The groveling hadn't earned forgiveness; it had earned a target painted on Ronan's back.
Ronan stood on Lyra's balcony, the crisp night air doing little to cool the residual heat of his humiliation. He had been rejected on live television, his Alpha pin left abandoned on a stage. His personal phone was already flashing alerts from the Shadowclaw Elders demanding his immediate abdication.
"They're calling it a disgrace," Damon's voice came from the living room, muffled by the soundproofing. "The Elders say you've lost the Pack's dignity."
"I lost the Pack's dignity five years ago when I chose politics over my true mate," Ronan countered, stepping back inside. His gaze fell on the play area, where Leo was already asleep in a tiny, bespoke bed, the Shadow Mark visible on his chest even in the low light.
Suddenly, the security alarms on Lyra's highly advanced system went from silent vigilance to screaming red. The compound locked down, and Lyra materialized from her inner office, dressed in black tactical gear over her gown, a chilling focus in her eyes.
"Ronan," she barked, not asking, but commanding. "The North perimeter has been breached. They bypassed the geo-fencing. That's old Pack magic."
"The Elders," Ronan confirmed, his wolf finally surging with true, protective fury, a necessary response to the threat against his son. "They're attempting a power vacuum. They know I'm destabilized."
"Worse," Lyra said, projecting a heat signature onto the nearest wall. "Alpha Malek is with them. He's not after you, Ronan. He's after Leo. He knows the Ancient Bloodline is key to his own fractured power."
"Leo is safe," Ronan vowed, moving instantly to stand between the threat and the boy's sleeping form.
"Not safe enough," Lyra snapped. "My standard security is for human threats. Yours is a Pack war." She looked him up and down, assessing the broken Alpha. "You may be a fool, but you are still the Kaelen Alpha. Your wolf's strength is our only true barrier. You will follow my command."
She pulled two small, metal canisters from her belt. "These contain condensed Shadow Fire residue, refined from the relic. Use them to stabilize your wolf. Do not overuse them."
Ronan didn't hesitate; he accepted the temporary help, crushing one canister in his palm and inhaling the searing, magical mist. The instability vanished, replaced by a devastating, cold surge of Alpha power.
"Where are they coming from?" Ronan asked, ready to shift.
"The roof. Five seconds," Lyra said, moving with frightening speed. She secured Leo's bed in a portable, magically-sealed cradle and pointed toward the reinforced safety bunker in the floor. "Damon, get Leo down there and activate the triple-seal. Ronan, cover the main ingress."
Lyra didn't give him time to object. She ran for the exit, Ronan matching her stride. As they moved, the ceiling above them groaned, and the sounds of heavy, snarling wolves landing on the roof hammered through the ceiling.
"They're using the roof access to bypass the main defenses!" Ronan roared, shifting his full Alpha power into his human form, his eyes now blazing gold to match Lyra's.
"I know!" Lyra shouted back, her voice tight with focus. "They assume the Alpha is demoralized and the Omega is weak. We will prove them wrong."
They burst onto the rooftop just as the door buckled under the weight of three massive wolves—Malek's strongest brutes, followed by Malek himself, his black fur ragged and scarred from the previous night's defeat.
"There he is, the groveling dog!" Malek howled, spotting Ronan. "And the useless female! Tonight, I take the Ancient Bloodline, and the Shadowclaw Pack falls to me!"
Ronan shifted first, a violent explosion of muscle and white-and-gray fur, throwing himself into the fray. He fought with the frenzied, desperate rage of a man protecting his life's only true meaning.
But Lyra was the true spectacle. She didn't shift. She stood on the edge of the rooftop, a beacon of cold, crimson fury. She was the conductor of the battlefield.
As two wolves pinned Ronan, Lyra raised her hand, and the atmosphere on the roof thickened. The air itself began to shimmer with visible, red energy—pure Shadow Fire.
"You attack my territory," Lyra declared, her voice unnaturally loud, amplified by the magic around her. "You forfeit your lives."
She unleashed the fire, not as a blast, but as a perfect, precise wave of concussive force. The wolves pinning Ronan were lifted off him and slammed against the distant HVAC units, bones cracking with dull thuds.
Malek saw her power and lunged at her, recognizing the true source of danger. Ronan, momentarily stunned, couldn't reach them in time.
Lyra met Malek's charge head-on. As the huge black wolf lunged with open jaws, Lyra extended both hands, the Crimson Fire condensing into a searing, shield-like barrier. The impact hit the shield, throwing Malek backward, whining in pain as his fur sizzled.
"Get behind me, Alpha Kaelen," Lyra ordered, her back still to Ronan. "My priority is Leo's safety. Yours is the defense of this sanctum."
Ronan, still in wolf form, moved instantly, humbled by her quick-thinking dominance. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her, a wall of gray fur and crimson power.
"You should have killed me five years ago, Ronan," Malek snarled, struggling to stand. "But your greatest mistake was letting her live."
"My mistake was not recognizing her power until now," Ronan growled, his Alpha wolf communicating a desperate promise to Lyra. I will not fail you again.
Lyra ignited the Crimson Fire one last time, enveloping the remaining attackers in a magical net that instantly suppressed their wolves, leaving them helpless and whining.
"They are yours to deal with, Alpha Kaelen," Lyra said, turning her back on the defeated enemies. She met Ronan's eye—his wolf's eye—with an expression of cold, pragmatic victory. "I secured the sanctum. Now, I return to my son."
She walked past him, descending the stairs, leaving Ronan alone with the defeated attackers and the overwhelming realization: he hadn't just regained a mate; he was now the subordinate protector to the most dangerous, powerful woman in the supernatural world. The intensity of their partnership was only just beginning.