Chapter 3 Failed Shift and the raged
I stayed crouched beside the door gap for what felt like forever, watching the massive shape of Rune Thorne sitting motionless on the other side. He did not blink. He did not shift. He simply sat there like a mountain waiting to fall on me. The pale moonlight streaming through the hall window slid across the lines of muscle beneath his clothes, catching the dark, inked pattern of his tattoos. He looked like something carved out of stone. Something dangerous. Something holding itself together by a thread.
When the fever inside my body finally cooled enough for me to breathe normally again, I swallowed hard and whispered through the crack, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Rune".
Nothing.
I tried again, louder and shakier this time.
"Mr Thorne. Please. I need to get out".
He made a sound that was so deep and guttural it crawled straight down my spine. A low rumble, almost animal. I jerked back instantly, pressing into the damp attic wall. The silence that followed was thick and suffocating.
Then I heard footsteps climbing the service stairs, each step sharp with irritation.
"Rune, stop being an adolescent menace".
Kael. His voice was tired, annoyed, and completely done with everything around him.
Rune grunted like he disagreed with the entire world.
"Get up. Kael’s tone hardened. Now. We have political theater to attend to, and I need the hallway cleared. The little ghost cannot be seen crawling over you in the morning".
There was a scraping noise, the sound of Rune reluctantly hauling himself up. Kael knocked once. The knock was sharp and impatient.
"Get dressed, Lyra. You are coming with me".
I opened the door immediately. Rune was right there, huge and silent, standing so close I could feel the heat from his bare chest. He looked down at me, then at the tarnished locket on my neck. His expression barely flickered. Then he turned away and walked off without a word.
Kael did not even glance at the tension hanging in the air. He looked immaculate in his tailored suit, a stark contrast to Rune’s raw presence.
"You look appalling, Lyra. Get into the black dress. The one Seraphina ruined. It is the least offensive. You have ten minutes. You are my temporary Assistant in Administrative Matters. You will carry my notes and my boredom".
I hesitated. "I was told I cannot leave the grounds. Lord Thorne’s rule".
Kael smirked with that cold, amused expression he reserved for inconveniences. "The Containment Rule. Yes. However, one Thorne sibling must attend the annual Gathering and Caspian is busy counting coins, so I cannot appear alone. If I do, people assume I have no human tolerance. You serve as proof that I do. It is pathetic, but useful. Now move".
I changed into the stained black dress and followed him.
The Pack Gathering was held in a massive glass and steel estate. Wolves, dignitaries, heirs, and rivals filled every inch of space. The air felt too heavy, thick with perfume, ego, and power.
"Keep up, Lyra", Kael muttered without looking at me. "And stop looking sick. It draws attention. You must be invisible".
"I am trying", I whispered.
"Good. Stand here. Do not slouch, breathe too loud, or make eye contact with anyone who looks expensive".
He turned away and slipped into a conversation about mineral rights like he owned the air around him.
I stood still. Silent. Invisible.
Then Seraphina appeared in a blood red dress, her beauty sharp and cruel. A Beta heir followed her, tall, polished, arrogant. His scent was too sweet, almost suffocating.
"Kael darling, she said lazily, who is this drab creature behind you. Your new emotional support plank".
Her eyes slid to my stained dress. "Oh. The accident victim. Did you decide to model the wine stain permanently? It adds a certain cheapness".
Kael did not bother to turn. "This is Lyra". She stands still and stays quiet. Qualities you lack.
The Beta heir stared at me openly.
"Administrative assistant. He scoffed. You brought this to a Gathering. Is it true she is scentless"?
Seraphina giggled. "She is an anomaly. A stain on the lineage".
The Beta moved closer.
"Scentless trash. You are in a room full of power and bloodlines and Kael brings a mute little ghost. Do you even understand where you are. Or is the human noise too loud".
I stayed silent. Rule Two. Silence.
He shoved me. Not hard enough to injure, just enough to humiliate. I stumbled, tripped over a rug, and Kael’s folio went flying. Papers scattered everywhere.
And my locket snapped off the chain.
It hit the marble floor with a soft metallic sound that punched the air out of my lungs.
No. I dropped to my knees, ignoring the stares, frantically searching through the papers.
The Beta laughed loudly. Look at her panic. You would think she dropped gold.
I found it. Cold in my palm.
He stepped forward, raising his polished shoe.
He was going to crush it.
"Watch your step, Beta, Kael said sharply.
But he already brought his foot down.
I curled around my hand, bracing for pain.
It never came.
The entire floor vibrated with a deep, dangerous rumble. The air pressure shifted. Voices died instantly.
Rune was suddenly there.
One moment the Beta was taunting. The next he was suspended mid-motion, eyes wide.
Rune’s shoulders expanded, muscles tightening beneath his jacket as if his body was fighting itself. His jaw flexed with barely contained rage. Then his eyes shifted into a bright, furious red.
Rune seized the Beta by the throat and the lapel, lifted him like he weighed nothing, and slammed him against the glass wall. The glass groaned under the force.
The Beta choked and clawed at Rune’s grip.
Rune did not blink.
Lord Thorne’s voice crashed through the room. "Enough".
Rune held the Beta one more second, then flung him away. The Beta crashed into a group of horrified dignitaries.
Everything dropped into total silence.
I knelt there gripping my locket, watching Rune’s monstrous power with shaking hands.
Fifteen minutes later, Lord Thorne was shaking with fury inside a security annex.
"You compromised everything, Rune. You do not shift. You do not display. And you certainly do not assault a Beta heir".
Rune stared straight ahead, arms crossed. He did not apologize. He only said one thing, low and rough.
"He touched her".
Lord Thorne slammed his fist on the table.
"I do not care if he tried to burn her alive. She is nothing. You risked exposing us".
He pointed to the basement door.
"Three days. No food. No contact".
Rune walked out without looking at me.
Kael grabbed my arm and pulled me away.
"You are dangerous, Lyra".
"I didn’t do anything", I said weakly.
"That is the problem. You trigger instincts. Rune almost shifted because that Beta touched you. Do not leave the manor grounds again. If you trigger another loss of control, the punishment will fall on you. Understand".
I nodded numbly.
Later that night, in my attic, I studied the locket. Bent. Ugly. But mine.
Something in me whispered that it was not just jewelry.
I lit a match. Held the locket above the flame. The metal heated instantly, glowing not red, but a strange cold blue. The light pulsed through the metal like it was alive. A thin seam opened along its edge.
It began to crack.
I leaned closer.
The lid split open slightly.
Then my door exploded inward, smashed open with terrifying force.
Kael stood there looking nothing like himself. His hair was messy, his jacket crooked, his face pale with something I never thought I would see on him.
Fear.
He lunged forward and grabbed the locket straight from my hand, ignoring the heat completely.
"What have you done".
His voice was raw and shaking.
He stared at the pulsing blue light inside the half opened locket, then at me.
He knew exactly what it was.