Trigger warning!!! Intended for mature readers who enjoy morally complex, slow-burn, possessive, forbidden, dark romance that pushes boundaries. ***EXCERPT*** Blood everywhere. Trembling hands. "No!" My eyes blurred. His lifeless eyes stared back at me, his blood pooling at my feet. The man I loved—dead. Killed by the one person I could never escape - my stepbrother. *** Kasmine's life was never hers to begin with. Kester, her stepbrother, controlled and monitored her every move. At first, it was all sweet and brotherly until it began to turn into an obsession. Kester was the Alpha, and his word was law. No close friends. No boyfriends. No freedom. The only consolation Kasmine had was her twenty-first birthday, which was supposed to change everything. She dreamt of finding her mate, escaping the sickening control of Kester, and finally claiming her own life. But fate had other plans for her. On the night of her birthday, not only was she disappointed that she wasn't mated to the love of her life, but she found out that her mate was none other than him - Her tormentor. Her stepbrother. She'd rather die than be mated to a man whom she had known as her big brother all her life. A man who would do just anything to make sure she was his. But when love turns to obsession, and obsession turns to blood, how far can one girl run before she realizes there is nowhere else to run to?
view moreKASMINE'S POV.
"No..." I whispered, my hands trembling uncontrollably as my blurry eyes took in the sight before me. "Wh.. What have you done?" I choked, taking slow steps backward, away from the man who I had thought was my savior and protector.
I was wrong.
"Kasmine..." He called in his familiar deep voice that always remained calm no matter the storm raging in him.
"Don't come near me. You... You just killed him... You killed him..." I sobbed, feeling my limbs grow weaker by the minute as I kept staring blankly at the young man lying lifeless before me.
We were in the woods. Just the two of us and the dead man.
"Stop being dramatic, Kasmine. He tried to force himself on you!" Kester's tone was a bit firmer now.
"He didn't! He barely even touched me! He was just talking to me, Kester! You just took an innocent life!" I screamed.
I was fed up. I didn't know how much of this I could take anymore.
Kester, my stepbrother, is the Alpha Of the Crescent Moon Pack. It was all so cute and harmless - his protectiveness towards me. But as we grew, it slowly turned into something else. Something that made me even more terrified of him.
Never did I ever imagine that my stepbrother would ever kill anyone because of me, let alone an innocent man.
"Come on. Let's get back to the party," He stepped toward me, but I stepped backward.
How could he sound like he didn't just kill an innocent person? How?
"Get away from me! Don't come near me!" I shrieked, turning on my heels, but I was no match for him. He was way faster than my small legs could ever carry me.
Kester held me firmly in his strong arms, and I felt disgusted being so close to him.
"Stop it, now!" He yelled furiously, unleashing his Alpha command on me, and I immediately lost my will to him. But the terror and pain were still there, "you will act like the good girl you are and return to the party immediately," He commanded, his deep green eyes almost piercing the depths of my soul as he held my gaze.
I nodded sheepishly, unable to fight against his Alpha aura.
As I walked back to the party - his girlfriend's party - I began to wonder how my life turned out to become this sour.
I was once a sweet little girl who lost her father at the age of five. Two years later, my mother found love again with the Alpha of our pack, who had also lost his mate. Kester was fourteen, while I was seven.
He protected me like the big brother I saw him to be. He never allowed anyone to bully me. He never went a day without getting me gifts. I was the envy of my friends because I was loved and pampered by my big brother.
But right now, I don't think my friends would still envy me, knowing what I have been going through for the past four years.
When I turned sixteen, I noticed Kester's protectiveness becoming a little too much. He never allowed other men to come near me, and neither did he allow me to spend so much time with my female friends anymore.
He always wanted to be the one I spent all my time with and tell all my secrets to. And as the years went by, it began to reach an unhealthy point.
At twenty, I still don't have a boyfriend. Having a boyfriend would be over Kester's dead body. He kept telling me that I should keep myself for my fated mate when I got my wolf at twenty-one.
Father and mother saw nothing wrong with everything Kester had been doing. They kept saying they felt happy I had a protective older brother.
Now, I desperately look forward to turning twenty-one in a few months and meeting my fated mate. I am desperate to be free from his control. I feel suffocated already.
*
Days passed by, and I couldn't get over the gory image of the innocent man who was killed in front of me. I couldn't sleep or eat. I haven't set eyes on Kester either. He only comes home during the weekends to visit Mum and Dad.
Kester Hamilton, the CEO of Zamford Technologies, is a big name in the country. He took over the company just about the same time he took over the Alpha position from our father, former Alpha Kade Hamilton. And since then, he has taken the company to great heights.
At twenty-seven, he had already made a name for himself. His pack is the biggest in the country. He was the envy of all.
Thankfully, I had to deal with his controlling presence only during the weekends. But that didn't mean I was free during the week, as he had bugged my phone and laptop. No calls or text messages come in or go out of my phone without him seeing them.
So much for a big brother.
My alarm blared for the fourth time, and I jumped out of bed. I wouldn't want to be late for class. Being in my final year in college, we were expected to go on an internship program according to our fields of study.
As a computer science student, I have already submitted the three tech companies I would love to work with for my internship.
None of these companies were as good as Kester's, but may I be damned to add his company to my list! Not when I have been so desperate to be out of his reach as much as possible.
Jake and I already submitted the same choices, and hopefully, we will be posted to the same company. There, I'd have more time and freedom to be with Jake without Kester ever finding out.
Jake is a guy I admire so much. And I couldn't be more thankful that he also felt the same way for me. He just hadn't asked me out yet, but I am still hopeful. Perhaps spending more time during our internship program might spark things between us a little further, and he might ask me to be his girlfriend.
The thought of seeing Jake today made me blush hard.
"What's happening?" I asked Claire, who looked like she had just been through hell, as I approached the school entrance.
She heaved a sad smile with an eye roll, "I was posted to J&F Technologies," She said, and I understood why she was sad.
Since high school, Claire has always had a crush on Kester, but he hardly ever notices her. Probably because she was a little too chubby for him. He liked slim, model-like girls.
She had submitted his company, hoping she'd be posted there, but she wasn't. I felt sorry for her. This was the only opportunity she had to be close to him for at least six hours daily for the next three months. But she missed it.
"I am so sorry, babe." I said, pulling her in for a hug, "Did you see mine? Where was I posted to?" I asked, pulling her towards the information board.
She wasn't saying anything, and I wondered why. The Claire I know would have already told me where I was posted, even before I got the chance to see it for myself. But I ignored her. She was probably still sad about her posting.
My eyes eagerly scanned the long list pasted on the board, and the first name I looked out for was Jake's. He was posted to Plush Technologies.
I nervously searched for my name, praying to the Moon Goddess that I'd also be posted to Plush Tech, but I paused abruptly when I saw my name.
"No... This must be a mistake." I said with wide eyes and trembling hands. "How..."
My heart drummed in my chest, and I felt my head spinning as I tried to grasp what was going on.
How the hell was I posted to Zamford Technologies?
My stepbrother's company.
KESTER.The most expensive thing in the fucking world?Peace of mind.I hadn't known what that felt like for years—hell, maybe never. But last night?Last night, I touched it.And she gave it to me... My mate.Otherwise, how else could I explain the fact that I was just waking now… at eleven in the goddamn morning, cock still twitching like it hadn't been inside her just hours ago?I slept like a man who hadn't carried the weight of the world in his chest... I slept like a baby.No—better. Because babies don't get taken to the brink of hell and pulled back with a mouth that knows exactly how to tease, suck, and accommodate like hers did.She had sucked me like she was born with my dick in her throat.She took me until I felt her heat split open around me. Her moans made my cock twitch even now.I'd fucked her hard.Rough.Mine.And she took it, crying out my name like a prayer and a curse, clutching the sheets as I buried myself deeper, as I marked her from the inside out.I came so h
KESTER.I clenched my fists against the bindings.I could break them easily.But I didn't.Because then her mouth was on me.Fuck.Her lips wrapped around the head of my cock, warm and wet and slow—too fucking slow—and I groaned, my head falling back against the chair as she slid down just enough to make me want more, then pulled back.She was... Teasing. Tempting. Torturing.Her tongue flicked over the slit, then circled the head again, and I hissed.She looked up through her lashes, her eyes gleaming, while her lips were slick and parted. Then she took me deeper, her hands stroking my thighs as she worked me in a slow rhythm.I tried to thrust up, but the bindings held me firm."Kasmine," I growled.She pulled back with a wet sound."You didn't let me cum when I begged," she said softly. "Now it's your turn to beg."She devoured me with a need that made my breath stutter in my chest. Her mouth was hot, wet, and punishing, with a perfect rhythm of suction, swirl, and pressure.Her to
KASMINE.His hand closed around my throat again, "Up," he ordered. "Now."My legs nearly gave out beneath me when I tried to obey, but he caught me easily, lifting me from the bath like I weighed nothing. Water cascaded off me in rivulets, steaming against the chill of the bathroom.He didn't give me a towel. He didn't even let me clean myself.He wanted me dripping, exposed, and shaking.He walked me across the marble floor, with his hand firm between my shoulder blades, leading me to the full-length mirror and stopping me right in front of it.Steam clung to the glass in curls, but he wiped a path down the center with the flat of his palm, revealing my reflection—wet, flushed, and wrecked.My nipples were tight peaks, my mouth slightly parted, and my hair a tangled mess over my shoulders.I looked obscene. Beautifully obscene."Hands on the counter." He commanded in a voice so rich it made my center quake again.I hesitated—and that earned me a sharp smack to the back of the thigh.
KASMINE.The bathtub was filled with hot water, roses, and fragrances that smelled like the start of a sin. Jasmine, vanilla, the faintest trace of musk. It clung to my skin, soaked into my hair, and curled into my lungs.I was cradled between his thighs, my back resting flush against his chest. I could hear the frantic beating of his heart, like he was about to do something forbidden.His palm glided across my shoulder, slick with lather from the shower gel. He was taking his time, dragging his hand along the slope of my neck, down my collarbone, across the curve of my breast like he was memorizing me all over again.It felt like he was worshipping. Like he'd sinned, and this was his penance—serving me with patience he barely had.I had noticed earlier today that he had my exact hair products in his bathroom but I hadn't even had the time yet to process it or to wonder why.But I was done processing things for now. I deserved a little rest.My eyes fluttered closed, and I let myself
KASMINE.I was exhausted. Mentally, emotionally, physically...Everything felt dull and heavy. My thoughts were too jagged to fit neatly in my head.I didn't even have the strength to be angry anymore. And Kester wasn't making it any easy for me to stay angry.Because what the hell did he buy all these for? I had only asked for something to eat. Just something simple, anything. But instead, I walked downstairs to a goddamn mall dumped in the living room. The dining table must be groaning under the weight of food, tech, shopping bags, boxes wrapped in ribbons, and a ridiculous lavender package I didn't even want to know the price of.He'd gone feral in the name of "getting something for me to eat."He was a mix of sweetness and bitterness. He was both safe and dangerous. He was a blend of warmth and wrath. He was honey on a blade. He was sweet and lethal. He was... Oh, my God.He was a complex man... So complex that I found myself making up excuses for all his wrongdoings June told me
KESTER.I pulled into the driveway like I had a fucking purpose.Because I did.My guards straightened the second my car rolled to a stop. I didn't wait for them to salute or do the whole formal protocol bullshit—I rolled down the window halfway and barked, "Empty the trunk. Everything. Take it inside, now."They moved fast, reaching for the trunk, but even they had to pause for a second when they opened it.Yeah.That shit was full.I'd gone overboard, and I didn't give a single fuck. If anything, I was pissed I hadn't gotten more.I had an idea what pregnancy does to women, messing with their appetite and all that. So, I was prepared.There were grocery bags packed with everything she'd ever so much as glanced at. Her favorite chocolate chip cookies—the specific ones with sea salt flakes on top that only one damn bakery in town got right. I bought the whole shelf.Snack packs of dried mangoes, that exact brand of spicy trail mix she claimed made her lips "tingle just right."A box o
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