Chapter 57
+25 Points
Jake’s hand stayed wrapped around Lyra’s, anchoring her even as his stomach coiled tighter. He
could feel the weight of every stare in the room.
“She didn’t manipulate me,” he said, his voice firm. “What she did, whatever it was, it kept me from doing something I would’ve regretted. You should all be thanking her.”
“Or questioning what else she’s capable of,” Drew snapped, leaning forward. “You really want to put
the whole pack under the leadership of someone who can toy with emotions like that?”
Jake’s gaze cut to him like steel. “Are you saying you’d rather I lost control and shifted yesterday?”
Drew didn’t flinch. “I’m saying that she’s dangerous. You don’t know what she is, Alpha. You don’t
know what any of this means for us. She went to a witch behind your back and came back
claiming powers none of us can verify.”
“She wouldn’t have gone to the witch if you had just told us the truth,” Jake snarled.
“How did she even find out about the witch?” Alistair asked, cutting in.
“From her mother’s journals, like she said yesterday.” Jake knew it was a lie. He had felt it when she
said it, but she was clearly protecting someone. And he wasn’t about to level an accusation in front
of the elders. They already doubted her enough.
“She’s got powers we know nothing about, and she’s running off to witches based on something written in a twenty–year–old journal?” Drew shook his head.
“I saw how she handled herself yesterday,” Dylan said calmly. “That girl didn’t use her power to manipulate anyone. She barely spoke. That doesn’t read dangerous to me.”
Rina nodded beside him. “If anything, it reads as someone trying not to break under the pressure of people waiting for her to fail.”
Jake felt a flicker of gratitude toward both of them. He needed that balance right now, someone
besides himself in Lyra’s corner.
Alistair cleared his throat. “Be that as it may, the concern isn’t unfounded. Veriscents have been
manipulated by those in power before. Used as weapons. Controlled by corrupt alphas and
covens. The history is… bloody.”
“And none of that was her fault,” Jake countered. “History isn’t prophecy. What she is doesn’t
define who she will be.”
Parker glanced between the others, clearly uncertain. “But don’t you see the risk? If she’s capable of calming you down with just your name, what happens when it’s a whole room of wolves she wants to influence? What if she learns how to control it completely?”
Chapter 57
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Jake sat straighter, his voice quiet but sure. “Then she’ll learn to wield it responsibly. The same way we all leamed to control out shifts, our instincts, our anger. She didn’t ask for this, any more than any of us asked to be born wolves. But she is mine. And this pack will not cast her out.”
“She left,” Drew snapped. “Or have you forgotten? She turned her back on all of us years ago.”
“She was barely more than a child, Jake growled. This pack mistreated her and bullied her for
things she couldn’t control. She didn’t turn her back on us. We turned ours on her.”
Silence fell heavy.
After a long pause, Rina leaned forward. “Alpha, may I ask you something?”
Jake nodded, jaw tight.
“Do you believe Lyra is a danger to this pack?”
Jake looked at her. At the way she kept her head high despite the storm in her eyes. At the scar
that snaked down her face, a mark of the bravery she had shown even as a child.
“No,” he said. “But I believe she’s been hurt enough to become one if we keep treating her like the
enemy.”
Alistair let out a breath. “Then we’ll need to proceed carefully. There are still questions, Alpha. We
still have concerns.”
“I expect nothing less,” Jake replied. “But this pack will treat her with the respect she deserves. Or they’ll answer to me.”
Christian shifted in his chair, finally speaking. “Jake
“I’ll hear you out later, Dad. But not right now.”
“I say we take some time to think things over,” Alistair said at last. “Let Lyra continue training her wolf and see if she can gain some level of control over these… abilities.” He drummed his fingers on the table as he looked at her. “I’d like to believe you could be an asset to this pack. I’d like to
give you the chance to prove it.*
Lyra nodded. “Thank you”
He nodded once. “That’s all for now. We’ll reconvene next week to discuss next steps”
Everyone stood to leave when Dylan cleared his throat. “Alpha, might I have a word in private with
you and Lyra?”
Drew narrowed his eyes. “Anything you need to discuss with the Alpha should be discussed as a group.”
Dylan considered him for a moment. “I only wish to peak with the Alpha and his mate about a
medical matter.”
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“Medical matter?” Drew raised a brow.
Dylan sighed, clearly annoyed. “Well, unless we want an alpha heir very soon, I thought it prudent to
discuss birth control.”
Jake nearly choked. Russ clapped a hand over his mouth to hide his grin, and Callan muffled a laugh behind a cough. Lyra turned beet red and dropped her gaze.
“Ah. Yes.” Alistair stood quickly. “Very important. I agree with Dylan on that one.” He nodded to everyone. “I’ll send notice about our next meeting soon.”
**
“My apologies,” Dylan said once Jake closed the office door. “I didn’t want to deal with Drew sticking his overly large nose into something that isn’t his business. I wasn’t trying to embarrass anyone, but I needed a plausible excuse to speak with you privately.”
“Well, that was a good one,” Lyra snorted, dropping onto the couch.
“Certainly shut him up,” Jake agreed, sitting beside her and slipping an arm around her shoulder.
Dylan smiled as he sank into an armchair. “I do like the look on his face when he’s rendered speechless. It’s very satisfying.”
“So what’s going on, doctor?” Jake asked as Lyra leaned into him.
Dylan’s eyes flickered to her. “Have you told him?”
She shook her head.
“Told me what?” Jake asked, turning toward her.
“I wondered when you repeated the lie about Lyra using the journals to find the witch.” Dylan sighed. “I do apologize, Lyra. I shouldn’t have asked you to keep that secret from your mate. It was
unfair.”
Jake straightened. “You’re the one who sent her to the witch?”
“I did.” Dylan nodded solemnly. “And I asked her to tell no one. Not even you. But I realized soon after what a mistake that was. What a terrible position I put her in. Please understand… I was only trying to protect her.”
“Lyra?”
Dylan shook his head, glancing between them. “Madeline… is my mate.”
Jake froze. His brain stalled as the words hit him. “Madeline is your mate?”
Lyra sat up straighter. “Your mate is a witch?”
He nodded slowly. “You can understand why I wouldn’t tell the pack. When Madeline told her
<Chapter 57
coven, they cast her out. And our daughter…”
He stopped, his voice catching. His cheeks flushed and his eyes shone.
“You have a daughter?” Jake asked, still trying to absorb the revelation.
+25 Points
“Cora,” Dylan said softly. “She ran off years ago. She couldn’t take the way she was treated by the witches. I never even tried to bring her here. I thought if I became elder, I could make change for her, but she was gone before I ever had the chance
He looked up, his expression raw. “So I understand why you left, Lyra. Why you wanted something different. But I want you to stay. I want you to help change this pack. So the next time someone like you or Cora comes along, they have a safe place to land.”
Lyra blinked rapidly, her fingers tightening around Jake’s.
Jake cleared his throat. “You’ve got our support.”
Dylan smiled. “Then maybe there’s hope for all of us yet.”
A quiet settled over the room.
Jake leaned into Lyra slightly, lowering his voice. “So… about that birth control.”
Lyra groaned, hiding her face in his shoulder.
Dylan laughed. “Yes, we should probably still discuss that matter.”
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