Chapter 5

LYRA.

My breathing was shallow, and my body quivered with the weight of my emotions. The stranger's touch was firm yet gentle as his fingers coaxed away the fear Derrick had etched into my soul. Every moment in this man's company felt like a life jacket, a reprieve from the torment I'd endured.

"Are you certain?" his voice low, almost reverent as he paused, his unsettling gold eyes searching mine.

"Yes," I whispered, my voice quaking but resolute. I needed this—to feel alive, to remind myself that I was more than the broken shell that Pale-moon Pack and Derrick had reduced me to.

The man nodded, his expression softening. "I'll take care of you," he murmured.

And for the first time in years, I believed someone other than my mother. I let go of my fears, of my inhibitions, and surrendered myself to him, feeling an unfamiliar sense of safety.

---

The morning came too soon.

I stirred awake, the chill of the woods seeping into my bones. I blinked groggily, trying to piece together the night before. A heavy coat, far too large for me, was wrapped around my body. I clutched it to my chest, its lingering warmth bringing an unexpected sense of comfort.

But then the voices shattered my fragile peace.

"Spread out!"

I froze, my breath catching. I recognized the voice instantly. Derrick.

I sat up, my heart racing with panic. My eyes scanned the clearing, but the stranger was nowhere to be seen.

"Lyra!" Derrick's voice thundered, and within seconds, he came out of the trees, his search party right behind him. His keen eyes locked onto me, raking in my tangled hair, the too-large coat, and the raw vulnerability in my face.

I struggled to my feet, wrapping the coat tightly around me. "Alpha Derrick—"

"Where is he?" Derrick snarled, cutting me off.

"I don't know," I whispered. Because I didn't. 

Derrick's jaw clenched, and his hands formed fists. "Don't lie to me. Who was he? Who did you give yourself to?"

"No one!" I defended, though my voice shook.

Derrick stepped closer, and all at once his towering presence seemed suffocating. "You think I can't smell him on you?!" he yelled, and in that second, his face showed nothing but rage. "You reek of him, Lyra! Have you any idea what you've done?"

My head shaking, and tears picked up in my eyes. "I didn't mean-

"You didn't mean to make a fool of me? To rub your stubbornness in my face?" he snarled into my ear, grabbing my arm with a bruising grip.

"I—I thought he'd help me," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Derrick's laughter was cold and cruel. "Help you? Is that what you thought? You let him touch you, and then he left you here like the worthless girl you are."

Each one of his words cut a bit deeper, another blade into the flesh of my heart. I would have liked to defend myself and tell him that the promises of the stranger had caught my stay- but the memory of being woken up alone, that the man who swore protection over me was nowhere, still managed to silence me.

"Take her back to the packhouse," Derrick ordered to his men, his voice icy.

I didn't resist as two of them grabbed my arms, dragging me through the forest and back to the pack to the cage of abuse and suffering. I didn't have the strength.

---

Back at the Pale-Moon Pack, Derrick wasted no time in making an example out of me.

I stood in the middle of the packed square, surrounded by onlookers who were curious but judging nonetheless. Whispers filled the square, each laced with judgment and scorn.

Derrick paced in front of me, his fury barely contained. "This is what happens when you betray your Alpha," he said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "You wanted to run, didn't you, Lyra? To leave your pack, your duty? And for what? For some stranger who couldn't even bother to stay?"

I kept my eyes on the floor, shame burning in my chest.

"You thought you could humiliate us and get away with it?" Derrick growled, stepping closer.

"I didn't mean to—"

The sharp crack of his hand across my face silenced me. I gasped, the force of the slap sending me stumbling. A barrage of kicks and slaps and punches came after and I curled in on myself to try to shield myself from the abuse.

"You don't speak unless I tell you to," Derrick hissed. He turned to the crowd. "Let this be a lesson to all of you. Disobedience will not be tolerated."

He turned back to me, his face dark. "Take her to the dungeons," he ordered. "Let her think about her betrayal."

My knees buckled as the guards grabbed me, dragging me away. "Alpha Derrick, please," I begged, my voice breaking. "I'm sorry!"

But Alpha Derrick didn't respond. He didn't even look at me.

---

The dungeons were colder than I remembered. The damp air clung to my skin, seeping into my bones as I sat in the corner of my cell. My body ached, not just from Derrick's blows but from the weight of my own regret.

The stranger's coat was gone, and I was now in nothing but the thin torn fabric of my dress. I embraced my knees to my chest, hoping that could keep me warm.

"I'm so stupid," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "How could I have been so stupid?

I replayed the events of the night in my mind, trying to make sense of them. I had trusted this stranger with his eyes and soft words. I had believed that he would help me escape, that he cared. But he had lied. He had used me, and then he had left me.

And now, I was back where I had started. Worse, even.

I let out a shaky breath, my tears soaking into the rough fabric of my dress. I felt betrayed, not just by the stranger but by myself. I had let my guard down and had given him something I could never take back.

My mind was racing with fear as I thought of what Alpha Derrick would do next. He was furious and humiliated, and his arrogant anger was never without consequences.

"I'll get through this," I whispered to myself, though the words felt hollow. I wasn't even sure I believed them. "I have to."

The shadows of the dungeons pressed in around me, cold and unyielding. I closed my eyes, letting the darkness swallow me whole as I braced myself for whatever came next.