Chapter 5 - The Wrong Brother

Avery

By the time we returned to the house after the wedding, I still hadn't processed what had happened. I barely said a word during the drive, and the moment I got upstairs I disappeared into my new room and shut the door behind me. I sat on the edge of my bed with my phone pressed against my ear, staring at the wall as Mia's shocked voice came through the speaker.

"What?! Are you for real? Chase is your stepbrother? That's unbelievable!"

"I really can't believe this," I whispered, my voice cracking. "How on earth is Chase my stepbrother? How is the man my mom married Chase's dad?"

The more I said it, the more impossible it sounded, and a sob escaped me before I could stop it.

"How am I supposed to live in the same house as my crush, Mia? How am I supposed to survive this?"

I tried to laugh through the tears, but nothing about this was funny anymore. I had spent years wishing I could get closer to Chase, and now that fate had granted my wish, it had done it in the most horrifying way possible.

"This is bad," I groaned, dropping backward onto the bed. "I'm actually going to lose my mind."

Mia was quiet for a moment, then I heard the smile creep into her voice. "Or maybe this is your chance. You're living under the same roof now. Isn't that perfect for you?"

I stared at the ceiling, hating how fast the thought made my heart flutter despite everything. "Don't," I muttered, but she laughed, and that was the annoying part. She had a point. Living with Chase meant more time with him, more chances to finally tell him how I felt. Except now there was a giant problem attached to that dream, and I didn't even know how to explain it.

My mother's voice floated up the stairs. "Avery! Come downstairs and eat with your new family!"

I sat upright, eyes widening in horror. "New family," I repeated under my breath, dragging both hands through my hair until it was a mess.

Mia burst out laughing. "Hold on, you've got this. I need to go now, I'm going on a date."

"No! Don't leave me!" I cried. "Mia!"

The call ended. I stared at my phone. "Traitor," I muttered, just as a knock sounded against my door.

Another knock followed, louder, and I dragged myself off the bed to answer it, only to find Brandon my little brother standing there with a smug grin plastered across his face.

"You've been crying?" he asked, looking me up and down. "Why? Your crush is here now, idiot. You should be happy."

My eyes narrowed. "What did you just call me?"

His grin widened, and that was all the warning I needed. "You heard me."

"Brandon!"

I lunged toward him, and he took off down the hallway, laughing like the little menace he was.

"Come back here! I'm going to kill you!"

"You can't catch me!" he yelled over his shoulder, which only made me run faster.

He disappeared into one of the rooms, and I followed without thinking, ready to grab him and wipe that grin off his face. The moment I stepped inside, I froze.

Brandon was nowhere in sight. Instead, Zane stood there, steam curling through the air around him, his hair still damp. Completely naked.

My gaze snagged on his chest before I could stop it, and my breath caught. The tattoo. Serpent, dagger, tiny crown, the exact same design I'd seen on the mysterious man from that night.

My stomach dropped. No. It couldn't be. He had the same tattoo. And Chase had it too.

"I'm sorry. Wrong room." I turned to leave, but Zane caught me before I'd taken a single step.

"Sure you're in the wrong room?” His voice carried that same irritating amusement as his eyes narrowed while he studied my face, " Or did you walk in here on purpose?"

I had no answer. I backed away until my shoulders hit the wall, and he followed at an unhurried pace, as though he already knew I had nowhere left to go. One hand landed flat against the wall beside my head, caging me in. The heat radiating from his bare skin made me painfully aware of exactly how close he was. My eyes betrayed me for a second, dropping lower before I quickly forced them back to his face. My cheeks burned, and I bit my lower lip, furious at myself for looking.

"Amazed by the size?" His mouth curved into a slow, knowing smirk.

My face burned. "I wasn't..."

"Careful, step-sister." He leaned in. "Keep looking at me like that, and I might start thinking you like what you see."

I stared at him, frozen, my mind racing far faster than I could process, until one terrifying thought finally broke through everything else.

Which one of them did I spend that night with?