1

I always thought betrayal would come with a warning. A whisper in the wind. A change in the air. Some kind of sign that told you your world was about to shatter.

But there was nothing.

Just the quiet hum of the night, the comforting scent of lavender from my bedside candle, and the weight of exhaustion pressing against my bones after another long day tending to the injured.

Until the door burst open.

"Lyra Ellwood," a rough voice growled.

My eyes flew open. Moonlight streamed through the window, casting long shadows across my small room. I barely had a second to register the figures before hands grabbed me—strong, unyielding.

"What—?" My voice broke as I was wrenched upright. My nightgown tangled around my legs as I struggled, my heart slamming against my ribs. "What are you doing?"

The scent of sweat, leather, and authority flooded my senses. Warriors. Not just any warriors—the Alpha’s elite guard.

Fear curdled in my stomach. This was a mistake. It had to be.

"Let go of me!" I twisted, but their grip only tightened.

"You are under arrest for treason," the lead warrior snapped.

Treason?

I choked on my breath. My mind raced, grasping for logic, for reason. I was a healer, not a fighter. A loyal pack member. A wolf who had done nothing but serve.

"This has to be a mistake," I gasped, my nails digging into the hands holding me. "I haven't—"

"Silence."

A hand clamped over my mouth. Panic erupted inside me. I thrashed, my muffled cries useless against their brute strength. The room blurred, my breaths coming too fast.

I was dragged through my doorway, my bare feet scraping against the cold wooden floor. My home—the one I had built with care, the one filled with dried herbs, books, and soft blankets—was nothing but a blur as I was hauled into the night.

The village was quiet, the moon high above, casting silver light onto the cobbled paths. But something was wrong. The usual warm glow of lanterns was gone. Doors were shut tight. Windows dark.

They knew.

A cold realization slithered down my spine.

The pack knew.

And no one had come to warn me.

"Please," I tried again as they pulled me forward. "I don’t understand! What treason? What did I do?"

No answer.

No mercy.

The warrior on my left yanked me faster. My feet stumbled against the uneven ground, but they didn’t slow.

And then I saw it.

The Alpha’s judgment hall loomed ahead, its grand structure standing tall against the night sky. The flames of the torches flickered along the stone path leading to the entrance. The sight made my blood turn to ice.

No one walked into that hall innocent.

And no one walked out unchanged.

I dug my heels into the ground. "No," I panted. "I didn't do anything!"

The lead warrior barely spared me a glance. "Tell that to the Alpha."

The massive doors were thrown open. The hall was full—packed with faces I had known my entire life.

Shifters whispered. Eyes burned into me.

But no one spoke for me.

Not a single voice rose in protest.

Not even Jonah.

My breath caught as I spotted him near the front, standing beside his father—the Alpha. Jonah, my closest friend. Jonah, the boy who once swore he would always protect me. Jonah, whose dark eyes refused to meet mine now.

"Jonah!" My voice cracked. "Please! You know me! Tell them—"

"You shouldn't have betrayed us, Lyra," he said, his tone void of emotion.

The words sliced deeper than any blade.

I stared at him, my pulse roaring in my ears. "I didn’t," I whispered.

A muscle ticked in his jaw. "The evidence says otherwise."

"What evidence?!"

"Enough."

The voice was deep, commanding. The kind of voice that silenced rooms.

Alpha Ronan.

He sat on his grand chair at the center of the hall, draped in his signature dark cloak, his piercing gaze fixed on me. His expression held no warmth. No kindness.

Only judgment.

"You have been accused of treason," he said, his voice carrying through the hall. "For conspiring with the Blood Moon Pack to weaken our defenses and betray your own kind."

I laughed. I laughed. A sharp, bitter sound that echoed in the silence. "That’s ridiculous. I would never—"

"Silence." His gaze sharpened. "We found the letters, Lyra. Signed with your name. Marked with your seal."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

A scroll was tossed onto the table before me. The pack’s beta unrolled it, revealing elegant writing—my writing—outlining supposed plans to weaken our warriors and expose our lands to attack.

I shook my head violently. "No. No, that's not mine. That’s not—"

"Your seal was on it," Jonah muttered.

"My seal was stolen!"

Alpha Ronan exhaled, as if my protests were an inconvenience. "Do you deny speaking with anyone from the Blood Moon Pack?"

My throat dried. "I—I spoke to a trader once, months ago. But—"

"A trader who was later discovered to be a spy."

I reeled. No. This wasn’t happening.

"This is a setup," I said, my voice trembling. "Someone is framing me!"

Alpha Ronan lifted a hand. "Enough. The evidence is overwhelming. The punishment for treason is death."

A gasp rippled through the hall. My knees buckled.

Jonah flinched, but he didn’t speak.

No one did.

"You will be executed at dawn," the Alpha continued. "By the hands of our executioner."

I felt my body sway, my vision blurring at the edges.

Execution.

Dawn.

My chest heaved, the room spinning.

And then, as if this night couldn’t possibly get worse…

The crowd parted.

Boots echoed against the stone floor. A figure emerged from the shadows, his presence like a storm rolling in.

Tall. Broad. Dressed in black, his expression unreadable beneath the flickering torchlight.

Kade Varian.

The pack’s executioner.

I had never spoken to him before. Never wanted to.

But as his silver eyes met mine, something strange flickered there.

A hesitation. A fracture in his icy mask.

It was gone in an instant.

"Take her away," the Alpha commanded.

And just like that, my fate was sealed.