The fire crackled in the stone hearth, filling the cabin with flickering shadows and warmth, but Lyra didn't feel warm.
She sat on the worn leather couch, her body stiff, her mind racing. Kaidën stood across from her, his golden eyes unreadable as he leaned against the wooden table, arms crossed.
His words still echoed in her head.
"You're tied to me now."
The weight of them pressed against her chest, a mix of fear and something else—something dangerous, something she wasn't ready to name.
She wasn't tied to anyone.
She couldn't be.
Lyra clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. She needed answers. Needed control.
"Explain," she said, forcing her voice to stay steady.
Kaidën's gaze didn't waver. "Your shift wasn't normal, Lyra."
She scoffed. "Oh, really? What part of turning into something I didn't even know existed is supposed to be normal?"
A ghost of a smirk touched his lips. "Fair point."
He pushed off the table and moved toward the fireplace, running a hand through his dark hair. "Most shifters are born into this life. Their first transformation is expected and controlled. But you…" He turned back to her, his expression serious. "You were awakened."
The word sent a chill down her spine. "Awakened?"
Kaidën nodded. "Something triggered it. Something—or someone—forced the change."
Lyra's pulse quickened. "You mean… this wasn't supposed to happen?"
"Not like this."
A silence stretched between them.
She swallowed. "Then why did it happen?"
His jaw tightened. "That's what I intend to find out."
She exhaled sharply, frustration boiling beneath her skin. "And how does this tie me to you exactly?"
Kaidën stepped closer. "Because I felt it."
She blinked. "Felt what?"
"When you changed." His golden gaze locked onto hers. "I felt you. Your power. Your fear. Your call."
Her breath caught. "Call?"
He nodded. "Shifters are connected by instinct. When a new one is born, others can sense it—but with you, it was stronger. It wasn't just a whisper in the wind." He hesitated, then said, "It was a summons."
A shiver ran through her.
A summons.
As if she had unknowingly called for him.
"I didn't mean to," she whispered.
Kaidën's lips pressed into a thin line. "I know."
The fire crackled again, filling the silence between them.
Lyra's thoughts swirled, tangled and chaotic. If she had summoned Kaidën, then what else had she summoned?
A sudden, sharp noise outside made her flinch.
Kaidën's head snapped toward the door, his body instantly tense.
"What was that?" Lyra whispered.
He didn't answer. Instead, he moved swiftly to the window, peering out into the darkness.
The air in the cabin shifted, thick with something unseen.
Then—
A deep, guttural howl split the night.
Lyra's blood ran cold.
Not just one howl.
Many.
Her heart pounded. "What—?"
"Stay here," Kaidën ordered, already moving toward the door.
"Wait, what?!" She jumped to her feet. "You can't just—"
He turned back to her, his gaze sharp. "You don't know what's out there."
"Neither do you!"
A pause.
Then his lips quirked in something like amusement. "I have a better guess than you do."
He stepped out before she could argue, leaving her standing there, fists clenched.
Lyra hesitated for only a second before cursing under her breath and following him.
The forest was alive.
The wind carried scents she had never noticed before—earthy, wild, predatory.
The howls had stopped, but the silence that followed was worse.
Kaidën stood at the tree line, his body rigid, his eyes scanning the darkness.
"What is it?" Lyra whispered, stepping beside him.
For a moment, he didn't answer.
Then—
"They're watching."
A shudder ran through her.
And then, out of the shadows, they appeared.
Shapes moved through the trees, barely visible at first. Tall figures with gleaming eyes, their forms half-hidden in the darkness.
Shifters.
A dozen, maybe more.
Kaidën's muscles tensed, his jaw tightening.
Lyra's breath hitched.
The air between them crackled with tension.
One of the figures stepped forward. A man, broad-shouldered and imposing, with silver-streaked dark hair and piercing gray eyes.
He stopped a few feet away, his gaze flicking to Lyra.
Then, slowly, he smirked.
"Well, well," he drawled. "Looks like the rumors were true."
Lyra's heart pounded.
Kaidën's voice was low, sharp. "Ronan."
The man—Ronan—tilted his head. "Kaidën." His smirk widened. "You're far from home."
"So are you."
Ronan chuckled. "True. But unlike you, I have a reason to be here."
His gaze flicked back to Lyra, and something about the way he looked at her made her stomach twist.
"So," he mused. "This is the girl who called the wild."
Lyra stiffened. "I didn't call anything."
Ronan's smirk deepened. "Didn't you?"
Her pulse thundered in her ears.
Kaidën stepped in front of her, blocking Ronan's view. "She's not your concern."
Ronan raised an eyebrow. "Oh, but she is. All new shifters are the pack's concern."
Kaidën's muscles coiled like a predator ready to strike. "She's under my protection."
Ronan's gaze darkened. "You think that means something?"
A low growl rumbled from Kaidën's chest. "It means everything."
Tension crackled in the air.
The other shifters shifted restlessly, waiting, watching.
Lyra could feel it—something was about to break.
Her hands clenched into fists. She didn't want to be the cause of some territorial dispute, but she also wasn't about to let them decide her fate.
She took a step forward, pushing past Kaidën.
"I'm right here," she said, meeting Ronan's gaze head-on.
A flicker of surprise crossed his face before his smirk returned. "Bold."
She ignored that. "If I did call something, I didn't mean to. I don't even know how."
Ronan studied her for a moment, then exhaled, shaking his head. "Doesn't matter. The call was made. Now, we decide what happens next."
Lyra's stomach twisted. "We?"
"The pack."
A heavy silence stretched between them.
Kaidën's voice was low, dangerous. "She's not going with you."
Ronan chuckled. "Not your choice."
A growl rose in Kaidën's throat.
Lyra could see it—the fight brewing, the moment before everything exploded.
She had seconds to decide what to do.
She could stay silent and let Kaidën fight for her.
Or—
She could choose for herself.
Her pulse pounded.
The wild inside her stirred.
And then, before she even fully understood what she was doing, she said—
"Then I'll decide."
Ronan raised an eyebrow.
Kaidën's head snapped toward her. "Lyra—"
She lifted her chin. "If I am one of you, if I do belong to this world, then I should have a say in my own fate."
Ronan's smirk widened. "Now that is interesting."
Kaidën's jaw clenched. "You don't know what you're doing."
"Maybe not," she admitted. "But I will."
And with that, she took a step forward.
Beyond the veil.
Into the unknown.