Mated To My Supposed Brother

A Sin

The dawn light was a pale, unforgiving gray as it filtered through the living room windows, exposing the reality of what they had done.

Aria woke to the rhythmic thrum of Liam’s heart against her ear, a sound that had been her comfort since she was a child, but now it felt like a ticking clock counting down to their ruin.

For a moment, she let herself stay there, wrapped in the heavy warmth of his arms, breathing in the scent of pine and musk that had become her entire world over the last few hours.

Then, the weight of the word sister crashed into her mind, and the warmth turned to ice.

She sat up so abruptly that the blanket fell to her waist, leaving her skin exposed to the biting morning air.

Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird as she stared at the familiar furniture of their home.

Everything looked the same, yet everything was different. The photos of their parents on the mantle seemed to be watching her with silent, judging eyes.

She felt a wave of nausea roll through her stomach, a physical manifestation of the guilt that was already starting to rot her peace.

Liam stirred beside her, his dark lashes fluttering against his cheeks before he opened his sapphire eyes.

He didn't look startled or confused. He looked at her with a calm, deep intensity that suggested he had been waiting for this moment his entire life.

He reached out to brush a stray lock of blonde hair from her face, but Aria flinched away, scrambling off the couch as if the cushions were made of hot coals.

"Do not," she whispered, her voice cracking under the weight of her panic.

"Do not touch me, Liam."

He sat up slowly, the muscles in his back rippling with a grace that was entirely too lethal for a quiet morning in a cottage.

He didn't look hurt by her rejection. He looked like a man who was prepared for a storm he had already seen coming.

"It is too late for that, Aria," he said, his voice a low, steady vibration that filled the small room.

"The bond is open. You can feel me just as clearly as I can feel you. You can’t hide from the moon goddess."

"The moon goddess made a mistake!" Aria hissed, her eyes stinging with tears she refused to let fall. She began a frantic search for her clothes, her hands trembling so hard she could barely grip the fabric of her dress.

"We are siblings. We have been raised as family since we were children. Do you have any idea what the Alpha will do if he finds out? They will kill us, Liam.

Or they will cast us out to die as rogues. Is that what you want for us?"

Liam stood up, tall and unbothered by his nakedness. He walked toward her, and even though every instinct told her to run, her feet felt rooted to the floor.

He stopped just inches away, his heat radiating off him, and for a second, the primal pull of the mate bond almost made her lean into him. He didn't grab her.

He just stood there, a dark and powerful anchor in the middle of her chaos.

"I have spent ten years being the brother you needed," he said softly, his blue eyes searching hers. "I have stayed quiet while you talked about finding a mate.

I have watched every man in this pack look at you, and I have kept my claws inside because I thought I was protecting you.

But last night changed the rules. I am not your brother, Aria. I am your mate. I would rather be a rogue with you than a warrior without you."

"Well, I wouldn't!" Aria shouted, finally finding her voice. She pulled her dress over her head and turned her back on him, fumbling with the zipper. "I want a normal life.

I want to walk through the village without people whispering that I am a curse. I want to stay in this house without feeling like I have betrayed our parents.

This was a mistake. A moment of madness brought on by the Blood Moon. It’s over."

Liam’s hand found the zipper of her dress, and before she could protest, he pulled it up with a slow, deliberate motion.

His fingers grazed the skin of her back, sending a jolt of electricity through her spine that made her knees buckle.

He leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear as he spoke in a jagged whisper.

"You can tell yourself whatever lies you need to survive the day, little wolf," he rasped.

"But you can't lie to your own blood. You are marked by me now.

Your scent has changed. The pack will know something is different, even if they don't know what."

Aria pulled away from him, her face flushed with a mixture of anger and desire.

"Then I will hide it. I will bathe until my skin is raw, and I will stay away from you until the bond settles.

We are going to act like last night never happened. You are my brother, and I am your sister. That is the only truth that matters."

She didn't wait for him to respond. She grabbed her shoes and bolted out of the house, the cool morning air hitting her like a physical blow.

She ran toward the village center, her lungs burning, trying to outrun the memory of his hands on her skin.

She needed to be surrounded by people.

She needed the noise of the pack to drown out the silent scream of her wolf, which was currently howling for its mate to come back.