As soon as the car stopped at the ancient,carved entrance to the Vance Clan Den,the sharp ringtone of Ryder’s private comm-link shattered the quiet.
“What?Lyra had a minor skirmish?”Ryder’s face turned instantly pale with primal concern.“I will be there immediately to secure the perimeter!”
He didn’t even bother to step past the Vance Clan’s gate.He was already shifting his weight,ready to leave.“Elara,I will make this up to you next cycle,”he called over his shoulder,rushing back toward the vehicle.
Elara glanced at the calendar on her comm-link.Today was the exact cycle Lyra’s official severance from her ex-Mate was finalized.
“There will be no next cycle,Ryder,”she whispered to herself,gathering the supplements she had brought for her father and walking toward the Den alone.
Her parents,the Vance Alpha and Luna,had been waiting anxiously by the door.
After the strained greetings,her mother hesitated.“Did Alpha Thorne go to secure the vehicle?”
“He was called away to assist his pack-sister,Lyra,”Elara answered,her voice calm despite the raw chaos she felt inside.
Her mother’s brow furrowed.“That pup…she is no longer bound to her Mate?”
“Yes,she is officially no longer bound to the rival Pack,”Elara said simply,then slowly revealed the entire,painful truth about the secret Claiming Contract.
The mention of Lyra and the truth caused her Alpha Father to explode with rage.He immediately staggered,his knees buckling,and he collapsed onto the stone floor.
Elara’s heart raced as she frantically dialed Ryder’s private comm-link.Her husband couldn’t have gone far—getting him to carry her father to the Pack Healer’s Den would be faster than waiting for a transport.
Beep...beep...!The phone rang,but no one answered.Frustration boiled in her chest.Elara then helped her father up and drove him to the nearest human clinic herself.Thankfully,her father was stabilized.
While waiting for the Healer’s assessment,Elara scrolled through her comm-link and stumbled across a new post from Lyra.
In the video,Ryder was carefully applying a Pack-Healer’s salve to a small,insignificant scrape on Lyra’s knee.The caption read something that shattered Elara’s last sliver of hope.
[Thank you,Alpha,for securing the perimeter so quickly.Thankfully,it was only a minor territorial skirmish from a low-ranking Beta pup!]