Heirs, 8

(POV: Lucca)

"What's wrong?" Edgar taunts me, son of Alpha Logan and his mate, Melanie, daughter of the former alpha. "Cat got your tongue? Oh, right, I forgot you don't have a wolf."

Edgar laughs along with his two friends, Lola and Deivid.

I distance myself from them. They all hate me, even though I'm the son of the Supreme Alphas, they don't respect me. I've never told my parents about this, so they won't laugh at me even more. They call me the fake Supreme's son. They insinuate that my brother and I were found in the forest, and out of pity, the Supremes decided to adopt us. They're all idiots. I wish I could disappear when the taunts begin.

When I was younger, I even asked my parents if my brother and I were adopted, and my mother almost slapped me.

"Do you think I went months without seeing my feet, endured hours of contractions. And the worst pain in the world to give birth to you and your brother only for you to come and ask me that?" My mother yelled.

Now, what I find funny is that no one bullies Luan Raphael, but then again, how could they? Although he hasn't transformed, like me, Raphael is one of the most popular people in the gym.. He practices various types of combat sports, and all the unmated female wolves crawl for his attention and beauty. Unlike me, I'm the weird nerd who knows all the theory but fumbles in practice.

I don't find my brother's beauty extraordinary; we're twin brothers, but not identical. Still, we're very alike: black straight hair, tall. He has more muscles than me, but that's because he engages in various physical activities, while I immerse myself in books. The only physically demanding activity I engage in is archery; the bow is almost an extension of my arm. We share the same little side smile inherited from our father, Rapha's eyes are green like our father's, and mine are blue like our mother's wolf.

Our father is very supportive and present in our lives. We've made plenty of messes at home, and our Luna Supreme goes crazy with the chaos we create in our games. It's not easy for any woman to live with three messy and energetic men.

Nicollas and Lina have always been loving parents, they respect our space. But they always seek to know about our lives at the academy and any potential problems we might encounter. We've always been surrounded by love.

I snap out of my daydreams when I sense a punch to my stomach. I scream in pain and fall to my knees, clutching my stomach, feeling someone violently pulling my hair. Forcing my head to tilt back so that I can face them.

"Accept it, you're nothing! You're nobody! You're useless," Lola, daughter of Dayla and cousin of Melanie, says. Then she pushes my head, and I fall to the ground, hitting my forehead. I sense a sharp pain, and I think it's cut. I grab my head, protecting it with my arms to prevent further damage, and I sense kicks all over my body. They have no mercy, and I sense like I'll be left with many marks.

It hurts, it hurts a lot, but I can't do anything; there are too many of them, and I don't have many skills. If I try to defend myself, I'll only embarrass myself even more.

"Get up and fight, you netarious creature!" Lola says.

"First of all, it's pronounced 'nefarious.,'" I say loudly without moving. "It insults, but it doesn't kill the inglês," I add silently.

"You think you're so clever, huh?" Lola says with disdain. "Fake Beta, weak!"

Suddenly, I sense them stop, but I don't move. It might be a strategy to get me out of my defensive position.

"What's going on here?" I hear Raphael, and I lift my head to see him approaching. "Lucca?" he asks, concerned, coming closer to me, looking at my forehead, and grimacing. Then he stands up, grabs Edgar by the neck, and tightens his grip. "Why did you hit my brother, you bastard?" he shouts angrily.

"Let me go!" Edgar struggles to say and tries to kick my brother, who throws him to the ground, and the others try to get closer to Rapha.

"Are you going to challenge me?" my brother asks, ready to attack.

"Let's go, guys, leave the Deb and Dumber brothers here, we've had our workout for today," Edgar says. Shifting along with his gang and quickly leaving. He's such a coward.

I get up from the ground, and my brother comes to me, looking at me with a mix of pity and anger. Damn it!

"Why did you let them do this to you, Lucca?" he asks, his hands on my shoulders, and I struggle not to groan in pain.

"Because…" I begin, but he cuts me off.

"I don't even want to hear your excuses. You know we're stronger than them, you know we can do more than they can!" he yells impatiently.

"I can't," I shout back, "I can't fight as well as you, and I haven't shifted yet," I lament.

"You can! We're the children of the Supreme Alphas, Lucca. Honor our family," Rapha says, looking at me. "Look, I haven't shifted yet either, but I know my place in this pack. And you should know yours and not let anyone humiliate you."

"Alright," I say, mostly because I'm tired and hungry. "Can we go home?"

"No, we're going to the pack boundaries to train," he replies. I look at him shocked, "Yes brother, you have to develop your skills, I won't always be around to protect you."

"Who said I need your protection?" I raise an eyebrow.

"You don't, because you're strong and capable, you're my Beta," he says, slinging his arm over my shoulder.

"I promise to try," I finally say, "but I don't want to train today. I'm in pain, and I'm hungry."

"Our conversation isn't over, Lucca!" he asserts.

"Alright, only don't tell our parents anything," I request, adjusting my backpack on my back. I groan in pain, and my brother takes the backpack from my hands.

"Okay, you'll solve this only with my help," he says, walking ahead of me out of the library. "But we need to clean the blood from your forehead."

"Alright, can we go to the waterfall?" I suggest.

"Let's go, little brother."

In the middle of the way to the waterfall, I start to hear strange noises.

"Help!" I hear a voice cry for help. Raphael and I exchange glances.