plans that actually made sense. Fixed disagreements between pack members with fairness that surprised everyone. Even helped old Mrs. Garrett with her plant garden when no one else would.
"You're different than I expected," said Beta Marcus one evening after a particularly good pack meeting. His gray eyes studied her with fresh respect. "Most Lunas focus on social events. You actually care about making things work."
Lyra nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Compliments still felt strange after so many years of criticism.
But it was Kade's cold apathy that hurt most. He treated her like a useful tool rather than his mate. Polite. Professional. Empty.
"The pack accepts your leadership," he said one night, not looking up from his papers. "That's what matters."
"Is it?" Lyra couldn't hold back anymore. "What about what you want?"
Finally, his dark eyes met hers. For just a moment, she saw something flicker there. Pain? Regret? But it went so quickly she might have imagined it.
"What I want doesn't matter," he said simply. "Being Alpha means making hard choices."
The gap between them felt like an ocean.
Two weeks into pack life, Lyra found she wasn't the only one struggling. During a supply run to the border, she found Jake, a teenage wolf, being surrounded by three older pack members.
"Maybe you should leave too," growled one of them. "Your family's weak blood doesn't belong here."
"Hey!" Lyra stepped forward, her voice cutting through the stress like a blade. "Back off."
The three wolves turned, snarling when they saw her. "Oh look, the cursed Luna wants to play hero."
"I'm not playing anything." Lyra's eyes flashed with dangerous light. "You have five seconds to walk away before I show you exactly what ten years of survival taught me."
Something in her tone made them rethink. They backed down, mumbling insults under their breath.
Jake looked at her with grateful tears. "Thank you. They've been picking on me since my dad got injured in the last fight."
"Bullies are the same everywhere," Lyra said gently. "But you don't have to face them alone anymore."
Word of the event spread quickly. Some pack members seemed pleased by their Luna's protective instincts. Others whispered that violence followed her wherever she went.
Lyra tried not to care about their views, but late at night, doubt crept in like poison. Maybe they were right. Maybe she really was cursed.
Everything changed on a rainy Thursday evening.
Lyra was returning from a border patrol when she noticed unusual behavior near the pack house. Cars she didn't recognize. Wolves standing at attention. An electric feeling in the air that made her skin crawl.
She found Maya in the kitchen, practically vibrating with joy.
"You haven't heard?" Maya grabbed her arm. "Alpha Kade is presenting someone special tonight. A woman he's been searching for his whole life."
Ice formed in Lyra's stomach. "What woman?"
"No one knows her name yet, but the rumors..." Maya dropped her voice conspiratorially. "They say she's his true love. The one he's been thinking about since he was young."
The world turned sideways. Lyra gripped the counter to steady herself. "That's impossible. I'm his mate."
"I know, it's confusing." Maya looked truly puzzled. "But Alpha Kade called a special pack meeting. He wants everyone to meet her."
Lyra's heart hammered against her ribs. She thought about running. About vanishing back into the forest where things made sense. But ten years of absence had taught her to face her fears head-on.
The great hall buzzed with anticipation when she arrived. Every pack member had gathered, their faces bright with interest. Lyra found a spot near the back, trying to blend into the dark.
Kade stood at the front of the room, looking more alive than she'd ever seen him. His normal cold mask had cracked, replaced by something that looked almost like joy.
"My pack," his voice boomed across the room. "Tonight, I want you to meet someone very special. Someone who will change everything for us."
The crowd leaned forward eagerly.
"Please welcome Seraphina."
The doors opened, and Lyra's entire world crumbled.
The woman who walked in was absolutely beautiful. Long dark hair that caught the light like silk. Bright blue eyes that seemed to hold secrets. A smile that could melt mountains.
But it wasn't her looks that made Lyra's knees buckle.
It was her face.
The face that haunted Lyra's dreams for ten years. The face she saw in every mirror, every memory, every guilt-ridden dream.
It was Alina's face.
Her dead sister was standing in front of the entire pack, very much living, being introduced as Kade's true love.
The room exploded in welcoming cheers, but Lyra heard nothing except the sound of her own heart breaking. She stared at the impossible sight before her, her mind running with questions that had no answers.
Alina looked exactly the same as the day she vanished, except older. As if she'd been growing up somewhere else all these years. Her eyes swept the crowd with polite attention until they landed on Lyra.
For one electric moment, their gazes locked.
And Alina looked right through her as if she were a total stranger.