“Luna!” A woman's voice rang clearly in Lyra's ears. She immediately turned and searched for the source of the voice.
“Shovia?” Lyra called out to confirm. As far as she knew, Shovia had been following behind her.
Strangely, there was no one there. Maybe Lyra had only imagined it? And yet, she had heard the call loud and clear.
The night grew later. Lyra's emotions still hadn't settled. When she decided to return home, she crossed paths with several pack members on the way.
“Isn't she the girl Alpha Kael rejected?” one of them whispered to the other.
Lyra lowered her head in silence as they gossiped about her, openly discussing her right in front of her.
“That traitor's daughter is so disgraceful that Alpha Kael didn't even want to touch her.”
“Traitor's blood runs through her veins. No wonder the Moon Goddess rejected her.”
Although Kael had ordered his pack not to bring up or reveal the fated bond between him and Lyra, the rumors had already spread among the pack warriors.
All Lyra could do was remain silent and mourn her fate. Now, the label of traitor's daughter was becoming even more deeply attached to her.
The next day, Lyra was forced to join the female pack warriors for physical training. During the session, a female warrior named Nessa intimidated her and deliberately injured Lyra during the sparring exercise.
Fresh blood flowed from Lyra's arm. Nessa didn't feel the slightest bit guilty. On top of that, not one trainer or fellow warrior there stood up for her.
“Consider this a lesson for being so presumptuous as to hope you could become Luna, Alpha Kael's mate,” Nessa whispered before attacking her again.
“What?” Lyra stared at her in shock. *I won't let her hurt me any worse.*
Lyra struck back. She put all her strength into defending herself against Nessa's attacks.
Their fight grew fiercer. Lyra and Nessa attacked each other in turn. Before long, Lyra was seriously injured. She knew her strength had never been trained, leaving her far weaker than Nessa.
When Lyra fell to the ground, Nessa's sword was about to pierce her chest. Elira rushed in from the opposite direction and shielded her.
“Stop! You could kill her,” Elira warned.
“She deserves to die. Isn't she the daughter of a traitorous Beta?” Nessa shot back.
“Lower your sword! Training is over for today,” Elira ordered. Her sharp gaze bored into Nessa's eyes.
“Fine.” Nessa relented and lowered her sword. Then she turned her back on Elira and Lyra.
After Nessa left, Elira extended a hand toward Lyra and helped her to her feet.
“Are you all right?” Elira asked with genuine concern.
Lyra nodded slowly. “I'm fine. Thank you,” she murmured.
Elira Blackthorn had arrived at just the right moment. She had rescued Lyra and helped treat her wounds.
“Your wounds need to be treated immediately. Otherwise, they'll only get worse,” Elira said.
“I can do it myself,” Lyra refused gently.
“Are you sure you can?” Elira asked skeptically. “Let me treat your wounds. Just sit down.”
“I…” Lyra couldn't continue because Elira stopped her from saying anything more.
Lyra felt awkward, but Elira kept insisting until she became uncomfortable. She had no idea what Elira was hiding from her. On one hand, Elira was being incredibly kind. On the other, she was Kael's half-sister and might simply be putting on an act in front of her. Elira could always keep tabs on anyone Kael personally ordered her to watch.
That was most likely the case. No wonder Lyra was suspicious of her.
“You shouldn't be treated this way. They don't know anything about you or your family, do they? If only you knew who had betrayed you.”
“What do you mean?” Lyra interrupted when Elira fell silent for several seconds.
“Ah, I'm finished. You won't be in pain anymore,” Elira said, changing the subject. She smiled sweetly at Lyra, who still suspected her kindness.
Even so, Lyra accepted her help as a way of showing appreciation for Elira's efforts to treat her wounds.
“You can rest in my room for a while. What do you think?” Elira offered.
“No, thank you. I'd rather go home,” Lyra declined.
“Come on! Don't refuse my offer! I've been kind enough to help you. Your wounds need time to heal, don't they?” Elira coaxed.
With no other choice, Lyra finally accepted Elira's offer. Tonight, she would rest in Elira's room, as the Alpha's sister had requested.
Night fell.
The atmosphere in Kael's residence was cold and oppressive. Bored after being confined to Elira's room all day, Lyra hurried outside. She wanted to breathe some fresh air.
Lyra slowly left Elira's room. Her steps carried her toward a particular room: the Blackthorn family's library. She didn't know why she felt such a strong urge to enter.
Eventually, Lyra gathered the courage to step inside. Countless books and other important documents still lay scattered across Kael's desk. She looked through them, hoping to find a clue about her family's massacre in the past.
Lyra slipped into the pack archives. She was searching for the record of her father's execution.
“What is this?” Lyra cried in shock.
Lyra found a torn section of a report stating that her father had been involved in a meeting and secret agreement with the pack's longtime enemy.
Lyra examined it more carefully. Something about the report seemed wrong. She concluded that Kael had framed her father all along. The signature on the report wasn't her father's.
“It couldn't be clearer. This is a frame-up!” Lyra concluded. *I knew it,* she thought.
Tears spilled from Lyra's eyes. She felt disappointed and blamed herself. If only she had been able to testify back then that her father was innocent. Maybe he would still be alive with her now.
Lyra left the archives without watching where she was going and collided with Kael, who had suddenly entered the room.
“What are you doing here?” Kael asked coldly.
“I…” Lyra was extremely nervous. “I was looking for something of mine that I lost,” she lied.
“What?” Kael frowned, clearly unwilling to take Lyra's word at face value.
“My things aren't here, so I'd better leave.” Growing increasingly awkward, Lyra hurried away from Kael before he could question her further.
Kael remained cold, but his expression changed when he saw Lyra's bleeding hand and swollen eyes from crying.
“You're playing with fire. Do you know what happened to the last person who disturbed my family's past?”
Lyra turned to him with a sorrowful look. “I'm not playing with fire, but the smoke has made my eyes clouded.”
Kael didn't attack her again, but Lyra's words seemed to be a clear threat. She realized that it wasn't only their bond he despised—her very existence was beginning to pose a threat.
Lyra returned to Elira's room and stared at the wound on her hand. She looked at herself in the mirror.
“If I have to burn to uncover the truth, then I'll be the fire.”
Someone opened the door to Elira's room.