"Stay back!" Lyra shouted, pushing harder against the tree trunk. Her heart pounded so loud she was sure the man could hear it. Rain poured down, plastering her hair to her face as she stared into those bright blue eyes.
The tall figure stepped closer, into a spot of moonlight that broke through the storm clouds. He wasn't her mate. This man was older, with gray lines in his dark hair and a rough scar across his chin. He wore the outfit of the Silver Moon Pack guards.
"Easy there, little wolf," the man said, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just tracking a scent."
Lyra's breath caught in her throat. He didn't know. He had no idea she was the one with the mate mark.
"I haven't broken any territory laws," she said quickly. "I was just passing through."
The guard studied her face, his eyes sharpening. "You look familiar. What's your name?"
Panic shot through Lyra's body. If he recognized her, if he knew she was the Alpha's missing daughter, everything would fall apart.
"I'm nobody," she said, moaning as she tried to put weight on her injured ankle. "Just a rogue passing through."
The guard looked like he wanted to ask more questions when suddenly a howl tore through the night – much closer this time. The guard's head snapped toward the sound, distracted.
Lyra saw her chance. She grabbed a stick from the ground and swung it hard, hitting the guard in the knees. He cried out and stumbled, giving Lyra just enough time to push past him. Ignoring the pain shooting up her leg, she hobbled as fast as she could into the darkness.
"Wait!" the guard yelled behind her. "The Alpha's hunting tonight! It's not safe!"
Lyra didn't slow down. The Alpha was exactly who she was running from.
She stumbled through the bush, the rain making the ground slippery under her feet. Her ankle screamed with each step, but the fear pumping through her veins kept her going.
The cave. She needed to reach the cave.
After what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, Lyra spotted the rocky hillside where the cave opening was hidden behind thick bushes. She pushed through the wet branches and fell inside the dark space, breathing hard.
Safe. For now.
Lyra crawled deeper into the cave until she couldn't hear the rain anymore. Her hands found the goods she'd hidden here years ago – an emergency pack with matches, a blanket, and some dried food. She'd built hideouts like this all through the forest. Places to run to when danger came.
With shaking hands, she lit a small fire using twigs and dried leaves she kept in a corner of the cave. As the flames cast an orange glow around her, Lyra finally allowed herself to look properly at the mark on her wrist.
The crescent moon with three stars was obvious – the symbol of the Silver Moon Pack. But it was the crown above it that made her gut twist with fear. Only the Alpha's mate would bear that crown.
"This can't be real," she whispered, touching the mark with shaking fingers.
The Silver Moon Pack was the strongest pack in the area, feared and respected by all. Their Alpha was said to be the most powerful wolf in generations. And she, Lyra, a nobody who had lived as a rogue for ten years, was meant to be his Luna?
It was impossible. No Alpha would want her as a mate. She was the girl who ran away. The girl who let her sister die.
A memory flashed in her mind – her father's face, twisted with anger and sadness. "You are no daughter of mine," he had said. If her own father couldn't love her, how could an Alpha?
Lyra pulled the blanket around her shoulders, trying to stop her trembling. The partner mark continued to burn, not painfully now, but with a warm pulse that seemed to beat in time with her heart. The pull was there too, stronger than before, tugging her back toward the land she'd just fled.
"I won't go," she said firmly to the empty cave. "I won't."
But even as she said it, doubt crept in. Every wolf knew that ignoring the mate bond could be risky. The pull would only get stronger. Some dogs went mad trying to fight it.
Lyra closed her eyes, suddenly tired. She would rest for a few hours, then move on before sunrise. She needed to get far away from the Silver Moon area, maybe cross the mountains to where no one would know her.
Just as she was falling off to sleep, a sharp crack echoed through the cave. Lyra's eyes flew open. A rock had fallen from somewhere above.
Then came a voice. "I can smell you, little wolf."
Lyra scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain in her ankle. Someone was in the cave with her. She kicked dirt over the small fire, sending the cave into darkness.
"Who's there?" she called, backing away until she hit the stone wall.
Footsteps approached, slow and deliberate. Then a match struck, revealing a face that made Lyra's breath catch.
A young man stood before her, maybe ten years older than her. He had sharp features, strong cheekbones, and the most intense eyes she'd ever seen. They glowed slightly in the dark – Alpha eyes.
"So, you're the one," he said, his deep voice sending shivers down Lyra's spine. He wasn't looking at her face, but at her wrist where the partner mark stood out dark against her pale skin.
"Stay away from me," Lyra warned, though her voice shook.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked, taking another step closer.
Lyra swallowed hard. "The Alpha of Silver Moon."
"Narek," he said. "My name is Narek. And you are my mate." He said it like a fact, not a question.
Lyra's mind raced. She needed to flee, but there was nowhere to go. The cave had only one entry, and he was blocking it.
"There's been a mistake," she said desperately. "I can't be your mate. I'm a nobody. A rogue."
Narek's eyes narrowed. "The marks don't make mistakes." He reached out, not touching her but holding his hand palm up. "Show me."
Lyra paused, then slowly extended her arm. The mark seemed to pulse brighter as she brought it closer to him.
Narek nodded, then pulled up his sleeve to show the exact same mark on his own wrist. "See? Perfect match."
The sight of the similar mark made the pull in Lyra's chest grow even stronger. It was real. He was really her mate.
"I can't go with you," she whispered.
"You don't have a choice," Narek said, his tone lowering slightly. "The bond is already forming. You'll get sick if you fight it too long."
"You don't understand," Lyra said, tears forming in her eyes. "You won't want me once you know who I am."
Narek tilted his head, observing her face more carefully now. His eyes widened slightly, as if seeing something for the first time.
"You look familiar," he said slowly. "Have we met before?"
Lyra's heart sank. This was it. He would recognize her, and everything would fall apart.
But before Narek could say anything else, a howl tore through the night – urgent, frightening.
"That's my beta," Narek said, his head snapping toward the sound. "Something's wrong."
He turned back to Lyra. "Stay here. I'll be back."
"Wait—" Lyra started, but Narek was already moving toward the cave opening.
He stopped, looking back at her over his shoulder. "Try to run again, and I'll find you. A mate bond can't be broken, little wolf."
Then he was gone, disappearing into the wet night.
Lyra slid down the wall, her legs suddenly too weak to hold her. Her mind raced. He hadn't recognized her. Not yet. But he would. Someone in his pack would know who she was – the daughter of Alpha Kaden from the River Moon Pack. The girl who killed her sister.
She couldn't stay. Despite his warning, despite the pull of the mate bond, she couldn't face what would happen when he learned the truth.
Lyra quickly gathered her few things. She would head north, toward the mountains. The trip would be dangerous, but not as dangerous as staying.
She limped to the cave opening and peered out. The rain had stopped, and the forest was quiet except for the faraway sounds of wolves howling.
Taking a deep breath, Lyra stepped out of the cave—and froze.
Standing in the clearing, blocking her way, was a massive black wolf. Its blue eyes glowed in the moonlight as it stared at her. The Alpha had left a guard.
The wolf growled, low and warning.
Behind her, from deep in the bush, came more howls—getting closer by the second.
Lyra backed up against the cave wall, stuck. The wolf took a step toward her, its eyes never leaving hers.
And then, something strange happened. The mark on Lyra's wrist began to glow with a soft blue light. At the same moment, a matching glow emerged on the wolf's front leg.
The mate bond.
The wolf stopped growling and tilted its head, confused by whatever it was feeling through the bond.
Lyra felt it too—a strange warmth spreading through her chest, replacing the painful pull with something almost... comforting.
The wolf's form started to shimmer and change. Bones cracked and shifted as the animal changed into a human.
But it wasn't Narek who stood before her now.
It was someone she never expected to see again. Someone from her past who would definitely know her.
"Lyra?" the man gasped, shock written across his face. "Lyra Kaden? Is that really you?"
Lyra's blood turned to ice. She was caught.