Chapter 25

Kael

Lyra’s face puckered, and she leaned back, furrowing her brow. “If you’re trying to deflect the rumors about you and Bianca, don’t drag me into it,” she said, taking a step away.

“Me and Bianca?” I played dumb and cocked my head.

She sighed and looked away. “Haven’t you heard the gossip? Everyone thinks Bianca is your secret girlfriend.”

“Do you believe those rumors?” I asked.

“I really don’t care. I just don’t want to be involved in your love life.”

I couldn’t help but feel a faint pang of interest at the tone in her voice. She’d obviously been avoiding me for weeks now, ever since Cassidy was expelled, but now I wondered—was she jealous of the rumors about me and Bianca?

But I quickly shoved away that notion and straightened. “Well, believe it or not, I actually switched groups because you’re still too weak to hold your own in these spars. I can’t risk conflict between the packs if Luca accidentally hurts you.”

“Thanks, but I can handle myself,” Lyra said, still without meeting my gaze.

I stared at her side profile for a moment, my earlier curiosity quickly replaced with frustration. She really didn’t belong in this class, but she refused to drop out. I’d tried to convince her to give it up multiple times now, and I had even gone hard on her during drills, but she still persevered.

It was both impressive and infuriating. Mostly infuriating, because I knew it was only a matter of time before she got hurt and my mother killed me.

But it was clear that Lyra wasn’t going to back down today, just as she hadn’t every other day, so I let out a small breath of frustration and retreated.

“Well, either way, you’ll be alright with my guidance,” I said.

Lyra shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Really.”

Her distance both angered and confused me. I’d thought that she might warm up to me again after I’d punished Cassidy on her behalf, but no—she had done nothing but avoid me for weeks and was still doing the same.

Most of all, I hated how intriguing this new attitude of hers was. But yet again, I shoved the thought down and turned to the other students.

“Pair up,” I told the students. “We’ll start with sixty-second rounds. No shifting, no hits above the shoulders, and if I tell you to stop, you stop.”

The students paired up, and I made sure to set Lyra up with one of the smaller females who I knew not to be a very good fighter. Lyra looked like she’d sucked on a lemon when I told her who her partner was, but she didn’t argue.

When it was finally Lyra’s turn, I watched closely, ready to jump in if need be. I expected Lyra to tap out quickly; even against this small girl, who was probably five-foot-nothing and a hundred pounds soaking wet, Lyra was still wolfless. That was going to give her a disadvantage.

But Lyra surprised me. Again.

Just as she had that day in the training yard, Lyra showed me skills that I didn’t even know she possessed. She moved across the mat like she was made for it, all fluid grace and agility. Just when I thought her partner was going to sneak up on her, she would whirl around and take her to the mat with a move that she shouldn’t have even known at her current level.

And each time, she showed strength that a wolfless should never possess.

When she finally pinned the girl to the floor in an advanced hold, I was too stunned to even speak. The girl tapped out and Lyra released her, rolling over backwards and jumping to her feet like a cat.

Just to rub it in, Lyra even sketched a quick curtsy, her gaze never leaving mine, before she walked away.

I blinked, wondering if I had truly witnessed that or if I was seeing things.

It made no sense. Lyra was wolfless—it should have been nearly impossible for someone in her condition to beat any student with a wolf in a spar, especially in an Alpha training class. But she hadn’t just held her own. She had won.

Something must have happened to make her like this. Either someone was training her privately, or she was hiding something.

Did that have anything to do with the way she was avoiding me like the plague?

I was still pondering what it could possibly be while the students were cleaning up at the end of class when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning, I spotted Bianca standing beside me, rocking back and forth on her feet and smiling demurely up at me.

“Alpha Kael,” she said, “you look troubled.”

“Do I?” I noticed Lyra walking across the room over Bianca’s shoulder and quickly pulled my gaze away from her before she could see me staring. But Bianca noticed, and glanced over at her. When she looked back at me, her eyes had hardened faintly but her smile had stretched wider across her face.

“Oh.” She leaned in a little closer. “It’s because of Lyra, isn’t it?”

I didn’t feel particularly comfortable having this sort of conversation with a freshman, let alone admitting even to myself that Lyra—of all people—was weighing so heavily on my mind lately, so I turned to leave.

Bianca stepped in my way.

“I’m her roommate, you know. We… talk.”

That piqued my wolf’s interest. “Is that so?” I found myself asking.

Bianca nodded and leaned in a little more, so close that I could smell her perfume wafting off her skin. It was strong and cloying, as if she had just put it on before coming to talk to me. “She’s uncomfortable because of the dating rumors. Doesn’t want to be suspected of being your girlfriend and attacked by other she-wolves who might be vying for that position. That’s why she’s keeping her distance.”

So that was it. My gaze flicked over to Lyra again. She was standing by the door, rifling through her satchel. Her chestnut hair caught the light streaming in through the tall windows, making it almost a honey-golden color.

For a brief, ridiculous moment, I couldn’t help but find the sight rather beautiful. Or maybe that was because the image of her dancing around the sparring mat like a trained warrior was still burned into my mind, altering my perception of her. Either way, I couldn’t look away.

Dammit. What was coming over me?

Before I could turn away, Lyra abruptly looked up at me. Blue eyes widened briefly when she realized I’d been staring, and for a too-long moment, our gazes held. But then hers flicked downward, narrowing briefly at something, and then she turned and left.

I looked down to where she’d been looking to find that Bianca had placed her hand on my arm and I hadn’t even noticed.

“You need a new girlfriend,” Bianca said.

I sighed. “Bianca—”

“Just a fake one,” she clarified. “Let me play the role. That way, no one will accuse you of dating your foster sister, and maybe Lyra won’t have to be so distant anymore.”

For a moment, I hesitated, considering Bianca’s offer. It was ridiculous, the idea of having a fake girlfriend. Like something out of a bad rom-com. But at the same time…

Unbidden, I thought back to the way Lyra had seemed when she’d spoken about Bianca earlier. The coldness in her voice, the way she would hardly look at me… What if she cared more than she was letting on?

Maybe… Just maybe… I could use this situation to gauge her reaction. To find out what she truly thought about everything. I wasn’t sure why, but I really wanted to know.

“Alright,” I replied, lacing my fingers with Bianca’s. “Let’s fake it.”