Claimed By My Alpha Stepbrother.

21

SERAPHINA

"What's wrong?" I asked, studying his face. He appeared flushed. Was it the rain? Maybe his unusual body was reacting to the rainwater. Or could he be suppressing his emotions after seeing over two hundred people die. That wouldn't be as strange as having a body that healed itself instantly.

I didn’t want to overthink it. This wasn’t the time for an investigation. We lived in the same house, and I would definitely uncover this mystery.

His eyes darkened when I stepped closer, and his breath became heavy.

What the heck was wrong with him now? If we weren't in a life-or-death situation, I would have interpreted his behavior as being horny. But anyone who could get all hot and bothered in this current situation was just straight-up crazy.

I leaned in and placed my hand on his forehead. "Do you have a fever?"

What was I going to do if he did? Was there any medication in our bag that could help—

A gasp escaped me as he suddenly kissed me, shutting down my thoughts and system. I froze, trying to make sense of the situation while he devoured my lips. His mouth moved ferociously against mine, his tongue darting into my mouth, tasting every part of it like he wanted to swallow me whole.

My breath hitched, and I found myself running out of air.

I tried to push him away, but he held me tighter, his mouth leaving my lips to trace kisses down my neck. He kept licking at a particular spot between my shoulder and neck, his hand roaming over my body.

"Azriel," I said. This was very wrong—at least not here of all places. And certainly not after he had discarded me like a used doll two years ago and acted as if he didn’t know me afterward.

"Wait." I pushed against him. His hand slid under my top and cupped my breast, squeezing it painfully.

"Stop." I winced.

Instead of stopping, he only grew more frantic.

I began to feel scared because he was much larger and I couldn't fight him off.

"Damn it, Azriel." I pushed him with all my strength. "Get off me."

He stumbled back, his eyes darker and more intense than I'd ever seen before.

He tried to come closer again, and I instinctively stepped back.

He froze for a moment, shook his head in disbelief, then bolted into the rain.

I slid down the wall of the cave and hugged myself, tears sliding down my cheeks.

Why was everything going wrong today?

I should be in Millbrook, officially starting my career, but I was stuck here on a stupid island. Now, someone who wouldn't even acknowledge I existed in his memories one day ago was suddenly acting like a starved beast.

I missed mom.

I missed dad—even with his stoic cold expressions.

I missed the safety and stability of home.

I should have just listened.

I nearly broke down in tears as I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling exposed. Yes, he was a jerk, but I never imagined it would come to this. Why would he want to take advantage of me in such a situation?

"Crying won't change anything," I reminded myself.

As the adrenaline faded, vivid images of the plane crash, people fighting for their lives, and everyone dying replayed in my mind. My stomach twisted with nausea, and I emptied its contents onto the ground.

Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I felt aches throughout my body, and my feet throbbed with pain. I dropped the bag I had been holding onto the floor and curled up beside it, using it as a makeshift pillow.

I waited and waited, trying to think of happier memories to distract myself while praying that Azriel would return. Surely, no matter what had happened, he wouldn’t leave me here alone.

I kept staring into the darkness, my eyes heavy with fatigue. I fought against sleep, unwilling to give in.

"Who's there?" I jumped up at the sound of a twig snapping outside the cave. "Azriel?" I called out into the silence but received no reply.

I curled into a ball, fear enveloping me. It was so dark and I felt utterly alone. Terror coursed through me; my body trembled from its grip.

"Azriel, please don’t leave me," I silently pleaded. I needed him now more than ever.

***

Morning arrived with the sharp sting of my unclosed eyes. I had stayed awake all night, remaining vigilant. While I knew I couldn’t do much if faced with an animal or a person, it gave me a sense of security.

Azriel hadn't returned, and there were still no signs of him this morning. I stretched and tossed the bag over my shoulder as I crawled out of the cave. Realizing that my outfit would be uncomfortable, I set down the bag and dug through it. I pulled out something simpler: a pair of shorts and a tank top, which I changed into.

With no options and driven by the instinct to survive—and hopefully find help before nightfall—I started walking around the island until I stopped near a tree. I hung yesterday's clothes on a low branch and hoped the breeze wouldn't carry them away, as there was nothing to weigh them down.

I couldn't come up with any explanation for why Azriel had acted that way last night. It felt as though he was under some kind of spell. The same intensity from Vegas, but this time it was even more unfiltered. It was like he had released a restraint. I shook my head and leaned down to draw circles in the sand.

"I think you'll be better off drawing a distress signal," Azriel's voice encouraged out of nowhere.

I turned back to see him casually walking toward me. He was still in yesterday's clothes.

He looked normal. That blank stare was back. Again. Was it some kind of coping mechanism?

He acted like last night didn't happen. The same way he'd brushed off Vegas.

"We should spend the day looking for help," he continued, and I watched in amazement. How could someone just switch like that?

With him acting like he had partial memory loss again, I didn't bother pressing for answers. I would get nothing and only make myself angry. So I shrugged it off too. "You still haven't gotten any service?"

He looked relieved by my question. "Not really. Though it seemed to fluctuate at a spot over there." He pointed toward a dense forest that spread wide around the sand. The cushy soft sand looking sandwiched between the forest and the river.

We walked through the thick forest for a while before we finally got to the spot he was talking about.

Just how far away had he gone yesterday?

I stretched out my hand for support when we got to a steep area, but he held onto my top instead and dragged me forward.

What the hell?

Was he avoiding me?

I'm the one who should be doing that.

I'm the one who got a busted lip and no apology.

Was he kidding me?

I slapped his hand away from my top and held onto a tree branch for support instead.

He didn't even react, and that only pissed me off more. The only reason I was even speaking to him right now was because I would have to go dumb if I cut him off. I almost died from fear last night. The two of us were the only ones here for now. I hope we find other people soon.

Whatever fluctuation Azriel was talking about, it was worse than he'd made it sound.

We'd been circling the spot for minutes, but there was still no service.

I was about to give up when Azriel finally exclaimed, "We got it."

I was immediately by his side.

He dialed mom first. I expected him to call his dad.

"Mom?" I screamed.

No reply.

"Hello?" I called out. "Mom, can you hear me?"

"Se...ra...phi...na." Her voice came back broken and disoriented.

After almost fifteen minutes of screaming and no real message getting across, the service decided to disappear again.

I flopped down on a log of wood.

"This isn't going to work," I said. "They won't even find our dead bodies at this rate. Besides," I nodded toward his phone, "it's going to die soon. What do we do?"

"There's a power bank in the bag," he replied. "It should last us a few days. Hopefully we'll have made some progress by then."

"Wow." Now that was another level of being prepared. I didn't even notice.

I nodded and stood up, feeling encouraged. "We should get—" I tripped on a dry branch and lost my balance. Azriel caught me almost immediately, steadying me.

I was about to say a reluctant thank you to him when the sound of a bomb echoed through the island.

God, please. Not again.