Mated To The Alpha Stepbrother

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Dante Scout POV

Did she just call me a moron? Shock slammed into me like a freight train.

But even that paled compared to the sheer absurdity of what I was witnessing—her running completely naked. I was grateful for one thing: the pack house was secluded, hidden from prying eyes. Yet, the sight of her just inches away from the main gate, ready to bolt, sent a surge of agitation through me.

Still, I didn’t move. I wanted the fear she harbored for me to grip her, to root her in place. But it didn’t. She didn’t even flinch.

How could she even *think* of running out like this? Naked?

“Vinorca, stop right there!” I shouted, my voice sharp and commanding as she gripped the gate handle. I couldn’t just stand idle anymore.

Does she seriously think she can leave like this?

Without wasting another second, I moved. My wolf speed kicked in, and in an instant, I grabbed her wrist.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Vinorca?” I barked, yanking her back. Her body slammed against mine, sending tingles racing through me like wildfire.

This was it. The same cursed bond I’d been suffering under for the past ten years. Even knowing her parents were the reason mine were gone, this mate bond refused to let me hate her.

No matter how much I tried—how much I wanted to harm her, to despise her—I couldn’t. I’d even stayed away from my pack, just to avoid the agony of being near her.

My heart and mind were locked in a war, desperate to hate her. But my wolf? He was in pieces, stitched together by her presence.

"Running away from you," she said, lifting her chin in defiance. Her eyes, now glowing faintly, sent a shiver down my spine. My wolf growled, his presence surging inside me. She had her wolf now.

That meant only one thing. The clock must have struck midnight—it was her eighteenth birthday. The moment her wolf was supposed to awaken.

‘Our mate,’ my wolf, Lufi, growled, his voice a low rumble that echoed in my mind.

I clenched my jaw, cursing myself silently. This wasn’t supposed to happen—not like this. I hadn’t thought this far ahead when I scared her earlier, when I let myself lose control. The memory of pinning her on the bed, her trembling body trapped beneath my hands, burned in my mind. I hadn’t meant to go that far, but my wolf was relentless, constantly on edge, clawing for control.

I’d told myself it was only to scare her, only to keep her in line. But deep down, I knew the truth. I hadn’t just wanted to scare her—I’d wanted to touch her. Needed to. The bond, the pull, it was too strong, and I was too weak to fight it in those moments.

But I’d had a plan, however flimsy it was. I thought I could stay away from her long enough, leave before her wolf awakened and made this bond even harder to resist.

And now, here we were.

Her glare never wavered, though I could see the faint flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. Her wolf was new, raw, untested. She didn’t fully understand what was happening yet, and didn't feel the full weight of the bond. But she would soon.

I took a step closer, my voice low and laced with warning. “Do you even understand what’s happening to you right now? What does this mean?”

She didn’t flinch. “I don’t care. Whatever this is—whatever *you* are—I want no part of it.”

Her words cut deeper than I wanted to admit, but I masked it with a bitter laugh. “You can say that now. You think you’re in control, that you can just walk away. But your wolf knows better. She’ll feel the pull soon enough. And when she does, you won’t be able to fight it.”

She bared her teeth, a glimpse of her wolf flickering through her expression. “I’ll fight it with everything I have. I’ll fight *you*.”

I stepped closer, closing the space between us, my eyes locked on hers. “You can try. But let me tell you something, Vinorca: the bond doesn’t care about your hatred. It doesn’t care about your defiance. It will break you down piece by piece, until there’s nothing left but *us.*”

Her breathing quickened, and for a moment, I thought she might lash out. Her wolf was surfacing, I could feel it—the raw, untamed energy simmering beneath her skin.

“Why did you have to hurt me like this, Dante?” she said, her voice trembling as tears streamed down her face. “It wasn’t just you who lost your parents that day. I lost mine too. But you keep punishing me, like I was the one who caused it all.” Her breath hitched as she wiped her cheeks, her gaze filled with pain. “Why can’t you just let me live in peace?”

Her words cut deeper than any wound ever could. My chest tightened as I watched her break down in front of me, and the guilt I’d buried for years clawed its way to the surface. She wasn’t wrong. All I’d ever given her was pain. And it wouldn’t stop here—it couldn’t. Pain was all I had to offer her, and somehow, that tore me apart more than it hurt her.

I couldn’t kill her. I couldn’t reject her. The only thing I seemed capable of doing was hurting her, over and over again. But each time I did, the pain came back tenfold.

‘Our mate is crying,’ Lufi's voice thick with rage and desperation.

‘I know.’ That was all I could manage to say to my wolf.

“I give no f***s—you are mine,” I growled, swallowing hard as my wolf surged forward. “And there is no way I’m letting you leave, naked or in any other form.”

Her lips curled into a bitter smirk. “My wolf doesn’t accept you as her mate.”

Her words hit me like a blow to the chest. I froze, staring at her in disbelief. What does she mean?

Lufi whimpered deep inside me, restless and angry. ‘She’s lying. She has to be.’ The bond pulsed within me, undeniable and unrelenting. If Lufi could feel it, how could her wolf not?

“Don’t lie,” I snapped, my grip on her arm tightening as my frustration boiled over. “I’ve felt this bond for ten years. Ten long years. Do you think your words make any difference to that?”

Her eyes softened for a fleeting second before hardening again. “If that’s the case…” She straightened her posture, her voice clear and unwavering as she spoke the words that shattered my world.

“I, Vinorca Jona, reject you, Alpha Dante Scout, as my mate.”

Her words echoed in my head, and for a moment, everything around me went still. The air felt heavier, like the weight of her rejection had sucked all the life out of it.

Lufi howled in rage, his voice tearing through my mind. ‘No! She can’t reject us!’

I tightened my hold on her arm, my claws threatening to pierce her skin. “You don’t get to reject me,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous.

Her chin lifted in defiance, her eyes locking onto mine with unwavering determination. “Watch me.”

Her wolf wasn’t fully in control yet—I could sense it. But the fire in her was real, and it burned bright enough to make me hesitate. She was testing me, pushing me to see how far I’d go.

"Don’t make me hurt you, Vinorca.”

“What more can you do to hurt me, Dante? Look at me!” She gestured at herself, her voice breaking. “I’m standing here—naked, bleeding, humiliated. What’s left for you to take?”

Is she rambling because she’s not in her right mind after just getting her wolf, or has the timid, scared Vinorca I knew suddenly grown bold enough to reject me and stand her ground?

“I can do more than this. Are you sure you can handle it?”