Chapter 2

KAELEN'S POV:

The scent of sandalwood and wild honey filled my office. It was Lyra's scent, a cloying sweetness that had become a constant presence in my life. She was curled on the leather couch, her hand resting on her stomach, a small, worried frown on her face.

"Are you sure she'll do it, Kaelen?" she asked, her voice a fragile whisper. "Seraphina... she can be so stubborn."

"She will do it," I sent back through our private mind-link, keeping my tone firm and reassuring. "I used the Command. She has no choice."

Lyra's scent was meant to be comforting, a sign of a high-ranking female wolf, but lately, it felt... wrong. It was like a perfume trying to cover up something else, something I couldn't quite place. It didn't soothe my inner wolf. My wolf had been restless for months, agitated not by Seraphina, but by Lyra's constant presence. Something about her story of the Rogue attack didn't sit right with my instincts, but I'd pushed the feeling down. Lyra's family had backed my claim to Alpha when others had hesitated. I owed her.

Seraphina.

Her scent was rain on dry earth and a hint of winter frost. It was clean, simple, and for some reason, it made my wolf want to roar. The Moon Goddess had declared her my mate, a bond I couldn't deny. But she was an Omega, a lone wolf with no pack, no status. The bond felt... incomplete. It was a powerful physical pull, a deep-seated desire, but the profound soul-deep connection the elders always spoke of was missing. I assumed it was because of her low rank. My mother, Elara, never missed an opportunity to remind me how a 'nameless Omega' weakened my bloodline.

The door to my office opened. Seraphina stood there.

Her face was pale, her eyes holding a deep, unfamiliar coldness. She looked from me to Lyra, her gaze lingering on Lyra's hand on her own belly. For a second, I felt a strange pang in my chest, a phantom ache from our strained mate bond.

"Lyra needs rest," I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended. "She's been having nightmares. Her mind is not stable. You will move to the Omega quarters in the west wing for now."

I expected her to argue, to cry. She did neither.

A small, bitter smile touched her lips. "This is my home, Kaelen. I am your mate. The Luna of this pack."

"Lyra has a self-harming tendency when she is stressed!" I snapped, my wolf rising to the surface, annoyed by her defiance. A claim Lyra had made, but one the Healer had never been able to confirm. Still, the risk was too great. "Your presence here agitates her. You will do as I say."

The Alpha's Command was in my voice again, and I saw her flinch, a flicker of pain crossing her face before it was replaced by that unnerving calm. She simply turned and walked out.

Later that night, I found her in our bed. The room felt wrong. Lyra's sweet, cloying scent had seeped into the space, clinging to the curtains, the sheets. It was a violation. This space was supposed to smell like Seraphina, like rain and frost. My inner wolf paced restlessly, agitated.

I slid into bed behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Her body was stiff, unyielding.

"We will have other pups, Seraphina," I murmured into her hair, assuming she had followed my orders. "Many of them. Strong ones."

She said nothing. Her silence was a wall between us.

Suddenly, a piercing scream tore through the night from the guest room next door. Lyra.

"No! Get away from me! Don't touch me!"

I was out of bed in an instant, my Alpha instincts screaming to protect the threatened female. I burst into Lyra's room to find her thrashing in her bed, her eyes wide with terror, reliving the alleged Rogue attack. I spent the rest of the night by her side, calming her, murmuring reassurances.

The next morning, I came downstairs to find Lyra in the kitchen, humming as she made coffee. She saw me and her face lit up. She walked over and wrapped her arms around my waist from behind, resting her cheek against my back.

"Thank you for staying with me," she whispered. "I feel so safe with you."

Seraphina walked in at that exact moment. She froze, her eyes landing on Lyra's arms around me. The look on her face was one I'd never seen before-not sadness, but a chilling, profound emptiness.

"Kaelen, could you get me my shawl from upstairs? There's a draft," Lyra said, her voice sweet as honey.

The moment I left the room, I heard Lyra's tone shift through the floorboards. It was no longer soft and fragile. It was sharp, venomous.

"He told me, you know," Lyra's voice drifted up. "He said a half-breed pup like the one you were carrying isn't worthy of the Alpha's bloodline. He was relieved to be rid of it."

I stopped on the stairs, frowning. I had never said that.

"You're just a nameless Omega he found on the street," Lyra continued, her voice dripping with contempt. "Did you really think you could compete with me? My family is distantly related to the Whitefang Clan. I have connections. You have nothing."

A sudden crash from downstairs made me race back down.

I found Lyra on the floor, clutching her stomach, tears streaming down her face. Seraphina stood over her, her hand outstretched as if she had just pushed her.

"She pushed me!" Lyra sobbed. "Kaelen, she tried to hurt the baby!"

A flicker of doubt crossed my mind-Lyra's lie from upstairs was still fresh-but the sight of her on the floor, supposedly in pain, triggered the instinct I had honed for months. Rage, hot and absolute, flooded my senses. My protective instincts took over completely. I didn't think. I acted.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I roared, and the full force of my Alpha power slammed into Seraphina. She was thrown back against the wall, her head hitting the stone with a sickening thud.

She slid to the floor, stunned. But she didn't cry. She just looked at me, her eyes clear and filled with a terrible, final understanding.

I didn't wait to see more. I scooped a crying Lyra into my arms and carried her out, leaving Seraphina alone on the cold, hard floor.