The howls of victory had barely faded when Ravenguard began to prepare for war.
Scouts patrolled the borders, blacksmiths worked through the night reforging blades, and the war room buzzed with tension. But beneath all the noise and strategy, something more fragile cracked in the shadows.
And it started with Cassian.
The Beta had always been Alaric's shield, his second in command, his confidant, the one who never questioned orders. But as Lyra passed him in the corridor that morning, something in his eyes faltered.
Worry.
Conflict.
And something colder: doubt.
Later that day, in the great hall, the war council convened. Lyra stood beside Alaric at the head of the long table. Maps stretched across the surface, marked with enemy routes and potential infiltration points.
"Ronan won't strike head-on," Cassian said. "Not yet. He wants us to crumble from the inside."
"Then we tighten the walls," Alaric said. "And we root out every weak link."
There was a beat of silence. Lyra's eyes flicked to Cassian.
He didn't flinch, but his jaw locked tight.
Alaric noticed too.
"Something to say, Cassian?" the Alpha asked coolly.
Cassian looked up. "You've changed since she came here."
The room went still.
Alaric's stare hardened. "Clarify."
Cassian folded his arms. "We're reacting, not leading. We're waiting for Ronan to make the first move because you're too focused on her bond. You used to be ruthless. Now you're... distracted."
Lyra felt the heat rise in her face.
Before she could speak, Alaric's voice lashed like a whip. "Speak your full truth, Beta. While you still wear that title."
Cassian's mouth twitched. "You're not thinking like a leader. You're thinking like a mate."
The accusation hit like a punch. The table erupted into murmurs, but Alaric raised a hand, and silence followed.
"Dismissed," he said to the others.
The council filed out quickly, sensing the storm that brewed.
When the doors shut, only the three of them remained.
"You question my loyalty," Alaric said, deadly quiet.
Cassian stood tall. "I question your priorities."
Lyra stepped forward. "Ronan is the enemy. Not me."
"I know what Ronan is," Cassian snapped. "But we've survived for years because we trust each other because we don't let emotions lead. And now, everything's changed."
Alaric crossed the room until he stood toe-to-toe with his Beta. "If you doubt me, say it clearly."
Cassian didn't back down. "I don't doubt you. I doubt what you're becoming."
A long pause.
Then Alaric growled, "Then prove your loyalty. Right now."
The next morning, Cassian was gone.
Alaric hadn't explained, but Lyra could feel the weight pressing against him. The strain of being Alpha. The pressure of loving someone he wasn't supposed to.
Because that's what it was now.
Love.
It wasn't just the bond. It was the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't watching. The way his hands lingered longer than necessary. The way his voice softened only for her.
And now, because of that love, his bond with his Beta, his brother, in all but blood was shattering.
Cassian returned that night.
Bruised. Bleeding. Alive.
He stumbled into the packhouse with a torn cloak and a glare full of fire. Alaric met him at the entrance.
"You left the walls," Alaric said. "You disobeyed a direct order."
"I went to find the truth," Cassian said.
Lyra stepped forward. "What truth?"
He looked at her, and for the first time, there was no accusation in his eyes, only exhaustion.
"Ronan has spies," Cassian said. "He's planting them in every pack around the border. And he has someone here inside Ravenguard."
Alaric stiffened. "Did you see him?"
Cassian nodded. "I followed the scent from the attack. Tracked it back through the western forest. Someone was leading them, feeding them information. They knew too much about our training patterns and guard changes."
Lyra's stomach turned. "Who?"
Cassian's face darkened. "I don't know yet. But I swear on my blood I'll find out."
Alaric was silent for a long time. Then he said, "And your loyalty?"
Cassian met his eyes. "Still yours. Even if I don't agree with everything, I'd rather die beside you than serve anyone else."
Alaric reached out and clasped his shoulder.
Lyra exhaled.
A fragile piece of Ravenguard had been repaired.
But trust was only as strong as its next test.
Over the following days, the pack moved like a well-oiled war machine. Alaric and Cassian worked in sync again, though the air between them remained tense. Lyra trained harder, slept less, and waited for the knife she knew was coming from within.
It arrived at midnight.
She woke up to a crash in the corridor.
Barefoot and still half-asleep, she grabbed her dagger and crept toward the source of the noise.
Cassian was already there.
A young pack warrior Marrek stood cornered, blood on his sleeve, a scroll clutched in his hand. Cassian had a blade to the boy's throat.
"Caught him trying to leave through the east tunnel," Cassian said.
Lyra stepped closer. "What's in the scroll?"
Cassian unrolled it.
Coordinates. Guard changes. Sentry names. Even a sketch of the packhouse's interior.
Proof.
Marrek was the spy.
"Who sent you?" Cassian growled.
Marrek trembled. "He promised safety. Said if I gave him information, he'd let my family live"
"You betrayed your pack," Cassian snapped. "For lies."
Alaric arrived a moment later, his presence sucking the warmth from the room. He didn't speak. He only looked at the scroll, then at Marrek.
And then at Cassian.
"No trial," he said coldly. "Make it quick."
Cassian hesitated only a moment then drove the blade into Marrek's heart.
Later, Lyra found Cassian alone at the southern ramparts, blood drying on his hands.
"You saved us," she said quietly.
He didn't turn. "It shouldn't have come to that."
She stepped beside him. "You were right about Ronan. About what he's doing."
He looked at her now, tired but steady. "I was also wrong. About you."
Lyra blinked. "What do you mean?"
Cassian gave a dry chuckle. "I thought you were a distraction. A threat. But you've become something else."
He paused. "You made him better. Not weaker."
Lyra's chest tightened. "I won't let him fall. Not to Ronan. Not to anyone."
Cassian nodded slowly. "Then I'll fight beside you."
As dawn broke, Ravenguard stood on the edge of something greater than war.
The trials had passed.
The traitor had been found.
And the Beta's loyalty, tested and tempered, now stood unshakable.
But in the distant woods, Ronan stood at the edge of his own battlefield,
the names of his enemies etched in his palm.
And at the very top… was Lyra.
Because the war wasn't just about Alaric anymore.
It was about the bond.
And the woman who dared to defy it.