My Brother My Mate

The Weight of the Name

Mariam’s POV

I felt overwhelmed just looking at the façade of the school. I had never attended one before. All my education and life had taken place within the protective walls of the Grey Hills orphanage, only penetrated by Anthony, my new stepbrother, and his foolish friends who, thank the Goddess, were no longer with us. Yet a quick glance told me he already had a new gang of tormentors.

The i***t was already at the entrance of the high school, surrounded by some girls who had fallen in love with him just by looking at him, and a group of boys who must have been “the popular ones” shaking his hand as if they were old friends.

How did he do it?

I checked my watch. It hadn’t even been five minutes since we got off the bus.

I sighed and adjusted the frame of my glasses, hugged my notebook to my chest, and walked with my head down, as quickly as I could, while the folds of my skirt brushed against my knees. I would go unnoticed, that was my strategy, at least until the magic Luna Emma had talked about worked.

He said you would be very popular here, that there was no way you wouldn’t be...

I found my locker marked with my name and was moved to see it already bore my new last name.

«Mariam St. Clair»

It was open, so I set the new combination and stored my books while observing my surroundings, trying to get a sense of this new environment. It was just a regular school, and I was just a regular girl who only wanted to stay as far away as possible from her stepbrother and any other bullies who might show up in this jungle of intense social pressure.

“Hi, locker neighbor,” said a pleasant female voice from the other side of my locker door.

I looked her over before responding and saw no danger. She was a smiling young girl with thick glasses, freckles on her cheeks, and braces that sparkled as much as her eyes.

“Nice to finally meet you, Mariam.”

I extended my hand while forcing myself to smile.

“Nice to meet you too...” I looked at her locker, but it didn’t have a name tag.

“I’m Melany. I think I’m also in your science class. Not that I’m a stalker, don’t get me wrong, but I had to know your class schedule the moment I saw your name on the locker.”

“Oh... well, I didn’t think that, actually.”

“I thought, being a St. Clair, you’d be one of those snobbish and stuck-up girls, but I’m glad to see you’re a lot like me.”

My eyes scanned Melany’s figure. Thick jacket over an even thicker wool sweater that extended to her neck, long plaid skirt, high wool socks, and clogs. Yes, it was as if we had shopped at the same clothing store.

“A St. Clair...?”

The class bell rang in the hallway, drowning out my words. I had wanted to ask Melany what she meant by being a St. Clair, but on our way to the classroom, I answered that question myself.

Passing by the trophy case, two impressive photographs stood out, which I recognized immediately. In the first, I saw my new mom, Luna Emma, when she must have been my age. The photo highlighted her as the captain of the cheerleading team, which won first place in the kingdom’s pack high school championships for four consecutive years. The photo of Alpha Damian was similar, mentioning him as the captain of the football team, with which he won the same number of victories in the interscholastic championships.

I was paralyzed, in shock.

Luna Emma had been too modest. Even after more than twenty years since graduating, she was still a high school idol, along with her husband.

“Your parents, you must be very proud of them, right?” said Melany when she realized I had stopped and was no longer by her side.

“They...” I swallowed. “I didn’t know any of this.”

“Didn’t they tell you, even though you’re their daughter?”

I looked at Melany, my eyebrows furrowing deeply.

“What? Wait... you do know they’re not my biological parents, right?”

Melany had spoken as if she believed the St. Clair couple were my actual parents, which raised doubts in me.

I saw terror flash in Melany’s eyes, as if she had just realized she had committed a grave crime and had been caught.

“I thought you... and your brother had been in a boarding school... I didn’t know...”

I grabbed Melany by the hand and dragged her out of the hallway. What she was suggesting was very serious. I pulled her into the bathroom. I still had a minute before risking being late to class.

“Don’t say anything about this, at least not here, at school,” I warned a stunned Melany. “I’m adopted, just like my new stepbrother, who isn’t even really that. We both come from an orphanage in the Grey Hills pack. We’re not even from here.”

“Oh, oh.” was all the shocked Melany could say. “My mom works with Alpha Damian, and he said they had decided to bring their children back, who had been at a boarding school all these years.”

I looked around. Whatever the Alpha couple was hiding would have to wait. For now, it was better to pretend and continue with the routine as if nothing had happened. I asked Melany not to say anything about what I had just revealed, and after obtaining her promise that she wouldn’t, we continued on our way to the classroom.

There was Anthony, at the back of the room, sitting with his new friends and surrounded by what must have been the most popular girls, as if he were a sheikh.

How did he do it?

Was it his smile?

Or because he definitely exuded that Alpha aura he had always had?

I avoided his gaze when I noticed he was about to turn to look at me and took the seat next to Melany, but I didn’t stay seated for long. The teacher, Mr. Donovan, asked us to introduce ourselves to the class.

“Let’s hear from the St. Clair siblings,” he said with a certain pride, as if having the Alpha couple’s children in his class was the most sensational thing. “Please, go ahead.”

I immediately realized I had to speak first and prevent Anthony from revealing we were adopted. We had to maintain the story that seemed to be circulating in the Green Valley pack, that we were the biological children of Emma and Damian St. Clair and had been at a boarding school, at least until I could talk to Luna and clarify the reason for this story that afternoon.

As soon as I stood in front of the class, and despite the nervousness squeezing me, I spoke first.

“Good morning, everyone...”

“Allow me, sis.” Anthony’s large hand rested on my shoulder, and his deep and imposing voice made mine, no matter how loud I spoke, sound like a dying whisper. “We’re the St. Clair twins, she’s Mariam, and my name is Anthony.” I noticed how the popular girls looked at him, devouring him with their eyes. “We come from a boarding school that, honestly, I don’t even want to remember its name.”

I was surprised and stared at him.

Anthony had also already heard the boarding school story and decided to play along with our new parents. He didn’t seem as stubborn as I feared.

“This afternoon is our birthday party, and of course, everyone is invited to the pack house, even you, sir, please don’t miss it.” Anthony winked at Mr. Donovan, and I noticed he immediately won his favor. “There’ll be big fun!”

Anthony’s new friends, the ones he had made in seconds, let out a loud cheer, and the popular girls followed with a raucous shout of joy. Anthony waved his large, strong arms, almost pushing me to the chalkboard, and that’s how our introduction to the class ended, amidst cheers for the party that afternoon.