Chains held her still when Lyra opened her eyes. She remembered nothing - only cold metal biting into her wrists.
Cold metal bit at her wrists, then her ankles, pressing hard enough to make the wolf inside shrink back. Darkness filled the space around her, a chamber dug low under the heart of the pack's home. Stone surrounded her, marked with lines carved long ago to hold beasts still.
She deserved this.
Almost, she took his life. He nearly died by her hand.
A sharp ache gripped her neck when it returned - the glint of metal, Kael bleeding, then holding her while she came undone. She could still feel his grip. The moment wouldn't let go.
Mate.
The word burned.
Fighting through the weight, she pushed up onto her feet, each motion slow - her skull pulsing where the coven's spell had let go.
Footsteps echoed.
Her pulse spiked.
A groan came from the doorway as it swung loose.
Kael stepped inside.
He looked different.
A shadow moved closer - no armor, no blade. Only a man in a soaked black shirt, wide shoulders cutting through the dim light. Blood mixed with rain hung in the air around him. His wound, stitched and covered now, still pulsed low under skin. She felt that pain settle into her ribs without meaning to.
Slowly, he shut the door behind him.
A hush settled, heavy like a held breath. Stillness pressed in, dense and unyielding.
"You should kill me," Lyra said hoarsely.
Kael's jaw flexed. "That would be easier."
She flinched.
Closer he stepped, halting where the chain could not touch him. The metal on her wrists caught his stare - just a second - and shadows passed behind his look.
"You're the Moon Reaper," he said.
She swallowed. "Yes."
"You slaughtered Alphas," he continued. "Destroyed packs."
"Yes."
"You came here with a blade."
"Yes."
His voice hardened. "And you're my mate."
A weight settled in my chest. That hit hard.
Her lungs froze mid-air. A sharp tightness gripped her ribs without warning. Breathing stopped like a snapped thread. The moment hung, brittle and loud.
"No," she whispered. "I can't be."
"I felt it," Kael said roughly. "Before tonight. Before the blade. Before the truth."
A breath slipped out, long and low. His palm scraped over skin as it moved downward.
"You were shaking when you tried to kill me."
Shame flooded her.
"They control me," she said quietly. "The coven. They conditioned me. When they activate it, I don't get a choice."
Kael's eyes burned. "They will regret it."
A sharp edge cut through every word he said.
She laughed weakly, bitter. "You don't understand. They don't care if I live or die. If I fail, they'll… break me until I succeed."
Forward he moved, though awareness lagged. A quiet shift, unplanned, pulled him nearer.
"How much time?" he said.
Hesitation came first. Then Lyra spoke without hiding anything - "Before my birth, it started."
Everything inside began to sway like a boat on water.
Kael froze.
"What?"
"They altered me," she said. "Blood rituals. Moon magic. I was created to bypass Alpha defenses. To resist commands. To kill you."
She lifted her wrists slightly, chains clinking. "I'm not a person to them. I'm an end."
A quiet broke loose in Kael. Then everything shifted.
A sharp turn broke his stillness, feet cutting restless lines across the floor. From him came a howl - not sound, but feeling - flooded the link with such fire that Lyra jerked back on breath.
"They murdered my Luna," he said tightly. "They burned my pack. And now this?"
Gasping slightly, he stood still. His shoulders lifted then dropped again.
"They made my mate into a weapon."
Lyra's eyes filled with tears. "I didn't know," she whispered. "Not about your Luna. They only showed me lies."
Back he moved, step by step, fire lit behind his gaze.
"My bloodline didn't slaughter yours," he said. "We tried to protect the border packs when the coven purged them. We were too late."
Her world was shattered.
"No," she breathed. "That's not - "
A sudden snap in the connection made everything clear, its violence leaving no doubt.
Her hatred cracked.
"What have I done," she whispered.
Two steps closed the space. He took hold of her bound wrists, gentle, as touch might bruise. Fear guided his fingers.
"You survived," he said. "That means you're not finished yet."
Falling without pause, the tears came loose—a quiet release, heavy in their trail.
"They'll come for me," she said. "And they'll use me against you again."
"Then we make sure they never get the chance," Kael replied.
A quiet closeness took hold when he leaned down, touching her forehead despite the weight of chains between them. Their breathing fell into step without asking.
Fires sparked between them completely.
Warm. Fierce. Unbreakable.
Fingers gripping fabric, Lyra pressed close, her tears dampening his chest as metal cuffs bit into her wrists.
For the first time in her life…
Someone walked beside her.
Far beyond the others, the moon climbed highest. It stood alone at the top of the night's sky.
A quiet shift in the air made the old one's lips curl near the back of the hidden room.
"The bond has sealed," she whispered.
"Good."
"Shall we proceed to Phase Two?" another asked.
Softly came the elder's answer. "Yes.".
"Break her… or break him."