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Alpha's Shield Vera's Return 1 New 1 21 Eps
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00:00In my past life, Lyra, the lowborn daughter of a noble pack family, fell into the lake.
00:09My brother Caden pulled her out.
00:12She accused him of assaulting her in the water, demanded he take her as his mate,
00:17said she'd drag the whole thing before the Alpha King and Luna Queen, and have him punished if he refused.
00:23It was the worst possible time.
00:26Caden was right in the middle of his succession process for the Northmark Alpha title.
00:30I was terrified it would derail everything, so I pushed T into it.
00:35He took her as his mate.
00:39Seven months later, she gave birth to twins.
00:42Caden endured the humiliation, raised her two sons, fought rogue wolves on the border, until he came home crippled.
00:49Then she and her sons poisoned him.
00:51He bled from every wound and died in his own filth.
00:54I tried to report it.
00:55My fiancé, Dorian, looped his belt around my throat.
01:00If you report them, Lyra and my two sons die for it.
01:07I opened my eyes.
01:09I was back at the summer gathering.
01:12I saw Lyra fall into the lake.
01:16Sis, someone's drowning. We have to go help.
01:18Don't you dare move.
01:19This was a second chance.
01:21There was no version of this life where I let him walk into that trap.
01:24Sis, why are you crying?
01:26I'm fine. Wind got to me.
01:30Sis, let go of me. Someone's life is at stake.
01:33I said, don't move.
01:35Are you serious right now? Someone's drowning.
01:39Someone will save her, just not you.
01:43I turned to the squat, pockmarked stable hand standing nearby.
01:47Bram, you want to mate or not?
01:50Bram worked the stables at Northmark Manor.
01:52He was built like a barrel.
01:54Face cratered with old scars.
01:56Teeth the color of old bone.
01:57Lazy as the day was long.
02:00Spent his wages at gambling dens and pleasure houses.
02:03Any other servant?
02:04I'd have thrown him out years ago.
02:06But Bram had one thing going for him.
02:08His father.
02:09Old Wreck had carried my father's body off the battlefield with his own back.
02:13Out of a pile of the dead.
02:14That kind of loyalty didn't expire.
02:17So Bram, for all his uselessness,
02:20had a kind of untouchable status in the manor.
02:24Even Caden and I gave him a little room.
02:26We didn't send him on errands lightly.
02:29Today was only because our other two stable hands had fallen sick.
02:32So Bram was driving us to the summer gathering.
02:35Of course I want one, my lady.
02:39Bram.
02:41Today I'm handing you an opportunity.
02:44Go pull that girl out of the water.
02:47But after you get her out,
02:49hide in the reeds.
02:51Don't let anyone see you.
02:52Wait until I call for you.
02:55I promise by the end of today,
02:57you'll have yourself a highborn mate for free.
03:00Whatever you say, my lady.
03:04Then go.
03:06Bram hit the water with a splash.
03:08The delay had cost Lyra.
03:10She'd swallowed a lot of water by then,
03:12and was barely conscious.
03:13Everyone follow me, quickly!
03:15My lady fell in the water!
03:17Hide.
03:18Now.
03:18I'll call you when it's time.
03:20Yes, my lady.
03:21Lyra's personal attendant arrived with a whole group behind her.
03:24At the front, my fiancé, Dorian, son of the pack elder.
03:29Caden saved her, didn't he?
03:30Lyra coughed up water and came around.
03:35She looked at the crowd.
03:37Then she pointed straight at Caden and burst into tears,
03:41screaming that he'd assaulted her in the water.
03:43The crowd erupted.
03:46They call Beta Caden a young hero,
03:49fearless against rogues on the border.
03:50And yet here he is, preying on a helpless girl.
03:52You really can't judge a wolf by his fur.
03:55Exactly!
03:56Attacking a defenseless woman.
03:58What kind of hero does that?
04:00Northmark Pack has always stood for loyalty and honor.
04:02How did they raise someone like this?
04:04I can't believe this is the Caden we all respected.
04:07He's dragged his whole bloodline through the mud.
04:12That's not what happened!
04:13I didn't touch her!
04:14You didn't touch me?
04:16You had your hands all over me in that water.
04:18You did this to me and now you're going to stand there and deny it?
04:21Caden, you're a Beta warrior.
04:22How could you do something like this?
04:24Dorian, I didn't.
04:25I swear I didn't.
04:26You have to believe me.
04:27Then why would Lyra say this?
04:28She's a daughter of a noble Pack family.
04:30What would she gain by lying?
04:31Why did you humiliate me like this, Caden?
04:34Does a woman's honor mean nothing to you?
04:36Do you think I'd destroy my own reputation just to frame you?
04:44Beta Caden used a rescuer's cover to assault an innocent girl.
04:47And now he won't even own it.
04:50Shameless.
04:54You ride your rogue-fighting reputation and come back
04:57thinking you can do whatever you want to pack women in the capital?
05:01He ruined her honor.
05:03He has to take responsibility.
05:04If this gets out, how is she ever supposed to find a mate?
05:07And she's lowborn on top of everything.
05:10Caden, if you're any kind of wolf,
05:12stand up in front of everyone right now and come making this right.
05:15Take Lyra as your mate.
05:19I'm telling you, I didn't do anything to her.
05:21Why won't any of you listen?
05:23Caden, even now you're going to dig in?
05:26I pulled Caden behind me and shook my head.
05:29This was Dorian and Lyra's trap.
05:31Every piece of it was designed.
05:33He could talk until he was hoarse.
05:35No one here was going to believe him.
05:37Vera.
05:38Northman Pack is your responsibility.
05:39This is Caden's fault.
05:41Set a date, go to the family with a formal mating request,
05:43and bring Lyra home to the manor properly.
05:45We're not yet mated, Vera.
05:46We're one unit.
05:47My family and yours are bound together.
05:49Everything I'm saying is for Caden's sake and Northman's sake.
05:52If this escalates, it damages Caden and Northman Pack's name.
05:55He's right in the middle of his Alpha title succession.
05:57If someone brings this before the Alpha King and it creates complications, that's a problem.
06:01The Luna Queen and Alpha Prince's Luna are arriving soon.
06:04If this blows up and ruins the summer gathering, the Luna Queen won't be pleased.
06:08Better to handle this quietly.
06:09Everyone walks away happy.
06:11Everyone walks away happy.
06:12He meant him and Lyra walk away happy.
06:15I looked at Dorian with his polished speech and his fake concern and felt sick to my stomach.
06:21Last life, I'd been fooled by that act.
06:24I'd made Caden carry the weight of it.
06:27And it had destroyed us both.
06:30This life, Caden and I could die right here before I let him mate Lyra.
06:34Dorian, hold on.
06:36Let me ask Lyra something first.
06:40I stepped forward.
06:41Lyra, are you absolutely certain the one who assaulted you in the water was my brother, Caden?
06:46I saw him clearly.
06:47It was Caden.
06:49You're saying Caden assaulted you in the water.
06:51Then why is every inch of him completely dry?
06:54The crowd looked at Caden.
06:56Not a drop of water on him.
06:58Confusion spread across their faces.
07:01He probably changed clothes after he pulled me out.
07:04I blacked out when I got to the bank.
07:05I don't know what happened after that.
07:07But in the water, I saw him clearly.
07:09Dorian's eyes went sharp.
07:11Vera, your brother did something wrong.
07:13Instead of making him admit it, you're interrogating Lyra.
07:16What is your problem?
07:18Is Northmark Pac trying to bully their way out of this?
07:23Just because they have Pac's strength and the Alpha King's favor doesn't mean there are no rules.
07:28We will get justice for Lyra today!
07:31The crowd followed.
07:34Caden has to take responsibility.
07:36Dorian looked around, confident with the crowd at his back.
07:42Vera, admit it right now and send a formal mating request to her family.
07:46I looked at Dorian, handsome on the outside and rotten to the core, and thought of the look on his
07:52face when he tightened that belt around my throat in the last life.
07:56My stomach turned.
07:59Dorian, did you personally see Caden assault Lyra?
08:03He opened his mouth.
08:04Nothing came out.
08:07What are you saying?
08:08That Lyra destroyed her own honor just to frame your brother?
08:15I thought I knew you.
08:17I was wrong.
08:18Duchess Maren pointed at me.
08:19How long does Northmark Pac plan to keep bullying people?
08:22You're covering for your brother even now.
08:25The crowd's mood turned.
08:26They looked ready to spit on me.
08:28We are upsetting Lyra, Thunand.
08:31Northmark Pac has gone too far.
08:33We all see it now.
08:34We always respected them.
08:36What a mistake that was.
08:38I looked over the crowd.
08:40Has anyone here personally seen my brother assault Lyra?
08:43Silence.
08:44They looked at each other.
08:45Nobody spoke.
08:46You're absolutely certain it was Caden.
08:48You say he ruined your honor.
08:50What's your proof?
08:53I have proof.
08:54She reached into her clothing and pulled out a jade pendant.
08:56This!
08:58When I was fighting in the water, I tore it off the person who attacked me!
09:05The crowd saw it and the verdict was sealed.
09:08Still have something to say?
09:10That's not mine.
09:15No one believed him.
09:17If it's not Caden's, whose is it?
09:18That's a fine piece of jade.
09:19But there's no Northmark mark on it.
09:22Lyra says it's my brother's.
09:23Does that make it his?
09:24When we got here, you and Caden were the only two at the scene.
09:26Who else could it belong of?
09:27Duchess Maren.
09:28Lyra says with nothing but her own word that this belongs to my brother.
09:31I could just as easily say it belongs to your mate.
09:34Don't you dare drag my mate into this!
09:39Lyra's voice cracked into a wail.
09:41I am a proper-born wolf of good standing.
09:45I have never stepped outside the bounds of what's right.
09:48I am not shameless.
09:49I don't degrade myself.
09:51My honor is gone.
09:53Now you're humiliating me on top of it.
09:55I'd rather draw than die!
09:56She broke free from the crowd and ran toward the water.
09:59Everyone gasped and grabbed for her.
10:01Dorian went white with fury, pulled back his hand and slapped me hard across the face.
10:05I didn't think you were capable of this, Vera.
10:08He went to strike again.
10:09Caden caught his arm and locked it.
10:11Dorian, touch my sister one more time and see what I do to your hand.
10:16I said I didn't assault Lyra.
10:17I didn't ruin her honor.
10:19A wolf's word is his bond.
10:21Why is not one of you willing to take me at mine?
10:24If anyone else insult my sister, don't expect me to stay quiet.
10:28The crowd's anger spiked higher.
10:40I pressed my hand to my stinging cheek.
10:43Beneath the pain, something warm spread through my chest from Caden's words.
10:47This life, whatever it cost me, I was going to protect him.
10:51I looked at Lyra.
10:53Seems like you've already decided to pour this bucket on my brother no matter what.
10:58But hear me clearly, Lyra.
11:01You want Caden as your mate?
11:03You're dreaming.
11:05We'd both die before that happens.
11:07She hesitated.
11:08Then something dark crossed her eyes.
11:09You're only standing firm because no one was there to witness it.
11:12No one can prove your version either.
11:14She turned and threw herself headfirst into a tree.
11:17The crowd lurched to stop her.
11:19Too slow.
11:20She split her forehead open.
11:21Blood ran down her face.
11:23The crowd's fury hit its peak.
11:27Northmark Pack is killing her!
11:29Her brother did wrong.
11:31And she's forcing an innocent girl to die for it.
11:35What kind of people are they?
11:37Lyra, this isn't your fault.
11:39Northmark Pack is wrong here.
11:40We'll have our mates bring this before the Pack Council tomorrow.
11:44If Northmark keeps refusing...
11:46Right!
11:46Northmark Pack.
11:47Vera, you won't stop until she's dead, will you?
11:51I see who you really are now, Vera.
11:53I can't mate a woman with a heart like this.
11:55If Northmark Pack won't answer for Lyra today, then our mate-bond agreement is void.
11:59I'm calling it off.
12:00A woman who can't tell right from wrong, mate her and your Pack will never have peace!
12:05Better to break it off now!
12:07Dorian was certain I wouldn't let him do it.
12:10In this world, a woman whose mate-bond was broken was done.
12:13The gossip alone would drown her.
12:15No, no, no!
12:16But he didn't know I'd spent this entire time setting up for exactly this moment.
12:20You said it, Dorian, son of the Pack Elder.
12:22A wolf's word is his bond.
12:23I'm releasing our mate-bond agreement.
12:25Right now.
12:27Someone bring paper and something to write with.
12:29I want Dorian to put the dissolution in writing.
12:34Dorian had only meant it as leverage.
12:36Forced me to push Caden into the mating.
12:38He hadn't actually wanted out.
12:39My answer caught him completely off guard.
12:41He went still.
12:42Dorian was sharp, calculating.
12:43He saw the leverage failing and softened fast.
12:45If you'll just let Caden take responsibility, we don't need to dissolve anything.
12:49My brother Caden is a true wolf who has done nothing wrong.
12:53Write the dissolution, Dorian.
12:55A servant brought paper and a writing tool.
12:58Dorian was cornered.
12:59He wrote the dissolution, then threw it at me like he was doing me a favor.
13:04Lady Thorn from the noble Pack family is here.
13:07Lyra flinched and drew in on herself.
13:09My stepmother came.
13:10She'll destroy me.
13:11Vera, please, just let this go.
13:14The Pack ladies pressed in around me.
13:15Vera, you're a woman too.
13:17You understand what honor means to us.
13:18If this spreads, how does Lyra ever find a mate?
13:21And she's lowborn.
13:23Besides, science.
13:24Just say yes to this mating and give her a way to survive.
13:27They'd all been taken in by Lyra's helpless act.
13:30None of them had any idea what she was capable of behind closed doors.
13:33I gave a cold smile.
13:35You reap what you sow.
13:37Lyra, I'm not the one who can help you.
13:39I don't think anyone can help you today.
13:44Lady Thorn arrived and ran a flat look over Lyra, soaking wet.
13:48What happened?
13:49Everyone talked over each other to explain.
13:51It was Caden!
13:52The wolf!
13:52Lady Thorn's brow tightened.
13:54Take the second daughter away.
13:56Stop making a scene.
13:57An elder Pack matron stepped forward and began dragging Lyra out.
14:00Vera!
14:01Caden!
14:02If you won't admit it, I won't survive this.
14:05Lady Thorn, today's events really can't be blamed on your daughter.
14:08You must speak up for her.
14:10Vera.
14:10Voice flat.
14:11Northmark Pack may have more battlefield honors in the Alpha King's favor than our family.
14:15But we are not easy to push around.
14:17My daughter has called me mother for over a decade.
14:20I will get justice for her from Northmark Pack.
14:23I could see the key person had arrived.
14:24The ground was ready.
14:26Lady Thorn, you're Lyra's stepmother.
14:29You're the one who has authority over her mating arrangements.
14:32So let me ask you plainly, right here in front of everyone,
14:36is it your family's position that whoever pulled Lyra out of that water today is responsible for her and must
14:40take her as their mate?
14:41It is.
14:42I looked at Lyra.
14:43That's your position too, Lyra?
14:44Lyra bit her lip.
14:45Yes.
14:46No matter who it is, Lyra will mate with that person.
14:49Yes or no?
14:50Yes.
14:51And Dorian and everyone here agrees?
14:53Of course.
14:53A true wolf owns his actions.
14:56Yes.
14:56Yes.
14:57Everyone heard that.
14:58You're all witnesses.
14:59Lyra, don't you regret this?
15:02I turned toward the thick reeds on the bank and raised my voice.
15:05Bram, get out here.
15:07Lyra from the Noble Pack family is desperate to be your mate.
15:13The crowd went quiet.
15:15The reeds rustled.
15:16A figure pushed through.
15:18Short, stocky, face full of craters, yellow teeth.
15:21He grinned his ugliest grin.
15:23Coming, mate!
15:26Lyra went the color of ash.
15:28That's not who it was!
15:29It was Caden who pulled me out!
15:30Dorian's expression cracked too.
15:32What are you talking about?
15:33I'm the one who saved you!
15:34No, you're not!
15:35It was Caden!
15:36It was Caden!
15:37That's ridiculous.
15:38My master and my lady were standing together.
15:40Neither of them went near the water.
15:42How could they have saved you?
15:43When I pulled you out, you tore that next right off my neck.
15:46That's a lie.
15:47Something like that couldn't belong to someone like you.
15:49Bram smiled wide and slow, every yellow tooth on display.
15:53The Alpha Prince gave that to me personally.
15:55About a month ago, I kept the Alpha Prince's young heir from getting hurt when he fell from
15:59a carriage.
16:00The Alpha Prince uncliffed it himself and gave it to me as a reward.
16:04I saved you!
16:05That's the truth!
16:05Lyra's face went hollow.
16:07She kept shaking her head.
16:08It wasn't you.
16:09It wasn't you.
16:10It was Caden!
16:12The Alpha Prince's gift can be verified.
16:14It can't be faked.
16:15Bram serves Northmark Manor.
16:16He wouldn't lie about something this serious.
16:18But to be thorough, we should confirm it.
16:22We should check.
16:23The Lunar Queen and the Alpha Prince's Luna both expected around this time.
16:25We could wait for the Lunar Queen to decide.
16:27Dorian's expression went tight.
16:29He could feel the situation slipping past him.
16:32And there was nothing he could do about it.
16:34The Lunar Queen has arrived!
16:36The Alpha Prince's Luna has arrived!
16:38Everyone dropped to their knees.
16:39Luna Seraphine told them to rise, smiling.
16:42Why is everyone gathered here instead of in the garden?
16:46Lady Thorne knelt and presented the whole situation to the Lunar Queen, begging her to decide.
16:51The Lunar Queen's expression grew serious.
16:54Vera, if Caden has feelings for Lyra, I can petition the Alpha King for a royal mate decree.
17:00Luna Queen, today is the first time he's ever laid eyes on Lyra.
17:03There are no feelings to speak of.
17:06Caden would never do something this dishonorable.
17:08The one who entered the water and pulled Lyra out was our stable hand, Bram.
17:11We have physical evidence.
17:14The Lunar Queen had the pendant brought forward.
17:16She looked at it and said,
17:18This is indeed the Alpha Prince's peace.
17:20About a month ago, our young Kian nearly fell from the carriage.
17:23One of Northmark Manor's stable hand caught him in time.
17:25The Alpha Prince gave that pendant to the stable hand on the spot as a reward.
17:28The one who entered the water today is also a stable hand from Northmark.
17:31I imagine it's the same person.
17:33Luna Queen, it is the same person.
17:35That pendant proves Lyra was rescued by Bram, not Caden.
17:39But Lyra refuses to admit it and keeps insisting it was my brother.
17:44I respectfully ask the Lunar Queen to investigate this thoroughly and restore Caden's name.
17:52The Lunar Queen called Bram forward.
17:55Bram, is there any other evidence?
17:58Yes, Lunar Queen.
17:59When I pulled Lyra out of the water, I saw a red crescent birthmark on her chest.
18:05If Lyra keeps denying it and keeps accusing my master, you can verify it.
18:08If the mark isn't there, I'll accept whatever punishment is given to me.
18:11The crowd erupted.
18:12Lyra was shaking.
18:14Her eyes were hollow.
18:16Dorian had gone white.
18:18A birthmark can't be faked.
18:20I'm going to get to the bottom of this.
18:21Take Lyra inside and have her examined.
18:24Lyra inside and have her examined.
18:25One of the Lunar Queen's elder pack matrons stepped forward with two attendants.
18:29Lyra, come with us.
18:30Lyra's legs gave out.
18:32She fainted from sheer terror.
18:34The matron signaled the attendants.
18:36They carried Lyra inside.
18:38The Lunar Queen turned to Duchess Meryn.
18:39Go with a few of the pack ladies.
18:41Be witnesses.
18:44The matron opened Lyra's wet clothing in front of them.
18:47Between her collarbones, clear as anything.
18:49A red crescent birthmark.
18:51It's real.
18:52A mark like that, seen by a man in water.
18:55She'd have to be his mate whether she wanted it or not.
18:58The matron went further.
18:59She examined Lyra for proof of her claim.
19:03The group came back out quickly.
19:04Duchess Meryn's face was cycling through shades of green and white.
19:08I already knew what they'd found.
19:10Lyra does have the red crescent birthmark on her chest.
19:12And when we examined her further, she...
19:14She has not been untouched for some time.
19:16She is also carrying a secret pregnancy.
19:18The crowd went silent.
19:19Then it exploded.
19:21The tide turned completely.
19:22What a scheme.
19:24She played all of us.
19:26She was sneaking a secret lover in while pretending to be honorable.
19:29Shameless.
19:30And then tried to frame Caden for it.
19:32Disgusting.
19:33Lady Thorne went stone-faced.
19:34She slapped Lyra across the face.
19:36Then again...
19:37You have shamed this family.
19:39I have never been more disgusted.
19:41Lyra was completely broken.
19:43She slid down to the ground like water.
19:45And didn't react at all.
19:47Dorian shrank into the background and kept his mouth shut.
19:51Lady Thorne dropped to her knees before the Luna Queen.
19:54I failed in raising her.
19:56I accept whatever punishment you give.
19:59Failed in raising her.
20:00Is that what we're calling it?
20:01Lyra made her own mess.
20:03Got herself with Child in secret.
20:04And then tried to use Caden as a way out.
20:07If Vera hadn't fought back,
20:09Northrink Pax only heir would have been buried alive by this.
20:13Take Lyra to the Pax Tribunational Cells and interrogate her.
20:16I want the name of the secret lover.
20:18The matrons dragged Lyra into the back room.
20:20From inside came screaming.
20:23But Lyra had a hard core.
20:25No matter what they did,
20:26she refused to give up the name.
20:28Dorian was her only hope.
20:30The Luna Queen had no choice.
20:32She had Lyra move to the Pax Tribunal Cells.
20:34That same day,
20:35the matter reached the Alpha King.
20:37He issued a decree
20:38ordering Lyra's noble Pax family to answer for it.
20:43The family patriarch had spent his whole career being careful.
20:46Staying low.
20:47Keeping his head down.
20:48Undone by a lowborn daughter
20:49who'd dreamed of climbing beyond her station.
20:51Though, if you traced it back far enough,
20:53it was Lady Thorne's iron-fisted control of the household
20:56that had left Lyra with no path
20:58but the one her own mother had taken.
21:00Use your face and your body
21:01and hope it gets you somewhere.
21:03That was how she'd ended up tangled with Dorian in the first place.
21:06The Alpha King also sent a rebuke to Duchess Meryn
21:08for her role in inflaming things,
21:10ordering her to keep her mouth shut going forward.
21:12Duchess Meryn never showed her face
21:13at another pack gathering in the capital
21:15for the rest of her life.
21:16Lyra held out in the Tribunal Cells.
21:18Three days later,
21:19two pack matrons came from her family.
21:21They forced a draft of medicine down her throat.
21:23An hour later,
21:24she miscarried.
21:25Twins.
21:25Lyra wouldn't stop bleeding.
21:27No one from the Tribunal
21:28had been told to send a healer.
21:29The attitude was,
21:30live or die?
21:31That's on her.
21:32She lived anyway.
21:33Half a month later,
21:34the Luna Queen came to Northmark Manor herself
21:36to check on Caden and me.
21:37She took my hand,
21:38sat down,
21:39made small talk for a bit.
21:40That girl is tough.
21:41Has hasn't said a word in the Tribunal Cells.
21:44I was thinking of sending her off with a cup of poison.
21:47Let Lyra die that easily?
21:48That was letting her off too light.
21:52I stood and bowed.
21:53Luna Queen,
21:54I have a request.
21:55She smiled.
21:55Vera,
21:56just say it.
21:57Luna Queen,
21:57the Alpha Queen Mother's birthday is next month.
21:59In her honor,
22:00spare Lyra's life.
22:01That day Lyra said herself
22:02that whoever saved her would become her mate.
22:03Lady Thorne agreed to it in front of everyone.
22:05She was pulled out by our stable hand,
22:06Bram.
22:07So perhaps-
22:07The Luna Queen tilted her head.
22:09Vera,
22:09even if you want to give Lyra a way out,
22:11your stable hand might not want to take her.
22:14What I was giving Lyra wasn't a way out.
22:15It was a life worse than death.
22:17Why don't I bring Bram in and ask him in person?
22:19If he's willing,
22:20it's a fair arrangement.
22:21Bram gambled and chased women.
22:23Every coin he earned
22:23either vanished at the gambling den
22:25or got spent at the pleasure house.
22:27Lyra was stunning.
22:28Skin like cream,
22:29face like a spring blossom.
22:31One of the most striking women
22:32among all the high-born pack women in the capital.
22:34A woman like that on any ordinary day,
22:36Bram wouldn't even be allowed to look at her twice.
22:39She was used goods now, sure.
22:40But if this moment passed,
22:42a wolf like Bram would never get another shot
22:44at someone like her.
22:45I was betting he'd say yes.
22:46A servant brought Bram to the doorway of the main hall.
22:49Bram,
22:50are you still willing to take Lyra as your mate?
22:52Bram paused,
22:53worked through it,
22:54and decided fast.
22:55Yes, my lady.
22:56I turned to the Luna Queen.
22:57Since that settled Luna Queen,
22:59bring them together.
23:00The Luna Queen smiled.
23:01You asked Vera,
23:02how could I say no?
23:04The night Lyra walked out of the tribunal cells,
23:06a carriage from her family
23:07dropped her at Bram's door.
23:08No ceremony,
23:09no ceremony talk,
23:10no anything.
23:11They were done with her,
23:12dropping off a problem they wanted gone.
23:16A month later,
23:17the Alpha King's punishment came down.
23:18Lyra's father was stripped of his rank
23:20and sent to a backwater post.
23:21A nobody position,
23:22in a nobody place,
23:23never permitted to return to the capital.
23:25The day the decree came,
23:26he threw Lady Thorne out of the household.
23:28As for Lyra,
23:29her worst days were just beginning.
23:31Bram was rough and crude,
23:32nothing like Dorian,
23:33who had at least known how to handle a woman.
23:35The first night,
23:36he worked her until she couldn't get out of bed.
23:38After that,
23:38he did whatever suited him,
23:39whenever it suited him.
23:41Bram's household was poor,
23:42no servants.
23:43Lyra cooked and washed,
23:44and waited on him.
23:45If she didn't do it right,
23:46she got hit,
23:46or screamed at.
23:47Lyra suffered in silence.
23:48It was barely living,
23:49but she refused to die.
23:51She'd already survived the tribunal cells.
23:53She was young.
23:53She was still beautiful.
23:55As long as she was breathing,
23:56she believed she could find a way back.
23:58Six months later,
23:59Dorian decided things had quieted down enough
24:01and came back from the southern territories.
24:03Lyra heard the news
24:04and immediately got word to his personal attendant.
24:07Dorian, for his part,
24:08had long since stopped thinking about her.
24:10He wanted nothing more than to put distance between them,
24:12but she had something on him.
24:13He didn't have a choice.
24:16He planned to see her once,
24:18say what needed to be said,
24:19give her some coin,
24:20and be done with it.
24:21Then Lyra showed up in white,
24:22threw herself against him,
24:23and told him about the twins,
24:25crying with her whole body.
24:26She wasn't the bright,
24:28bold girl he remembered.
24:29There was something different about her now.
24:30Fragile.
24:31Quietly devastating.
24:32Dorian hesitated.
24:33He didn't leave right away.
24:34Ever since Dorian came back to the capital,
24:36I'd had people watching both of them.
24:38When word came that they were meeting that day,
24:40I'd already had the drug slipped into both of their drinks.
24:43It took hold.
24:44They ended up tangled together.
24:45I had someone quietly tip off Bram
24:47and bring him there to catch them.
24:48Dorian and Lyra were caught bare,
24:50in the middle of it,
24:51a set of antlers that size.
24:52Bram wasn't going to swallow it quietly.
24:54He went at Dorian with everything he had.
24:57In the brawl,
24:58someone landed two hard kicks right between Dorian's legs.
25:01Dorian screamed and blacked out on the spot.
25:03Pack healers cycled through,
25:04one after another.
25:05They all came out shaking their heads.
25:07Nothing they could do.
25:08Dorian would never have pups.
25:09Pack elder Dorian Sr. had only one son.
25:12His bloodline was finished.
25:13The pack elder was furious.
25:15He wanted the person who'd done it quietly dealt with.
25:17But when he pressed Dorian's attendant for details,
25:19he found out about Lyra.
25:21Found out Dorian had been behind the whole scheme at the gathering.
25:24Found out the twins Lyra lost in the tribunal cells were Dorian's cold sweat.
25:29The pack elder buried the story
25:31and brought in private healers from all over the capital.
25:34What he didn't know,
25:35the one who'd thrown those kicks had been training for 30 years
25:38and had put everything behind them.
25:40No healer in the world was fixing that.
25:42Word spread across the capital that the pack elder's son,
25:45the great Dorian,
25:46couldn't perform.
25:46Northmark Manor helped that word travel, of course.
25:49Dorian,
25:50who had always been sharp and polished
25:51and insufferably sure of himself,
25:53was eaten alive by it.
25:54Every person he'd ever outshone lined up to get their shots in.
25:57One day, Dorian broke.
25:59He set a fire in his room
26:00and burned himself to death inside it.
26:02On the other side of the city,
26:03Bram dragged Lyra home after catching her and beat her
26:06until she couldn't leave her bed for two weeks.
26:08His crowd set up gambling games,
26:10the kind he never knew how to walk away from.
26:12After one session,
26:13Bram lost Lyra to a thug named Wade.
26:15Wade had his fun with her for two months.
26:17When the novelty wore off,
26:18he put a price on it.
26:19Lyra refused with everything she had.
26:21Wade just smiled
26:22and put a compulsion drug in her food.
26:24When it took hold,
26:25Lyra was the one begging.
26:26After that,
26:27Wade's place had a steady rotation of men
26:29coming and going every day,
26:30sometimes one or two,
26:32sometimes five or six.
26:33Lyra sank lower than the lowest back alley wolf in the capital.
26:36My brother, Caden,
26:37ran into Princess Kala at a tavern,
26:39dressed as a man,
26:40sharp-eyed and full of fire.
26:42He took her for a fellow young wolf.
26:43Without knowing who she was,
26:45he went out with her more than once.
26:46They fell for each other.
26:48When he found out the truth,
26:49he petitioned the Alpha King to take her as his mate.
26:51He brought Kala back to the northern border with him,
26:54said they were going to see the wide sky
26:55and the open land together.
26:57As for me,
26:58the Alpha Prince's Luna
26:59had noticed me the day of the summer gathering.
27:01A year later,
27:02the Alpha Prince took the throne.
27:03His Luna was crowned Luna Queen.
27:05She personally asked on behalf of her full-blooded brother,
27:08the new royal consort Arryn,
27:10to take me as his mate.
27:11Arryn was brilliant and trained,
27:13and striking in a way
27:15that made it hard to look at him directly.
27:17At last month's mid-autumn night gathering,
27:19he'd reached up and broken off a sprig of Sweet Osmanthus
27:22and handed it to me.
27:23When he passed it over,
27:24our eyes met.
27:25I stood there for a second,
27:27completely still.
27:28I still go red thinking about it,
27:29but I said yes.
27:30The new Luna Queen smiled and leaned in close
27:32and called me,
27:33Sister.
27:34Not long after,
27:35the pack council went through a full sweep.
27:37Pack Elder Dorian Sr.
27:38was found guilty of corruption
27:39and embezzlement of pack resources.
27:41He was stripped of his title,
27:42and the whole family was banished
27:44to the far southern borderlands.
27:45Northmark Pack's star was rising.
27:47Our name carried more weight than it ever had.
27:49Everyone who had crushed us in the last life
27:51had fallen into the mud.
27:52This life,
27:53the next,
27:54they were never getting back up.
27:57The pack elder buried the story
27:59and brought in private healers
28:00from all over the capital.
28:02What he didn't know,
28:03the one who'd thrown those kicks
28:04had been training for 30 years
28:06and had put everything behind them.
28:07No healer in the world was fixing that.
28:09Word spread across the capital
28:11that the pack elder's son,
28:12the great Dorian,
28:13couldn't perform.
28:14Northmark Manor helped that word travel,
28:16of course.
28:17Dorian,
28:17who had always been sharp and polished
28:19and insufferably sure of himself,
28:21was eaten alive by it.
28:22Every person he'd ever outshone
28:23lined up to get their shots in.
28:25One day,
28:26Dorian broke.
28:26He set a fire in his room
28:28and burned himself to death inside it.
28:29On the other side of the city,
28:31Bram dragged Lyra home
28:32after catching her
28:33and beat her
28:33until she couldn't leave her bed
28:35for two weeks.
28:35His crowd set up gambling games,
28:37the kind he never knew
28:38how to walk away from.
28:39After one session,
28:40Bram lost Lyra to a thug named Wade.
28:43Wade had his fun with her for two months.
28:45When the novelty wore off,
28:46he put a price on it.
28:47Lyra refused with everything she had.
28:49Wade just smiled
28:49and put a compulsion drug in her food.
28:51When it took hold,
28:52Lyra was the one begging.
28:54After that,
28:54Wade's place had a steady rotation of men
28:56coming and going every day,
28:58sometimes one or two,
28:59sometimes five or six.
29:01Lyra sank lower
29:02than the lowest back alley wolf
29:03in the capital.
29:04My brother,
29:04Caden,
29:05ran into Princess Kala at a tavern,
29:07dressed as a man,
29:08sharp-eyed and full of fire.
29:09He took her for a fellow young wolf.
29:11Without knowing who she was,
29:12he went out with her more than once.
29:14They fell for each other.
29:15When he found out the truth,
29:16he petitioned the Alpha King
29:18to take her as his mate.
29:19He brought Kala back
29:20to the northern border with him,
29:21said they were going to see
29:22the wide sky
29:23and the open land together.
29:24As for me,
29:25the Alpha Prince's Luna
29:27had noticed me
29:27the day of the summer gathering.
29:29A year later,
29:29the Alpha Prince took the throne.
29:31His Luna was crowned Luna Queen.
29:33She personally asked
29:34on behalf of her full-blooded brother,
29:36the new royal consort Arryn,
29:37to take me as his mate.
29:39Arryn was brilliant and trained,
29:41and striking in a way
29:42that made it hard
29:43to look at him directly.
29:44At last month's
29:45mid-autumn night gathering,
29:47he'd reached up
29:48and broken off a sprig
29:49of sweet Osmanthus
29:50and handed it to me.
29:51When he passed it over,
29:52our eyes met.
29:53I stood there for a second,
29:54completely still.
29:55I still go red,
29:56thinking about it,
29:57but I said yes.
29:58The new Luna Queen smiled
29:59and leaned in close
30:00and called me,
30:01Sister.
30:01Not long after,
30:02the pack council
30:03went through a full sweep.
30:04Pack Elder Dorian Sr.
30:05was found guilty of corruption
30:07and embezzlement
30:08of pack resources.
30:09He was stripped of his title
30:10and the whole family
30:11was banished
30:11to the far southern borderlands.
30:13Northmark Pack's star
30:14was rising.
30:15Our name carried more weight
30:16than it ever had.
30:17Everyone who had crushed us
30:18in the last life
30:19had fallen into the mud.
30:20This life,
30:21the next,
30:21they were never getting back up.
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