Chapter 56

Chapter 56
“These wounds aren’t healing.
Shock claimed a hold of me, rendering me frozen. Something was blocking the bear’s regenerative powers. I turned with care, my movements slow, back to face Lyra Frostbite. Her eyes still glowed with an otherworldly light, her hair whipped about in an absent wind. Her arm remained raised, hand twisting, fingers flicking as she controlled the wolf like a puppeteer. Another cry tore from the bear’s throat. The wolf leaped off the bear, spun and rammed into his side. The bear slammed to the cold, hard ground. Without giving him a moment’s pause, the wolf crashed into his side again, sending the bear skidding back.”
“Ahead of the wolf was a sharp drop straight into a ravine.
The wolf slammed him again and again. The bear clawed at the wolf—a last feeble attempt—but his claws went straight through its translucent body. It appeared as if air and light made up the massive wolf. Blood soaked the ground in bright red streaks, pooling on the snow from the gaping wound at the bear’s neck. With one finally shove, the bear slipped over the edge and plummeted with an echoing roar. Then stillness bathed the forest as silence descended.
The danger having now passed; I allowed my bear skin to recede, my human form taking its place. After pressing a hand to my neck, I found the wound almost closed. The blood had slowed to a slight trickle. I faced Lyra Frostbite. The light had left her eyes. With her arm lowered at her side, she stared at the ravine’s edge, where the bear had once been.
“Lyra Frostbite,” I rushed toward her. “Are you okay?” I glanced at her torn shirt, to the claw marks that fanned her midsection. “Shit, Lyra Frostbite…”
Her sluggish eyes slid to me, staring—in a trance—like she looked right through me. My skin prickled and the hairs on my arms stood up.
“Lyra Frostbite?”
She swayed on her feet, her eyes rolling back in her head. I shot forward, catching her in my arms before she hit the ground.

“LYRA FROSTBITE
A ceiling met my vision as my eyelids drifted open and I blinked as my gaze slid to the side. An oak nightstand with a rustic lamp atop stood to my right. My brow wrinkled. I didn’t have a nightstand in my bedroom. Then my eyes snagged on the window. Rich brown curtains flanked the window, pulled closed. My memory rushed back like a tidal wave. I was in the forest, fighting a werebear.
How the hell did I end up here?”
“And where was ‘here’?
My heart beat a staccato against my ribcage. Breaths quickening, I twisted in the bed; the sheets tangling around my legs. I rose on my elbows, tried to sit up, but white hot pain speared through my abdomen. I dropped my gaze down to the sheets. A gauze binding wrapped around my stomach. I blinked. A figure appeared in my periphery, sending the tiny hairs on my arms lifting. My claws sliced out, and my head whipped to the left. Relief loosened my shoulders.
Ryker Steelheart slumped in a chair. His head lolled to the side while his chest rose and fell with even breaths. Dark shadows clung to the skin beneath his eyes. A mop of tangled waves tousled his hair. My nose wrinkled as I caught the stench of dried blood, and sweat intermingled with body odor. From the smell of him, he hadn’t bathed in… days.
“Have I been unconscious that long? And what the hell happened with the fight against the werebear?
I recalled attacking him with unsheathed claws and fangs. How his claws had ripped through the flesh of my arms as if they were mere butter. Ryker Steelheart had arrived, and I jumped in to save him and the werebear slashed open my stomach and…
And then what?
“Ryker Steelheart?”
He didn’t stir.
“Ryker Steelheart?” I called out louder.
He jerked awake, shooting to his feet, fangs jabbed out—as if he were readying to face down a foe. His gaze swung toward me, and his fangs receded into the gum line.
“Lyra Frostbite…” He exhaled a long sigh.”
“Ryker Steelheart stood and dropped to his knees at my bedside, worry lines creasing his brow. “Thank God you’re all right.”
“What happened to me?”
Ryker Steelheart raised a brow. “You mean you don’t remember?”
I shook my head.
He raked a hand through his already messy strands. “You fought the werebear single-handedly.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know that.” I had the wounds to prove it.
Ryker Steelheart shook his head. “No. You conjured up a wolf made of light and controlled it. You fought the werebear through an extension of the wolf and pushed the bear over the ravine.” Ryker Steelheart blinked, shaking his head. “I’ve seen nothing like it. How did you do that?“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

“Eyes wide with astonishment, I stared at Ryker. “I-I did what?”
Ryker relayed the events to me that had happened three nights before. Every added detail left me more confused, my mind whirling. “I…” After swallowing past a dry lump in my throat, I said, “I don’t remember any of that. And I don’t even know how I did it. Those powers… they almost sound fae-like.”
But that’s impossible. Werewolves don’t possess power like that! And I’m not fae, by any means… Could this have something to do with the silverbane the witch gave me at birth?
I shook my head. No, the witch meant to kill me, not give me some fae power. But… why was I targeted in the first place? That mystery had haunted me for years.
“These past few days,” Ryker began, voice solemn. “It has been touch and go “with you. Our healer feared you may not survive your injuries.” His voice trembled, and he fisted the sheets, as if to steel himself. “I tried to heal you, licked your wounds, hoping I would transfer my regenerative powers through saliva. But it didn’t work.”
I bit my lower lip at that, taking in that troubling information. My gaze fastened on Ryker. A muscle ticked in his jaw. He refused to meet my eyes. “You know something, don’t you?” He glanced back at me. “Why do you think that your regenerating powers didn’t work?”
After a pregnant pause, he muttered, “Because of the werebear being manipulated by Dark Fae. Maybe the fae laced his claws with power to prevent a werewolf from regenerating.”
My brows shot up. “Y-You… said Dark Fae manipulated the bear…” Ryker’s lips thinned. “I owe you an apology.” He sighed. “I should’ve believed you when you said you could smell Dark Fae earlier at the trails.”
I ignored the warm flutter in my chest at his apology. “That aside, how did you come to the same conclusion that the Dark Fae were responsible for the werebear attacks?”
“When I fought the bear, I tried to force him to yield by using my dominance as alpha,” Ryker said. “He wouldn’t submit. And that’s when I touched his mind and hit a metallic-like wall that enshrouded his mind.”
I nodded, my thoughts spinning a mile a minute. “One thing that makes little sense… Why did he attack us… attack me?”
“I’ve been wracking my brain over that answer since you passed out.“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​