Chapter 3

THIRD PERSON POV

“Dad, thank goodness you’re home!” Lyra burst into the house, her words spilling out as soon as she laid eyes on her father seated on the couch, going through some files.

Jackson McCormick, Beta to Alpha Lachlan Vance, shifted his attention toward his visibly agitated daughter. Her tousled black hair framed her face, her expression a mixture of frustration and her brown eyes shining with anger.

Worried, he let the files in his hands drop onto the couch beside him and stood up. “What’s the matter, Luna?” he inquired, using the affectionate nickname he often called his daughter, convinced that Lyra was destined to become a Luna.

“Don’t ‘Luna’ me, Dad! You assured me that today I’d finally learn if Alpha Lance is my mate. You were so sure of it. But I just witnessed him leaving the halls of the school with another woman!” Lyra teetered on the brink of tears.

“Another woman?” Jackson’s brows furrowed in bewilderment. “That can’t be. He’s as much yours as you are his. I made sure of that. Did you sense anything when he was around?”

Lyra nodded with a pouted expression. “The scent was faint, but it pulled at me, and then I saw him with that good-for-nothing bitch! He went off with her instead! Instead of coming to me, his mate!!”

“And who is this ‘good-for-nothing bitch?’” Jackson inquired.

“Isn’t it Kathleen Callahan? That wench!” Lyra said in anger. “She’s a nobody, hasn't even been able to shift into her wolf. Why did he take her?!”

But Jackson’s gaze lowered, and his countenance hardened upon hearing the name ‘Callahan.’ Rex’s daughter, huh? She dares to make things difficult for his precious daughter.

Did she truly wish to meet the same fate as her father?

A realization struck him. “You mentioned that Lance left with her?”

Lyra affirmed with a nod. “Yes, Daddy.”

“Then there's only one plausible explanation, something I hope shouldn't happen,” Jackson remarked.

Curious, Lyra inquired, “And what might that be, Daddy?”

“At first, he likely felt a connection to you, until he encountered her—his actual mate. Although he wouldn't know she's his mate since I made sure he would see only you as his mate. But the irresistible attraction between mates is a force that can’t be tampered with, so despite my efforts to make him perceive only you as his mate, the primal pull was too hard to manipulate,” Jackson explained.

“So are you saying, Kathleen is his real mate?” Lyra asked with a frown.

With a sigh, Jackson nodded. “It appears so. Nonetheless, we will make sure he has nothing to do with her because you're both meant for each other as far as I'm concerned. You will be the Luna of this pack, and no one else.”

Lyra offered an understanding nod. “Got it. So what are we gonna do now, Dad? He took her with him because of the pull and I'm sure she must have followed him because of that too. Do you think they must be having, ya know—”

Jackson chuckled. “She will just be another whore he has slept with, Lyra. And about what to do next, if it becomes widely known that you and Lancelot are mates, Alpha Lachlan will ensure Lance ends up with you, no matter what, even if he's against it. We're gonna have to talk to the Alpha, and you’ll have to express how hurt you were to witness Lance with another woman after finding out you are his mate.”

A smirk graced Lyra’s lips as she nodded. “I can definitely pull that off.”

Upon reaching the study in the pack house, where Alpha Lachlan, the elder version of Alpha Lance, was sitting, Beta Jackson approached Lachlan's desk and placed a file before him. “I was able to shuffle out the list of the soon-to-be accepted wolves set to join Nightwind from Alura’s pack.”

Alpha Lachlan accepted the list, scanning its contents.“That’s good. Anyway, Lancelot must not know about what I'm doing.” He looked behind Jackson where Lyra stood and gave her a grave expression. “Is that understood?”

Lyra blinked, her head bowing slightly as she nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”

Returning his attention to Beta Jackson, Alpha Lachlan raised an eyebrow. “Why is your daughter here, by the way?”

Jackson exhaled deeply before answering, “Today marks my daughter’s eighteenth birthday, and she brought me some remarkable news.”

Lyra’s smile brightened at her father’s words.

“Remarkable news?” Lachlan inquired.

Jackson nodded affirmatively. “Indeed. My daughter and your son, Lancelot, are mates.”

Lachlan’s eyes sparked with astonishment at the unexpected revelation. “What?” He turned his attention to Lyra. “Lancelot found his mate at last? How did you learn this? If you're aware, he should be too.”

Lyra blinked and took a step closer before saying, “Alpha Lancelot is aware that I’m his mate, Alpha Lachlan. However, he ignored me and took another woman home,” she confided, her expression carrying a note of sadness.

Lachlan's forehead creased in confusion. “Another woman? He’s been frustrated over not finding his mate, and now that he’s found you, he disregards it? This doesn't make any sense.”

Jackson nodded in agreement. “My thoughts exactly. I was just as shocked as you when Lyra came to give me the news, Lachlan.”

Lachlan sighed and established a telepathic link with one of his messengers. ‘Locate my son wherever he may be and convey that I require his immediate presence. It’s of utmost importance.’