I Escaped the Alpha Who Thought He Owned MeChapter 1
Lyra’s POV
“I’ve accepted Alpha Thoren Dravenwood’s proposal.”
The admission felt like frost cutting through my throat.
My father—Alpha Mike Solari—froze mid-stride by the war table, where the air smelled of ink and burning cedarwood. His head lifted slowly, his eyes widening as if the words themselves defied reason.
“You can’t be serious,” he said at last, voice tight, suspicion darkening his gaze.
But I was. More than ever.
Alpha Thoren Dravenwood—the illustrious heir of the Dravenwood Pack. Revered, formidable, feared. Until the night he was poisoned by vampire blood tainted with shadowroot. He’d fallen mid-hunt and never opened his eyes again.
No spell, no healer, no priest had stirred him from that living death. Only the royal blood of his wolf kept his heart beating, his body preserved—trapped in a cruel parody of life.
No woman volunteered to become his Luna. Who would? To bind your soul to a man locked in unending sleep was worse than widowhood.
Except I stepped forward. And I had my motives.
“The Dravenwood Pack is pressing for the ceremony,” I said, my tone measured. “You know they won’t tolerate delay.”
“They asked for Elowen,” he said stiffly.
“I know,” I replied, my voice cool and even. “But Elowen can’t stomach being Luna to a cursed man. So I’ll take her place.”
He exhaled sharply, then the sharp lines of calculation began to soften his face. “It could work,” he murmured. “Their demand is met, the alliance holds, our northern border stays secure. I’ll have the council begin preparations—”
“I expect payment.”
His head snapped up. “What did you just say?”
I met his gaze without flinching. “You’re bartering me off for convenience, not affection. So if I’m to be chained to a man who may never wake—all to protect your precious bastard daughter—I want something in return.”
His jaw tightened. “Lyra, don’t start with theatrics—”
“I want half of the treasury,” I cut in, stepping forward. “Not a ceremonial dowry. Half of the pack’s gold. Including your private reserves.”
He bristled. “That would ruin me.”
“Perfect.”
He looked at me as though I were a stranger—perhaps realizing that he had never really known me at all.
“And,” I added, turning for the door, “I want Kael reassigned.”
His brows lifted. “To whom?”
“To Elowen. He’ll be her guard now.”