Once Rejected: A Slave To My Alpha Stepbrothers

Rio. She's back. My little moon. The rush of excitement that whooshed through me when I heard the news was unlike anything I'd felt before. Six years without seeing Veil, my little stepsister who turned my world around, was torture. She doesn't know it. No one does, but Veil is my obsession. The only woman who brings forbidden thoughts to my mind. From the very moment I set my eyes on her in Halesbridge Academy, all petite with wavy chestnut hair and blue eyes that made my blood stir, I just knew she was mine. I claimed her long before she ever knew it. She lived in my dreams and fantasies, warping everything I once understood about love. She's all I dreamt of having. All I dreamt of keeping. Back then in Halesbridge, I dropped subtle hints for her, clipped roses on her seat every morning and in her locker, I sent her love letters, I called her phone every morning with my burner phone without saying a word just to hear the soft sound of her breath. She was my future. Everyone in Halesbridge admired her; after all, her mother was a known commander in the Alpha King's army. She came from wealth, the spoiled daughter of Lady Nightsaw. Boys wanted to be in her class, to draw her attention, including Quin. He might've thought no one knew of his attraction to Veil back then, but I did. He bullied her in the worst ways possible because, as of then, his mother was already married to Alpha Moon, which made Quin the pack's heir. I, on the other hand, watched her from the sidelines. I stalked her to the extent that I know her morning routine, but Veil never knew. She was oblivious. She'd thought the flowers and letters were from that stupid boy she called mate. Ryder. I let her believe it. Bask in it. I had hopes that one day I would make it known to her. Well, the hopes crashed the day Alpha Moon announced that he's marrying a new wife, a new Luna. That new Luna turned out to be Lady Nightsaw, the mother of my little moon. Hence, Veil became my stepsister, the forbidden fruit. One would think that'd dim my desires for her, unfortunately, it only flared it. I had her closer then, watched her discreetly even when she's asleep. I yearned for her. Quin's bullying didn't end; it worsened. He made her life hell, but I knew it was his way of showing his obsession with her. Hunter, on the other hand, was like me...distant. Totally. I'm certain he isn't among those pining for Veil's attention. I planned to confess my truest desire for her when she turned twenty. I already prepared the surprise until I heard her telling our late stepfather her willingness to seal her mate bond with Ryder, that useless boy from the Ghostriver pack. I was thrilled when Alpha Moon and her mother, Lady Nightsaw, disapproved of it. There was no way a Moonbloom would mate with a Ghostriver. I thought she'd end it. Well, publicly she did. But we didn't know Veil had other plans. She eloped the night of Quinn's coronation as the pack's alpha. That was the same night everything changed. Our rank in the werewolf league dropped. Our companies crumbled. People barely shifted. Our lands became barren. Those who could shift did so with difficulty, and our healing abilities were lost, including Keon's, my son. Worst of all, Quin has been stuck in his lycan form. The pack tagged her a fugitive, believing she ran with the moonstone. I was forced to believe it too, given the circumstances. And I began to hunt her, my little moon. But for six years, I never found her until today. I drop everything I'm doing and run to the town hall, and there she is, looking...broken, gaunt. But she's still the prettiest woman on earth. My heart somersaults when her feminine scent hits my nose, her light blue eyes holding me captive. The elders want to kill her, but far be it from me to sit and let that happen; hence, my intervention. She's to become Quin's slave. I know that's a cruel torture on its own because she hates Quin and, at the moment, he's feral, but I won't let him kill her. I won't let him take her from me. Now that she's here, I'll never let her leave my sight again. She's mine to claim, my stepsister. My status doesn't matter, nor does my position in the pack. "The pack members are angry, alpha." Pudim, our beta, says as he trails into my office after me, looking exhausted like I am. I pull at my tie, cracking my neck. "I expected that. Some pills are bitter to swallow, and this is one of them. If we kill Veil, we won't be able to retrieve the moonstone." I remove the tie and throw it across to him. Pudim catches it like an expert, scoffing. "I never expected she's going to show her face here again." He sits across from me, eyes fixated on the picture frame of his sister and me during our wedding, propped up on my desk. "Well, our prayers have been answered, haven't they?" I arch a brow. "Now, we have to work towards bringing up our pack rank in the werewolf league again." "You're right, alpha." He looks at his watch and sighs. "I need to go and check on the patrol team..." "Actually, Pudim, there's something else I want you to do for me," I say curtly, wringing the writing pen between my fingers. I'm disturbed about Veil's appearance. She looked skinny, with dark circles under her eyes, her hair matted. She looked like a shadow of herself, and I want to know what happened to her. Wasn't she with Ryder all these years? "Alpha?" I snap from my thoughts, instructing. "Find out all you can about Veil. I mean everything about her over the past six years." "Hmm, curious much?" Pudim teases, but I glare at him. He throws his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright. Don't murder me with that glare." He backs away from the desk to the door. Eyes still pinned on me like he knows what I'm thinking, he reaches a hand behind him to the doorknob and swings it open. I exhale the instant his shadows disappear, and just as quickly, thoughts about Veil race through my mind. There's the excitement in my veins, but also the desire to save her tonight from Quin's deadly claws. The moment the full moon appears, I sneak away from the pack house, heading to the cellar. I don't know the last time I came here to see Quin. Even from the woods, I can already smell his rut. It stirs my lycan, making him growl. He feels challenged by Quin's rut because he's also an alpha. Alphas hate challenges. I taper him down and block him out completely from surfacing again. Then I descend the stairs to the cellar to save my girl from Quin's wrath. I step around the corners, my body charged as I face Quin's cell. But I freeze instantly the moment my eyes fall on them, alarm bells ringing in my mind. My mouth drops open in shock. This can't be happening! He can't...! "No!!" I growl underneath my breath at what's unfolding in front of me. Quin... No! Tbc.