Chapter 21 start training
I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening around the towel like it could shield me from her gaze. “Are you… just going to stand there?” I asked, voice higher than I intended.
Lyra tilted her head, that same unshakable grin curling her lips. “Relax, just like I said before I have seen more naked bodies of my fellow werewolves,” she said, her tone teasing. “I’ve seen worse Mara and I don't care about a little… nudity?”
I scowled, heat creeping up my neck.
“A little? I’m not exactly comfortable giving anyone a free show, thanks.”
She chuckled, taking a step back toward the door as if to finally grant me a shred of privacy. “Alright, alright,” she said, raising her hands in mock surrender. “Go on, change. I’ll wait outside… for now.”
Relief hit me like a wave. I quickly dropped the towel and tugged the jumper over my head, the fabric swallowing me instantly. The leggings followed, and I had to roll them at the ankles to keep from tripping. The clothes smelled faintly of Lyra, clean and faintly earthy, and for a moment, I just breathed, savoring the warmth and comfort.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Lyra bite back a smirk. “Remind me to get some seven-year-old pup’s clothes for you next time,” she said lightly, and I felt my cheeks flame red.
“Not helping,” I muttered, tugging the sleeves down over my hands.
She only laughed softly, shaking her head. “You’ll survive, Mara. Believe it or not, you’ll survive this.”
I clenched my fists at my sides, feeling the ache in my ribs and the dull burn of humiliation, but also a flicker of something stubborn inside me. I wasn’t broken yet. Not completely.
“Just… go,” I said finally, voice sharper than I meant. “Give me a moment of peace.”
Lyra’s grin lingered, softening slightly, and then she stepped back, closing the door quietly behind her.
I sank onto the bed, tugging the oversized jumper tighter around me, and let myself breathe. One step at a time. Clean. Alive. Not safe, but alive.
It was enough for some minutes not until when Lyra opened and walked again in the room.
I looked up fast, my pulse jumping. "What do you really want with me?", I asked.
Lyra paused mid-step, the half-smile on her face fading. For the first time, she didn’t look amused. She shut the door behind her again, slower this time, and leaned her back against it.
“What I want?” she echoed, studying me. "Don't you see that I want to be your friend? I want you to start training with me"
I frowned, my pulse still racing.
“But… Leander... he won’t even let me leave this room. How will I manage to train with you if I can’t even go outside?”
Lyra’s jaw softened slightly. “I’ll handle him,” she said firmly. “You won’t have to deal with him while we train. I’ll make sure he’s… occupied.”
I blinked, uncertain. “Occupied? How can you be sure?”
“You’ll see,” she said, a shadow of a smile tugging at her lips. “You just focus on learning. I’ll handle the rest.”
She tilted her head slightly, eyes flicking to the edge of the bed. “You hungry? Let me tell the guards to bring you some food. You need strength if we’re going to start training tomorrow.”
I nodded, a faint relief washing over me. Even a small gesture like that felt like a thread of normalcy in the chaos surrounding me.
“Believe it or not, I’m trying to make sure you stay alive long enough to make sense of what’s happening to you.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “By barging in and making jokes about nudity?”
That earned a ghost of a smile. “Maybe I don’t have the best bedside manner,” she admitted. “But I don't like it when you look at me like I’m one of them,” she said quietly. “Like I’m here to hurt you.”
“Aren’t you?” I asked, forcing my voice not to tremble. “You work for him. You live under his command. You obey him, same as the guards who dragged me back here.”
Her jaw tightened. “That doesn’t mean I agree with him.”
“Then why stay?”
She looked away for a second, eyes flicking toward the window where pale morning light seeped through the curtains. “Because leaving isn’t as simple as walking out the front door, Amara. You should know that better than anyone.”
Her words hit a nerve. I bit my lip and looked down at my hands resting in my lap, pale against the gray fabric of the jumper. “I didn’t ask for your pity.”
“I’m not giving you pity,” she said, her tone sharper now. “I’m offering you something you don’t have. You’re the first wolf to stand up to him and still be here the next morning. You think that doesn’t make people curious?”
“Curious?” I repeated. “You mean it makes them wonder how long I’ll last.”
“Or if you’ll change him.”
The idea hit me so absurdly I almost laughed. “Change Kael? You can’t change a storm.”
Lyra’s eyes gleamed faintly in the dim light. “Maybe not. But sometimes a storm changes course.” She pushed herself off the door.
“That’s what I want, Amara. To see if you’ll survive long enough to prove me right or wrong.”
Before I could reply, she added, “And you’d better get ready. He’s restless today.”
"So what should I do?", I asked puzzled.
“You keep your head down. You don’t provoke him. You don’t challenge him, not today.”
My stomach twisted at her tone, low, warning, edged with something that almost sounded like fear. “Why? What’s different about today?”
She hesitated. That alone made my chest tighten. Lyra never hesitated.
“The full moon’s close,” she said finally, stepping closer. “His control... slips. It always does around this time. You’ve seen how he gets, colder, sharper, like he’s holding himself together by will alone. Just... don’t test him.”
Her words stirred something heavy inside me. I had seen that look in Leander’s eyes, the restrained violence, the flicker of something feral beneath his calm mask.
But there was another part of me, the reckless, wounded part that whispered I’d already lost too much to live in fear. “And if he tests me?” I asked quietly.
Lyra’s gaze met mine, steady and unreadable. “Then you choose your battles wisely,” she said. “Because surviving him isn’t about fighting. It’s about knowing when not to.”
I swallowed hard, not sure if I should feel grateful or resentful. “You talk like you’ve been where I am.”
A humorless laugh slipped from her lips. “We’ve all been where you are, Amara. The difference is, most of us stopped fighting a long time ago.”
"But you going to start training",
I swallowed, trying to steady my voice. “Training… you mean… you want me to fight hi—”
Lyra leaned back against the doorframe, her posture casual but eyes sharp. “I mean exactly that. You can’t survive in here relying on luck alone. You need to be faster, stronger… smarter than him, Amara. And that starts with training.”
I blinked, incredulous. “You… you want me to train with you? Right now?”
She shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Not right now. Not tonight. You need rest after last night. But I’ll come for you in the morning. We’ll start then. Don’t worry about him ... I’ll handle Leander. You just prepare yourself.”
"Okay," I replied, faking a smile. The moment she turned, I shut my door firmly.
The smile vanished.
Something seemed fishy with her.