Fated to My Step-Brother.

Chapter One: Seasons Greeting

"Odette, it's time to come home," The words of my Alpha still echoed as I stepped off the plane at Portland International Airport, the crisp November Oregon air enveloping me like a refreshing hug. The smell of pine and damp earth filled my lungs, a familiar scent that transported me back to my childhood. I hadn't set foot on Misty Mountain Pack lands in nearly ten years, not since my mother's death and my step-father, Alpha Kaine, had sent me to a boarding school in the human world, wanting me to have some semblance of a normal life after I'd recovered from the trauma.

I'd graduated, dated, been to wild parties and got a degree in nursing with a good paying job at a renowned hospital in New York - I'd lived a human experience with visits to the Stone Fang Pack of the area when I needed to hunt or get back in touch with my Wolf. I had friends in both worlds, but I only had family in one.

The thought of returning, seeing them again, sent a mix of emotions swirling in my chest.

Alpha Kaine had been my father since I was three, my own had turned Rouge and my Mum broke her mate bond, leaving our Pack lands of Michigan. She bumped into Alpha Kaine while fleeing with me at this very airport, finding him to be her second-chance-mate, and he accepted her - me - as his own from that day. Kaine had never had a fated mate, but he'd had a child with an Omega through surrogacy, a boy four years older than me named William, fearing he'd never find his mate.

He loved and cherished my mother every day she was alive, we never wanted anything he couldn't provide.

But, my Mum had been killed by my Rouge father, sometime after my fourteenth birthday - the memories from that time were foggy to me, locked behind a trauma I only knew existed from having witnessed her murder, at least that's what Kaine and the doctors had told me, as well as a Pack psychologist I'd been seeing since that night.

Kaine had promised I was still his daughter, that he would never abandon me - but it was safer in the human world for me. He still called me from time to time, sending me gifts to my apartment in the city and tried video chatting with me once or twice, but my roommates made it hard to have open conversations alot of the time.

Even our last phone call had been carefully spoken, knowing I was in the middle of a shift at work.

"Will is coming home for the Solstice, to take over the Pack. We both want you there." My heart fluttered with nerves, the thought of seeing Will again making me begin to chew my bottom lip as I moved through the crowd.

I made my way to the baggage claim, my eyes scanning the crowd for William's familiar messy blond hair and charming smile, wondering if Alpha training had changed the always charismatic playboy I remember him being. He'd been sent off shortly before his eighteenth birthday, not long after Mum's death - though I don't remember seeing him much before he left, Will had always had a soft spot in my heart, one I could never truly erase. Though he had a trail of googly-eyed women chasing him constantly, vying for his attention and affection, he never hesitated to make room for me in his life, to be kind to me when not many others were.

His smile had always warmed me and his voice soothed me - I missed him alot, but our time apart had been necessary, at least for me to try and rid myself of the ridiculous crush I had on him as a teenager. Though, I couldn't deny he was a big part of the reason I'd even come back, knowing he was finally coming home as well and taking his place as the Alpha, something I'd always pictured him doing amazingly.

I checked my phone for what felt like the hundredth time; no messages or calls from William. A swell of annoyance danced in my stomach.

I swear, if he's sleeping around on his first few days back....I'll- I stopped myself, shaking my head with a sigh and grabbed my luggage, deciding to make my way to the airport's ride-sharing pickup area.

I pulled up the Uber app on my phone and booked a ride, grimacing at the price of the fare and shooting a text message to the number Kaine had given me for Will.

You're late - I'm cold. You're paying for my Uber. I hit send before I could chicken out as the cold air stung my cheeks.

I found myself staring at the phone, expecting him to reply only for there to be nothing and my frustration forced a growl from my throat, a tourist couple a few feet away from me jumping and gasping at the noise.

I gave an apologetic smile, trying to hide the noise behind a cough. "Sorry," I barked out, covering my mouth with my elbow. "This cold weather," I shrugged, the man holding his wife close to his chest and shuffling away slightly, nodding and saying something in Spanish I didn't understand. I sighed, giving up on my coughing and started watching the crowd that weaved in and out of the glass entrance doors, my gaze landing on a stranger who was walking out of the airport.

He was tall, towering over those who moved around him, an aura of command and importance exuding from him; his thick raven hair that he ran a strong hand through fell back into place over his piercing blue eyes, glancing down at the phone in his other hand. His sharp jawline and tanned, chiseled features made my heart skip a beat as a smirk tugged on his thick lips, his eyes trailing up and locking with mine. He wore a dark suit, fitting his athletic frame as he slipped his phone away, turning to face me completely over the small crowd that weaved around him.

This man was...beautiful - powerful. I wasn't sure he was human.

A moment of recognition went through me, his eyes familiar and I felt myself drawn to him, but my heart slammed in my chest as he began to make his way towards me.

My phone buzzed, signaling my ride's arrival and a red sedan pulled up beside me, the driver beeping his horn at me. I squeaked in surprise, my cheeks reddening when I saw the stranger falter at the noise, a look of bewilderment and amusement crossing his features and I rushed to settle into the backseat, the driver not waiting for me to buckle in before he was already pulling away from the curb. I glanced back at the stranger, seeing him smirk at me and tuck his hands into the pockets his suti pants. He pulled his phone out as I turned away, feeling my cheeks burning from the wicked look that had been in his eyes and tried to shake the feeling that I knew him somehow.

I tried to place him - maybe an important business man I'd seen around the hospital or one of the coffee shops my human friend Laura liked to take me to, convinced she'd find a rich husband somewhere there.

I chewed the inside of my lip, unable to place him anywhere, finding it starting to bother me.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when my phone buzzed, making me look down and sigh in annoyance, seeing Will's name and a short reply.

See you at home, little sister.

I puffed out a breath of air, my stomach fluttering and unsettled as I considered replying, only to shove my phone in my hand bag and pulled out the crime novel I'd been reading the last few days instead.

I had a two hour drive back to the Pack house, I was going to spend it ignoring my problems and focus on a fictional characters one.