Caught Between My Beta Stebrother And The Alpha Heir

Anna’s POV Eighteenth birthdays are supposed to feel special right? But today, mine wasn’t even though my wolf came right in time. As usual, “You can’t go out. I’m trying to protect you from boys,” my step brother, Collins would always say. Nothing fun was happening to me today except the birthday wishes from our parents and the surprise gifts and wishes. A leather journal from Mom with my name pressed into the cover, a silver bracelet from my stepfather, a birthday celebration. And a birthday written note from my friend, Bella and her thoughtful gifts. Is this what turning eighteen feels like? I always wanted it to feel different. I thought this day would come with some butterflies in my belly feeling, some new sense of freedom or belonging. Instead it felt quiet and ordinary. Perhaps I had misunderstood it. Now I was on this couch again, spending the night. The cushions had molded to the shape of my body from too many nights like this one. I pulled the thin blanket higher, trying to block off the moaning sound coming from the room. The moaning started sometime after midnight. Soft at first, then louder, rolling through the wall that separated the sitting room from the bedroom. I closed my eyes and counted the seconds between each sound. My shoulders stayed tight and restless. It was my stepbrother, Collins. Earlier that evening he had asked me to leave the room and sleep in the sitting room. He simply told me the bedroom would be occupied tonight, again and that I should take the couch. It had been his usual attitude for as long as I could remember, always bringing different girls home and making me sleep on the couch in the sitting room. He was my stepbrother. I came into the family when I was ten. That was the year my mother married his father, the beta of the Stormcrest Pack. I still remembered the first day I walked into their house, small suitcase in my hand, trying not to look at the tall boy who stood in the hallway watching me. Collins... He was already sixteen then. His father is the beta of the Stormcrest pack, a man whose word held weight in every meeting and every training session. Collins and I grew up together after that. We hit it off more easily than either of us expected. He showed me the safe paths through the woods behind the pack house. He taught me how to keep my balance during the early shifting drills even though I was still years away from my first full change. When other kids got too rough during play fights, he stepped in without being asked and played the role of a protective elder brother. A month ago I enrolled in the werewolf academy. He was already a senior, into the advanced combat and leadership courses. I was a first-year, still learning the layout of the dormitories. We shared the same private hostel, a small two-room unit paid for by my stepfather so we would not have to live in the crowded halls with the rest of the first-years and second-years student. “He will look after you,” Mom had said. “I’ve paid for a comfortable private hostel for you both. He is your senior brother now. So you both should always stay close and look after each other.” Those were my stepfather’s exact words, beta of the Stormcrest Pack. He said them while resting one hand on Collins’s shoulder in assurance that he was fit to look after me. I agreed because they were right. I needed his protection. The academy was full of ranking games, shifting hormones, and bullies who may want to intimidate me. Some of them looked at first-years the way predators looked at easy prey. To make that protection possible, I needed to stay close to Collins. He had been nice to me since the day I was introduced to him as his stepsister. Now, I’m eighteen and he was twenty-six. Since he was my senior in college, he was my perfect older brother in almost every way that counted. He never allowed any boy to talk to me for long. If a male student lingered near my table in the dining hall or tried to walk with me after class, Collins appeared until the boy leaves. He simply stood close enough that the other wolf understood the boundary. His reason was always the same. He said I was still young to be around boys, which was valid, and that the college boys were all bad and they would break my heart. He did not want me to get hurt. But despite being a good elder brother, he was also a bad and useless one. Always carrying different girls. Different scents on his clothes. Different moaning voices coming behind the closed bedroom door. And whenever I saw him with women, I felt hurt. It shouldn’t have been my concern. He was twenty-six and was allowed to live his life. But that was how I felt, especially when he had to make me leave the room we shared just because he was bringing another girl and I had to be disturbed by her moans. I hate to see him with girls and the way he made them moan so loud makes me crave his want which was forbidden. He is my brother! Just then, the sound of footsteps snapped me out of my thoughts. I sat up on the couch, the blanket sliding down to my waist, and turned to see them coming. Collins appeared first, his hair a little messy, wearing a loose dark shirt that hung open at the collar. Behind him walked a girl I had never seen before. Long dark hair that still looked slightly tangled with a confident smile. She moved close to his side and held him romantically by hand. They stopped a few feet away from the couch and he rested a light hand on her shoulder. “Anna, this is Maya. She’s my new girlfriend.” My mouth opened, but the words came out wrong. His… girlfriend? He nodded once. The hand on her shoulder stayed there. “Yeah. She’ll be coming over often. You should get used to her. She’s nice.” I tried to process his words while the last echoes of her earlier moans still seemed to hang in the air between us. His girlfriend? That means I’ll get to hear these moans often and I’ll get to be sleeping on the couch. The thought settled heavy in my chest but I kept my face still. That’s when the so-called girlfriend broke the silence. “Hi, Anna. Your brother has told me so much about you.” She said it smiling, her voice light and friendly. I said nothing. I stood up, wrapped the blanket tighter around my shoulders, and walked past them toward the small kitchen. Behind me I heard her speak again, quieter this time. “Your sister doesn’t like me. Did I do anything wrong?” The next morning I was already in the study corner of the hostel, textbooks open but unread, when my brother came to meet me as I kept my eyes on the page even though the words blurred. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor for a second before speaking. “I’m sorry,” he started. His voice was lower than usual. “I know I messed up with your sleep again. Her moan was so loud that I didn’t know how to tell her to bring it low.” I said nothing. My fingers stayed still on the edge of the textbook. He stepped closer but I still said nothing, processing his words. So he meant it? He was gonna be in a relationship? For some strange reason, I felt jealous. The feeling rose sudden and unwanted. He was a good brother, a good son, a good friend, and he would make a good boyfriend too. So she’s gonna get all of him? The thought sat heavy in my chest while I stared at the open page. Just then, his next words rendered me speechless. “I’m taking her to see our parents today. I know Mom and Dad would like her and I want to officially introduce her to them. I want you to come along.” I looked up at him for the first time that morning. “Huh? You are joking right?” I snapped at him. He shook his head. “No. I’m not.” “You met a random girl and all of a sudden, after f*****g her, she becomes your girlfriend and now you want to make her your girlfriend and show her to Mom and Dad? Well, I’m not going with you. I’ll be busy.” I said it and closed the textbook. He tried to plead, but before those words could leave his mouth, I was already walking away. I left.