Mated To My Step Brother

3

I walked through the hallway with my head down, trying to stay invisible. It wasn’t difficult—at least not today. Most people were too busy whispering, casting quick glances, and pretending they didn’t stare to notice the girl who didn't belong.

The usual sounds of high school—the chatter, the lockers slamming, the laughter—felt like a distant hum, like I was underwater. No one was looking at me, not the way they looked at them, the popular wolves, the perfect girls and guys who wore their beauty like armor. The kind of people who never had to hide behind oversized sweaters and baggy jeans.

And then there was me.

Liora Fenwick, the girl with the too-big body, the too-small confidence, and a wolf that would never answer the call. I tried to disappear into my skin, tried to act like it didn’t matter—except it did. It always did.

It always would.

As I passed the group of cheerleaders near the lockers, one of them whispered sharply, just loud enough for me to hear.

“She’s huge. It’s like she’s trying to eat the whole town.”

I froze, the words landing like stones in my stomach. I couldn’t look at them. Couldn’t even bear to glance in their direction. It was one thing for people to think it, but for them to say it out loud—it made something dark and bitter coil in my chest.

But then I heard the unmistakable sound of a deep laugh—Kalen’s laugh. I didn’t need to see him to know.

It felt like the ground shifted beneath my feet.

I didn’t turn to look, but the air around me grew thicker. I could almost feel the tension, the way his presence spread through the school like wildfire. The whispers seemed louder now, and my heart began to race as I realized they were all talking about me.

There was no way around it. They were talking about me because of him.

“Yeah, I heard she eats like a pack of wolves,” a guy snickered, his voice low. “No wonder she’s so big. No one wants to look at her.”

The sting of their words hit harder than I expected. It was like all the breath left my lungs.

I quickened my pace, trying to move faster, but the hallways felt tighter, smaller. This was it. This was the life I’d have now. Exiled from my pack and hated in this new town.

I finally reached my locker, desperately hoping for some space, some silence. But when I opened it, there was a folded note taped to the inside.

The handwriting was unmistakable.

Kalen Blackthorne.

I stared at it, my chest tightening as I slowly peeled the paper open. My hands were shaking, and for a second, I almost didn’t want to read it.

But I did.

The note was simple. A few words that made my skin crawl.

Everyone’s talking about you. They say you’re nothing more than a joke. And you look like you’ve gained a few pounds. Maybe more than a few. Maybe you should stay in the shadows where you belong.

I felt my stomach churn as my vision blurred. I hated him. I hated the words, hated everything about what he just did. But there was something even worse in his message.

He was making sure the rumor stuck.

He was making sure I knew it came from him.

I slammed the locker door shut and spun on my heel, my heart pounding in my ears.

There he was, standing at the far end of the hallway, leaning casually against the wall with his arms folded. Kalen was watching me, his eyes locked on mine like he could see straight through my skin. Like he knew the exact moment I’d read that note.

And then he smiled.

It wasn’t a friendly smile, not even close. It was a smirk, cold and triumphant. He had a way of looking at me like I was beneath him, like I didn’t matter. But his eyes—they betrayed him. There was something in them. A flash of something.

Maybe it was regret. Or maybe it was just the way he found it all so easy to hurt me.

I stepped toward him, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. “Why are you doing this?” My voice came out rougher than I meant it to. “Why now? What the hell do you want from me?”

Kalen’s smirk didn’t falter. He stood up straight, pushing off the wall and taking a step toward me, filling the space between us. There was something in his posture now—something almost predatory. But his expression was unreadable. Detached.

“Nothing,” he said, his voice low and smooth. “I’m not the one spreading the rumors, Liora. You’re doing that all on your own.”

I wanted to slap him, scream at him. But I didn’t. I couldn’t.

I couldn’t let him see that it was working.

“You think this is funny?” I hissed, trying to stay calm. “You think it’s funny to tear someone down, to make them feel like they don’t belong anywhere?”

The pause that followed was sharp, and for a second, just a second, Kalen’s eyes flickered. It was subtle, but it was there. Almost like he cared. Almost like he was hearing me—really hearing me.

But then, just as quickly, he masked it.

“You’re not going to survive here, you know that, right?” Kalen said, his voice cold again. “You’re too much of an outcast, too much of a joke. And I’m not the one who’s going to make you fit in. That’s on you.”

“Yeah,” I spat, shaking my head, fighting the rush of heat in my cheeks. “You’re right. I’m just a joke. But you’re the one who started it.”

He smirked again, taking a step back. “Doesn’t matter what I start. It’s how you finish.”

I stood there, burning with frustration, my hands trembling at my sides. Kalen turned and walked away, disappearing down the hall like he’d won. And maybe, in a way, he had.

But I wouldn’t let him break me. Not again. Not like this.