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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Caught Between My Alpha Stepbrothers: Theirs to Ruin: Kabanata 81 - Kabanata 90

118 Kabanata

81

CHAPTER 81JULIA – POINT OF VIEW“W …what?” Sebastian asks, confused.“Werewolves.” I clarify, taking another sip of the tea, oblivious to their true reaction to my questions.“Yeah, we heard you. Why … why are you asking about Werewolves? It’s a little abrupt.” Silas looks at me, brows furrowed, eyes glazing over with an emotion I can’t identify just yet.“I’ve been reading this book,” I begin, “And it got me thinking. It’s a romantic fantasy, of course, but that’s just what it is, a book. There’s no way Werewolves are real, just like Vampires aren’t real. Imagination is a curious thing because somehow, we created these species in our mind, put them in books and sell them to thousands of people. The concept of Werewolves is ridiculous, don’t you think?”“Really?” Silas frowns at me.I fold my legs beneath me and delve into it, “Of course, think about it. Werewolves. Beasts that walk around in the form of men, that’s indulgent in people’s belief in anything. In a way, I understand why

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CHAPTER 82SILAS – POINT OF VIEW“Maybe hate is a strong word, but I do not like the thought of them.” She clarifies, which does nothing to help what I already think.“Because it’s unfair to carry so much power?” Seb asks her, and she nods.I know I should drop the topic, but she’s speaking from a place of ignorance. She has not been directly affected by a werewolf and yet hates the idea of us. It’s ironic because she was holding me tight overnight and now, she wants to curb us from the world. “You do know that werewolves do not choose to be werewolves. It is not a conscious choice on the part. It’s not something they decide on a random Tuesday. They’re born like that, well, according to the countless books and myths. They are not like Vampires who are turned. The beast you speak about is inherent, they’re born like that, and I understand your perspective now. I really do understand you. Maybe I'm just too open minded.” I shrug, biting my lips.So what if she doesn’t like werewolves?

83

CHAPTER 83JULIA – POINT OF VIEWWe enjoy each other’s presence and silence. Our first day there is spent existing in each other’s space. Sex isn’t on the schedule. They are still worried that they broke me, and I can’t blame them. My body is still riddled with love marks. The one around my neck has faded a little, but the ones on my inner thigh, back, just everywhere still linger. I like looking at it, and, deep down, I don’t want it to fade, at least not yet. I enjoy looking at it, looking at the carnage they’ve wrecked on my body. A representation of the pleasure, how they can barely contain it.That night, we slept early.It’s strange to sleep early.We’re young, yet we’re acting like old people.“Perhaps we should throw a party and hope the deers around us attend,” Silas smirks.I giggle and nudge his shoulder, “You know that’s not what I meant. Just … we are young, we should do young people things, even though I think you’re both old men. There’s something strange about you, som

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CHAPTER 84JULIA – POINT OF VIEWMorning finds me in the kitchen, giggling as Sebastian tries and fails to put something together.“Do not laugh! You’re distracting me!” He grumbles, whisking the eggs.Silas watches, cheeks flushed, and murmurs, “Wrap it up, brother and stop making a mess. I won’t clean the kitchen, just know that. Take your L already.”“I will not.” Sebastian is determined, and it makes me laugh harder.Their grand plan this morning is to cook a separate breakfast, something beautiful and different, something we can all enjoy. Sebastian began about thirty minutes ago, and now, it is obvious he is going to lose big time. I’m pleased to watch his failure, because I want to win. We’d told him to cook a simple meal; a rice dish would have been better, but he decided to make scrambled eggs and bread from scratch.Everywhere is covered in flour and the sweet stench of my impending victory.“Give up already!” I giggle, impatient to get to my turn.He sighs deeply and throws

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CHAPTER 85JULIA – POINT OF VIEWI wake up the next morning. Silas is gone, and Sebastian has a vice-like hold on me as if he expects me to run away while he sleeps.I smile, settling into his warmth. He is deeply asleep, but still holding on to me tightly. He has an inclination, even when unconscious, to protect me, and as every growing boy, he believes the safest place I can be is with him, and I do not doubt that. I find it endearing. I graze his soft cheeks with my hands. He stirs but doesn’t wake. I lean in, counting his lashes. My fingers thread through his thick curls. He’s so beautiful. I don’t understand how they can be so beautiful. No offence to Steve, but he isn’t where they get their beauty from. Their mother must have been gorgeous.His lashes flutter as he wakes up.Goosebumps break over my skin when his hold tightens, and he pulls me closer.“Morning, baby.” He groans thickly, biceps flexing in a way that makes me want to clench my thighs.He smiles at me, a knowing ex

86

CHAPTER 86JULIA – POINT OF VIEWSilas returns an hour later. His skin is flushed, and his eyes are bright.“Hello, dear boyfriend.” I smile at him.“Hi, baby,” he says, kisses me and walks past me.Sebastian pushes a full plate of food in front of me. I frown at it, stunned, “How am I supposed to finish all this?”“I don’t know, baby. Be creative.” He winks at me, and I chuckle.He walks to the porch, and I pull out my phone. As usual, I feel the twinge of guilt, but it doesn’t stop me. I’m reading a book, not committing a murder. I don't know why the book is such a big deal, but what they don’t know won’t hurt them. We are in a committed relationship, yes, but they don’t get to tell me what to read. They can't police my choices.I clicked on the app and skimmed from where I stopped yesterday.“I’m Finn, your neighbour, he’d introduced, and she nodded like a fool, I’m Fiona. I just moved from the city. He took the cats from her, but didn’t leave. They stared at each other. Fiona had

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CHAPTER 87JULIA – POINT OF VIEW“One week is rounding up quickly.” Bree tells me, and I sigh softly, “One week of bliss is coming to an end.”In two days, we’ll return hom, and return to school. I don’t look forward to school because of Alicia and her cohort.“Did you hear anything about her?” I ask Bree over the phone.“If by ‘her’, you mean Alicia, then no, I did not hear anything. I don’t particularly look forward to hearing anything about her. You know she’s not my favourite person.” She grumbles, and I chuckle, “Yeah, you don’t like her, I know.”“Technically, no one does, we just tolerate her because her mom is a Ga –” She stops, laughs and continues, “A powerful person in the community. We tolerate her, that’s all.”I nod, wondering what she was going to say, but I don’t push. She doesn’t have to speak all the time. I don't have to know everything she’s thinking, and at the same time, I can’t help but scoff. Sebastian dated her, and that doesn’t look like tolerating her to me.

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CHAPTER 88SEBASTIAN – POINT OF VIEW“She’s reading that novel again,” Silas says, standing by me, “The one about werewolves.”I follow his gaze to Julia. She’s on the bed, blissfully unaware that we are watching her through the window.“I wouldn’t mind, but I do, because it’s all nonsense propaganda about how Werewolves are sinister beasts.” He grunts, and I smile because the irony is heavy. We are staring at her through the window like sinister beasts.I grab his arm and lead him away. We walk around the house and settle on the porch.“There is nothing we can do. We cannot police what she does with her time. If she wants to read werewolf novels, then that’s her business. We are leaving tomorrow, and school starts in two days. We have better things to worry about.” I remind him, chewing on my bottom lip.“Father won’t try anything stupid.” He scoffs.“I hope he doesn’t, but we have to be ready for when he does,” I say coldly, remembering how he spoke about Julia. I still believe he i

89

CHAPTER 89JULIA Sunlight spills into every corner of the cabin.I’m on the couch, nursing a hot cup of tea. The cabin smells like pine and burnt coffee. It also smells like them, warm and specific, in a way I have stopped noticing until now, when I am about to lose it. Something bites through my chest. Like grief. I am leaving the cabin. This cabin holds so many memories, and I’m leaving. The week is over. It is time.My legs are thrown over the arm of the couch, with my phone face down on my chest. I have been staring at the ceiling for thirty seconds instead of reading. Outside, the trees move in tandem, and my heart aches again. Sebastian is in the kitchen making coffee. He is a great cook, but he makes the worst coffee. I will never tell him, though. Never.Silas is in the shower. I am aware of him. I am always aware of them. It’s cheesy, and I am head over heels in love.I pick up my phone and continue from where I stopped.“To be mated, to lean into the divine connection, he h

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CHAPTER 90JULIA – POINT OF VIEWThe car smells like the cabin for exactly twenty minutes.I know because I watch the clock, which is something I do when I'm trying not to feel something, give it a measurement and make it clinical. At the twenty-one-minute mark, it's just a car. Just leather and Sebastian's cologne and the particular neutral smell of highway.I watch the trees thin out.In the front, the boys are doing that thing where they're not talking, but they're communicating anyway. I’ve never been able to truly understand it, how they do it. I've also never been able to fully explain it to Bree when she asks. It's not that they finish each other's sentences. It's quieter than that. It is calm, more like they've already had the conversation somewhere I can't access, and what I'm watching is the aftermath. Maybe it is twins bond, or brothers or the trauma they’ve survived, but it’s something, something I’m not part of. Sometimes, I feel like I’m not family, because I’m not. Tha

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