Violet String {EDITING}

Chapter One: The Road Race

It was an escape.

A way to forget exactly who, and what, she was.

All that mattered was that her feet were on the pedals and they were moving. Wind blew through the trees, the sound hiding the sigh that escaped her lips as she cycled up the mountain. The road which led to the top was gradually steepening, but Genesis wouldn't deny that the view was breathtaking.

Forestry surrounded her on either side, the sky a clear bright blue, the sun shining down on her yellow-clad back. The colour was garish, compared to her usual cycling wear, but she was now part of a 'team' albeit unreluctantly. The Grand Tour de Lupus wasn't a solo event, no matter how much she might've wished it was, and the teammates she'd ended up with hated her guts. Why? Because she and her friend had replaced two of their original members.

The pair had won their places on the team fair and square—with a race, which they'd won by a clear margin... yet they looked down on the two of them.

They were all older than her and Spade—her fellow teenager on the team—and they enjoyed treating them as such. The pair of them had been forced to pull the rest of the team for an age, and Genesis was fairly certain of the reason. They were going to leave them behind as 'dead weight' since they were so exhausted.

That was hardly the case, though. Genesis had been racing for years, and with that came strength and endurance, something the other women seemed to lack. Exactly how they'd qualified for the race, she had no idea, all she really knew was that they weren't going to win. Not the way they wanted to, anyway.

"You OK back there, Spade?" She turned her head, glancing back, only to be met with glares by the other members of her team... well, aside from Spade, who smiled grimly.

"Eyes forward, Genesis." The leader of their team, their 'ace', reminded, just as they reached the top of the hill. "You're slowing down."

She gritted her teeth, knowing what was coming next.

"Never mind that. You've done your part, so we'll be going on ahead, now," without you. The words were left unspoken, the pair of them brushed off as the four older members of the team broke away from them.

"Damn—"

"Don't mind them—they're idiots." Spade grinned, cycling alongside her like they weren't in a race. "They don't even know our nicknames... That's how stupid they are."

"I think you mean uninformed."

"Meh. Same old, same old." She shrugged. "They're old, set in their ways, and determined to place to justify the existence of female werewolves."

They were the only group of females competing that year, thanks to the harsh entry requirements. Even then, they'd only qualified because the rules stated that at least one female group had to compete. Personally Genesis blamed the lack of muscles, thanks to their physique. It couldn't be helped though. That was just biology, plain and simple—and those were the limits both Genesis and her friend had worked to overcome.

Sure, they didn't have the bulging muscles men liked to show off in their presence—usually when they were about to compete against them in an arm wrestling competition... which they then usually lost—but they also didn't have those same bulging muscles weighing them down. And that made a difference.

"But they won't..." She stared at the neon yellow jerseys she could still see ahead of them.

"I know." Spade grinned, pulling at the zipper of her own yellow jersey, revealing the white one patterned with the ace of spade print. "So how about we show them just who they've been demeaning..." She said, throwing the discarded yellow one to the side, not bothering to watch where it landed.

"I suppose there's no harm..." Genesis grinned, pulling her own yellow jersey off, chucking it to one side.

"Admit it... You just want to show off... and get your own back." She said, staring at the red flames streaking along her friend's black jersey.

She smirked. "Of course."

"And here I was, thinking you were an innocent little angel of the church..." Spade chuckled. "More like a red devil, it seems."

"Nah. You can't call me that." Genesis shook her head. "People might get me confused with the actual Red Devil, then."

"Stop your complaining and put your damned goggles on. You'll need them." She scowled, watching as the girl did as she was told, putting her framed 'goggles' on. They looked more like glasses, just less breakable.

Genesis stared through the tinted frames, smiling sidelong at her partner. "You ready?"

"Pft." Spade rolled her eyes. "Of course... I can't wait to see their faces when they realise just who they've had on their team this whole time."

"Then let's go."

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ILLENIS HERE

The third book is here!

Yay!

Even though some, if not most of you, will have already have read this chapter in the preview I gave in Book Two.

I've edited it behind the scenes, since I wasn't happy with the original - which is kinda why it took me so long to get this up.

Sorry for the wait.

The next chapter will be up soon. Don't you worry.

Until then...

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