Chapter 3 The Alpha's Judgment

• Lyra POV
• The silver chains burned my hand indiscriminately.
• I sat in the pack's holding cell, wrists raw from the blessed metal that was supposed to suppress supernatural abilities. It wasn't working. The whispers in my head had grown stronger overnight, and every few minutes, silver light would shine beneath my skin like trapped lightning making me feel like I'm about to explode.
• Footsteps echoed down the stone corridor. Multiple sets, moving with purpose. My trial was about to begin and I prayed that the Gods should shower mercy on me.
• "Bring her out," Alpha Donovan's voice commanded.
• Two guards unlocked my cell and pushed me to my feet like I weighed nothing to them. The chains clinked with every step as they marched me toward the great hall like the prisoner I'm, where the entire pack had gathered to witness my judgment.
• The morning sun streamed through tall windows, illuminating faces filled with fear and disgust. These people had watched me grow up, had taken Selene's healing potions made with my help, and had accepted my presence for twenty years. Now they looked at me like I was something diseased, like I was a nobody but a pathetic destroyer.
• "Freak," someone whispered.
• "Witch," hissed another.
• I kept my head high, even as my heart shattered into pieces with their piercing words coming from their mouths. At the far end of the hall, Alpha Donovan sat on his ceremonial throne, every inch the powerful leader who'd elevated our pack to greatness. He looked magnificent in his formal robes, dark hair perfectly styled, jaw set with determination.
• He also looked like he hadn't slept for ages.
• When our eyes met, that impossible connection flared again. The mate bond pulled at me like a physical chain, making me want to run to him despite everything he is doing to me. His hands gripped the throne's armrests so tightly his knuckles went white.
• "Lyra of the Omega quarters," he began, his voice carrying across the silent hall. "You stand accused of practicing forbidden magic, destroying pack property, and endangering pack members. How do you answer these charges?"
• I opened my mouth to speak, but Elder Marcus stepped forward first.
• "Alpha, if I may," the old man said, his weathered face grave. "The destruction speaks for itself. Half our service buildings lie in ruins. Four pack members required medical attention. And witnesses saw this... this creature summoned winds that bent century-old trees."
• Murmurs rippled through the crowd. I wanted to defend myself, to explain that I'd only been protecting Maya, but the words died in my throat. How could I explain something I didn't understand myself?
• "The penalty for practicing witchcraft is death," Elder Marcus continued. "Our laws are clear."
• "No!" Selene's voice rang out as she pushed through the crowd. My adoptive mother looked older than her years this morning, silver hair wild with worry. "She's not a witch. She's just... different."
• "Different how?" Donovan asked quietly.
• Selene's eyes filled with tears. "I don't know. I found her during the Blood Moon attack sixteen years ago, covered in strange marks that faded by dawn. She was just a child, Alpha. A frightened, orphaned child."
• "A child who destroyed half our territory in a fit of rage," Elder Marcus snapped. "What happens when she gets truly angry? What happens when she decides we're her enemies?"
• The crowd's murmur grew uglier and more annoying. I could see the fear in their faces, the way they pressed back as if my very presence might contaminate them.
• "I would never hurt innocent people," I said, finally finding my voice. "I was protecting Maya. Cassandra was going to…."
• "Silence," Elder Marcus commanded. "You have no right to speak here, witch."
• The word hit me like a physical blow down to my spine. At that moment, staring at the faces of people who'd known me my entire life, I understood that nothing I said would matter. They'd already decided what I was.
• What I wasn't was one of them.
• "However," Donovan said, his voice cutting through the crowd's noise, "there is another possibility we must consider."
• Hope fluttered in my chest. Maybe he felt the mate bond too. Maybe… Just maybe.
• "The Midnight Eclipse Pack has laws regarding dangerous individuals," he continued. "Exile, rather than execution, for those who pose a threat but have not committed murder."
• Exile. The word echoed in my mind like a death sentence. Werewolves weren't meant to live alone. Without a pack, I will be nothing, vulnerable to rogues, to the elements, to madness.
• But it was better than death.
• "The pack has spoken through its destruction," Donovan said, rising from his throne. The mate bond pulled tighter as he approached, making it hard to breathe. "Lyra of the Omega quarters, I hereby banish you from Midnight Eclipse Pack territory. You have until sunset to leave our lands, never to return again or else you will face the death consequence."
• The crowd erupted in cheers and shouts of approval. Through it all, Donovan and I stared at each other, the space between us crackling with unspoken words, mind games.
• I'm sorry, his eyes seemed to say. I have no choice.
• I know, mine replied. I understand. But understanding didn't make it hurt less.
• The guards unlocked my chains and shoved me toward the door. I stumbled, catching myself before I could fall. As I straightened, I caught sight of a familiar figure in the crowd, the stranger from the river, his dark eyes watching everything with intense focus.
• Our eyes met for just a moment, and he gave the slightest nod toward the door. A message, though I didn't understand what he was trying to tell me. Then I was outside, blinking in the harsh sunlight.
• "Lyra!" Selene caught up with me, pressing a small pack into my hands. "Food, water, healing supplies. Everything I could gather."
• Tears streamed down her weathered cheeks. This woman had raised me, loved me, and protected me for sixteen years. Now I was being torn away from her because of something I couldn't control.
• "I don't understand what's happening to me," I whispered.
• "I know, child. But you're stronger than you realize." She cupped my face in her hands. "Find somewhere safe. Find people who will accept you as you are."
• "Where? Who would want someone like me?"
• Before she could answer, Beta Ethan appeared with a group of warriors. "Time's up, exile. You need to leave now."
• I hugged Selene one last time, memorizing the scent of herbs and healing magic that always clung to her. Then I shouldered my pack and walked toward the forest that would become my new home. .
• :::::::::
• I was three miles into Shadowveil Forest when I heard footsteps behind me. My heart leaped, maybe Donovan had changed his mind, maybe he'd come after me despite pack law, maybe he actually felt something for me too.
• But when I turned, it was the stranger from the river.
• "You're following me," I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.
• He smiled, stepping into a patch of sunlight that revealed his features clearly for the first time. Sharp cheekbones, olive skin, dark hair that looked like he'd run his fingers through it. But it was his eyes that held me captive, deep brown with flecks of gold, ancient and knowing.
• "Actually," he said, his voice carrying that same accent I couldn't place, "I'm rescuing you. Again."
• "I don't need rescuing."
• "No?" He gestured back toward pack territory. "Because from where I stand, you just lost everything. Your home, your family, your future. All because you're something they don't understand."
• The truth of his words stung. "What do you want?"
• "To offer you a choice." He stepped closer, and I caught his scent again, wild and earthy, with an undertone of power that made my wolf instincts go haywire. "You can wander these woods alone, slowly going mad from isolation. Or you can come with me."
• "Where exactly?"
• His smile turned mysterious. "Somewhere you'll be appreciated for what you are, not punished for it. Somewhere you can learn to control those abilities instead of being afraid of them."
• The whispers in my head grew excited. Yes, they hissed. This one understands. This one knows.
• "Who are you?" I asked.
• He extended his hand, and I saw a ring on his finger, black stone carved with symbols that seemed to shift in the light. Power radiated from him like heat from a forge, calling to something deep in my bones.
• "My name is Jason," he said. "And I'm the King of the Red River Witch Clan."
• The world tilted sideways. A witch king. The enemy my pack had hated for generations was standing in front of me, offering salvation.
• "You're lying," I breathed.
• "Am I?" His eyes held mine, completely serious now. "You've felt different your whole life, haven't you? Heard voices others couldn't hear? Seen things that shouldn't exist?"
• I had. God help me, I had.
• "What am I?" I whispered.
• Jason's expression grew gentle. "Something extraordinary. Something that both our peoples have been waiting for without knowing it." He kept his hand extended, patient as stone. "Come with me, Lyra. Let me show you who you really are."
• The mate bond with Donovan pulled at my heart, a chain I couldn't break even with miles between us. But there was something else now, something that felt like destiny reaching out its hand.
• I stared at Jason's outstretched palm, knowing that touching him would change everything. Behind me lay exile and loneliness. Ahead lay the unknown, guided by a man who was supposed to be my enemy but felt like salvation.
• The whispers rose to a crescendo: Choose, daughter of shadows. Choose your true path.
• My hand trembled as I reached toward his, and just before our skin touched, Jason's eyes flashed with something that looked like triumph.
• "Welcome to your real life, Lyra," he said softly. "Welcome to your destiny."