Lyra’s POV

“Are you insane? You pushed her into the pool!”

Soren’s voice sliced through the noise—sharp, furious. Every head turned toward me. Watching and judging.

“Selene can’t swim,” he added, his tone dripping with accusation. “Were you trying to kill her?”

Selene clung to him, soaking wet, trembling like a leaf in a storm. Beside them, his twin brother Kaelen locked his gaze on me—murderous.

No one looking at this scene would ever guess that these two men had been my boyfriends for eight years.

My mates.

And yet here they were, holding Selene—a woman who had barely been in their lives for a few years—as if she were the one they had sworn to cherish. Not me. I was the one who had loved them for eight years. The one who had poured everything into building them up from nothing to become the most respected Alphas in Velmora.

“Apologize to Selene, Lyra.”

Kael’s voice was ice. And with those words, he crushed the last shred of hope I had left.

“I didn’t push her.” I clenched my fists, fighting to defend myself. The pool area had become a stage. Guests flooded out of the ballroom, phones raised, recording. All because Selene had decided to put on a little drowning act.

“Don’t lie. I saw you with my own eyes.” Soren tightened his arms around Selene.

The bond between us screamed in pain at the intimacy they shared. But I held his gaze. “I said I didn’t. We’ve been together for eight years. Don’t I at least deserve—”

“Don’t twist this,” Soren cut me off. “I know what I saw.”

He pushed his Alpha dominance at me, trying to force me to submit. My wolf, Muna, whimpered in agony. But we refused to bow. Soren and Kael might be our mates, but that didn’t mean they owned my dignity.

Selene chose that exact moment to stir weakly in his arms. “Let it go, Soren… It was probably an accident…”

Her fake mercy was gasoline on the fire.

Kael’s eyes blazed. “An accident? Stop making excuses for her, Selene. You’re too kind for your own good.” His voice dropped to a lethal low as his attention snapped back to me. “And you—did you really think we wouldn’t see through you?

Everyone knows you’ve been jealous of Selene from the start. You can’t stand that she’s younger, prettier, kinder, more beloved than you.

You thought humiliating her would steal her spotlight? Newsflash, Lyra. Ten lifetimes wouldn’t be enough for you to be worth her little finger.”

Each word landed like a blade to my chest.

When had Kael—the man who once whispered poetry against my skin—turned into this? When had Soren, my protector, started looking at me like I was a monster?

A cold laugh built in my throat. My gaze drifted to the real villain of this story.

“Maybe…” I murmured, barely audible. “Maybe I never should have saved you.”

If I hadn’t insisted on taking Selene in that night…

“Enough, Lyra!” Soren roared. “Are you threatening her now?”

“Threatening?” I jabbed a finger at my own chest, then at her. “I took her in when she had nothing. I clothed her. Fed her. Paid for her education. I made sure she could stand on her own feet in Velmora. I treated her like a little sister. And this is how she repays me? By playing the victim and painting me as some evil villain in front of everyone?”

“Please… don’t…” Selene’s voice trembled. “I… I never meant… I’ve always been grateful…”

“Grateful?” I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Your gratitude looks a lot like draping yourself all over my men at every opportunity.”

“That’s enough!” Kael’s voice thundered. He stepped forward, pulling Selene slightly behind him as if shielding her from me. “You helped her. That doesn’t give you the right to treat her like she’s beneath you.” His eyes were cold, distant. Strangers. “Anyone could have done what you did for her. I could have done it myself.”

The words stung more than they should have.

“Anyone?” My throat burned. “I gave her everything. I gave you everything. Without me, she’d still be on the streets. So would both of you. Don’t forget who got you to where you are today.”

“And there it is.” Soren’s voice turned vicious. “You can’t stop reminding people what you’ve done for them—Selene, us, everyone.”

He looked at me like I was something filthy. “Don’t pretend you were being selfless. You had your motives, too. Yes, you helped fund us. But everything we’ve built, we built with our own hands. Without us, your money would still be sitting there, gathering dust. You’d never have turned it into what it is today.”

I almost laughed at the sheer audacity of his words.

Yes, I’d had my reasons for helping them. When I first arrived in Velmora alone, I never expected to find my mates so quickly—let alone a pair of twin Alphas. Back then, I thought it was fate. Destiny had led me to run away from an arranged marriage, to leave everything behind, to walk straight into their arms.

And at that time, Kael and Soren’s pack was in shambles. I didn’t hesitate. I poured every last coin I had into helping them survive. Eight years. Day by day, step by step, I stood beside them and turned their struggling pack into the most unstoppable force in Velmora.

They promised me that when they reached the top, they would finally make me their Luna. We would have our wedding.

Eight years. We made it.

I came here tonight expecting a proposal. Instead, I walked into Selene’s graduation celebration. Planned by my own mates. And I wasn't even on the guest list.

I never wanted to be jealous. I meant it when I said I treated Selene like a little sister. I arranged her college admission myself—called in favors from people I had no business asking. I was happy she graduated. But I never imagined I’d be excluded from her celebration entirely. Or that my mates would throw her an extravagant party at the most expensive hotel in Velmora without so much as telling me.

Selene spotted me first. She ran out to greet me. And then—somehow—she fell into the pool.

And I became the villain.

‘She planned this.’ Muna paced inside me, claws out. ‘You can’t let a bitch like that walk all over us. Let me tear her throat out.’

‘Not here,’ I held her back. ‘If we shift, they’ll know what we are.’

‘Does it even matter anymore? I’m tired of everyone treating us like some worthless Omega!’

I understood her rage. But I’d made a promise to my father. Only when the Draven brothers officially claimed me as their Luna could I reveal my true identity. Otherwise, he would never accept this union.

I swallowed my bitterness and lifted my chin to face Kael.

“So that’s what you really think?” I stepped closer. “Every promise you made me was a lie. Every kind word was just because you needed my money. And now that you don’t, you can’t wait to throw me away.”

“Watch your mouth, Lyra.” Kael’s voice was cold. “You’re getting better at twisting the truth.”

“I’m twisting the truth?” I let out a harsh laugh and turned to Soren. “You feel the same way, don’t you?”

“Don’t make this bigger than it is, Lyra. Tonight is Selene’s party. It’s supposed to be about her—”

“And what about me?” The words came out raw, cracked. Whatever Soren saw in my eyes made him look away.

He opened his mouth to respond—

But then everything happened at once.

A catering cart broke free from the ramp and came barreling straight toward Selene and me. Before I could react, Kael and Soren had already lunged forward—not for me.

For her.

They pulled Selene into their arms, shielding her. In the chaos, a hand shoved me backward. My heels slipped. I reached out, grasping at nothing.

No one grabbed my hand.

No one even tried.

Splash.

The water swallowed me whole.

Under the surface, I saw them through the distorted ripples. Kael and Soren, their arms wrapped around Selene, checking if she was safe. And over their shoulders, Selene looked straight at me.

And smiled.

The kind of smile that said: I win.

Something snapped inside me.

I dragged myself out of the pool. No one helped. No one offered a hand. Selene’s little circle of friends whispered behind their hands, laughing at me getting exactly what I deserved.

I ignored them.

I let my soaked hair cling to my face. I ignored every stare, every whisper, every phone still recording. And I walked straight toward the Draven brothers.

When I called their names, they turned. For a moment, Soren’s eyes flickered—almost guilty. But I was done trying to read him.

“Kael Draven. Soren Draven.” I looked them both in the eye. The air changed. The bond between us—that invisible thread—pulled tight, trembling with tension. “I need to say something.”

Kael’s expression shifted. Like he sensed what was coming. “You’ve had your cool-down in the pool. Go change. You can apologize to Selene in private.”

Apologize.

He still wanted me to apologize.

I held his gaze. “That’s not what I came to say.”

“Kael Draven. Soren Draven.” I lifted my chin. Drenched hair. Ruined dress. Humiliation still burning on my skin. None of it mattered.

“I, Lyra Voss, hereby sever our bond. From this moment on, we are nothing to each other.”

The world blurred.

And then—

The bond twisted.

It wrenched. It stretched. And then it snapped back like a whip cracking against bone. A pain so sharp and deep that it stole the breath from my lungs.

And then… nothing.

Kael’s presence around me—gone. Soren’s warmth in the back of my mind—extinguished.

For a long moment, Kael didn't move.

Then he staggered backward, one hand clamping over his chest. His jaw locked. His shoulders went rigid—like he was holding himself together by sheer will alone. His breathing turned uneven, ragged. Controlled. But barely.

Soren, though—

Soren didn't make it.

He buckled. His knees hit the ground hard, and a raw, broken sound tore from his throat as he clutched at his chest. Every ounce of strength drained from his body in an instant.

"Soren!" Selene cried out, dropping to his side. She grabbed his arm, clinging to him like she was the only thing keeping him from falling apart completely. "What's happening to him?"

The crowd stirred.

Gasps rippled through the night. Whispers tangled in the air. Confusion spread like wildfire.

"What just happened?"

"Did she just reject the Alphas?"

"But why doesn't she look like she's in pain?"

"I thought she was an Omega."

"She called herself Voss... you don't think she's that Voss family, do you? From Meadowbank?"

"Impossible. I heard the Voss daughter is already engaged to the Alpha King."

The murmurs swelled behind me like a wave.

I didn't look back.

I walked.

By the time I reached the hotel entrance, a Rolls-Royce Phantom Black Badge had pulled up smoothly to the curb.

The driver stepped out immediately and gave a low bow.

"Good evening, Miss Lyra." His gaze lifted—and then caught on my soaked dress, my dripping hair. A flicker of concern crossed his face. Something sharper followed. Anger on my behalf. "You're completely drenched. Please allow me to take you home."

I didn't move.

The exhaustion hit me all at once.

"Christopher," I said slowly. "Did my father send you to drag me back?"

He paused. Then bowed again, deeper this time. "The Alpha and Luna miss you greatly, Miss Lyra." He glanced briefly over my shoulder. "The Luna asked me to tell you: If you're unhappy out there, come home. No matter what happened, you will always be a daughter of Voss."

This time, I couldn't stop the tears.

I slid into the car, let my head fall back against the seat, and stared out the window at nothing.

"Drive, Christopher," I murmured. "Take me home."