When Fenris burst through the doors of the Healer Den, Lyra was so thin she was almost just bones.
For a brief moment, Fenris's heart ached. His wolf stirred with something that might have been concern. But his face stayed cold, his Alpha presence pressing down on the room. "I only sent you to the Sanctuary Den to learn some discipline. Was it necessary to torture yourself like this?"
Lyra didn't even have the strength to be angry. She looked at him numbly, her Omega scent so faded it was barely detectable.
Torture herself? Wasn't her current state all because of him? The forced heat suppressants, the isolation from pack bonds, the constant pressure to submit—all of it his doing.
But Lyra didn't want to argue anymore. She asked only one question, "You promised to help with my brother's Council petition. Does that still count?"
As long as her brother could be cleared of the false scent-testimony charges, nothing else mattered.
Fenris's throat tightened. After so long apart, that was the first thing she asked him.
In his memory, Lyra used to depend on him like a young wolf seeking her Alpha's protection. But at some point, she stopped relying on him.
When she was sick, she went to the Healer Den alone. She no longer sent for him through the pack bond. When debt-collectors from rival packs came, she quietly sold her bond-tokens and family relics to pay them. Even when she was humiliated at pack gatherings, she never complained when she came home to their den.
Thinking of this, Fenris felt a sudden pain in his chest. His wolf whined, confused.
When Fenris didn't answer, Lyra smiled as if she expected it.
"Forget it. I was naïve." She stood up to gather her things, her movements slow and deliberate.
Suddenly, Fenris grabbed her wrist, his grip firm but not bruising, and said with Alpha command threading through his voice, "I'll handle your brother's petition."
Fenris gave in. But Lyra wasn't happy as expected. She only said distantly, "Okay. Thank you."
Fenris frowned deeply. The old Lyra never said thank you—not to her mate. She truly had changed. The bond between them felt thin, stretched to breaking.
There were only two days left before the Council Hearing. After Fenris sent her back to their den last time, he never returned.
Every day, Fenris said he was too busy with pack matters.
But every day, Lyra saw Selene's messages spread through the pack's communication channels. Nine days in a row, a full display of images, all showing Fenris's devotion to Selene—bringing her prey, scenting her in public, his wolf hovering protectively near hers.
During that time, Selene kept sending Lyra provocative messages through the pack's mind-link.
She always withdrew them after two minutes, then claimed it was a mistake.
It looked innocent, but Lyra understood the game. Still, Lyra no longer felt pain. She only wanted her brother's second Council Hearing to end quickly.
So the day before the hearing, Lyra demanded that Fenris come home no matter what.
Fenris came back, but his heart wasn't there. Selene said she was scared to be alone in her quarters, so Fenris stayed connected to her through a scry-stone, her voice filling their den.
Selene said she had no appetite, so Fenris prepared a meal himself and sent it to her by pack runner.
Selene said she wanted to see him, so Fenris came to discuss it with Lyra.
"Lyra, Selene needs me. I'll go stay with her tonight. I promise I'll be on time for your brother's Council Hearing tomorrow."
A strong sense of unease rose in Lyra's heart, her wolf pacing anxiously. "Fenris, I'm begging you. Just stay here for one night. After tonight, you can do whatever you want. I won't interfere."
Fenris hesitated. This was the first time Lyra had begged him like this, her Omega submission genuine rather than coerced.
But the next second, Selene suddenly screamed through the scry-stone: [Fenris! I slipped coming out of the bathing pool! Come save me!]
Fenris immediately shook off Lyra's hand, his Alpha instincts responding to the distress call.
At the door, Lyra stopped him again. She cried and begged, "Fenris, if Selene fell, I can send a healer to her. I'm only asking you to stay with me today."
"Fenris, don't you want a bond severance? If you don't go, after tomorrow's hearing, I'll cancel the severance petition."
No matter how much Lyra begged, Fenris only said, "Lyra, we won't sever the bond. But I can't ignore Selene either."
"I promise you, I will be there for your brother's hearing tomorrow." Fenris walked out of the den quickly, his wolf form blurring as he shifted to run faster.
Lyra watched his retreating form and cried, her wolf howling silently within her. No matter how many times it happened, she could never keep him.
Lyra didn't sleep all night, her wolf restless and grieving. Early the next morning, she reached through their fading bond to contact Fenris. He responded that he would definitely arrive on time.
Lyra believed him. But even when Elder Thane Ironvein entered the Council Hall, Fenris still didn't come.
The Elder struck the ceremonial stone. "Since the petitioning Alpha-Sponsor is absent, the second hearing is now sealed. No further petition will be accepted under pack law."
Those words completely broke Lyra. She knelt beside her brother Kael in the prisoner's circle and apologized.
"Brother, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I'm useless. I couldn't save you. I even harmed you. Strike me if you want. It's all my fault."
For two whole years, Lyra forced herself to be strong. She believed there was hope in the second hearing.
Fenris gave her hope and then crushed it again. Just like before.
Fenris… Fenris…
"If we had never met, how wonderful that would be?"
