Claimed by My Alpha Step Brother

chapter 11. phyna POV

Sleep didn’t come easily that night.

Every time I closed my eyes I felt Tristan’s mouth on mine again, the hard edge of the kitchen counter against my back, the way his body had pressed into me like he was trying to erase every inch of space between us. And then the sound of the car door. The sudden freeze. The way we had sprung apart like guilty teenagers instead of what we really were.

Mates.

The word still scared me.

By morning I had talked myself into a familiar kind of distance. Not the full rejection from before—I couldn’t go back to that—but something careful. Controlled. The near-miss had reminded me how quickly everything could collapse. One wrong second. One open door. One person walking in at the wrong time.

I needed to be smarter.

Tristan noticed the shift the moment I walked into the kitchen.

He was already there, same as always, coffee in hand. His eyes tracked me the second I appeared, and the bond flared warm and immediate. I felt his confusion when I only gave him a small nod and moved to the far side of the counter.

My mother was at the table. His father was reading something on his phone. The ordinary morning sounds of the house felt brittle around the secret we were carrying.

“You’re quiet today,” my mother said, glancing at me.

“Just tired.”

Tristan’s gaze lingered on my face. I didn’t look at him. When he set a mug of coffee near my hand, I murmured a thank-you without letting our fingers touch. The disappointment that flashed through the bond was sharp enough to make my chest ache.

I left for school before he could find a moment alone with me.

The distance lasted exactly until third period.

I was at my locker, swapping books, when a familiar presence settled behind me. Tristan’s scent wrapped around me a second before his voice did.

“You’re pulling away again.”

I kept my eyes on the inside of my locker. “I’m being careful.”

“You’re scared.”

“Yes.” I closed the locker and finally turned to face him. Students streamed past us in both directions. Too many eyes. Too many ears. “Last night was too close. If they had walked in thirty seconds earlier—”

“I know.” His voice was low, controlled, but the gold was already flickering in his eyes. “Do you think I haven’t been replaying that all night? Do you think I don’t hate how fast we had to stop?”

“Then you understand why I need space today.”

“Space isn’t the same as shutting me out.”

A group of girls passed us, openly staring. One of them was Lila. Her eyes narrowed when she saw how close Tristan was standing. I took a deliberate step back.

“Not here,” I whispered.

Tristan’s jaw tightened, but he nodded once. “Fine. After school. The long way home.”

It wasn’t a request.

I spent the rest of the day wound tight. Lila and her friends made sure of it. They didn’t corner me again, but their stares followed me through every hallway. Whispers trailed behind me like smoke. By the final bell my nerves were scraped raw.

Tristan was waiting by the side gate, away from the main crowd. He didn’t speak when I reached him. He just started walking, and I fell into step beside him. We took the longer route through the quieter streets, where the houses sat farther apart and the trees offered more cover.

Only when we were far enough from school did he stop.

“Talk to me,” he said.

I wrapped my arms around myself. “I’m trying to be smart about this.”

“And I’m trying not to lose my mind.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “Do you have any idea what it feels like? To finally have you stop running, to kiss you, to feel the bond settle—and then wake up the next morning and have you look at me like we’re strangers again?”

Guilt twisted in my stomach. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

“It feels like it.”

I stared at the ground. “I’m falling for you,” I said quietly. “That’s the problem. Every time you touch me it gets harder to remember why this is dangerous. And last night reminded me that the danger is real. One mistake and everything blows up. Your family. My mother. Your future as Alpha. My place here. I’m not ready for that kind of fallout.”

Tristan was silent for a long moment. Then he stepped closer. Slowly enough that I could have moved away if I wanted to.

I didn’t.

He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek, thumb brushing lightly under my eye. “I’m falling for you too,” he said. “And I’m done pretending that the risk is enough to make me stop.”

My breath caught.

“I’m not asking you to stand up in front of the pack tomorrow,” he continued. “I’m not even asking you to tell our parents yet. But I need you to stop freezing me out every time you get scared. Let me be in this with you. Even when it’s messy.”

The honesty in his voice undid something inside me. I leaned into his hand before I could stop myself. The bond hummed with relief.

“I’m not good at this,” I whispered. “At trusting that someone will still choose me when things get ugly.”

“Then let me prove it.”

He kissed me there, on the quiet sidewalk under the trees. It was slower than the kitchen kiss, deeper, full of everything we hadn’t said. I fisted my hands in the front of his hoodie and kissed him back, letting myself have the moment even while fear still sat heavy in my chest.

When we finally pulled apart, Tristan rested his forehead against mine.

“We do this together,” he said. “Or not at all. But I can’t keep watching you build walls every time the world reminds you this is complicated.”

I nodded against him. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I’ll try. No more shutting you out. But we have to be careful. Please.”

“I can be careful.” A small, crooked smile touched his mouth. “Doesn’t mean I’ll like it.”

We walked the rest of the way home closer than before. Not touching, not obviously together, but the space between us felt different. Shared.

The house was empty when we arrived. My mother had texted that she and Tristan’s father would be at a pack meeting until late. The knowledge sent a dangerous spark through me.

Tristan locked the front door behind us. When he turned, the look in his eyes made my stomach flip.

“We have a few hours,” he said.

I should have gone upstairs. I should have put distance between us while we still could. Instead I stood there in the entryway, heart racing, as he closed the space between us and kissed me again.

This time there was no audience waiting outside. No car doors. No sudden footsteps.

Just us.

Tristan walked me backward until my back hit the wall. His hands settled on my waist, then slid higher, warm through my shirt. I made a soft sound against his mouth and felt him smile into the kiss. The bond between us burned bright and greedy, flooding my body with heat and want.

We only stopped when we needed air.

Tristan’s eyes were pure gold. His breathing was uneven. He looked at me like he was deciding how far he could push before I bolted again.

“I’m not going to rush you,” he said, voice rough. “But I need you to know something.”

“What?”

“When the time comes—when we stop hiding—I’m not going to let anyone take you from me. Not the pack. Not the school. Not even our parents. You’re my mate. That’s the only thing that matters to me.”

The words settled deep in my chest, terrifying and comforting at the same time.

I reached up and touched his face, tracing the line of his jaw. “You’re going to make it impossible for me to protect myself from you.”

“That’s the idea.”

He kissed me one more time, slower, softer, before finally stepping back. The loss of contact left me unsteady.

“Go upstairs,” he said, though everything in his expression said he wanted me to stay. “If you keep looking at me like that, careful is going to stop being an option.”

I went.

But even behind my locked bedroom door, I could still feel him downstairs. Still feel the shape of his hands on my waist. Still hear the promise in his voice.

*I’m not going to let anyone take you from me.*

For the first time, part of me believed him.

And that scared me more than any rumor ever could.