Lyra
As I run back home with tears streaming down my eyes, the image I just saw won’t leave my mind. I knew this was happening. That’s the worst part. Deep down, I knew that Eli was cheating on me. I just ignored all the damn signs.
It’s hope. Hope that made me believe that Eli loved me. Hope that we will have a beautiful future. Hope that my life will be filled with joy. Hope is what blinded me to the reality of what was really happening.
I’m humiliated. If I could see it, then surely the entire pack knows! My mind goes through the list of my friends and I wonder how many of them knew as I storm into our home. How many people knew that my mate has been sleeping with my best friend?
“Lyra! Stop!” Eli shouts, but I don’t want to listen to a word he has to say. I’m done being told that I am imagining things. I’m done thinking that I’m going crazy. I felt that something was wrong and went to talk to the person I thought was my friend, only to find my husband between her legs!
“LYRA!” Eli growls and I whip around. Any hold he had over me up to that point has completely disappeared. I see fear in his eyes as I stare him down for a moment.
“There is no way in hell you are going to convince me that it was not what it looked like!” I shout before whipping right back around and storming up the stairs. I lock the bedroom door and pace back and forth trying to figure out what I’m going to do.
I’m nauseous. I’m physically ill as I think about all the years that I actually shared my husband with someone else! I think about those first days when I first met him and how head over heels in love I was. It doesn’t stop the nausea! He was seeing her way back then, and they never stopped!
I’ve spent the past four years living a lie. I’ve done everything possible to fit into a world that I was never really a part of. It is shocking to realize that I convinced myself that Eli loved me. It’s earth-shattering to realize that he introduced me to the woman I believed was my best friend.
The very same woman who is his mistress! I stop pacing and sit down on the edge of our bed. I don’t have anywhere else to go. Where do I go? If I leave Eli … How do I even begin to start over? How do I live a normal human life now that I know that werewolves are real?
I see the little black number almost winking at me from my closet. I bought it almost a year ago and never had the guts to wear it. As I pull it from my cupboard, I decide the time has finally come. I miss the girl I was just four short years ago.
I know I will never be able to capture my youth or whatever, but I’m definitely going to capture something tonight. I need to get away from our home. I need to get away from this world, and I need to just let loose for the first time in a long time.
Most importantly, I want to just drown out everything that now made such horrific sense! I put on the dress after a quick shower and make sure my make-up and hair are perfect before I make my way down the stairs. Eli looks shocked the moment he sees me and I have to fight the smile that threatens to form.
“Where the hell are you going dressed like that?” Eli growls, and I see the jealousy burn in his eyes. Where the hell was that jealousy while he was f@cking another woman?!
“Out!” I glare at him. I turned into a prude the moment we got married because he was so damn jealous. I freely admit that, but it is because he used to just growl for no reason when we were first going out. I changed into a prude for him. I did that because I was young and stupid and thought that I was making his life easier.
“Lyra, we have to talk.” He grips my arm just as I slide into the back of the black SUV and I glare at him for a moment before he removes his hand. Eli has never harmed me physically. He might have broken my heart, but he has never hurt me physically.
“There is nothing left to talk about. You can’t tell me that it’s not what I think it is because she already said that you two have been seeing each other right from the start.” I spit the words at him and am a little surprised when he cringes away.
He moves back far enough for just long enough that I can close the door right in his face and I tell the driver to leave. I can see he is uncomfortable with the order, but he drives off while I dab away the tears that are threatening to fall.
After we drive around the human town for a while, I ask him to pull over, and I get out in front of one of the many stores on the main street. The human town isn’t a big city. Honestly, I’m not even sure why I got all dressed up for the club when there is no club around.
As I walk down the sidewalk, I notice Eli’s guards just a few steps behind me, and I know people are going to notice. The human town is the only neutral territory in our region. It is the only place where werewolves have to behave.
Under the circumstances … Where else am I going to go? I notice the pub at the end of the block and decide that I need a drink. As soon as I walk in, all eyes turn on me, and I’m slightly glad that I have my guards.
I haven’t been in the human town on my own for a while and I don’t feel like I’m really one of them anymore. I find a seat and a young waitress appears to take my order. After my fourth drink, one of the guards appears beside me to tell me that it’s time to go home, but my look forces him to step back.
Lyra“Is that guy bothering you?” A very sexy manly man appears in front of me with an incredibly sexy voice and a dreamy smile. Damn! My hormones are going to get me into trouble! I take in his look. His very tight black t-shirt that leaves very little to the imagination and his washed-out jeans.“No. I can handle him.” I flash him my sexiest smile and instantly regret it. Having to remind myself that I’m married. But am I? Really? I mean, Eli has been schtupping my fake best friend from before we were married!“May I join you? He isn’t your husband or boyfriend or anything, is he?” The Greek god sits down and doesn’t wait for me to answer. He just oozes sex appeal, and it is almost as if it is something I’ve been needing, and I never even realized.“So? What is a beautiful girl like you doing in a dump like this?” He smiles before taking a sip of his beer while I study him for a moment.“Does that line ever work?” I burst out laughing and see a smile I haven’t seen from a guy in man
Lyra“I’m not leaving. Your little temper tantrum has gone far enough, and we are going to sort this out.” Eli grips my upper arm and almost drags me to our room. He opens the shower without letting go of me and shoves me under the cold water without giving me the opportunity to get undressed.I’m honestly too tired to fight him. The water warms up, and I slowly strip out of my soaked dress while he stands beside the shower growling and shifting from one foot to the other. I know why he just did what he did. His wolf senses are far stronger than my human ones.He can smell what I did. If his guards didn’t tell him, he could smell it from the moment I got out of the car. That was the intention. Once I’m done, I get out and he hands me a towel. I glare at him as I move around our room and get dressed.Only when I’m completely dressed, do I turn to glare at him. With my arms crossed tightly over my chest, I push down the guilt that I feel for what I’ve done. I might have had a one-night
LyraSadly, faking it until we make it situation doesn’t work and, after two weeks of being completely disgusted, whenever Eli tries to touch me and my mind continuously reminds me that another man touched me with more love than I have ever felt, I snap.I tried to work things out, but my guilt is overwhelming. Eli had an affair the entire time we were together. I keep wondering if she satisfied him more than I did. I keep wondering if they tried the things we have been doing or if they were more adventurous.I also think about those hands that slipped over my skin and touched me in ways I never imagined possible. I don’t even know his name, but it doesn’t matter. He showed me something. He showed me more truth than Eli ever gave me.He showed me what love should look like, even if it was just a one-night stand. He showed me what making love should feel like. After yet another failure in trying to be intimate with Eli, I can’t help myself and bring up the marriage contract.“I can’t d
LyraIt feels weird to be back in my human world. After the life I’ve led with the werewolves, it’s almost impossible to imagine living a normal human life now. I make my way down the main street and look for any possible signs that someone might have a job for me.I have lived the high life thanks to Eli, but after what he did, I am willing to take anything just to start my new life with. I see a “Help wanted” sign in an antique store and almost rush inside. A bell rings the moment I open the door.“Oh, hello, dear. Just let me know if there is anything you might be interested in.” A friendly old woman smiles from behind a counter.“I actually want to ask about the help wanted sign.” My voice waivers as I fight back the tears. There are a lot of things I didn’t think about when I decided to leave Eli. Those very same things are now completely overwhelming me.“Oh, yes! Do you want to apply?” She gets up and starts to look through a huge pile of papers on a desk behind her.“Yes, plea
Lyra“Lyra.” I struggle to find my voice as I take his hand and shake it. I fully expect him to disappear, but he isn’t moving. “I have to get back to work.” I push past him and rush away. There is just too much to think about. I don’t take his number, which is stupid.“What did the doctor say?” Mrs. Duncan smiles when I walk into the store and shock runs through my body. How on earth am I going to raise this baby on my own?! Tears instantly start to run as I rush into the back.I hear the bell from the door ring and almost breathe a sigh of relief. Mrs. Duncan will be busy with the customer and I will have just a moment to recover. I try to wipe my eyes, but the tears just keep coming.“Lyra, dear. There is someone here to see you.” Her voice is filled with amusement and I nearly jump at the sound of it. I whip around, and my eyes meet his. Silas. How did he … He must have followed me.“You didn’t look good, and you nearly fell, so I thought I would just come and check if you were ok
LyraAfter work, I decide to risk it and take a walk in the forest. The air is so crisp and clear, and it feels as if the colours are brighter. It has to be the hormones! It feels so good to be right there in the thick of nature. It feels right. It feels like home.I sigh. The forest was never really my home. I only feel this way because I spent so many years with the werewolves. Now I’m pregnant with a human child from a man that doesn’t even know and doesn’t look like he might want the responsibility.I told Mrs. Duncan that I was pregnant when I returned to work earlier. She was shocked, but she was really kind about it. Thankfully, she said that my job would be safe. I can’t see myself raising this baby without having a job.For the first time in a long time, I’m grateful I don’t have one of those high executive jobs in the city. In our small-town, things move slower, and I can give my baby what he or she needs. Financially and emotionally. At least, that is the hope.My thoughts
SilasI have never fallen for anyone. Never! Not this fast and this hard. She is absolutely mesmerizing, and I’ve only seen her twice. We aren’t destined mates or anything, but there is something … I could have sworn I heard … I shake my head as we drive out of the human town.I have tried to get some information about her, but it’s difficult to make inquiries about humans these days. Thanks to the world now believing in werewolves, we have to be more careful than ever. Fictional stories have given humans some idea of what and who we are, but also a lot of them are just make-believe.Some of them want to be us, and others want to dissect us. My mind drifts to the most beautiful woman in the world, and as I play our conversation through my mind, I realize something that makes me want to just protect her the way a wolf would protect their destined mate.Something in her look told me something deep inside of her is broken. I can only assume that her soon-to-be ex is the one who broke it.
LyraIt takes the old lady in the library a couple of minutes and some moving about, but after half an hour, she confirms it. The file is indeed mine. Or my information. She wasn’t very happy to find out that I took it out of the library.She is, however, kind enough to make me a copy and as I make my way back to the store, I feel lost. I have found out the one thing that has always been bugging me, but I feel more lost than I have ever felt before.The librarian was sure that the letter in the folder was from my mother, but after all the disappointment in my life, I’m still not sure if I should believe it. I tell Mrs. Duncan everything I found out in the hope that it would make it feel more real, but it doesn’t.For the next four days, I go back and forth on whether it is true and finally, I settle on that it is. I also believe that it is because of this that Eli never told me. He probably thought he was protecting me. Eli wasn’t a bad husband.He was always kind and loving. Well, mo
LyraSilas helped me to set up a profile of each leader and their entourage, and we send it to Fiona so that she is kept in the loop of whom to expect and what traditions might be important. When we arrive at the bar, I get out and look at the building while taking a deep breath.I note a couple of very expensive cars, and it makes the locals wonder what might be going on. Helena and some pack members have booked into the local hotel and, according to the humans, there is a conference happening about conservation of some strange bug.I thought it would be the most inconspicuous, but now that I see some of the cars, I wonder if that was the best subject. Silas appears beside me, and we make our way inside. We are met by the waiter, and he takes us through the tunnel to the sanctuary bar.As soon as we walk in, we can feel the tension in the air. We are right on time, and it’s clear that most of our guests were early. Fiona sent out a notice to all guests informing them of the subject o
SilasIt breaks my heart to see her so pale. A machine is beeping behind her and there are tubes everywhere. I lean and softly kiss her forehead, almost too scared to touch her. She’s never looked this frail, and I am once again furious that I didn’t protect her.It doesn’t matter how many people tell me that it’s not my fault, I still feel responsible. I should have sent more guards with her. I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight. I rest my head on her hand on the bed and feel how cool she is.From what the doctor has told me, and the little that I saw of her, Helena is in much of a similar state. What the hell did the hunters do to them? Helena mentioned something about examinations and what I take it. She could only explain as experiments.It’s torture waiting for Lyra to wake up and tell me. My mind is going to very dark places and what’s worse is that I’m probably right about some of it. I spend the night beside her bed, and wake up when I feel something stroke my hair.“Lyra
TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCELyraI finally see my gap when the doctor speaks to my captor. After they took this venom they wanted so badly, they stepped away from my bed and left the rest of the instruments close enough for me to reach. I knew that if I just waited, they would make a mistake.I can’t run now. I grab the first thing I can get my hands on and hide it underneath my body just in time before my captor returns to the bed. He pushes me back to the room and as soon as he is gone, I pull the scalpel out from underneath me.I make quick work of my bonds and then rush to free Helena. She’s stopped crying, but I’m scared they might come back for her next. We try the door, but it won’t budge and, finally, I lift her so she can try the window.I don’t know what it is, but she finds the strength and pulls one of the bars free. We look at each other only for a second before she hits the glass with her full force. The moment it shatters, we know that we don’t have any more time.I push
TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCELyraWhen I wake up, I’m tied to something. The cold steel behind my back almost burns my skin. It takes a moment for my vision to clear, and I can hear voices somewhere in the darkness. A huge light is shining on me as I try to free myself from my restraints.My head is pounding, and I can’t see Helena anywhere. I have to find her. We have to get out of here. I hear footsteps coming closer, and I close my eyes in the hopes that they will leave me alone, but I feel someone tying something to my upper arm.“Let go of me!” I growl, making the man in the white coat jump back.“Go ahead, doctor. She can’t do anything.” I hear the voice of my captor and snap my head in that direction. He is standing to one side with his arms crossed and that damn smirk on his face.“My husband will come for me. You will die.” I growl. I don’t know if they know anything about Silas and the pack and suddenly, I realize that I just put all of them in danger by trying to scare him.“O
Silas“Alpha! There’s been an accident!” The voice of one of the warriors that left early this morning with Lyra echoes through the pack link, but when I try to speak to him, there is nothing. We rush to the library, but it’s all locked up.I’m going out of my mind as we make our way back. Then something on the road’s surface catches my eye.“STOP! STOP THE CAR!” I growl and jump out as soon as we come to a stop. The scent of fuel is thick in the air the moment we get out, but there is no sign of a vehicle. As I walk closer to the spot, I note a small piece of glass.The road surface is wet. I smell the air and catch Lyra’s scent. She was there, and she was out of the car! What happened? Where is she? How on earth did they clean up the scene so quickly? There weren’t any signs of the accident when we drove past to go to the library.LyraI wake up to a pounding headache and when I touch my head, I can feel the dried blood.“Lyra, oh, thank the moon goddess.” Helena rushes to my side a
LyraSadly, what I want is still in danger from the hunters thanks to Eli. Even worse, Lisa somehow escaped during the night. I pace back and forth in my office while Silas questions the guards on duty. How she escaped is clear.One of our guards is also missing. We know he must have helped her, but we just don’t know if she killed him or took him with her. Lisa doesn’t have a pack anymore. I watched as she slowly turned rogue in our cells.You can smell the wild wolf when someone turns rogue and, although it’s a first for me, I could smell it clear as day. I’m still getting used to some of the things I’ve been able to do all my life, but never understood why.While I was married to Eli, he just told me that it was wishful thinking. That I wished I was one of them and imagined I could do all those things. In the meantime, I was far stronger than he was and he knew it. I glare at the guards and turn away before I kill someone.“She’s going to go straight to the hunters, Silas.” I sigh
Lyra“Silas, I didn’t think about it at the time, but how expensive could this favour of Fiona’s become?” I start worrying on the way home, and he smiles.“She is going to demand energy. I can promise you that, and she is going to demand it from you. She won’t kill you, but she will probably come close. Don’t worry about it. We aren’t going to give it to her.” He tries to reassure me, but his words do the opposite.Waiting for Fiona’s news is nerve-wrecking. Hours turn into days and then into weeks. I’m just about to have a coronary when I get some news. It’s not the news I’ve been waiting for, but at least it will keep my mind occupied.“What do you want Lisa?” I sigh as I walk into the basement where she is being kept. Eli’s mistress is the only one from his pack that we locked up. She is the only one that Silas believes is dangerous. We believe that she knows the hunters thanks to Eli.We don’t want her running to the hunters to make a new deal. Not that she has anything to give th
LyraThankfully, Silas doesn’t take long to heal and within two days he is back home ordering people around. He seems happy with everything I’ve done while he was out, and now he is the one who has to make the arrangements for Eli’s old pack to join ours.Although I’m their alpha according to werewolf law, they will be swearing their loyalty to Silas. At first, I wasn’t happy about it all, but Silas convinced me that it is for the best. Our numbers should scare off the Hunters and if it doesn’t, we will have more than enough people to fight whatever they bring our way.“I still can’t believe you replaced our son with cabbage.” Silas laughs as we sit in front of the fireplace in his office. I smile, thinking back to what is probably one of the worst and best days of my life. I found my strength that day. I also saw what I could be, and I didn’t like some of it.“Helena and I had to think fast. I didn’t want to put Hunter in danger, but I wanted Eli to think it was him. I’m surprised no
LyraI can’t think about the werewolves around us. All I see is the blood spilling from the man I love. Helena comes running toward us as Silas crumbles to the ground.“Hunter! Where is Hunter?” His eyes are filled with panic as a smile starts to form on my face.“At home. Safe. It was cabbage. I brough cabbage with me.” I press down hard on his wound while Helena runs back to the library for the first aid kit. Our warriors are rounding up Eli’s wolves that survived the fight.Minutes later, our doctor appears, and I sit back, but I stay close. Silas has lost consciousness a couple of times and, from the look of things, he’s lost a lot of blood. I want to go with him when they load him into the ambulance, but our beta stops me.“Luna, he is in good hands. You have responsibilities here.” He looks at the wolves gathered just a few meters away. I nod and tell Helena to go with Silas and to keep me updated. She nods, and I watch as the love of my life is driven off before I turn my atten