Chapter 2

The years passed as quietly as the waxing and waning of the moon.

Vivienne remained a constant presence within the Blackwood Pack, and no one found it strange.

She visited our manor almost every day under one excuse or another, yet everyone knew how dearly she adored Lyria. Every year, she insisted on arranging Lyria's birthday feast herself, decorating the Great Hall with moon lilies and silver ribbons until it looked fit for the daughter of an Alpha. During the Festival of Young Pups, she was always the first to appear with carefully wrapped gifts, eager to spend the entire day laughing beside Lyria. Whenever the academy held its family trials or the annual Hunt of the Young, Vivienne somehow found herself standing where a mother should have stood.

Even when the Moon Mother's Blessing was celebrated each spring—a sacred day when mothers and daughters offered prayers together before the Moon Goddess's altar—Vivienne would spirit Lyria away into the sacred woods. They would spend the day wandering beneath the towering pines before returning with matching moonflowers woven into their hair and smiles that seemed too natural to question.

Whenever I gently asked whether she feared overstepping the boundaries between friendship and family, she would lower her eyes and sigh.

"My little she-wolf was taken from me before she could even complete her first moon cycle," she would murmur, her voice thick with sorrow. "The Moon Goddess has never blessed me with another child, and I no longer wish to seek that blessing."

Then she would take my hands in hers.

"You are my dearest friend, Lyra. Allow me to love Lyria as though she were my own. It eases the ache in my heart."

Before I could answer, Darius would always speak in her defense.

"Lyra," he would say gently, "Vivienne has endured enough pain for one lifetime. Losing a pup is a wound no mother can truly heal. If accompanying Lyria to the academy or spending a few celebrations with her brings Vivienne a little comfort, why should we deny her that?"

He always sounded so reasonable.

So compassionate.

The very image of a generous Alpha.

Looking into the hopeful faces gathered around the table, I merely offered a faint smile.

"Very well," I said. "I have matters to attend to today. Vivienne may go in my place."

Vivienne's eyes brightened immediately.

She reached for Lyria's hand with barely concealed delight.

Lyria clapped happily, throwing her arms around Vivienne's neck.

"I knew Mommy would agree!"

After breakfast, the two of them left together, chatting excitedly about the day's events.

Darius followed close behind, claiming he wished only to escort them safely to the academy gates.

I remained standing beneath the manor's stone archway, watching the three of them disappear down the forest path.

They walked so naturally together that they resembled a true family.

No one looked back.

Not once.

Perhaps they believed I was too trusting to notice.

Or perhaps they thought the Moon Goddess had blessed me with kindness instead of wisdom.

Whatever the reason, Vivienne grew bolder with every passing year.

In the beginning, she had been careful.

She visited only while I attended council meetings or inspected the territories, meeting Darius where no curious eyes could follow.

Later, caution gave way to confidence.

She no longer cared whether I was home.

Instead, she arrived at the manor almost daily with a pleasant smile and another excuse prepared.

"Lyra," she would say cheerfully, "I've been learning the old recipes from the western packs. Let me prepare supper tonight."

Another day she would appear carrying woven baskets overflowing with herbs and wild berries.

"I've just returned from the mountain villages," she would explain. "I gathered these myself and thought of you immediately."

Sometimes she arrived looking distressed.

"The roof of my cottage has begun to leak after the last storm. Would you mind if I stayed here for a few nights until it is repaired?"

There was always another reason.

Always another excuse.

Yet I knew the truth long before she stepped through my door.

She had never come to see me.

She came for Darius.

She came for the daughter she had abandoned twenty years earlier.

Still...

I welcomed her every single time.

I instructed the servants to prepare the finest guest chamber.

I ordered extra places to be set at every meal.

Whenever she requested anything, I granted it without hesitation.

Darius seemed thoroughly pleased with this arrangement.

Whenever Vivienne crossed the threshold, a smile would unconsciously touch his lips before he managed to hide it.

Sometimes, while Lyria's attention was elsewhere, he and Vivienne exchanged fleeting glances across the dining table.

A smile.

A lingering look.

The faint brush of fingertips as they passed one another a wine goblet.

To anyone else, those moments would have seemed entirely innocent.

To someone who knew the truth, they revealed far more than either of them realized.

Lyria, meanwhile, became increasingly attached to Vivienne.

She sought Vivienne's advice before making even the smallest decisions and happily spent entire afternoons accompanying her through the market or wandering the pack's sacred groves.

Darius encouraged that closeness in countless subtle ways.

One winter, he even instructed the servants to prepare a permanent chamber for Vivienne within the manor whenever she wished to visit.

He personally ordered a pair of soft fur slippers embroidered with crescent moons to be placed beside the entrance.

"They'll save her the trouble of changing footwear every visit," he remarked casually.

No one questioned why an outsider should have her own place in the Alpha's home.

Least of all me.

That quiet, carefully maintained illusion continued until the year Lyria reached adulthood and completed the Trial of Knowledge, the examination every young wolf was required to pass before entering one of the great academies of the werewolf kingdoms.

On the morning the results were announced, Vivienne arrived before sunrise.

The four of us gathered in the great hall, waiting for the academy's messenger hawk to deliver the sealed scroll.

When the scroll was finally opened, an awkward silence settled over the room.

Lyria's marks were astonishingly poor.

Even several ordinary wolves had surpassed her.

Darius frowned deeply, forcing disappointment onto his face.

"Lyria," he said sternly, "how could your results be this dreadful?"

She merely shrugged, utterly unconcerned.

"Our family owns half the Northern Territories."

She smiled lazily.

"Why should I exhaust myself studying? Mother can simply donate enough gold to whichever academy I choose."

Darius cast a cautious glance toward me before continuing.

"Your mother loves you more than her own life, but she cannot indulge you forever."

His tone carried the patient authority expected of an Alpha.

"She has spent years protecting the Blackwood territories and expanding the family's holdings. One day those responsibilities must pass to someone worthy. If you refuse to strengthen yourself, how can she ever entrust the pack to your care?"

Before I could utter a single word, Vivienne stepped in.

"Darius, you're worrying too much."

She laughed softly before turning toward me.

"Lyra is Lyria's mother. Surely she would never allow her only daughter to suffer."

Lyria immediately nodded.

"Exactly."

She leaned comfortably against her chair, completely certain of herself.

"Mother possesses countless silver mines, trading caravans, and fertile lands. Even if I never lifted a finger for the rest of my life, I would still live more comfortably than anyone else in the kingdom."

Vivienne looked at Lyria with unmistakable pride before fixing her gaze on me.

"Lyra," she said smoothly, "Lyria deserves far better than one of the lesser academies."

"What if the other heirs look down on her? What if she's forced to compete beneath her station?"

She paused, her smile gentle and persuasive.

"Why not allow her to begin assisting you now? Give her a respectable position within the Blackwood household—perhaps as the steward overseeing one of your trading houses or the estates. She can learn at your side while preparing to inherit everything one day."

Her words sounded perfectly reasonable.

A devoted aunt would have made the very same suggestion.

Only I knew she wasn't speaking for Lyria's future.

She was preparing the throne for the daughter she believed would soon reclaim everything that belonged to the Blackwood bloodline.