Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Lyric POV

I try to shake off the feeling of Mason’s stare and focus on the next portion of the demonstration. Gamma Jake shifts into his cream-colored wolf. I stand in a fighting stance again and he charges as he tries to swipe his right paw at me. I drop and roll, I strike him in his side once and step back. He spins and swipes at me again, catching me in my shoulder.

I recover and he comes at me full speed. I duck just as he approaches and kick him in the stomach as he runs over me. He skids to a stop and spins.

“Why do you always drag it out?” Nova says annoyed in my mind.

“I’m just having fun,” I say back, focusing on the wolf in front of me.

He charges at me, mouth open ready to attack. I sidestep and strike him on the side of his neck, following it up with a punch to the rib. I grab his fur and launch myself on his back and give him a hard elbow to the back of the neck and he drops.

The pack erupts in cheers.

“Good job little one,” Delta Sam says.

“Proud of you little wolf,” Alpha Liam links me.

“Thank you Alpha,” I link back.

“He’s staring at us again, they all are,” Nova says.

“Good, let them. It’s time they see what I can do,” I say walking towards Winter.

For years I’ve been happy to blend into the background. Today feels different. Maybe because I’m tired of pretending I’m less than what I am. Maybe because part of me wants people to finally see me.

“Omg Lyric that was amazing, did you see Mason and the guy’s faces?” she asks.

“They were priceless,” she says as we walk back to the pack house.

I walk into my room and Summer is sitting on my bed.

Great.

“you know Mason can scent his mate today. It is me. Whatever you are trying to do by putting on your little show but it won’t work. Don’t forget who you are Lyric and don’t forget what happens when you get out of line. You remember what I did to Olivia. Stay away from my mate” she snarls grabbing my arm, digging her nails in breaking the skin.

My stomach drops.

Summer only brings up Olivia when she wants me to remember exactly what she’s capable of.

What happened to Olivia wasn’t an accident. It was a lesson. One Summer made sure I never forgot.

“I don’t even want your stupid mate,” I hiss out.

“Yeah lets keep it that way,” she says shoving me into the dresser before storming out.

“You need to start fighting back again, Lyric,” Nova says.

“You know that would only make it worse, Olivia’s parents changed packs because of her,” I say.

The memory makes my chest tighten.

Some people think staying quiet means you’re weak. They don’t understand that sometimes silence is the only thing standing between someone else and Summer’s wrath.

The last time I stopped being quiet, someone else paid the price.

“They start accepting applications for the Royal Warrior Program today, once I get in, I’ll be out of here and then Summer can have her mate,” I say to her getting in the shower.

One more year.

One more year and I can leave MoonVeil behind.

One more year and I won’t have to wonder who Summer is going to hurt next.

I wash my hair to get all the dirt out trying to keep my mind from drifting to Mason and the way he looked at me.

“Do you think we are his mate?” Nova asks.

“For our sake I hope not,” I say to her.

I step out the shower and lotion my body in my vanilla body lotion and diffuse my curls. I put on a pair of high waist blue jean shorts that hug my hips perfectly and a pink and white color block tube top. My full size breasts hold the shirt up perfectly. I pair it with a pair of white and pink New Balance.

Although I am damn near invisible in the pack, I flaunt the curves the goddess gave me even though Summer and her flock of followers would like to say I was fat.

If they’re going to talk about me anyway, they might as well be wrong.

My curls are big and defined the way I want them to be and I grab my book bag and head down to meet Winter for breakfast before school.

When I step into the dining room all eyes are on me.

I grab a plate, pile it with food. As werewolves we burn a lot of energy so we eat a lot.

I find Winter sitting by the back window.

“What happened to your arm?” she asks as I walk up.

I glance at it and shrug.

“Summer in a mood,” I say.

“Lyric,” she says.

“Just leave it Win, it’s fine. In a year, we will be out of here anyways,” I say sitting across from her.

Winter’s jaw tightens.

She hates when I do this. When I brush things off and pretend they don’t matter.

But explaining it won’t change anything.

My older twin brothers, only older than me and Summer by six months. Werewolf pregnancies only last six months, sometimes five for higher ranked wolves, see us and walk over to us.

“Hey little sis, we didn’t know you could fight like that,” Jace says sitting next to me.

“Well when you guys forget that I exist, it’s easy not to know,” I say annoyed.

The words come out sharper than I intended.

Neither of them argues.

Neither of them tells me I’m wrong.

“Okay you got us there, but we would like to change that,” he says.

“Yeah little sis we want to do better,” Logan adds.

Hunter, Mason, Lucas and Micah all walk up to the table.

Perfect.

Mason sits on the other side of me, his arm brushing me.

I freeze in shock.

“Hey Lyric you fight good, where did you learn that?” he says, his deep voice sending chills down my spine.

I turn and lock eyes with those intense storm grey eyes and clench my thighs together.

What is happening right now?

Mason POV

Seeing her squirm next to me gives me and Kane much amusement.

This next year is going to be fun.

“What are you doing Mason?” Winter links me.

“She’s cute when she’s flustered,” I link back.

She yells over the link.

“OMG SHE’S YOUR MATE, I’M SO HAPPY, I ALWAYS KNEW IT COULDN’T BE THAT BITCH,” she links.

I rub my head to counteract the ringing from her screaming in my head.

“Don’t fuck this up, and get rid of the bimbo, you’re already at a disadvantage dating her twin sister,” she links me.

“I’m working on that, and I won’t,” I link back.

“You better hope Summer doesn’t find out, might want to scoot over Alpha,” she says before closing the link.

“I’ve been training with the alpha and delta privately for the past 6 years and I also help with training the younger pups,” Lyric says in the softest voice possible.

“Our mate is beautiful,” Kane says.

He is right.

I always thought she was pretty even when we were pups especially because she looks nothing like her siblings or parents making her stand out even more.

Looking at her now at 17 all grown up she is beautiful.

Those beautiful green eyes, the dimples in her cheeks when she smiles, that wild red hair, those curvy hips.

And somehow nobody talks about her.

Nobody talks about the fact that she’s one of the best fighters in the pack.

Nobody talks about the fact that she helps train pups.

It’s like everyone decided she belonged in the background and never bothered looking closer.

I shake my head realizing that my dick is getting hard thinking about my mate.

“That’s crazy half pint, we never see you at training,” Hunter says.

“Well being so small makes it easy to be overlooked,” she whispers.

Something about the way she says it bothers me.

Not because she’s looking for sympathy.

Because she sounds like she’s accepted it.

“Well we see you now and in a big way,” Lucas says glancing at me.

She stands up and I stand with her and she looks up at me confused.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure you had space to get up,” I say to her quickly.

“Oh um, thanks I guess. Winter I will meet you by your car, see you later guys,” she says walking out the dining room.

“Real smooth alpha,” Winter says walking out behind Lyric.

“Yeah you do not have this under control,” Hunter says.

“You were basically drooling on her,” Micah adds laughing.

“I’m just seeing her for real for the first time since she was 9 and as my mate, my mind is racing,” I say shaking my head.

The worst part is realizing how much I’ve missed.

Somewhere between calling her my little sunflower and now, she became someone I barely know.

And I can’t stop wondering how that happened.

“Like I said Mase, do something about Summer soon because if this is how you handle things Summer will know sooner than you may want her to,” Hunter says standing and walking out.

I found my mate.

Now I just had to survive telling her sister.