Chapter 1 Dreams in Crimson

Lyra POV

The scent of blood hung thick in the air. My wolf whined anxiously, sensing the danger before I could process it.

"Run, Lyra!" My father's command cut through the chaos as howls erupted around our territory. His eyes blazed with the fierce gold of our Alpha bloodline. "Jason, take your sister and go!"

I felt the shift rippling through me, my wolf surging forward in panic. Bones cracked and reformed as my human skin gave way to silver-gray fur. Beside me, Jason had also shifted, his wolf larger than mine with a distinctive white patch on his chest.

"Follow me", he commanded through our pack mind-link.

Behind us, our father shifted into his massive gray wolf form and faced the invaders pouring into our territory.

I let out an involuntary whine, conflicted between obeying and staying to fight. Father! I projected through our pack bond, but received only a powerful command in return: "GO NOW!"

I couldn't help looking back once. Through my wolf eyes, I watched our proud Alpha surrounded by snarling enemy wolves. Their teeth flashed silver in the moonlight before they descended upon him. The sound of tearing flesh reached my ears, and the pack bond between us suddenly snapped—a psychic pain so intense it nearly knocked me off my paws.

He's gone, my wolf mourned, even as my human consciousness refused to accept it.

Jason nudged me harder. "We can't help him now. We must survive."

My muscles burned with each desperate stride, but adrenaline kept me moving. I could feel my brother's determination, his protective instincts in overdrive.

They're coming. My ears caught sounds of pursuit. Three massive wolves had broken from the main attack, tracking us specifically. Their scent carried rage and bloodlust—they weren't just driving us away. They wanted us dead.

"They're hunting the Alpha's children," my wolf said churned with panic.

"Faster!" Jason urged, directing me toward a narrow ravine.

I never made it there. A fourth wolf—larger than the others with a jagged scar across his muzzle—lunged from the shadows. His scent carried authority—the Alpha of the invading pack. His claws raked deep across my hind leg, shredding fur and flesh. The pain shot through my entire body, nearly forcing me back into human form.

I tumbled through fallen leaves, a yelp escaping my muzzle. My injured leg throbbed, the wound too severe for instant healing even with my werewolf abilities.

"I can't—" My thought was broken. I tried to stand, but my injured leg buckled.

Jason circled back, standing protectively over me, teeth bared at our pursuers who had paused at the edge of the clearing.

"Change back," he commanded. "Hide. I'll lead them away."

"No!" The protest flowed through our link.

"You must," he insisted, his mental voice carrying authority. "One of us has to survive. To remember."

The shifting back was painful with my injury. I let my human form reclaim me until I lay naked and trembling on the forest floor.

Jason nudged me toward a dense thicket. I crawled inside, wincing as thorns scratched my skin. The wound looked worse in human form—deep gashes revealing muscle and tendon, blood flowing freely despite my accelerated healing.

"Stay here," Jason commanded. "If I'm not back in half an hour, run as far as you can." His wolf eyes held mine for one heartbreaking moment. "Live, Lyra."

Then he crashed deliberately through the underbrush, howling to draw our pursuers away.

I counted minutes by my racing heartbeats. One hour passed. Then another.

"He's not coming back," my wolf whimpered inside me.

"Just a little longer," I argued, but I caught the scent—unfamiliar wolves, methodically searching the forest.

I couldn't wait any longer. I pulled myself from the thicket and forced the shift again, welcoming my wolf despite the searing pain. My form was leaner than most female werewolves, built for speed rather than strength. The wound pulled with every stride, but my wolf form could endure more.

I ran blindly through unfamiliar territory, instinct and stars my only guides. With each painful bound, questions filled my mind. Why had they attacked? Which rival pack bore such hatred for us? Had anyone else survived?

The pursuit behind me grew closer. I changed direction twice, but my injured leg slowed me too much. Finally, my wounded leg gave out, and I collapsed, shifting involuntarily back to human form as my energy depleted.

The moon illuminated the small clearing where I'd fallen. Three wolves emerged from the trees, surrounding me. Their eyes gleamed with triumph as they closed in.

I thought of my father and Jason, their courage deserved to be honored. Despite my nakedness and vulnerability, I straightened my spine and stared defiantly at the largest wolf.

A tall figure stepped into the clearing. Human-formed, wearing dark jeans and a fitted black henley that stretched across broad shoulders, with russet-brown hair and piercing amber eyes. The moonlight cast half his face in shadow, but I could see the power in his stance—the unmistakable aura of an Alpha.

Then it happened—a recognition so profound it vibrated through every cell in my body.

"Mate!" My wolf's recognition crashed through me like lightning.

The man froze, his eyes widening as they locked with mine. "Mate?" he whispered, disbelief in his voice.

He approached slowly, never breaking eye contact. In one fluid motion, he pulled his henley over his head, revealing tanned skin stretched over powerful muscles. Gently, he wrapped the warm fabric around my naked form, his scent—pine and earth after rain—enveloping me. Then he turned to the circling wolves, his posture shifting to something primal and dangerous.

"This is my territory," he growled, his voice deepening. In a heartbeat, he shifted into an enormous auburn wolf that towered over the others.

The intruders backed away, reluctant to challenge him. With a few vicious snaps of his jaws, he drove them into retreat. Once they vanished, he shifted back.

When he turned to me, the confusion in his eyes had been replaced by pleasure.

"You're my mate," he stated, his tone possessive. "No one will harm you again."

He lifted me into his arms. I felt his breath against my neck, where a mating mark would bind us forever. I closed my eyes, waiting for the sharp sting of his teeth claiming me.

But it never came.

I opened my eyes with curiosity—and found myself back in our pack grounds. Bodies littered the blood-soaked earth. Green-eyed wolves surrounded me in a tightening circle.

Across the clearing, my brother's wolf form struggled beneath a massive black paw. His silver-gray fur was matted with blood. Jason's eyes met mine, desperate, pleading for me to flee. Then jaws clamped around his throat, and his eyes went dull.

"NO!" The scream tore from my lungs.