Chapter 44 044
LYKA
Amanda and I made our way down to the lakeside as dusk settled over the pack grounds, shadows stretching long and thin beneath the fading orange sky. The evening breeze carried the scent of damp earth and pine, brushing against my skin like a silent warning. We avoided the guards carefully, sticking to the darker paths between trees, our movements quiet and calculated.
My heart pounded harder with every step.
The letter felt heavier than paper should feel.
When we finally reached the lakeside, I slowed down....and then stopped completely.
Someone was already there.
“Aiden?” Amanda called out in confusion, stepping forward before I could stop her. “What are you doing here?”
I stiffened.
Aiden turned around at the sound of her voice. For a brief second, our eyes met....and awkwardness flashed across his face before he quickly masked it. I felt my stomach twist as I remembered what had happened earlier in Derrick’s room when he walked in on that humiliating scene. The memory burned like acid.
“I was invited here,” Aiden replied calmly, though there was tension beneath his voice.
That was when it clicked.
We weren’t the only ones.
So the letters hadn’t been random. Whoever was behind this had deliberately summoned all of us.
I exchanged a glance with Amanda, and without speaking, we came to a silent agreement. If this person showed up, we would capture him first and ask questions later.
We waited.
The lake was eerily quiet, its surface reflecting the dying light like polished glass. None of us spoke. The silence felt thick....heavy with anticipation and dread. The weight of wanting the truth pressed down on my chest until breathing felt like effort.
Then....
Footsteps.
Slow.
Dragging.
“Someone’s coming,” Aiden muttered under his breath. “But the footsteps… they’re uneven. Dragged.”
I nodded, my body tensing as I focused on the sound.
A figure emerged from between the trees.
He was small....petite even....and walked with a noticeable limp. That explained the dragging sound. One leg seemed weaker than the other, forcing him to pull it slightly as he approached.
The moment he stepped into clearer view, I gave Aiden a subtle look.
Attack.
Without hesitation, Aiden lunged forward, knocking the man to the ground before he could react. The man cried out in shock as Aiden pinned him down roughly, pressing him into the dirt.
Amanda and I approached slowly, watching as the stranger winced in pain beneath Aiden’s grip.
“Introduce yourself,” I demanded coldly, staring down at him. My voice was steady, but inside, my nerves were alive.
“I… I am someone who is here to tell you the truth you all need to know,” the man stammered, struggling under Aiden’s hold.
I scoffed. “Then start talking.”
“Why did you bring us here?” Aiden asked, tightening his grip around the man’s neck slightly. The stranger’s face began turning red.
I studied him carefully.
He didn’t look powerful. He didn’t look dangerous. He looked frightened. Fragile.
But looks could deceive.
“Did you really think you had time to act this gutsy?” the man suddenly spat, though fear trembled in his voice.
My brows furrowed in confusion.
“Aiden,” I said firmly, “let him go. We need him conscious if he’s going to talk.”
Reluctantly, Aiden released him, though he remained close enough to strike again.
The man gasped loudly, clutching his throat as he struggled to catch his breath.
He looked like a coward.
Or maybe that was exactly what he wanted us to think.
“What do you know about our pack’s massacre?” I asked slowly. “And why did you send us letters separately?”
He raised his head, his eyes flickering nervously between the three of us.
“Because I would be killed if they knew I was doing this,” he whispered.
They?
My stomach tightened.
“Who is ‘they’?” Amanda demanded sharply.
The man swallowed hard. “I’m sure you’ve all guessed already,” he said. “You just don’t want to admit it.”
“Stop talking in riddles,” Aiden snapped.
The man took a shaky breath.
“It’s him,” he said.
My heartbeat stuttered.
“The Demon Alpha,” he continued. “He’s the one who massacred your pack.”
Everything inside me froze.
The world seemed to tilt slightly.
“What… did you just say?” I asked, my voice barely steady.
“Why are you so surprised?” the man pressed, eyes narrowing slightly. “Don’t tell me you trusted that demon?”
Something sharp pierced through me at the way he said it.
Demon.
I didn’t know why it irritated me....but it did.
“Are you insane?” Amanda snapped, stepping forward threateningly. “Do you think we’re fools? You expect us to believe you just because you throw accusations around?”
“I’m telling you the truth!” he cried desperately. “The fire....don’t you remember the fire that night? The one that swallowed your pack? That was his signature fire!”
My breath caught.
Fire.
That night flashed vividly before my eyes.
The screams.
The chaos.
And that unnatural, ominous fire that tore through the woods like it had a mind of its own. It didn’t behave like ordinary flames. It moved violently. Intelligently.
It spread too fast.
Too deliberately.
My heart began pounding violently in my chest.
Derrick possessed fire.
Not ordinary fire.
Demon fire.
Was that… possible?
Was he truly the one?
My thoughts spiraled so violently that I didn’t even notice when Aiden released the man. The stranger scrambled to his feet and fled into the darkness, dragging his leg as fast as he could.
None of us chased him.
We were too stunned.
“What did we just hear?” Amanda whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
I couldn’t answer.
“I didn’t just hear that the Demon Alpha is the one who destroyed our pack… right?” she asked again, almost pleading.
My legs felt weak.
The truth felt like a blade pressing against my throat.
The evidence…
The fire.
The timing.
The power.
“I…” My voice failed me.
Aiden’s breathing grew heavier.
Suddenly, his eyes darkened with fury.
“I’m going to kill them all,” he growled, his voice deep and dangerous. “I’ll wipe out every single one of them!”
Before I could react, he turned and began storming back toward the pack house.
My mind jolted back into focus.
“Where are you going?” I shouted, grabbing his arm.
He tried to shake me off, rage radiating from him in waves.
At the same time, I sensed movement behind me.
Amanda.
She was walking away too.
Her claws were out.
Her eyes glowed with vengeance.
I moved quickly, darting in front of her and blocking her path.
“I am going to kill them all!” she roared. “I won’t spare anyone!”
Her fury mirrored Aiden’s....but mine felt different.
Mine felt colder.
Heavier.
More complicated.
“No,” I said firmly, baring my own claws as a warning. “No one is attacking anyone.”
They both stared at me like I had lost my mind.
“What are you saying, LYKA?” Aiden demanded harshly. “Are you protecting them?”
“Yes,” I answered without hesitation.
The word shocked even me....but it was the truth.
“Anyone who wants to attack this pack,” I growled lowly, stepping forward, “will have to go through me first.”
Amanda’s eyes widened.
Aiden looked betrayed.
“You would defend him?” Amanda asked incredulously.
My chest tightened painfully.
“I don’t know the full truth yet,” I said through clenched teeth. “And I will not start a war based on the words of a crippled stranger who ran the moment he finished speaking.”
“But the fire....” Aiden began.
“I remember the fire!” I snapped, my voice cracking slightly. “I remember everything!”
The screams.
The smoke.
The burning flesh.
My family.
My pack.
I closed my eyes briefly, steadying myself.
“But if he truly did it…” I continued, opening my eyes slowly, “…then I will be the one to face him.”
My voice turned dangerously calm.
“And if Derrick is truly responsible for my pack’s destruction…”
My claws extended fully.
“Then I will kill him myself.”
Silence fell between us.
The lake behind us rippled softly, as if reacting to the storm brewing within me.
I didn’t know what hurt more....the possibility that he was guilty…
Or the possibility that I cared enough for it to hurt at all.
One thing was certain.
Tonight had changed everything.