Exile

Lyra stood frozen when the elder spoke those words. He's dead — they killed him in his sleep. The elder's voice had been thick with grief. But the pack was already gathering, stunned by what they read on the walls and trees.

One of the men started shouting.

"Nobody benefits from Lyra staying in our territory. Look what's waiting for us — they've already killed an elder. That's our fate if we don't throw her out!"

"Who's going to be next?" another voice yelled.

"They're sentencing us because of her!" someone called from the other side.

"She doesn't even have a wolf — how could she ever be our Luna? Besides, we all know the Alpha already swapped her out for her sister." He sneered while the others muttered among themselves.

It was pure humiliation, and she knew it.

The elder took her hands.

"This won't last forever," he assured her, looking straight into her eyes. "This is about your wolf — remember that. Run, child. You can't rise again here. They're holding you back. You have powerful enemies of your own blood."

She looked at her father, then at Kiara — who was wearing the ring Lyra had chosen. So they'd bonded the moment she rejected him. She smiled through the pack's screaming.

She'd always known they didn't want her. That she was unwelcome. They'd made sure to show her that over the years.

But this...

This was something else entirely.

She stood there, fists clenched at her sides, while they all stared at her like she was nothing.

She looked at the crowd screaming for her to leave.

"We exile you, Lyra!" a she-wolf mother shouted.

One of the elders gave her a slight nod. Remember, she thought she heard him say.

She turned around.

"Here — take my truck. It's faster, and you'll need it." Sarai, Damian's mother, pressed the keys into her hands with tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, Lyra. I'm truly sorry." She said nothing more and walked away, turning her back on her own son, leaving the way she'd come.

Everyone was shouting in unison for her to leave the territory.

The Alpha — her father — appeared off to the side with Damian and Kiara. But she didn't look at them anymore.

Mura's brow was furrowed, full of rage. Her friend was the victim here. And they were stripping her of her life.

"Pack light if you're coming with me," Lyra warned the elf.

"Of course I'm coming with you," Mura answered. "This place is a dead city for us."

By dawn, everything was ready. She had no reason to cry. She wouldn't miss any of it. But she would never forget what the pack did to her — the pack where her mother had once been Luna.

They loaded a few things — she didn't want to carry much — climbed in, and drove away.

In the dark street, Victor watched from the shadows, smiling, until he saw them disappear.

"Finish her," he told the leader of the assassins, who shifted into massive dominant wolves and took the trails alongside the highway.

Alpha Victor watched the truck vanish into the distance, smiling.

"I'll finally be rid of your daughter, Zafiro," he whispered, heading toward his own truck.

Up ahead on the road, a man had been watching and listening to everything, hidden behind a wall. He waited for the Alpha to leave before going back inside.

He wouldn't forget what he'd seen and heard. But if he said anything, Alpha Victor or Damian could hurt his family.

DAMIAN'S MANSION

Sarai stared blankly at the horizon from her balcony. She couldn't shake the feeling that her son was so blind for that shameless woman — and had done nothing for Lyra. Her son seemed possessed by some kind of spell. Damian had never acted like this before.

She heard the rumble of the vehicle approaching. She knew it was him — the sound of that truck's engine was unmistakable.

"Mom, you're here." He walked into her room. She didn't answer. She was furious with him.

"Mother." He called again, walking out to the balcony. He hugged her tight. She didn't react.

"Mother, what's wrong?" He made a confused face.

"What's happened to you!" she shot back. "I should be the one asking you that." She studied him, doubting he was truly all right. "Where's my fair-minded son? The loyal man you used to be?"

"Mother, if this is about me switching she-wolves—" He laughed. "I'm not sorry. Lyra's beautiful, but she wouldn't help me run this city. Besides, Alpha Victor is going to proclaim himself King, and I'll be the sole leader."

Sarai scoffed.

"I hope when you come back to reality, you don't regret it." She walked out, leaving him stunned.

ON THE HIGHWAY

Mura smelled danger. She kept checking the mirrors and turning to look behind them.

"Mura, you're making me nervous. Cut the paranoia."

"No — something's wrong," she insisted. "My sixth sense is telling me danger's close."

"Maybe because we're getting near the edge of Silver Light territory. They say there's a King Alpha no one dares challenge."

"But we haven't crossed it yet, and I still feel the danger."

"Open the window," Mura pressed. "I need to make sure nothing's out there." She kept watching and feeling that sensation.

Lyra did as she asked, and kept driving while her friend used her power, spreading it into the air.

But she had to brake hard. The jolt threw her body against the seatbelt.

Three enormous wolves stood blocking the road in front of the truck. They lunged at it instantly. Lyra didn't wait — she hit the gas — but the hybrids were taller than the truck.

One climbed on top of the cab. Another landed on the hood.

"You're not going anywhere, pup," the wolf growled in a deep voice.

"We've got orders from your father," he declared, and the girl froze in terror.

He slammed a massive fist into the windshield. It shattered. The glass would give way any second — but she kept driving.

Then a flock of black birds — crows — appeared, darkening the sky, attacking the wolves and pecking at their eyes in a vicious frenzy, tearing away chunks of flesh.

The wolves' screams filled the air as they shifted back to human form. Lyra watched through the window, but the sight stunned and terrified her. She took her eyes off the road. By the time she looked back, it was too late — the truck flipped.

Dazed, she managed to push the door open. The last thing she saw was a man approaching — then her vision went black and she lost consciousness.

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