Page 66 of The Onyx Covenant

“That’s fucking awful.” I turn the rabbit, letting her continue a bit longer.

“No one would claim her,” Lyra continues, her voice softer now. “A family volunteered to raise her; both parents are in Nightshade, our warrior division. So she’s determined to be like them, to prove herself. She’s the most incredible fighter I know, but sometimes I think she pushes too hard, as if she’s trying to earn her place.”

“Must be hard, not knowing where you come from,” I say, pulling the rabbit from the fire.

Lyra nods, her expression troubled. “Sometimes, I wonder if her parents are still in the pack, just not telling anyone she’s theirs. It would kill her if she found out.”

“Political reasons?” I ask, breaking the rabbit in half and offering her the larger portion.

“Or fear,” she suggests, accepting the meat with a nod of thanks. “Not everyone believed in the old ways of dealing with mixed-pack relationships. Some might have hidden children to protect them.”

The possibility that Aria might be half Umbra could make her parents fearful of revealing the truth when people under my father’s reign have died for less.

“She’s going to be fine,” I say. “She has you.”

Lyra takes a bite of the rabbit, her eyes closing briefly in appreciation. “This is good,” she murmurs.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” I retort, tearing into my own portion. “I do know how to feed myself.”

“I just never pegged the great Theron for a cook,” she teases, a small smile playing on her lips. “Thought you’d have servants doing that for you.”

“Myfatherhas servants,” I correct, the mention of him souring my mood. “I prefer to handle things myself.”

“Speaking of your father,” Lyra begins. “He clearly wants you to win the ritual. How will you deal with that if you do win? I’m pretty sure he will die of a heart attack if I don’t die and win alongside you.”

The question catches me off guard.

“It’s not that simple,” I say, tossing a bone into the fire. “For him, this is about winning, holding on to power. It’s personal for me.”

Her eyes study my face, searching for something.

“Because of your sister? I remember you once told me briefly about her.”

I nod, the familiar rage building at the memory of Rina. “He executed her when I was twelve. Blamed her for helping Elios refugees escape a culling.” My jaw clenches tight enough to hurt. “Public execution. Made me watch.”

Ice fills me, my hatred for my father so deep I lose all sense of emotions. No empathy, no understanding for him.

“Theron…” Lyra’s voice softens, her hand reaching out to touch my arm.

“That’s just the start,” I continue, the words bitter in my mouth. “After that, my mother changed. Started asking dangerous questions about pack history, about the Onyx Covenant. Then one day, she was just… gone.” I stare into the fire, seeing my father’s cold eyes as he announced her disappearance. “He told everyone she’d run off with an Elios male, that they’d both been killed by rogue wolves in the borderlands.”

“But you don’t believe that,” Lyra says softly.

“Fuck no. I found her journal notebooks hidden under the floorboards in our home. She wrote that my father had been lying, manipulating both packs, and betraying the Onyx Covenant itself. Said there was proof hidden somewhere in the Covenant chambers.”

Lyra blinks at me, her face paling. “Oh, fuck! That’s why you want to win the ritual. To get access to the Covenant building.”

“I think my father has been silencing people while erasing our history.” The fire pops, sending sparks dancing into the air. “The last pair of Elios who won the ritual mysteriously died after a few months in their reign, and he forced the packs to run the Harvest Ritual again for new candidates. Before them, Umbra was in charge for three consecutive terms.”

“You think he killed them,” Lyra says, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m certain he did,” I reply. “Just like I know he killed my mother when she got too close to the truth. I need to find proof, expose him, change the fucking way things are run by him.” I squeeze her hand, needing her to understand. “He wants Elios exterminated, Lyra. Completely wiped out. And I won’t let him do it, even if it means him against me.”

Silence falls between us, heavy with the weight of my confession. I’ve never told anyone this much—not even Kieran knows the full extent of my suspicions. But Lyra needs to know what we’re really fighting for, what’s truly at stake.

Without warning, she moves forward, abandoning her food and the blanket to wrap her arms around my neck. The sudden embrace comes as a surprise, her naked body pressed against mine, her face buried in my neck.

“I’m so sorry about your mother and sister,” she whispers against my skin. “Makes me fucking loathe your father even more than I already did.”

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