Chapter 1

LYRA’S POV

Blood. It painted everything, soaked into the earth, splattered across trees, thick in the air until it was all I could breathe. In what felt like mere moments, everything had fallen apart, and the only thing left for me to do was run.

Run, and don’t stop.

The screams followed me. The wet, sickening sounds of bodies tearing, of throats being ripped open, they echoed behind me, chasing me through the forest like ghosts. I knew those voices. I knew those people but still I didn’t turn back.

I couldn’t.

The moment my father, our mighty Alpha was taken down, something inside me shattered. Watching him fall, watching them drag him away… it killed any thought of fighting back. His final command rang louder than the chaos.

He told me to run and don’t look back.

But as I ran, the scent of blood thickened, mixing with my fear until it became unbearable. My lungs burned and my muscles screamed. Finding it unbearable, lastly I made the one mistake my father had warned me about.

I slowed.

Then I stopped.

And I looked back.

The world seemed to freeze the moment I did.

Massive figures moved through the forest like shadows of death, men drenched in blood, bodies marked with dark tattoos, weapons flashing as they cut down anyone who tried to escape. There was no mercy. No hesitation. Just slaughter.

My gaze locked onto one of them, the one who moved with lethal grace, cutting down warriors twice his size as if they were nothing. Corpses piled around his feet in seconds and he stood at the center of it all.

Then he turned.

And everything inside me went silent.

Those eyes cold, ocean blue found mine instantly, as if they had been searching for me all along. My breath caught, my chest tightening as recognition hit me like a blow.

Him.

Of all people… him, Darren.

A memory immediately flashed in my mind, his last laughter low and warm as he pressed a stolen strawberry to my lips, the way his ocean-blue eyes softened only for me. The boy who used to wait for me at the edge of the forest. The boy whose heart I had shattered with three cold words.

It felt like a cruel dream, he was the one soul I never thought I’d see again, especially not standing amid the corpses of everyone I had ever loved.

Tears blurred my vision before I could stop them.

He killed my father.

The thought slammed into me, heavy and suffocating. I didn’t want to believe it. Not him. Not like this.

But then his scent reached me, cutting through the stench of blood. Lime… strawberries… achingly familiar.

“Darren…” I breathed, the name barely escaping my lips.

As soon as I mouthed his name, his expression shifted into something more cold and unforgiving. He began walking forward with slow strides, as if the entire massacre had been merely a prelude to claiming me. My father’s few remaining guards tightened their defensive line around him, but the brutal truth crashed over me like a nightmare.

This was precisely why my father had forbidden me from looking back.

A hoarse, broken cry ripped from my throat as I whirled and sprinted deeper into the ruins, pushing every ounce of strength into my limbs. But I already knew it was hopeless. Darren had not come alone and he wasn’t going to let me run away. He commanded a legion of savage outcast wolves and hulking beasts who fought with unnatural ferocity and perfect synchronization. No one escaped such a force.

I was still racing between fallen columns when a powerful grip suddenly clamped around my wrist and yanked me sharply into a hidden alcove.

“This way ... quickly!”

Disoriented, I barely resisted as the stranger pulled me through a narrow passage I had never noticed before. Moments later, I was shoved inside a small, moonlit chamber carved into the ancient stone. The heavy door sealed shut behind us, and Nyra one of my father’s most skilled shield-maidens dragged a massive stone slab against it to barricade the entrance.

“Nyra… I....” I struggled to steady my breathing but my ribs were aching.

“I never imagined he would truly return from exile,” she whispered harshly, her face pale with disbelief. “And he brought demons with him, those giant, forsaken rogues from the forbidden wilds.” She added.

I swallowed against the lump in my throat, still shaken. “He’s become something far worse than a monster… completely consumed by darkness.” I murmured.

Nyra started to reply, but her words cut off when a brutal axe blade suddenly shattered through the thick wooden door in an explosion of splinters and dust.

Terror tore a raw scream from my chest.

“Hide!” I shouted at her. “He won’t end this until he has me. Go save whoever is left!”, I yelled at her. Nyra’s jaw clenched with stubborn loyalty. “I won’t leave you behind, Lyra.”

Another devastating blow rocked the entire doorframe, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the wood.

“Get out of here!” I commanded, already retreating toward the narrow, pitch-black passage that led deeper into the forgotten ruins. “That’s an order. Protect the survivors.”

Nyra hesitated for one painful heartbeat, her eyes meeting mine with fierce pride and sorrow. Then she gave a sharp nod. “For the pack,” she whispered hoarsely. She turned and slipped into the shadows of the deeper ruins, her footsteps fading quickly into silence.

I was alone.

The heavy stone slab still partially blocked the ruined doorway, but it wouldn’t hold for long. Another brutal blow from the other side rocked the entire frame, sending fresh cracks spiderwebbing through the wood.

The door splintered again, and I didn’t wait to see it fall plus see his face.

I spun and plunged into the narrow passage, the pitch-black tunnel swallowing me whole. Stone scraped my shoulders, cold and unforgiving, as I ran blind, one hand trailing the rough wall to keep from smashing into it. My breath came in ragged gasps, heart slamming against my ribs like a war drum.

Behind me, I heard the door finally give way with a thunderous crack and heavy footsteps echoed through the passage, not just one set, but many. They were coming.

Faster after me.

My lungs burned. My legs screamed but I pushed harder, forcing myself through the dark, my fingers bleeding from where they scraped against jagged rock.

The howls grew closer and I burst into a small clearing, thinking I was saved but I was wrong. There he was.

Darren stood in the center, waiting for me as if he had known exactly where I would emerge. The moonlight bathed him in silver, illuminating the blood that soaked his clothes, my pack’s blood and my father’s blood.

I skidded to a halt, my body shaking uncontrollably.

“Please,” I gasped, the word torn from somewhere so deep inside me I didn’t recognize my own voice. “Please, Darren. Don’t do this.”

“You’re coming with me,” he said, and his voice was final. “I didn’t come all this way to leave you behind.”

I could feel the tears burning in my eyes again, hot and furious. “I’d rather die.” I hissed.

“I know.” His grip tightened. “Which is why I won’t let you.” He gripped my hands. I screamed and thrashed but he was already dragging me through the forest, his strength utterly overwhelming.

“Let me go!” I cried, my voice cracking. “Please ... Darren, please. Don’t do this to me. Not you. Not like this.” I pleaded but he only went on with dragging me to the rest of my pack survivors.