Luna in Chains

06.

Cold wind whipped through the trees, blasting Kade awake from his uncomfortable position on the frigid ground. He winced as his eyes opened to the approaching dawn, brilliant light cresting over the forest as the sky bathed it in pinks and blues. Kade had stared into the night for hours, willing Lyra to be brought back. Wishing, hoping, praying. Nothing changed. He couldn’t free himself, and she was still gone.

Eventually, exhaustion won over his despair, but he knew he hadn’t been asleep very long. As he blinked his bleary eyes, they threatened to close again.

A sharp kick in the ribs quickly dispelled that thought. “Wake up.”

Kade struggled to draw in breath as he looked up at the warrior who kicked him. A warrior roughly pulled Kade to his feet with his hands tied behind his back. It contorted his shoulders at an unnatural angle, and it took everything within him to keep from screaming. He wouldn’t make a sound, though, not for them.

Kade’s small frame was pushed forward, directed along a path to the packhouse. His arms ached fiercely, and bruises were blooming beneath the thin fabric of his tunic. Neither of those things matched the pain of the crushing weight of helplessness that tightened his chest. It was hard to breathe, not because of his injuries, but because he knew he had failed. Guilt and anxiety were eating him from the inside out with no relief. No amount of racking his brain was helping him find an answer to the position he’d put them in.

Kade was pushed forward roughly by the patrol, the coarse rope biting into his wrists where they were still bound behind his back. The journey back to the packhouse felt infinitely longer than the previous night when he and Lyra had run under the cover of darkness. Each step brought him closer to the punishment waiting for him. He knew he couldn’t run, making it all the worse as they finally reached the cobblestone path just outside the packhouse gates. Kade tried to stare at his feet, but his head was roughly forced upward.

The echo of heavy boots on cold stone steps rang sharply as his heart jumped into his throat. Beta Gavin descended into the courtyard. Kade could see it written into every displeased line of his father’s face that the patrol had already reported in. He already knew what his son had done. The Beta’s shadow of authority cast a chill as his sharp gaze swept over Kade and the patrol who’d taken him prisoner.

A small, strangled cry rang out, and Kade’s attention snapped to Lyra being dragged out from behind the Beta by her father.

“Kade!” she shouted, her eyes blurring with tears as she saw her best friend looking just as bad as him. She looked as if she’d put up a fight when they dragged her away hours ago. Her hands were bound in front of her, and Kade realized the cloak her mother had made for her was surely ruined.

Lyra’s silver-blond hair was wild and tangled, strands clinging damply to cheeks stained by tears. She looked smaller somehow, almost broken. It was how he felt, too. Just two children caught in the unforgiving gears of pack politics and unable to escape.

Her swollen, stormy grey eyes locked onto his, a flash of relief that quickly dimmed into fresh fear as her eyes trailed over him. Kade’s heart surged painfully as he stumbled forward, desperate to close the distance. “Lyra!” His voice cracked and trembled.

She surged forward, trying to get to her best friend, but her father caught her around the waist. His voice cut through the mounting tension like a whip, “Enough!”

The pair fell silent instantly, the weight of an Alpha command pressing down on every breath.

Kade straightened, eyes blazing with defiance despite the ache radiating from his bruised ribs, “Why? Why are you doing this to her?”

His father answered, the Beta’s tone clipped and merciless, “Because it is her duty to the pack. The survival of Midnight Crest depends on sacrifices.”

Lyra’s tears spilled over in wet, uncontrollable waves. “I don’t want to leave,” she whispered, voice barely audible. “I never agreed.”

Alpha Rowan tightened his grip on her, looking down at her. His expression was unyielding as stone, “This is not about your wishes, or mine, Lyra. It is what must be done for the pack’s future. You will do your duty as a Callahan and secure a safer path forward for the pack.”

He fixed Kade with a sharp and unforgiving gaze, “And you, the son of my Beta, should understand the importance of loyalty and sacrifice.”

Kade’s hand clenched into fists, nails biting into his palms as he ignored the ache in his joints from being bound all night, “How can you ask me to watch her be taken away? To let you take her home away?”

Beta Garrett’s expression darkened. Kade’s head snapped to the side as his father closed the distance between them and backhanded the young wolf, “You will not interfere. This is happening, and if you continue down this path, you will face punishment.”

Kade stiffened as he fought the crushing weight of betrayal. Despite the stars swimming in front of his eyes from the slap, he took a deep breath and stared defiantly into the face of his father, now towering over him. Blood trickled down Kade’s chin, but he ignored it.

The creaking of a wagon and the clomping of horses signaled the arrival of Iron Claw’s contingent, drawing everyone’s attention to them. Lyra made a distressed sound as she tried to wiggle out of her father’s grasp.

A large dark figure dropped down from the biggest horse Kade had ever seen. As he stepped into the light, tall and commanding, his eyes gleamed with a cold satisfaction. Alpha Darius Holt. His Beta, a hulking man in dark furs even larger than the Alpha, dropped down and followed silently beside him. All of Midnight Crest gathered in the courtyard stood frozen in place as the visiting Alpha approached Rowan.

Darius’s gaze locked onto Lyra, his voice low and firm. “I have come to claim what is mine. My mate, as promised to me by the alliance.”

Rowan stiffened, turning to the newcomer, “I have prepared her to leave. She was just saying her goodbyes.”

Terror filled Lyra’s grey eyes as she looked only at him, and Kade tried to memorize every inch of her face, despite knowing her expression would be etched in his mind forever. He was terrified he’d never see her again. His Lyra.

“Kade! Don’t forget me!” Her voice echoed off the stone and in his head, threatening to drown Kade in sorrow.

He couldn’t just let her be taken. His legs moved almost on instinct, propelling him toward her. His father was faster, though, kicking him in the chest heavily. The blow sent Kade sprawling to the ground. He managed to turn to his back before he connected with the courtyard floor. “I’ll find you. I swear I’ll find you!” His voice was raw, cracking with pain, both physical and emotional. His head was spinning from the force of his fall.

Even Rowan’s heart thawed momentarily, hearing Kade’s scream and his daughter’s sobs, but there was nothing he could do.

Kade’s heart shattered into a million pieces as he heard Lyra screaming and struggling while they dragged her away. The boy shook his head to dispel the dizziness threatening to pull him under and tried to stand, but his father pinned him to the ground with a boot in his chest.

“No,” Garrett growled. “This is over. Your loyalty lies with the pack first. Obeying is the only way you will survive.

Kade was pinned with a full view of the Lyra being thrown over the Iron Claw Beta’s shoulder, taking her over to the wagon like a sack of feed. Alpha Darius looked at Kade with derisive pleasure.

Laughing at the boy, the Alpha mounted his horse again. “You’ll find her in my bed, boy. I wouldn’t come looking. Seven years will go by quickly, and I will mark her as mine. Your little display is futile. She belongs to me now.”

Kade’s blood felt like ice in his veins, hearing the Alpha talk about Lyra that way. He didn’t even know what he was saying, but it spilled out of him anyway, “I’ll f*****g kill you.”

Garrett’s eyes grew wide, hearing his son use that kind of language, especially toward an Alpha.

“When your balls drop, you’re welcome to try, runt,” Alpha Darius laughed.

“I swear it upon all of the gods,” Kade roared. “I will find her, and if I have to kill you to get her back, I will.”

That was the last thing Kade said as his father hit him hard enough to knock him unconscious.

“I expect you to control your wolves, Rowan,” Alpha Darius snapped as he turned his horse to leave.

“They… care for each other,” Rowan admitted. Lyra’s sobs were loud enough that the father knew his daughter wouldn’t hear him anymore. “I expect you to uphold our agreement and take care of my daughter.”

“My soon-to-be wife, you mean?” Alpha Darius was taking pleasure in his power over the situation. It was clearly causing problems in Midnight Crest, and he wasn’t above taking advantage of that.

“As we agreed,” Rowan replied, broken. He just kept telling himself he couldn’t stop it. It had to happen.

With no more fanfare, Iron Claw departed, leaving an uncomfortable weight to the air.

“They will understand one day,” Garrett said aloud, lifting his son over his shoulder and dismissing the patrol. He turned toward Rowan once they were alone. “They don’t have a choice.”

Rowan’s eyes lingered on the unconscious form of Kade, almost peaceful despite the situation, “I don’t know how true that is.”