LOGINLyra’s POVThe knock at the door jolted us all back to attention as we listened to the agreed-upon code being tapped out. Taking a deep breath I stood up and strode towards the door clenching a silver dagger in my fist as at this point I’d rather be safe than sorry.My hand hovered for only a second before I opened it.Cold air rushed in first, sharp and cutting through the heat of the cabin.And then Amber stepped inside.She didn’t move further at first.Just stood there for a beat, eyes scanning the room like she was confirming what she was walking into was real.Then her gaze landed on me.Everything in her face shifted.“Lyra.”My name came out like it hurt to say it.Before I could answer, she crossed the space between us and pulled me into her arms.It wasn’t gentle or cautious. It was immediate, tight, and grounding—like she had been holding herself together by force for too long and this was the first thing that let her loosen.I held her back just as tightly.For a moment ne
Amber’s POVThe penthouse had started to feel like a prison.A beautiful prison, admittedly. Most wolves in Star Pack would have considered staying here an honor. The rooms were larger than some family homes. The windows overlooked half the territory. Fresh flowers appeared every morning, meals arrived before I could ask for them, and servants seemed determined to make sure I never lacked for anything.Except freedom.That part seemed negotiable.I sat curled into one corner of the couch with a book resting open in my lap, staring at the same page I had been pretending to read for nearly an hour. Every few minutes my eyes drifted toward the windows overlooking the territory below.Somewhere out there were answers nobody would give me.Every day that passed without news felt heavier than the one before.The academy was gone. Lucian was dead. Richard was tightening his grip on the pack. And Lyra…I squeezed my eyes shut.No.I refused to think like that.Lyra was alive.She had to be.T
Lyra’s POVThe cabin was small, but it was dry and hidden.At that point, dry and hidden felt dangerously close to luxury.There was a narrow kitchen, a worn table, a hearth full of old ash, a cot near the wall, and a second room barely big enough to hold another mattress. Someone had already left supplies inside. Folded clothes sat on the table in rough stacks. Towels. Soap. A comb. Tooth powder. A chipped basin. A few blankets. A lantern with enough oil to burn through the night.Clean clothes.Soap.A real roof.I stared at it all like an idiot.After four days in the wilderness, those little things felt so painfully normal that I didn’t know what to do with them. My throat tightened in a way that made me angry because it was absurd. I could stand in front of armed wolves without crying, but apparently soap was where I lost my mind.Mara brushed past me and grabbed a towel from the stack. She didn’t look at me, but her voice softened just enough for only me to hear.“Don’t you dare
Lyra’s POV“Well,” the young man said coldly, his bow still trained on us, “this is either the stupidest invasion I’ve ever seen, or somebody better start explaining why two Alpha heirs are carrying a dying human across my border.”The woods stayed silent after that, except for Rowan’s breathing.That was the sound I couldn’t stop hearing. Not the creak of bows drawn tight around us. Not the shift of boots in the pine needles. Not the low growl rumbling from one of the Star Pack wolves half-hidden behind a tree.Rowan.Each breath scraped out of him like his body had to drag it up from somewhere too deep. Kael held him carefully, but there was no making Rowan look anything other than broken. His head rested against Kael’s shoulder, his skin pale beneath the dirt and fever, one hand hanging limp near Kael’s arm. Mara stood close enough to touch him, her backpack still slung over one shoulder, her fingers flexing like she wanted to check his pulse again but knew one wrong move might mak
Lyra’s POV Four days had gone by with Mara, Rowan, Cassian, and Kael following me through the wilderness toward Star Pack, all of us chasing the same fragile hope. Amber. That name had become the only thing keeping me moving. We were dirty, injured, hungry, and I was pretty sure we were all partially dehydrated at this point. My mouth felt like sand, my muscles ached with every step, and every breath tasted like pine, dirt, and exhaustion. I was also pretty sure I heard Kael and Cassian grumbling more than once that if we were all wolves, this would’ve gone by much quicker. Sadly, I agreed with them. Not that I would ever admit it out loud. We followed the river as much as we could, using the water to cover our tracks whenever the ground allowed it. It slowed us down, but it also kept us just one step ahead of literally everyone tracking us. Aurelia’s soldiers. Wolves loyal to the Snow Pack. Whoever else had decided we were worth hunting through half the damn territory.
Amber’s POVWe both moved without looking rushed. Miri returned to the towels. I sat at the vanity and lifted my hair away from the mark, exposing it in the mirror just as Richard walked in. He wore black, because of course he did. Mourning suited men who liked people watching them suffer. His dark hair was tied back, his jaw clean-shaven, his Star Pack ring gleaming on his hand. He looked powerful. He looked calm. He looked like a man who had never once considered the possibility that the woman he locked away might be thinking. “Amber,” he said. His voice made my stomach turn. I lowered my eyes because survival was sometimes uglier than defiance. “Alpha.” His gaze went straight to the mark on my neck. Satisfaction softened his mouth. “You look better.” “I rested.” “You needed it.” I almost told h
Lyra’s POVRowan stopped outside the bakery like it was just another stop on a route.He took a last drag from his cigarette, slow, controlled, like he didn’t care about it at all. Then he stubbed it out on his shoe and dropped it into the trash-and-ash tray by the door.
Lyra’s POVAmber pulled the car into a small parking area at the edge of Ravenmere and cut the engine.For a few seconds, none of us moved.Rowan was the first to break the silence. “That’s… not what I expected.”I didn’t answer right away. I was still looking
Lyra’s POV By Saturday morning, I was one lecture away from stabbing Professor Lunatic with my own pencil. The week had been an endless cycle of classes, combat training, and the ridiculous group project he’d dumped on us. Thankfully, we’d finished it the night before over greasy pizza and cheap b
Kael’s POV The door to my apartment slammed hard enough to rattle the walls, the sound echoing throughout the suite. “Crazy,” I muttered, dragging a hand through my hair. The Omega—Maria, maybe? Mia? Something with an M—hadn’t taken rejection well. All I knew for sure was that she worked in t







