Chapter 2 Whispers after the fall.

Princess Lyra woke up to unfamiliar voices and the soft rocking of movement beneath her body. For a moment, her head throbbed, and everything felt distant, like she was drifting between dreams and reality.

"Your Highness... Princess Lyra..."

Her eyelids fluttered open slowly. The first thing she saw was the anxious face of her head maid, eyes red and swollen, relief washing over her features.

"Oh thank the heavens!" the woman cried. "You scared us half to death."

Lyra tried to sit up but winced as a dull ache spread through her body. "What... what happened?" she asked hoarsely.

"You fainted in the forest," one of the guards said quickly. "That wild horse nearly killed us all. We searched everywhere until we found you lying on the ground, unconscious."

Lyra's brows furrowed. Lying on the ground?

Her memory shifted-sharp and vivid. The horse rearing violently. Her scream tearing through the forest. And then... something impossible.

Someone had caught her.

No. Not someone.

Magic.

Her fingers curled into the blanket as she was helped down from the carriage back into the palace. The image of glowing golden eyes flashed in her mind-eyes she had not seen in five years, yet recognized instantly.

"Did anyone else see... anyone?" she asked suddenly.

The maids exchanged confused glances. "Anyone, Your Highness?"

Lyra shook her head quickly. "No. Never mind."

But the strange warmth inside her chest told her she wasn't imagining things. The marble-whatever it truly was-stirred restlessly, pulsing in a slow, steady rhythm. It had been quiet for years, almost dormant. Now, it felt awake.

Watching.

Waiting.

Across the forest, hidden where human eyes could not follow, the Wolf King stood perfectly still.

He had felt it the moment her scream cut through the air.

Her fear had resonated with the marble inside her, pulling at him like a tightening cord around his chest. Even in his human form, the connection was undeniable.

"That was her," his guard said quietly, awe and disbelief mixing in his voice. "There is no doubt now."

The Wolf King said nothing at first. His gaze remained fixed on the space where she had fallen moments earlier. If he had been a second later, she would have shattered against the ground.

"She hasn't changed," he murmured at last. "Still reckless. Still fearless."

"And still carrying what belongs to you," the guard added carefully.

The Wolf King's jaw tightened beneath the cloak. "Yes. And that is the problem."

They retreated deeper into the shadows as human guards flooded the area. The Wolf King raised a hand, muttering a low incantation. The forest bent subtly around them, concealing their presence until they were nothing more than whispers in the trees.

When should we take her?" the guard asked. "She is unprotected in her sleep. It would be easy."

"No," the King replied sharply. "Not yet."

The guard stiffened. "But Your Majesty-"

"I know what you're thinking," the Wolf King interrupted. "But this is not a simple extraction. The marble has been inside her for five years. It has bonded to her body... perhaps even her soul."

The guard fell silent.

"If we tear it out without care," the King continued, voice low and controlled, "she could die."

And somehow, that thought unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

That night, Lyra could not sleep.

She tossed and turned beneath silk sheets, her thoughts tangled and restless. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the forest again. Felt the air rush past her as she fell. Heard her own scream echoing between the trees.

And then those eyes.

Golden. Intense. Watching her like she was something precious... or dangerous.

She sat up suddenly, pressing a hand to her chest as a wave of warmth surged through her. The marble pulsed once, stronger than before, sending a strange sensation through her veins.

"What are you?" she whispered into the darkness.

The candle beside her flickered violently, its flame stretching unnaturally before settling again. Lyra froze.

She stared at the candle, heart pounding.

That had never happened before.

Slowly, she reached toward it again. The warmth inside her responded instantly, spreading outward like ripples in water. The flame trembled once more.

Lyra snatched her hand back, breath hitching.

Magic.

The realization hit her hard.

She was not imagining it. Something inside her had awakened.

At the edge of the palace grounds, the Wolf King felt it too.

His breath caught sharply as the marble flared in response to her fear. He pressed a hand to his chest instinctively, eyes glowing faintly beneath his hood.

"She's starting to feel it," he said.

The guard nodded. "The bond is strengthening."

The Wolf King exhaled slowly. Five years ago, he had been weak, bleeding, hunted. He had lost his marble by chance.

Now, fate was circling back.

"She doesn't know who she is to me yet," he said quietly. "And she must not-until the time is right."

"And when will that be?" the guard asked."

"When she stops running," the Wolf King replied. "And when she finally looks at me... and chooses me."

The guard hesitated. "Your Majesty... are you saying-"

The Wolf King's eyes glinted dangerously. "If the only way to reclaim what is mine is to bind her heart to mine... then that is what destiny has chosen."

And somewhere within the palace, Princess Lyra shivered, unaware that the man who had saved her life that day was now closer than ever-no longer just a memory from the forest, but a hunter walking steadily toward her fate.