On their third mating anniversary, Lyra Stormvale gave Fenris Blackthorn a gift: a formal petition to the Pack Council.
"I want to report Alpha Fenris Blackthorn for forced bond-claim. He violated me against my will during heat!"
The Council scribes looked at each other in disbelief, their eyes darting between Lyra and the Alpha sitting calmly beside her—Fenris Blackthorn, the legendary "Living Yama" of Pack Law, the Enforcer-Lord whose command voice had broken stronger wolves than her. Then, their gazes turned cold as they stared Lyra down.
"Omega Stormvale, filing a petition requires evidence. If you're fabricating this, it's a false accusation. You could be bound in silver for this."
This time, Lyra was prepared. She produced the healer's ledger documenting the torn bonding marks on her neck, the scent bruising across her skin, and the heat-suppressant damage to her system. "This is the evidence."
Fenris sat to the side, his Alpha presence rolling off him in lazy waves as he held a lit cigarette between his fingers. He smiled, a look of casual indifference on his face. "Lyra, you've been planning this for a long time, haven't you?"
He then moved closer and spoke with false warmth, "We're bonded. Isn't this natural between mates? Please stop making things difficult for the Council scribes."
The moment Fenris tried pulling her away by the bond-mark, Lyra broke free and shouted at the scribes, "I have healer evidence! Why don't you bind him?"
Before the scribes could speak, Fenris activated a scry-stone.
It was Lyra's voice from last night in their den, the sounds she made when her heat overwhelmed her resistance.
Lyra's face turned pale. She grabbed the stone and shattered it. "Fenris, how shameless can you be?!"
Fenris smiled. "Destroy it if you want. I have echo-copies stored in the Central Den."
"Come on, Lyra, you responded to me last night. Now you pretend nothing happened. That really hurts me."
"I know you're angry because I didn't honor your boundaries. I promise to be gentler next time."
Fenris looked relaxed. He even spoke to the scribes politely, "Sorry for wasting Council resources. My mate gets emotional during post-heat. I need to comfort her."
The scribes nodded at Fenris's words.
After all, they were frequent visitors. Every few moons they came and every time it ended with "insufficient scent-trace—return to your den and resolve this privately."
Everyone thought that Fenris loved Lyra.
Yet, only Lyra knew the truth. The one in Fenris's heart was never her.
They were sent out of the Council Hall. Cold wind carried the scent of pine and frost into Lyra's lungs. She felt frozen inside.
She failed again. No matter what she did, Fenris always stayed calm.
In everything, he followed her wishes, except for their bond severance. But Lyra didn't want to give up that one goal she had: freedom from this mating.
They had been bonded three years. She had asked for bond severance for two of them and she failed every time.
At the beginning, Fenris said he would love her forever. They would grow old together, their scents intertwined until death.
Lyra believed him. In the second year of their bond, reality hit her hard.
Fenris's first scent-choice, Selene Nightbloom, returned to New Metro territory after her own bond was severed. She wanted to reclaim Fenris's heart.
Fenris refused her clearly. Yet, that night, Selene drank too much moon-wine at a pack gathering. Lyra's brother, Kael Stormvale, kindly escorted her to a guest den.
Out of the blue, Selene accused him of trying to force-claim her. She somehow obtained Kael's scent-essence as proof. In the end, the Pack Council had to cage him in silver.
Due to the incident, Lyra's father collapsed from the shock to his Alpha heart. Her mother fell into a wasting illness from grief.
Within three days, the Stormvale territory holdings were seized by creditors, and the crushing weight of lost hunting rights eventually destroyed Lyra.
Fenris stayed by her side. "Lyra, I'm here. I'll handle your brother's case and restore your family's territory."
Lyra believed him. She even thought she had gotten so lucky that she had bonded with a good Alpha. But on the Council Hearing day, Fenris destroyed her.
Fenris stood against her, as Selene's Pack Law advocate. In the Council Hall, he coldly accused Kael.
See, Fenris Blackthorn was a legend across the entire territory alliance. With him there, Kael had no chance and was sentenced to five years in an iron-silver holding den.
After the hearing, Lyra cried and screamed at Fenris, "That's my brother, Fenris! Do you know what you've done?!"
Fenris, neat and calm in his formal pack attire, frowned slightly. "Lyra, if your brother committed a violation, he must face pack justice. I presented scent evidence. I can't mix personal feelings with Pack Law."
Lyra knew her brother so well. "Kael doesn't even desire females! There's no way he'd force-claim Selene! You grew up with him too and you know about it!"
Fenris replied calmly, "I only believe in the evidence."
Lyra cried in despair, "Do you believe evidence... or do you believe Selene?"
Fenris tried to leave as a response.
However, Lyra stopped him. "Today, you must choose. Me or Selene."
Fenris said nothing but left with Selene instead.
That moment, Lyra knew: it was over for them. She kept petitioning for bond severance after that. Every time, it ended in failure.
Each time, Fenris brought her gifts and said gently, "Lyra, in our mating, you only leave in a burial shroud, not through severance."
Two moons later, Lyra found out she was carrying a pup. As revenge, she sought a healer to end the pregnancy and gave the remains to Fenris.
Fenris was heartbroken, but still comforted her, "If you don't want pups, then we won't have them. We're still young."
Lyra couldn't stand living beside her greatest enemy. So, she planned to escape across the territory border with her mother. But the night before leaving, her mother threw herself from the highest tower of their ancestral den to avoid burdening her.
Both parents were dead. Her brother was caged. Every pack avoided the Stormvale name.
Lyra lost all hope. So she tried to end her own life.
That night, she lost too much blood. Only Fenris had the matching blood-bond type. He nearly drained himself to save her.
When Lyra woke, the first thing she said was, "Let me go."
For the first time, Fenris looked truly pained.
But he threatened her, "If you try to flee again, if you try to harm yourself again, your brother will die in that cage."
The threat worked. After that, Lyra stopped resisting. She lived like a lifeless body. Her smile disappeared.
Later, Selene claimed she had developed a wasting sickness from the assault and stayed in Fenris's den every day. Fenris even appointed her as his personal Omega Scribe.
When Lyra burned with fever and handled her mother's burial rites alone, Fenris went running through distant territories with Selene. When Lyra hurt herself in their den, Fenris was hosting a grand moon-feast for Selene's naming day.
Fenris always said he loved Lyra, but everything he did clearly showed that Selene was the one he treasured most.
Lyra was tired. Fenris didn't know—she was quite ill. Each time he chose Selene and hurt Lyra, her sickness grew worse.
The healer said she had severe spirit-sickness and bond-rot. If things continued, she would either lose her mind or fade entirely.
Lyra wanted to live, however. She still hadn't taken revenge for her brother. The only way to do that was to leave this territory, seek healing, and completely forget Fenris and everything here.
So, Lyra planned another escape. Cold wind brushed her face through the carriage window as her tears fell quietly.
"Fenris, I'm exhausted. Let's sever the bond."
