Chapter 3 Edge of Control

I hated mornings like this. The sunlight pushed through the trees like it had something to prove, too bright, too sharp, like it was trying to expose everything I wanted to forget. My body ached from yesterday's fight, from running, from the way Damian had grabbed that alpha's jaws with one hand. That memory made my stomach twist, and the way his icy blue eyes looked at me made it twist even more.

Kaelen was already up, brushing his long hair back and smirking like he had slept on a cloud instead of the forest floor.

"Up already? You're gonna look like a zombie before noon. Honestly, you already sound like one."

I groaned and pushed myself off the wet ground. "I don't have time for your jokes. We have eyes on us, and that alpha isn't taking a day off."

Mara peeked from behind a tree, pale and shaking. "Lyra... do you think maybe we should wait for help?"

I sighed. "We don't have help. You've been saying that since last night." My voice softened just a little. "We make our own luck. That's how we survive."

Damian stood a few feet away, quiet as always. But he never just stood, he was watching everything. The trees, shadows, and us. He looked like someone who could plan ten moves ahead without even blinking.

"I don't think your luck is enough this time," he said. His voice was low, almost teasing. I glared at him. "I don't need your advice, King."

"Not advice," he said, stepping closer. "Just a warning."

My pulse jumped but it wasn't fear or annoyance but something else I hated admitting. "We'll see about that," I muttered, clenching my fists.

We moved deeper into the forest, my pack stuck close with me, Kaelen and Mara while Damian kept a few steps away.

Hours passed and the silence pressed against my skull. The hybrid pack had vanished after last night, but I knew they weren't gone. They were waiting and studying us.

"You're reckless," Damian said suddenly.

I stopped and glared at him with my hands on my hips. "And you're slow, watching won't kill them but action will."

He didn't argue but tilted his head with a small smirk. "Action without control is suicide. You play with fire, Lyra. You always do."

I clenched my jaw. "Better fire than chains."

He said nothing. He didn't need to, he understood exactly what I meant.

By mid-afternoon, the trees thinned into a narrow valley. Fog curled around the ground like fingers trying to choke the sunlight, it looked perfect for an ambush.

"Here," I whispered. I knelt and brushed dirt off a paw print. It was too big to be human, too defined to be random. "They're close, too close."

Kaelen groaned. "You really love trouble."

I shot him a look and he shut up fast. Mara whimpered softly, but fear wasn't going to help us now.

Damian crouched beside me. His eyes scanned the tracks like he was reading a map only he understood. "They're following us, patiently, and they know your scent, Lyra. You've been marked."

A cold shiver ran down my spine. " Marked?." I muttered a curse under my breath.

"So we're walking into a death trap," I said.

"We survive," Damian answered. His voice was sharp, steady. "Or we don't, no excuses."

I stared at him, annoyed at how calm he was, and even more annoyed that he was right.

The attack hit before I could blink. A screech tore through the valley and I ducked, dragging Mara with me. Something huge slammed into the ground inches from my feet, snapping branches.

I spun around just as two hybrids charged from the fog, teeth bared, their claws ready to rip us apart. My heartbeat slammed against my ribs. I didn't think, I just moved.

I grabbed a branch and swung at the nearest hybrid. Damian tackled the other like he had been waiting for this moment. Mara screamed and tripped. I yanked her back up and shoved her behind me, she was my responsibility and had to keep her alive.

Kaelen curses echoed as he rushed in with knives flashing. We weren't just fighting as we were barely holding on.

Then I heard it, the hybrid alpha. His voice cut through everything, deep and cold.

"Lyra."

My blood froze.

"You can't escape me," he hissed. I didn't have to look to know he was standing on higher ground, watching like a predator that already knew the ending.

I swallowed hard as every instinct in me screamed. Then I felt Damian beside me. His breath steady and his solid presence.

"Keep moving," he whispered. "Don't stop, not for him."

I wanted to argue and scream, or even kiss and punch him at the same time. But there was no time for any of that.

The hybrid alpha laughed. "This is only the beginning, Lyra. Only the beginning."

Then he vanished into the fog. My hands were shaking.

Kaelen muttered under his breath. "We're screwed."

I bit my lip and whispered, "Not yet. Not while we're still alive."

But deep in my chest, I knew the truth.

We weren't just running from a hybrid pack.

We were running from him.

And maybe... running from him.