Chapter 1: A Debt Paid in Flesh
The scent of stale beer, cheap perfume, and fear was a familiar cocktail to Lyra Hale. It was the smell of the Blackwood Tavern, her unofficial office. Tonight, the fear belonged to a hulking wolf named Marcus, who was currently trying to use the splintered bar as a shield.
"Please, Lyra. Just two more days," he begged, his eyes wide with panic.
Lyra didn't blink. She let the silence stretch, a tactic she'd learned was more effective than shouting. The low hum of conversation in the tavern had died, all eyes fixed on them. She was a slight figure compared to Marcus, her dark hair pulled back in a simple braid, her frame looking almost delicate in worn leather. Appearances were a useful lie.
"You've had two weeks, Marcus," she said, her voice calm, almost conversational. "Silas doesn't appreciate being ignored."
She took a step forward. The wooden floorboard creaked under her boot, the sound unnaturally loud in the quiet room. Marcus flinched.
"I have it! Most of it! I just need—"
"All of it," Lyra interrupted, her tone final. "That was the deal. You gamble with Crimson Paw money, you pay back with interest. You don't… and I collect." Her gaze flicked meaningfully to his right hand, splayed on the bar. It was a fighter's hand, scarred and thick-knuckled.
A low growl rumbled in Marcus's chest. The wolf in him was rising, pushed by pride and desperation. "You're just a half-breed bitch doing Silas's dirty work. I'm not scared of you."
That was his mistake.
Lyra moved faster than he could track. There was no grand wind-up, no warning snarl. One moment she was standing still, the next she had his wrist pinned to the bar, her other hand slamming a polished steel dagger down. The point buried itself in the wood, a hair's breadth from his little finger.
The tavern collectively held its breath.
"You should be," Lyra whispered, leaning close. Her eyes, a startling shade of amber, held no mercy. They were the only visible sign of the wolf she kept ruthlessly caged. "The interest just went up. The money. Now. Or I start taking fingers. We'll see how well you fight without a proper grip."
The fight drained out of Marcus. The true terror wasn't the knife; it was the cold, unnerving certainty in her eyes. She would do it. He fumbled in his coat pocket, pulling out a crumpled wad of bills and shoving it toward her.
Lyra counted it with efficient flicks of her wrist, not releasing his hand. She tucked the money into her own pocket, then slowly pulled the dagger free. "See? Civilized." She released him. "Don't borrow from us again, Marcus. My patience is a finite resource."
She turned and walked out of the silent tavern, the weight of the pack's stares on her back. The cool night air of Elderveil was a relief, washing away the stink of fear. She flexed her hand, the ghost of the knife's hilt still tingling in her palm. Another debt collected. Another night surviving.
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The Crimson Paw compound was a fortress of concrete and steel, a monument to its Alpha's paranoia and power. Lyra was escorted past guards who looked at her with a mixture of respect and disdain. She was Silas's favorite tool, but she was still a tool, and she was still a half-breed.
She found Silas in his study, a room that smelled of expensive cigars and old blood. He was a gaunt man with slicked-back silver hair and eyes like chips of flint. He didn't look up from the ledger he was studying as she entered.
"The Marcus debt is cleared," Lyra said, placing the money on his desk.
Silas made a note in his ledger without counting it. He trusted her efficiency, if nothing else. "Good. Now, we have a new problem. Or rather, your brother does."
A cold knot tightened in Lyra's stomach. "Jace? What did he do?"
Silas finally looked up, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "The boy has his sister's spirit but none of her brains. He thought he could double his money at Kael Draven's tables at The Vault." He paused, letting the name hang in the air. Kael Draven. Alpha of the Silverfang. A name spoken with fear and grudging respect. "He lost. Spectacularly. Then, in a fit of impressive stupidity, he tried to cheat to win it back."
Lyra's blood ran cold. Cheating in Silverfang territory was a death sentence. "How much?"
"The original debt was fifty thousand," Silas said, his voice dripping with mock sympathy. "The penalty for getting caught brings it to an even two hundred thousand. Draven's men have him. They'll execute him at moonrise tomorrow as an example unless the debt is paid in full."
The room seemed to tilt. Jace was all the family she had left. Reckless, foolish, but her brother.
"I don't have that kind of money," she whispered, her voice hoarse.
"I know," Silas said, steepling his fingers. "But I am prepared to be generous. I will pay Draven. I will wipe your brother's slate clean." His flinty eyes gleamed. "In return, you will do a job for me. A single job, and Jace walks free."
"What job?" Lyra asked, her instincts screaming that this was a trap she would never escape.
Silas leaned forward. "Kael Draven is untouchable. His defenses are impenetrable. His men are fanatically loyal. But he is a man, with a man's… appetites." He looked her over, from her boots to her braid, a cold, assessing gaze that made her skin crawl. "You will get close to him. You will make yourself indispensable. You will make him want you."
Lyra felt a wave of nausea. "You want me to be his whore?"
"I want you to be his downfall," Silas corrected sharply. "While you are warming his bed, you will find something for me. A small, priceless trinket he keeps locked away. They call it the Moon's Tear. Bring it to me."
The Moon's Tear. The legendary diamond that was the foundation of Silverfang's wealth and power. It was a suicide mission.
"He'll kill me the moment he suspects something," Lyra argued, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"Not if you're convincing," Silas purred. "Use every skill you have, little wolf. Your life, and your brother's, depends on it." He slid a single, heavy gold coin across the desk. It was a pass to The Den, Kael's infamous fighting club—the one place he was known to appear in public. "Your audition is tonight. Don't be late."
Lyra stared at the coin, feeling its weight seal her fate. It was a wager with the highest possible stakes. Her body, her loyalty, her very soul were the chips. To save her brother, she had to offer herself to the most dangerous predator in the city.
She picked up the coin, her fingers cold. The metal felt like a brand.
"I'll do it," she said, the words tasting like ash.
Silas's smile was a victor's smile. "I know."
As Lyra turned to leave, a strange, hot prickle flared on the inside of her wrist, right where the strange, silvery birthmark she'd hidden all her life lay against her skin. She ignored it, chalking it up to stress and fear.
But deep down, in a part of her she kept locked away, her wolf stirred for the first time in years, not in fear, but in anticipation.