CHAPTER ONE: UNEASY INSTINCT
The forest was quieter than usual.
Lyra noticed it the moment she stepped past the border stones that marked the entrance to her pack’s territory. The wind whispered softly through the tall pines, carrying the scent of damp earth and fallen leaves, but something about the air felt… wrong.
Her wolf stirred uneasily inside her.
Do you feel that? Lyra thought.
A faint growl echoed in the back of her mind.
Yes.
Lyra slowed her pace, her boots crunching against the gravel path that led toward the pack house. Normally the place buzzed with life—wolves training, children laughing, warriors returning from patrol. Tonight, however, an unsettling stillness hung over everything.
Her chest tightened.
Something wasn’t right.
She tried to shake the feeling away. Maybe she was just tired. The hunting patrol had lasted longer than expected, and the cold evening air clung to her skin. All she wanted now was a hot shower and Adrian’s arms wrapped around her.
A small smile tugged at her lips at the thought of him.
Adrian Wolfe.
Future Alpha of the Silver Ridge Pack. The man she had loved for five years. The man who had promised her that one day she would stand beside him as Luna.
Lyra exhaled slowly and climbed the wooden steps leading to the pack house.
The moment she pushed open the door, the scent hit her.
Her body froze.
Adrian.
Her heart skipped.
But there was something else mixed with it.
A softer scent.
Sweet. Floral. Feminine.
Another woman.
Lyra’s wolf rose instantly, restless and alert.
Her senses sharpened.
She inhaled again, slower this time.
Yes.
Adrian’s scent was unmistakable—warm cedar and smoke. But tangled with it was the unmistakable fragrance of another female wolf.
A slow knot tightened in Lyra’s stomach.
That’s strange.
Adrian rarely brought anyone into his room. The pack house had plenty of guest rooms, and Adrian had always been careful about appearances.
Especially with her.
Lyra moved quietly through the hallway, her footsteps soft against the polished wooden floor.
The house was oddly silent.
No laughter.
No voices.
Just the faint creak of the old walls and the distant whisper of the wind outside.
Her wolf paced restlessly beneath her skin.
Something was wrong.
The scent grew stronger as she moved deeper into the house.
Adrian’s room was at the end of the hallway.
With every step, the smell became more intense.
Adrian.
And her.
Lyra’s heart began to beat faster.
Calm down, she told herself.
There had to be a reasonable explanation. Maybe Selene was visiting again. Adrian had grown up with her, after all. They were practically siblings.
Still…
Her wolf didn’t believe that.
Neither did the heavy feeling settling in Lyra’s chest.
She reached the end of the hallway.
Adrian’s bedroom door stood slightly open.
A thin line of golden light spilled across the floor.
Lyra’s hand hovered over the door.
Her heart pounded loudly in her ears.
Then she heard it.
A laugh.
Soft.
Feminine.
And dangerously familiar.
Lyra’s breath caught.
Selene.
Her fingers curled slowly against the doorframe.
Inside the room, a low male voice answered.
Adrian.
Her stomach dropped.
The sound of his voice was softer than she had ever heard it before. Intimate. Close.
Lyra’s wolf snarled inside her mind.
Open the door.
But Lyra hesitated.
Because deep down…
She already knew she wouldn’t like what she saw.
Still, she couldn’t walk away.
Not now.
Not when the truth was only inches away.
Her hand trembled slightly as she pushed the door open.
And stepped inside.
