Claimed By My Alpha Stepbrother.

33

Seraphina

When I woke up again, my head killing me and my throat dry, I just remembered how I'd watched him unravel before me.

He looked nothing like the strong, controlled man I knew.

He thought himself a monster, but all I saw was a broken boy who'd endured much more than he should have if everything he said was even possible. A boy who had been ruined by a father who should have protected him.

I didn't want to doubt him but was it possible to go through such?

No wonder he was always on edge. He had to keep himself on a leash at all times to protect not just himself, but others too.

I never expected Alistair to be someone like that. He was a sweet, loving man in my memory. Sure, we didn't interact much as father and daughter, but he seemed too innocent for something like this.

No wonder they say you should never judge a book by its cover.

Was this whole experiment-and-wolf thing shocking?

Yes.

But horrifying? Not in the way he thought.

Thinking back to how he'd always avoided me, everything suddenly made sense. He hadn't abandoned me in Vegas; he had been running from his reality. And when we met again and he kept his distance, he must have had a hard time bottling all his emotions up.

He'd been so afraid I'd see the truth and run. It showed just how lonely he was.

When he finished explaining and looked up at me, his eyes pleading for me not to leave, I couldn't think of anything to say.

So I asked the first question that came to mind. "So does this mean you're finally okay because of me?"

His face scrunched up in confusion. "What?"

"The noise," I said gently. "The wolf. You said biting me calmed it down. Does that mean you're finally okay?"

He stared at me in total confusion and then shook his head. "I don't know. But what I do know is that I feel clearer than I have in years. I can't even remember my head ever being this quiet. It's like a drug."

I snorted. "A drug?"

He quickly looked up at me. "No, Seraphina, I don't mean it that way. I promise you, it will never happen again. I will chain myself to the earth before I ever hurt you like that. Please." He broke, reaching for my hands, gripping them so tightly it almost hurt. "Please don't leave me. I know I don't deserve for you to stay, but I'm begging you—"

"Azriel." I laughed. I couldn't help it. "I'm not leaving you."

He went very still.

"Do you honestly think," I continued, leaning forward until our foreheads nearly touched, "that I would walk away from you because of something that wasn't your fault? Your father did this to you." I tried to sound reasonable. "You didn't choose it." I squeezed his hands back. "I choose you. All of you. Even the parts you're afraid of."

He made a sound like something wounded, and then his arms were around me, crushing me against his chest. I felt his heartbeat thundering there, wild and relieved and still so frightened. He buried his face in my hair and whispered my name.

"Thank you," he breathed. "Thank you, thank you—"

I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. "Though I have to say, you could have just told me instead of biting me. We could have skipped the whole unconscious-in-the-river part."

He went pale again, his gaze dropping to my shoulder. "I didn't know it was going to happen. I tried really hard to hold back. Seraphina, I'm so sorry, I—"

I touched the mark on my neck, wincing slightly at the tenderness. It was swollen, bruised, and would definitely leave a scar. But I'd say it was worth it. "Relax. It looks like a giant hickey, that's all."

"A what?"

"A hickey." I grinned at his horrified expression. "I'll just have to wear a scarf for a few days. Though, knowing the village women, they'll probably congratulate me and ask for details." I paused, considering. "Actually, maybe I'll tell them you're very enthusiastic."

"Seraphina." His voice was strangled.

I laughed again, and this time he almost smiled, the tension in his jaw easing just slightly. He reached up to brush his thumb gently over the bite mark, his touch feather-light, his eyes dark with regret.

"I don't deserve you," he said quietly.

"Probably not," I agreed, and kissed the surprised curve of his mouth. "But you're stuck with me anyway."

The smile he gave me then was small and fragile, filled with relief.

Then he held my hand again and looked into my eyes. "Seraphina, I know this isn't the right time to say this considering what we've just gone through, but we need to leave."

"Leave?" I furrowed my brows in confusion. "As in leave the village?"

He nodded.

"Why?"

"I know." He cut me off, rubbing his thumb against my knuckles. "I know. But we can't stay."

"Why not?"

He hesitated, that old wall sliding back into place, the one that kept secrets locked behind his eyes. I saw him retreating into himself, deciding what I could and couldn't handle.

If I acted cool with this confession that I was very much doubtful about, that I knew I would be questioning my sanity by tomorrow, he needed to be very open with me.

I took his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me.

"No," I said firmly. "You don't get to do that. Not anymore. You just told me you're part wolf, Azriel. Do you think there's anything worse you could keep from me? We're in this together. That means everything. Not just the parts you think I can handle."

He closed his eyes, leaning into my palm. For a moment, I thought he'd still shut me out. Then he spoke.

"At the river. Before I brought you back." His voice was low, careful. "I heard Thomas and Mike talking. They're planning to turn us in."

I went cold. "Turn us in? To who?"

"Apparently, there are men looking for us. There's even a bounty." He opened his eyes, and the fear I saw there had nothing to do with wolves. "Why we're relevant or who needs us? That's what I have to find out."

Damn! Azriel was right about not trusting people. But, why would anyone want the two of us? Unless, Azriel was really serious about his confession. Come to think of it, why would he be joking? Azriel and joking weren't compatible in the same sentence. He was indeed serious.

How could I access and make sense of such a creation being scientifically possible? Human and wolf? I thought he came up with all that just to scare me again or get me relaxed not to see him as a weirdo and run for biting me during s*x.

This was all too much to assimilate and I didn't have that strength in me. But, I'll just follow and watch closely. The last thing I wanted was for him to leave me because I made a fool of him.

"They're good people," I whispered, more to myself than to him.

"They're desperate people," Azriel corrected softly. "Thomas doesn't want to do it. I could hear it in his voice. But Mike..." He shook his head. "Mike is convinced. And desperation makes people do terrible things."

I thought of Nia bringing us bread, of the children waving as we passed, of the life we'd begun to build in this place that had started to feel like home. And I thought of how quickly it could all crumble.

"What do we do?"

"We can't leave immediately," Azriel said. "So for the next few days, we have to act normal. I'll try to see if we can contact anyone again, or if there's any other place for us to hide. Thomas isn't on board yet, so we'll use that to our advantage."

He took my hands again. "But I need you to be careful, Seraphina. If they suspect we know, they might act sooner. I can't protect you from the whole village if they decide to take us by force."

I leaned in and kissed him. "I'll be careful," I whispered against his lips. "I promise."

He breathed me in, his forehead resting against mine.

"Thank you, Seraphina."