FORSAKEN MOON

The world returned in fragments.

Crackling fire. Cool grass beneath her fingers. The sharp sting of smoke in her lungs.

Lyra gasped and jolted upright, her chest heaving, eyes wide and wild. The clearing that once pulsed with moonlight and silence now lay marred by scorched earth and ash. Where there should've been life—verdant and humming—was only death and decay.

The air shimmered, charged with a residue of power that didn't feel entirely hers. It clung to her skin like sweat and sin.

"Lyra!" Celine's voice broke through the haze as she knelt beside her. Her dark curls were half-singed, her eyes wide with panic. "You're awake—thank the Moon. Don't move too fast. You collapsed after—after everything."

Lyra's vision danced with afterimages: a wolf howling in flame, Ronan's scream, her own magic spiraling out of control. "Ronan—where is he?"

Celine looked away.

The silence between them was answer enough.

"No," Lyra whispered, her heart clenching. "No, I didn't... I couldn't have—"

"You didn't kill him," Celine said quickly, gripping her shoulders. "But something in you flared. Something powerful and ancient. It protected you—but it also lashed out. You weren't alone out there."

Lyra's breath hitched. "Maela."

"I didn't see her, but the air smelled like shadow-magic. You were being hunted, Lyra. And the Council—" Celine hesitated. "They know something. They sent someone to watch you. You need to leave the village. Now."

Lyra pushed her hair back from her face, fingers trembling. Her skin felt feverish, humming with a pulse that wasn't entirely human. Flowers wilted at her touch. A cluster of mushrooms bloomed too fast and rotted in the same breath.

"I can't control it anymore," she whispered.

"You need help, not exile," Celine said. "But you won't get it here. Not with the Council sniffing around. Especially not with him involved."

Lyra's stomach dropped. "Kade?"

Celine nodded, her expression sour. "He's back at the estate. Council business, supposedly. But I saw the look in his eyes when he stormed out last night. He's still watching you."

Lyra swallowed hard. "He rejected me. And now he's what—sent to spy on me?"

"I don't know," Celine said, voice tight. "But I wouldn't trust him."

A rustle in the trees behind them silenced everything.

Lyra's instincts screamed.

Celine stood, dagger already drawn, but it was too late.

Kade stepped out of the trees, his coat ash-smeared, his eyes burning gold in the light of dawn. He looked like a man who hadn't slept—feral and half-frayed at the edges.

"You should leave," Celine growled. "You've done enough damage."

Kade ignored her and fixed his gaze on Lyra. "We need to talk."

"You want to talk?" Lyra stood slowly, ignoring the weakness in her legs. "Now that I've burned a forest down and nearly killed someone, you suddenly care?"

"I've always cared," he said lowly. "That's the damn problem."

Lyra laughed bitterly. "You rejected me, Kade. You let me believe I was nothing to you. You left me broken."

His expression didn't waver. "Because loving you could get you killed."

A beat of silence passed. The breeze stilled.

Celine looked between them, then stepped back. "I'll give you two a moment. But not long." She disappeared into the trees.

"You don't get to use that excuse," Lyra said, voice shaking. "You don't get to act like this was all for my safety."

"I didn't know what you were," Kade said quietly. "I didn't understand it then. But the Council—Maela—they knew. They feared it."

Lyra's fingers curled into fists. "What am I, then?"

Kade took a step forward. "A bloodline that shouldn't exist. A power older than the Pack. You're tied to something ancient and wild—and it's waking up inside you."

"I don't need riddles," she hissed. "I need answers."

"You'll get them," he promised. "But not here."

"Why now?" she demanded. "Why the sudden change?"

He hesitated, jaw clenched. "Because Maela is watching. Because I saw what you did last night. And because—despite everything—I still feel the bond. Every damn second I'm near you."

Lyra faltered. The wind shifted. The bond pulsed between them—familiar, magnetic, undeniable. Her heart betrayed her, skipping at the intensity in his eyes.

But then the world tilted.

A searing pain sliced through her skull, like molten glass behind her eyes. She stumbled, clutching her head as a wave of heat and sound swallowed her.

"Lyra?" Kade caught her just as she collapsed into him.

And then—

She wasn't in the clearing anymore.

The sky was black.

She stood in the middle of a village, unfamiliar and ancient, lit by fire and screams. Blood painted the earth. Wolves—large and silver-eyed—ripped through homes and people.

Two figures ran through the chaos—a man and a woman, holding a child wrapped in cloth.

"Keep her hidden," the woman sobbed. "They can't find her, Kalen. Promise me—"

"I promise," the man said, before shoving her away just as a clawed beast leapt from the flames.

The woman turned, eyes locking with Lyra's.

Her own eyes.

No—

Lyra screamed.

She came to with a ragged gasp, trembling violently in Kade's arms.

"Lyra—what happened?"

She couldn't speak.

Her hands were bloody.

But only in the vision.

And yet… the pain in her chest felt real.

She knew what she'd seen.

Her parents' murder.