共有

007: Under False Skin

作者: Wordsmith91
last update 最終更新日: 2025-07-04 05:29:46

Lyra’s POV.

The moment I stepped inside the dorm room, my heart slammed in my chest like a prisoner desperate to escape. Three guys were already there, sitting on the bunks and trunks like they owned the place. The room was small and stuffy, heat sticking to my skin, making the bandages around my chest feel like they’d snap under the pressure. I swallowed the urge to breathe through my mouth and forced myself to stay calm.

I pulled the hood lower, hiding as much of my face as I could without looking like I was ready to bolt.

“Hey,” said the tallest one, a broad-shouldered guy with dark hair and eyes sharp like knives. “You’re Rowan, right? From Blueclaw?”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice rough and low. I tried to keep it steady, but the words felt foreign in my throat.

He grinned, showing teeth that were too white for this place. “I’m Eryk. Alpha heir of Shadowpine. Just got here myself. Heard Blueclaw’s been... rough lately.”

I nodded, forcing a casual shrug. “Yeah. Tough times.”

The second guy, shorter, stocky with sandy curls and a quick smile, jumped in. “Name’s Dax. Grayfang. Looks like you’re gonna have to keep up, Blueclaw.”

I glanced at them all, trying to memorize their faces. Eryk with his cool confidence. Dax with his easy charm. And the last one, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, silent, but with eyes that never blinked. I figured he was the quiet type. He finally spoke, voice low but not unfriendly.

“Call me Jase. Frostpeak. Don’t like wasting time.”

I nodded again, trying to find a place to put my bag down without drawing too much attention. My wolf inside was screaming. Every instinct telling me I was out of place. These boys smelled like pack strength and power. Their wolves were calm, balanced. They carried the pride of generations. And me? I was pretending to be my broken brother, hoping no one figured it out.

“Looks like we’re roommates,” Eryk said, tossing a smirk my way. “Lucky you.”

Lucky? I wanted to laugh, but it would’ve given me away.

“Yeah,” I muttered, pulling off my hoodie and tossing it on the trunk. The heat hit me full force. Sweat already clung to my skin. “Hot in here.”

Dax laughed. “Welcome to the Academy. Not enough breeze in here. No mercy.”

My wolf cringed inside. ‘We’re sweating like a dog in heat, and you’re saying this like it’s normal?’

I forced my lips to twitch. “Right. Normal.”

Jase just watched me. Like he was waiting for me to slip up. Maybe he smelled something. Maybe my voice cracked when I said “right.”

I cleared my throat. “So, uh... training tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Eryk said, stretching his arms above his head. “They’ll tear us apart if we don’t show them we’re serious. But it’s all fun once you get the hang of it.”

“Fun,” Dax repeated, grinning like he was daring me to laugh.

I shook my head, pulling on Rowan’s old jacket. It hung loose on my frame, sleeves brushing my knuckles. The clothes smelled like him. Familiar, but wrong.

I kept my voice low, trying to sound deeper, rougher. “I’m ready for it. Not like I’ve been slacking.”

Jase raised an eyebrow. “You seem a little... quiet. Not the usual loudmouth we get from Blueclaw.”

I swallowed. “Quiet’s good. Means I listen.”

“Or you’re scared,” Eryk teased, nudging Dax.

“Maybe both,” Dax added with a grin.

I clenched my jaw but smiled faintly. “Maybe.”

The room felt like it was shrinking. The heat, the sweat, the pressure of being watched like a hawk. I felt my wolf shrinking, trying to crawl into a corner of my mind and hide.

‘You sound like a scared kid,’ she whispered.

‘Shut up,’ I thought back. ‘Not now.’

Eryk leaned forward, eyes sharp. “So, Rowan, you got a mate?”

I froze. The question hit like a punch. My throat closed.

“Uh...” I forced a laugh, “Not yet.”

Dax laughed. “You don’t look like the type to be worried about that.”

“Yeah,” Jase said, voice low. “Some of us have mates knocking down the door already.”

I wanted to say something clever. Something to show I wasn’t an idiot. But my brain stalled. I swallowed, then said, “I’m focused on training.”

Eryk smirked. “Sounds like someone’s got something to prove.”

I blinked, then said, “Maybe.”

They all laughed, but I could see they were sizing me up. Trying to figure out if I was bluffing, weak, or just another lost kid.

Suddenly, Dax’s grin faded as he caught sight of my hands. “Hey... what happened here?”

I looked down. The knuckles of my left hand were scraped raw, bleeding just a little. I blinked fast, hoping no one noticed.

“Training injury,” I said quickly, flexing my fingers. “Got careless.”

Jase nodded. “Better watch out. Injuries here don’t heal easy.”

“Yeah, you gotta keep up,” Eryk added, eyes narrow. “We don’t go easy.”

I nodded, swallowing the burn in my chest. “I’m not planning to.”

There was a pause. Then Dax said, “So, Rowan, you got any special moves? Like those spins and dodges the capital heirs do?”

I forced a smile. “I’m working on it.”

Jase scoffed. “You gotta be faster. Smarter.”

I nodded again, heart hammering. ‘I’m smart,’ I told my wolf inside. ‘I’ll figure this out.’

They talked more, trying to fill the silence with small talk about packs, training, and fights they’d had. But I was focused on every word, every glance, every breath. I had to stay perfect. Not slip. Not show the girl behind the mask.

At one point, Eryk joked, “Hey, if you fall asleep during training, we’ll just drag you out.”

I laughed, but it came out too high. My wolf groaned. ‘Seriously?’

I cleared my throat. “Not planning on falling asleep.”

Dax nudged me again. “You’re tougher than you look.”

I wanted to say, ‘You have no idea.’ Instead, I smiled and said, “Thanks.”

Then Jase leaned back and said, “We’ve got to watch out for each other here. This place chews people up and spits them out.”

I swallowed hard, nodding. “I’ll watch your back.”

They looked surprised. “For real?” Eryk said, eyes sharp.

“Yeah,” I said. “This isn’t just about strength. It’s about brains.”

They laughed again, but this time it felt different. Like they were starting to accept me... or at least not hate me.

Suddenly, the door slammed open. A tall instructor stepped in, looking around with a scowl. “Lights out in ten. Everyone back in your rooms. No exceptions.”

They all groaned. I nodded, heart pounding. This was just the beginning.

As they left, Eryk tossed me a grin. “You’re not half bad, Rowan. Don’t let the heat get to you.”

I forced a grin back, sweat dripping down my neck. “I’ll survive.”

The door closed behind them, and I was left alone.

My wolf whispered in my mind, voice rough with sarcasm. ‘Well, you didn’t get caught. Yet.’

この本を無料で読み続ける
コードをスキャンしてアプリをダウンロード

最新チャプター

  • Impersonating My Brother At The Alpha Academy   54: The Second Heartbeat

    LYRA'S POV. The air in the stone-walled washroom was cold, but my skin felt like it was on fire. I leaned my forehead against the cool surface of the mirror, my breath hitching in my throat. I hadn’t felt right for a week. At first, I told myself it was just the stress of the High Stone ceremony, or the exhaustion of merging two packs that used to hunt each other for sport.But then the scent of the morning's salt-cured venison had hit my nose, and I’d barely made it to the basin before my stomach turned inside out.I looked down at my hands. They were shaking. I was Lyra Blueclaw. I had killed men twice my size. I had dismantled a centuries-old Council with nothing but a borrowed name and a blade. I wasn't supposed to be afraid of a biological clock.'Lyra,' Nira whispered in the back of my mind. Her voice was unusually quiet, colored with a strange, shimmering gold light. 'Do you feel it? The second heartbeat?'I pressed my palm flat against my stomach, right over the leather belt

  • Impersonating My Brother At The Alpha Academy   53: The Shadow's King

    KILLIAN’S POV. I didn't move. I didn't even breathe. I just stayed there, lying on my side, watching the way her chest rose and fell in the early morning light. For ten years, I woke up with my hand on a shank, my eyes searching for the nearest exit, and my wolf screaming that someone was coming to kill us. But this morning, the only thing I felt was the heat of her skin against mine.Lyra looked different when she was asleep. The hard, sharp edge she carried as the Alpha of the North was gone. Her face was soft, her mouth slightly parted, and her short hair was a mess against the white pillow. I reached out, my fingers hovering just an inch above her cheek. I didn't touch her. Not yet. I just wanted to look at her. I wanted to burn this image into my brain so that if the world ever went to hell again, I’d have this to hold onto."Stop staring, Killian. You're going to give me a headache."Her voice was thick with sleep, a low rasp that sent a jolt of pure electricity straight to my

  • Impersonating My Brother At The Alpha Academy   52: Unbound

    LYRA'S POV. "I think my ribs forgot how to expand without a roll of medical tape holding them down," I said, my voice cracking as I fumbled with the heavy leather buckles of my chest piece.Killian didn't say a word. He just stepped into the center of the room, his boots hitting the floorboards with a solid thud that seemed to settle the frantic energy still vibrating in my bones. He reached out, his large, scarred hands brushing mine away from the leather straps. His touch was warm...so warm it felt like it was melting the ice that had lived under my skin since the day I ran away from this house."Let me," he whispered.His eyes were locked on mine, and for the first time since the Academy, they weren't searching for a threat. They were just looking at me. Really looking at me. He looked like a man who had finally reached the end of a long, bloody road and found exactly what he was looking for. There was a look in his eyes that made my stomach do a slow, heavy flip...a mix of raw hu

  • Impersonating My Brother At The Alpha Academy   51: The Silver Vow

    LYRA'S POV. The air at the summit of the Great Stone was crisp, carrying the scent of ancient pine and the distant, sharp tang of the coming winter. Torches were shoved into iron brackets around the perimeter, their orange light dancing against the rugged faces of the warriors gathered in a massive circle.This was the heart of the North...a place where for centuries, only men had stood to claim the title of Alpha.I stood at the edge of the clearing, my heart hammering a steady rhythm against my ribs. I wasn't wearing silk. I wasn't wearing the heavy, suffocating furs of the old regime. I wore my dark leather armor, the scuffs and marks from the Academy still visible on the sleeves. My short hair was swept back, exposing my face to the biting wind.Beside me, Killian was a shadow of pure power. He had dressed in the black of the Blackwood pack, a heavy cloak draped over his broad shoulders. He didn’t need to say a word; his presence alone was a warning to anyone who might think of q

  • Impersonating My Brother At The Alpha Academy   50: The High Seat

    LYRA'S POV. "You’re going to wear a hole in that parchment, Lyra. The debts of a dead man don’t grow eyes and stare back at you."I didn't look up from the heavy oak desk. My fingers were stained with ink, and my eyes were burning from hours of reading through the ledgers my father had left behind. The study smelled of old wax, dried paper, and the faint, lingering scent of my father’s expensive tobacco...a scent I was slowly scrubbing away with the smell of fresh cedar and the cold mountain air that Killian brought with him.Killian was leaning against the stone hearth, his dark hair messy from the wind outside. He held a ceramic mug of hot cider, looking far too comfortable for a man who had spent most of his life in the pits. His sleeves were rolled up, showing the thick, corded muscle of his forearms and the faint white lines of scars that told the story of his survival. He looked like a king who had finally found his throne, even if that throne was just a rug in front of my fire

  • Impersonating My Brother At The Alpha Academy   49: The Alpha's Truth

    LYRA'S POV. "You look like you've been to hell and back, Lyra."My mother was standing at the top of the grand staircase, her hands gripping the railing so hard her knuckles were white. She didn't look like the polished, perfect wife of a nobleman anymore. Her hair was pulled back in a messy knot, and there were dark circles under her eyes that told me she hadn't slept in weeks. She looked older, smaller, but when her eyes landed on my short, jagged hair and the bloodstains on my tunic, her face crumpled."I didn't just go there, Mom," I said, my voice sounding like gravel. "I burned the place down on my way out."I stepped into the foyer of the Blueclaw manor, the heels of my boots clicking against the marble floor. The sound felt different now. It didn't feel like the shy, quiet girl who used to hide in the corners. It felt like an army. Behind me, the heavy oak doors groaned as Silas pushed them shut, locking out the world. Killian walked beside me, his presence filling the room.

続きを読む
無料で面白い小説を探して読んでみましょう
GoodNovel アプリで人気小説に無料で!お好きな本をダウンロードして、いつでもどこでも読みましょう!
アプリで無料で本を読む
コードをスキャンしてアプリで読む
DMCA.com Protection Status