"There you are. I thought you were..." Elira looked at Lyra rather sarcastically. She suspected something in Lyra.
Lyra turned her head and reasoned as best she could. "No, no. I've been here all along. Really."
“Really?” Elira grew suspicious, but she did not want to make Lyra feel uncomfortable with her.
“I'm sorry, I think I should go,” Lyra excused herself. “Thank you so much for your help,” she said.
"No problem. I'm glad I could help you," Elira replied. “Where are you going?” she asked curiously.
“I'm going back to my house,” Lyra informed her.
"Alright then. We can still meet again tomorrow, right?"
Lyra nodded. "Sure. Whenever you want, we can meet."
Lyra left Elira's room. Meanwhile, Elira smiled slyly at Lyra's retreating back.
"You can't hide anything from me, Lyra Evren! I know what you've been doing all this time," Elira said in a whispered tone.
"You'll see! I'll have an interesting surprise for you."
***
The night was getting late...
Like the night before, Lyra was restless in her sleep. Her sleep became uneasy after dreaming of her father.
“Don't be rash, Daughter! They're too strong if you intend to fight them.”
"I want the truth to come out. They betrayed you. They don't care about you," Lyra whined.
"The truth will kill you if you're not ready. But, silence will kill anyone who trusts you."
"Then, what should I do now? I'm so distressed by this slander."
"Someone will help you. Seek protection from him."
“Who do you think?” Lyra was enthusiastic and wanted to know.
“The alpha of the other pack,” her father informed her.
“Alpha?” Lyra repeated in a confused murmur.
“The alpha who will be your real mate.”
“That can't be Alpha Kael, right?”
The dream of meeting her father's spirit made Lyra even more agitated. Cold sweat flooded her bed. Before she could ask the Alpha's name suddenly, her father's image was no longer in front of her eyes.
“Dad!” called Lyra. She turned her head right and left, there was no longer the father figure she missed so much tonight.
Lyra jumped in surprise. She immediately opened her eyes wide. She was breathing heavily as if she was being chased by something. However, another supernatural power slowly entered her body.
There was a hidden power within Lyra that could rise up at any time without her realizing it.
“What is this?” Lyra asked herself.
***
“Take her out, Kael!” ordered Elira as she barged into Alpha Kael's room.
“Who are you talking about?” Kael frowned at his half-sister's sudden order.
"Lyra Evren! That traitorous child," Elira informed him.
“What did she do to you to make you so angry now?” Kael asked curiously.
Elira showed Kael something. “It's about time you got rid of her from our pack.”
Kael was still looking closely at the report file Elira had given him. On the night Lyra was injured, Elira followed her and saw Lyra enter Kael's room without permission.
At that time, Lyra might not have realized that she had left a blood spot from her wound. Until the wound stuck to the drawer in the room and contaminated some document files.
Elira managed to find evidence that Lyra infiltrated Kael's room and asked her half-sister to remove Lyra from the Nightfall flock immediately.
“Damn it!” Kael was furious at the report.
After being swayed by Elira's words, Kael immediately ordered his men to capture Lyra.
After the Nightfall swarm's morning training, two wariors came to drag Lyra before the swarm on Alpha Kael's orders. Lyra was accused of having accessed the pack's secret documents without authorization.
Everyone there stared at her with a cynical, cold, and mocking gaze. It was as if they already knew that Lyra had actually committed a great, unforgivable crime. Betrayal of the system. Just like what they had accused her father of until the massacre happened.
“It turns out that the blood of the traitor descends to his descendants,” said one of the elders who spoke behind Lyra.
Lyra was taken to a fairly dark room, the Nightfall herd hall. There, she was forced to sit before Kael, Elira, and the other elders like a defendant about to receive a sentence.
There was no strong evidence that Lyra was innocent of breaking into Kael's room without permission. And it was reinforced by Elira's “allegations” alone, so the elders concluded that Lyra was still guilty and should be punished.
After the sentence was passed on Lyra, the majority of votes were in favor of ostracism. They agreed to banish her from the Nightfall pack. Lyra had tried to defend herself. Unfortunately, no one would listen to her.
“Please, give me a chance to prove that I and my family are not a traitor,” Lyra defended. She begged Kael to listen to her.
"Breaking into Kael's room, surely that would be a major crime in our pack. Don't you know the rules?"
"I... apologize. I just wanted to clear my father's name. He's not a traitor like you've been accusing him of." Lyra insisted on her stance so firmly.
Unfortunately, Lyra's efforts were in vain. Both Elira and Kael, they never cared about Lyra's defense at all.
Kael who was seated on his throne chair looked at Lyra with a cold gaze. There was no defense from him as a pack leader.
Shovia who was also witnessing the trial of her best friend, Lyra tried to defend her. However, Elira instantly silenced her mouth with a single command. She was helpless, only submitting to Elira's orders.
The elders whispered, they would soon decide on a sentence for Lyra. She would be expelled from Nightfall territory, without protection and without status. After much deliberation, Kael stood up for the first time and read out the decision.
"Starting tonight, you are no longer part of the Nightfall flock. No one is allowed to help and protect you. Because you are now a rogue," Kael said aloud.
“No, please.”
Lyra was forcibly dragged and brought out. She briefly glanced at Kael, hoping that the Alpha would reconsider the punishment. Unfortunately, Kael's cold-eyed gaze paid little heed to the sadness she was experiencing.
Outside the hall, it was raining quite heavily. A warior pushed Lyra's body to the ground. The other one threw away an old, unworthy robe for Lyra to wear.
"Get out of our territory! Don't ever come back here again if you don't want to be killed by us. Understood?" they chased.
“Then, where should I go?” Lyra was confused. The rain was getting heavier and she tried to get up while picking up the old cloak.
'I'll come back and destroy you all,' Lyra resolved silently. She wiped away her tears, and left with wounds and revenge burning in her heart.