Chapter 2 The River's Rage

• Lyra POV
• I couldn't breathe properly. The laughter behind me grew louder, more vicious, as I stumbled deeper into the forbidden section of Shadowveil Forest, different voices, loud and clear.
• My chest burned with humiliation and something else, something hot and dangerous that made my skin numb with goosebumps.
• "Did you see her face when Marcus said no Alpha would ever want damaged goods?"
• "The freak actually thought she had a chance!"
• Their voices followed me even here, among the twisted trees where pack members weren't supposed to venture. But I didn't care about rules anymore. I just needed to get away before I did something I will later regret.
• The whispers in my head stirred, feeding off my pain. Let us help, they spoke in unison. Let us show them what you really are.
• "No," I gasped, pressing my hands against my temples. "Not again."
• But my feet wouldn't stop moving. Branches tore at my ceremonial dress, the one Selene had spent weeks making, hoping tonight would be different. The fabric hung in tatters now, just like my dreams, shattered with no vivid road.
• I should have known better. Should have listened when everyone told me to stay in my place. The ground disappeared beneath me.
• I fell hard, tumbling down a steep embankment I hadn't seen in the darkness. Rocks and thorns shredded what remained of my dress as I rolled, unable to stop myself. When I finally hit the bottom, the breath left my lungs in a painful and devastating rush.
• Above me, the Blood Moon glared down like a malevolent eye. That's when I heard the water.
• The Shadow River raged beside me, swollen from recent rains. Its current moved fast enough to snap bones, deadly even for werewolves. I tried to push myself up, but my ankle screamed in protest. Sprained, maybe worse.
• "Perfect," I whispered. "Just perfect."
• A wave crashed over the riverbank, soaking me with ice-cold water. The current caught my dress, tugging insistently. I dug my fingers into the mud, fighting against the pull, but the river was stronger.
• Much stronger than I can explain.
• Another wave hit, and this time I couldn't hold on. The water swept me away like I weighed nothing, dragging me into the churning rapids. I went under immediately.
• The cold shocked every nerve in my body. I clawed toward the surface, lungs burning, but the current spun me around until I couldn't tell which way was up. My waterlogged dress wrapped around my legs like chains.
• This is how I die, I thought with strange calm. Alone in the water, just like I lived. Alone.
• The whispers exploded in my mind, louder than they'd ever been. NO! Fight! Use what we've given you!
• Power surged through me, the same silver fire I had always felt as a child. The water around me began to glow, responding to something inside me I didn't understand. For a moment, the current actually slowed, as if the river itself was listening.
• But the effort drained what little strength I had left. My vision went dark at the edges, and I sank deeper.
• Strong arms wrapped around my waist.
• Someone dashed me upward with impossible strength, breaking the surface just as my lungs gave out. I coughed up river water, gasping and choking, while steady hands kept me afloat.
• "Easy," a voice said. Deep, smooth, with an accent I couldn't place. "I've got you."
• Through my blurred vision, I saw a face that made my heart skip. Sharp cheekbones, dark eyes that seemed to hold secrets, and an aura of power that made my wolf instincts go haywire. He wasn't part of our pack, I would have remembered someone like him.
• He was beautiful in the way predators were beautiful. Dangerous.
• The stranger swam us both to shore with powerful strokes, then lifted me onto the muddy bank like I weighed nothing. His hands were gentle as he turned my head to the side, helping me cough up the last of the water.
• "There we go," he murmured. "Breathe for me."
• I tried to speak, but only managed a raspy whisper. "Who…?"
• "Shh." His fingers brushed wet hair from my face, and I felt that strange connection again, like recognition, though I had never seen him before. "You're safe now. That's all that matters."
• Something about his scent tugged at my memory. Familiar, comforting, even though logic said I should be terrified of this stranger who just appeared from nowhere.
• "Thank you," I managed.
• He smiled, and my breath caught. "No need to thank me. I couldn't let anything happen to you."
• The way he said it made it sound personal, like he'd been watching out for me specifically. But that was impossible. Wasn't it?
• I tried to sit up, wincing as my injured ankle protested. "I should get back. My pack…"
• "Will survive without you for a few more minutes." His hand steadied me, warm and sure. "Rest. You nearly drowned."
• "The ceremony…"
• "It's over." His dark eyes held mine. "Trust me, you didn't miss anything important."
• How did he know about the Moon Ceremony? Before I could ask, he was helping me to my feet, supporting my weight against his solid frame. The contact sent sparks through my nervous system that had nothing to do with my near-death experience.
• "Can you walk?" he asked.
• I tested my ankle gingerly. It hurt, but it would hold. "I think so."
• "Good." He guided me a few steps away from the river, then stopped. "This is where I leave you."
• "Wait." Panic flared in my chest. "I don't even know your name."
• He paused, something unreadable flickering across his features. "Names have power. Are you sure you want mine?"
• What kind of answer was that? "I…"
• "We'll meet again," he said softly. "When you're ready."
• Before I could respond, he melted back into the forest shadows like he had never been there at all. I called out, but heard nothing except the river's endless song.
• :::::::::::
• The walk back to pack territory felt like a lifetime. My dress clung to me in frozen tatters, and every step reminded me of my foolishness. Running away like a child, nearly drowning in my self-pity.
• But I couldn't stop thinking about the stranger's hands, his voice, the way my body had responded to his touch. And those eyes, like he knew secrets about me that I've forgotten.
• The pack grounds were quieter now, most members having retreated to their homes after the ceremony. I limped past the great hall where the celebration had been held, trying not to imagine the pairings that had been announced. Who had been chosen? Who was still alone?
• Not that it mattered to me anymore. After tonight's humiliation, I will be lucky if anyone ever spoke to me again.
• I was almost to Selene's cottage when I heard Maya's voice, high and frightened.
• "Please, just leave me alone!"
• My blood went cold. I forgot about my ankle, my exhaustion, my embarrassment, and ran toward the sound. Behind the pack kitchens, I found them, Cassandra and her friends had cornered Maya against the storage shed.
• "Your precious sister finally ran away for good," Cassandra was saying, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "Maybe now you'll learn your place, you worthless Omega."
• Maya's face was streaked with tears. At fifteen, she was too young for the ceremony but old enough to understand the cruelty behind Cassandra's words.
• Something inside me snapped.
• The whispers roared to life, and this time I didn't fight them. Power flooded my veins like molten silver, making my skin glow in the darkness. The air itself seemed to thicken around me dangerously.
• "Get away from her," I said.
• My voice carried an authority I didn't know I possessed. Cassandra turned around, her eyes widening when she saw me, waterlogged, furious, and radiating power like a small sun.
• "Look what crawled back," she sneered, but I heard the uncertainty beneath her bravado. "Did you enjoy your swim, freak?"
• "I said get away from her."
• The temperature dropped ten degrees. Wind began to howl through the clear night, bending trees that had stood for centuries. Cassandra's friends stepped back nervously, but she held her ground like a predator who was about to prey.
• "Or what? You'll throw another tantrum?" She raised her hand to strike Maya. "Pathetic little…"
• I lost control.
• The wind exploded outward from where I stood, lifting all four girls off their feet and slamming them against the kitchen wall. Roof tiles flew through the air like deadly projectiles. The storage shed's door ripped clean off its hinges, the power, the force it all aligned together.
• "Stop!" Maya screamed, but I couldn't hear her over the roar of the supernatural wind.
• Power poured out of me in waves, reshaping the world according to my rage. Buildings groaned and swayed. Windows shattered in perfect synchronization. Even the massive oak tree beside the kitchens bent nearly in half.
• Through it all, I stood in the eye of my own storm, silver light blazing from my skin like captured starlight.
• Then, as suddenly as it had started, the wind died.
• I swayed on my feet, drained and horrified by what I had done. Half the pack's service buildings lay in ruins around me. Cassandra and her friends were unconscious against the wall, blood trickling from various cuts.
• Maya stared at me with a mixture of awe and terror.
• "Lyra?" she whispered. "What are you?"
• Before I could answer, heavy footsteps surrounded us. Warriors in human form, led by Alpha Donovan himself. His dark eyes swept over the destruction, then fixed on me with an expression I couldn't read.
• When our gazes met, the world stopped half way.
• Heat exploded through my body, a connection so powerful it drove me to my knees. The mate bond, I have heard about it but never experienced it. Like finding the missing piece of your soul, like coming home after a lifetime of wandering.
• But as I knelt there in the ruins of my own making, watching the play of emotions across Donovan's face, I saw the exact moment he made his choice.
• Duty won.
• "Arrest her," he commanded, his voice steady despite the turmoil in his eyes. "Lyra of the Omega quarters, you stand accused of practicing forbidden magic and destroying pack property."
• As his warriors moved forward with silver chains, I caught a glimpse of familiar dark eyes in the crowd. My mysterious rescuer from the river, watching with an unreadable expression.
• Tomorrow I would face judgment from the Alpha who was supposed to be my salvation, while the stranger who had saved my life watched from the shadows and neither of them knew that my trial would change the fate of two kingdoms forever.