My Alpha Stepbrother's Obsession

Morning came too fast.

I woke to sunlight on my face and Draven's arm caged around my waist.

For a second, I didn't move. His chest was warm against my back. His breath stirred my hair. The bond hummed low under my skin, quiet and dangerous.

Then I remembered where I was.

I shoved his arm off and scrambled to the edge of the bed.

Draven didn't wake. He just rolled onto his back, one arm thrown over his eyes. His shirt had ridden up during the night, showing a strip of skin above his waistband.

I looked away. My face burned.

"Morning," he said, voice rough with sleep. He didn't open his eyes.

"Don't touch me again."

He cracked one eye open. Grey and sharp. "Can't promise that."

Before I could answer, a knock hit the door.

"Alpha," Marcus's voice came through. "The doctor's here for her."

Draven sat up, dragging a hand through his hair. "Send her in."

The door opened and a woman stepped inside. Older, maybe fifty. Grey streaking her dark hair. She carried a leather bag and smelled like herbs and clean linen.

"Alpha," she said, bowing her head. Then she looked at me. "Lila."

I didn't answer.

"I'm Elara," she said. "Pack healer. Draven wants me to check you over. Make sure you're not hurt. Or sick."

"I'm fine."

Elara's eyes softened. "Wolves lie with their mouths, not their bodies. May I?"

I glanced at Draven. He was watching me, jaw tight. "Let her," he said.

I didn't have a choice.

Elara stepped closer. She didn't touch me at first. She just breathed in. Slow. Deliberate.

Her expression changed.

"You've been running," she said. "Not just from the pack. From food. From sleep."

I said nothing.

She moved in and pressed two fingers to my wrist. Not to take my pulse. To smell it.

My stomach dropped.

"Your heart's racing," she murmured. "And you reek of fear. And..." She paused. Her eyes flicked to Draven, then back to me. "Arousal."

Heat flooded my face.

"Elara," Draven warned.

She ignored him. "You should know, Lila, that wolves can smell lies. And we can smell desire. You can't hide either from us. Not from your Alpha."

My blood went cold.

All this time I thought I'd been hiding. Thinking I could lie, could keep my face blank, and no one would know. But they could smell it. Every second in Draven's room, every time the bond flared, every time my body betrayed me-he'd known.

Panic rose in my throat.

"I'm done," I said, pulling my wrist away.

Elara nodded and packed her bag. "You're healthy. Tired. Malnourished. You need to eat."

She left. The door clicked shut.

The room went silent.

Draven stood. He walked to the window, back to me. His shoulders were rigid.

"You should've told me," he said.

"Told you what?" My voice shook. "That you can smell when I want you? That you've been sitting there, knowing, while I-"

I cut myself off.

He turned. His grey eyes were dark. "You think that makes this easier for me?"

"I think you're a liar."

"No." He stepped closer. "I'm a wolf. And you're my mate. The bond doesn't care if you ran. It doesn't care if you hate me. It pulls."

"I don't-"

"Liar."

The word hit like a slap. My wolf flinched.

"I can smell it, Lila," he said, quieter now. "Right now. You're scared, and you're angry, and you want to hit me. And you want..." He stopped. His eyes dropped to my mouth.

I took a step back. My legs hit the bed.

"Don't," I whispered.

The door rattled.

I moved without thinking. To the window. It was high, but not impossible. If I could get it open-

I was halfway across the room when Draven caught me.

His arm locked around my waist, yanking me back. I hit his chest hard.

"Let go!" I thrashed. My nails raked his arm.

He didn't let go. He spun me, pinned me to the wall. His forearm pressed across my chest, holding me there.

"Run again," he said, breathing hard, "and I'll chain you to my bed."

I froze.

His face was inches from mine. His eyes weren't grey anymore. They'd gone black at the edges, wolf rising. The full moon was still two weeks away, but I could feel it in him. The control fraying.

"Lila," he said, and it sounded like a warning. And a plea.

My lips parted. I didn't know if I was going to beg or bite.

He leaned in.

For a second, I thought he'd kiss me. My heart slammed against my ribs. My wolf surged forward, desperate.

Then he jerked back like he'd been burned.

"Dammit," he muttered. He let go of me and stepped away, dragging both hands through his hair. "Get dressed. We're going for a run."

"A run?"

"Before the moon makes me do something stupid." He grabbed a shirt, yanked it on. "And Lila? Don't lie to me again. I'll know."

He left. The door locked behind him.

I slid down the wall to the floor and pressed my hands to my face.

He could smell it. Everything. The fear, the anger, the want I'd spent four years trying to kill.

And the worst part was, part of me wanted him to kiss me.

Part of me wanted to stop running.