The Alpha Weredragon's Favorite
CHAPTER 22

Ryan

Conner: "Ryan, you need to come to the Cells. The prisoner-he says he has some information you should know."

Conner's voice hit me like a crack of lightning, jarring the vision of me in Lyra's room, holding her hand as I asked her to participate in the Luna trials.

To win them and be my mate.

I sighed. "Tell him to take his story and shove it. He has nothing I want to hear."

A beat later my Delta upped the ante.

Conner: "He says he guarantees it will be worth your while."

"I doubt that."

The words had just left my mind when I backtracked, thinking that maybe I was being too hasty. Conner was pretty level-headed. He wouldn't disturb me with baseless rumors. "What's it about?"

Conner: "Can't say. But this guy is persistent. Says it's urgent."

Urgent? It damn well better be.

"Fine," I said, pushing back from my desk. "I'm on my way."

***

The musty, rotten smell hit me like a punch to the gut. Each step down to the holding cells felt heavier than the last.

I loathed coming down here.

My gut twisted, teeth grinding until they threatened to shatter. Flashbacks I'd rather forget flitted through my mind like flies to rotten meat.

Vivian. Gregory. The pain they inflicted...

Every minute I wasn't taking care of pack stuff, I was training to grow even stronger... faster. When the time came to open the Luna trials on the day of my twenty-first birthday, I would be ready to accept my mate. With my Luna... Lyra by my side, I could claim my rightful place as the true Alpha of the pack. Not the interim title I wore like a paper bag.

Then, after I'd quickly planted a heir in Lyra's belly, I would extract my revenge on Vivian, Gregory, and anyone who stood by them.

I planned to see every last one of them burn.

My musings stayed with me until I reached the bottom of the stairs. Conner stood by a cell, his face tight. "Alpha Thornton is here, cur. Talk." "Thornton," a voice hissed from the shadows as I approached the cell that had once been Lyra's.

"Spit it out," I said through thinned lips.

"Ah, not so fast," the guard countered, eyes darting left and right. "I've got something you want. But it'll cost you."

He reeked of greed. A hungry animal desperate for a way out. In my mind, I saw him drooling for gold, his eyes wild plans of escape.

I'd entertain him... then deny him. It was all that he deserved.

"Information has a price, I suppose..." I stroked my chin as if I were really interested in his news. "What's yours?"

"Your word," he started, his piggy eyes darting at me then Conner and back to me again. "That I can walk out of here. And some coin... to start anew."

"Depends on the worth of your news."

The guard leaned closer and I recoiled at the foul breath spilling from his mouth. I bet his wife had to go to bed with a nose plug.

"I heard you had an interest in that captive... Lyra. How you're soft on her. Can't say I blame ya." He leered, chuckling lowly. "She is easy on the eyes, ain't she? I had a feel... for her. The others wanted to, I reckon. They just wouldn't admit it. But I can guarantee ya, I wasn't the only one with a stiffy between my legs. I bet even you heard those chains a'clinkin' in your dreams as you imagined bending her over that sink and riding her hard..."

A roar built in my chest as an ancient scream clawed at my throat. Fire surged through me, begging for release. My skin throbbed, aching to unleash the mindless creature that simmered beneath.

I took a deep breath. Then one more. And another after that. Cords stood out in my arms and veins in my neck. The fire burned so hot... so bright...

"Conner, could you give us a moment."

"Sure, Alpha."

I waited until the door to the ground floor opened and closed before I spoke again.

"Get to the point," I clipped, internally chastising my beast for rising to the guard's bait.

"Right, right," he muttered, rubbing his hands together. "The point is, I know somethin' you don't. Somethin' about Lyra."

"And what might that be?'

"Oh, no. Your word first."

"Forget it." I played his bluff by turning and walking away. away.

"Alright, alright," he stammered, backpedaling, the smirk wiped clean from his face. Just... just listen."

The guards scent had turned to one of sweet desperation. That fact made me believe he had more to say.

And that I would want to hear it.

I held his gaze, unblinking. Every muscle in my body tensed to shift, to spring into action if he dared tell me more of his lewd fantasies. The guard, with a resigned sigh, met my gaze once more.

"Um... that Lyra... she she ain't like us."

I leaned in, the beast within me prowling ever closer to the surface, a silent threat that urged him to speak the truth. "What are you saying?"

His voice dropped to a whisper, a low tone that grated on my nerves. "She doesn't have a wolf, Thorton. No beast stirs within her. I know this because I have friends in the Wolfsong pack. They told me she'd never had the Change. His words hit me hard, leaving me speechless. I couldn't believe what he was saying. It seemed impossible, and yet...

When I lay there, broken and bleeding, my life force seeping out onto the cold, hard ground, Lyra remained frozen. Unchanged. Unshifted. She could have transformed into her wolf form in an instant, using the power and speed to race away from the danger, to seek help, to do something. Anything. But she did none of those things. She just stayed there, locked in her human form, seemingly powerless to act.

The edges of my vision narrowed, as a chilling realization crept over me. The guard was telling the truth. I could see it in his beady eyes. Smell it in his rotten egg stench. Lyra had no wolf. No inner beast to call upon.

And because of her condition, she would never win the Luna trials.

She would never become my mate.