Chapter Five

His alpha essence flooded the hallway like a wave, pressing down on everyone. The girls flinched and bowed their heads instinctively, most of them betas, a few gammas. They had little resistance to his dominance. I, standing at the bottom of the hierarchy as a wolfless omega, could barely breathe.

“What’s going on here?” he demanded, his voice firm, his gaze locked on Katie. He didn’t even spare me a glance.

What was he doing here? My mind raced. The news of my mother’s remarriage was still supposed to be a secret like he wanted, she was abroad with Zane’s father, on their honeymoon. I had been careful to keep my distance from him, taking the school bus every day instead of riding with him, avoiding every rumor that could link us.

So why was he here now? And more importantly, why was he defending me when I never asked for his help?

“We were just chatting with our new friend,” Katie said sweetly, turning to me with that fake smile plastered on her face. “Right, sweetheart?”

I said nothing. I rolled my eyes and turned to leave, desperate not to miss the bus that would take me home and far away from her and her little circus.

A few minutes down the path leading to the bus station, the screech of tires made me stop. Zane’s car pulled up right in front of me, blocking my path. The window rolled down.

“Get in,” he barked.

I didn’t even glance at him. I just kept walking.

“Get in so I can be called names next,” I muttered under my breath, ignoring him entirely.

He sighed, then slammed the door and stepped out, planting himself right in front of me.

“Get inside, Amelia,” he snapped. “I don’t want my car seized because of you too! My allowance has already been cut in half, I don’t need another reason to lose anything else!”

I stopped, crossing my arms and looked at him. And in that moment, I knew I had been right all along. He wasn’t offering me a ride because he was being nice. Zane Asher didn’t do nice. The same guy who acted like he didn’t even know me in school was now pretending to care?

“I’m not interested, Zane,” I said firmly. “And I couldn’t care less if you lose your car too. You should be grateful I didn’t tell your father why I slapped you that day. Imagine how he’d feel knowing his son called his Luna a gold digger.”

“I’ve saved you twice now, Amelia,” he shot back, his jaw tightening. “Stop being so stubborn. You should help me out for once. And no—” he raised his finger sharply, “—I’m not doing this because I’ve accepted you as my stepsister. I still hate you. To me, you’re still a gold digger.”

The audacity.

“You can help yourself,” I hissed. “I don’t want your help and you can’t force me to help you either. Honestly, I’d be delighted if your father finally taught you some humility and respect for others.”

He smirked bitterly. “Look who’s talking about respect. You? The girl who got played for months and didn’t even know it because she was latching? You think I haven’t heard the rumors? How you’re a gold digger too, just like your mother?”

My lips parted but no sound came out. His words stung like a knife. It was one thing hearing it whispered behind my back, but hearing it from him, the son of the man my mother married, made it feel heavier.

He’d only been at the academy for a few days and already he was repeating Maddox’s lies. The lies from that stupid video. The ones that ruined me.

“I saved you from your bullies,” he continued coldly. “Now it’s your turn to help me. Don’t make the men my father assigned to follow me see that you take the bus.”

“I didn’t ask you to save me, Zane!” I snapped. “I never asked you to play hero. You told me not to mention our so-called family connection to anyone, remember? So what do you think people will say if they see me in your car? That the gold digger who got dumped is now latching onto the Alpha of SilverFang Pack's son?”

He didn’t respond.

“Right,” I muttered bitterly, nodding before turning to go.

“Amelia, why are you being so—” He stopped mid-sentence, reaching out and grabbing my wrist.

But the moment our skin touched, everything changed.

A surge of energy shot through me wildly and uncontrollably. My heart raced. My breathing hitched. And then I heard a voice in my head.

“MATE!”

The voice echoed in my head, fierce and undeniable. My wolf I’d thought I didn’t even have was finally awake and because of him.

My eyes widened as I jerked my hand away, horrified.

“You’re my mate?” Zane and I said at the same time, our voices overlapping in disgust and disbelief.

Of all the people the Moon Goddess could have paired me with… it had to be him.

My arrogant, insufferable, self-centered stepbrother?.