Mated To My Stepbrother

"Lena, stop staring at the gate like that. You look like you're about to run."

"I'm not running, Mom." Lena Hart tightened her grip on the strap of her bag. It was the same bag she had carried through six towns, and she had never once unpacked it completely. "I'm just counting the ways out."

Her mother laughed, but it came out thin. "There's only one way in, sweetheart. And you're going to like it here."

The iron gates opened slowly, and the car rolled up a long road lined with pine trees so tall they blocked the sky. At the end of it stood a mansion of dark stone and glass, so big that Lena forgot to breathe.

"Mom," she whispered. "You married a king?"

"I married a kind man," Naomi said, a little too quickly. "Remember that. Kind."

A tall man waited at the top of the steps with his hands in his pockets. Silver streaks ran through his black hair, and he had the calm face of someone who had never needed to raise his voice. Beside him stood a gray-haired woman in a black dress.

"Naomi." He took her mother's hands and kissed her cheek. Then he turned. "And you must be Lena."

"Hello, Mr. Draven."

"Victor, please." His eyes stayed on her face a second too long. "You have your mother's eyes."

Naomi's smile froze. "Everyone says so."

Something passed between them, quick and quiet, and Lena noticed it the way she always noticed things. She had spent her whole childhood watching adults decide what not to say.

"This is Mrs. Bell," Victor continued. "She runs the house. If you need anything, ask her."

"Welcome, miss." The old woman bowed her head slightly, almost like she was greeting someone important. Lena frowned.

"Um, thank you. You don't have to bow."

"Old habit," said Mrs. Bell, and walked away without another word.

Lena turned and noticed three huge black dogs lying near the fountain. They were the size of small horses. When she looked at them, all three dropped their heads to the ground and went completely still.

"They don't usually do that," Victor murmured.

"Are they sick?"

"No." He studied her again. "They're just shy."

A roar split the air, and a black motorcycle shot through the gates and skidded to a stop at the bottom of the steps. The rider pulled off his helmet and shook out dark hair. He was tall, with a sharp jaw, a lazy smile, and amber eyes that looked far too bright in the evening light.

"You're late," Victor said.

"I'm fashionably late," the boy said. "There's a difference, Dad."

"Kane, this is Lena. Your new stepsister."

"Stepsister." He tasted the word. His gaze slid to her, slow and bored, and then something changed. The smile died. His nostrils flared, and for a moment he looked like a man who had just been hit very hard.

"Hi," Lena said awkwardly, holding out her hand. "I'm Lena."

He didn't take it. "Where did you live before this?"

"Everywhere, mostly. Why?"

"No reason." His voice had gone flat. He stepped back and put on his helmet again. "Welcome to the family."

He walked past her into the house, and the dogs by the fountain whined as he went by.

"Don't mind him," Victor said. "He's popular at school. It makes him dramatic."

"How popular?" Lena asked.

Mrs. Bell reappeared at the door. "Girls leave flowers at the gate every morning, miss. Some leave notes. One left a cake."

"A cake?"

"We threw it away. It was shaped like his face."

Lena stared. Naomi pressed her lips together to keep from laughing, and for one second the whole day felt almost normal.

Dinner was long, quiet, and unbearable. Victor asked polite questions. Naomi answered most of them. Kane sat across from Lena and did not touch his food. Every time she looked up, he was staring at her, and every time she caught him, he looked away.

"Is something wrong?" she finally asked.

"No."

"Then why are you looking at me like I owe you money?"

Naomi coughed into her napkin. Victor hid a smile behind his glass.

Kane leaned back in his chair. "I'm just wondering how long you plan to stay."

"Kane," Victor warned.

"It's fine," Lena said, keeping her voice even. "Don't worry. I'm not here to ruin your life. I just want to finish my last year of university and be left alone."

"Good," Kane said. "That makes two of us."

"Good."

"Good."

"Okay, wonderful," Naomi said brightly. "More potatoes?"

Lena's new room was twice the size of any room she had ever lived in. It had a huge bed, a window seat, and a view of the forest that began just beyond the lawn.

"This is a lot," she said, dropping her bag on the floor.

Naomi stood in the doorway, wringing her hands. She looked tired, and more nervous than she had been in the car. "Lena, I need you to promise me something."

"Okay."

"Don't go into the woods. Not for any reason. Not even in the daytime."

"Mom, what's out there?"

"Bears." Naomi tried to smile. "Bears and ticks. Promise me."

"I promise."

"And keep your window closed at night."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "Bears can't open windows."

"Lena." Her mother's voice cracked. "Please."

Lena stopped teasing. "Okay. I promise."

Naomi came forward and kissed her forehead, holding on longer than usual. "I love you. You know that, right? Whatever happens here, I did all of this to keep you safe."

"Safe from what?"

But her mother only shook her head and left, closing the door quietly behind her.

Lena stood in the silence, feeling like she had just been handed half of a secret.

She woke up at midnight. She didn't know why. The house was silent, but the air felt heavy, like the moment before a storm. Then she heard it: a slow, steady scratch against the other side of her door.

She sat up. "Hello?"

No answer. The scratching stopped.

She slid out of bed, crept across the floor, and opened the door a few inches. Kane stood in the hallway in a loose black shirt, one hand braced against the wall. His chest was rising and falling too fast, and his eyes were glowing a faint gold in the dark.

"Kane?" She stepped back. "What are you doing?"

"Stay away from the forest," he said. His voice was rough. "And the window."

"My mom already gave me that speech."

"Then listen to her." He looked at her like it hurt. "And whatever happens at Crescent, don't tell anyone you live in this house."

"Trust me, I wasn't planning on it. I'd like to survive the year."

He almost smiled. Then he took one slow step closer, and another, until she had to tilt her head back to look at him. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, and his whole body shook.

"Kane, you're scaring me."

"What are you?" he whispered.

"What?"

"What are you?" His eyes snapped open, bright gold, and they were not the eyes of any ordinary boy. "You shouldn't smell like this. You shouldn't smell like this at all."

"Like what?"

He backed away so fast he hit the wall. "Nothing. Lock your door."

"Kane, wait—"

But he was already gone, his footsteps fading down the hall. Lena shut her door and turned the lock with shaking fingers. She leaned against it, trying to slow her heartbeat.

That was when the howl came. It was long, deep, and close, and it didn't sound like any animal she knew. Another answered it, then another, until the whole forest seemed to be singing.

Slowly, she turned and walked to the window. Beneath the pale moon, at the edge of the trees, stood a line of enormous wolves. At least a dozen of them. Their eyes glowed in the dark, and every single one of them was looking straight at her.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. It was a message from her mother.

Lena, get away from the window. NOW.