Chapter 3

"Don't be afraid. I'm coming."

The moment Kael heard Lyra's trembling voice through the mind-link, every trace of urgency surfaced in his own. He hastily pulled on the clothes nearest at hand, fastened his cloak, and strode toward the entrance of our den.

Just before crossing the threshold, he slowed.

As though only then remembering I was still there, he turned back.

"Weren't you about to tell me something?"

By then, I had already buried everything I wanted to say.

"It can wait," I answered quietly. "We'll speak after you return."

He gave a brief nod before disappearing into the night.

The next morning, I woke to an untouched sleeping fur beside me.

He had never come home.

With only a few days left before I returned to my birth pack, I decided there was no reason to remain at the pack's healing lodge any longer. I informed the Head Healer that I was leaving my duties, then gathered the garments I no longer wished to keep, intending to donate them to the younger wolves of the pack.

As I stepped outside with the bundles in my arms, voices drifted from the neighboring den.

Curiosity made me look.

Several pack warriors were carrying finely crafted furnishings through the entrance, while others arranged them according to someone's careful instructions.

Among them all, Kael was impossible to miss.

One arm rested lightly around Lyra's shoulders as he patiently directed every detail, making certain each piece was placed exactly where it belonged.

That meticulous nature had always been his.

When we first built our own den together, he had spent days overseeing every stone, every beam, every piece of furniture with the same unwavering attention.

"A den should always feel like home," he had told me then.

Yet now, the den we had once shared barely held any trace of his presence.

"My Lady?"

An elderly she-wolf collecting donations smiled gently at me.

"Are these the garments you wished to give away?"

Her voice drew me back from my thoughts.

Before I could answer, Lyra skipped out of her new den.

"I've been plagued by nightmares every night," she said with a timid smile. "Kael worried about me, so he prepared this den for me. We're neighbors now."

She blinked innocently, looking every bit the helpless young she-wolf others believed her to be.

No matter how hard I tried, I could never bring myself to like her.

I turned to leave.

Before I had taken more than a few steps, a startled cry rang out behind me.

Lyra suddenly staggered backward as though someone had shoved her.

She collided hard with one of the heavy cedar chests the warriors were carrying, striking her lower back against its corner.

"Ah..."

Her eyes instantly filled with tears.

The next moment, Kael rushed from the den.

Without sparing me so much as a glance, he gathered Lyra into his arms, his hands carefully checking the place where she had been struck.

The concern in his eyes was impossible to mistake.

"Selene." His voice was heavy with disappointment. "Must your jealousy truly go this far?"

I stared at him in disbelief.

Beside him, Lyra hurriedly shook her head.

"No... please don't blame her." She forced a fragile smile despite the tears clinging to her lashes. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have moved here. I only caused trouble... Perhaps I was never meant to stay."

Kael's expression softened immediately.

"Don't say such things."

He squeezed her hand gently.

"You're my sister."

A dull ache spread through my temples.

Watching them perform this scene over and over again had long since become exhausting.

I turned to enter my own den.

Before I could close the door, Kael's hand stopped it.

"Apologize to Lyra."

At last, my patience snapped.

"And why should I apologize for something I never did?"

"You've bullied her before." His gaze hardened. "This wouldn't be the first time."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

Kael had never cared about the truth.

He only believed what he wanted to believe.

Lyra lowered her head, looking every bit the gentle martyr.

"Please... don't argue because of me." Her voice trembled. "It's my own fault. I simply lost my footing."

Kael clasped her hand even tighter.

When he looked at me again, it was as though he were staring at a stranger.

"I never realized how small-hearted you truly are," he said coldly. "You can't even tolerate someone who has already lost so much."

Every word sank into my heart like a blade.

Even so...

I refused to apologize.

Lyra continued murmuring that her back hurt.

Without another word, Kael bent down and lifted her effortlessly into his arms before carrying her toward the pack's healing lodge.

I watched until they disappeared from sight.

Only then did I remember I, too, had meant to visit the healers.

For months, peaceful sleep had become a distant memory.

Night after night, I lay awake until dawn without knowing when the sleeplessness had first begun.

After exhausting every sleeping herb the healers had prescribed, I finally decided to seek another examination.

The healing lodge was quieter than usual that morning.

After receiving fresh herbs from the Head Healer, I stepped outside—

Only to see Kael and Lyra once again.

I wasn't surprised.

The healing lodge closest to our territory was this one.

Lyra rested comfortably in Kael's embrace while he carried the pouch of medicinal herbs the healers had prepared for her.

As they passed, many she-wolves watched them with unconcealed envy.

One heavily pregnant she-wolf smiled wistfully at the tall warrior beside her.

"Look at the way that wolf cherishes his mate," she whispered, unable to hide the longing in her voice.