CHAPTER 2
The girl they had dragged onto the stage to laugh at had just been revealed as the heir to the bloodline every Alpha had been taught to fear.
Nobody breathed.
Nobody moved.
The Great Hall had gone completely dark.
Then the first torch burst into silver flame.
Another followed.
Then another.
Until the entire hall glowed with an eerie moonlit radiance.
Lyra stood frozen on the stage.
The ancient white wolf remained before her.
Every Alpha was still kneeling.
Except Kael.
He stood motionless beside the feast table.
His face had lost all color.
“That’s impossible,” he whispered.
The wolf turned its head.
“Nothing is impossible when the Moon remembers.”
Kael’s fists clenched.
“You are the First Wolf.”
“Yes.”
“You haven’t appeared for three hundred years.”
“I did not come for you.”
The creature looked toward Lyra.
“I came for her.”
A murmur swept through the hall.
Lyra shook her head.
“No.”
The word came out softly.
Everyone looked at her.
She stared at the wolf.
“You have the wrong person.”
The creature tilted its head.
“You carry the mark.”
“What mark?”
Lyra instinctively touched her collarbone.
A faint silver crescent had appeared beneath her skin.
She gasped.
The mark glowed brighter.
Selene stumbled backward.
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“She can’t be the Moon Queen.”
Lyra looked at her.
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t deserve it!”
Selene screamed.
“You’re an Omega!”
The ancient wolf growled.
The sound shook the floor.
Selene fell silent.
Kael finally stepped forward.
“Lyra.”
She looked at him.
His expression was different now.
No mockery.
No coldness.
Fear.
“What?”
“Come with me.”
Lyra laughed bitterly.
“Now?”
He stopped.
“I need to explain.”
“You had three years.”
“I know.”
“You had three years to speak to me.”
“I know.”
“You watched them treat me like dirt.”
His jaw tightened.
“I know.”
“And you never said anything.”
Kael looked away.
Lyra’s eyes filled with tears.
“Why?”
He couldn’t answer.
Because the truth was complicated.
Three years earlier, Kael had discovered that Lyra was his true mate.
He had also discovered something else.
The moment the Moon Mark appeared between them, the royal council had begun watching her.
They knew what she was.
They had known before she did.
Lyra’s mother had been the last Moon Queen.
Her bloodline had been hunted.
Her mother had hidden Lyra’s identity when she was seven.
But the council had never stopped searching.
Kael had been ordered to reject her.
If he refused, they would kill her.
So he had done the unthinkable.
He had broken her heart to keep her alive.
But he had never expected the rejection to become so cruel.
He had never expected his silence to destroy her.
And now the secret was exposed.
The council would come.
They always did.
The doors of the hall suddenly opened.
A group of black-armored warriors entered.
At their center was High Councilor Magnus.
He was an old Alpha with silver hair and cruel eyes.
He stared at Lyra.
Then smiled.
“Well.”
The First Wolf turned toward him.
Magnus stopped.
“You found her.”
Lyra’s stomach dropped.
“You know who I am.”
Magnus laughed.
“Of course.”
Kael stepped between them.
“Magnus.”
The councilor looked at him.
“You were supposed to keep her hidden.”
“I tried.”
“No.”
Magnus’s eyes narrowed.
“You failed.”
He raised his hand.
The warriors surrounded the stage.
Lyra backed away.
“What do you want from me?”
Magnus answered simply.
“Your voice.”
She frowned.
“My voice?”
“The Moon Song.”
His smile disappeared.
“You don’t know what you awakened.”
The First Wolf growled.
Magnus continued.
“The Moon Queen’s voice can command the ancient wolves.”
Lyra shook her head.
“I don’t want to command anyone.”
“That is irrelevant.”
Magnus raised his hand.
“Take her.”
The warriors charged.
Kael transformed.
His body shifted with a violent crack of bone.
A massive black wolf exploded forward.
He struck the first warrior before the man reached the stage.
The hall erupted into chaos.
Alphas transformed.
Omegas screamed.
Tables overturned.
Fire spread across the banners.
Lyra crouched behind the stage.
The First Wolf stood over her.
Nothing could get past him.
But Magnus wasn’t attacking.
He was watching.
Waiting.
Lyra noticed.
“What are you waiting for?”
Magnus smiled.
“For Kael to do what he always does.”
“What?”
“Protect you.”
Kael’s wolf slammed into another warrior.
Magnus’s smile widened.
“Because once he chooses her publicly, the Moon Bond will awaken.”
Lyra looked at Kael.
“What does that mean?”
Magnus answered.
“The rejection never broke your bond.”
Kael froze.
Magnus laughed.
“It only buried it.”
Lyra’s heart stopped.
Kael shifted back.
His chest rose and fell.
“Magnus.”
“You can’t hide it anymore.”
Magnus pointed at Lyra.
“Tell her.”
Kael’s eyes closed.
Lyra whispered:
“Tell me what?”
Silence.
Then Kael spoke.
“You were always my mate.”
The hall seemed to disappear.
Lyra stared at him.
“No.”
“I rejected you because—”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don’t get to say that now.”
“Lyra.”
“You chose Selene.”
His eyes moved toward Selene.
“She isn’t my mate.”
Selene went pale.
“What?”
Kael looked back at Lyra.
“I never loved her.”
Selene’s face twisted.
“You used me?”
Kael said nothing.
Lyra’s voice cracked.
“You made me believe I wasn’t good enough.”
“I was trying to save you.”
“You should have told me!”
“I couldn’t.”
“You could have.”
He looked at her.
And for the first time, Lyra saw the pain he had hidden behind his cold expression.
“I was sixteen when the council discovered your identity,” Kael said.
Lyra stared.
“They threatened your life.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother escaped them.”
“Where is she?”
Kael hesitated.
Lyra stepped closer.
“Where is my mother?”
The First Wolf suddenly turned toward the eastern doors.
His ears lifted.
Lyra felt a strange pull in her chest.
Then a voice whispered through her mind.
Run.
She froze.
It was her mother’s voice.
Lyra, run.
Her eyes widened.
“She’s alive.”
Kael stared at her.
“What?”
“My mother.”
The voice came again.
They know where you are.
The Great Hall shook.
Magnus smiled.
“Too late.”
A horn sounded outside.
Then another.
Then hundreds.
An army surrounded the castle.
Magnus turned toward Kael.
“The Moon Queen is not leaving.”
Kael’s wolf growled.
“She is.”
Magnus smiled.
“You still don’t understand.”
He lifted a silver dagger.
“Her blood isn’t what I need.”
He pointed toward Lyra.
“Her song is.”
Lyra’s heart began pounding.
“What does that mean?”
Magnus walked toward the stage.
“The Moon Queen doesn’t merely command wolves.”
He smiled.
“She can awaken something buried beneath the world.”
The floor beneath Lyra cracked.
A low rumble rose from below.
The First Wolf stepped backward.
For the first time, fear appeared in its ancient eyes.
Kael noticed.
“What is beneath us?”
The wolf answered:
“The Hollow King.”
Silence.
Lyra stared.
“What is that?”
“The wolf who betrayed the Moon.”
Magnus laughed.
“And tonight, he rises.”
The floor shattered.
A massive black claw emerged from beneath the castle.
People screamed.
The First Wolf lunged.
Kael transformed.
Lyra stumbled backward.
The claw struck.
The ancient wolf was thrown across the hall.
Kael charged.
The creature’s roar shook the chandeliers.
Lyra covered her ears.
Then she heard something.
A melody.
Coming from beneath the floor.
The same melody her mother had sung to her when she was a child.
She knew what it meant.
Her mother wasn’t telling her to run.
She was telling her to sing.
Lyra stepped toward the broken floor.
Kael shouted:
“Don’t!”
She looked at him.
“You said you wanted to protect me.”
“Yes!”
“Then trust me.”
He froze.
Lyra closed her eyes.
She began to sing.
One note.
Then another.
The Hollow King stopped.
Its massive head rose.
The entire castle fell silent.
Lyra continued.
Her voice grew stronger.
Silver light spread across the floor.
The First Wolf lifted its head.
Kael stared.
Magnus’s smile vanished.
“No.”
Lyra reached the final note.
The Hollow King roared.
But it wasn’t attacking.
It was bowing.
Its enormous body lowered.
The black creature touched its forehead to the stone.
Lyra opened her eyes.
The voice of her mother filled the hall.
You are not meant to command them.
You are meant to remind them who they are.
Lyra understood.
The Moon Song wasn’t a weapon.
It was a memory.
A memory of freedom.
The wolves began breaking their chains.
Warriors dropped their weapons.
The black-armored soldiers turned against Magnus.
His face twisted with fury.
“No!”
He pulled out the silver dagger.
And stabbed himself in the palm.
Blood spilled onto the ancient symbol beneath the stage.
The symbol turned black.
The Hollow King suddenly screamed.
Lyra stopped singing.
Magnus laughed.
“You were too late.”
The black creature rose.
Its eyes turned red.
Kael lunged toward Lyra.
The creature struck.
Kael was thrown through a stone pillar.
“KAEL!”
Lyra ran toward him.
He didn’t move.
She dropped beside him.
“Kael.”
His eyes opened.
“I’m okay.”
Blood ran from his temple.
“Get away from me.”
“No.”
“Lyra.”
“I’ve spent three years walking away from you.”
She grabbed his hand.
“I’m done.”
He looked at her.
Then the castle doors exploded.
A woman stood outside.
Silver hair.
Blue eyes.
A crescent moon on her forehead.
Lyra stared.
Her lips parted.
“Mama?”
The woman smiled through tears.
“My little moon.”
Lyra stood.
Her mother stepped into the hall.
But she wasn’t alone.
Beside her stood a man Lyra had never seen.
Tall.
Scarred.
His eyes were the same silver as hers.
Her mother looked at him.
Then at Lyra.
“Your father.”
Lyra’s world stopped.
The man stepped forward.
“Lyra.”
She couldn’t speak.
Then Magnus screamed.
“You were supposed to be dead!”
The man turned toward him.
His expression became terrifying.
“I was.”
He lifted his hand.
The silver wolves surrounding the castle all howled.
Then he spoke one sentence:
“I was dead to the world.”
His eyes fixed on Magnus.
“But I was never dead to my daughter.”
The Great Hall shook.
The Hollow King roared.
The First Wolf stood.
Kael rose beside Lyra.
And suddenly, Lyra understood.
Her mother had not returned to save her.
Her father had not returned to fight for her.
They had returned because something much larger was coming.
The Moon Court was awakening.
And Lyra—
the Omega everyone had mocked—
stood at the center of it.
But before she could take another step, her father looked directly at Kael.
His expression hardened.
“You.”
Kael stopped.
The man raised his sword.
“You broke my daughter’s heart.”
Kael lowered his head.
“Yes.”
“Then give me one reason I shouldn’t kill you.”
Kael looked at Lyra.
Then back at her father.
“Because I would rather die than ever break it again.”
The sword remained raised.
And Lyra realized—
the greatest battle of the night had not yet begun.
If you want Chapter 3, LIKE this story and comment “MOONSONG” below. 🌙
When the comments reach the required number, Part 3 will reveal the truth about Lyra’s parents, the real reason Kael rejected her, Magnus’s final plan, and whether Lyra will become the queen everyone expects—or choose a completely different destiny.
