UnMasked (MSW book 2) [SAMPLE]

Chapter 1 - Michael

This is a SAMPLE only.

MAY 2022 UPDATE: Go read "Lucy", a spinoff of the Masked SheWolf trilogy, now updating on Wattpad, and its "Behind the Scenes" companion book that includes character profiles and a complete recap of the trilogy, as told by the characters in interview format.

***

Every year, on New Year's Eve, I have witnessed my brothers making impossible resolutions that they always break the following week.

This is the last time I get this drunk.

I'm going to stick to one job this year.

College is next year, so I have to pull up my grades.

None of them ever stick to their decisions. Granted, they're usually drunk and hungover on the first day of the year when they make such resolutions. But it's not like they do anything differently when they're sober.

I don't know why I thought myresolutions would be different, even without New Year's Eve to make them extravagant. I mean, I'm related to them, right? That should have been the first clue that I will fail.

My resolution doesn't seem like something impossible to fulfill. It you think about it objectively, it's actually pretty simple. I'm going to move out of my parents' house when I turn eighteen in four weeks. Until then, I'm going to avoid every single member of the Silver Moon pack.

It should have been easy. I don't really know most of them. They only moved here about two months ago. Only three people mean anything to me and will probably notice my absence. My best friend Sadie is one. Her boyfriend Cade, who is also the pack beta –the second in command– is another.

The most important one, though, the one I am truly running from, is Logan, the pack's alpha. Last weekend, I saw him in his wolf form. It's not usually a big deal for us werewolves, but it was for me. That's because when I saw Logan's wolf, mine recognized him as my true mate. My perfect match, my soul mate, whatever. Whichever way you call it, it still sucks.

The thing is, I'm not supposed to exist. Females of my specie stopped being born centuries ago. No one can say exactly how it started, but we have a name for it in our history: the pandemic. It's a phenomenon that's affected my people on a global scale. We were weakened by it.

If anyone found out about me, I would be taken. Some of my kind would literally kill to have me. I'm not bragging or anything like that. I mean, it's the most horrible thing I can imagine. If I have babies with another werewolf, they will be stronger than any known to our world. It's a big deal to some people, because it means they'll have more power. None of them would care about asking me first, though, which is why it sucks. It's why I've been pretending to be a boy all my life.

Right there is the first reason why I don't want to see Logan anymore. He doesn't know I'm a girl. Which means he doesn't know I'm his true mate, either. I'm too terrified of what he'll say if I tell him the truth. Part of me is convinced he wouldn't believe me if I tell him. So far, that part is winning.

There is another reason though. Female werewolves may have existed once, but it was such a long time ago that concepts like true mates became impossible to comprehend. You can imagine my shock when I found mine not long after meeting him. These days, werewolves choosetheir mate among human girls. Logan already chose one. Her name is Reena, and she's the most annoying person I know.

However, for some unfathomable reason, Logan loves her. I want to blame it on the fact that she's drop-dead gorgeous, but I know Logan, and he's not like that. Sadly, I also know that he really doeslove her. He won't leave her for me, especially since –oh yeah!– he doesn't know I'm a girl!