Chapter 3

Brayden didn't respond. Instead, he handed me the paper, and I reached for it,  scanning the words printed across it.

I don't know what I expected to see, but seeing the confirmation that we were indeed siblings wasn't it. A tornado of emotions hit me at once, and confusion was number one.

The silver must have messed with my wolf making her hallucinate or something. I can't be mated to my brother.

“What do we do now?” I finally broke the silence, looking into his eyes. “Reject each other and forget this ever happened?”

“Rejecting each other would uncomplicate things,” I said, seeing as Brayden didn't answer my question to reject each other. And he still didn't say anything.

“I don't think that's a good idea. Your wolf is still weak. It could kill you,” Brayden finally answered. “We can reject each other once you're better.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but I swallowed my words instead, a part of me happy that I had a little time to enjoy the sweet tingles of being mated to such a fine wine like him. Before he got the chance to change his mind, I rushed back to my room, closing my doors and leaning on them while I placed my hand on my chest.

The whole night, all I could picture was Brayden, and not in a brotherly way. The more I thought about Brayden, the more my wolf stirred. Every time I pictured his face, his toned arms, or the way his voice sent shivers down my spine, she would growl softly in the back of my mind.

I exhaled sharply and flopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. The feelings were unnatural, confusing, and completely overwhelming. If I wanted to make them stop, I had to stay away from him. That was the logical thing to do.

And yet…

My body refused to obey my mind. Instead of lying still and letting sleep take over, I found myself slipping out of bed, my bare feet silent against the cool wooden floor. The house was dark, and I found myself heading towards the stairs, drawn by a pull I didn’t understand until I saw him.

He sat there with an unbuttoned shirt while the lights from the television illuminated his perfect muscles. He was so into whatever he was watching that he leaned forward, not even sensing me around, and I felt a strange and new warm feeling start from my chest till it was between my legs.

I clenched my insides, hoping to stop whatever this feeling was, but the more I clenched and released, a sweeter feeling followed and although a part of me didn't want to stop, I knew I had to return to my room, but I found myself craving to be close to him or at least anything that belonged to him.

As my legs took me away from the stairs, I asked myself one question. ‘What if I get caught in his room? What excuse would I have? That I wanted to steal his scent like some crazed wolf desperate for her mate?’ That thought alone made my face burn, but it didn’t stop me from reaching for his door handle and twisting it open. To make things worse, the way his scent surrounded me made it impossible to reason logically and all I wanted was to bury myself in his scent.

The further I went, the stronger his scent got, and I let out the softest moan I could muster. Even my wolf let out a pleased hum. I didn’t need to stay long. Just grab something and go.

My hands moved on their own, reaching for the dark-colored shirt draped over the edge of his bed. It was soft, worn from use, and when I brought it close to my nose, I rolled my eyes in the pleasure and tingles I had.

Goddess, his scent was intoxicating!

Holding the shirt tightly against my chest, I slipped out of his room and rushed back to my own, shutting the door quietly behind me.

With a satisfactory smile, I climbed into bed and curled up, pressing my face into the fabric as if it were the most precious thing in the world. It was ridiculous, pathetic even, but the warmth it brought me was undeniable, especially while I rubbed my thighs together.

The faster I went, the sweeter it got. And considering I was behind closed doors, I gave in fully, doing all sorts, panting heavily with my eyes closed. Before I knew it, a wave of relief hit me, followed by a subtle throb in the middle of my legs which lulled me to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up to an uneasy feeling in my gut. My fingers clutched at the fabric of Brayden’s shirt, now crumpled against my chest, and a flush crept up my neck as the memory of the night before washed over me. What the hell was I thinking?

I quickly shoved the shirt under my pillow, as if hiding the evidence could erase my actions. Breakfast was a quiet affair, until Brayden walked in, locking eyes with me. I wanted to ask what the look was for, but I kept my head down, pretending to focus on my plate.

“Are you spending the weekend?” Mother broke the silence just as breakfast was coming to an end and I found myself looking at Brayden while expecting an answer.

“Yes,” he replied. “I'd be leaving on Monday.”

I let out a breath I didn't know I held back, happy that I still had a few more days to spend with him before he was gone again because why was the Beta's son living and working at the outskirts of the pack of all places?

The rest of the morning was spent with Mom. She gave me a tour of the house, introduced me to the neighbors and we even took a walk around the neighborhood just to familiarize myself with my new surroundings.

Everyone welcomed me sweetly, but a part of me kept wishing Brayden would show up out of nowhere. I really needed his scent around me for some reason.

While the rest of the women decided to keep Mom with them, all my brain could come up with was, ‘Go home, grab one of Brayden's clothes, and bask in his scent.’

Mom was understanding enough to let me return home with one of the maids, and once I was in, I scanned the whole place to see if anyone was around, and luckily the main building was quiet, meaning an empty house and an empty room for me to raid.

My lips curved into a sheepish smile, one that screamed, I shouldn't be doing this but I would because it was too sweet to stop. Just like yesterday, I sneaked into his room, returned the clothing I took, and grabbed another.

I was heading to my room when I heard a female voice laugh so hard, it made my insides twist because I was the only young female in this household. And the maids, well their quarters were too far from the main building for me to hear their conversations.

I followed the voice to the balcony where I saw two people in the pool at the back, Brayden and one lady, whose hair I wanted to rip off as she flung it back and forth.

The way her hands caressed his body made my blood begin to boil at first. And despite screaming at myself to leave, my legs were rooted to the ground, forcing me to watch them flirt.

His response to her touch is what angered me the most.  The smirk, the way his eyes raked through her body, he didn't need to take off his glasses for me to know he was admiring her already.

The breaking point was when she was whining her body, then she sat on his lap, inching closer and closer like she was waiting for him to devour her lips first. My heart was racing and neither my wolf nor I could take it anymore because the closer she got to him, the more the ache in my chest multiplied tenfold.

Not even waiting for them to lock lips, I stormed downstairs, making sure to fling his clothes back into his room before I left the main building. The lady noticed me first, stepping back immediately, greeting me with a smile but I shot her an angry glare before facing the man who even brought me here.

“Roxanne?” he started, but I didn’t let him finish.

“We need to talk.”

Without waiting for his response, I turned and walked away, expecting him to follow.

He did.

Back inside, I spun to face him, my chest rising and falling with the force of my emotions. “What the hell was that?”

Brayden frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, Brayden,” I snapped. “That girl. Laughing, touching you like—like she has the right! And you let her.”

“Roxanne, I didn’t realize I needed your permission to be with someone.”

His words were like a slap to the face. My wolf growled, the pain twisting inside me, making my vision blur with unshed tears. “You don’t,” I bit out, my voice shaking. “But it doesn’t change the fact that it hurts, especially when you do it when I'm close by. Don't you know how painful the bond gets seeing your mate with another woman!”

Brayden’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing, and that alone made my heart snap. He was probably rolling his eyes at me, saying to himself I had no right to tell him what to do and with who.

I took a deep breath, gathering every ounce of courage I had. “This is exactly why we should reject each other.”

His entire body stiffened. “But your health—”

“No,” I cut him off, my voice firm. “I  am better now and can handle myself. Let's get this over with so you can continue with her.”

Brayden took a step closer, wanting to say something but I stepped back again, the tears I was fighting starting to fall from my eyes.

“Reject me, Brayden. Right here, right now.”

He hesitated, wanting to hold my hands and maybe reason with me, but I smacked it away. If he wanted to hold someone, he should hold his pretty date by the pool.

“What are you waiting for?” I demanded and again, Brayden said nothing.

“Coward,” I whispered before turning on my heel and walking away with anger coursing through my veins. My wolf howled in agony, but I kept moving. Because if Brayden wouldn’t free me from this torment, I would do it myself.