Chapter 21 TWENTY
(NYRA'S POV)
“Nyra?"
That voice. It sounds oddly familiar, like…
“Mom?" I call looking around me to get a bearing of my surroundings. I'm in a forest, one I have no memory of or how I got here. “Mom?" I call again, louder this time.
No response.
The leaves rustle and my heart rate picks up instantly. “Who's there?"
“You should surrender to him, Nyra." The voice comes again. It's softer this time, like it's advising me to take a very important advice. “He won't stop until you do, and he'll hurt so many others if you don't."
“Mom, where are you?"
“Inside your heart, my sweet girl. Now do what is right and let…”
A gurgling sound interrupts and a thud of something falling to the ground. I turn around at lightening speed and behold, it's my mom lying on the ground, in a pool of her own blood. Her eyes are wide open and she wears a shocked expression.
" Noo!!!!”
" Shhhh baby. Calm down,” a softer voice infiltrates my hazy thoughts and the forests slowly change to what looks like a bedroom
Fuck! Was I dreaming? But then it felt so real, more like a vision.
I gasp, lungs burning as if I’ve been underwater too long.
“Nyra…hey! Nyra.”
Strong arms tighten around me, warm, solid. Real. The phantom forest dissolves completely, replaced by dark stone walls and silk sheets tangled around my legs. Moonlight filters through sheer curtains, painting everything silver.
Lucien.
I’m in Lucien’s room.
My fingers clutch at his bare chest before I even register what I’m doing, nails digging in like I’m afraid he’ll vanish too. My heart is pounding so hard it hurts.
“It was a dream,” I whisper, more to myself than him. “No…not a dream. It felt so real. Almost…almost like… a warning.”
Lucien shifts, sitting up against the headboard and pulling me with him so I’m half-curled in his lap. One hand cups the back of my head, firm but gentle, grounding me. His other arm wraps around my waist, possessively.
“Talk to me,” he says quietly.
I swallow, throat tight. “She was there, my mother. She told me to surrender to Xorus.” My voice cracks despite my effort. “Said he’d hurt others if I didn’t. And then…” I choke, breath stuttering. “Then she was dead. Right in front of me.”
Lucien goes very still.
The shadows in the room stir, reacting to his emotions before he reins them in. I feel Talon, his wolf shift beneath his calm exterior, coiled and dangerous.
“That wasn’t your mother,” he says finally, voice low and certain. “Not really.”
I lift my head to look at him. His pale eyes are sharp now, fully awake.
“It felt like her.”
“That’s how manipulation works,” he replies, gently stroking my side. “Xorus is ancient. He knows how to use memory, guilt, love, and other emotions to his advantage. He wouldn’t waste an opportunity to get inside your head.”
I shake my head weakly. “It sounded like her. Even the way she called me sweet girl. It was so real like I could reach out and touch her.”
Lucien’s jaw tightens. His thumb brushes slow circles at the base of my skull, a deliberate, calming motion. “That’s exactly why it’s dangerous.”
Silence stretches between us, heavy but not uncomfortable. My breathing slowly evens out, my body finally realizing I’m safe.
“I’m scared,” I admit softly. “Not of him, but of what he wants me to become. What he can do to the people I love.”
Lucien lowers his forehead to mine. “You don’t belong to him. You don't belong to anyone but us and we'll protect you with our lives.”
Something in my chest loosens at that.
I exhale, resting my forehead against his. “You’re not supposed to be comforting,” I murmur. “You’re the broody, emotionally unavailable one.”
A corner of his mouth lifts. “Don’t ruin my reputation.”
I huff out a weak laugh, then tense as the memory of the dream flickers again. “What if this wasn’t just a mind game? What if it was a vision? What if my mother is alive and truly in danger?”
Lucien doesn’t answer immediately.
“It’s possible for your mother to be alive,” he says at last. “But visions don’t command. They reveal. Anything that tells you to surrender your will is lying. And besides, Xorus would never kill your mother. He annihilated an entire pack for her.”
I nod slowly, pushing my curiosity about what happened between my mother and Xorus aside.
Outside, dawn begins to creep in, the moon giving way to pale morning light. I suddenly become acutely aware of where I am.
Of what happened between us last night. My cheeks heat. “So… we finally did it..”
Lucien’s gaze drops to my lips, then deliberately returns to my eyes. “Yes.”
“And?”
“And,” he says calmly, “I don’t regret it.”
My heart stumbles.
He brushes a loose strand of silver hair behind my ear. “But what happens next doesn’t get decided by fear or manipulation. It gets decided when you’re fully awake, fully yourself.”
I study his face—controlled, guarded, but honest.
“I have officially claimed you as my mate and you belong to me now. I'll protect you with my life if I have to." He leans down and kisses me softly. “We'll resume training when it's morning."
“Good,” I say. “Because if Xorus thinks manipulating my mind will make me kneel…”
A slow, dangerous smile curves Lucien’s lips.
“He’s underestimated you,” he finishes.
And somehow, wrapped in his arms with the
morning light breaking through the darkness, I believe it.
Xorus better be ready for what's coming for him