“Of course. You’re free to choose,” Draven said, hopeful.
Lyra turned and stared intently at Draven. “You’re not using me, are you?” she asked, growing suspicious of the Alpha’s sudden change in attitude.
“No. I’ve never used anyone here,” Draven assured her.
Suddenly, a sound came from behind a large tree, as if someone had been eavesdropping on Lyra and Draven’s conversation. When Lyra turned around, the person they suspected quickly left, vanishing in an instant.
“Who was that?” Something had caught Lyra’s attention. Draven’s, too.
“What is it?” Draven asked.
“Someone’s been following me. I don’t know who,” Lyra told him.
“Maybe it was Cyrus,” Draven guessed.
“No, it wasn’t him. It seemed like another man from Nightfall.” Lyra speculated.
“Why are they still so curious that they’re following you?” Draven wondered. Cyrus’s suspicion had probably been right. Nightfall might have sent a spy to keep an eye on Lyra.
“This place isn’t safe. We should leave,” Draven said, changing the subject.
On instinct, Draven grabbed Lyra’s hand and led her away from the forest. Lyra was startled by his action and immediately pulled her hand free.
“Do you still want to stay here?” Draven asked, somewhat anxiously. “They’ll keep hunting you.”
“I can protect myself,” Lyra insisted.
“With what?” Draven asked irritably. “That mysterious power of yours? You can’t even control it yourself.”
*How does he know about my power?* Lyra wondered.
“Enough! We’ll talk about this later. For now, let’s get out of here,” Draven urged again. This time, Lyra couldn’t refuse him—before Draven lost his temper and bared his fangs.
Draven safely escorted Lyra to Maela’s house. He personally made sure the rogue remained safe and untouched by any other wolf pack.
Before they truly parted ways, Lyra managed to ask about her missing pendant.
“Have you found my pendant?” Lyra dared to bring it up.
“I…” Draven hesitated. He reached into his pants pocket and closed his hand around the pendant. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to find it.”
Draven lied to Lyra. Who knew why the Alpha was hiding the rogue’s possession?
“So my pendant really is gone.” Lyra looked deeply disappointed. “It was the only thing I had from my father.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll look for it again later,” Draven said regretfully.
Lyra turned around and slowly walked toward the house. She felt utterly dispirited today, now that she knew her pendant wasn’t coming back to her.
When she arrived home, Maela came to meet her. She saw the sadness Lyra was trying to hold back.
“I found something for you. I think you’ll really need this book to learn about your power,” Maela said as she handed the book to Lyra.
“What is it?” Lyra asked.
It was a diary that belonged to Lyra’s father. Maela had accidentally found it in the Ravencall archives. Inside, it recorded the ancient history of the Moonborn bloodline and the betrayal that had torn apart the old pack.
“Thank you. I’ll read it first,” Lyra said as she left the living room and entered her bedroom.
All night long, Lyra pored over her father’s diary and the power that came from the Moonborn. She read the title her father had written.
Chronicle of the Moonborn.
Lyra’s hands trembled as she opened each page. The handwriting inside was incredibly familiar—the letters were upright, strong, and filled with authority.
There was no doubt. It was her father’s handwriting.
“Lyra, if you’re reading this someday, it means the world has begun searching again for the light it once lost. The Moonborn blood flowing through your veins is not a curse, but a reflection of the moon. Calm on the surface, yet reflecting every ray of light left in the darkness.”
Lyra fell silent, as if she were reading deeper into the page. Every sentence her father had written felt alive, and the world around her seemed to fade away. Time itself seemed to slow, as though it were turning back toward the past.
Atop a stone tower, beneath a purple night sky, the last Alpha of the Moonborn bloodline, a man named Aeril, called out about spiritual power. Below the tower, the army of the Nightfall Dominion stood ready to attack. They feared the growing influence of Moonborn power and worried that they would lose control over the clans and packs throughout the region.
Aeril activated an ancient spell. The silver light soaring into the sky would protect his descendant and hide her from the eyes of the world. Within that silver light, the small figure of a little girl appeared, her eyes silver and a gentle smile shining across her face.
“Protect her!” Aeril shouted. “Lyra Evren.”
“It can’t be.”
Lyra slowly closed the book. Her breath trembled, and her chest tightened with a sense of loss that had only now become real. Tears spilled down her cheeks, impossible to hold back.
“What does all of this mean?” She grew even more confused as she thought about everything she had read in her father’s diary.
“So I’m not a traitor’s daughter,” Lyra murmured softly. “I’m the daughter of an Alpha who chose to sacrifice himself. Why?”
Before she knew it, the night had passed and a new day had arrived. Morning light streamed through the gaps in the window and touched her face. In the reflection of the cabin’s glass, her eyes gleamed silver once more—calm, yet unfathomably deep.
The cabin door creaked. Draven stood there in silence, watching her.
But Lyra looked at him differently now, more resolute, even though her wounds remained.
“I understand now why everyone is afraid of the blood flowing through my veins,” Lyra said quietly.
“Then why aren’t you afraid of me?” Lyra asked Draven.
“Why should I be afraid of you? You’re not a threat to me or my group. You’re a new source of strength for us. That’s right, isn’t it?” Draven replied.
“Is that why you kept me in Ravencall? Or do you have another plan I don’t know about?” Lyra remained suspicious.
Draven stepped closer and looked at Lyra. Their eyes met. For several seconds, they stared at each other, as if signaling that something had happened between them.
“Will you become my strength in the fight against Nightfall?” Draven offered.
“What?” Lyra was shocked by Draven’s offer.
“Don’t you want revenge for what Kael did to you?” Draven coaxed, trying to convince Lyra to make a decision.
“I do want revenge against Kael more than anything, but how?” The question came to Lyra spontaneously after Draven offered the alliance.
“You can become the Luna of my group—my mate. What do you think?”
“What? Become your Luna and mate?” Lyra’s eyes widened even further at Draven’s statement. “Are you insane? How could you and I ever—?”
Suddenly, Draven pulled Lyra closer by the waist and kissed the rogue’s lips, gently and passionately.
Lyra’s heart pounded wildly. Her blood seemed to boil along with the emotions and atmosphere of that early morning.
“What are you doing?” Lyra tried to push Draven away with her hidden power, but the Alpha managed to suppress it and calm her down.
“Shh. Relax and enjoy it,” Draven whispered. He covered Lyra’s lips with his own again and kissed her gently.