Chapter 3 THE HUNT BEGINS

"You can't be serious," Lyra said.

She stood frozen in the hallway outside Kael's chambers. His words echoed in her ears.

"If you want to leave, survive the Hunt"

He didn't look back. He was already walking away.

"Kael!" she shouted. "I'm not some lab rat for your twisted wolf games!"

He stopped at the top of the stairs, his back to her. "You said you wanted to go. That's the only way."

"There's no door? No road? No 'thanks for stopping by, don't get killed on the way out' option?"

Kael glanced at her over his shoulder. "You crossed the border, Lyra. You're in this now, whether you want it or not."

He walked off.

She stared after him, stunned

.

"Asshole," she muttered.

A throat cleared behind her.

Lyra turned.

It was Cira.

The Beta. Sharp. Pretty, in a dangerous way. Eyes like knives.

"You must be brave," Cira said with a cold smile. "Or stupid. Most girls would be dead by now."

Lyra squared her shoulders. "Most girls don't have your Alpha rejecting them and then throwing them into a Hunger Games death match."

Cira tilted her head. "Don't flatter yourself. It's not a death match. It's a test."

"A test of what? Whether I scream loud enough?"

Cira's smile widened, cold as ice. "Whether you're worth keeping alive."

Thirty minutes later at the armory, Lyra stood inside a large stone chamber lit by torches.

Wolves people, she reminded herself, milled about. Most gave her cold looks. A few muttered things she couldn't catch.

Cira dropped a pile of gear in front of her.

"Here. Boots. Leather. Rope. You get one blade."

"That's it?" Lyra asked.

"No food. No phone. No help," Cira said. "You run at moonrise. You have until sunrise to make it out of the forest. You'll be hunted."

"Hunted by who?"

"The pack. Anyone who catches you can do whatever they want with you." Her smile said she hoped someone caught her.

"Even kill me?"

Cira shrugged. "If you die, you weren't worthy."

Lyra looked at the blade. Small. Sharp. Black steel.

"What happens if I win?"

Cira snorted. "No one wins the Hunt."

Lyra met her eyes. "Then I'll be the first."

At the war room, Kael stood at the head of a long wooden table. Around him sat five of his oldest warriors.

One of them, an elder with gray eyes and a long scar across his cheek, leaned forward.

"Alpha, the girl...."

"She's not a girl. She's my mate."

"You rejected her," the elder reminded him.

"She still carries the bond," Kael said. "She's tied to us, and to me, whether I want it or not."

Another warrior, taller, younger, crossed his arms. "Then why throw her into the Hunt?"

Kael's jaw tensed. "Because I need to know what she is."

"Moon-Blessed," said the scarred elder.

"Or a trap," said Cira, who entered the room. "A curse wearing skin."

Kael looked out the window. The sun was setting.

"She'll survive," he said quietly.

"How can you be sure?" Cira asked.

Kael's eyes darkened. "Because she has to."

At the edge of the forest, The pack had gathered. Dozens of them. Warriors. Omegas. Scouts. Betas. All waiting. All watching.

Lyra stood at the center in leather gear that didn't fit quite right, blade at her hip, arms crossed.

Kael appeared at the edge of the crowd. She saw him, and their eyes locked.

He said nothing.

Neither did she.

A low horn blew.

The crowd began to chant.

"Hunt. Hunt. Hunt."

Cira walked up behind her. "You have five minutes. After that... we come for you."

Lyra's heart thumped wildly.

"Where do I go?"

"Figure it out," Cira said.

"Great," Lyra muttered.

Then she ran.

Branches whipped against her face. Thorns scraped her arms. Roots tried to trip her.

She didn't let the forest maze stop her.

Her breath came in sharp gasps. Her legs screamed. Her lungs burned.

But she didn't stop.

The trees closed around her, twisting and unnatural.

Everything smelled... wrong.

Not just woods.

Magic.

And blood.

Suddenly, a voice rang out behind her. Loud. Mocking.

"Run, little mate!"

Lyra didn't turn.

She sprinted through the underbrush, vaulting over a fallen log.

Behind her, she heard howls.

Multiple.

Then paws pounding the earth.

They were coming.

Fast.

She veered left, barely ducking under a low-hanging branch.

Her heart was in her throat.

She stumbled into a clearing and stopped.

Three wolves were waiting.

Huge. Black. Foaming at the mouth.

One shifted.

A man.

Scarred. Shirtless. Smiling like death.

"End of the road," he said.

Lyra's hand found her blade.

She didn't wait.

She lunged.

The man dodged, laughing, but she slashed his side. Blood sprayed.

He growled and backhanded her across the face.

She hit the ground hard, her ears ringing.

Two wolves leapt.

She rolled, stabbing blindly.

One yelped.

The other sank its teeth into her arm.

She screamed and stabbed it in the eye.

It dropped, writhing.

The man lunged again but something hit him mid-air.

A black blur.

Kael.

Kael shifted mid-leap, tackling the man to the ground.

They fought viciously.

Claws. Teeth. Fury.

Lyra lay in the dirt, blood pouring from her arm.

She could barely see, barely breathe.

The two remaining wolves backed away as Kael rose, blood dripping from his claws.

The man beneath him wasn't moving.

Kael turned to her.

"You okay?" he growled.

"You... said I had to do it alone."

"I lied."

They took shelter inside a hollowed tree, roots forming a natural cave.

Kael wrapped her arm, his touch gentler than before.

"You're not ready," he said.

"No shit," Lyra muttered. "You knew they'd try to kill me?"

He nodded. "Of course."

"Why didn't you stop them sooner?"

"I needed to see if you'd survive the first hour."

"You're unbelievable."

"You're alive."

She looked at him.

"You don't feel it?" she asked.

"The bond?" He didn't answer.

"Even after you rejected me," she whispered, "I still feel like I'm tied to you."

He looked at her, eyes soft for the first time.

"Me too," he said.

For a moment, there was silence between them.

A beat of strange, painful connection.

Then he stood.

"They'll come again."

"I'm not going back."

"You can't survive a full night out here."

"Watch me."

"Lyra," he said, voice low, "you don't understand what's out there."

She stood too, swaying slightly from blood loss.

"I didn't understand anything two days ago. But now I know this, people want me dead.

You rejected me. I'm apparently some moon-born prophecy girl, and I've been hunted since I crossed that stupid border."

She held her blade.

"I'm not going to die on my knees. Not for you. Not for anyone."

Kael stared at her.

Then...

He smiled. Barely.

"Alright, then."

Suddenly, the air went cold.

A strange fog rolled in.

Kael tensed.

"What is that?" Lyra asked.

A whisper echoed from the trees.

"Lyra..."

Her name.

Spoken in a voice she recognized but hadn't heard in years.

"Lyra... come to me..."

She froze.

"No," she whispered. "That's not possible..."

Kael drew closer. "Who is it?"

She turned pale.

"That's my mother's voice."