Masked SheWolf Read online

  This actually surprises me. I may forget the girl's name, but Connor's always seemed to like her more than any of the others girls he's been with that I know of. The rest of us assumed she would be the one he eventually chose as a mate and told our secret to. But so far he hasn't done that, even though it's been almost seven months. That's the longest he's ever kept a girl around; the second longest was six weeks. That should mean something.

  "What, really?" I ask, momentarily distracted. "But I thought you really like her. I thought she was the one; we all did."

  He shrugs and brushes my comment off. "I like her, but I’ve still got time. There are plenty of other women with potential as mates."

  What he’s referring to is a basic unspoken law in our world. Putting me aside, female werewolves do not exist, but we don’t have to let the entire race die. It’s advisable that werewolves have children by the time they’re 30, which means they should be married a few years before that; werewolves have enough respect for humans to be intolerant of extra-marital children, especially ones left behind by their fathers. For that reason, 25 is considered the average age at which a werewolf must have chosen a mate, and Connor is 24.

  It’s not really a law, as in someone checks every year on all werewolves of the world who reached that age and forces them to do it. Some werewolves never have children, live happy lives with several women and aren’t looked down on for it. However, the bigger packs tend to be strict about this rule for their alphas, which is what the big leaders are called, and betas, or the seconds in command; arranged marriages with human girls who are somehow connected to werewolves and already know of their existence are very common.

  As for my family, we may be a small pack, but my dad likes to keep this tradition as well, being originally from a big pack before he and my family left when Mom was pregnant with me and Danny. He added to it his own rule, though; the first one of my brothers who chooses a mate, marries her and has a son will be the alpha after him.

  So far, Mason’s the only one with a declared mate, but I thought for sure Connor would catch up to him when his relationship with Andrea lasted more than a month. I have nothing to say and remain silent, which gives Connor the opportunity to tackle me to the ground.

  "Don't ever go into my stuff again," he grunts as we start to wrestle.

  Like all my brothers, he's much bigger than I am, which usually gives him the advantage under different circumstances. But when wrestling against only one of them, my size is actually my strong point because I can easily get out of his grip no matter how strong he is. Plus, I'm not that weak, either, and I am perfectly capable of taking one of them on.

  I'm almost on the edge of gaining the upper hand and getting Connor off of me when we hear a voice at the door.

  "Ahem."

  Connor and I freeze and look up at the same time. And there stand the rest of my siblings. Mason and Nathan are exact replicas of each other except that Nathan's blond hair is a bit curlier, his blue eyes more expanded when he smiles and his face slightly thinner. As for Danny, we might be twins, but we don't have any features in common, save for our brown hair color; for one thing, he has the same blue eyes the rest of my siblings do, while mine are hazel. My face is also rounder while his is sharp and defined, despite being only 17. And let's not forget he has the same tall and muscled build as the rest of them, while I am slightly on the shorter side. The lot of them are almost intimidating with their sizes, if not for the fact that this is routine for us and I know what to expect. We are about to form teams.

  Let me explain how this usually goes for us Connolly boys. There are five of us, right? Logically speaking, we can't make up two teams and have a fair fight. However, there's me; I may be a boy everywhere I go, but in my house, I am reminded that I’m a girl. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not as strong as they are, even if I am stronger than normal girls and even normal guys.

  But my brothers like to challenge themselves in everything they do. Taking on two guys of equal strength and one girl who is stronger than the average female, with only one teammate to help them out; now that is a huge challenge for them. So when two of us start a match, and it could be any two, the moment the others join, the ones already wrestling are the leaders and they fight over the other three for who gets to be on their team.

  Sometimes, we mix it up and have a completely unfair fight of one on four, but those rarely happen, and they aren't as serious as our routine thing because the group of four obviously always wins.

  "Mase!" Connor immediately yells. "Remember how Michael took a picture of you throwing up after last week's party at Giselle's, and posted it on the school website?"

  "Don't listen to him, Mase, you know that was him and not me!" I retaliated.

  That actually was me, but I managed to convince them all that it was Connor. What can I say? I’m a very convincing liar. I have to be, to keep my secret.

  "Nate, I know you and Mase are twins, but you have to be on my side," Con went on.

  "Oh please," I scoffed. "He loves me more than he loves you."

  "No freaking way; you locked him in the girls' bathroom for last month's War Day," he reminded me.

  "Well if that's how you want to do it, then Daniel is with me because you locked him in the girls' bathroom once too," I threw back.

  After having made our arguments, we stare expectantly at them and wait. The choice is ultimately theirs.

  "I'm with my twin," Danny says.

  "Yeah!" I shout victoriously.

  "Well, I'm with Connor," Mason adds. "I'm pretty sure that was you who posted the picture, Mickey."

  "Innocent until proven guilty," I throw back.

  "So that means I'm with Michael," Nate concludes with a sardonic smile.

  "May the best team win," Connor declares before they all jump in.

  Ten minutes later, Connor and Mason's team is beating us against all odds, when Mom calls for us from downstairs.

  "Boys!" she shouts. "You've made enough of a ruckus. Come down for breakfast; the girls and I won't wait for you forever!"

  We keep going for a bit more until Mason, the voice of reason among us, points out that we should probably get going or else breakfast will get cold.

  "You just want to see your mate," Nate teases his twin.

  "That too," Mason confirms, not bothering to deny it.

  Mason met Marianna two years ago, when he and Nathan went for a trip across Europe. She claims he was a jerk when she first met him, going partying every night and coming home with a different girl. She was a waitress at the place he frequented the most and saw him coming and going on his exploits, while also putting up with his incessant attempts to flirt with her.

  Finally, one night, after he had struck out with a girl because he was totally hammered, he was having a sort of personal pity party while Nate was off with another girl. Marianna wanted to kick him out, but he kept telling her things about himself. Drunk Mason is a very honest and vulnerable Mason, so she saw in him something more than the playboy she thought him out to be.

  Whenever he tells us the story of how they met, he says that there is only one thing he remembers from that night, something she said that haunted him until he saw her again. He still refuses to tell us what it is, for whatever reason, however, he does say that it turned his life upside down, and he's been in love with her ever since.

  Six months ago, on his 20th birthday, he told her everything about us being werewolves, and even about me being a girl; she was the only one outside our family who knew that. It took my parents a lot of time to forgive Mason and accept that Marianna would never betray us, and she accepted him as well as us wholeheartedly.

  I think beneath their teasing of his relationship and calling him sappy, my brothers secretly envy Mason, because he was confident she would accept him when he told her the truth, and because she had accepted him without hesitation. There was always that fear in male werewolves that their chosen mate wouldn't accept them, but Mason seriously lucked out. S
he’s very sweet and smart.

  Marianna and I get along well, and she's the closest thing I have to a female companion, even though she's 4 years older than me. But that isn't really saying much; Marianna gets along with everybody. She even gets along with Connor’s girl, while I have to make an effort to want to talk to her.

  As it so happens, when my brothers and I come into the kitchen, I see them laughing together while my mom finishes setting the table. It may seem weird that my parents are aware of my brothers’ nocturnal activities and still allow the girls to stay over and have breakfast in the morning. The truth is, they know nothing they do will stop my brothers from sleeping around, but this gives them a say in whether or not the girl stays within our family. Any girl who lasts longer than a day in our house is a girl who has gained my parents’ approval for mate.

  As I think about how even my parents’ approval is not enough for my brothers to choose a girl as mate, I notice Burns in Andrea's arms, reminding me of Connor's prank.

  Soon, I tell myself.

  Not that I have a specific problem with Andrea, but as long as Connor hasn't himself declared their relationship to be serious, I'm not going to make an effort to get along with her. I mean, she's okay and all, and I can understand why my brother likes her so much, especially with her exotic looks. And, admittedly, it's been kind of fun learning some Spanish dirty words from her. But the truth of the matter is that we don't have anything in common other than Connor. Plus, she's a little too self-absorbed for my taste.

  My mother is preparing bacon and eggs in the kitchen when we walk in. She's got her blonde hair pulled back by a headband, which makes her look younger than 45, although the crow's feet in the corners of her eyes are a dead giveaway. On the outside, my mom is a very tough looking lady, with a firm athletic build and a hard-set jaw, but she's actually a big softie.

  That's not to say she's not strong. I mean, she is one human against six werewolves; just the matter of feeding us is a chore that would tire out anybody, but she also does the cleaning, the shopping and her painting hobby. The cooking is the hardest part, though. I mean, for breakfast, she's practically laid out a buffet for us. To human eyes, there's enough food to feed twenty people, but we all just have really big appetites. Especially Nathan, who eats like a pig.

  "Morning, Mom," Danny and I say.

  Mase and Con are busy greeting their girlfriends in their own special way, and Nate is already plating up.

  "This twin thing is really cool," Andrea whispers to Connor, thinking he’s the only one who can hear her. "I wish you had a twin."

  "Morning, boys," Mom says with a smile on her face, her blue eyes twinkling when she sees us. "For God's sake, wait for your father, Nathan! Honestly!"

  "I did," I hear Connor answer Andrea out loud. "I ate him in the womb 'cause he took up all my space."

  Laughter rolls around the table, and it's at that moment that Dad makes an entrance. "Oh believe me, it's a good thing there's just one of him."

  I've always admired the way my dad carries himself, in public and at home. Three years older than Mom, but he has a similar hardness to his appearance; with a square jaw that tints every expression he makes with coldness, eyes that could make anyone pee their pants in fear, and a sturdy build that almost rivals Connor's, he is easily the most intimidating man I've ever met.

  Unlike my mother, though, he's just as hard on the inside as he is on the outside. He's always been able to make us boys guilty and afraid just by looking at us. His word is law, and he never has to raise his voice to make that clear. He has a lighter side buried somewhere, but it doesn't come out often. This morning, we are rewarded with its presence.

  "Twins are a real piece of work," he goes on.

  "Hey!" the four of us complain.

  "And here I thought I was your favorite," I add.

  "Of course you are," he assures me. "You're the only one who has my eyes."

  It's those little gestures of favoritism on his part that push me take risks when it comes to things he and Mom usually refuse to give me.

  "Does that mean you'll let me go to college?" I half-joke, completely forgetting who is in the room.

  "Why wouldn't you go to college?" Andrea asks, puzzled. "You and Danny graduate in six weeks, don't you?"

  Instantly, the mood changes. As a rule, we never discuss matters that relate even a tiny bit to my secret in front of outsiders of the family. In my parents' opinion, going to college is very risky, because there are so many things that can expose my true gender. Remember what I said about usually getting what I want from my parents if I asked nicely enough? College is one of the exceptions to that. You know, right next to actually being a girl.

  Personally, I think they just don't trust that I can handle it on my own, and would rather have me close to protect me. How else am I supposed to understand their constant refusal? But because they've always been good parents, and they were always fair with me and my brothers, I can't bring myself to accuse them of that on the off chance that I'm wrong.

  Marianna has already been established as part of the family, but Andrea is still an outsider because Connor is not as brave as Mason was in taking that leap. When I asked that question, I didn't mean to put them in a bad situation, because I honestly forgot that Andrea was an outsider.

  By the look in my father's eyes, though, I know he doesn't appreciate my bad timing. "Oh, Michael's just got someplace abroad in his mind, and his mother and I don't approve," he easily lies.

  Shit, he called me Michael.

  He must be really upset that I asked. I look away to hide my guilt as my brothers save me from an awkward situation and continue the conversation normally. My mother meets my gaze and she gives me that sad I'm-sorry-but-you-know-why-we-have-to-do-this smile and I look away again.

  This time, Marianna catches my eye and her smile is sympathetic. She knows my plight and she supports me, but it's not like she can take a stand against my parents on my behalf. I wouldn't want her to, either. It took them long enough to be okay with her knowing I'm a girl; we don't need a repeat of that.

  Something bumps my foot and I look down to see Burns rubbing his head against my injured ankle. The throbbing registered a while back, especially when my brothers and I were wrestling. But as werewolves, we heal pretty quickly, so I didn't think twice about wrestling. I forgot about it completely when my brothers joined me and Connor.

  Smiling, I pick up my cat and put him in my lap, remembering my revenge plan against Connor. I casually reach for my cell phone in the back pocket of my pajama pants and put it on silent. I wait for Andrea to grab his phone under the pretense of taking a picture of the two of them together, like she normally does -honestly, the girl feels the need to document every moment of their life together. Then I dial his number. Seconds later, his phone starts ringing a very sleazy tune.

  "Who the hell is Melina and why do you have a picture of her boobs?" Andrea suddenly yells.

  Her voice breaks through the chatter of everyone else and causes them to fall silent.

  "What?" Connor asks as he takes the phone from her. "Oh, no that's probably one of these guys playing a prank on me. They replaced my contacts' names with a girl's name and attached a picture to it they found online."

  "That's my bra," she screams. "That's your bed! That's my picture on the bedside table! Who the hell is this girl? You don't even have the decency to show her face in the picture!"

  "No, Andy, I swear," he frantically says as he starts to panic. "I don't know anyone by that name! This must be some prank!"

  "Well, it's one hell of a prank," she exclaims and storms out of the room yelling curses in Spanish, some of which I understand.

  Connor runs after her. "Andrea, baby, come on! Wait!"

  Yeah, sure, they're not exclusive, I mock him internally, having the time of my life.

  When he's gone, all eyes are on me. Too late, I realize it's because I'm still petting Burns as if nothing's happened.

  "What?" I ask
innocently.

  "That was..." Mason starts saying.

  "Genius!" Danny finishes for him. "Seriously, only you can pull this off, Dyl."

  I grin at the praise, and also because he called me Dyl. The only times my family refers to me by my middle name Dylan is when they're thinking of me as a girl. They call me Mickey most of the time, Michael when they're not happy with me, and Dylan or Dyl when something happens that makes my gender obvious. To be honest, I live for moments like these, though I would never admit it.

  "Why? Because Michael's the only one who can wear a bra?" my father scolds sternly.

  See what I mean about the name thing?

  "Well, I'm going to be 18 in June, so I'm bound to be chesty," I reply sarcastically.

  "Don't joke about this, Michael," he scolds again. He hesitates only a second as his gaze briefly drifts towards Marianna. "What if somebody saw you taking that picture through the window? How long do you think it would take before your secret comes out, and before the nearest pack puts two and two together and comes after you?"

  "Isn't that kind of far-fetched?" Mason ventures to ask. "I mean, we're the only pack within five hundred miles, and even so, we live so far away from civilization that the only time anyone could see Mickey as a girl is at school, and he's not dumb enough to do that."

  "I'm not willing to take such a risk," Dad retorts, his pupils dilating so much that his eyes are almost black.

  "Honey," Mom calls out to him to calm him down, recognizing that his temper is rising.

  Losing our temper is common for werewolves. If our outburst is strong enough, we could end up having an attack of emotions and temporarily lose control of our shifting ability. We all struggle with it, though I personally have yet to blow up in someone's face.

  "It's alright," she reassures him. "It's just a prank. Dylan knows to be careful."

  When he stares at her, his eyes gradually return to their usual state. Then he looks at me.

  "I'm sorry, Dad," I say in a small voice, knowing that he's right, to a certain extent.

  Outside, I hear a car door slam shut and a car drive away. Andrea has left the premises.