Chapter 29

Kael & Lyra

Kael

The moment Lyra was gone, I whirled on Luca. My fury returned tenfold, every Alpha instinct in me itching to pin him to the ground and put him in his place. Luca was my friend—and he had betrayed me by flirting with Lyra when I had specifically told him to leave her alone.

“She’s not just another one of your conquests, you know,” I growled, storming up to Luca. “She’s my family’s ward. You can have your pick of the litter, but it can’t be her.”

Luca pulled his shoulders back and met my stare. “She’s not a conquest to me.”

I blinked, taken aback. Luca was a notorious playboy; he had a body count a mile long, and had never been known to stay with the same girl for more than one night.

The longest relationship he’d ever had was during our junior year in high school, when he had dated a girl for a whopping three weeks—and only because she was the head cheerleader and he wanted to get in her pants so badly that he was willing to play the “long” game.

But now he was trying to tell me that Lyra was girlfriend material for him?

“Bullshit,” I spat. “You’re just toying with her emotions because you know how naive she is. We both know you’re incapable of having feelings for anyone.”

The moment those words left my mouth, I regretted them. Luca’s face hardened in a way I’d never seen before. With a huff, he stormed past me and picked his shirt up off the ground. He didn’t look at me as he tugged it back on.

“Think what you want about me, Kael, but I really do see Lyra as a friend. And for what it’s worth, you’re meddling way too much for a foster brother.”

My jaw clenched. “I know what you’re implying, Luca. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: I’m. Not. Interested—”

“Then get over the fact that she’s done fawning for you and just let her be fucking happy, Kael.”

Something in Luca’s tone made my nerves fray. Growling low in my throat, I stormed over to him and gripped the front of his shirt. My other fist instinctively pulled back to hit him. And, Goddess, how badly I wanted to.

I wasn’t sure why, but my wolf was raging at the idea of Luca touching Lyra. She couldn’t possibly be happy with him. Not Luca, of all people.

Instinctively, my mind went back to that awful dream I’d had three weeks ago—her frail body, limp in my arms. The heartbreak in my chest. It had felt so real, like I had truly lost my other half.

My… Mate.

Lyra wasn’t my mate, of course. She was a wolfless who would never have a mate. It was just a dream, nothing more.

But dammit if that dream hadn’t clung to me like the vestiges of a lightning strike. I swore I could still feel the heat of anger and agony sizzling in my fingertips at times. No matter how much time passed, no matter how hard I tried to forget about it, I couldn’t stop thinking about the weight of her dead body in my arms and the gut-wrenching pain of losing my fated mate.

That, and the regret.

Maybe that was it—I was regretting not having treated her better. Her dying in my dream had just been a metaphor for her affection for me dying in real life. I hadn’t seen her smile at me in a month now.

If nothing else, I just wanted her to return to her old self so I could treat her better than I used to. So I could show her how I truly felt.

“Go ahead. Hit me,” Luca said, spreading his arms wide to leave himself open to me. “I won’t fight back. But I also won’t cover for you when Lyra inevitably asks about the bruises.”

Luca’s words snapped me out of it, and I finally realized what I was doing. I was acting a fool—hurting Luca wouldn’t make Lyra any less distant toward me. It was only going to make things worse.

For all I knew, he was responsible for this sudden change in her. If I wanted to snap her out of it and return to the way things once were, then I had to keep them from growing too close.

With one final warning growl, I released Luca, shoving him slightly so he took two staggering steps backwards.

“Where are you taking her this weekend?” I asked.

Luca smoothed down his shirt. “The couples’ hunt.”

The reminder of the upcoming couples’ event this weekend shot through me like an arrow piercing my chest. Right. The first full moon of the school year was coming up, and Ravencrest always hosted a paired hunt to celebrate it.

Couples were expected to play together in the hunt. It was a bonding experience—one driven by the light of the full moon.

The thought of Luca and Lyra together on a night like that made the fires of anger begin to rise again inside of me, but I pushed them down. I needed to control myself and stay focused for now. I couldn’t let them get closer during that hunt.

“You’re going with Bianca, aren’t you?” Luca asked.

Fuck. I’d almost forgotten about my little arrangement with Bianca. I nodded, and the two of us parted ways. I sent Bianca a quick text reminding her of the upcoming event, and she responded almost immediately.

“The couples’ festival? I can’t wait!”

…

Lyra

I regretted my outfit choice the moment I walked up to the festival grounds. Everyone else was dressed in their finest, and as I wove through the sea of attendees, I could feel their judging stares and could hear their whispers.

“I should go back and change,” I thought to Jade. “I’m underdressed.”

“It’s just jeans and a sweater. You look nice, and it’s practical.”

“But every other she-wolf is wearing a dress.”

“And every other she-wolf is going to trip on that dress during the hunt.”

I bit my lip, knowing that Jade was technically right, but this was a couples’ event. The yellow autumn moon hung high and full in the sky, and every wolf was searching for a mate—if not fated, then at least someone to mate with for the winter.

It wasn’t a hunt for a hunts’ sake. But it was just Luca, so I supposed it didn’t matter that much.

Speaking of the devil, I spotted him standing by the entrance to the festival grounds. To my relief, he was dressed practically as well in a pair of jeans and his usual varsity jacket, although he’d layered it this time over a simple but sleek crewneck sweater that felt a little dressier than normal.

“Hey,” I said, wringing my hands as I approached. A group of nearby wolves, male and female alike, was whispering and staring at me. “I think I’m underdressed.”

Luca simply grinned and put his arm around my shoulders, guiding me into the festival where students were milling about between booths and chatting as they waited for the main hunt to start.

“You look perfect,” he said, giving my arm a squeeze. “Besides, I want to participate in the hunt, so it’s better if neither of us is wearing a skirt.”

I snorted. “Were you planning on wearing one?”

“Thought about it,” Luca chuckled. “But I’d just look too good and make everyone else jealous.”

I couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped my lips at Luca’s words. But my humor faded when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and looked over my shoulder to see Kael entering the festival grounds.

His fingers were laced with Bianca’s.