- 2 days ago
Alpha's Shield Vera's Return
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00:00In my past life, Lyra, the low-born daughter of a noble pack family, fell into the lake.
00:09My brother Caden pulled her out.
00:12She accused him of assaulting her in the water, demanded he take her as his mate.
00:18Said she'd drag the whole thing before the Alpha King and Luna Queen, and have him punished if he refused.
00:24It was the worst possible time. Caden was right in the middle of his succession process for the Northmark Alpha
00:29title.
00:30I was terrified it would derail everything, so I pushed T into it.
00:35He took her as his mate.
00:39Seven months later, she gave birth to twins. Caden endured the humiliation, raised her two sons, fought rogue wolves on
00:47the border, until he came home crippled.
00:49Then she and her sons poisoned him. He bled from every wound and died in his own filth.
00:54I tried to report it. My fiancé, Dorian, looped his belt around my throat.
01:00If you report them, Lyra and my two sons die for it.
01:07I opened my eyes. I was back at the summer gathering.
01:13I saw Lyra fall into the lake.
01:16Sis! Someone's drowning! We have to go help!
01:18Don't you dare move!
01:20This was a second chance. There was no version of this life where I let him walk into that trap.
01:25Sis, why are you crying?
01:27I'm fine. Wind got to me.
01:31Sis, let go of me! Someone's life is at stake!
01:33I said, don't move.
01:35Are you serious right now? Someone's drowning!
01:39Someone will save her, just not you.
01:44I turned to the squat, pockmarked stable hand standing nearby.
01:48Bram, you want to mate or not?
01:50Bram worked the stables at Northmark Manor.
01:52He was built like a barrel.
01:54Face cratered with old scars.
01:56Teeth the color of old bone.
01:58Lazy as the day was long.
02:00Spent his wages at gambling dens and pleasure houses.
02:03Any other servant?
02:04I'd have thrown him out years ago.
02:06But Bram had one thing going for him.
02:08His father.
02:09Old Wreck had carried my father's body off the battlefield with his own back.
02:13Out of a pile of the dead.
02:14That kind of loyalty didn't expire.
02:17So Bram, for all his uselessness,
02:21had a kind of untouchable status in the manor.
02:24Even Caden and I gave him a little room.
02:27We didn't send him on errands lightly.
02:29Today was only because our other two stable hands had fallen sick.
02:33So Bram was driving us to the summer gathering.
02:35Of course I want one, my lady.
02:40Bram.
02:41Today I'm handing you an opportunity.
02:45Go pull that girl out of the water.
02:47But after you get her out,
02:49hide in the wreaths.
02:51Don't let anyone see you.
02:53Wait until I call for you.
02:55I promise by the end of today,
02:57you'll have yourself a highborn mate for free.
03:01Whatever you say, my lady.
03:04Then go.
03:07Bram hit the water with a splash.
03:09The delay had cost Lyra.
03:10She'd swallowed a lot of water by then,
03:12and was barely conscious.
03:14Everyone follow me, quickly!
03:15My lady fell in the water!
03:17Hide!
03:18Now!
03:19I'll call you when it's time.
03:20Yes, my lady.
03:22Lyra's personal attendant arrived with a whole group behind her.
03:25At the front, my fiancé, Dorian, son of the pack elder.
03:29Caden saved her, didn't he?
03:30Lyra coughed up water and came around.
03:36She looked at the crowd.
03:37Then she pointed straight at Caden and burst into tears.
03:41Screaming that he'd assaulted her in the water.
03:44The crowd erupted.
03:47They call Beta Caden a young hero.
03:49Fearless against rogues on the border.
03:51And yet here he is, preying on a helpless girl.
03:53You really can't judge a wolf by his fur.
03:55Exactly!
03:56Attacking a defenseless woman.
03:58What kind of hero does that?
04:00Northmark Pack has always stood for loyalty and honor.
04:03How did they raise someone like this?
04:05I can't believe this is the Caden we all respected.
04:08He's dragged his whole bloodline through the mud.
04:13That's not what happened!
04:14I didn't touch her!
04:15You didn't touch me?
04:16You had your hands all over me in that water.
04:19You did this to me and now you're going to stand there and deny it?
04:22Caden, you're a Beta warrior.
04:23How could you do something like this?
04:25Dorian, I didn't.
04:26I swear I didn't.
04:27You have to believe me.
04:27Then why would Lyra say this?
04:29She's a daughter of a noble Pack family.
04:30What would she gain by lying?
04:32Why did you humiliate me like this, Caden?
04:34Does a woman's honor mean nothing to you?
04:36Do you think I'd destroy my own reputation just to frame you?
04:44Beta Caden used a rescuer's cover to assault an innocent girl.
04:48And now he won't even own it.
04:51Shameless.
04:54You ride your rogue fighting reputation and come back
04:58thinking you can do whatever you want to pack women in the capital?
05:02He ruined her honor.
05:03He has to take responsibility.
05:05If this gets out, how is she ever supposed to find a mate?
05:08And she's lowborn on top of everything.
05:10Caden, if you're any kind of wolf,
05:13stand up in front of everyone right now and come making this right.
05:16Take Lyra as your mate.
05:19I'm telling you, I didn't do anything to her.
05:22Why won't any of you listen?
05:24Caden, even now you're going to dig in?
05:27I pulled Caden behind me and shook my head.
05:29This was Dorian and Lyra's trap.
05:32Every piece of it was designed.
05:33He could talk until he was hoarse.
05:36No one here was going to believe him.
05:37Vera.
05:38Northman Pack is your responsibility.
05:40This is Caden's fault.
05:41Set a date, go to the family with a formal mating request, and bring Lyra home to the manor properly.
05:45We're not yet mated, Vera.
05:47We're one unit.
05:48My family and yours are bound together.
05:50Everything I'm saying is for Caden's sake and Northman's sake.
05:52If this escalates, it damages Caden and Northman Pack's name.
05:55He's right in the middle of his Alpha title succession.
05:58If someone brings this before the Alpha King and it creates complications, that's a problem.
06:01The Luna Queen and Alpha Prince's Luna are arriving soon.
06:04If this blows up and ruins the summer gathering, the Luna Queen won't be pleased.
06:08Better to handle this quietly.
06:10Everyone walks away happy.
06:11Everyone walks away happy.
06:13He meant him and Lyra walk away happy.
06:16I looked at Dorian with his polished speech, and his fake concern, and felt sick to my stomach.
06:22Last life, I'd been fooled by that act.
06:24I'd made Caden carry the weight of it.
06:27And it had destroyed us both.
06:30This life, Caden and I could die right here before I let him mate Lyra.
06:35Dorian.
06:35Hold on.
06:36Let me ask Lyra something first.
06:41I stepped forward.
06:42Lyra, are you absolutely certain the one who assaulted you in the water was my brother, Caden?
06:47I saw him clearly.
06:48It was Caden.
06:50You're saying Caden assaulted you in the water.
06:52Then why is every inch of him completely dry?
06:55The crowd looked at Caden.
06:57Not a drop of water on him.
06:59Confusion spread across their faces.
07:01He probably changed clothes after he pulled me out.
07:04I blacked out when I got to the bank.
07:06I don't know what happened after that.
07:07But in the water, I saw him clearly.
07:09Dorian's eyes went sharp.
07:11Vera.
07:12Your brother did something wrong.
07:14Instead of making him admit it, you're interrogating Lyra.
07:17What is your problem?
07:18Is Northmark the pack trying to bully their way out of this?
07:23Just because they have pack strength and the Alpha King's favor doesn't mean there are no rules.
07:29We will get justice for Lyra today.
07:32The crowd followed.
07:35Caden has to take responsibility.
07:37Dorian looked around, confident with the crowd at his back.
07:46I looked at Dorian, handsome on the outside and rotten to the core, and thought of the look on his
07:53face when he tightened that belt around my throat in the last life.
07:56My stomach turned.
08:00Dorian, did you personally see Caden assault Lyra?
08:03He opened his mouth.
08:05Nothing came out.
08:08What are you saying?
08:09That Lyra destroyed her own honor just to frame your brother?
08:15I thought I knew you.
08:17I was wrong.
08:18Duchess Maren pointed at me.
08:20How long does Northmark pack plan to keep bullying people?
08:22You're covering for your brother, even now.
08:25The crowd's mood turned.
08:27They looked ready to spit on me.
08:29We are upsetting Lyra, Thunund.
08:31Northmark pack has gone too far.
08:33We all see it now.
08:35We always respected them.
08:37What a mistake that was.
08:39I looked over the crowd.
08:40Has anyone here personally seen my brother assault Lyra?
08:43Silence.
08:44They looked at each other.
08:46Nobody spoke.
08:47You're absolutely certain it was Caden.
08:49You say he ruined your honor.
08:51What's your proof?
08:53I have proof.
08:54She reached into her clothing and pulled out a jade pendant.
08:57This!
08:58When I was fighting in the water,
09:01I tore it off the person who attacked me!
09:05The crowd saw it and the verdict was sealed.
09:08Still have something to say?
09:10That's not mine.
09:16No one believed him.
09:17If it's not Caden's, whose is it?
09:18That's a fine piece of jade.
09:20But there's no Northmark mark on it.
09:22Lyra says it's my brother's.
09:23Does that make it his?
09:24When we got here, you and Caden were the only two at the scene.
09:26Who else could it belong of?
09:27Duchess Maren.
09:28Lyra says with nothing but her own word that this belongs to my brother.
09:31I could just as easily say it belongs to your mate.
09:34Don't you dare drag my mate into this!
09:40Lyra's voice cracked into a wail.
09:42I am a proper born wolf of good standing.
09:45I have never stepped outside the bounds of what's right.
09:48I am not shameless.
09:50I don't degrade myself.
09:52My honor is gone.
09:53Now you'll humiliate me on top of it.
09:55I'd rather draw than die!
09:57She broke free from the crowd and ran toward the water.
10:00Everyone gasped and grabbed for her.
10:02Dorian went white with fury,
10:03pulled back his hand and slapped me hard across the face.
10:06I didn't think you were capable of this, Lyra.
10:08He went to strike again.
10:10Caden caught his arm and locked it.
10:11Dorian, touch my sister one more time and see what I do to your hand.
10:16I said I didn't assault Lyra.
10:18I didn't ruin her honor.
10:19A wolf's word is his bond.
10:21Why is not one of you willing to take me at mine?
10:25If anyone else insult my sister, don't expect me to stay quiet.
10:28The crowd's anger spiked higher.
10:41I pressed my hand to my stinging cheek.
10:43Beneath the pain, something warm spread through my chest from Caden's words.
10:47This life, whatever it cost me, I was going to protect him.
10:52I looked at Lyra.
10:53Seems like you've already decided to pour this bucket on my brother no matter what.
10:59But hear me clearly, Lyra.
11:01You want Caden as your mate?
11:04You're dreaming.
11:05We'd both die before that happens.
11:07She hesitated.
11:08Then something dark crossed her eyes.
11:10You're only standing firm because no one was there to witness it.
11:13No one can prove your version either.
11:15She turned and threw herself headfirst into a tree.
11:18The crowd lurched to stop her.
11:19Too slow.
11:20She split her forehead open.
11:22Blood ran down her face.
11:23The crowd's fury hit its peak.
11:28Northmark Pack is killing her!
11:30Her brother did wrong.
11:32And she's forcing an innocent girl to die for it.
11:35What kind of people are they?
11:37Lyra, this isn't your fault.
11:39Northmark Pack is wrong here.
11:41We'll have our mates bring this before the Pack Council tomorrow.
11:44If Northmark keeps refusing...
11:47Right!
11:47Northmark Pack.
11:48Vera, you won't stop until she's dead, will you?
11:52I see who you really are now, Vera.
11:54I can't mate a woman with a heart like this.
11:56If Northmark Pack won't answer for Lyra today, then our mate-bond agreement is void.
12:00I'm calling it off.
12:01A woman who can't tell right from wrong, mate her and your Pack will never have peace!
12:06Better to break it off now!
12:08Dorian was certain I wouldn't let him do it.
12:10In this world, a woman whose mate-bond was broken was done.
12:14The gossip alone would drown her.
12:16But he didn't know I'd spent this entire time setting up for exactly this moment.
12:20You said it, Dorian, son of the Pack Elder.
12:22A wolf's word is his bond.
12:23I'm releasing our mate-bond agreement.
12:25Right now.
12:28Someone bring paper and something to write with.
12:30I want Dorian to put the dissolution in writing.
12:34Dorian had only meant it as leverage.
12:37Forced me to push Caden into the mating.
12:38He hadn't actually wanted out.
12:40My answer caught him completely off guard.
12:42He went still.
12:42Dorian was sharp, calculating.
12:44He saw the leverage failing and softened fast.
12:46If you'll just let Caden take responsibility, we don't need to dissolve anything.
12:49My brother Caden is a true wolf who has done nothing wrong.
12:54Write the dissolution, Dorian.
12:56A servant brought paper and a writing tool.
12:59Dorian was cornered.
13:00He wrote the dissolution, then threw it at me like he was doing me a favor.
13:05Lady Thorn from the noble Pack family is here.
13:08Lyra flinched and drew in on herself.
13:10My stepmother came.
13:11She'll destroy me.
13:12Vera, please.
13:13Just let this go.
13:14The Pack ladies pressed in around me.
13:16Vera, you're a woman too.
13:17You understand what honor means to us.
13:19If this spreads, how does Lyra ever find a mate?
13:22And she's lowborn.
13:23Besides.
13:25Just say yes to this mating and give her a way to survive.
13:28They'd all been taken in by Lyra's helpless act.
13:30None of them had any idea what she was capable of behind closed doors.
13:34I gave a cold smile.
13:35You reap what you sow.
13:37Lyra, I'm not the one who can help you.
13:40I don't think anyone can help you today.
13:45Lady Thorn arrived and ran a flat look over Lyra, soaking wet.
13:49What happened?
13:50Everyone talked over each other to explain.
13:53Lady Thorn's brow tightened.
13:55Take the second daughter away.
13:56Stop making a scene.
13:57An elder Pack matron stepped forward and began dragging Lyra out.
14:01Vera, Caden.
14:03If you won't admit it, I won't survive this.
14:05Lady Thorn, today's events really can't be blamed on your daughter.
14:09You must speak up for her.
14:10Vera, voice flat.
14:11Northmark Pack may have more battlefield honors in the Alpha King's favor than our family.
14:16But we are not easy to push around.
14:18My daughter has called me mother for over a decade.
14:21I will get justice for her from Northmark Pack.
14:23I could see the key person had arrived.
14:25The ground was ready.
14:27Lady Thorn, you're Lyra's stepmother.
14:30You're the one who has authority over her mating arrangements.
14:33So let me ask you plainly.
14:35Right here in front of everyone.
14:36Is it your family's position that whoever pulled Lyra out of that water today is responsible for her and must
14:41take her as their mate?
14:42It is.
14:43I looked at Lyra.
14:44That's your position too, Lyra?
14:45Lyra bit her lip.
14:46Yes.
14:47No matter who it is, Lyra will mate with that person.
14:50Yes or no?
14:51Yes.
14:52And Dorian and everyone here agrees?
14:54Of course.
14:54A true wolf owns his actions.
14:56Yes.
14:57Yes.
14:57Everyone heard that.
14:58You're all witnesses.
15:00Lyra, don't you regret this?
15:03I turned toward the thick reeds on the bank and raised my voice.
15:06Bram, get out here.
15:08Lyra from the noble pack family is desperate to be your mate.
15:14The crowd went quiet.
15:16The reeds rustled.
15:17A figure pushed through.
15:19Short, stocky, face full of craters, yellow teeth.
15:22He grinned his ugliest grin.
15:24Come in, mate.
15:27Lyra went the color of ash.
15:28That's not who it was.
15:29It was Caden who pulled me out.
15:31Dorian's expression cracked too.
15:33What are you talking about?
15:34I'm the one who saved you.
15:35No, you're not.
15:36It was Caden.
15:37It was Caden.
15:38That's ridiculous.
15:39My master and my lady were standing together.
15:41Neither of them went near the water.
15:42How could they have saved you?
15:44When I pulled you out, you tore that next right off my neck.
15:47That's a lie.
15:48Something like that couldn't belong to someone like you.
15:50Bram smiled wide and slow.
15:52Every yellow tooth on display.
15:53The Alpha Prince gave that to me personally.
15:55About a month ago, I kept the Alpha Prince's young heir from getting hurt when he fell from a carriage.
16:01The Alpha Prince unclipped it himself and gave it to me as a reward.
16:04I saved you.
16:05That's the truth.
16:06Lyra's face went hollow.
16:08She kept shaking her head.
16:09It wasn't you.
16:10It wasn't you.
16:11It was Caden.
16:12The Alpha Prince's gift can be verified.
16:14It can't be faked.
16:16Bram serves Northmark Manor.
16:17He wouldn't lie about something this serious.
16:19But to be thorough, we should confirm it.
16:22We should check.
16:23The Lunar Queen and the Alpha Prince's Luna both expected around this time.
16:26We could wait for the Lunar Queen to decide.
16:28Dorian's expression went tight.
16:29He could feel the situation slipping past him.
16:32And there was nothing he could do about it.
16:35The Lunar Queen has arrived.
16:37The Alpha Prince's Luna has arrived.
16:39Everyone dropped to their knees.
16:40Luna Seraphine told them to rise, smiling.
16:43Why is everyone gathered here instead of in the garden?
16:46Lady Thorn knelt and presented the whole situation to the Lunar Queen.
16:50Begging her to decide.
16:52The Lunar Queen's expression grew serious.
16:54Vera, if Caden has feelings for Lyra, I can petition the Alpha King for a royal mate decree.
17:01Luna Queen, today is the first time he's ever laid eyes on Lyra.
17:04There are no feelings to speak of.
17:06Caden would never do something this dishonorable.
17:09The one who entered the water and pulled Lyra out was our stable hand, Bram.
17:12We have physical evidence.
17:15The Lunar Queen had the pendant brought forward.
17:17She looked at it and said.
17:19This is indeed the Alpha Prince's peace.
17:21About a month ago, our young Kian nearly fell from the carriage.
17:24One of Northmark Manor's stable hand caught him in time.
17:26The Alpha Prince gave that pendant to the stable hand on the spot as a reward.
17:29The one who entered the water today is also a stable hand from Northmark.
17:32I imagine it's the same person.
17:33Luna Queen, it is the same person.
17:36That pendant proves Lyra was rescued by Bram, not Caden.
17:40But Lyra refuses to admit it and keeps insisting it was my brother.
17:45I respectfully ask the Lunar Queen to investigate this thoroughly and restore Caden's name.
17:53The Lunar Queen called Bram forward.
17:56Bram, is there any other evidence?
17:59Yes, Lunar Queen.
18:00When I pulled Lyra out of the water, I saw a red crescent birthmark on her chest.
18:05If Lyra keeps denying it and keeps accusing my master, you can verify it.
18:09If the mark isn't there, I'll accept whatever punishment is given to me.
18:12The crowd erupted.
18:13Lyra was shaking.
18:15Her eyes were hollow.
18:17Dorian had gone white.
18:19A birthmark can't be faked.
18:21I'm going to get to the bottom of this.
18:22Take Lyra inside and have her examined.
18:25Lyra inside and have her examined.
18:26One of the Lunar Queen's elder pack matrons stepped forward with two attendants.
18:30Lyra, come with us.
18:31Lyra's legs gave out.
18:33She fainted from sheer terror.
18:35The matron signaled the attendants.
18:37They carried Lyra inside.
18:38The Lunar Queen turned to Duchess Marin.
18:40Go with a few of the pack ladies.
18:42Be witnesses.
18:45The matron opened Lyra's wet clothing in front of them.
18:48Between her collarbones, clear as anything, a red crescent birthmark.
18:52It's real.
18:53A mark like that, seen by a man in water.
18:56She'd have to be his mate whether she wanted it or not.
18:59The matron went further.
19:00She examined Lyra for proof of her claim.
19:04The group came back out quickly.
19:05Duchess Marin's face was cycling through shades of green and white.
19:09I already knew what they'd found.
19:10Lyra does have the red crescent birthmark on her chest.
19:13And when we examined her further, she...
19:15She has not been untouched for some time.
19:17She is also carrying a secret pregnancy.
19:19The crowd went silent.
19:20Then it exploded.
19:22The tide turned completely.
19:24What a scheme.
19:25She played all of us.
19:27She was sneaking a secret lover in while pretending to be honorable.
19:30Shameless.
19:31And then tried to frame Caden for it.
19:33Disgusting.
19:33Lady Thorne went stone-faced.
19:35She slapped Lyra across the face.
19:37Then again...
19:38You have shamed this family.
19:40I have never been more disgusted.
19:42Lyra was completely broken.
19:44She slid down to the ground like water.
19:46And didn't react at all.
19:48Dorian shrank into the background and kept his mouth shut.
19:52Lady Thorne dropped to her knees before the Luna Queen.
19:55I failed in raising her.
19:57I accept whatever punishment you give.
20:00Failed in raising her.
20:01Is that what we're calling it?
20:02Lyra made her own mess.
20:04Got herself with Childe in secret.
20:05And then tried to use Caden as a way out.
20:07If Vera hadn't fought back, Northrink Pack's only heir would have been buried alive by this.
20:14Take Lyra to the Pack Tribunational Cells and interrogate her.
20:17I want the name of the secret lover.
20:19The matrons dragged Lyra into the back room.
20:21From inside came screaming.
20:24But Lyra had a hard core.
20:26No matter what they did, she refused to give up the name.
20:29Dorian was her only hope.
20:31The Luna Queen had no choice.
20:33She had Lyra move to the Pack Tribunal Cells.
20:35That same day, the matter reached the Alpha King.
20:38He issued a decree ordering Lyra's noble pack family to answer for it.
20:44The family patriarch had spent his whole career being careful.
20:47Staying low.
20:48Keeping his head down.
20:49Undone by a lowborn daughter who'd dreamed of climbing beyond her station.
20:52Though, if you traced it back far enough,
20:54it was Lady Thorne's iron-fisted control of the household that had left Lyra with no path but the one
20:59her own mother had taken.
21:01Use your face and your body and hope it gets you somewhere.
21:04That was how she'd ended up tangled with Dorian in the first place.
21:07The Alpha King also sent a rebuke to Duchess Meryn for her role in inflaming things.
21:11Ordering her to keep her mouth shut going forward.
21:13Duchess Meryn never showed her face at another pack gathering in the capital for the rest of her life.
21:17Lyra held out in the tribunal cells.
21:19Three days later, two pack matrons came from her family.
21:22They forced a draft of medicine down her throat.
21:24An hour later, she miscarried.
21:26Twins, Lyra wouldn't stop bleeding.
21:28No one from the tribunal had been told to send a healer.
21:30The attitude was, live or die, that's on her.
21:33She lived, anyway.
21:34Half a month later, the Luna Queen came to Northmark Manor herself to check on Kayden and me.
21:38She took my hand, sat down, made small talk for a bit.
21:41That girl is tough.
21:42As hasn't said a word in the tribunal cells.
21:45I was thinking of sending her off with a cup of poison.
21:48Let Lyra die that easily?
21:49That was letting her off too light.
21:53I stood and bowed.
21:54Luna Queen, I have a request.
21:56She smiled.
21:57Vera, just say it.
21:58Luna Queen, the Alpha Queen Mother's birthday is next month.
22:00In her honor, spare Lyra's life.
22:02That day, Lyra said herself that whoever saved her would become her mate.
22:04Lady Thorne agreed to it in front of everyone.
22:06She was pulled out by our stable hand, Bram.
22:08So perhaps-
22:09The Luna Queen tilted her head.
22:10Vera, even if you want to give Lyra a way out, your stable hand might not want to take her.
22:15What I was giving Lyra wasn't a way out.
22:16It was a life worse than death.
22:18Why don't I bring Bram in and ask him in person?
22:20If he's willing, it's a fair arrangement.
22:22Bram gambled and chased women.
22:24Every coin he earned either vanished at the gambling den or got spent at the pleasure house.
22:28Lyra was stunning.
22:29Skin like cream.
22:30Face like a spring blossom.
22:32One of the most striking women among all the high-born pack women in the capital.
22:35A woman like that on any ordinary day.
22:37Bram wouldn't even be allowed to look at her twice.
22:40She was used goods now.
22:41Sure, but if this moment passed, a wolf like Bram would never get another shot at someone like her.
22:46I was betting he'd say yes.
22:47A servant brought Bram to the doorway of the main hall.
22:50Bram, are you still willing to take Lyra as your mate?
22:53Bram paused, worked through it, and decided fast.
22:56Yes, my lady.
22:57I turned to the Luna Queen.
22:58Since that's settled, Luna Queen, bring them together.
23:01The Luna Queen smiled.
23:02You asked Vera.
23:03How could I say no?
23:05The night Lyra walked out of the tribunal cells, a carriage from her family dropped her at Bram's door.
23:10No ceremony.
23:10No ceremony talk.
23:11No anything.
23:12They were done with her, dropping off a problem they wanted gone.
23:17A month later, the Alpha King's punishment came down.
23:20Lyra's father was stripped of his rank and sent to a backwater post.
23:22A nobody position, in a nobody place.
23:24Never permitted to return to the capital.
23:26The day the decree came, he threw Lady Thorne out of the household.
23:29As for Lyra, her worst days were just beginning.
23:32Bram was rough and crude.
23:33Nothing like Dorian, who had at least known how to handle a woman.
23:36The first night, he worked her until she couldn't get out of bed.
23:39After that, he did whatever suited him.
23:41Whenever it suited him.
23:42Bram's household was poor.
23:43No servants.
23:44Lyra cooked and washed and waited on him.
23:46If she didn't do it right, she got hit or screamed at.
23:48Lyra suffered in silence.
23:50It was barely living.
23:50But she refused to die.
23:52She'd already survived the tribunal cells.
23:54She was young.
23:55She was still beautiful.
23:56As long as she was breathing, she believed she could find a way back.
23:59Six months later, Dorian decided things had quieted down enough and came back from the southern territories.
24:04Lyra heard the news and immediately got word to his personal attendant.
24:08Dorian, for his part, had long since stopped thinking about her.
24:11He wanted nothing more than to put distance between them.
24:13But she had something on him.
24:15He didn't have a choice.
24:18He planned to see her once, say what needed to be said, give her some coin, and be done with
24:22it.
24:22Then Lyra showed up in white, threw herself against him, and told him about the twins, crying with her whole
24:27body.
24:28She wasn't the bright, bold girl he remembered.
24:30There was something different about her now.
24:32Fragile.
24:32Quietly devastating.
24:33Dorian hesitated.
24:34He didn't leave right away.
24:35Ever since Dorian came back to the capital, I'd had people watching both of them.
24:39When word came that they were meeting that day, I'd already had the drugs slipped into both of their drinks.
24:44It took hold.
24:45They ended up tangled together.
24:46I had someone quietly tip off Bram and bring him there to catch them.
24:49Dorian and Lyra were caught bare, in the middle of it.
24:52A set of antlers that size.
24:53Bram wasn't going to swallow it quietly.
24:56He went at Dorian with everything he had.
24:58In the brawl, someone landed two hard kicks right between Dorian's legs.
25:02Dorian screamed and blacked out on the spot.
25:04Pack healers cycled through, one after another.
25:06They all came out shaking their heads.
25:08Nothing they could do.
25:09Dorian would never have pups.
25:11Pack elder Dorian Sr. had only one son.
25:13His bloodline was finished.
25:14The pack elder was furious.
25:16He wanted the person who'd done it quietly dealt with.
25:18But when he pressed Dorian's attendant for details, he found out about Lyra.
25:22Found out Dorian had been behind the whole scheme at the gathering.
25:25Found out the twins Lyra lost in the tribunal cells were Dorian's cold sweat.
25:31The pack elder buried the story and brought in private healers from all over the capital.
25:35What he didn't know, the one who'd thrown those kicks had been training for 30 years and had put everything
25:40behind them.
25:41No healer in the world was fixing that.
25:43Word spread across the capital that the pack elder's son, the great Dorian, couldn't perform.
25:47North Mark Manor helped that word travel, of course.
25:50Dorian, who had always been sharp and polished and insufferably sure of himself, was eaten alive by it.
25:56Every person he'd ever outshone lined up to get their shots in.
25:59One day, Dorian broke.
26:00He set a fire in his room and burned himself to death inside it.
26:03On the other side of the city, Bram dragged Lyra home after catching her and beat her until she couldn't
26:08leave her bed for two weeks.
26:09His crowd set up gambling games, the kind he never knew how to walk away from.
26:13After one session, Bram lost Lyra to a thug named Wade.
26:17Wade had his fun with her for two months.
26:18When the novelty wore off, he put a price on it.
26:21Lyra refused with everything she had.
26:22Wade just smiled and put a compulsion drug in her food.
26:25When it took hold, Lyra was the one begging.
26:27After that, Wade's place had a steady rotation of men coming and going every day.
26:32Sometimes one or two, sometimes five or six.
26:34Lyra sank lower than the lowest back alley wolf in the capital.
26:38My brother Caden ran into Princess Kala at a tavern, dressed as a man, sharp-eyed and full of fire.
26:43He took her for a fellow young wolf.
26:44Without knowing who she was, he went out with her more than once.
26:48They fell for each other.
26:49When he found out the truth, he petitioned the Alpha King to take her as his mate.
26:52He brought Kala back to the northern border with him, said they were going to see the wide sky and
26:57the open land together.
26:58As for me, the Alpha Prince's Luna had noticed me the day of the summer gathering.
27:02A year later, the Alpha Prince took the throne.
27:05His Luna was crowned Luna Queen.
27:06She personally asked on behalf of her full-blooded brother, the new royal consort Arryn, to take me as his
27:12mate.
27:13Arryn was brilliant and trained, and striking in a way that made it hard to look at him directly.
27:18At last month's mid-autumn night gathering, he'd reached up and broken off a sprig of sweet Osmanthus and handed
27:24it to me.
27:25When he passed it over, our eyes met.
27:26I stood there for a second, completely still.
27:29I still go red, thinking about it.
27:30But I said yes.
27:31The new Luna Queen smiled and leaned in close and called me,
27:34Sister.
27:35Not long after, the pack council went through a full sweep.
27:38Pack Elder Dorian Sr. was found guilty of corruption and embezzlement of pack resources.
27:42He was stripped of his title, and the whole family was banished to the far southern borderlands.
27:47Northmark Pack's star was rising.
27:48Our name carried more weight than it ever had.
27:51Everyone who had crushed us in the last life had fallen into the mud.
27:54This life, the next, they were never getting back up.
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