Eira's POV
"I never wanted you to find out this way, Lyra…"
The words stayed in my throat, unspoken and burning, while the world fell apart around me. The clearing was no longer a trial ground, but it was a battlefield. The Hollow Wolf tore through the circle like a storm made of teeth and fire.
Warriors screamed as claws shredded flesh and even Alphas staggered back in fear. The Blood Moon burned overhead, crimson light dripping down like poison and Lyra... my Lyra... lay crumpled in Kael's arms, pale and shaking, her eyes flickering between human amber and that terrible white glow.
Her gaze locked on me and I swear I felt her trust snap like glass under a hammer. Her eyes said it all: You knew. So gods help me. She was right and I had known for years. The weight of secrets in my past.
When I was twelve, the coven marked me. I remember the smell of herbs burning in the Sanctum, the cold stone floor beneath my knees, and the sharp sting of a blade slicing my palm as I swore the blood oath."You will serve the witches," they told me.
"You will serve balance and when the Crimson Seer calls, you will obey."I thought it was just words and I equally thought it was an honor, but then, months ago, the Seer herself came to me. I still remember the first time I saw her, robes the color of blood, eyes white and blind yet sharper than any blade.
Her voice was both whisper and scream as she said, "The Hollow Wolf will rise and you will be the hand that keeps it chained."
At first, I thought she meant protecting Lyra, but then she gave me the charms, the runes and the spells. Binding spells and chains disguised as shields and I obeyed because the Coven said if I didn't, Lyra would die before her eighteenth year.
So yes, I had lied to her. Every "protection" I gave her was really a leash. Every smile I offered was laced with guilt and now she knew. The Hollow Wolf snapped its jaws, white fire spilling from its maw. The pack scattered and howled, mixing with screams.
The elders tried to raise their staffs, chanting, but the beast's shadow lashed out, knocking them to the ground."Hold the line!" Rowan screamed, though his voice cracked as fear trembled in his throat.
He shifted fully, his wolf form darting forward, only to be swatted aside like a rag doll. Kael crouched low, dragging Lyra behind him, as his black eyes were locked on the beast.
He was bleeding, his shoulder clawed open, but his stance never faltered."Get her out of here!" someone shouted."No," Kael snapped, his voice sharp as steel. "If it wants her, then she stays with me."My stomach twisted because he was right.
The Hollow Wolf wasn't attacking them; it was circling back again and again, its white eyes fixed only on Lyra. She wasn't the monster. She was in the cage and the cage was breaking.
Here is to the memory of betrayal. Her eyes met mine across the chaos, wide and wet, filled with betrayal that cut deeper than claws."You knew," she whispered, voice raw.
The words weren't loud, but they struck me harder than any blow. I felt my chest cave, shame clawing through my ribs."I… I only wanted to protect you," I stammered, even though I knew it was a lie.
I hadn't protected her; I had obeyed. Kael's snarl cut through the clearing. "Protect her?" He spat the words like venom. "You bound her. You've been working for the witches all along."
The pack erupted in more whispers of witches, betrayal and cursed blood. Their stares turned sharper, suspicion spreading like wildfire. I wanted to scream at him, at them, that it wasn't like that.
That I never wanted to hurt her and that I thought... stupidly, that I was saving her life by chaining her, but the words stuck in my throat, ashes and guilt. I see Lyra's eyes never softened. A chill swept the clearing. Not from the Hollow Wolf. From the trees.
Shadows moved at the edge of the circle, slipping between the trunks. One by one, figures emerged, robes black as midnight, hoods drawn low. There come the witches and my coven. The pack howled in rage and fear, some shifting fully to charge, others stumbling back.
But the witches didn't raise weapons. They raised their hands. Runes flared in the dirt, circling the Hollow Wolf. Instead of fighting it, their chants fed it, shadows thickening and fire burning hotter. The beast threw back its head and howled, its voice twined with their magic. My heart stopped."No…" I whispered.
The lead figure lowered her hood, with crimson robes and blind white eyes. The Crimson Seer smiled, lips thin, voice slicing through the night. "The cage has cracked. The beast will serve us now."
Gasps rippled through the pack. Warriors faltered, and elders staggered. Even Kael froze, his jaw clenching as the Seer's words hung heavy in the air and me? I felt the ground vanish beneath me.
All this time, I thought the Coven wanted to keep the Hollow Wolf suppressed, controlled and bound, but no. They had never planned to stop it. They wanted to own it.
The seer's gaze, blind yet piercing, landed on me. "Child," she whispered, her voice both gentle and cruel. "You have done well. You delivered her to us. Now step forward and finish what you began."
The pack turned on me as one. Growls rose and teeth bared. My legs shook, while my breath was shallow. And Lyra… Lyra just stared, broken and betrayed, her face pale as bone."No," I whispered, shaking my head. "This isn't what I wanted."
The Seer tilted her head, her blind eyes glowing faintly white. "You swore to the Coven, and you swore to me. Do not falter now. The beast will rise, and through it, our people will reign."I looked at Lyra. At my best friend. My sister in everything but blood.
She was trembling, her claws digging into Kael's arm as he held her upright. Her lips were cracked, her voice hoarse, but I still heard her whisper, "Why, Eira?"Why? Because I was weak, because I thought obedience was safety and because I had been a coward, too afraid to defy the witches who raised me.
Tears blurred my vision, hot and heavy. I raised my hands, power gathering and runes glowing along my skin. Gasps erupted from the pack. Kael snarled, shielding Lyra."No!" he barked.
"If you touch her again, I'll tear you apart!"My power surged, blue fire wrapping around my fingers as my heart hammered against my ribs and my body was torn in two.
The Seer's voice pressed into my skull. "Choose, child. Us, or her."The Hollow Wolf reared back, its jaws snapping, while its fire spilled across the ground. Lyra screamed, clutching her chest as though the beast was tearing her from the inside and I knew I couldn't stand still anymore.
I threw my hands forward and the spell burst from me, white-blue fire tearing across the clearing and striking toward the Hollow Wolf.
But the beast twisted and the light veered, arching straight toward Lyra instead. Immediately, her eyes widened and Kael lunged. The pack screamed and my soul shattered as the fire hit.
Did I just save her… or destroy her?