Chapter 3 Wolfsbane

"My heart belongs to Emery."

Adrians words pierce through my heart like a sharp knife.

"I choose Emery as my mate."

My world deans shatter all at once. It cracks. Slowly. Quietly. Just like a glass that splits beneath an invisible pressure. My ears still ring from the sound of the words I'm hearing from Adrian.

I can still see his lips moving. But his words don't make sense anymore.

This isn't real... This isn't happening.

Emery smiles slowly. I accept," she says.

"You told me you love me..."

"Love doesn't make an Alpha." Adrian shrugs.

"What are you talking about?" I ask as tears roll down my eyes.

He tightens his hold on Emery.

"She is the heir of the Crescent pack." He says.

I can't stop shaking.

"You used me."

"You were convenient." He said firmly.

convenient?

The same lips that once whispered "my forever '" now reduced me to something... usable.

I remember the lake. His hands in mine. The promises. Were those lies too... or was I just foolish enough to believe them?

"You promised..."

'I promised nothing."

Everyone stands in absolute silence.

I stand there with my heart shattered into irreparable pieces.

I stumble back. My knees shaking, my feet can no longer hold my weight.

Adrian's hand in Emery's. Her smug smile.

I can't breathe. I run, not knowing exactly where to, but anywhere away from Adrian.

I can feel their eyes on me. Pity. Curiosity. Satisfaction. Their whispers follow me like shadows. "she really thought he'd choose her..."

I run faster.

I notice Emery chasing after me. "Lyra..." Emery's voice is so soft. Too soft, it cuts through the haze. It's the kind of softness that doesn't belong in moments like this. I slowly turn to her but I can't decipher if her concern is real or fake.

"Are you okay?" Emery asks.

I laugh bitterly. "No. I'm...far from okay."

Her eyes soften. "I didn't know Adrian would choose me to be his ma..."

"Go and be with Adrian, leave me alone." I continue, yelling at the top of my voice.

"You actually don't care, you never have, and you never will."

She tilts her head, "of course I care. I'd never intentionally hurt you."

Her words were almost enough to make me believe her.

Almost.

"Oh, Lyra," Emery cooed, as she steps closer. You need something to calm your nerves.

"Come, let's go back home, so I'll tell Linda to prepare some hot tea for you."

I and Emery arrive home. I walk straight t my bed room, while she goes to look for Linda in the maiden chambers.

I lay on my bed heartbroken, thinking that maybe, just maybe, tonight would've turned out differently if perhaps I was heir to the crescent pack and not Emery.

Linda, Emery's most trusted maid walks in with a cup of tea.

"Here. Emery asked I bring you this cup of tea, she prepared herself."

I stand up from my bed. She hands me the tea and leaves the room.

The tea was darker than usual. A strange scent is lingering beneath the herbs. Faint, but unfamiliar.

I hesitate. Just for a second. But it seems harmless. I take it and I drink it. The bitter taste clings to my tongue instantly. A strange warmth rolls through my body.

Emery walks in. "I hope the tea is helping, do you feel better?"

I nod, though I don't feel completely at ease. "Better."

All of a sudden, my hands start to shake severely, out of my control.

"Lyra?" Emery leans closer.

The cup drops to the floor. The sound it makes as it hits the floor is deafening.

I can barely see clearly.

My veins feel like they're burning from inside out. My fingers are curling against the floor. My claws are scraping the wood. I feel the room shaking.

"W-what...?" I stammered, cold sweat breaks out on my skin. My legs give out beneath me and I collapse to the floor.

"Lyra!" Emery's face hovers above mine.

"Stay with me..."

I try to lift my head, to speak, but it seems like the world is melting into chaos. The moon stretches into a glowing smear across the sky.

"You'll be fine..."

I want to scream. I want to claw her. But I'm too weak. I see flashes.

I see myself as a child. Alone, afraid. My parents running, my uncle, Alpha of crescent watching. Moments of love, of fear, of longing. All of it at once.

Adrian's smirk as he walks past me. Then Emery's hand in his. Emery's fake concern. My mind twists and contorts. It all reshapes into a very painful memory. I gasp for breath.

Then...nothing.

Silence.

Void.

And then, a warm, bright and pulsing light spreads through me. The light doesn't just touch me, it invades me. It moves deep into my bones, reshaping and reforging.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhrrrr!" I scream. But my scream, it turns into something deeper. Something primal.

The moon.

The moon itself sips into my bones. Into my soul.

I slowly open up my eyes.

Everything feels new. "Where am I?"

I stumble across a mirror. My reflection shimmers in the silver light.

"This isn't me..."

"Not the me I was before."

My hair, once dark and short, is now thick and so long with waves that shimmer in silver-blonde under the moonlight.

My body...perfect. My skin glows vibrantly. So smooth and flawless. My eyes, my eyes burn with silver light.

"Awooooooo...Awooooooo..." I roar as power surge through me, filling every nerve, every sinew. I could feel the forest. The pack. The night itself.

Several thoughts whisper to me. First faint, then louder. I can hear everything now. The wind, the trees...even the heartbeats pf other wolves from miles away.

I, Lyra, I'm...alive. But not as I had been.

I am...more.