Mated To My Alpha Stepbrother.

Chapter 13.

ELAINE

The Council Hall was a massive stone building at the end of the road, with tall wooden doors that looked like they had been guarding secrets for centuries.

“Try not to look so scared,” Jeremy said as he parked the old mustang.

“I'm not scared,” I replied, unbuckling my seat belt.

“Your heartbeat says otherwise, Kitten.”

I froze. Right. Werewolf hearing. Goddess, I had to be careful around him.

“Stop calling me that,” I muttered, stepping out of the car.

“Make me.” He smirked and walked ahead, leaving me to stare at the back of his leather jacket. Why was he always so infuriatingly confident?

Inside, the hall was cold and quiet. Portraits of past Alphas hung along the walls, their stern eyes following us as we walked down the corridor. Our footsteps echoed, and every time my arm brushed against Jeremy's, a tingle shot through my skin.

I moved away and he noticed. Of course he did.

“Something wrong?” he asked, his voice dropping low.

“No.”

“You're walking like I might bite.”

“Don't tempt me,” I shot back before I could stop myself.

His eyebrows lifted, and a slow grin spread across his lips. “Careful, Elaine. You said that last time too.”

My face burned. Last time. The hotel room, the flickering neon sign, his lips on my neck. I clenched my fists and looked straight ahead.

“Not the place,” I hissed.

“I didn't say anything,” he said innocently, but the amusement in his eyes was so loud I wanted to punch him again.

We stopped before a pair of double doors. Jeremy straightened, rolled his shoulders back, and just like that, the teasing boy vanished. In his place stood the future Alpha, cold and commanding. I watched, a little stunned, as he pushed the doors open.

Five Elders sat behind a long oak table. Their gazes landed on me at once, and I felt like a mouse dropped in front of hungry hawks.

“Alpha Jeremy,” the eldest, a gray-haired man with a scar across his cheek, said with a nod. “Welcome back.”

“Elders,” Jeremy replied. “This is Elaine, my stepsister and Luna Meredith's daughter.”

Stepsister. He said it so smoothly, as though he hadn't had his hands all over me a few weeks ago. I forced a polite smile.

“It's an honor to meet you,” I said.

“The honor is ours, child,” the scarred Elder replied. “I am Elder Bram. This is Elder Corvin, Elder Thessaly...” He introduced the rest, and then paused at a broad-shouldered man with red hair streaked with gray. “And this is Elder Roland. Iria's father.”

Oh no.

Roland studied me for a long moment, his hazel eyes sharp. “So you're the girl who raised a ruckus at the party,” he said.

“I didn't...” I began, but Jeremy cut in.

“She didn't start anything. Ben did.” His voice was firm, and the room went still. “And I'd prefer if we didn't discuss it in front of my guest.”

Roland's jaw tightened but he nodded. I glanced at Jeremy, surprised. He hadn't even looked at me. He was staring straight at the Elders, his back straight, his tone sharp as a blade. A strange warmth bloomed in my chest.

Stop it, Elaine. He has a girlfriend.

“Sit, child,” Elder Bram said, gesturing to a chair. I sat. Jeremy remained standing behind me. I could feel the heat of his body against my back, close enough that I could smell his cologne. Something woodsy and expensive.

Not cheap, like that night.

I swallowed and stared at my knees.

“Tell us about Green Valley,” Elder Corvin said. His voice was soft, but his eyes weren't. “It has been a long time since I heard that name.”

My fingers curled around the edge of the chair. “It's a small pack, sir. Not much to tell.”

“And why did you and Meredith leave?”

My heart skipped. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Memories flashed through my mind. The shouting, the blood on the floor, my mother's hand dragging me through the trees in the dark.

A warm hand landed on my shoulder.

It was just a second, a brief squeeze, but it grounded me. I looked up and found Jeremy's blue eyes on mine, steady and unreadable.

“She doesn't have to answer that today,” he said calmly. “Elaine just arrived. If the Elders have questions about her past, they can ask Dad when he returns.”

Silence stretched across the hall. Then Elder Bram nodded slowly. “Very well. We're not here to interrogate.”

I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

“Thank you,” I whispered, so low that only he could hear.

His thumb moved once against my shoulder before he let go. My skin burned where his hand had been.

Moments later, we were dismissed. Jeremy led me down the corridor, his strides long and quick. I almost had to jog to keep up.

“Slow down!” I snapped.

He stopped so suddenly that I bumped right into his chest. A gasp escaped my lips. His hands shot out to steady me, one on my waist, the other at my elbow.

“Careful,” he murmured.

Neither of us moved.

The corridor was empty. Dust floated in the sunlight from the tall windows, and all I could hear was my own breathing. His eyes dropped to my lips, just for a heartbeat. My stomach flipped. I remembered the way he'd looked at me in the club, like I was the only person in the room.

“You didn't have to do that,” I said, my voice weaker than I wanted. “Back there.”

“I know.”

“Why did you?”

His grip on my waist tightened slightly. “Because I didn't like the way they were looking at you.”

“You're not supposed to care,” I whispered. “You said you wanted that night to stay between us.”

“I did.” His voice dropped even lower. “Doesn't mean I forgot it.”

My breath hitched. Heat crawled up my neck. I could feel every place his fingers touched me, the same way I had felt his hands that night, steady and certain.

“Jeremy...”

“Yes, Kitten?”

“Let go.”

“Make me,” he said again, but softer this time, almost a dare.

I should have pushed him away. I should have stomped off and slammed a door. Instead, I stood there like a fool, my heart pounding, my eyes locked on his.

Then, like a switch, he released me and stepped back, running a hand through his hair. “Come on. There's something else I want to show you.”

I blinked, dizzy, and watched him walk off as if nothing had happened.

Ass. Complete and total ass.

I took a moment to steady myself before following. Behind me, the heavy doors creaked. I glanced back and saw Elder Bram standing in the doorway, his scarred face pale, his eyes fixed on me.

“Elaine Russell,” he said slowly, like he was tasting the na

me. “Tell me, child... was your father Daniel Russell?”

My blood ran cold.

I had never said my father's name in this pack. Not once.