LYRA’S POV
I stirred awake, weak and exhausted.
Every muscle ached, and my whole body felt heavy.
My eyelids fluttered open, and I blinked against the soft light filtering through the curtains.
My eyes moved around the room.
Familiar walls.
Familiar furniture.
My childhood bedroom.
We were still in Moonveil.
I tried to sit up… and immediately collapsed back against the pillows.
My body wouldn’t cooperate.
That’s when I felt it.
Something stirred within me.
A presence I hadn’t felt in days.
I reached inward for my wolf.
Kiara?
My wolf.
She’d gone silent after I lost the baby, so weak I could barely feel her, so quiet I’d started to wonder if she’d ever come back.
‘Lyra.’
I almost couldn’t believe it.
‘Kiara?
Are you…?’
‘Can you smell that?’ Kiara cut in, her voice urgent.
‘Lyra, can you smell him?’
‘Kiara, what are you…?’
Suddenly, she surged so violently inside me that I doubled over on the bed with a gasp.
“Lyra!” a voice called.
Footsteps rushed toward me, and then hands were around me.
My skin burned the instant they touched me.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Kael’s voice was in my ear.
“Lyra, look at me.”
The second he turned me toward him, Kiara surged forward.
‘MATE.’
I froze.
My breath caught in my throat.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Kael?
How was that possible?
“Lyra.” Kael’s voice was sharp with concern.
“Your eyes…”
I pulled away from him, my hands shaking.
I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and opened the front-facing camera.
Golden eyes stared back at me, glowing brighter than I’d ever seen them.
I set the phone down and forced myself out of bed.
My legs nearly gave out, but I gritted my teeth and pushed through it.
“Lyra…” Kael reached for me.
I held up a hand.
“I don’t need help.”
I dragged myself to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
My hands gripped the sink, my knuckles white as I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
I splashed cold water on my face, taking deep, shaky breaths.
‘Kiara,’ I thought desperately.
‘What’s happening?’
‘He’s our mate,’ Kiara said simply.
‘That’s not possible.’ I’d been mated to Cassian.
‘The bond…’
‘Was a lie,’ Kiara cut in.
‘A false bond.
And now it’s broken.
I never felt right with him.
I never felt complete.
But with Kael…’
I looked at my reflection again.
The golden glow was fading.
Was Kael Hart really my true mate?
But why couldn’t he feel the bond?
I opened the bathroom door.
Kael was gone.
Relief washed through me.
Thank goodness.
I stepped into the hallway and looked around.
“Rowan!” I called.
“Rowan!”
He emerged from a room beside mine, his brow furrowed with concern.
“Lyra?
How are you feeling?” Then he saw my eyes and his eyes widened.
“Are you okay?
What’s wrong?”
“I think he’s my mate,” I blurted out.
Rowan blinked.
“What?”
“Kael,” I said urgently.
“I think he’s my mate.”
Rowan sighed and shook his head.
“You had me worried for a second.
I thought something was actually wrong.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Well, I’m worried!
How can you not be worried after what I just told you?”
“Worried?” He shrugged.
“If anything, it makes more sense to me now.”
I raised a brow.
“What does that even mean?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Rowan asked carefully.
“Your birth chart matched his five years ago.”
I blinked.
“What’s that supposed to…?”
Then I remembered what Kael’s grandmother had said: ‘The healer analyzed so many birth charts, and yours was the most compatible with his.’
“Rowan, I’m lost here,” I said slowly.
“Why was I even considered as Kael’s bride in the first place?
I was married then.”
Rowan shook his head.
“That was before you…”
“Rowan.”
A voice cut through the hallway like a blade.
We both turned.
Kael stood a few feet away, his eyes fixed on Rowan.
His expression was unreadable, but something in his posture told me he’d heard at least part of our conversation, if not all of it.
“Can we talk for a moment?” he asked, his voice flat.
“Alone.”
Rowan glanced at me, then back at Kael.
He nodded slowly.
“Of course, Alpha.”
I watched them walk away, my heart pounding hard.
Kael Hart was my mate.
And I had no idea what that meant for our arrangement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KAEL’S POV
Rowan leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity that reminded me of his father.
The hallway was quiet, the distant sounds of the pack house muffled by the thick walls.
“So you plan to keep that a secret from her?” Rowan asked.
I leaned against the wall, keeping my expression neutral.
“What’s the point of telling her everything now?
She’s not my mate.
Telling her the truth won’t change anything—not how she feels about me, not the situation we’re in.”
“She’s your…” Rowan gave me a strange look.
Something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone before I could figure out what it meant.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“But still…
It’s been what?
Over five years now.
Cassian wouldn’t even be in the picture if she wasn’t so…” He stopped himself, shaking his head.
“How did you know about any of this?” I asked quietly.
“The same way my father was informed,” Rowan said.
“When it comes to my family and this pack, I’m not left out of anything.
My father made sure of that.”
I studied him for a moment.
“Even knowing how I feel, you’re still against me marrying her?”
Rowan’s eyes hardened.
“Cassian was here with her five years ago, making vows and promising to love her until his last breath.
Five years later, he’s fucking her bridesmaid.” His jaw tightened.
“So forgive me if words don’t move me as easily as they move my father.”
I smiled slowly.
“You’ll make a fine Alpha someday.
Maybe even better than your father.”
Rowan frowned.
“Is that an insult to my father?”
“Insult my father-in-law?” I said smoothly.
“I wouldn’t dare.”
The silence stretched between us.
Then Rowan’s expression shifted.
Something softened in his eyes.
“I don’t say this often,” he began carefully.
“Thank you.
For being there for her when I couldn’t.
I’m sure some of your people will oppose this decision.
They’ll probably question your choice.
But you chose to protect her anyway.” He met my gaze.
“That takes courage.”
I raised a brow.
“Is this your way of saying we have your blessing?”
Rowan stepped closer, his eyes locking onto mine.
“That said, if you end up being another Cassian in her life…” His voice dropped, low and dangerous.
“I’ll come for you with everything I have.”
I stayed calm.
“I will make sure that day never comes,” I said evenly.
“I promise.”
His eyes stayed on mine, searching and weighing.
I could almost see the protective brother in him battling the cautious Alpha heir.
Then he took two steps back…
…and held out his hand.
“Welcome to the family.”