The Alpha I Swore To Kill

"Search every room!"

The command echoed through the palace, followed by the crash of another door being kicked open.

Ten-year-old Lyra squeezed herself deeper beneath the narrow staircase, one trembling hand pressed over her mouth. Dust clung to her dress. Her knees were scraped from crawling across rough stone, yet she barely noticed the sting.

Boots pounded across the floor above her.

"So she's not here?"

"Keep looking. The Alpha ordered that no one leaves this place alive."

Her heart lurched.

No one. Not even the children.

She had never heard wolves speak that way before.

Another pair of boots stopped so close that she could see them through the gap beneath the stairs. Blood dripped from the leather onto the polished floor, one crimson drop after another.

The men stayed there long enough for her lungs to begin burning. She wanted to breathe, but she was terrified they would hear her.

Finally, they moved on.

Their footsteps faded into the distance. Only then did Lyra dare to inhale.

The relief lasted all of two seconds.

"Lyra."

The voice came as a whisper. She knew it immediately.

"Selena?"

Her sister slipped through the smoke pouring into the hallway. Her usually beautiful silver dress was torn from shoulder to waist, and blood covered one sleeve. A long cut stretched across her cheek, but she didn't seem to notice it.

The moment she reached Lyra, she pulled her into a fierce embrace.

"Oh, thank the Moon Goddess."

"What is happening?" Lyra asked, her voice shaking. "Where are Mother and Father?"

Selena didn't answer.

Instead, she cupped Lyra's face as though trying to memorize every feature.

"You have to be brave for me."

"I don't want to be brave," Lyra said.

"I know."

"I want to go home."

"You are home."

Another explosion rattled the palace.

Stone cracked overhead, sending fragments onto the floor beside them. Somewhere nearby, a woman screamed before the sound ended abruptly.

Selena closed her eyes for the briefest moment.

When she opened them again, they were filled with a fear Lyra had never seen before.

"They're looking for you." Selena said with a cracked voice.

Lyra frowned.

"For me?"

"Listen carefully." Selena brushed the hair away from Lyra's neck, exposing the small crimson crescent resting just beneath her collarbone.

The mark had been there for as long as Lyra could remember. Mother always called it her moon kiss.

Tonight, it looked different.

It glowed faintly beneath her skin.

Selena stared at it, her fingers trembling against Lyra's shoulder.

"They know." She said

"They know what?"

Before Selena could answer, shouting erupted outside.

"I saw movement!" One of the men shouted

"This way!"

Selena grabbed Lyra's hand and ran.

The corridor they entered had once been lined with portraits of past Alphas. Flames now licked the walls, swallowing generations of history. Smoke curled around them, making Lyra's eyes water.

Bodies lay everywhere. Some she recognized.

The old gardener who always gave her apples.

The cook who baked sweet berry pies every full moon.

The guard who had carried her on his shoulders only yesterday. She looked away.

The palace no longer felt like home, it felt like a grave.

They burst through the western doors into the courtyard.

Cold night air touched Lyra's face, but it did little to clear the smoke filling her lungs.

The red moon hung high above them, as though the sky itself had begun to bleed.

Selena slowed for the first time.

Her eyes lifted to the moon before dropping back to Lyra.

"It has started."

"What has started?"

Selena opened her mouth to answer. An arrow shot between them.

It buried itself in the wooden gate with enough force to splinter the timber.

Lyra screamed.

Three warriors stepped out of the darkness. None of them wore the Mooncrest crest.

One carried a sword blackened by blood. Another slowly notched a second arrow.

The tallest smiled when he noticed Lyra.

"There she is."

His voice carried no excitement, only satisfaction.

"Alive, just as we were told."

Selena pushed Lyra behind her.

"Run." Selena cried.

"I'm not leaving you."

"You have to."

"I won't."

Selena drew the silver sword strapped to her waist. For a heartbeat, neither side moved.

Then the tallest warrior laughed.

"Do you really think one she-wolf can stop us?"

Selena smiled. "I'm not trying to stop you."

She tightened her grip on the sword.

"I'm trying to buy my sister enough time to disappear."

The first warrior charged.

Selena moved with a speed Lyra had never imagined possible, turning the man's attack aside before driving her blade into his shoulder. His scream echoed across the courtyard.

The second warrior lunged, the third circled behind her.

"Run!" Selena shouted without looking back.

Lyra couldn't. Her legs refused to obey.

She stood rooted to the spot as her sister fought three grown wolves alone.

Then someone covered her mouth from behind.

"Don't make a sound." Old Martha, the palace healer.

She pulled Lyra into the shadows beside a collapsed wall.

"No matter what happens," Martha whispered through tears, "you must stay hidden."

Lyra struggled against her grip.

"My sister!"

Martha held her tighter.

Through a crack in the broken stone, Lyra watched the battle continue. She watched Selena force one warrior to his knees. Watched another slash across her back.

Watched blood soak the silver dress she had worn only hours earlier while helping Lyra braid flowers into her hair.

The memory struck so suddenly it stole the air from her lungs. That morning, they had laughed together.

Now, a sharp cry tore through the courtyard.

Selena staggered. A blade had pierced her side.

She dropped to one knee.

Her eyes searched the darkness until they found the place where Lyra was hiding.

Selena smiled through the pain.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Then, without making a sound, she mouthed the words that would follow Lyra for the rest of her life.

Live. Promise me... you'll never come back for revenge.

Before Lyra could shake her head...

A sword came down, and the world she knew ended beneath a blood-red moon.

Martha did not stop running until the palace walls disappeared behind the trees.

The old healer's grip around Lyra's wrist was surprisingly strong, pulling the little girl over tangled roots and through thorny bushes that tore at her dress. Branches scratched her arms, and stones bit into the soles of her feet, but none of it mattered.

"My sister!" Lyra cried, stumbling again. "Selena is still there!"

Martha dragged her forward. "We have to keep moving, Lyra, please."

"I don't want to!"

"You have to."

"I want to go back!" Lyra cried out.

"You can't."

Lyra yanked her hand free.

"I said I want to go back!"

She turned and ran.

The forest blurred around her as she raced toward the burning palace. Smoke climbed into the night sky in thick black waves, swallowing the stars one by one. Even from this distance, she could hear the clash of steel and the cries of dying wolves.

She had never been afraid of the palace groun