My Stepbrother’s My Mate

Chapter 5

SAGE

It took a little time to finish Thomas's homework, but we finished it.

Afterward, we talked about him and what he likes to do here.

I forgot all about unpacking; I'll wait till tomorrow.

Nyx looked through my eyes as Thomas talked.

"Does he ever stop talking?" she mumbled, which made me laugh. "He's excited and a kid; you know what they are like. I work with some of them, and some talk faster than he does," I said, making her groan. "Don't remind me," she grunted as she plopped back down in my head.

I looked back to find Thomas staring at me and smiling.

"You were talking to your wolf," he asked. "What's her name?"

I nodded.

"Nyx," I said.

He smiled.

"What color wolf is she?" he asked.

I stared at him.

Only four people knew that, and I wasn't too comfortable telling Thomas, let alone anyone else.

"You know some people may not like you asking that question," I said, leaning back in my chair.

Thomas frowned.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if you were trying to catch them," I said, remembering what I told the kids when they asked me the same question. "When I train the younger ones in human form. Young wolves don't have their own wolves until they are teenagers, and some may need to learn to fight to protect themselves."

Thomas stared at me; his eyes widened as he took in what I said.

"You train younger wolves," he asked, which made me nod. "How old?"

I stared at him.

I have many his age in my group. Some lost their parents in attacks or were abandoned as infants, but I train all of them. Every child needs to learn some basics, and they never know when they need them.

"I have trained kids from six onwards," I said as Thomas's eyes widened.

"Younger than me," he whispered.

I nodded.

"Yeah," I said, looking at him. "Some kids in my Uncle's pack lost their families to attacks or were abandoned as babies. I train them the basics, so if they are in a situation where a rogue is around, and there is nowhere to go, or they are trying to find a safe place to hide, they can use what I taught them to get them out of whatever situation they are in."

Thomas nodded but went quiet for a moment.

I watched as the clogs in his little brain turned, but his eyes met mine.

"I wish I could train," he said, "I hate not being able to help when we get attacked."

"You're the young Alpha," I said, "You will when you are older. It would be up to your Dad to train you, not someone like me."

Thomas frowned.

"Dad won't train me," he said, "He has Austin. He would never let me. I'm the baby of the family."

I stared at him as his eyes went to the window. Something about him made me wonder that he wanted to be more like his brother, but Alpha Bradley was holding him back, but for what? To protect him?

Every child needs to learn to fight.

"You know I have no plans while I'm here," I said. "I could show you some moves that will help you; you need them."

Thomas turned and looked at me with a smile.

"You would do that," he asked, his eyes rounded, trying to wrap his little head around what I was offering.

I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "We can do it secretly when no one is around."

Thomas grinned.

"Yeah, that would be great," he said, "Mum hates that I want to try stuff."

I stared at him, still slightly hurt that someone else called my mother Mum.

Thomas looked at me, his eyes softening.

"Is it weird that I call her Mum?" he said, his eyes boring into mine.

I stared at him but felt movement in my head as Nyx came closer. I knew she wouldn't say anything, but she knew how much it pained me to hear those words coming from his mouth earlier. But what do I say to him? Do I lie?

I cleared my throat.

"A bit," I said. "I haven't seen her in so long; even when I say it, it sounds weird." This was true—saying Mum after so long made it sound like a foreign word.

I didn't know if it meant something to her anymore, especially coming from me.

Thomas stared at me.

"When did you see her last?" he asked.

"Damn nosy young wolf," Nyx muttered, but I ignored her.

My eyes stayed on Thomas.

"Well, two weeks ago," I said, c*****g my head to the side, "But before that, it was years ago."

Thomas stared at me; his eyes bore back into mine.

I wanted to know what was going on in his little head.

I watched him for a few moments; he went to open his mouth but quickly closed it when a mind link came through.

I waited for a moment, and his eyes came back to me.

"Dad just mind-linked me," he said, slowly moving from the chair. "We have to get ready for food."

I nodded and stood up.

Thomas walked over to the door but stopped and looked over his shoulder at me.

"Food is in a few minutes," he said with a small smile. "I will knock for you, and we can go up together. I need to change into something cleaner before we go up."

I smiled.

"See you in a little bit," he said as he turned around and opened the door.

Thomas closed the door behind him, but I stood rooted to the spot.

Having food with my mother was something, but with her mate and sons, that would be awkward.

I hear a ping on my phone, pulling me from my thoughts.

I walked over to the side where I had placed earlier when Thomas was doing his homework.

I picked up the phone and smiled as I stared at the notifications.

Three messages.

One was from Wes, another from Carmen, and the last from my Uncle.

I quickly read through each one and sent a quick reply back to them.

They all wanted to know if I had arrived safely and what had happened with my mum.

I sent the same message back to them, telling them I had arrived safely and that I would have food with my mum, Alpha Bradley, and his sons.

I placed my phone down as I knew they would text back immediately, but I needed to get ready for the meal with them.

I couldn't answer them as I still didn't know what to make of the whole thing, and this meal was something else. It was putting my head into a knot.

I could even feel Nyx getting anxious about it.

I shook my thoughts away and sighed.

I needed to get ready.

I quickly walked over to the bathroom and headed inside. I quickly stripped out of my clothes and placed the shower on, and showered. It was the quickest shower I have ever had.

I knew I had to freshen up, but part of me wanted to hide under the bed's covers and stay there. I didn't fancy being the topic of conversation or getting to know everyone.

I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me.

I returned to the bedroom and grabbed one of the suitcases to find something to wear.

I unzipped the suitcase, picked something to wear, and opted for jeans and a T-shirt with flat shoes.

There was no reason to dress up; it wasn't that kind of event.

I quickly got dressed and pulled my hair into a ponytail.

I heard a knock at the door, and the door opened.

I looked over to find Thomas in a fresh T-shirt and jeans. He smiled.

"You ready," he asked.

I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," I said.

Thomas nodded.

"It will be you, me, Mum, and Dad," he said. "Austin has patrol duty this evening, and I know he won't miss it, but I have a funny feeling my father will be pissed either way. He told him that he needed to be at the meal."

I stared at him.

Great, I was with the four, and clearly, the older brother hates me.

"I don't think so," mumbled Nyx in my head, "He is the soon-to-be Alpha; he has duties to hold."

I stared back at her, but she sighed.

"We will be in the room with our mum," she muttered, "Do you want to be staring at that gorgeous face through the meal while I try not to kill our mum?"

I frowned, which only made Nyx laugh.

I ignored her and looked back at Thomas, who was still standing and staring at me.

"Come on," he said, "I'm starving."

I nodded, but my appetite was gone. I don't know if I can eat anything. Knowing I was spending time with my mother made my stomach drop.

I had a funny feeling about this meal, something was bound to happen, and it might be all to do with me.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

I walked toward Thomas, who was now out of my room and waiting outside.

Here goes nothing - Was all on my mind as I walked out and closed my door behind me.

"I'm here," whispered Nyx, "I will take over if she starts."

I didn't say anything, but knowing my wolf had my back was something to have.