Chapter 3 The Contract that Burns

By dawn, the headlines were everywhere.

"Alpha Zander Thorne Reclaims Forsaken Mate Through Emergency Marriage Decree."

"Bond Severed Illegally? Alpha Declares Public Contract to Preserve Pack Law."

"Rogue Mate, Lyra Ashbourne, Named in Alpha's Court."

Lyra stared at the screen in silence.

Cade was the first to speak. "Tell me that bastard didn't just file a contract marriage mandate."

Kelsa cursed. "That's only legal in legacy bloodline cases. He's using ancient law."

Malek snorted. "Smart move. Political. Dirty. Alpha move."

"He's forcing me to come to him," Lyra said, voice flat. "He's painting it like I'm his property. That I broke his law."

Cade's jaw tightened. "That decree puts you on every radar. Anyone who helps you now becomes a traitor to the Regime."

"He just cut off our entire supply line without firing a bullet," Kelsa growled. "This isn't about love. This is about leash and collar."

"Or damage control," Malek muttered, eyes on the newsfeed. "He's trying to bury the archive breach. Distract the council with a public spectacle."

Lyra didn't speak. Her thoughts were tumbling too fast to catch.

Zander always knew how to weaponize image over truth. He didn't need a bond to control her-he just needed a narrative. A leash made of headlines and legal ink.

Cade stepped in front of her.

"You don't have to play his game."

Lyra looked up, cold and unblinking. "No. I'll flip the board instead."

Across the city, Zander Thorne walked through the Alpha Court in tailored black, the decree clutched in his gloved hand.

"Sir, the council is waiting," his Beta murmured.

Zander nodded. His face was unreadable.

When he entered the chamber, all eyes turned. The room was lined with thrones of Alpha elders, ancient and sharp-eyed, their disdain masked only by protocol.

"Alpha Thorne," said the lead elder. "You've invoked the Legacy Bloodline Mandate. That law hasn't been touched in seventy years."

Zander stood tall. "Because there hasn't been a case like this in seventy years."

"Your mate was declared dead."

"She lives."

The murmurs surged. Whispers turned to tension.

"She is a fugitive," one elder snapped. "A rebel. She attacked the Gala-"

"And she is still my mate," Zander cut in. "Our bond was never legally dissolved. It was altered. Manipulated. Without her consent."

He held up a copy of the archive breach file.

Gasps erupted.

"I am filing for marriage under the emergency stabilization clause. This contract binds her to appear at court within ten days, or be marked rogue under pack law."

The lead elder narrowed his gaze. "You're walking a thin line, Alpha Thorne. If this is about politics-"

"It's about restoring order. To her. To me. To the entire Pack."

Zander bowed with cold precision. "Let me do what I must."

Ten hours later, Lyra stood in front of a shattered mirror, holding a dress Cade found in storage. Sleek. Black. Unapologetic.

"Really?" she said. "You want me to show up to the court like some runaway bride from hell?"

Cade crossed his arms. "He's forcing your hand. At least make it a damn good slap."

Lyra stared at her reflection. She barely recognized herself.

The girl Zander left on the lab table was gone. But so was the woman she wanted to be.

Now there was only the storm in between.

"I'm not going to that court to kneel," she said.

Cade smirked. "Good. Because we've got a plan."

The plan was chaos.

While Lyra staged a public appearance at the court to satisfy the marriage contract requirement, Kelsa and Malek would infiltrate the Regime's media servers and leak the entire archive file-live-to every screen in the country.

The betrayal. The experiments. The mate bond manipulation.

Zander wouldn't just lose power. He'd lose the people.

That was Lyra's real revenge.

But first-she had to play bride.

The Alpha Court was packed.

Camera drones hovered in the air. Every faction was watching.

Zander stood at the head of the grand stairs, flanked by armed guards, cloaked in cold elegance. The audience watched, breath held, as the doors opened.

Lyra walked in.

Like thunder in heels.

Gasps echoed. She wore the black dress like a statement piece-armor cut from silk and defiance.

Zander's mask cracked for the first time.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Your decree said I had to show up. So I did."

Zander descended one step. "It also says we must speak the marriage rite aloud, or face binding penalty."

"Then fine," she said. "Say you're half

Zander's voice was steady. "By right of legacy, by blood of bond, I call you mine-"

"I decline," she cut in.

The entire room froze.

"You can't decline," one of the elders said.

"Yes, I can," Lyra replied coolly, stepping forward. "Because the bond was broken under illegal terms. I have the proof."

She tossed the drive to the council.

"Play it. Let them see who this man really is."

Zander stepped toward her. "Lyra-"

She looked him dead in the eye. "You should've killed me when you had the chance."

Upstairs, Kelsa and Malek hacked the media hub, uploading the footage.

Within minutes, screens all over the continent broadcast the truth.

"Subject 047: Termination Requested by Alpha Zander Thorne."

"Emotional manipulation. Bond erasure. Cover-up."

The court erupted. Elders shouted. Guards tensed.

Zander turned to her, eyes darker than war.

"You came here to destroy me."

"No," Lyra whispered, stepping back. "I came to end this."

Cade's voice hit her ear. "We've got to move. He'll lock the court down."

Lyra turned and ran.

Zander didn't follow. He couldn't. Not yet.

Not with the entire Council watching.

But as Lyra vanished through the doors, Zander clenched his fists.

He wasn't letting her go again.

Not this time.

Not ever.

Back in the safehouse, Lyra collapsed on the floor laughing.

"Did you see his face?" Kelsa howled.

Malek mimicked Zander's shocked expression. "'You came here to destroy me...' Bro, yeah she did!"

Cade just grinned. "That's what happens when you hand a phoenix a match."

Lyra's smile faded into something gentler. Bittersweet.

"I should feel free," she murmured. "But I don't."

Cade studied her. "Because he's still out there?"

"No," she said softly. "Because part of me... wanted him to say sorry."

"Lyra-"

"I didn't say I'd forgive him."

Silence.

Just for a beat.

Then Cade leaned in close. "He's not going to stop."

Lyra's eyes hardened.

"Neither am I."

."