A Mandate

For a second, Lyra thought the world had stopped. Her blood ran cold.

Because the woman the Alpha was thrusting into — hard and fast, over and over — wasn't a stranger. It was Kiara. Her own half-sister.

The same girl who sat beside her at pack meetings. Who shared the same father. In the very bedroom that was supposed to be hers after the bonding ceremony.

She didn't scream, the way they probably expected.

She didn't make a scene.

She didn't run.

Damian leapt up, naked.

Kiara, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the show.

"Lyra, I can explain — I..." Damian couldn't find words for what was already obvious.

"Forgive me, Lyra..."

A sharp slap cracked across his face. She turned to leave but spun back around — and landed another slap on her sister, who had already stood up and was pulling on the Alpha's shirt.

"How dare you," Kiara whined, rubbing her cheek.

"Wait, Lyra, we need to talk." He grabbed her arm, but she yanked free.

"Let go of me, you idiot."

She left without looking back. But when she reached the truck, she fell apart.

Mura saw her shattered and pulled her into a silent embrace, letting her calm down. Minutes later, Lyra wiped her eyes with the back of her arm.

"It's over. There won't be a ceremony," she declared. Not a single tear left.

Mura still didn't know what had happened, but she could tell it was serious enough for Lyra to make that decision.

"I walked in on Damian fucking Kiara," Lyra told her, knowing the elf had been left in the dark.

Mura's eyebrows shot up.

"What are you going to do now?" she pressed, because things were about to get much harder — and not for the one who caused this. For Lyra herself.

"Talk to my father."

"But I also need to void everything with the Elders. They're the only ones who can stop my so-called bonding with Damian."

They arrived at the mansion. Lyra walked inside, determined to confront her father, the Alpha.

She found him in the library, studying some old papers that he immediately tucked away when he saw her — as if he were hiding something.

"I need to talk to you." But before she could say another word, a palm cracked across her face without warning.

"Why are you hitting me, Father?" Her mouth filled with blood, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

But before he could answer, Kiara and Damian walked in together.

Kiara smiled when she saw Lyra clutching her face. She'd obviously already spoken to their father.

"You don't get to lay a hand on Kiara," Victor said.

"Did she tell you I found her in bed with my fiance?"

"That's your fault." He looked Kiara over. "What, aren't you woman enough to keep an Alpha male satisfied in bed?"

"I'm nothing like you, daughter," Kiara fired back without blinking.

"Insolent brat." He lunged at Lyra, but Kiara held him back.

Lyra smiled.

"Bravo, bravo." She clapped slowly. They were clearly in on this together. She turned toward Damian, who stood in silence, visibly uncomfortable with the whole scene.

Victor tried to hit her again.

"You don't get to disrespect me," he snarled, losing control — but this time Damian restrained him.

"Tomorrow I'll go to the Elders and cancel this ridiculous ceremony."

"No. This time I'll do it myself."

"I said I'll handle it!" Lyra shouted, and they all froze as a gleaming silver aura burst to life around her.

The Alpha glanced at Kiara with a knowing look. She understood what had just happened. She rushed out and came back with a syringe, jamming it into Lyra's neck. But this time there were witnesses — Mura watched from the window, using her concentration to stay hidden.

"What was that?" Damian asked.

"We'll talk about that later." Victor waved it off. "Right now what matters is that you leave and—"

"Damian Foster, I reject the bond between us," Lyra declared, stunning both Alpha Victor and his daughter. She should have been unconscious from the dose Kiara had just given her.

But before anyone could react, Damian caught the ring Lyra threw at him — the symbol of their engagement pact.

"Lyra."

A surge of blood choked him before he could say anything else. He coughed up every drop his body expelled when the bond snapped, doubling over in pain.

Lyra, on the other hand, felt only a stomachache — no blood. She grabbed a small backpack, stuffed in two changes of clothes, and walked out without looking back. She had her own place — her late mother's house.

She didn't even acknowledge Damian's desperate calls after her.

Alpha Victor dismissed Damian with convincing excuses. He had an urgent visit to make before the situation slipped out of his control.

He drove his truck to the outskirts of the township, where the assassin wolves from the hostile packs lived.

"Consider it done," said the wolf. Scars covered most of his face and parts of his body. "But I want double what you paid last time." The massive man grinned — he was his pack's top killer.

Victor returned home in silence, but Kiara was waiting for him.

The next day, Lyra was summoned urgently to the old manor where the Elders lived.

Mura went with her, but they both stopped cold at what they saw. The walls were smeared with paint made to look like blood, gouged with deep claw marks. The message demanded Lyra's exile from the territory — or more innocent blood would flow. Then the elder appeared.

"They killed our eldest lord. They murdered him in his sleep."

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