Chapter 2 The Alpha's eyes

The night air felt colder when his hand wrapped around her wrist. It was not rough, but it was strong, and she felt her whole body go still. The crowd kept moving, the music started again, but to Lyra it was as if the world had stopped.

She turned slowly.

Damien Nightbane stood only a step away. The same sharp jaw, the same dark eyes, the same presence that made others bow their heads. Time had not softened him. If anything, it had carved him into something harder, something heavier.

"Lyra," he said again, softer this time.

She swallowed. "Let go."

He did not. His fingers stayed around her wrist, warm and unshaking. "Four years," he said. "Four years, and you walk back here without a word."

"I came for something and I am leaving," she whispered. Her voice was steady, but her heart was not. She was terrified by his presence obviously.

His gaze lowered, catching the small bundle of moonleaf she clutched. "Who is it for?" he asked.

"No one you need to know," she said quickly.

His jaw tightened. "Is it for you?" His eyes flicked over her cloak, her hands, her face, as if searching for an answer. "Or someone else?"

She pulled her hand free at last and stepped back. "This is not your concern, Damien."

His name on her lips seemed to freeze him. For a moment, the harsh lines in his face softened, and the memory of what they once were hung between them like a ghost.

"Why did you leave?" he asked quietly.

Lyra's throat ached. "Not here. Not now."

She turned to go, but he stepped in front of her. "You vanished without a word, and now you return during the full moon festival. Do you think I will just let you walk away again? I deserve an explanation"

"Move, Damien," she said, keeping her voice low so the crowd would not hear. "Please."

He looked at her for a long moment. The firelight flickered in his eyes. "I will find out, Lyra. Whatever you are hiding, I will know."He knew there was more to know, she was definitely concealing something from him.

She felt her heart jump, but she forced herself to turn away. "Then you will have to catch me first."

Lyra left the clearing fast, her boots crunching on the cold ground. The moonlight followed her as she reached the edge of the forest. Her hands were shaking when she held the moonleaf close to her chest. Isla. She had to get back before the night grew darker.

Lyra had no intention of letting him in. She's determined to keep Isla away from him at all cost.

Behind her, Damien watched her go. He did not follow, not yet. But his wolf stirred restlessly inside him. He had seen the look in her eyes. Fear, yes, but also something else. Something he had not seen in years.

Something that told him she had not come alone.