Chapter 6: A Simple, Oh Hell, Nothing's Simple
Lyra (2022)
The staircase went down two stories before they hit the main floor of a very large, very extravagant house. Lyra's heart thudded against her shirt, probably loud enough for any human to hear, let alone a pack of werewolves. "It's okay, no one here will hurt you, I can guarantee that." Thyrius spoke, sending chills throughout her body. She could only nod in response as they made their way through an enormous living room, and into an even larger kitchen. She kept her head down not wanting to attract any more attention than probably already did. She only looked up when she heard him introduce her to the woman that stood by the sink. She looked to be in her mid 30's, with long blond hair that fell in ringlets down her back. Her eyes were a shade of golden brown and Lyra could only gawk at how beautiful this woman was. Did werewolves have just impeccable genealogy? Or was she still in her own mind, and sleeping on the forest floor?
She appeared to have just finished washing dishes, as she had a towel in her hands, and splotches of water staining some parts of her shirt. "Oh, hello dear, I'm Alana, and as you can probably tell, I'm one of the cooks here. We just finished breakfast, but I can make you something if you'd like?" Lyra went to respond, but Thyrius had beat her to it. "She likes scrambled eggs, and bacon." He was short and concise with her, but she felt like this was a normal thing because Alana nodded with a smile and grabbed what he said out of the industrial sized fridge.
The kitchen had a large, intricate marble countertop with matching bar stools spread evenly along it, as well as a huge dining table in the center. She wasn't sure where to sit so she looked to Thyrius, unsure of herself. Thyrius gave her a warm smile and gestured to the countertop. Lyra let out a deep breath, and hurried to the barstools taking the one closest to where Alana was cooking. Partly because she felt like that was the most appropriate, and partly because Alana's cooking was making her mouth water.
She was watching Alana cook with such exquisite technique she could only admire from her seat at the counter, Alana was beginning to remind Lyra of Mama Jan, and she immediately felt an ache in her heart at the memories that flooded her brain. "Lyra, dear, do you want anything to drink? Orange juice? Tea?" Her ears perked up when she heard Alana say tea. It was always her favorite. "Do you have chai?" Alana smiled at her and nodded her head. "That's Eleni's favorite, I always keep it stocked, I'll make you some." Thyrius made his way over to her and took the seat next to her. She had no clue what it was about him, but he made every nerve in her body twinge, in the best way possible.
She could feel his warmth and her blood was boiling. She had to keep her head down in fear of looking completely stupid like she did back in the room. Her mind kept racing with questions that she had and she wasn't sure how long she could keep from going on one of her nervous ramblings. "You don't have to be so nervous around me, Lyra. If anything, I should be nervous around you." His voice made her jump a tiny bit in her seat. She placed a hand over her heart to calm herself before she replied. "I guess it was easier talking to you when you were a gigantic, scary wolf." A nervous laugh escaped her lips, and Thyrius turned in his chair, and lifted her chin so she could meet his eyes. "Of course you'd think the big bad scary wolf is easier to talk to." His voice was softer this time, and he smiled warmly at Lyra, and oh so graciously rolled his eyes. She couldn't help the smile that played on her lips.
She was entirely grateful when Alana came over to them and placed a large plate of bacon and eggs in front of her along with a steaming cup of heaven. "Let the girl eat, poor thing looks like she'll expire soon" Alana commented after she placed the food in front of a very exhausted, very ravenous Lyra. "I'd listen to Ms. Alana, Thyrius." Lyra mumbled, food spilling from her mouth onto her plate. His booming laugh echoed throughout the large kitchen, and he made his way to the exit. "I'm going to be in my office, I do have a few meetings to get through and then we can discuss certain things. Especially about us in particular" Immediately, his voice was serious, business-like and cold. It gave Lyra whiplash, she wasn't expecting that, but she covered her mouth with her hand and gave him a thumbs up. When he saw her okay sign he promptly left the room, and to his office.
When he left her view, Lyra looked over to Alana, she needed a distraction asap. Lyra took a few more bites of her eggs, swallowed, and cleared her throat with her tea before she spoke. "Uhm, this may be a weird question, but what is this place? Who lives here?" Alana shook her head and smiled. "Well this is our community house, most of the wolves that live here are part of the patrol team or the royal guard, some of them live in their own houses with their families, and there are some single mothers with children as well. It varies who all live here, some long enough to get on their feet, and some for convenience of the job. At any given time, I would say roughly 15 to 20 people live here, along with Alpha Thyrius, his room is the one you woke up in dear. For the most part the only ones that live on his floor are him, his beta, and his guards." Lyra was shocked, that's almost how many girls lived in Mooretown when she was there and for some reason that was actually better to take in, than how many she originally thought resided here.
It made her feel even more calm that the only ones on the floor she woke up on were guards and his beta, which, if Lyra remembered correctly from the books she read back at her cottage, was his right hand man in simple terms. Her books. Lyra's eyes began to water thinking about her home and how destroyed it must be. "I have to go home. I need my books, especially my book of shadows, I can't be without my books!" She exclaimed, tears threatening to spill over. She knew that yelling at the cook was a bit overreactive, but those books were her world, and she felt a panic attack creeping up on her, which didn't help. Her breath had become rapid, and harder to control. She felt as if all the blood in her veins were replaced with acid, burning her from the inside out. Lyra clutched her head tightly trying to find a way for the panic in her body to stop. "Lyra, Lyra!" Alana's voice sounded muffled, and miles away from where Lyra stood, though she could see her golden eyes just a few feet from where she had clumsily stood up, barstools strewn across the floor.
Everything came rushing back to her at full speed. Her interrupted ritual, an injured Thyrius, and those evil, blood red eyes. Lyra was scared, terrified honestly, but she was more terrified of herself. A beam of light had shot right out of her chest? And into one of the creatures? She was so confused and so terribly afraid of what she released, especially after the message from the lady in the darkness.
Do not be afraid, Lyra, I am here to help you. I am not here to hurt you.
The voice in her head made her instantly freeze. It was the same voice from the woman in the darkness. Yes, I am her, you are me, and I am you, darling girl. I have been here with you for many years, and I am elated that you have finally opened and released your true self. Answers will come more easily now. The woman's voice faded from her mind, and there was a calm that washed over Lyra. To anyone from the outside, she looked mental. Absolutely psychotic, and she was surprised when she saw Alana smile at her with understanding and warmth. "It's been a very long few days for you dear, the stress of something like this is normal, and panic attacks are normal. I'm not one to judge anybody, and if you need to talk about anything at all, know I'm here for you." The comfort in her voice made Lyra tear up once more, though not from sadness this time. She didn't know this woman, she had completely unraveled in front of her, and this woman had the kindness and understanding of an angel. Alana gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "As for your books, Thyrius did grab one, I think it's the book you described. The book had a red pentacle on it." Lyra was confused, she hadn't seen it in her bag, though the bag would have been large enough to hold it. "Where is it? I didn't see it in my bag?" she asked her, still confused. "Oh, he put it in his office, said it would be helpful when you guys have your talk about everything I guess." Lyra kind of understood why Thyrius would do that, she knew the ins and outs of that book, and it would only be fair if he knew as well. Hell, that prophecy she'd read might actually mean something to him. When Lyra finished picking up the bar stools, she glanced at her half empty plate, she was definitely no longer hungry, she just wanted to nap.