Lyra's POV
Finn Silvertongue was beautiful in the way poisonous flowers are beautiful—stunning and deadly.
He walked toward us with liquid grace, his amber eyes never leaving my face. He wore expensive clothes that somehow looked perfect despite being in the middle of a burned forest. His smile was warm and charming and completely fake.
I knew that smile. Marcus had smiled at me like that for two years.
"Stay behind me," Kael growled, his body tensing like he was about to shift.
But Finn just laughed and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Peace, wolf. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to talk." His eyes found mine again. "Specifically, to talk to the lovely Beastcaller who's turned the entire realm upside down in less than a day. Impressive."
"What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
"What everyone wants, darling. You." He said it so casually, like he was talking about the weather. "But unlike the brutes with their claws and fire, I'm offering you something better. Intelligence. Strategy. Protection through cunning rather than violence."
"You mean manipulation," Kael said coldly.
"I mean survival." Finn's smile never wavered. "Tell me, Beastcaller—do you really think you can manage three territorial alphas through sheer willpower? The wolf is possessive and will fight anyone who gets close. The dragon is desperate and will do anything to get what he needs. The bear is arrogant and won't accept losing. They'll tear each other apart, and you'll be caught in the middle."
Everything he said was true. I could feel it in my bones.
"But you're different?" I challenged.
"Oh, I'm much worse," Finn said cheerfully. "I'm honest about being dishonest. I don't pretend to be noble or honorable. I'm a fox—we survive through tricks and clever words. But here's the thing about foxes, sweetheart. We're loyal to our own. Bond with me, and I'll make sure you survive this mess. I'll play the others against each other while keeping you safe."
"She's not bonding with you," Kael snarled.
"That's not your choice to make, is it?" Finn's amber eyes glittered with amusement. "She said she chooses. So let her choose." He looked at me. "I'm offering you an alliance, Lyra Kane. Yes, I know your name. I know everything about you. Your mother Seraphine, the last Beastcaller. Your boring human life. Your pathetic ex-fiancé who betrayed you. I've done my research."
The mention of Marcus made my chest tight. "How do you know all that?"
"Because unlike these muscle-bound idiots, I use my brain." Finn tapped his temple. "The Fox Clan has spies everywhere. We knew about you the moment your mother died and the protective wards around you weakened. We've been waiting for you to appear."
A chill ran down my spine. "Waiting? For years?"
"For sixteen years, to be precise. We knew eventually someone would push you through a portal." Finn's smile turned sharp. "We just didn't know it would be that fool Marcus. By the way, he's working for a human organization called the Collectors. They hunt Beastcallers to harvest your blood. If you'd died in this realm, they'd have retrieved your body and extracted your power anyway."
My legs felt weak. "That's not possible."
"It's very possible. It's what they did to your mother." Finn's voice went soft, almost gentle. "Seraphine didn't die of cancer, Lyra. She was poisoned slowly over years. The Collectors found her in the human world and killed her, but she'd hidden you too well. They couldn't find you until Marcus."
"You're lying," I whispered, but my voice shook. "You're just trying to manipulate me—"
"I'm trying to keep you alive!" For the first time, Finn's smile dropped. Real emotion flashed across his face—anger, frustration, and something that looked like fear. "The Collectors are coming here. They know you're in Feralys now. They'll send hunters—humans with weapons designed to kill beastmen. And when they come, all your alpha suitors won't matter because silver bullets don't care how strong you are."
Kael went very still. "Silver bullets? That's a myth."
"It was a myth until the Collectors figured out how to forge them with Beastcaller blood." Finn looked at Kael with something almost like respect. "You're brave, wolf. But bravery doesn't stop a bullet to the heart. You need someone smart on your side. You need me."
"Why should I trust you?" I asked. "You admitted you're a liar."
"Because I'm the only one telling you the truth." Finn took a step closer. Kael growled but didn't attack. "Your mother was my friend, Lyra. Before she fled to the human world, before you were born, Seraphine and I made a deal. If anything happened to her, I would protect her daughter. I've been watching you for sixteen years, waiting for this moment."
Tears burned my eyes. "You knew my mother?"
"I loved your mother," Finn said quietly, and for once his mask slipped completely. I saw real pain in his amber eyes. "Not romantically. But she was the only person in this savage realm who ever treated me like more than a scheming fox. She trusted me. And I failed her by not protecting her better. I won't fail you."
The raw honesty in his voice made my heart ache. He sounded like he actually meant it.
"This is a trick," Kael said, but even he sounded uncertain.
"It's not," Zara said from behind us. We all turned to look at her. She'd been so quiet I'd forgotten she was there. "My mother told me stories about Seraphine. She said the Beastcaller had a fox friend who helped her escape through the portal when she was pregnant. A fox with golden eyes."
Finn looked at Zara and nodded. "Your mother had a good memory."
"But if you helped my mom escape," I said slowly, "why didn't you go with her? Why stay here?"
"Because someone had to stay and spread false information about where she went," Finn said. "Someone had to protect her trail. I spent sixteen years telling everyone Seraphine died in childbirth in the Southern Wastes. That her baby didn't survive. It worked—until Marcus found your mother's journals."
My mind was spinning. "The journals. Marcus said he found them in my music box."
"The music box your mother left you when she died," Finn said. "With a lock that only opened when you turned twenty-four. Your birthday was three weeks ago, wasn't it?"
It was. I'd opened the music box on my birthday and found old journals filled with stories I'd thought were fiction. Stories about the Beastworld.
Stories that Marcus had read and used to betray me.
"How do you know all this?" I whispered.
Finn's smile was sad. "Because I enchanted that music box sixteen years ago. And I put a tracking spell in it that activated when you opened it. I've known your exact location for three weeks, Lyra. I've been coming for you. I just arrived too late to stop Marcus from pushing you through."
Kael's eyes went wide. "You've been tracking her? For weeks?"
"To protect her," Finn snapped. "Which is more than you've done—oh wait, you just met her yesterday, so I suppose you have an excuse."
Before anyone could respond, a sound cut through the tension.
A howl. But not from Kael's pack.
This howl was different. Higher. Sharper. More human than wolf.
And it came from inside the burned village.
"No," Kael breathed. "That's impossible."
"What?" I asked, fear clutching my throat. "What is that?"
Zara's face had gone white as snow. "That's the sound of a wolf going feral. When we lose control of our beast completely. It means someone in the pack is—"
A scream cut her off. A child's scream.
Then more howls. Dozens of them. All around the village.
"The fire," Finn said, his voice sharp with understanding. "The dragon fire wasn't normal fire. It was spelled. Designed to make shifters lose control."
Kael's eyes flashed with horror. "Riven. He did this on purpose. He wanted chaos—"
"He wanted to prove you can't protect her," Finn finished. "And now your entire pack is going feral at once."
The howls grew louder. Closer. More desperate.
And then I heard it—the sound of claws on wood. Growls coming from inside houses. The sounds of a pack tearing itself apart from the inside.
Kael looked at me, and I saw the choice in his eyes. Stay and protect me, or run and save his pack.
"Go," I told him. "Save them."
"I can't leave you unprotected—"
"I'll protect her," Finn said immediately. "On Seraphine's memory, I swear it."
Kael's jaw clenched. The bond mark on his wrist burned bright, pulling him toward me. But the howls were getting worse.
"Go!" I shouted.
He ran, shifting mid-stride into his silver wolf form, racing toward the chaos.
Leaving me alone with Finn Silvertongue and Zara.
"Well," Finn said, his charming smile sliding back into place. "Now we'll see if you trust me or not."
That's when the shadows moved.
And Marcus stepped out of the forest, holding a gun with silver bullets.
"Hello, darling," my ex-fiancé said with that snake smile. "Miss me?"