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?
더 보기KASMINE'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.I was slowly unraveling. I looked like a twitchy addict who had been deprived of their addiction for far too long as I waited by the door for our big guests.My jaw was tight. My nails dug crescents into my palms. I probably looked like hell... wrinkled shirt, red eyes, messy, unkempt hair... but I didn't care. I didn't even have the energy to care.Let them see me like this. Let them fucking witness what I've become since Kasmine was taken.Outside, I could hear the murmurs of pack members gathering. More of them had started showing up the moment they learned the truth, that I wasn't the one who killed their stupid messiah and that I, their Alpha, was a better leader with Kasmine by my side.I didn't give a fuck about them right now. I didn't need their sympathy. They realized the truth a little too late. Their support for Kasmine right now was useless to me.Behind me, on the couch, my mother was crying again, and her gut-wrenched sobs had been going on since the night Kasmi
KESTER.The room was dim and too damn quiet for how loud everything inside me was screaming.I sat slouched on the edge of the couch in the center of my pack house, elbows on my knees, head down, a full bottle of whiskey in one hand and my phone in the other. I didn't even remember what time it was. Morning? Night? I didn't care.The carpet under my boots was soaked from earlier when the first bottle slipped out of my hand and shattered.Norlan was upstairs. The doctor said he needed rest, but I knew he wasn't sleeping. How could he when I hadn't closed my eyes in two fucking days?Norlan had decided to come with me to the pack house. He said I needed to be looked after. As if I was a baby. Or as if he could stop the killing spree that was already taking root in my head.Why not? When the only person who was my balance, my sanity, and my blood was still nowhere to be found until now? I don't give a fuck what the world thinks about mates, but that woman – my woman – was the only thing
KASMINE.I refused the food again.It sat there on the floor – lukewarm, bland, probably drugged – but my stomach twisted so violently I thought I might pass out from the pain.I was starving. My body screamed for it. My lips were cracked, and every bone in me ached from how cold it was in here. But I'd rather starve than give these monsters the satisfaction. How could I trust them? How could I be sure they wouldn't slip something into the food to make me weak, compliant… easier to transport or silence?My fingers were numb, curled into my sleeves for warmth. I sat hunched in the corner of the dim cell, trembling, half from cold, half from hunger, but I was hopeful Kester would find me. I knew he would.I didn't care how stupid I'd been to take off the necklace... the one thing that would have helped him find me.I had to believe he'd come anyway. I had to.Because the only thing worse than this… was thinking he might not be alive.But he was. I felt it in my chest like a pulse. He wa
KESTER."What?" I hissed into the phone when I finally answered Mum's call. She and Dad had been calling throughout last night.The news had reached the pack, and now, everyone suddenly began to show interest and care, including those miserable elders who had refused to believe that there was a greater ploy at play.I could vomit.I didn't need them. In fact, I hate them with every fiber of my being."Talk to me, Kester," Jorja sniffed."What the fuck do you all care about now?" I barked, slamming my palm against the steering wheel as I swerved a tight corner. "You and that man sent her into the lion's trap, and now you suddenly care?"My jaw clenched hard as I flew past the road where Norlan's car had flipped days ago. Just driving past that stretch made my skin crawl. The memory, the blood, the wreckage, the fear... It all screamed at me. I pressed the gas harder."We want to help, Kes. Please," Jorja sobbed harder, but before she could say another word, I dropped the call. I couldn
KESTER."Fuck… Fuck, man, I don't know...I'm... Oh, God," My voice cracked mid-sentence as I shoved trembling fingers through my hair, again and again, dragging at the roots like I could rip the confusion out of my skull.I was pacing like a madman across the gravel of the empty road, confused and totally disheveled.I didn't know for how long I'd been out, but she was gone. Kasmine was nowhere to be found.I held her necklace in my hand like I could somehow conjure her out of it or something.Why? Why did it have to be now? Just the moment she took off the only means I had to find her."Kester," Norlan called through the phone in my other hand, "You need to breathe. Come back. We'll figure something out, I swear it," he said, trying to be the voice of reason. And as much as that was the logical thing to do, but fuck logic. It didn't sound right to me."No," I suddenly said, "No. You don't get it. If I leave now and she comes back... what if I miss her by seconds? What if... what if s
KASMINE.There was a thunderstorm inside my skull.My head throbbed with a heavy, pulsating ache, as if a thousand drums were pounding against my skull from the inside, sending a ripple of nausea through my body. My ears rang like a siren that refused to shut off.I groaned softly, barely able to move. Every limb in my body felt wrong, heavy, disconnected, and cold.So cold.My spine arched instinctively, trying to curl in on myself, but... Wait... Was I on the floor? Why did it feel like ice was seeping into my bones? The surface beneath me was damp, and it bit into my skin like frost.Immediately, my eyes snapped open, but I winced again.The second I realized that something was terribly, terribly wrong, my eyes flew open.Pain spread through my skull from the sudden movement, and I winced, curling slightly to shield myself.My vision was blurry, but I squinted my eyes as panic took over me.A whimper escaped my lips before I could stop it.Where am I?Panic rose fast. What... Oh, N
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