Chapter 7

Valeria POV

That evening, I sat at my desk calculating my remaining savings which had dwindled significantly after my recent attempts at buying my step-brothers affection.

My mother’s words from breakfast some days ago echoed in my mind. “You should focus on building relationships between yourself and your brothers. Don’t just give up because they’re not being receptive yet.”

I had tried to explain to her about the gifts and lunches, about my efforts to connect with them but my mother had insisted I wasn’t trying enough.

“If they’re not receptive, you’re not trying hard enough. They’ll be Future Alphas one day and are perfect examples of grace and refinement. The problem must lie with your approach.

So, I kept trying. I learned all of their favourite food, spent hours browsing the stores for perfect gifts, and offered help with tasks before being asked but each of my attempts was met with the same polite dismissal, each gift redirected to another person and today… I couldn’t believe that all the meals I’d been preparing for Alerion had been going to his secretary.

The packhouse driver had received the handcrafted leather wallet I’d bought for Caius as a gift for cinching an alliance with a neighbouring pack last week.

Looking at my dwindling savings, I wondered how many more attempts I had left in me. How many more carefully prepared lunches would find their way to other’s plates? How many more gifts would be casually redistributed?

My thoughtfulness, my generosity – all while carrying messages from siblings who couldn’t be bothered to reject my offerings in person.

Sighing, I decided to go downstairs and take a walk in the garden to clear my head. As I walked by, I spotted Alerion in the living room.

He barely spared me a glance from whatever he was doing on his iPad. I had wanted to walk past, to ignore him like how he always did me but I couldn’t help myself. I needed to understand why my efforts to please them were always met with indifferent or outright rejection.

“Alerion?” I called out gently, hoping I wasn’t overstepping. His gaze was moving between reading through some documents on the sofa with him and looking at his iPad. He didn’t bother looking up at me.

“What?” his voice was curt and harsh.

“Is there… something I’m doing wrong?” I could barely get the words out, my fingers fidgeting nervously at my side. “I-I’ve tried everything I can to prove that I love this family and would want to be part of it, but … it feels like you don’t want me to. Both you and your brothers.”

His eyes finally left what he was doing as he looked up, stunning me with the coldness in his gaze that sent a chill through me. He studied me for a long moment as if contemplating whether or not to entertain my question.

“You don’t need to do what the maids do, Valeria,” he said flatly.

I blinked, stunned by the subtle meaning behind his words. Was he implying that they only saw me as a maid?

“I wasn’t trying to…”

“You’re not a servant in this house,” he interrupted, standing up as he loomed over me. “If you think you can ingratiate yourself with us by cooking meals or buying gifts then you’ve misunderstood your place here.”

My place? The words cut deep into me even though he had said them so casually as if they were nothing more than a simple fact. As if, I didn’t even deserve to be a maid here.

“But I’m only trying to connect with you, Caius, Zane and Lysander. We are siblings, right? I only want to bond and I wish you people would treat me well too.” My heart pounded in my chest as I fought to keep the tears in my eyes from falling.

But his gaze didn’t soften. “We don’t want to connect with you, Valeria, neither do we want to bond with you. To us, you’re nothing more than the daughter of the woman marrying our father. You will never be our sister.”

The words threatened to suffocate me as I stood there. I didn’t dare speak again, I couldn’t trust myself and my emotions. So, I simply nodded and turned away, retreating to the safety of my room.

Sometimes, pretending was easier than acknowledging the truth.

***

I pressed my back against the cold bathroom wall, listening to the echoing laughter fade down the hallway. My uniform was soaked – again- this time from the ‘accidental’ spill of drink during lunch.

The drink had been carefully chosen: clear enough to dry without stains but sticky enough to make me uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

My life was getting more miserable by the minute. Since I started coming to school with Lysander, it has made me a target, especially the girls. Some were jealous that I was now part of the family while others despised me for the same reason. And Lysander? He always lets it happen. He would walk past where I was being bullied never stepping in to help once.

If anything, he encouraged it. He would laugh with his friends about how amusing it was to see people treat me like I didn’t belong. Although I had explained several times that he’s my stepbrother and we live in the same house, that’s why we come to school in the same car.

But each time, it seemed my words were pouring into baskets.

“Oops, sorry about that,” Merah – the school’s belle had giggled, not sorry at all. “But really, who told you to sit at that table? Everyone knows it’s reserved for Lysander’s friends.”

Lysander, my so-called stepbrother had been right there, lounging at the popular kid’s table. He’d glanced at me once, his eyes glazing over me with disinterest before turning back to his conversation as if nothing had happened. As if his sister wasn’t standing there, dripping and humiliated.

Step-sister, I corrected myself mentally. Although I wasn’t sure if I was even a step-sister. Alerion had made that clear enough in our conversation a few days ago.

I was not their sister – I was the daughter of the woman, their father married.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch break. I quickly dabbed at my uniform with paper towels knowing I’d be late to class, again. My teachers have stopped asking why I frequently arrived late, their eyes sliding past me to land on Lysander’s empty seat instead. He was never questioned about his tardiness.

“Clear the way!” A voice called from outside. I froze. Merah and her group made their way inside the toilet.

I locked myself in one of the stalls in the toilet, holding my breath.

“Did you see her face?” one girl laughed. “Standing there like a wet puppy?”

“She’s so pathetic,” Merah huffed. “She thinks she’s important just because she lives with the Alpha and his sons in the packhouse. I don’t get why she even comes to this school. She’s human. Everyone knows Lysander can’t stand her. He told me himself that she’s just his father’s charity case.”

Charity case? Is that how Lysander described me to his friend? Is that how he and his brothers saw me?

“Guess being the step-sister doesn’t mean he’ll protect her. She’s nothing.”

“My mother says her mom was just clever,” another voice added. “Snagged herself a wealthy Alpha and got her daughter into our school, but breeding shows, doesn’t it?”

I pressed my hands against my ears, but it didn’t help it. I had to endure another session of being talked about. They always found a fault with me. Sometimes, it was my clothes not being nice enough. Sometimes my grades – are good but never quite good enough. Sometimes about my presence in their hallowed werewolf community.

Later that evening, I sat quietly at the dinner table, listening to my mother talk about her plans for the weekend with Alpha Cassian and as usual, she was all smiles and laughter.

Suddenly, Alpha Cassian called my attention, smiling across the table at me, his voice was warm as he asked. “How was school today, Valeria? Everything going well?”

“Yes, Alpha!” I nodded, mustering a smile. “School was fine today. So fine that I spent the rest of the day in the toilet because I was so scared of Merah and her friends.” I didn’t say the last part out loud.

“I heard you received full marks on your Pack Literature essay. Well done.”

The praise, though small, sent a warm flutter through my chest. How could I complain when my mother was so content when my stepfather was being so kind to me?

“Thank you,” I murmured catching Lysander's glare from across the table. I’d learned to read his expressions well though to know what this one meant: Don’t get too comfortable.

“Have you made friends at school dear?” my mother asked, leaning against Alpha Cassian, who wrapped her with his hand. They were always so touchy with each other. “Lysander must have introduced you to his circle.”

I saw annoyance flash through Lysander’s eyes. “Actually,” I started but he cut in smoothly.

“Valeria prefers to keep to herself, Evelyn. She spends all of her time in the library. She’s very studious.”

“That’s my girl!” Alpha Cassian nodded approvingly. “Focus on your studies. Social life can wait.

The warmth of his words again settled like lead in my stomach, mixing with the guilt I felt for resenting any part of his life. After all, my mother was happy. We lived in a beautiful home. I attended a prestigious school and my stepfather shows me kindness occasionally.

Shouldn’t that be enough?