Chapter 7 INTO THE SHADOWS

The moment Kael stepped back into the cabin and found the bed empty, something inside him snapped. His wolf surged so violently beneath his skin it felt as if his very bones might shatter from the force. Every muscle in his body went taut, vibrating with a primal fury that clawed for release.

"Lyra!"

His voice tore through the room like a blade, but the night outside answered with nothing but silence, deep, cold, and merciless.

Her scent lingered, but faint, far too faint for someone who had only just stepped out. It was wrong. Whoever had taken her knew exactly how to mask a trail. They had planned this.

His claws slid free with a sharp, metallic scrape. The wooden door exploded from its hinges under his hand, splintering into the darkness as he bolted into the clearing. The wind rushed past, carrying whispers of her scent and something else, something heavy and wrong, like burnt iron.

The ground bore no fresh footprints, no sign of struggle, no direction to follow. Yet the air still held her, faint as a dying ember. And beneath that, another presence, coiling, toxic, and familiar.

********

The War Hall:

Thorne was already there when Kael stormed in, the vast room echoing with the heavy thud of his boots.

"She's gone," Kael growled, the words thick with the weight of barely contained rage.

Thorne's expression didn't shift. His stillness was calculated, almost mocking. "You sound surprised."

Kael moved before anyone could react. One hand fisted in Thorne's tunic, the other pinning him against the wall with bone-cracking force. The air around them trembled.

"If you had anything to do with this...."

"I didn't," Thorne replied evenly, his tone infuriatingly calm even with Kael's forearm pressed to his throat. "But if she's gone... perhaps the problem solves itself."

Kael's grip tightened, claws pricking skin. "Where would she take her?"

Thorne's smirk was small but deliberate. "The mountains. The cursed reflection won't kill her yet. She'll want to break her first."

Kael shoved him away, the impact rattling the weapons mounted on the wall. "Then we hunt."

*********

The Other Lyra's Cave:

The world snapped back into focus for Lyra in a wave of crushing nausea. Her legs buckled, and for a moment she couldn't tell if she was standing on her own or being held upright. The cavern around her glowed faintly, lit by veins of molten rock threading through the walls like the arteries of some great beast.

Shadows clung stubbornly to the stone, shifting even when she stood still. They slithered over the floor and ceiling, pooling in the corners as if alive.

The Other Lyra circled her slowly, each step a measured act of possession. Her fingertips trailed along Lyra's shoulder, lingering just long enough to make her skin crawl.

"You run well," she said, her voice smooth as silk, every word dripping with amusement. "But you'll learn that running only brings you closer to me."

Lyra yanked her arm away. "What do you want?"

The doppelgänger's lips curved wider, almost tender. "To show you the truth. The part of you Kael keeps locked away because he's afraid of what you'll become."

"And what's that?" Lyra spat.

The Other leaned close, her breath warm against Lyra's ear. "Free."

*********

Kael moved through the trees like a shadow given form, four warriors keeping pace in a tight formation. The scent trail was faint, fragmented-buried under the acrid sting of ash and a faint metallic tang that screamed of magic.

"We're close," he murmured, his gaze flicking between the undergrowth and the path ahead. His wolf strained against his skin, eager to tear through the distance.

One warrior hesitated. "Alpha, if this is a trap......"

"It is," Kael cut in. "But she's still mine to protect."

*******

The Other Lyra's Cave:

The Other Lyra stopped pacing, halting in front of her bound counterpart. Her eyes burned with a black fire that seemed to swallow the light.

"You feel it, don't you?" she said softly. "That heat under your skin when you fight. The way the world bends when you reach for it."

Lyra kept her lips pressed tight.

"That's not the curse," the Other whispered, leaning closer. "That's your birthright. And Kael will never let you have it."

Lyra's jaw tightened. "And you will?"

The Other smiled faintly. "I am you. I don't need to let you-I am what you could be. Stronger. Untouchable. Worshipped."

Lyra's eyes narrowed. "Or feared."

The Other's gaze glinted like sharpened obsidian. "The two are the same."

********

At the Mountains:

The wind clawed at their faces, sharp as knives. Snow crunched underfoot despite the warm summer air that still lingered in the lowlands far below.

Thorne's words gnawed at Kael's mind: She'll want to break her first.

The thought of Lyra alone with that thing made something primal in him snap.

A howl rolled down from the peaks, long and mocking. It rattled the stones beneath their feet.

Kael's lips peeled back in a snarl. "She knows we're coming."

*********

The Other Lyra's Cave:

Lyra tried to move, but her wrists were bound in cuffs of strange black metal. They were warm against her skin, almost alive, and every movement made them pulse faintly.

The Other Lyra sat on a throne of bone and obsidian, her posture regal, her smile patient. "Do you know why Kael rejected you the first time?"

Lyra's heart stuttered. "You don't know anything about...."

"I know everything," the Other interrupted, her tone soft but slicing. "Because I was there. Watching. Feeling. He saw what you were before you did... and it terrified him."

Lyra forced her eyes to meet the endless black of hers. "You're lying."

The Other tilted her head slowly. "Am I?"

********

At the cave's mouth, Kael crouched low, the glow from within flickering against his face. The opening seemed to pulse faintly, as if the cavern itself were breathing.

He looked at his warriors. "Two flank left. Two right. No one engages her unless I do first."

They nodded silently.

Kael inhaled, tasting the air, then stepped forward into the light.

The Other Lyra turned her head first, then her body, as though she had always known the exact moment he would arrive.

"Alpha," she purred. "How thoughtful of you to come."

Kael's gaze locked on Lyra, bound, but unbroken. Relief flared in her eyes, though she didn't speak.

"Let her go," Kael demanded.

The Other's laugh was low, curling through the cavern like smoke. "And deprive you of the chance to see what she really is?"

"She's mine," Kael growled.

"She's me," the Other corrected sharply. "And soon, she'll choose."

The black metal on Lyra's wrists shimmered and dissolved into nothing. She stood, her pulse a thunder in her ears.

The Other Lyra stepped forward. "Come to me, and I'll give you everything. Stay with him, and you'll always be chained."

Kael's voice was a low warning. "Don't."

For a heartbeat, the world seemed to hold its breath.

Lyra moved, one step toward the Other Lyra.

Kael's wolf tore through his skin in a blur of fur and fury.