The Lunar Queen (Lyric and Mason) novel Chapter 20

The Lunar Queen

Chapter 20

“What did she say, Your Highness?” I ask, feeling anxious, my grip tightening around the glass without me realizing it.

“Please just call me Cole,” he replies.

“She said, ‘I tried to stay away.”” he adds.

Mason and Hunter freeze at those words, not moving, not reacting, just going completely still like something just confirmed what they already knew.

Before I can say anything, Liam speaks first.

“I assume you guys know what she meant by that,” he asks, gripping his glass tightly.

“Yes,” Hunter replies quietly.

“Care to tell the room?” I prompt.

“Dad,” Hunter says.

“NO,” I growl, the word coming out harsher than I intended, but I don’t take it back.

“Just tell me,” I say, my voice cracking, because I already know I’m not going to like what comes next.

I open a link to my mate.

“You need to hear this too, mate,” I say.

“Okay, my love,” she responds, her voice already unsteady through the bond.

Hunter looks at Mason.

“You do it, I’m barely holding Kane together,” Mason says, his voice rough, like he’s already at his limit.

“Earlier today, Mason, Winter, and I went to Dr. Grant because Lyric was hiding something. We thought it was just the stabbing from Monday.”

Hunter’s voice catches. Mason does not look up.

“But Dr. Grant told us Lyric has been coming to her since she was seven.”

My grip tightens around the glass.

“Seven?” I ask.

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Chapter 20

Hunter nods once. “The broken finger. The bruises around her neck. Her ribs after Mason got her that horse. The burn on her Back when she was twelve. Then the broken arm two months ago, the broken rib last month, and the silver wound on Monday”

Each injury lands like another blow to my chest.

“And every time,” Hunter continues, looking directly at Mason now, “it happened after Summer saw Mason give Lyric attention.”

The room goes silent.

“Today was worse because Mason scented Lyric as his mate,” Hunter says. “Lyric knew Summer would come after her if she found

out. That’s why she kept trying to stay away from him.”

I hear my mate break through the link.

Not crying.

Breaking.

“And we still didn’t see it,” I say.

“How did we miss all of this happening?” I ask, the question coming out quieter than everything else, but hitting harder.

“Lyric is a very quiet person, and aside from Winter, she keeps to herself. She helps a few of the omegas, but she has never been

someone who asks for attention,” Liam explains.

“We need to find out who is helping her,” he adds.

“How do you know she has help?” Beta Dominic asks.

“Because Summer, even with beta blood, does not train,” Liam answers. “Lyric has trained since she was six. She is our best warrior.

There is no way Summer could overpower her alone, which is why I know someone has been helping her recently.”

“If she is the best, why didn’t she defend herself when she was attacked?” Cole asks. “There has to be something we are missing.”

“There is,” Liam says, his expression hardening. “But until Lyric wakes up or we find someone willing to talk, we do not know what

it is.”

“Yes, Lyric and my daughter Winter are our two most skilled warriors when it comes to combat and weapons,” he adds. “That is

exactly why I know Summer did not do this alone.”

“I didn’t even know that,” I say. “Why didn’t you tell me, Liam?”

“She didn’t want you or Liz to know,” Liam replies quietly. “She thought you would tell her to be more like Summer.”

“We never wanted her to be like Summer,” I whisper.

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Chapter 20

“But whenever Lyric fought back, you and Mom thought she was the one starting it,” Hunter says.

My stomach drops.

Summer would cry. Lyric would stand there angry and silent, refusing to explain herself.

“We thought she was bullying her own sister,” I say.

“And she let us believe it,” Liam says, his jaw tightening.

B

“We thought she was quiet because that was who she wanted to be,” I continue, my voice cracking. “We thought she was

independent. We thought Mason and Winter were enough. We only stepped in when we thought Lyric and Summer were fighting We

never stopped to ask why Lyric always looked angry while Summer was the one crying.”

Every excuse sounds worse once I say it out loud.

And the more everything starts to make sense… the worse it feels.

Because this wasn’t random. It wasn’t one bad day.

This has been happening right in front of us for years…and we let it.

Comments

2 Comments >

R Visitor

I think if I were her best friend I would have had to told someone so that they could keep a better eye on summer

7 days ago

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