2

SLOANE

“Meet Theo, your stepbrother,” Luciano said. “And Theo, your stepsister, Sloane.”

His jaw tightened so hard it looked like it might crack.

Mine did too.

Of all the people my mother could have dragged into my life, it had to be the one I had a one night stand with.

“You,” he said, voice low and lethal. “What are you doing here?”

My pulse spiked, but I kept my face blank. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“You two know each other?” Mom asked, her eyes lighting up with curiosity. Luciano looked just as interested.

“No!” I snapped.

“Are you sure? You two are ac—”

“Mother,” I cut in sharply, forcing my voice steady. “I said no. We do not know each other.”

There was a beat of silence before she flashed a warm smile at us.

“Alright then,” she said finally. “The both of you should get to know each other. Your dad and I are still unwrapping our wedding gifts.”

Then they walked out.

Just like that.

Leaving me alone with my biggest mistake standing right in front of me.

I crossed my arms, anger bubbling up to cover everything else. “Are you crazy? They al—”

“We pretend that night never happened.” He cut me off, the words sharp, final.

What an asshole! Who the hell did he think he was?

Tightening my jaw, I shot back, “Fine by me.”

His eyes darkened, like he didn’t quite believe me. Like he wanted to argue—

“There you are, baby.”

I turned at the sound of a sugary voice.

A woman slipped in beside him, her manicured hand sliding up his arm like she owned it. Her eyes landed on me, slow and judging, like I was something she stepped in. Then she let out a cold, territorial smile.

“Theo,” she said sweetly, looking up at him. “Why is she standing so close to you? Is the cheap whore trying to impress you?”

For a second, I just stared at her.

Did she actually say that?

My lips parted slightly, more in disbelief than anything else until something sharp and amused curled in my chest.

Oh, I knew her type. The kind of girl who built her whole personality around a man looking at her. I encountered many of them in high school. She picked the wrong one.

“Cheap?” I said smoothly, tilting my head as I took her in from head to toe. “That’s funny coming from someone who looks like she raided a clearance bin at a drag convention and forgot to blend her contour.”

Her expression turned sour instantly.

“How dare you! Do you have any idea who I am? I’m the daughter of Jallaludin, the Beta of this Pack!”

I scoffed, unimpressed. “Pathetic. A Beta’s daughter who still chose to offend everyone’s eyes all on her own.”

“Excuse me?” Her mouth fell open, her face turning blotchy red. “You’d better watch your mouth. Not only am I the Beta’s daughter, I am the future Luna of this pack.”

I took a slow step forward, letting my smile sharpen.

“You also forgot to add,” I said softly, “that you’re a desperate bitch.”

“Theo!” she shrieked, clinging tighter to his arm. “Are you just going to stand there and let her talk to me like that?”

I flicked my gaze to him.

For a second, his reaction altered. Not enough for anyone else to notice, maybe, but enough for me.

He looked irritated with Isabella.

And somehow even more irritated with me.

Then he moved.

He grabbed her wrist and peeled her hand off his arm with a cold kind of force, pushing her back like she weighed nothing.

“Theo?” she gasped.

“Enough, Isabella,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “Your voice is giving me a migraine, and your presence is no longer required. Leave.”

“Leave?” she squeaked, pointing at me. “You’re humiliating me in front of her? Theo, this intruder just insulted your future Luna!”

A short, humorless sound left him.

“Defending her?” he said, stepping toward me.

And yeah—he was too close. Too tall. Too intense. Too familiar.

“I don’t defend parasites, Is—”

“Watch your tone, stepbrother,” I cut in, my voice sharp as glass. “I’m not a slave you can hurl insults at.”

“Wait… stepbrother?” Isabella whispered.

Her gaze snapped to me, realization hitting, followed immediately by pure hatred.

Oh, this just got better.

“Do not call me that!” Theo’s voice rang out, cold and cutting. “A title doesn’t make you family. Just because your mother married her way into the Arden-Wolfe clan doesn’t make you my equal.”

I rolled my eyes, irritation spiking. Typical.

The blondie edged closer to him again, like she hadn’t just been shoved away. “Theo… is she really the daughter of your stepmother?”

His expression hardened, his gaze snapping to her.

“Isabella!” Her name rolled out of his mouth in an angry yell. “Don’t you dare call that woman my stepmother.”

He seemed to hate my mom but I didn’t give a fuck about that. I exhaled slowly through my nose, already tired of this entire situation.

“I— I’m sorry,” she stammered.

“Enough. Get out before I have the guards drag you to the border.”

“I still have to deal with this gold-digging whore—”

Her voice cracked, tears filling her eyes—but the moment he said that, a smirk flickered across her lips.

Very pathetic. She hated humiliation but enjoyed it when someone else was being humiliated.

With one last glare at me, she turned and stormed out.

“Theo!”

Luciano’s voice cracked through the room like a whip.

All the heat in the air shifted at once.

I looked up and saw him standing at the top of the staircase, jaw tight, eyes sharp. From the look on his face, he’d definitely heard enough.

Great.

“That is no way to speak to your stepsister,” he said as he descended. “Sloane is family now. You will treat her—and her mother—with the respect they deserve. Especially in front of others.”

Theo turned to him, tension rolling off him in waves.

“Respect?” he said, his voice edged with something bitter. “Respect is earned, father. It isn’t handed out like a trophy because of a marriage certificate.”

Luciano’s jaw tightened.

I stayed quiet, watching the two of them size each other up like they were seconds away from tearing into each other.

“We will talk about this later,” Luciano said finally. “But first, you will show Sloane the estate.”

Theo let out a scoff. “If you think I’m going to entertain your guest, you are absolutely wrong. Have someone else do that.”

He turned to leave.

“Stop there!”

The command cracked through the room.

He froze.

Luciano stepped closer until they were face-to-face, the air between them thick with authority and challenge.

“I am not only your father,” he said quietly, “but the Alpha of this pack. Think twice before you disregard my order again… or you’ll find your privileges as heir significantly curtailed.”