Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

His hand fisted on the table, the old Alpha instincts rising in a man far too broken to bear them now.

I turned to him, tilting my head slightly and studying him like a new species of worm. "And what makes you think you have the power to tell me that, Dad?" My voice stayed even and patient, like a teacher correcting a very stupid child.

Jorja inhaled sharply, fighting for control.noveldrama

"On the day of the transition," she began in a tight voice, "Jareel's daughter was mated to her step-cousin. And we the entire Council - made sure they rejected each other."

Her hands were trembling now as she gripped her wine glass. "Imagine what the pack will say when they learn that the same thing we condemned is happening in our own home."

I chuckled, "I never asked anyone to do my Alpha duties for me, Mother," I said, spearing another piece of meat with my fork. "That was your decision. Your guilt. Your belief. Your morals. Your need to appear righteous before sheep who'd stone you the moment you showed a crack. If you had consulted me before playing god with other people's lives, you wouldn't have this headache now." I explained casually, placing my hand on Kasmine's and intertwining our fingers where everyone could see.

Jorja's voice broke. "How could you say that?" she gasped, her rage finally spilling over. She slammed her palm onto the table, the plates and cutlery clattering. "This is absurd! It's an abomination! Incest! You are family!"

Jorja," I called her by her name, “Kasmine and I aren't blood-related. The Moon Goddess isn't foolish, and she doesn't make mistakes. But you? You mistake everything you don't understand for evil. That's your sickness, not mine."

"Kester. The pack forbids such a union. It is... against everything we stand for," My Beta spoke for the first time. I know his moral mind had dissected the situation properly, and he'd also marked it as a sin.

I turned to him slowly, letting my smile curdle into something meaner.

"And who exactly decided that, Lance? My pack now writes laws without my knowledge? Without my consent?"

He looked away, shame coloring his cheeks.

Good.

Kasmine heaved a heavy sigh, which seemed to have made Jorja suddenly aware that the subject of our conflict was sitting right

next to me.

"Kasmine! Don't tell me you want this. Don't tell me..."

"Jorja. Please don't put words in her mouth. She wants this. And that's why we are here together," I squeezed Kasmine's hand slightly harder, enough that I felt her bones shift under my grip. "isn't that right, baby?" I asked, turning my eyes to her with an intimacy so chilling that it froze the room.

Kasmine's throat worked in a small, silent gulp. She looked at them before dropping her gaze quickly like a guilty child caught lying.

She said nothing.

I knew this was her chance to yell and tell everyone that she wasn't cut out for this. But I made sure she didn't dare it.

I mind-linked her, "Come on, baby. You wouldn't want to find out what I'd do if you

said something other than what you are expected to say."

I felt her flinch.

Uh... Yes. That's right," She was almost inaudible.

"Then I'd rather die than watch this happen," Jorja said harshly, and only made me chuckle.

"Then you'd be greatly missed, Mum," I said and stood up.

I turned to Kasmine, sliding her chair back for her like a gentleman ading his bride

to her wedding pyre.

"Let's go home, baby,"