Luna in Chains

08.

The morning brought with it no warmth. No familiar sounds of Midnight Crest humming below her feet to start the day. Nothing.

Lyra stirred in her narrow bed as a horn echoed through the fortress, commanding and ear-splitting. She had barely slept. The mattress had been stiff, the straw uncomfortable, and the cold stone walls seemed to bleed the very warmth from her bones. Despite the furs on her bed, Lyra hadn’t been able to warm herself once since she’d been so unfortunately dragged to Iron Claw.

The girl sat up slowly, pulling her cloak around herself, though it did little to stave off the chill. Her first night in the Iron Claw fortress had been restless. Shadows whispered through the corridors, and every sound convinced her that one of the wolves in her new pack had come to see how weak she was. Footsteps, laughter, and other sounds carried down the stairway and into her hallway throughout the night. Midnight Crest went to sleep in the evening, barring the night patrols outside. It felt like Iron Claw never rested.

Mara appeared without knocking. The older woman’s expression was as sharp as her voice, “Up, girl. The Alpha has called for you.”

The sinking feeling in Lyra’s stomach almost made her wretch. She blinked her eyes blearily, trying to clear them as she crawled out of her bed. She smoothed her hair with trembling hands, willing herself not to show any weakness, as she realized she may not have her hairbrush in the mess of her things dumped on the chest. She tried to make herself as presentable as she could without a mirror, water, or a brush. Mara wouldn’t stop staring at her, so Lyra thought better of trying to change her clothes. She was determined to retain some amount of privacy.

The great hall was alive with noise when Mara led Lyra up the stairs and back into it. The tables were crowded with warriors, tearing into bread, meat, and steaming bowls of stew. The smell made Lyra’s mouth water, and to her embarrassment, the young girl’s stomach rumbled loudly. She realized she hadn’t eaten since she’d tried to escape with Kade. That night felt like a lifetime ago. Luckily for her, no one heard it over the din of the great hall’s activity. Looking around, she could see warriors who looked very awake and some who looked exhausted. She realized breakfast must be the change of the guard. Lyra made a mental note, wanting to keep track of every bit of information about Iron Claw she could. Anything could be useful as she prepared to escape from her new prison.

Because sometime during her restless shivering as every new sound assaulted her attempt to sleep, she decided she would escape. She wouldn’t let Darius or her father decide this for her.

Darius sat in the same spot he’d addressed her from the day before, upon the dais in what could only be described as a throne. For a moment, she thought about how much her father would hate seeing Darius act like a king, but then the pain of betrayal wounded her as if her father had shown up to stick the knife between her ribs himself. As Lyra’s gaze fell upon him, Darius lifted a hand, and the murmurs died away.

“Daughter of Midnight Crest,” he said, his voice carrying easily across the hall. “Come forward.”

Her legs felt stiff as she walked the length of the great hall. Everyone in the room tracked her every movement, sneers and smirks abound. She stood before the Alpha, tilting her chin up with confidence that was too fragile at the early hour. Her heart pounded, but she was determined not to bend the knee. This man had stolen her from her home.

“You are here under bond of duty and an obligation to uphold the agreement your father made under our laws,” he started, his voice steady and firm. “Your presence ties Midnight Crest to Iron Claw and affects our status in the community. Nothing more.”

The words stung, although expected. The fact that she was now a pawn was the reason she tried to run in the first place, but it still felt like he’d slapped her. She thought of the way her father coldly said his goodbye, giving her over to this man. Kade’s face as he threatened the Alpha before her also came to mind. She knew she was just a piece on the board, but hearing it spoken aloud stripped away any lingering illusions about her place in this pack.

The Alpha gestured to the warriors assembled. “Take a good look. This is what our alliance looks like. I can take from them whatever I want, including their Alpha’s untouched daughter. She will live among us. She will bear witness to our strength, coming to understand how her former pack’s ways make them weak.”

“They aren’t we-“

The Alpha continued as if Lyra hadn’t started to speak, “Most importantly, she will give me heirs when the time comes. Seven years is not long to wait, and I’m sure the fruit will be all the sweeter on her birthday.”

A ripple of murmurs moved through the hall. Lyra felt her cheeks burn, not with shame but with fury. She wanted to scream that she wasn’t a prized horse to be bred and stabled, not a womb to be filled. Instead, she forced her voice to steady.

“You talk about me like I’m a sword or a shield to be wielded,” she said softly, but the words carried through the hall in the absolute silence that fell. “I am neither.”

A sharp laugh rang out from somewhere in the hall, and many of the warriors joined in. “She has spirit!”

Lyra couldn’t tell who said it, but a small bubble of appreciation at the approval formed in her chest.

Darius’s amber eyes, so unlike Kade’s warm ones, narrowed. Lyra thought for a moment he might strike her. Instead, his mouth curved into a humorless grin.

“Spirit burns out quickly in Iron Claw,” he said. “Defiance will only make your stay harder. You will learn obedience, or you will not survive. You will be on your back in due time, and you will accept that it’s your place.”

The laughter of the warriors shifted, now mocking her along with their Alpha. Their approval was fickle. The cold amusement in his tone ignited a flame of defiance that shouldn’t have survived the cold of her first night in Iron Claw. Her only thought was that she couldn’t let them see her break, not once. She had to hold on until she could escape.

Lyra met Darius’ gaze, her vivid grey eyes piercing into him, “Then we’ll have to see which of us bends first.”

The hall fell silent once more. The whiplash was violent.

For a heartbeat, tension crackled in the air like the moment before lightning strikes. Then Darius leaned back in his chair, and though her words were beneath him. “You may not break today, but you will. You might as well just succumb to it.”

Lyra stared at him, not saying anything or moving. She willed herself to breathe, every rise and fall of her chest deliberate.

“Kneel,” Darius demanded, pointing to the ground in front of his feet. “This isn’t a request.”

Lyra looked at the spot in front of him. It was demeaning. Embarrassing. She couldn’t think of anything she wanted to do less. Her father had never made anyone in the pack kneel before him with such an audience.

“Now,” Darius growled, his voice carrying the weight of an Alpha order that didn’t apply to her.

Slowly, although every fiber of her being was screaming at her to run, Lyra moved forward and kneeled. Her knees touched the cold stone beneath her, and she averted her eyes.

“Look at me,” Darius demanded.

Her eyes traced from the ground, up his boots, to his knees, up his chest, and finally to his face. His smile reached his eyes for the first time in the conversation. He was enjoying this.

“I just want to get used to seeing you from this angle. It will be such a long wait for me,” Darius teased, his voice sickeningly sweet.

Lyra shuddered, disgusted by the implication. She didn’t avert her gaze, willing herself to win this exchange no matter how unequal the balance of power.

“Now for the important part, Luna,” he spat the word as if it were poison. “Today, you become a part of Iron Claw.”

In the whirlwind of getting to her new home, Lyra hadn’t even thought about what it would truly mean to leave Midnight Crest. She was actually going to have to join Iron Claw. In all of her thoughts of escape and how she’d get back to Kade again, it never occurred to her that she wouldn’t even be a member of Midnight Crest anymore.

The girl was startled as Darius’s hand, burning in comparison to the cold around them, cupped her cheek. His hand was so large in comparison to the small girl that his fingers wrapped around to the back of her neck. He leaned in, his face so close she could see how his amber eyes glinted with twisted glee.

“As Alpha of Iron Claw, I claim you, Lyra Callahan, by will and by might. I sever all claims to you, willing or otherwise. Your past is burned in flame, all your former loyalty burned away. From this moment forward, your very life belongs to Iron Claw pack, to me. You will fight when I command. You will bleed when I command. When I decree it, you may die, and not until then. Through blood and pain, I name you a packmate of Iron Claw. From this day forward, Lyra Callahan, you are bound to me. Bound in blood to this pack.”

Pain erupted in her shoulder as Darius ripped his claw through her skin, blood running freely from the wound.

“Until I mark you, that will serve as a reminder that you belong to me. When we say bound in blood, we mean it,” Darius growled. “Now, you must accept it. Say the words.”

Lyra blinked away the tears, trying desperately not to cry as the pain threatened to overwhelm her. She wasn’t a warrior. She’d never had more than a scraped knee from running outside. The Beta shoved a piece of parchment into her small hand, and she wiped her eyes to see the words. She knew the words for Midnight Crest, but every pack was different.

“I, Lyra Callahan, accept my place… in Iron Claw,” she started to lose the battle with her tears. “I am born from the ashes of my old life. Born in blood and flame. I acknowledge my life belongs to my Alpha, and I am only meant to strengthen the pack. As iron sharpens iron, so one sharpens another. I will become a weapon worthy for my Alpha to wield. From this moment, and forevermore, I am…”

Lyra stopped, trying to compose herself to finish. Darius’ gaze bore down on her as it felt like he stared into her soul. She said it as loudly as she could, “I am Iron Claw.”

Warmth burned through her, feeling like something was burned away and then left in its place. It terrified her, wondering if she’d ever be able to return to her home after what she’d just done. The assembled wolves howled in unison, the sound reverberating through her.

“Take her away,” Darius sighed, sitting back in his enormous seat and bringing back his practiced bored expression.

Lyra didn’t miss the way he licked her blood from his fingers as she was led away.