CLAIMED BY MY ALPHA STEPBROTHER.

Chapter Four

ELARA’S POV.

Weekends in the packhouse were usually quiet, the kind of quiet that pressed softly against the walls and wrapped around you like a blanket. Cassian had told me he’d be home all day no Alpha duties, no sudden departures, no border meetings. Just… home.

So I decided to make breakfast. He’d always loved when I cooked. It reminded us both of simpler years back before titles and responsibilities and carefully measured boundaries.

I finished arranging the plates just as I heard footsteps descending the staircase. Cassian appeared at the bottom of the stairs, moving with relaxed ease I rarely ever saw from him anymore.

“Breakfast is ready,” I said with a warm smile, trying to sound light and normal.

He didn’t look like the Alpha of Blackwood territory right then. No formal clothes. No tailored suits. Just grey sweatpants and a fitted black tank that hugged the lean muscle beneath. It was strange seeing him like that again. Like the boy from home had stepped back into the room, just for a moment.

His dark hair looked softer than usual, the strands falling slightly across his brows in a way that made him seem almost… younger. His lips curved into a faint smile that tugged at something deep inside my chest.

“Morning,” he said quietly. Then, in that tone he used only with me low, warm, and impossibly gentle he added, “Mine.” Heat rushed instantly to my face.

No matter how many times he said it, it always made my stomach flutter not because it was romantic, but because it sounded like a promise. Like a possession. Like something I shouldn’t still allow.

“You know you’re going to have to stop calling me that soon,” I teased lightly, forcing the words out before I could overthink them.

And there it was. His expression shifted barely, but enough that I saw the shadow pass through his eyes.

“I doubt that,” he replied, sitting down.

“You say that,” I continued, placing the food in front of him, “but once you’re married, Cass, it’ll be weird. How do you think Aria would feel hearing you say that to me?”

Silence dropped like a stone. He didn’t look angry. He didn’t look hurt. He just… stilled. His hand tightened around the fork. His gaze went distant, focused somewhere far beyond the dining room. It was subtle but I knew him. I’d always known him.

And I knew that stillness. It scared me. “Cassian?” I said softly. Nothing, he just breathed slowly.

Memories surfaced… therapy sessions our father insisted on, whispered conversations about anger and control, the careful work it took for Cassian to manage the storm inside him. He’d become better, calmer, more composed the kind of Alpha wolves respected.

But the storm never really disappeared. It just… slept.

“Cass?” I tried again, my voice barely above a whisper.

Finally, he blinked and turned his attention back to me. The shadows vanished as if they’d never existed.

“It’s nothing, Elara,” he said calmly. “Let’s eat.”

But I didn’t push. Because pushing meant facing the truth that sometimes the person you trusted most still had cracks you couldn’t reach.

So we ate quietly. And every bite tasted like nerves.

Later, Cassian convinced me to sit with him in the living room to watch a movie. He didn’t ask if I wanted to he simply said he’d been waiting to watch it with me, and somehow, that was reason enough.

He guided me to the couch, settling beside me before gently lifting my legs into his lap like it was the most natural thing in the world. His hands wrapped around my calves, thumbs kneading the muscles with familiar ease.

I used to love when he did that. It made me feel safe, warm, and grounded. But now it made me feel… trapped. Not physically but emotionally.

Every once in a while, his touch lingered just a second too long. His gaze softened just a little too much. And the distance we were supposed to maintain dissolved without warning.

And still… I didn’t move. I didn’t pull away. Even though I should have.

Instead, I pretended to focus on the screen while my thoughts drifted toward Jonah… kind, patient Jonah. The man who made me laugh. Who never made me feel like I was stepping into dangerous waters. Who waited for my call last night and probably again this morning.

Jonah was safe. Cassian was… not.

Not because he’d hurt me but because his presence swallowed the room. Because he was Alpha. Because the air shifted when he looked at me like I mattered too much.

Minutes passed. The movie flickered on. At some point my heart slowed just enough to relax. Then the scene changed. Soft lighting and slow music. A couple kissing like gravity had pulled their mouths together. Clothes slipping away. Skin against skin.

And suddenly the room shrank. My throat tightened.

I shifted slightly instinctively trying to pull my legs away before the scene grew any more intimate. But Cassian’s grip tightened just enough to hold me still.

“Relax,” he murmured, voice like velvet. “It’s just a movie.”

Just a movie. Just a moment. Just a line we shouldn’t cross. His fingers traced lazy circles along my skin. His gaze had changed darker now, sharper. Focused on me, not the screen.

The air thickened. My pulse roared in my ears. “Cassian… I need to use the bathroom,” I lied weakly.

He smiled. But it wasn’t playful.

“You don’t,” he replied softly. “You just want to run.”

I swallowed hard. The scene on the television only heightened the tension, soft moans echoing into the living room like an unwelcome soundtrack to a moment that had already gone too far.

I shifted again panicked and my heel brushed against him. He froze. Every muscle. Every breath. Understanding hit me like a slap.

Oh gods! No. My breath stuttered out of my lungs as I slowly looked up at him. His eyes weren’t their usual calm hazel anymore. They glowed bright and feral. It was his wolf.

“Elara,” he said… no, growled my name, voice low and ragged with something he shouldn’t feel toward me.

Fear flooded me not of him. But of this. Of us. Of what it meant. I ripped my legs away like I’d touched fire and stumbled upright.

“Cassian! Stop. I… I have to go,” I stammered, heart thundering in my chest.

Then I ran. Up the stairs. Down the hall. Into the bedroom. And slammed the door shut. My lungs burned as I leaned against the wood, sliding slowly down until I hit the floor.

What just happened? How had we gotten here? Cassian had always been my protector and my safe place. But somewhere along the line, the edges blurred. And now I didn’t know where safety ended and danger began.

I sat there for a long time, listening to the muted sounds of the packhouse footsteps, distant chatter, doors opening and closing.

My heart slowly steadied. But my thoughts didn’t. Because beneath the fear… There was something else.

For the small, treacherous part of me that had always known Cassian’s feelings ran deeper than they should… and said nothing anyway.

A soft knock echoed against the door.

“Elara?” His voice low, careful, and far too calm. “Can we talk?”

I didn’t answer. Silence stretched between us. Then his footsteps retreated. And the house fell quiet again.

I curled up on the bed and stared out the window at the forest beyond vast, endless, unknowingly peaceful. But inside me a storm had only just begun.