Lyra's POV
I wake to pain.
Everything hurts. My shoulder throbs where the bullet tore through. Silver chains burn my wrists like brands. Cold concrete beneath me steals what little warmth I have left.
Don't move. Kael's voice. Rough. Strained. Wrong.
He's chained across from me in the darkness. His leg bleeding the silver bullet still inside. Face pale as death.
Are you okay? I whisper.
I'll live. You took a bullet for me.
You would've done the same.
His silver eyes meet mine in the dim light. Why did you? We barely know each other.
The bond made me. My body moved before I could think. Before I could choose.
But I can't say that. Can't admit the bond has that much power.
Instinct, I lie.
A door opens with a metallic screech. Light floods in, blinding after the darkness.
Three masked figures enter. The same ones from the ambush.
The leader kneels before me, so close I can smell gun oil and something else. Something familiar I can't place.
You're awake. Good, he says. We were starting to worry we'd hit something vital.
Where's my sister? I demand.
He laughs. Cold. Cruel. Impatient, aren't we?
WHERE IS SHE? I lunge forward but chains hold me back. Pain shoots through my shoulder, white-hot and agonizing.
Lyra, stop, Kael warns. You're making it worse.
The man looks at Kael with something like pity. The mighty Alpha King. Not so mighty chained and poisoned with silver, are you?
Kael's eyes flash dangerously. Even wounded, even chained, he radiates power that makes the room feel smaller. When I get free and I will get free you're dead. All of you.
Big words from a prisoner, the man says, pulling out a phone. But let's give you some motivation to cooperate.
He shows us a video.
Mira.
Chained to a chair in a concrete room. Face bruised worse than the photos. One eye swollen shut. Crying silently because they've gagged her.
No, I breathe, my heart shattering. Don't hurt her. Please don't hurt her anymore.
That depends on you both. We gave simple instructions. You chose to play hero. Track us. Fight back. Now the price goes up.
What do you want? Kael asks, his voice deadly calm.
Public execution. Tomorrow at dawn. You execute Lyra Ashwood in front of Shadow Vale Pack. Admit she murdered Damon Blackwood in cold blood. No conspiracy. No manipulation. Just a jealous she-wolf who wanted power. Justice served.
And if I refuse?
The man gestures to his companion. On screen, someone enters Mira's room carrying a torch.
Flames dance in the darkness.
No! I scream, pulling against chains until blood runs down my wrists. I'll do it! I'll confess to anything! Just don't burn her!
It's not your choice, little wolf. He looks back at Kael. It's his. Execute his mate, or the sister burns. The Alpha King must choose.
His mate. The word hangs heavy in the air between us.
Through the bond, I feel Kael's conflict. A storm of emotions. His wolf raging against the chains, against the choice, against fate itself.
Do it, I tell him, meeting his eyes. Execute me. Save her. That's what I'd choose.
Lyra
Please! Tears stream down my face. She's sixteen. She's innocent. I'm not. I killed Damon. Just save Mira. Please.
The man chuckles, amused by our pain. How touching. True love and self-sacrifice. Almost makes me feel bad.
Almost? his companion asks.
Not quite.
You have until dawn, the leader says, standing. Six hours to decide. Choose wisely, Alpha King.
They leave. The door slams shut with finality.
Darkness swallows us again.
Kael breathes hard, fighting the silver poisoning. Fighting the bond screaming at him.
I'm sorry, I whisper into the blackness.
For what?
Dragging you into this nightmare. Now you're chained and dying because of me. Because fate decided we're mates.
This isn't your fault.
Yes, it is! My voice breaks. Damon's dead. Mira's captured and tortured. You're poisoned. All because I wasn't strong enough toto what? Refuse? Let them burn her the first time?
Lyra. Look at me.
I do. Even in the darkness, his silver eyes glow faintly.
You are strong. You survived an impossible choice. You're still fighting for your sister even now. That's not weakness. That's love. That's strength.
The bond warms at his words, wrapping around my broken heart.
What are you going to do? I ask. When dawn comes?
Get us out of here.
How? You're poisoned with silver. I'm shot. We're chained to walls. They have guards. Mira's in another location
A terrifying smile spreads across his face. Wolf and man merged into something dangerous.
They made a mistake.
What mistake?
They chained us together. In the same room. Gave us six hours. That's six hours for the bond to make us stronger.
Hope flickers like a candle in wind. The bond can do that?
When true mates are close, especially in danger, it amplifies power. Accelerates healing. Makes us stronger than we'd be apart. His eyes lock on mine. But we have to trust each other. Lower our walls. Let the bond flow freely.
Trust. The word I've struggled with since my parents died.
Since I learned that loving people means you can be forced to destroy them.
I don't know if I can, I admit.
Then don't trust me as a king. Don't trust me as your mate. Trust me as someone who wants to save your sister. As someone who knows what it's like to lose family to manipulation.
The bond pulses between us. Waiting.
What happened to your brother? I ask softly.
Later. If we survive this, I'll tell you everything. He extends his hand as far as the chains allow. Do you trust me, Lyra?
I look at his hand. At his eyes. At the promise in both.
I take his hand.
Okay, I whisper. I trust you.
Focus on the bond. Stop fighting it. Let it flow between us. Let it heal us.
I close my eyes. Feel the warmth in my chest that I've been suppressing.
The bond grows. Expands. I feel Kael's strength flowing into me like sunlight. My shoulder hurts less. The silver burns fade slightly.
Minutes pass. Healing. Strengthening. Planning through the bond without words.
Kael's eyes snap open suddenly. Someone's coming.
Footsteps echo in the hallway. Different rhythm. Heavier.
The door opens.
Not the masked men.
Vera Blackwood. Damon's mother.
She stares at us with pure, concentrated hatred that makes the air feel thick.
You killed my son, she hisses at me, voice shaking with grief and rage. Stabbed him through the heart on his wedding day. Now you've seduced the Alpha King with bond tricks and manipulation.
Mrs. Blackwood, Kael starts carefully. How did you
I followed you. I knew you wouldn't give real justice. Too compromised by the bond. So I'll take justice myself. She pulls out a silver knife that gleams in the dim light. I'm going to kill you slowly, Vera says, advancing on me. And the Alpha King can watch. Just like I watched my son die in your arms.
She moves toward me with murder in her eyes.
Kael roars, yanking at his chains hard enough to crack the walls. Touch her and you die, Vera!
But Vera doesn't care. Grief has made her insane. Fearless.
She raises the knife above my heart.
An explosion rocks the building.
The ceiling cracks. Dust rains down. Debris begins to fall.
Vera screams as part of the ceiling crashes beside her.
Our chains break free from the walls but we're still bound. Still wounded.
And the ceiling is collapsing around us.
We're about to be buried alive.
Together.