The Lunar Queen (Lyric and Mason) novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Lyric POV

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This week flew by. My dad came and signed the papers for me to graduate early, so the countdown officially begins.

It feels unreal, like everything is speeding up at once and I am just trying to keep my footing before something pulls me under again.

It also means spending more time in Mason’s orbit at school. I will try my hardest not to be seen talking to him, even though just feeling him nearby is already enough to make my chest tighten in ways I do not know how to control yet.”

Today is our final exam because the next three weeks will be all about graduation and prom, which I am absolutely not

going to.

“You know he will ask us to be his date,” Nova says.

“We can’t say yes; too many people will see me leave with him,” I say, already picturing the looks, the whispers, the way Summer’s

eyes would lock onto me like she’s been waiting for this exact moment.

“Unless we don’t leave with him,” she suggests.

“Are you actually considering going with him?” I ask her, my stomach twisting because part of me already knows the answer before

she says it.

“Yeah, he is our mate and he loves us, and we love him. We’ve been staying away from him; one night won’t kill us,” she replies.

“What about Cole?” I ask, and just saying his name makes something softer-and more dangerous-shift in my chest.

“I like him, but he isn’t our mate Lyric Mason is, and he wants us,” she huffs.

“What about Summer?” I ask.

“She’s been quiet. We can’t prepare for an attack we don’t know is actually coming. We will just stay alert,” she says before

retreating, leaving me alone with that uneasy feeling that quiet doesn’t mean safe-it just means waiting.

“So I’ve been thinking,” Mason links me.

“Uh-oh, that is never good,” I reply.

He laughs through the link, and the sound wraps around me in a way that feels too familiar, too easy, like slipping back into

something I’m not sure I’m allowed to have anymore.

“Prom is coming up, and since you are technically a senior, I thought maybe we can go together,” he says hesitantly.

“What about Summer, Mason?” I ask, because her name is always there, always sitting between us whether we say it out loud or not.

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Chapter 44

“She won’t know. I will leave with Hunter and Micah, and Lucas will be your date,” he replies.

“You thought this through already?” I say, laughing, but there’s something about how quickly he answers that makes it clear this wasn’t a random idea-he’s been holding onto this.

“Yes, just say yes, please, sunflower. It will be the only chance I have to spend time with you before I go to Alpha training. I’ve already missed so much time with you,” he says almost pleading, and that pulls at something deep in my chest that I don’t want to

name.

“Say yes to our mate,” Nova urges.

“Fine,” I say.

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“You don’t know how happy you just made me,” he responds, and I can feel it through the link-the warmth, the relief, the way his

emotions brush against mine like they belong there.

As happy as I am that I said yes, something in my chest sinks instead of lifts, like I just agreed to something bigger than a dance- like I stepped into something I won’t be able to step back out of. I have a bad feeling about what that yes just cost me.

My phone ringing pulls me from my thoughts. Cole. My heart stutters hard enough that I have to steady my breathing before I answer, because for a second it feels like I got caught doing something wrong.

I answer after four rings. “Hello,” I say, trying to keep my voice normal.

“Hey, princess, what’s wrong?” he asks, instantly picking it up, and the way he says it-like he already knows something shifted-

makes my throat tighten.

“He reads us well,” Nova says.

“Shut it, he isn’t our mate, remember,” I reply.

“I know but he does,” she says, retreating again.

“Mason just asked me to prom, and I said yes. We’ve been talking here and there through the link,” I tell him, my fingers curling

slightly around my phone like I’m bracing for something I can’t see coming.

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