"Are you done checking me out?"
"I wasn't checking you out.I was just observing you trying to figure out if I know you."
"Sure."
"I'm not lying!"
"I didn't say you were. Unless you know you are lying."
"I told you I'm not—"
"Am I seeing things, or are you actually smiling? Must I add, like a creep?" Rowan's grating voice buzzes. I swear he has the most infuriating voice in the entire world. Some days I even picture myself killing him without any remorse.
"The only creep here is you. Given how you cling to me every second of the day, you might as well be clinging to me more than my own skin." I pick up a little rock from the ground and throw it at him, which he effortlessly catches, and then he grins like a Cheshire cat.
Such a revolting sight.
"I have to cling to you. I'm the beta of the pack after all. Talking about packs and all, I actually came to update you on the result of yesterday's attack on the Midnights pack." He leans against a huge rock.
That gets my attention. Our attack on Midnight's pack that night was one of our most successful. Even after lacking huge numbers in size, we did manage to cause some major damage to them.
But I couldn't witness most of it myself, as a certain human girl caught my attention. A very unusual and almost impossible sight to witness in that town since humans can't enter there.
How did she get in? Was she forced to come?
"From what I have gathered. 5 of the wolves from their side died, while at least 20 of them were severely wounded. In addition to that, we caused serious damage to some assets in the packhouse. However, there was a very unusual act from their side." Rowan tilts his head in confusion as I narrow my eyes at him.
Did he see her too? My shoulders tense at the thought of her being seen by anyone.
But I made sure to pull her inside before others could notice her.
"What unusual act? I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary." I try to dismiss it. But he shakes his head, confident.
"Beta's daughter. What's her name again? The tall bitchy one? Tricia? Trivia? Stacy? Tracy? Tracy. Right. That's her name. Yeah, her. She was out there. A bit unlikely for those cowards. Since they don't get in the middle of any pack fight. But strangely enough, she was there." My shoulders relaxed, relieved that the unusual act he was talking about was Beta's daughter.
He isn't wrong. It was very unlikely for Beta's daughter to be out there when the brawl happened. The head of the Midnights pack, be it the Beta or the Alpha himself, nor their families, stays far away from direct altercations. They tend to work behind the scenes.
However, I know the reason Beta's daughter was out in the open. It was because of her. Lyra.
I feel my wolf waggling its tail excitedly at the thought of her. He has been obsessed with her ever since he saw her. He stays pretty quiet most of the time. He stopped talking much when we didn't find our mate even after a long wait. Only reacts when he wants to go on a run or when we're fighting someone.
But something changed that night; he has been a bit more reactive. Still nothing like when I first got him, but more than the last few years. I don't know if it's a good idea or not. Maybe he's just fascinated by her since she was the only one who got both of us distracted.
'You know I can still hear you, right?' He says with a bored tone. I choose to ignore him, making him taste his own medicine.
'Tch! What a petty human'. I ignore him once more and focus on the other nutcase.
"What about the casualties on our side?" He straightens up looking a little somber.
"Mason got seriously injured. He couldn't even shift back to his human form because of the severity of the injuries, but luckily with Tristan's help, he managed to shift. However, that caused his body to go into shock. Katherine said it might take him a week or two to gain consciousness". I nod my head, taking the information in.
Mason is one of our most reliable werewolves. He was especially very good at ensuring the security at the border, patrolling tirelessly. Because of his absence, I decided to patrol the borders myself.
'He tried to attack Lyra, though.' Seth whines in my head. He's still upset about Mason attempting to attack Lyra that night after he tackled Midnight's Beta's daughter. He didn't do it out of malice, though; he was driven by his primal instinct mainly because he was in his wolf form.
I happen to glance at Rowan and notice he's looking at me weirdly. I raise my eyebrows at him questioningly.
"Are you talking to Seth?" I nod my head.
"Must be good to hear love-hungry creatures once in a blue moon, says—My ride or die —Ryan." Rowan rolls his eyes but still relays his wolf's message to mine. Even though they can directly mind-link each other. Ryan—Rowan's Wolf asks Rowan to speak for him only when it comes to Seth, though. He is pretty chatty with other wolves.
Petty much.
SNAP!!!
My ears perk up at the sound. I meet Rowan's gaze, who also stands alarmed now. He signals to the right side before leaving while I move to the left.
I take a few quiet steps before I hear a soft muffled sound again. It sounds as if someone has their hands over their mouth, covering any sounds.
A few more steps ahead and I see it. A figure hiding behind a huge tree. Given the person's small frame, I wouldn't have noticed them if it weren't for their hair. Long silky hair, blonde so platinum that it looks silver, notably under the moonlight.
A little curve tugs my lip upwards as I realize who that is.
'Lyra.' Seth immediately answered before I could.
I walk in that direction and, in one swift motion, tug at her wrist, turning her around. She immediately opens her mouth to scream, but I cover her mouth with my palm before she could do just that.
Her eyes went round as she stared up at me, breathing heavily through her nose. Though she instantly narrows her eyes as she recognizes me.
"The right side is clear. Nothing suspicious. What about the left?" Rowan mind-links me.
"Clear. Go back to the Pack house. I'll patrol for the night." I link him back.
Are you sure?" He questions again.
"Positive."
He doesn't say anything back, so I assume he must have left. Then I give my full attention to the little sneak in front of me.
She struggles against my hold, thrashing and pushing me around. I tighten my hold on her and then speak in a low, calm voice to avoid scaring her.
"I'll release you if you promise not to scream. Can you do that?" I stare into her eyes. This deep forest green shade.
'So beautiful.' Seth whispers.
Lyra nods her head, and I release her. She takes a few deep breaths. Her skin is flushed, probably because of all the thrashing around.
"Are you stalking me now?" I let a frown settle on my face just to tease her a bit. But she shakes her head as 'no' vigorously, taking it seriously.
"No! I swear I just lost my way." She explained, and I could see the truth in her eyes. But where was she even heading to in the first place?
Did she go to Ravenswood again? Is she stupid? Why would she even go there again?
'Don't call her stupid,' Seth hisses.
"Who are you?" Lyra's eyes flicker with something at my question. But it's gone just as quickly.
She plasters a smile on her face and extends her hands.
"I am Lyra Winters. It's nice to meet you."
I look at her and then at her hand. She smiles at me expectantly. I shake her hand, and she still looks at me with the same expectant look on her face.
'Introduce yourself, you idiot.' Seth grumbles, and I finally understand the look on Lyra's face.
"Cyrus Grayson."
"What are you doing in the woods at this hour?" She asks while swinging her hands back and forth.
I stare at this woman. A normal human, alone in the woods full of werewolves, and she's seriously asking me that?
'She's cute.' Seth coos.
For some reason the thought of her roaming around at dangerous places irritates me. Even after such a close encounter with the creature strange to her, she sure is careless.
I wish I was a little more empathetic as to let her be clueless, but her cluelessness is getting on my nerves.
"I'm patrolling the border." My honest reply renders her speechless as she blinks at me.
"What border?" Her voice trembles as she swallows thickly. I stare at her throat, and an urge to sink my teeth into her skin and to leave my mark fills me.
I step closer to her, and she steps back.
"What are you doing? Stay back." But I don't. I only stop when she's stopped by a tree.
I get impossibly closer and peer down at her. Her eyes, full of terror, stare back at me. For some reason, I can't fight the urge to mark her, and she's not even my mate. To make matters worse, Seth has stopped speaking. That's when I realized, it's not me, it's him.
It's him who's trying to mark her.
Just as I was about to ask Seth to control himself, I feel an unmistakable glow in my eyes, and my fangs show up. I managed to stop it quickly, but by then Lyra had already seen it.
Her eyes widen as she whispers, "You…You are a werewolf too."
Her eyes roll back, and she goes slack against me.