1. Accused

Lyra's POV

The moon was blood-red the day a powerful Alpha was murdered—Serene Moon, the leader of the most outstanding pack in the northern part of Norway. She was fierce, strong, and she was my mother.

I had just returned from my lonely walk to the garden, secluded in the farthest corner of our marked territory. As I made my way back, I couldn’t ignore the glares my kind shot at me. They hated me for what they believed was forbidden. I was the only one who possessed the trait the prophecy had foretold could bring about the end of our pack—red irises.

I brushed off the side of my dark brown, knee-length dress, straightening the folds from leaning so close to the ground to pluck the fine roses my mother loved. We used to pick them together, since I was like an outcast in my pack. I had no friends, no one to talk to except my mother, who had tried many times to shed light on their false beliefs. I had once hoped my mate would be from our pack, but that dream had long since faded.

My mother had been my strength, and I had never imagined her end would come so soon. 

I was in the middle of the town when I heard the sound, heavy footsteps, not like the kind from a man with six-pack abs and a strong build. No, it was the kind that signaled evil was near. I was able to hear it because I was not only born with red eyes; I also had the ability to hear and sense danger.

The sound was coming from a familiar path, one I had walked countless times. The moment I realized it was coming from our mansion, the only place in Moon Pack fortified with protective barriers, iron gates, and a reinforced front door, dread filled my chest. I quickened my pace, causing the few people around me to part, as they usually did, thinking I would hurt them. But at that moment, nothing else mattered.

The footsteps grew louder, like a screeching warning that sent my ears ringing and my pulse racing. I knew danger was close. Suddenly, there was silence, an eerie stillness. 

I was almost at the mansion when I heard my mother’s scream. 

I pushed through the iron gate and ran, my legs aching from the effort. I burst through the door, and my wolf senses flared. A figure dressed entirely in black stood over my mother, who was lying on the floor, blood flowing from her stomach and neck.

“Mom!” I cried, rushing toward her. In the split second it took for me to reach her, the figure fled through the window.

“Mom, please don’t leave me.” The tears that fell from my eyes hit the ground like tiny red crystals. I cradled my mother in my lap, desperately searching for signs of life, but it was too late. She was gone, and I was alone.

“No, no, no,” I sobbed, my head aching as my wolf senses surged, and a strange power rose up inside me. My body became electrified, and with one last cry, the entire living room was covered in red light. I had never been so terrified. My mother always told me I was special, but I never believed her—until now. I was shaking, scared beyond belief, and then I heard his voice.

“Lyra, what have you done?”

I turned immediately, my senses returning. I felt as though I would die along with my mother. But when I saw my stepfather and stepbrother standing in the doorway, I knew things could only get worse.

“You killed her,” Thanos, my stepbrother, snarled as he rushed toward me, pulling me away from my mother.

My hands were covered in blood, my clothes soaked with it. I watched as my stepfather checked for signs of life in my mother, searching her pulse and eyes. When he realized she was gone, he growled in my direction, his teeth bared.

“You stupid girl, you killed the Alpha,” he spat. “You killed my wife.”

I struggled to stand, shaking my head furiously. “I didn’t, I swear!”

“You didn’t what?” Thanos growled, shoving me hard against the oak table. Pain surged through my body as I collided with the solid surface. But that wasn’t enough for him. He picked me up from the shattered remains of the table and slammed me against the nearest wall. “Why did you kill my mother, you witch?”

“I didn’t do it! Someone dressed in black did. He ran away through—” I tried to explain, but nothing I said would matter.

“Lyra, I’ve always known you were cursed. Even now, after your mother’s death, you still have the nerve to lie,” Frederick, my stepfather, shouted. His voice was filled with pain, but did he ever stop to think how much I was hurting?

“You’ll pay for this,” Thanos growled, shoving me once more, not caring if I hit something that could kill me. He rushed to my mother’s lifeless body, lifting her in his arms and carrying her out the door.

Frederick grabbed me from the floor, my body aching, the physical pain beginning to rival the emotional one. He dragged me behind him, ignoring my pleas as I begged him to believe me.

“Please, Father, I didn’t do it,” I cried as he pulled me toward the town center.

By the time we arrived, people were already gathering. Their anger was palpable, their eyes filled with hatred. Without even knowing the truth, they were ready to condemn me.

Frederick stopped in front of the Alpha’s meeting chamber, the place where my mother used to address her people. He threw me to the ground in front of the snarling wolves, then walked up to speak.

“I am deeply sorry to bring this news, but the Alpha is dead,” he shouted. “The prophecy has been fulfilled. I warned Serene, but she believed that the love of a mother was stronger than anything else. And now, it has cost her life. Lyra killed Serene, just as the prophecy foretold.”

The growling intensified, the urge to tear me apart visible in their eyes. I didn’t speak. I didn’t try to defend myself. There was no point. I had always known my fate, even before all this. They would never accept me, and now, they had the excuse they needed to kill me.

“She must die!” they shouted. “We can’t keep her here! She’s a danger to the pack!”

“Calm down, everyone,” Frederick called out, silencing the crowd. “We will deal with her, but we will follow the proper procedures to rid ourselves of this cursed one in our midst. But for now, let us bury the Alpha.”

Tears blurred my vision as Frederick ordered the guards to take me to the dungeon. Two men grabbed me roughly, dragging me to the dark corner of the town where the dungeon was hidden. They tossed me inside without a second thought.

Few minutes after the tears in my cheek had dried off leaving me in a desolute mood with sadness and anger surging through my vein, the pain in my body was much and my heart aches as the memory of my mom filled my thoughts.

I sat there, staring blankly at the cold, damp wall, wondering what fate awaited me. I heard rustling of keys, I looked up and saw two men entered the dungeon, unlocking the iron bars and yanking me to my feet. Without a word, they dragged me from the cell.

They hauled me toward the center of the pack, where my stepfather sat waiting. His cold glare pierced through me, and I knew instantly what my fate would be. I lowered my gaze as I was shoved to my knees before them. Tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t bother to offer any words in my defense. Nothing I said would change their minds.

“Today, we rid ourselves of the curse that has plagued us for too long,” Frederick snarled, drawing the sacred weapon, the same one my mother had once used to defeat enemy packs.

He raised the blade above my head, its sharp edge gleaming in the eerie glow of the moon. The blood-red moon, now streaked with white, bathed us in its light. I closed my eyes, bracing for the end.

But then, there was a rustling sound, followed by a deep, commanding voice.

“Stop.”

The voice cut through the tension like a blade, and I dared to open my eyes. Frederick’s hand faltered, his eyes gleaming with shock as he turned toward the source of the voice. The authority in it was unmistakable.