My Brother My Mate

A Game of Power

Anthony's POV

I fell back into that strange and creepy attraction for the nerd just by approaching her again and smelling her penetrating scent, which made no sense. No other woman I had been with had ever provoked me like that, much less with just the aroma of her body. I was nervous. Could it be, perhaps, that she, that Mariam was...

No, I didn't even dare mention it. Besides, there was still a year before I received my wolf; it made no sense that I was already feeling my mate. And it was going to be the nerd? Now turned into my sister? No, that simply couldn't be.

But if it hadn't been for Mr. Donovan's interruption, I don't know how far I would have taken what was happening in the classroom because, I had to admit, I was extremely excited and might have kissed her if we hadn't been surrounded by more people.

After dunking my head in cold water again, I met up with the guys.

"What's up, brother? Did you suddenly remember you needed a shower?" Steven teased as he saw me come out with wet hair.

"I remembered how little I slept last night because of the fabulous night I spent with your mother," I replied to his tease while giving him a friendly punch on the arm, provoking laughter from the group.

They were good guys who had admired me from the first moment, not only because they recognized me as the son of the St. Clair couple but also because of the same effect that won me favor at the Grey Hills orphanage: I had the unmistakable Alpha pattern, which would be confirmed the day I received my wolf, for which only one more year was needed.

After exchanging some pushes and punches, we headed to the sports fields, which I wanted to check out with my own eyes. I didn't overlook the sweet glances the girls occasionally threw at me, nor the sour ones from what must be their boyfriends or suitors. I smiled. I was going to have a great time at the Green Valley pack's high school.

"I still can't get over the fact that your twin is a nerd, Ace," said Patrick, who had coined that nickname, Ace, by combining the initials of my first name and last name. "You two are so... different. I don't know, brother, is she really your sister? Isn't she the adopted one?"

Of course, they were joking.

"Or maybe I'm the adopted one, who knows, but yes, we're very different." I leaned down to check the condition of the field's grass. It was fantastic, much better than at the orphanage.

"There's no way you're the adopted one, Ace," Steven suggested. "You do have that Alpha aura, whereas she... I don't know her, but she seems like an omega, no offense, brother."

I looked at Steven with pursed lips. He was right; I was convinced that Mariam, now my sister, was an omega. The best she could hope for was to receive a Gamma wolf, though I even doubted that.

"We'll find out in a year, guys," I turned my gaze back to the field. I couldn't wait to start training in those fantastic facilities. "For now, let's just make her life bearable, okay? Don't forget she's my sister."

I remembered the warning I had given Mariam. If she did my homework and met all my demands, I would ensure she wasn't bothered. One word from me was enough to make her life at school manageable or turn it into a living hell. It all depended on her, on her obeying everything I asked her to do.

The sharp smell of a feminine perfume made us all turn our heads. It was Tiffany and her group of friends. Tiffany was the girl I wanted to take to my birthday party this afternoon, already being more than just acquaintances.

"Are you going to try out for the football team?" Tiffany asked with some disdain, her arms crossed over her chest and looking at me as if I were an omega.

I smiled.

"Of course, I am, do you doubt it?"

I knew her words were trying to test me, and I also knew that her boyfriend, Peter, was currently the team's quarterback.

"I'm not sure Peter will want to accept you," Tiffany said challengingly. "The team is at its best. It doesn't need or lack anyone."

Tiffany's three cronies, all members of the cheerleading team she led, echoed their captain with stupid laughs that almost made me lose my cool. But it was all a test, one I had to pass if I wanted a chance with their leader.

"He'll have to accept me the moment I beat him in the speed test, the blocking and tackling test, the throwing test, and the physical endurance test," I replied as I moved closer to her and pressed my chest against her perfect, prominent breasts. "Then he'll realize he can only win the championship if he obeys me as the new quarterback."

Tiffany was impressed; I could see it in the way she avoided my gaze and tried to feign indifference. Her eyes were on my chest, probably imagining how it would look without a shirt.

"Prove it, big guy." she said playfully, her finger tracing the groove separating my pectoral muscles.

"Come to my party with me today," I said, knowing she was almost mine. "What do you say? Want to be the girlfriend of the next football team's quarterback?"

As expected, Tiffany refused with a loud laugh before walking away with her sycophants. I had no doubt that this afternoon, after school, she would be leaving with me.

"When are the damn team trials?" I asked the guys.

"There are always tryouts, Ace, but Tiffany isn't wrong," Patrick replied. "Peter is very protective of his position and won't want a rival for his spot. Even if you beat him in all the tests, he just has to not accept you to block your entry."

"And if you're thinking about getting with his girl, Ace," Steven added. "He'll block you from even joining the chess team."

I looked at Patrick and Steven with a smile.

"I'm going to join the team, and Peter will be delighted to have me on his roster. I guarantee it."

The guys looked at me, puzzled, wondering what plan I had in mind to get accepted into the team. The most paradoxical thing was that I didn't even know what to do to get that spot, but I was sure that, somehow, I would get it.