CHAPTER SEVEN: IF YOU TOUCH HER, YOU BLEED
The forest had gone too quiet.
Not peaceful.
Not calm.
Wrong.
Lyra could feel it in her bones—the tension, the pressure, the invisible force pulling everything toward a breaking point.
Selene stood to her right.
Kael to her left.
And somewhere behind—
Darius.
Three paths.
Three outcomes.
None of them safe.
"You need to decide," Selene said softly.
Lyra didn't look at her.
Her eyes were locked on Kael.
"I already have," she said.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"Then say it."
A pause.
The wind shifted.
"I'm not leaving," Lyra said.
Selene exhaled slowly, unsurprised.
Kael didn't react outwardly—
But something in his chest eased.
Just slightly.
"That's a mistake," Selene said calmly.
"Maybe," Lyra replied. "But it's mine."
Selene studied her for a long moment.
Then nodded.
"Then I'll stay," she said.
That—
Was unexpected.
Kael's eyes narrowed immediately.
"No."
Selene smiled faintly.
"You don't get to control every piece on the board, Alpha."
"I don't trust you."
"You don't trust anything right now," Selene replied smoothly. "And yet… here we are."
Before Kael could respond—
A sharp crack split the air.
Everyone turned.
Darius stepped forward.
Slow.
Deliberate.
"You're making this harder than it needs to be," he said.
Kael's expression darkened.
"Walk away," Kael warned.
Darius didn't stop.
"I won't let her destroy everything," he said quietly.
Lyra felt it.
That shift.
Not just anger.
Resolve.
Dangerous resolve.
"Darius…" Kael's voice dropped, warning edged with something deeper. "Don't do this."
Darius's gaze flickered briefly—just briefly—with something like regret.
Then it was gone.
"You taught me to protect this pack," he said. "Even from you."
And then—
He moved.
Faster than anyone expected.
Not toward Kael.
Toward Lyra.
"No—!" Kael lunged.
Too late.
Darius's hand wrapped around Lyra's wrist.
And everything—
exploded.
A violent surge of power ripped through the clearing.
The ground shattered beneath them.
The air screamed.
Darius was thrown back instantly, his body slamming into a tree with bone-crushing force.
Lyra screamed.
Not in pain—
In rage.
Her eyes flared blinding silver.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
The words weren't just sound.
They were force.
Kael staggered, barely holding his ground as the energy tore through the space around them.
Selene shielded herself, her expression grim.
"I warned you," she muttered.
Darius hit the ground hard, blood spilling from his mouth as he struggled to breathe.
But he was alive.
Barely.
Lyra stood frozen, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
Her hands trembled.
"I didn't mean to…" she whispered.
But even as she said it—
The ground beneath her continued to crack.
The power wasn't stopping.
It was building.
Kael saw it.
"Lyra," he said, stepping forward slowly. "Look at me."
Her head snapped toward him.
"No," she said quickly. "Don't come closer."
But Kael didn't stop.
"You're losing control."
"I said don't!"
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Kael pushed through it.
Step by step.
Ignoring the pressure.
Ignoring the warning.
Ignoring the danger.
"Kael…" Selene's voice sharpened. "If you touch her right now—"
"I know."
But he didn't stop.
Because he saw it.
Behind the power.
Behind the rage.
Fear.
Lyra's fear.
"I'm going to hurt you," she whispered, shaking her head. "Please… don't—"
Kael reached her.
And then—
He touched her.
Silence.
For one single breath—
Everything stopped.
Then—
Pain.
It tore through him instantly, violent and unforgiving. His body locked, every nerve screaming as something ancient and merciless surged through him.
Lyra gasped.
"Kael—!"
But he didn't pull away.
Didn't let go.
Instead—
He tightened his grip.
And forced the words out through clenched teeth.
"Then hurt me."
The world seemed to shatter around them.
Lyra's power surged—
Then faltered.
Her eyes flickered.
Silver—
Brown—
Silver—
"I can't control it!" she cried.
"Yes, you can," Kael growled.
"No—this isn't me!"
"Then fight it!"
The command hit something deep inside her.
Something buried.
Something hers.
The power wavered.
For a moment—
It obeyed.
The ground stilled.
The air softened.
Lyra's body trembled violently as she clung to that control.
"Kael…" she whispered.
He was still holding her.
Still standing.
But barely.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
And his eyes—
Burned brighter than ever.
"You see?" he said hoarsely. "You're still in there."
Lyra's breath hitched.
Because for the first time—
She believed it.
The silver faded.
Slowly.
Until her eyes were brown again.
Human.
The power receded.
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Exhausted.
Kael finally released her—
And staggered back slightly.
Selene moved quickly, catching him before he fell.
"You're an idiot," she muttered.
Kael let out a weak breath.
"Not the first time I've heard that."
Lyra stood frozen.
Staring at him.
"You should be dead," she whispered.
Kael looked at her.
A faint, dangerous smile forming despite everything.
"Not today."
Behind them—
Darius groaned.
Alive.
Still.
But watching.
And this time—
There was no hesitation left in his eyes.
Only certainty.
"She's unstable," he rasped. "Next time… she won't stop."
Kael didn't look at him.
"Then there won't be a next time."
Lyra's heart skipped.
Because something in his voice—
Wasn't a promise.
It was a decision.
And she didn't know if it meant saving her—
Or ending her.