Her Imposter, Her Imprinter

Chapter 18

Like every other day of the week, Nyssa Dvorak promptly woke up at 4:30 in the morning. She was one of the rare and few who was a morning person and eagerly awaited for a new day to begin. It didn't matter that summer vacation had officially begun. Her internal alarm clock didn't take breaks. She had no complaints about this anyway. She always woke up well rested and bright-eyed and bushy tailed. If her body decided she got enough sleep and it was time to start the day then damn it, she was going to start the day.

It was going to be a long one anyway. Nero was actually going to be graduating from high school later today. In fact, all the seniors in Siriver Mount would also be graduating. It was a time of celebration. That being said, it was unfortunate that Forrest wasn't going to be able to participate in the festivities.

In the past, Forrest never failed to personally congratulate his graduating pack members and celebrate with them and their families. He had intended to do the same for Nero, especially since he was family. But that wasn't the case once the whole fiasco with Henry came to light. Now he had other priorities to focus on as an Alpha.

Nero wasn't shy about admitting that this bummed him out quite a bit. Forrest had dedicated a lot of his time to helping Nero out with his studies, including editing his papers. They had definitely gotten closer as brothers and as pack members during those 4 years of Nero's education. More than anything, Nero was looking forward to seeing the look of approval and pride he had been expecting from his brother.

So when this fact came to Forrest's attention, he responded in kind by organizing a family get together in order to celebrate Nero's achievement early. Nero was more than pleased with this compromise.

The family of 7 (including Karma, Piper, and Gage) found free time on the 9th to go out to dinner together, exchange congratulatory gifts to the grad, and then spend the rest of the day at a recreational gym/jump zone.

The kids, i.e. Nero, Avery, and Nyssa went off to goof around on the trampolines, and the other 4 sat by the bar catching up on old times and appreciating the happy look on Nero's face.

The day ended with the entire family participating in a round of laser tag. Gage had taken first with Nero and Forrest fighting for second. It was safe to say that Nero was satisfied with the family outing.

Both Karma and Forrest however still felt guilty for not being able to attend their youngest brother's graduation. Today was a big milestone for him. But Nero was more than happy with the time he shared with them and assuaged their guilt by explaining he had plans to hang out with Cassian later on tomorrow anyway. Just the thought of all the partying made Nyssa dizzy. She liked to party just as much as the next teenager, but there was certainly a limit before it got exhausting and repetitive.

Not wanting to prolong the start of her day any longer, Nyssa pushed the comforter off of her body and went to turn on the lights. She had tried navigating her room in the dark once before. It ended with stubbed toes and colorful expletives falling from her mouth.

It didn't take her long to dress for the first item on her list of things to do was to run. She only needed a tank top, shorts, and gym shoes. She was out of her room not long after, mindlessly pulling her red hair up in a ponytail on the way down the stairs.

Her mindlessness disappeared however once she noticed something was different. It was nothing dangerous or life threatening but it was tense and uncomfortable. Curious by this, Nyssa entered the kitchen to find Arlo at the island with a cup of coffee in hand and a laptop at his disposal. The sight in itself was strange. Despite what Arlo's responsibilities required of him, the poor Beta was not a morning person.

He could sleep until 1 in the afternoon if he could and he inhaled coffee like a blackhole. That all being said, Forrest didn't usually require Arlo until around 10 with 8 being the earliest. So seeing Arlo out and about at the break of dawn was definitely odd. Nyssa was curious as to the occasion. But she made her way to the Beta with extreme precision so as not to startle him, knowing he was still half asleep.