Twice Mated, Twice Marked: BOUND TO MY STEPBROTHER

Arlenna's POV I stood right at Orion's door, clutching his dry-cleaned clothes like they were my last defense. My hand had already knocked once, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it again. Maybe I didn’t want him to open the door. Maybe I wanted an excuse to turn around and walk straight back to the pantry, toss the clothes on the shelf, and pretend this errand never existed. Maybe if I returned now, Mother wouldn’t notice I hadn’t given them to him personally. She always insisted we handed clothes directly. “It’s how a home breathes through little acts of service,” she’d say. But I stood there. Frozen at his door after a knock with my heart beating fast. Since that day, the day I saw what I wasn’t supposed to, I’d done everything possible to avoid him. I couldn’t sleep. Could barely think straight. My thoughts were not my own anymore, they were all filled with him, with that one sight of him. Lord, he was huge! The kind of huge that could haunt a girl’s dreams or her nightmares. My mind wouldn’t stop turning it over and over again. Could something that big actually injure a girl? I hated myself for thinking it, but the thought wouldn’t leave me We hadn’t seen each other since. Not face to face. I stood there for over four minutes. Nothing. I took a deep breath and finally turned to leave, relieved and disappointed all at once. But just as my foot stepped away, I heard it, the click of the door lock behind me. My entire body froze right at the point I stood. “Arlenna.” He called me with his deep voice. I stayed still with my back to him, holding my breath like it would protect me. Slowly and carefully, I turned around. I didn’t look at his face. I stared at the floor instead, focusing on his feet. “Why didn’t you knock again?” “I… I didn’t want to disturb,” I murmured. “I need those shirts. There’s no way you’d have disturbed.” I nodded slowly and stepped forward, stretching my hands out to him with the shirts. But he didn’t take them. He just stood there, watching me. “Your… your shirts,” I said. “Mother said I should hand them over to you.” “I’ll need some help putting them on,” he said. “Today’s a special day.” I gulped hard. Of course it was. Today he was meeting his betrothed. A girl chosen for him, probably beautiful and perfect. Unlike me. I hadn’t even scented my wolf yet, so I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to have someone truly meant for you. “Oh,” I said quietly. “Come inside.” My feet moved before I told them to. I stepped inside his room and the door clicked shut behind me. “Pick one shirt for me,” he said. I reached for the white shirt on top and handed it to him, not looking at his face. But he didn’t turn around. He didn’t move away. Right there in front of me, he took off his top. My gaze dropped instantly as heat filled up my cheeks. He scoffed. “Don’t act like you’ve not seen my nakedness, dear sister.” “It… that was a mistake,” I said quickly, still not looking up. “But you saw it.” “I… I didn’t, I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t on purpose.” “How big was it?” he asked. My breath just hung there as my eyes flew up to his. I shook my head. “I… I already said—” “I said, how big was it?” he asked again. “I… I don’t know. I didn’t… it was… big… I didn’t—” Before I could finish, he moved. I didn’t even realize I’d said it out loud until the words had already escaped. And before I could take them back or explain, everything happened so fast. One step, two steps. He cornered me with his huge arms pinning me to the wall on either side. My back slammed against the cold wall of his room as his remaining shirts in my hand, fell to the floor. I gasped, my heart was racing out of control. “Orion!” I yelled his name. He came closer as he whispered in my ears.“No lady has seen my nakedness without me eating her up.” I sucked in a sharp breath as my weak knees nearly gave out. “I noticed you’ve been avoiding me.” “No… no… Orion, anyone could walk in,” I whispered, with my eyes darting toward the door. “Do you want me to lick the door?” he murmured into my ear. “Orion?!” I yelled again, louder. “You think I didn’t see you staring at it?” “I wasn’t,” I whispered. “You were. You’ve been thinking about it. Wondering. You’re not even denying it anymore.” I couldn’t speak. I just stood there, breathing too fast, like my chest couldn’t find its rhythm. “Why do you tremble when I’m around you?” “If I had an answer to it, I would have told you.” He looked at me for a long second, like he was trying to read a language only my body could speak. His eyes moved down slowly, then he lifted one hand and trailed it gently over my thigh. I gasped. My skin responded before my brain did, breaking out in goosebumps as his fingers traced a line that made my legs wobble. “You’re quivering,” he said, almost like he was surprised. “Have you ever been touched before?” His voice was so close to my ear, I felt it rather than heard it. I shivered again, not from fear, but from the way he said those words. “Oh God!” I whispered. My knees were barely holding me up. This was why I’d been avoiding him for weeks. Why I couldn’t sit beside him during dinner without feeling flushed. Why I found silly excuses to leave the room whenever he walked in. “You… your scent…” he started to say, breathing me in. “You scent…….” He didn’t finish. A sudden knock came at the door and we jumped immediately. “Darling Orion!” a voice called sweetly from outside. It was Mother. We scattered immediately like two children caught stealing sugar. He stepped away, running a hand through his hair. While I turned to face the window, my back straight and my hands folded together, trying to steady my breathing. “Oh my! You’re not dressed?” Mother said as she walked in. I didn’t dare turn. I stayed where I was. “You wouldn’t want to keep your mate waiting, Orion,” she said. I felt him move behind me, probably fixing his shirt in a rush. “And Arlenna!” she added as she pointed at me. I turned slightly, only just enough to face her without showing my full face. “If you don’t find your mate in a week’s time, we’re going to have to marry you off!” “What?” I blinked. Surely I misheard. “There’s already a fortune in town,” she continued, “for a virgin.” “Mother?!”