Chapter 29
Lyra woke to a knock at her bedroom door. Morning light spilled in through
room in a soft, golden glow. She stirred, and the arm around her waist tig
against a warm, solid chest.
Jake.
+25 Points
ow, bathing the
ng her back
Memories of the night before rushed in, and her heart fluttered at the feel of him behind her, still
breathing deeply in sleep.
Another knock came, firmer this time.
“Lyra?” Her father’s voice was low but tense. “I want to talk to you for a minute.”
She turned toward Jake, who blinked awake groggily. “My dad,” she whispered, just as the door
creaked open.
“s**t,” she breathed.
Lyle stepped into the doorway and froze. His eyes locked on Jake in her bed. Rage twisted across
his face.
“Why the hell is he in my house?” Lyle growled, voice cold and sharp.
Jake sat up quickly, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Mr. Hart, I didn’t mean…”
“Don’t you dare,” Lyle snapped. “You don’t get to be in my daughter’s bed, in my house, like this.”
“Dad, stop.” Lyra swung her legs off the bed and stood. “It’s not what you think…”
“I know exactly what it looks like,” Lyle roared. “He doesn’t get to come and go like this. He doesn’t get to treat you like… like some damn whore.”
Lyra’s cheeks burned with a mix of shame and fury. That’s not what this is.”
Jake stood too, now eye level with Lyle. He raised his hands slightly in a peac his voice was tight with restrained anger.
e, though
“With all due respect, I came here to talk. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep, but I didn’t come here to disrespect Lyra. Or you.”
“You already did,” Lyle snapped. “You hurt her. And now this? You think I’m going to let it slide?” Jake’s jaw flexed. “You think I don’t hate myself for that? I’m trying to make it right. I’m not here to hide or lie or pretend I haven’t screwed up.”
“Then leave,” Lyle said, stepping forward.
Jake held his ground. “I will. But not because I’m afraid of you. I’m leaving because I respect Lyra,
Chapter 29
and I know this isn’t helping.”
Lyle looked ready to explode, but Jake turned to Lyra, his expression softenin
“I’ll see you later,” he said, his voice gentler. “We’ll talk more when you’re at the training grounds at one.”
He brushed past Lyle, keeping his gaze steady as he left the room.
Silence settled like a weight.
Lyra crossed her arms. “You had no right to barge in like that.”
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is meeting you
“I had every right,” Lyle snapped. “This is my house and you are my daughter. You think I’m going to sit by while that asshole sneaks into your bed like it’s nothing? After everything he’s done?”
“He didn’t sneak in,” she said sharply. “And it wasn’t like that.”
“Oh, it wasn’t? Then enlighten me. What exactly was it?” He crossed his arms, voice thick with sarcasm. “A slumber party? A bonding exercise?”
Lyra narrowed her eyes. “We were just talking. He came to apologize. We talked, and we fell asleep. That’s it.”
He scoffed. “And you expect me to believe that?”
“You can believe whatever the hell you want. But don’t talk to me like I’m some reckless kid who doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
“But you don’t!” Lyle threw his hands up. “You think that boy is going to choose you over his whole pack. You think this pack is going to roll over and accept you after what they did to your mother. After how they’ve treated you and your brother.”
He sighed and rubbed his face. “I’ve been up all night thinking about this, Lyra. There is no way this ends well for you. There’s no happy ending. This isn’t a fairy tale.”
Lyra frowned. “What are you saying, Dad?”
“You need to leave.” Lyle sounded miserable as he ran a hand through his hair, pulling slightly. “You need to take Donovan and go. Don’t look back. This place isn’t safe for you. Not now that he’s your mate. There are too many things at play.”
“Like what?” Lyra sat down on the edge of her bed, watching him carefully.
“I…” Lyle growled, tugging at his hair again. “I can’t say. Christian commanded it. I’m not allowed to tell you. I don’t know what else to do but ask you to trust me. Please.”
His dark eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “I almost lost you once. I almost lost your brother. I di d lose your mother. I won’t survive it, Lyra. You’re not safe here. Please take Donnie and go to Chicago.”
Chapter 29
Lyra stared at him for a long moment. “Would you go with us if I did leave?” Lyle shook his head slowly. “I’m not allowed to leave.”
She looked away, gaze falling to the floor. What did her father know th the real risk?
**395 Pelotar
‘t say? What was
He came to sit beside her on the bed. “At least think about it. I wouldn’t a you to reject your mate unless I truly believed you were in danger.”
Lyra found Donovan in his bedroom, sitting in his wheelchair while he sifted through more of their mom’s mementos. He glanced up as she entered, one brow arched.
“You look like hell,” he said plainly, “but at least you don’t look all bitten up this morning.”
She snorted and flopped down on his bed. “Thanks. Great to see you too.”
Lyra was grateful to find that the bite marks, hickeys and bruises had all healed during the night.
He set the pictures aside and watched her closely. “I heard Dad yelling again this morning. What happened?”
She rubbed her hands over her face. “Jake came over last night to talk. To apologize. We fell asleep. Dad walked in on us this morning. Nothing happened, but… it didn’t look good.”
“Ah. And Dad responded with calm and reason. That’s clearly what I heard.”
“He called me a w***e,” she muttered.
Donovan’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
She nodded, pressing her lips together. “I get it, he was angry. But it still hurt.”
“Well, yeah. But please stop making
like Jake was.”
excuses for people when they hurt you. He was wrong. Just
She rolled her head toward him. “Jake said something like that last night. Tolo excusing his behavior.”
shouldn’t be
Donovan’s eyebrows lifted. “Okay, I can give him a little respect for that.” He sighed. “But don’t cut him any slack. He needs to do better. So does Dad.
“I know.” She sighed again and rolled onto her back. “Dad wasn’t just mad about Jake. He told me we should leave. Go to Chicago. He said this place isn’t safe if I’m Jake’s mate.”
Donovan blinked, then frowned. “Wait… what? He’s the one who didn’t want us to go. He was thrilled when you finally came back. And now he wants us to run?”
“Yeah.” Her voice was low, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “He said there’s something going on, but he
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Chapter 29
couldn’t tell me. That he wasn’t allowed to say it, but asked me to trust him.”
Donovan was silent for so long that Lyra rolled over to check on him. H window, lost in thought. Finally, his eyes flicked back to hers.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I believe he’s scared. And that scares me.”
7 out the
Donovan leaned back and exhaled slowly. “If you want to leave, I’m ready. I’ve been ready.”
Lyra nodded. “There’s more to it, though. I won’t survive a rejection right now. Even Jake said so. That’s why he wants me to train, to build up strength. So I can be strong enough to choose to be his Luna… or strong enough to survive a rejection.”
“How long do you think that’ll take? To build your strength?”
Lyra shrugged. “I have to train this afternoon.” She sat up. “But right now, I just want to get out of
the house.”
Donovan grimaced. “No thanks.”
“Come on, Donnie,” she groaned. “You never go out.
“Yeah, because I don’t like being treated like a freak!”
“Well, I thought I could show you where the journals are.”
That caught his attention. He looked up. “Where are they?”
“I have to show you. And to show you, we have to go to Megan’s.”
Donovan made a face like he’d just smelled something rotten. “That’s at the pack house. That’s the last place I want to go. Why does this involve Meg?”
Lyra shrugged. “Who else was I going to trust? Besides, she’ll be thrilled to see
“Fine,” he groaned. “But if she starts talking about childbirth, I’m faking a seizure.”
Lyra laughed. “Deal.”
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