The Lunar Queen Chapter 12

Mason POV

I searched frantically for Lyric after Summer walked in on us, but she was already gone, like she disappeared the second things got too real, like she didn’t want to be found.

I find Hunter waiting in the common room, leaning against the wall. When he spots me, he straightens up.

“You ready, man?” he asks as I approach.

“What’s wrong?” he continues, noticing my tense expression.

I take a deep breath.

“Summer walked in on me and Lyric kissing in the game room a little while ago,” I admit, frustration bubbling beneath my words—not because Summer caught us, but because of the interruption with my mate.

Because for the first time, she didn’t pull away from me. And now I don’t know when—or if—that will happen again.

Hunter’s eyes widen.

“Wait, she finally let you get close to her?” he asks, surprised.

I growl under my breath.

“She ruined everything,” Kane mutters darkly.

“Yeah, it was just a fleeting moment,” I say, voice low and serious, “but the look that crossed Lyric’s face when Summer walked in gave me chills.”

Hunter leans in, concern etched on his face.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

I hesitate, then whisper,

“Fear.”

Not shock. Not embarrassment. Not guilt. Fear. Like she already knew what was coming next.

Before I can say more, Lyric is gone.

“She was so scared she vanished before I could even reach her,” I add.

And that doesn’t make sense—unless she had a reason to be that scared.

Hunter’s jaw tightens.

“Maybe we need to visit Dr. Grant and find out what Lyric’s been hiding—and uncover who the real Summer is.”

My stomach tightens.

“She is your sister,” I point out.

“If she’s hurt Lyric or has been harming her, she’ll pay—no matter who she is to me,” Kane growls fiercely.

And for the first time… I don’t disagree.

Hunter nods.

“Should we go now?” he asks.

“Yes,” I reply.

“If Summer’s been abusing someone in the pack—and with help from others—we need proof.”

Because this isn’t just a suspicion anymore. It’s starting to look like a pattern—and I don’t like what that means.

Just then, Lucas and Micah catch up to us in the main hall.

“Ready for school?” Micah asks.

I shake my head.

“No school today. Pack business,” I respond.

Lucas eyes us carefully.

“What’s going on, Alpha?” he asks.

“We’re headed to the hospital to talk to Dr. Grant about Lyric,” I say.

At the pack hospital, she greets us with calm confidence.

“Alpha, I knew I’d be seeing you again soon. Follow me,” she says, heading toward her office.

Once inside and seated, she studies us with knowing eyes.

“I’m glad you’ve finally woken up, especially you, Alpha,” she says, focusing on me.

The way she says it doesn’t feel like praise—it feels like I’ve been failing this whole time and she’s been waiting for me to notice.

“Most of what I’m about to show you is minor—up until recently,” she begins.

“Lyric first came to me asking for secrecy when she was just 7 years old.”

Her words trigger growls from all of us.

Seven. She was just a kid. And she was already asking for secrecy.

“Alpha, this will be difficult, but I need you to keep your auras in check,” she pleads.

Kane’s already on edge, but I nod.

“I can’t promise much, Doc. Kane’s volatile, but I’ll try,” I say.

Even I don’t believe that.

“The first time Lyric came to me was at age 7, with a broken pinky finger,” she reveals, and suddenly, I’m transported back to that day.

Flashback

I come from the pool with the guys, and I see my little sunflower sitting on the steps at the front of the packhouse.

“My little sunflower, why do you look so sad?” I ask as I lift her chin.

She shows me her wrapped finger.

I hold her hand gently.

“What happened to your finger?” I ask.

She pauses and says softly,

“I fell off the swings.”

I kneel down to her.

“I’m sorry you hurt yourself. How about we get some ice cream, and afterward I’ll get you something nice to make you feel better?” I say, wiping her tears.

“Okay, Mason,” she replies with a smile, dimples on full display, her green eyes sparkling.

And I believed her. I didn’t question it. I didn’t look closer. I didn’t see what was right in front of me.

End Flashback

“She said she fell off the swings,” I say softly.

“Yes, alpha, that’s what she told me at first too,” she responds.

“Weeks later, with a thin bruise around her neck—probably from a necklace—I told her if she wanted me to keep her secrets and help her, she had to tell me the truth. Regarding her finger, she said Summer broke it after the alpha made a promise to her in front of the pack about her birthday, and she was jealous. The second time, Summer strangled her with a necklace the alpha bought her; it snapped before anything serious happened, but it left a nasty mark that never fully went away,” she explains.

Kane is roaring loudly in my head.

“She will pay for hurting our mate. I will torture her slowly until she begs for death,” he growls.

And for once, I don’t tell him to stop.

I press my claws into the chair, trying to stay calm.

“Continue, doctor,” I grit out.

“After that, I didn’t see her for a while. But on her ninth birthday, she came in, holding her side. When I pulled up her shirt, her ribs were badly bruised. She said Summer was mad that you bought her a horse for her birthday and kept kicking her until she was satisfied. Her ribs weren’t broken, but she was badly hurt. Again, I didn’t see her for some time, until her twelfth birthday, when she came in with a burn mark on her lower back that she said she got because Summer was jealous that you spent the whole day with Lyric and Winter, ignoring her,” she recounts quietly.

Every single time… it traces back to me noticing her. Every time.

“After her twelfth birthday, she told me she didn’t want to be friends anymore. Since I was so in love with her, I was more hurt and confused than anything. As a stupid teenager, I said a lot of hurtful things, and we didn’t speak again,” I say, overwhelmed with regret and guilt.

I pushed her away… and she was already going through all of that alone.

“Yeah, well, after that, it stopped. I didn’t see Lyric again until two months ago, when she came in with a broken arm,” she says.

Hunter looks at me.

“What happened between you and Lyric two months ago?” he asks.

“What do you mean?” I respond.

“Well, alpha, it seems like every time you show Lyric any kind of attention, she ends up hurt in some way,” Hunter says sarcastically.

That hits harder than anything else said in this room.

I think back to two months ago.

“You told Lucas that Lyric had pretty eyes and you forgot how much you loved them after she helped us with something for the Delta,” Kane says.

“I gave her a compliment talking to Lucan. I guess Summer or somebody overheard it and told her,” I say, annoyed.

“The stabbing was because of Monday. You were not subtle,” Micah says.

“Mason,” Winter links me crying,

“what’s wrong, rabbit?” I link back.

“Lyric is missing,” she cries through the link.

My blood runs cold.

Because if she’s missing now… after everything I just found out…

then whatever’s been happening to her all these years—

it didn’t stop.

It just got worse.