Chapter 11 11
Lyra’s POV
I stood in front of the mirror longer than I meant to stand.
And it was not that I was fixing my hair.
Not that I was even adjusting my shining golden evening gown.
I was just staring.
My reflection looked calm but inside I was drowning in the loudness.
My chest felt tight, like something as heavy as one the club fat bouncers was sitting on and pressing down every time I breathed in.
I told myself it was nothing.
Just nerves. Just another night. Just another crowd.
I lifted my hands and tied my hair back, then loosened it again.
No. Let it fall.
I wanted to feel light tonight. I wanted to feel like myself again.
Jaxon’s face tried to slip into my mind.
I shook my head hard as if to wave off the thought like water on my hair.
No.
Not tonight.
Please.
You have just one mission.
Which was to make enough money just to stay afloat.
Ruin Aria's life.
And find my body.
Probably.
I wasn’t going to think about his voice, or the way he always stood too close, or how his eyes followed me like he was afraid I would disappear if he looked away. I wasn’t going to think about the way he stepped in whenever someone talked to me for too long. Or the way he acted like the world was dangerous and I was fragile.
I wasn’t fragile.
I wasn't Lila anymore.
I was..stronger.
I grabbed my denim jacket for the cold and left before my thoughts could trap me again.
The cool night breeze hit me as soon as I stepped outside. Cool and alive.
It brushed against my skin and made me inhale deeper.
The streetlights glowed like tired stars, and the road hummed with distant noise.
Cars.
People mumbling.
Some girls, high laughter in the air, walking with each other without a care in the world.
Lucky them.
I continued.
Then, as I walked further into the part of the street where there were more people,I felt eyes on me.
At first, I thought I was imagining it.
Then I noticed the way heads turned.
The way conversations paused for half a second too long.
I looked down at my gown.
Was it too short?
Was it the first time they had seen a girl in this sort of gown?
The way footsteps slowed behind me. I didn’t look at anyone, but I felt them.
A strange pull, like I was dragging attention behind me without trying.
Like there was an invisible cord in me drawing them to me.
It made my skin prickle.
It's nothing, Lyra. Keep walking.
Confidence. Just the way I walked when I wasn’t afraid.
The club came into view, lights flashing, bass thumping through the walls like it would break through.
The sound wrapped around me before I even reached the door.
My heartbeat began to match it, fast and loud.
Inside, everything exploded at once.
Warmth. Noise. Different colors.
The music vibrated through the floor and into my bones.
Bodies moved everywhere, flashing lights were cutting through smoke and laughter.
The air smelled like sweat, perfume, and alcohol.
Then, I felt it immediately.
The sudden shift.
Heads turned.
Eyes followed.
It wasn’t subtle nor was it normal.
I walked toward the dance floor, and people moved without realizing they were moving for me. I didn’t push. I didn’t force my way through. They just… parted.
The music swallowed me whole.
I let it because it felt like it was playing for me.
I closed my eyes and let my body move. It was slow at first then my limbs began to loosen up even more.
My hips swayed with my hands going down them like it was my pop star moment.
My shoulders loosened.
The beat slid into me like something familiar, something I had been missing.
I started to sing under my breath, the words spilling out naturally, like they had been waiting for this very moment.
I had waited for this moment of freedom all my life, actually.
When I opened my eyes, people were watching me.
Men. Women. Everyone.
Some smiled.
Some stared like they couldn’t look away. Some looked dazed, like they had forgotten where they were.
A girl near me laughed breathlessly with her eyes bright and full of life.
A guy stopped dancing entirely.
I should have been scared.
Instead, something inside me hummed.
The music rose louder, and I moved with it, feeling bold, alive, untouchable.
I spun once, hair flying, and the energy in the room shifted again but heavier.
Thicker.
Then the air changed.
The music didn’t stop, but something else cut through it.
A tension that made my stomach twist.
People near the entrance started to move strangely.
Fast. Sudden.
Their eyes weren’t right.
Their bodies were stiff, alert, like someone who wasn't supposed to be there had gotten in.
I waited, searching with my eyes.
What?
The crowd began to break apart, confusion spreading like smoke. Someone screamed. Someone shoved past me.
Glass shattered near the bar.
My chest tightened.
I knew.
I didn’t know how, but I knew.
It was me.
My energy. My presence. Whatever lived inside me had called them here.
Werewolves.
The word hit me like ice.
Panic ran through my body, cold and sharp.
I turned and started to run, slipping through bodies, ducking under arms, pushing through the chaos.
My breath almost failed me.
I needed to hide.
Quick.
But where?
I darted behind the stage, then slipped through a narrow hallway and pressed myself into the shadows behind stacked speakers.
My heart beat so hard I thought it would give me away.
I held my breath.
Footsteps thud past.
Different voices.
I could see their boots.
They were so close.
I pressed a hand to my mouth to stop myself from making a sound.
God, I wished Jaxon was here.
The thought hit me before I could stop it.
He would know what to do. He always did. He always stepped in, always stood between me and whatever tried to get too close. His overprotective nature, the thing that annoyed me so much, suddenly felt like all I needed right now.
I hated that I wanted him.
I hated that I needed him.
The boots moved away.
Silence crept back in, heavy and tense.
I stayed still, barely breathing, every nerve on edge.
Then I felt it.
A familiar pull.
My heart skipped.
Jaxon.
I peeked through the narrow space between the speakers.
He stood near the entrance, scanning the room with his fist tight and his body stances like he was about to fight.
He had come because he sensed I was in danger.
For a moment, relief flooded me so hard my knees almost gave out.
Then reality crashed in.
I couldn’t see him.
Not again.
I didn't need any distractions.
I didn’t want questions. I didn’t want his worry. I didn’t want to explain the chaos I didn’t understand myself.
While his attention was pulled elsewhere, I slipped out the back, moving fast and quiet with my heart racing all the way.
I didn’t look back.
I couldn’t.