“So you’re here after all. I thought you were…” Elira looked at Lyra somewhat skeptically. She suspected something was going on with Lyra.
Lyra turned around and made the best excuse she could. “No. I’ve been here the whole time. I swear.”
“Really?” Elira grew even more suspicious, but she didn’t want to make Lyra feel uncomfortable around her.
“I’m sorry, but I think I have to go,” Lyra said as she took her leave. “Thank you so much for your help,” she added.
“No problem. I’m glad I could help,” Elira replied. “Where are you going?” she asked curiously.
“I’m going home,” Lyra said.
“All right, then. We can still meet again tomorrow, right?”
Lyra nodded. “Of course. Whenever you want, we can meet.”
Lyra left Elira’s room. Meanwhile, Elira smiled slyly as she watched Lyra’s back grow more distant.
“You can’t hide anything from me, Lyra Evren! I know what you’ve been doing all this time,” Elira whispered.
“Just wait and see! I’ll give you an interesting surprise.”
The night grew late.
Like the night before, Lyra tossed and turned in her sleep. Her rest had become uneasy after dreaming of her father.
“Don’t act recklessly, my daughter! They’re too powerful if you intend to fight them.”
“I want the truth to come out. They betrayed you. They don’t care about you,” Lyra whined.
“The truth will kill you if you aren’t ready, but silence will kill anyone who trusts you.”
“Then what should I do now? These accusations are putting so much pressure on me.”
“Someone will help you. Ask him for protection.”
“Who do you think it is?” Lyra asked eagerly, wanting to know.
“An Alpha from another pack,” her father replied.
“An Alpha?” Lyra repeated in confusion.
“The Alpha who is actually meant to be your mate.”
“It can’t be Alpha Kael, can it?”
Dreaming of meeting her father’s spirit made Lyra even more restless. Cold sweat drenched her bed. Before she could ask the Alpha’s name, her father’s shadow suddenly disappeared from before her eyes.
“Dad!” Lyra called out. She looked to her right and left, but the figure of the father she missed so dearly was nowhere to be seen that night.
Lyra jolted awake. She immediately opened her eyes wide. Her breathing came in ragged gasps, as though something were chasing her. However, another supernatural power slowly began to seep into her body.
There was a hidden power within Lyra that could awaken at any moment without her realizing it.
“What is this?” Lyra asked herself.
“Get her out, Kael!” Elira ordered as she barged into Alpha Kael’s office.
“Who are you talking about?” Kael frowned at the sudden behavior of his stepsister.
“Lyra Evren! That traitor’s daughter,” Elira said.
“What did she do to you to make you so angry?” Kael asked curiously.
Elira showed Kael something. “It’s time for you to get rid of her from our pack.”
Kael continued studying the report Elira had given him. On the night Lyra was injured, Elira had followed her and seen Lyra enter Kael’s room without permission.
At the time, Lyra might not have realized that she had left bloodstains from her wound behind. The blood had gotten onto a drawer in the room and stained several documents.
Elira had managed to find proof that Lyra had broken into Kael’s room, and she asked her stepbrother to remove Lyra from the Nightfall pack immediately.
“Damn it!” Kael grew furious upon hearing the report.
Influenced by Elira’s words, Kael immediately ordered his underlings to capture Lyra.
After the Nightfall pack’s morning training, two warriors dragged Lyra before the pack members on Alpha Kael’s orders. Lyra was accused of accessing the pack’s confidential documents without permission.
Everyone there looked at her with cold, mocking, and contemptuous gazes. It was as though they already knew that Lyra had truly committed some unforgivable crime.
Systemic betrayal. Just like what they had accused her father of, until it led to the massacre.
“So the traitor’s blood has been passed down to his descendants,” one of the elders said from behind Lyra.
Lyra was taken to a fairly dark room—the Nightfall pack hall. There, she was forced to sit before Kael, Elira, and the other elders like a defendant awaiting sentencing.
There was no solid evidence proving Lyra’s innocence in breaking into Kael’s room without permission, and Elira’s mere “suspicion” only reinforced the accusation. Thus, the elders concluded that Lyra was still guilty and had to be punished.
After the sentence was handed down, the majority favored exile. They agreed to cast her out of the Nightfall pack. Lyra had already tried to defend herself. Unfortunately, no one wanted to listen to her.
“Please, give me a chance to prove that my family and I aren’t traitors,” Lyra pleaded. She begged Kael to listen to her.
“Breaking into Kael’s room is obviously a serious crime in our pack. Don’t you know the rules?”
“I’m sorry. I only wanted to clear my father’s name. He isn’t a traitor like you’ve all accused him of being.” Lyra held firmly to her position.
Unfortunately, all of Lyra’s efforts were in vain. Neither Elira nor Kael had ever cared about her defense at all.
Kael sat on his throne and stared at Lyra with cold eyes. As the pack leader, he offered her no defense.
Shovia, who witnessed her friend Lyra’s trial, tried to defend her. But Elira silenced her with a single command. She was powerless and could only bow to Elira’s orders.
The elders whispered among themselves as they prepared to decide Lyra’s sentence. She would be driven from Nightfall territory, without protection or status. After reaching an agreement, Kael stood for the first time and read out the decision.
“Starting tonight, you are no longer part of the Nightfall pack. No one is allowed to help or protect you. You are now a rogue,” Kael declared.
“No, please.”
Lyra was forcibly dragged outside. She managed to glance at Kael, hoping the Alpha would reconsider her punishment. Unfortunately, the cold look in Kael’s eyes showed no concern for the grief she was suffering.
Outside the hall, rain fell heavily. One warrior shoved Lyra until she fell to the ground. The other threw an old, ragged cloak at her to wear.
“Get out of our territory! Don’t ever come back if you don’t want us to kill you. Understand?” they drove her away.
“Then where am I supposed to go?” Lyra asked in confusion. The rain grew heavier as she struggled to get up and picked up the old cloak.
‘I’ll come back and destroy every one of you,’ Lyra vowed silently. She wiped away her tears and left, wounds and burning resentment festering in her heart.