ALPHA BIKER WHO CLAIMED HIS BROTHER'S MATE

15

MAYA:

Sitting in the small, cramped cabin with my parents and Rafe, the air felt insufficient to go around, making me feel like I was choking. Rafe sat across from them, his cold eyes bored into theirs. My parents looked at me like I was a problem they had failed to solve. Of course, I was a disgrace. I could never amount to anything in their books.

“Why is no one talking about your daughter? I asked a question, and I need my answers.”

My heart hammered against my ribs, because the fact that they were stalling meant that something was actually wrong.

Suddenly, my mother cleared her throat.

“Alpha Rafe, we have no clue what you speak about,” my mother said in a flat tone. She smoothed her skirt, refusing to meet my eyes. “Our daughter is an Omega, and that is all we know.”

She paused, a cruel glint in her eyes. I could tell she was about to twist the situation.

“Except… if she was switched at birth,” she added without remorse. “Mistakes happen in the clinic. Perhaps she isn’t even ours. That would explain why she’s so… different.”

The words knocked the air out of my lungs, and my eyes widened as I stared at her. Switched at birth? She was willing to disown me—to cast doubt on my very existence—just to satisfy an Alpha’s curiosity and get him off her back. She was throwing me under the bus, just like she always did, to save herself.

I felt a hot sting in my eyes, but I refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of them.

Rafe leaned forward, speaking with a growl.

“Do not lie to me. If I find out you’re playing games with me, I’ll ensure you never see the four walls of this pack again.”

By now, I had lost the ability to breathe. The walls were caving in.

“I… I need water,” I choked out, standing up abruptly.

I didn’t wait for permission from Rafe before I bolted out of the cabin.

I made my way to the ship’s kitchen on weakened legs. It was empty and dim, smelling of stale grease and industrial cleaner. I opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and pressed the cold plastic against my forehead, trying to steady my pulse.

Then the refrigerator door closed, echoing in the silence of the kitchen.

I turned around, and my heart skipped a beat.

Jalen was standing there. He had his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the prep table with a smug grin that made my skin crawl.

“Are you done playing house with my brother yet, Maya?” he asked in a condescending tone. “You’ve finally gotten my attention. I have to admit, seeing you with him… it does things to me. Things that I hate—love.”

“Get out of my way, Jalen,” I said in a shaky voice.

“I’m willing to take you back,” he continued, ignoring me as he stepped closer. “We can forget all of this. You can just denounce Rafe, tell the Council he forced you, and you can come back to my bed. Where you belong. It has missed your warmth and—”

He leaned into my ear.

“Your tiny little pussy.”

The words were degrading, and I looked at him, wondering what I ever saw in him in the first place.

“Now why would I ever do that?”

He cornered me against the cold tiled wall, trapping me between his arms. I clutched the bottle of water tightly in case I needed to defend myself.

“Because I love you. And I know you still feel the same for me. You’re just hurt.”

I gritted my teeth, glaring at the bastard—the same one who cheated on me with my best friend, humiliated me in front of the entire pack, and watched as I was almost banished. And now he thought he could whistle and I’d come running?

I decided right then that I wanted to destroy his ego and watch him bleed.

“You should think again, Jalen,” I said, leaning in until my lips were inches from his ear. “Because after the way Rafe f****d me last night… I honestly couldn’t even remember that someone as small and insignificant as you even existed.”

In a matter of seconds, Jalen’s face contorted into something monstrous. His eyes flashed a bright, violent yellow, and before I could blink, his hand was around my throat, pinning me to the wall.

“You w***e,” he hissed, his other hand reaching down, grabbing roughly at my thigh, bunching up my dress. I was shaking, my lungs gasping for air. “You sold out what belongs to me? Did he touch you like this? Did he?”

I didn’t answer, because I truly couldn’t understand why he was angry. He was ready to have me banished, and this was where he drew the line? Rafe having me?

With every ounce of strength I had left, I drove my knee upward, catching him squarely in the crotch.

Jalen let out a choked wheeze, his grip on my throat breaking as he collapsed to the floor, clutching himself in agony. I didn’t stay to watch. I tossed the bottle of water at him, hoping it would add to the damage. Then I ran out of the kitchen, my sandals slapping against the metal floor of the hallway.

“Maya!” I heard him roar from behind me.

I could tell he was coming.

The moment I got outside, I nearly collided with a wall of solid muscle. Strong arms wrapped around me, steadying me instantly. I looked up and saw Rafe. His golden eyes went from confused to murderous the second he saw the red marks on my neck.

Jalen skidded out a second later, his face red with rage, his wolf peeking through his skin. He stopped dead when he saw who was holding me.

Rafe didn’t let go of me. He tucked me firmly behind his back, stepping into the center of the hallway.

“Are you looking for my girl, Jalen?” Rafe asked.

The ship seemed to tremble with the depth of his voice. He didn’t even raise his fists; he just stood there, and the power radiating off him made Jalen take a step back.