Luna in Chains

03.

Kade Thorn stood in the training yard in the warriors’ area outside the packhouse. He was panting, sweat slick across his brow despite the chill of the early evening. His knuckles throbbed from hours spent striking the post in front of him, but the ache was familiar, welcome even.

It grounded him. He’d made a promise to Lyra. He couldn’t always be there for the daughter of an Alpha unless he was strong enough to keep that promise. He intended to.

Lyra hadn’t shown up for dinner again. It’d been days since he’d seen her at their evening meal. She often slipped away after her lessons, disappearing in the woods or vanishing with an excuse about herbs or healing. Kade didn’t press her about it. She’d been different lately, quieter, as if something had taken hold of her.

He noticed. He always noticed when it came to Lyra.

Kade wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt. Leaving the training grounds behind, he made his way toward the dining hall, taking a shortcut through the hall housing the private chambers of the pack leaders. He and Lyra had been warned away from the area many times, being told they were too young to understand the business that occurred there. On the unusual instance when he was caught, he usually just explained himself away as looking for his father, but he feared what would happen if his father were ever to catch him.

The last golden slivers of sunlight bled through the stained-glass windows lining the corridor, fracturing into colored shards across the stone floor. Kade always loved how this hallway looked at sunset, the depiction of the werewolf creation story brilliantly illuminated. His admiration stopped the moment he heard them.

Alpha Rowan’s voice was sharp, clipped. Beta Garrett’s voice answered, colder than a werewolf in a blizzard.

Kade flattened himself against the stone wall, instinct guiding him. He had hoped his father and the Alpha would be in the dining hall or elsewhere at this time. The tapestry of the Midnight Crest sigil loomed above, the silver crescent over the black mountain seemingly to judge him as he listened.

“You look unsettled about this,” Garrett said, standing just inside Rowan’s study. “You acknowledged there was no other choice.”

Rowan rubbed his hand over his face. He didn’t even sound angry, just tired and worn down. “I said it because it’s true, not because I like it.”

Kade crouched, getting closer and peering around the corner of the corridor to see and hear better. Something told him this was important.

“The alliance will hold.” Garrett pressed. “Ironclaw has to respect bloodlines and our laws. Alpha Darius won’t break a tie forged through marriage.”

“He might not break the tie,” Rowan murmured, “but he’ll break her.” There was pain in his voice, quiet but raw. “She’s just a girl, Garrett. My little girl.”

Kade’s chest tightened.

They were talking about Lyra.

His Lyra.

“You said it yourself, we’ve tried every other avenue. Ironclaw has outmaneuvered us at every turn. You marry her to Alpha Darius, and you end their aggression without shedding blood. It’s not what you want, but it’s clearly what we need right now. I know you thought he would burn out, but Alpha Darius clearly isn’t going that route. He’s gained too much power too quickly.”

Rowan didn’t answer right away. When he did, it was a whisper. “I wonder if she’ll ever forgive me.”

“She will,” Garrett said smoothly. “Eventually. Once she sees the bigger picture. She’s a Callahan, Rowan. She’ll understand her duty to her people.”

Kade’s stomach churned. How could they do this? To Lyra of all wolves?

“Doesn’t mean I have to like handing her over.”

Another silence followed. Then Rowan added, almost as if trying to convince himself, “It’s just until things stabilize. Maybe it’ll give us time. Maybe… she’ll be safe there.”

“You’ve made the right call,” Garrett said, gently but firmly. “And you’ll tell her when it’s final, not before. No reason to give her time to fight something that can’t be changed.”

“I know.” Alpha Rowan sounded hollow. Kade had never heard the man sound anything but confident before. It scared him. This couldn’t be real. “Goddess, is she going to hate me?”

“Better she hates you than her people die,” Garrett stepped back toward the door of the study. “You’re doing what must be done.”

Kade couldn’t breathe. They were sending her away.

To Ironclaw.

To Darius Holt.

And she didn’t even know. The young wolf could barely process it.

“Will you tell Kade?” Rowan asked. “He will be just as crushed as she is. I thought they would be fated. We’re taking that away from them.”

“No,” Garrett replied curtly. “I will not let him choose his loyalty to a childhood friend over where it should be placed, with the pack.”

Friend.

Kade flinched. He always felt that Lyra was much more than a friend. He was used to his father’s harsh demeanor, but this felt cruel.

A chair scraped back; footsteps moved toward the doorway. Kade backed away, silent as a shadow. He was down the hallway in a flash, back out to the training grounds.

Then he ran.

* * * * * * * * *

Kade didn’t stop running until he reached the edge of Silver Lake, lungs burning from sprinting as fast as he could. His limbs trembled, not from exertion, but from an unbridled fury like he’d never felt in his short life.

They were going to give her away, like a pawn on a chessboard. Like she wasn’t the brave, stubborn, wild-hearted, beautiful…. The girl that his world revolved around. He couldn’t tell her that he hoped she was his mate, that he prayed to the Moon Goddess every night for that fate.

The water reflected the dusky sky in ripples of violet and silver. It reminded him of Lyra’s hair. He’d been thinking of trying to learn to braid in secret to surprise her. She brushed it off, but he knew her heart ached without her mother to do it for her. Kade collapsed to his knees at the edge of the water, raking his hands through his dark hair.

He wished his wolf would emerge. It felt like he still had an eternity to wait. At 10, his entire life was in front of him this morning. Now, it was all being taken away, and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t talk to his wolf or shift for four more years. He wouldn’t truly know who his fated mate was for another seven years. Never had he pictured his future without her. She was always right by his side.

Now, she wouldn’t be.

* * * * * * * * *

The next morning, the pack bustled as usual. They were unaware that the earth had tilted beneath Kade’s feet, and he was barely hanging on by a thread.

Lyra sat underneath the hawthorn tree near the edge of the wood line outside the dining hall’s outer entrance. Her silver-blonde hair shimmered in the sun, the loose braid sliding over her shoulder as she worked with steady fingers to finish it.

Kade approached, his chest tight and heart pounding. Every step felt heavier as he drew closer to her.

“Hey,” he said softly, his voice barely rising above a whisper.

She looked up, her stormy, grey eyes wide. Sad. “You didn’t come to dinner last night. I saved you some honeyed bread.”

His throat worked, a lump settling there. “I… wasn’t feeling well last night…”

She tilted her head, studying him with a look that only she could give him. The one who said she could see right through him. “You don’t look like you slept well.”

“I didn’t.”

Kade crouched beside her, his hand brushing her knee. The warmth of her skin against his knuckles made his heart beat faster than it should, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Lyra… we need to talk.”

Her smile faltered, and she gave a small, teasing chuckle. “You always say that when you’ve done something stupid.”

“I’m serious.” His voice was tight, his emotions swirling in a mix of anger, fear, and helplessness. He couldn’t figure out which one was winning.

That made her sit up straighter. He’d only ever used this tone with her once before, when he found her cat dead in the woods. He knew she’d be shattered then, and he was looking at her like that again. “What is it, Kade?”

He hesitated, the weight of his words threatening to crush him, but then he shook his head, swallowing the panic. They were too close to the packhouse; anyone could hear them. “Not here. Tonight. At the lake.”

She nodded slowly, her expression uncertain but trusting. “Okay.”

* * * * * * * * *

Under the cover of darkness, Kade waited beneath the willow tree at the lake’s edge. Fireflies blinked between the reeds, the cool air pressing against his skin as his mind raced with everything he’d heard. He couldn’t figure out how to say it out loud, and the seconds stretched to agonizing minutes as he tried to find the words. He barely noticed the stars glittering above, like scattered diamonds. His entire world narrowed down to one terrible truth.

When she arrived, her cloak trailing behind her, the tightness in Kade’s chest loosened fractionally. Kade saw the relief on her face as she approached, but it quickly faltered when she saw the look on his.

“What’s wrong, Kade?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly. “You’re scaring me.”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached for her hands, holding them between his as though grounding himself with the simple connection to his favorite person. “I heard your father,” he said, his voice strained with emotion. “He’s arranging your marriage. To Alpha Darius Holt.”

Lyra’s breath caught. The world seemed to pause as the words settled between them. How had he found out? “I wasn’t going to tell you,” she whispered. “I couldn’t say it out loud.”

The knot in Kade’s stomach only grew as his grip tightened on her hands. “I won’t let them take you.” His voice was fierce. Protective. The words felt hollow to him, but he didn’t know what else to say. His mouth ran ahead of his brain, and he couldn’t stop it. “We’ll run if we have to. I’ll take you across the border. You aren’t a bargaining chip!”

She pressed her forehead against his, her breath shaky, “You’d really leave everything behind for me?”

“In a heartbeat,” he whispered, though he knew the truth. There was no escaping this. He had no choice, and neither did she. Still, he had to try. If there was even a small chance they could get away, he had to try.

For a moment, the world outside of them faded. The lake, the fireflies, even the stars seemed to disappear. It was just them. Two hearts, tethered in a way neither of them fully understood.

Lyra pulled back, wiping the tears from her eyes, her expression hardening with a new resolve. “Then, we’ll leave.”

Kade’s eyes snapped up to hers, surprised, “Seriously?”

She nodded, her face grim but determined.

He wasn’t sure they’d get through the patrols. He didn’t know if they’d really be able to get away. Worse, he knew how severely he’d be punished if they were caught. None of that mattered.

It was Lyra.

His Lyra.

He would risk this for her.