Chapter 52

Chapter 52
Lyra’s POV

The courtyard had been cleaned before the sun fully rose. The burned stones were still there—dark scars against the gray floor—but the broken weapons were gone, the gates reinforced, and wolves moved around the keep like they always did.

Cooking fires crackled near the kitchens. Guards rotated shifts along the walls. A few younger wolves sparred near the training grounds, their laughter carrying through the air.

If someone had walked in without knowing what happened last night, they might have thought nothing unusual had occurred.

But every time I stepped into view, conversations paused.

Eyes followed me.

Not with the same suspicion as before.

Something different now.

Something… curious.

I tried to ignore it as I crossed the courtyard toward the training field, but whispers drifted behind me anyway.

“That’s her.”

“The one with the flames?”

“Did you see what she did last night?”

“I heard she burned ten rogues in seconds.”

I grimaced under my breath.

Ten? That number definitely wasn’t accurate.

Still, the murmurs didn’t sound frightened.

If anything, they sounded impressed.

That somehow made it worse.

Kaelia jogged up beside me, falling into step with a grin that looked far too pleased with the situation.

“You’re famous,” she said.

“I’m infamous,” I corrected.

She waved a hand. “Details.”

I groaned. “Please tell me they’ll stop staring soon.”

“Unlikely.”

“That’s not comforting.”

Kaelia nudged my shoulder. “Relax. Yesterday they thought you might burn the pack down. Today they think you helped save it.”

“That’s a pretty big emotional swing.”

“Welcome to pack politics.”

I sighed.

As we reached the training ground, several wolves were already gathered there.

The moment they noticed me, conversation died again.

One of the older warriors, a broad-shouldered man named Toren, gave a small nod in my direction.

“Morning,” he said.

I blinked in surprise.

“Morning,” I replied cautiously.

A few others echoed the greeting.

Not warm exactly—but not hostile either.

Kaelia leaned closer to me and whispered, “See? Progress.”

“Barely.”

But she wasn’t wrong.

Before the attack, most of them avoided me entirely.

Now they were at least acknowledging I existed.

Baby steps.

I moved toward the practice rings, rolling my shoulders to loosen the stiffness still lingering in my muscles.

“Ready for training?” Kaelia asked.

“Define ready.”

She laughed.

Before she could answer, someone cleared their throat behind us.

I turned.

Elias stood a few steps away, looking like he’d rather face another rogue than have this conversation.

His arm was still wrapped in a thick bandage, and his usual sarcastic expression had been replaced with something awkwardly serious.

“Uh… hey,” he said.

“Hey,” I replied carefully.

He shifted his weight.

“Listen, I just… wanted to say something.”

Kaelia smirked quietly and stepped back.

“I’ll just… go stretch,” she said, disappearing before Elias could protest.

He shot her an annoyed look before turning back to me.

“Traitor,” he muttered under his breath.

I crossed my arms. “You were saying?”

He scratched the back of his neck.

“This is weird.”

“You started it.”

“Yeah, I know.” He sighed. “Look, I just wanted to say thanks.”

“For what?”

“For the fire thing,” he said vaguely.

“That clears it up.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

I studied him for a moment.

“You already thanked me yesterday.”

“Yeah, but that was in front of everyone.” He shrugged. “This one’s the real thank-you.”

Something about the sincerity in his voice caught me off guard.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said quietly.

“Yeah, I did.” He nodded toward the eastern wall in the distance. “That rogue would’ve taken my head off if you hadn’t torched the ground under him.”

“I barely remember it.”

“Well, I do.”

I shifted awkwardly.

“You’d have done the same.”

“Maybe,” he admitted. “But you didn’t hesitate.”

I opened my mouth to reply when a familiar voice cut across the training field.

“Talking instead of training?”

Draven.

Every wolf on the field straightened immediately.

I turned slowly.

He stood near the edge of the ring, arms folded across his chest. The sunlight caught in his dark hair, and his expression was the same calm, unreadable mask he wore during council meetings.

But his eyes were on me.

Completely on me.

Elias muttered under his breath, “And the Alpha arrives.”

“You should probably go before he assigns you extra drills,” I said quietly.

“Good point.” Elias gave me a quick nod. “See you around, fire wolf.”

“I really hope that nickname doesn’t stick.”

“No promises.”

He jogged off toward the sparring group.

I turned back toward the training ring—and found Draven still watching me.

My stomach flipped.

Why was he staring like that?

I walked toward him, trying to ignore the sudden nervous flutter in my chest.

“Good morning,” I said.

His gaze swept over me briefly, assessing.

“How are the burns?”

“Better.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, Alpha,” I said with exaggerated patience.

His mouth twitched faintly.

“Careful. That tone sounds suspiciously like sarcasm.”

“Must be contagious.”

A few nearby wolves snorted quietly.

Draven ignored them.

“Training starts now,” he said, his voice carrying across the field.

The wolves quickly moved into formation.

I stepped into the sparring circle with Kaelia and two other warriors.

But the moment practice began, I noticed something.

Draven wasn’t watching everyone.

He was watching me.

Every movement.

Every step.

Every time I shifted my stance or threw a strike, his eyes followed.

It was distracting.

Very distracting.

After my third missed block, Kaelia lowered her practice blade and raised an eyebrow.

“You okay?”

“Fine,” I muttered.

“You just let Toren tag you.”

“I noticed.”

She glanced toward the edge of the field.

Then she smirked.

“Oh.”

“Oh what?”

“You’re nervous.”

“I am not.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Kaelia—”

“You’ve got the Alpha watching you like a hawk.”

I groaned quietly.

“Don’t say it like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like it means something.”

She leaned closer, whispering, “Doesn’t it?”

I opened my mouth—

—and immediately lost focus when Draven’s voice cut across the ring.

“Lyra.”

I turned.

“Yes?”

“You’re favoring your left side.”

Heat rushed to my face.

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

Toren chuckled nearby.

“Alpha’s right.”

I glared at him.

“Whose side are you on?”

“The one that doesn’t involve getting burned,” he said cheerfully.

Draven stepped closer to the edge of the ring.

“Again,” he said.

I sighed but reset my stance.

We started the drill again.

This time I forced myself to focus.

Step. Block. Strike.

But even while moving, I could still feel it.

Draven’s attention.

Steady. Unwavering.

And every time our eyes met across the field, my pulse skipped in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with training.

Which was a problem.

Because judging by the way the rest of the pack occasionally glanced between us—

they were starting to notice too.