Page 13 of A Silent Prodigy for the Lycan Princess

Between the both of us, I can see that Dad prefers Vander. He is fun and popular and a decent fighter without even having his wolf yet. He will turn seventeen soon, and then his lycan will wake up, and hopefully, he will be strong and healthy.

I can feel my own lycan humming in my mind. We don’t talk much for obvious reasons. Cato resorts to projecting imagesinstead and communicating in other ways. Technically, he has a voice, but he isn’t comfortable using it due to his hearing ailment. And, just like I do, he hopes Vander will not share our fate.

Chapter five

The Brothers

*ARDEN*

Ifeel my phone vibrating, noticing an incoming message from Vander. He sent me a couple of cheeseburger emojis and then a dinosaur pointing at his mouth. I chuckle softly. He is so silly.

School done for today?I type.

Yep, and the holidays are starting. I want to celebrate my two weeks of freedom with you.

Got you. I still have work in the Council.

I can pick you up,he offers.And then you can treat me to dinner!

I snort.You are such a brat.

Pleeeease?And after that, he sends me a GIF of a puppy with huge, miserable eyes.

Of course, I am going to treat him for dinner. He knows it, and I do too. I love him. He is the only safe place I have in my pack. My brother and best friend. He is younger than I am, yet he never judged me for my hearing impairment, or for my wolf not being as strong as he was supposed to be.

My wolf, Cato, projects an image in my mind of a burger place we saw recently. It’s more expensive than the usual fast food and is said to have more distinctive options. I nod. We are used to not talking a lot and resorting to projecting images to each other.

I swiftly type a reply to Vander.It’s not like I can say no to my spoiled little brother.

Vander sends a laughing emoji back, making me chuckle. I can’t help it. I just like to spoil my little brother. When I put my phone away, I can feel it vibrate once more, thinking it’s Vander again. The message isn’t from him, though, but from Coralie, the girl I’ve been dating for two weeks. She went to high school with me. I didn’t have many friends in high school. As an alpha’s son with a disability, I was more the laughingstock than anything else. Coralie, however, never made fun of me. So, when we coincidentally met again a few weeks ago, I wasn’t too surprised that she talked to me like I was a normal person. It was a surprise that she showed an interest in me. We connected and became friends until I asked her out two weeks ago.

She didn’t run like I expected.

I am still not sure if it was the right decision. I hope to meet my mate eventually, and I hope she won’t reject me. For an alpha’s son, I’m pretty much a disappointment, yet I hope she will see something in me. Coralie and I discussed this in advance, as she is waiting for her mate, too. We are just friends who go on occasional dates.

Hi honey, I will finish my shift early,she writes while adding plenty of little hearts to her message.How about dinner?

I’m taking Vander out today,I reply.

Aw, can’t you cancel on him, loverboy?

There are many things I would do to meet her for a date, but I’m not desperate enough to ditch my little brother.Not really. But I can take you for dessert later.

Perfect, just give me a call or write me a message once you’re finished. See you later, chéri.

I shake my head, amused. Her endearments caught me off-guard first, and I still find them weird, but it’s Coralie’s thing. She is a bubbly kind of person. I don’t always know how to respond to her. Going with the flow and articulating what I mean and how I feel has always been hard for me. The only people I’m good at socializing with are my brother, Eric, and Valerie. Well, and I guess Coralie, at least, doesn’t see my lack of social skills as a shortcoming.

I shove that thought aside for now and focus on the task ahead. Eric plans on suggesting that his uncle take over the throne in a few years and wants to know if there are any loopholes or grey areas the other opposing parties could use. I skim through the books, putting post-its on the pages that deal with the problem at hand.

Eventually, Eric returns, surprised by how far I’ve come. “This is amazing,” he mutters. “Arden, you are a genius.”

“I am not. I am just a fast reader and have a good memory.”

Eric glances at me. “This is not you just being a fast reader.” He shakes his head. “Did you think about college?”

“My father doesn’t want me to waste time on it,” I say.

“I know he said that,” Eric says, the tone of his voice chilling all of a sudden. “I know he thinks an alpha doesn’t need a broad education. But, what do you want?”