Mated to Her Alpha Brother

Chapter Four (edited)

CALLUM

I flinched slightly at the sudden onslaught of freezing cold water from the shower before sighing in satisfaction as it cooled my heated body.

Heading out, I dried myself, hoping I wouldn’t have to step back in there again. This was the third time today my wolf had me taking a cold shower. A mere hormonal teen he had turned me into.

Having spent the entire day making rounds—ensuring everything was in place and everyone was where they were supposed to be—while also reinforcing safety and emergency protocols with the workers overlooking the event (with a shower or two in between), time had slipped by without me noticing. It was already half past five.

I sighed at the thought of tonight.

I couldn’t believe she was all grown up already.

It felt like just yesterday when she would cling to me and insist on following me everywhere at eight years old. Or when she used to sneak out in the morning air to secretly watch me train when she was ten, thinking I wouldn’t notice. Or when she went through her emo phase at thirteen.

And now, suddenly, I blink once and she’s this mature, beautiful woman.

Ready to morph into her mature wolf… to meet her other half, her mate…

My face twisted into a nasty snarl, and a growl rumbled from the back of my throat at that last thought—something I hadn’t done of my own will.

Behave yourself, I growled in warning to my wolf through our mind link, knowing he was the reason for my involuntary reaction.

I had no idea why he was acting up, but I couldn’t have him losing control. Not today of all days.

The Coming of Age ceremony wasn’t just a celebration for her—it was also an opportunity for the most powerful dignitaries of the wolf society and beyond to meet and discuss matters after a very long time.

The last large union of its kind was four years ago.

But that had not ended on a good note.

Tensions had nearly erupted into war between the two major factions of the wolf society. It had taken the intervention of The Supreme Council to cool the flames. But even so, the tension had been brewing again as of late.

Tonight could either be the water that douses the flames or the wind that feeds them.

And I’d be damned if I let anything contrary to an ideal ceremony occur.

She deserved that—and so much more.

Yet, despite my focus on ensuring the night went perfectly, there was something else.

A nagging feeling had me anticipating tonight for a reason far beyond watching my little sister grow up. A feeling that made me… giddy. Nervous.

Two emotions that couldn’t have been more foreign to me.

It had me worried.

But I had already made plans with the pack healer, Mrs. Ronaldo. So I assumed I’d be fine. My wolf was probably just experiencing an early rut or something.

Nothing too serious… or so I believed.

Shaking off my thoughts, I walked toward my closet and exited a few minutes later with an outfit.

A long-sleeved navy shirt with neutral pants and a brown belt.

After putting the shirt on, I rolled the sleeves up to my elbows, leaving the top two buttons undone. I slipped into my brown shoes, ran a hand through my hair to style it slightly, and clasped my watch onto my wrist.

I was good to go.

I wasn’t far from the pack house, where the ceremony was being held, when my phone started ringing.

Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, I reached over and glanced at the caller ID.

Alpha Vidar.

“Alpha,” I answered as I picked up.

“Dad, Callum. Dad!” His booming voice came through, clearly frustrated with my choice of address.

I chuckled. He had always insisted I call him Dad, but Alpha stuck more.

“That’s not happening, Alpha,” I mused, adding extra emphasis just to mess with him.

“Sigh… Anyway!” His tone shifted. “Duchess Victoria of Winsborough Coven is about to enter the pack lands, and I don’t trust her with anyone but you. I don’t want that cunning woman unaccompanied on my lands.”

I barely suppressed a groan at that.

The mere thought of meeting that unpleasant woman left a bad taste in my mouth.

“I’ll text you further details on where to meet her,” he continued, his voice now apologetic, sensing my change in mood.

“Alright. She won’t dare try anything with me around,” I promised solemnly, swerving the car in the opposite direction from the pack house, heading toward the inner South Gate.

Then, his next words caught me off guard.

“…He wasn’t her mate.”

His voice was bitter. Disappointed.

He didn’t need to elaborate—I already knew what he was referring to.

A slow exhale left my lips, my chest heaving in light relief, a feeling of great delight coursing through me.

“He was never good enough for her,” I stated, my voice unconsciously smug.

My opposition to their match had always been apparent.

There was something off about him—something wrong somehow. And yet, it seemed I was the only one who could see it.

But now?

Now, he would have nothing to do with her.

Not on my watch, at least.

“Poor boy was devastated,” Vidar added.

He hadn’t mentioned Dove at all, which only confirmed what I suspected—she wasn’t affected nearly as much.

“And the search for his fated continues,” he finished with a light click of his tongue before hanging up with a quick goodbye.

I went quiet after that, lost in my own thoughts.

I thought of my own circumstances.

I hadn’t been as fortunate as my father—to have met my mate the very night I came of age, to have found her in someone I had already loved.

It had been seven years.

Seven years with no sign of her. No hint of my wolf reacting to anyone in any special way.

But it was fine.

I had a lifetime to search for her.

And I would search.

To the ends of the world, if that’s what it took.

Because somewhere out there, she existed—my other half. My fated.

And something told me… I was closer to her than I thought.

The resounding howl of my wolf echoed in my head in agreement.

Where are you, my darling?

Will I see you today? Tomorrow?

Or ten years from now?

No matter how long it takes… I will find you.

And when I do—forever, you will be mine.