Chapter 2 : Rumors Travel Faster Than Wolves
761 Words
The announcement came three days later.
Lyra was in the middle of helping her mother reorganize storage herbs when the howl echoed through the territory.
Not an alarm.
Not a threat.
A summons.
She froze. “That’s the formal call.”
Her mother nodded slowly. “Yes.”
Only important news required that tone.
They walked toward the central clearing together. Wolves were already gathering, murmuring in clusters. Children weaved between legs. Warriors stood straighter than usual.
Lyra spotted Mira immediately.
“Do you know what this is about?” Lyra asked.
Mira grinned. “If it’s not about you finally winning a spar, I don’t care.”
Lyra shoved her lightly. “Be serious.”
“I am serious.”
Before Lyra could respond, Rowan appeared on her other side, tossing her a water flask.
“You look nervous,” he said.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Whose side are you on?”
“Always yours,” he replied smoothly.
Her heart warmed slightly. Rowan had been her friend since childhood. He’d shifted early, grown tall too fast, and now towered over most people their age. But he’d never treated her like she was fragile.
Just stubborn.
Her father stepped onto the raised stone platform at the center of the clearing. Silence fell almost immediately.
“As you all know,” he began, voice steady and carrying, “our territory falls under the authority of the Supreme Alpha bloodline.”
A ripple of attention moved through the crowd.
Lyra straightened.
“It has been decided that the heirs of the Supreme Alpha will begin visiting each territory personally this year.”
That did it.
Murmurs broke out everywhere.
“They never visit smaller packs.”
“Why now?”
“Is something wrong?”
Lyra felt Mira grab her arm.
“This is huge,” Mira whispered.
Rowan frowned slightly. “They only do that during structural evaluations.”
Lyra glanced at him. “Meaning?”
“Meaning they’re checking stability.”
Her stomach tightened.
Her father continued, “Their visit will take place in three weeks. We will host them formally.”
Formally meant one thing.
A gathering.
A party.
An event big enough to remind everyone that their pack was strong.
Lyra’s mother stepped beside her father, calm and poised.
“We will not treat this as a threat,” she said clearly. “We will treat it as an opportunity.”
That helped ease the tension.
But Lyra noticed something else.
Her father wasn’t smiling.
As the crowd slowly dispersed, conversations grew louder.
“Do you think they’re as intimidating as people say?”
“I heard the eldest heir is ruthless.”
“My cousin said the younger one is worse.”
Lyra rolled her eyes. “They’re just people.”
Rowan gave her a look. “They’re not just people. They’re the future rulers of every Alpha territory.”
Mira nudged her. “Imagine if one of them marks someone here.”
Lyra snorted. “That would never happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re not dramatic enough.”
Rowan smirked. “You underestimate this pack.”
Lyra folded her arms. “I don’t care about them. They’ll come. They’ll evaluate. They’ll leave.”
But even as she said it, something unsettled flickered in her chest.
Three weeks.
That wasn’t long.
At home later that evening, she found her father in his office, reviewing papers.
“You’re worried,” she said quietly.
He looked up.
“Concerned,” he corrected.
“Is our pack unstable?”
“No.”
“Then why the visit?”
He studied her for a moment.
“Because power always reassesses itself,” he said finally. “And when it does, everyone feels it.”
That answer didn’t comfort her.
As she stepped outside into the cooling evening air, Rowan was waiting by the fence.
“You’re thinking too much,” he said.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. You pace when you think too much.”
She realized she had been pacing.
He leaned casually against the wood. “Whatever happens, we’ll handle it.”
“We?”
“Obviously.”
Mira’s voice called from behind them. “If there’s drama, I want front-row seats.”
Lyra laughed despite the tension.
For now, everything still felt normal.
But somewhere far beyond their territory, two brothers were preparing to travel.
And Lyra had no idea that her quiet, ordinary life was already shifting toward something much bigger.
- Writer
