Falling For My Mated Lycan Stepbrother

Chapter 01 || Ember || Anxiety etched on my skin as I watched the university homepage load on the screen. The constant foot taps on the old floor was the only way I could stop myself from running insane. I could hear the cyber cafe owner in the distance yelling at the intern to clean the dust off the computers. This wasn't just another exam for me. This was going to be the biggest achievement of my life in decades to come. This was going to be the final step to take before I'd get married to the love of my life. This was my only way I could make my late father proud up there in Elysia. This was- The screen came alive. “DEAR EMBER BLUEMOON, CONGRATULATIONS…” My gaze widened in surprise. “I… I did it. I did it!!’ I leaped in ecstatic excitement. I'd passed the scholarship exams that would enable me to study at the biggest university in the whole wolf realm. It was only until I paused and caught the stares of confusion from the other customers that I realized how much of a nuisance I was. I sent an apologetic look as I rushed out of the small cubicle, grinning ear to ear. I could barely hold myself throughout the ride back home in the taxi. I picked up my phone and speed dialed “Pretty Headache.” Veronica had been my best friend all my life. She was the first person I could scream my lungs out to in excitement. “The number you're calling is not reachable…” She was probably busy. I stared at the evening sun with a nostalgic smile on my face. If only he was here to witness his only child's huge accomplishment… The taxi had barely stopped at the rusted gate before I jumped out and rushed into the compound. “Mum!! I'm back!! And I'm back with the biggest news of my life!! I'm officially a student of Zecrim University!” I squealed with sheer excitement and burst through the doors. My eyes quickly scanned around the small living room for a sign of my mother. She was nowhere to be found. I was about to rush upstairs when I noticed a couple of royal blue cards stacked roughly on the old center table that had already gone rough around the edges. I mindlessly picked one up and opened it to skim through briefly. My smile gradually faded away. My brows creased in sheer confusion. Was this some form of a joke? “Margaret Bluemoon…”, I muttered under my breath. “...weds Alpha Malcolm of Zecrim pack?” The same pack that owned the same university I was so excited to attend? The smile on my face faded into thin air. This… this didn't sound right. “Ember, my baby, when did you get back? Please tell me you brought back good news. I've been beside myself all d…” I turned to face the stranger that somehow bore me. Her tracks came to a rigid stop when her gaze fell on the card in my hand. “Ember, baby…” In that brief moment of silence, I saw her hazel eyes well up with regret. “It.. it's not what you think. I promise there's an explanation for this. I was going to tell you about this-” “When, mother?” I muttered weakly. “Before you fell in love with another man to the point of marrying him, or after the damn wedding?” “Baby, don't be like that-” “It's been just a year, mother.” My eyes rested on the portrait of my late father hanging on the corner of the small living room, his beautiful brown eyes beaming with so much love. “It's been just a year since father died.” “Ember, please calm down.” “You're supposed to be mourning your damn husband, woman!!” I yelled in uncontrollable rage, unable to contain the terrible mix of emotions in my system. “If you really loved that man the way he loved you, you're not supposed to be anywhere near healed! If you were the one who died, he would never have laid eyes on another woman till he joined you!!” I expected her to defend herself, but she only cast her eyes to the ground. My head c****d to the side at the cold realization. “You were cheating on your father before he died?” “Ember!! Stop this nonsense right now! I am still your mother!!”, she snapped at me, her eyes red and glassy. “But did I lie?”, I pushed further. “What other explanation is there for a woman moving on so quickly from the death of her husband of 23 years?” “I was tired, Ember”, she confessed in a shaky voice. “I was lonely. Your father's death left a gap in my heart that I couldn't bear to live with anymore. I needed to feel alive again, and Alpha Malcolm was there for me when I needed him the most. Trust me, I loved your father very much-” “But somehow, you manage to move on from him and start f*****g another man - all within a year”, I blurted out flatly. The room fell into grave silence. She couldn't believe I just threw those words at her. I couldn't believe it either, but I wasn't remorseful. “This was the same reason I kept you in the dark all this time”, her voice cracked as she muttered. “Well, way to go, supermum. Congratulations on your new man, but I would rather die than leave Ragnar pack to watch you get married to another man.” I walked past her and stormed upstairs, ignoring her calls and pleas until I shut the door to my room. A plethora of ugly feelings welled up inside me, but screaming into my pillow would scratch the surface. There was only one thing that could keep me off the brink of insanity - sinking into the arms of my fiance. I changed into a purple maxi sundress and picked my handbag from the table. My mother was out of sight as I made my way out of the house. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I settled into a small yellow taxi. “The royal estate”, I instructed. My Alpha Elias had no idea I was coming over. I wasn't supposed to be on the way to his house anyway. He was supposed to be back from his business trip tomorrow, but somehow, he got back to Ragnar without letting me know. I got to hear from my best friend that he was going to touch down later today. It only meant one of two things - he was either too tired, or he had a surprise planned for me. Either way, his presence was the only escape that could save me from the s**t hole my own mother had put me in. I finally walked into his compound. The roses I'd nurtured throughout the year were frailing. They weren't properly attended to. I walked to his door and stopped to shuffle my bag for the spare key. I paused and squinted in confusion when I noticed Elias's door was left unlocked and ajar. I slowly pushed it open and walked in. It was probably a simple mistake. “Honey?”, I called as I walked into the living room. No response. My eyes darted on a pair of black work trousers laying loose on the arm of his white sofa. Elias wasn't one to keep his clothes around. Not too far from it a blue rumpled shirt on the ground - with buttons all over the floor. Something was wrong. I found my way up the stairs to find him. I came to an abrupt halt at the door to the bedroom. My head spun in a million different directions, but I couldn't take my eyes off the red lingerie hanging off the doorknob. The hedonistic sounds that came from inside parched my throat. My heart was beating faster than I could control. A part of me begged me to run out of the mansion to save what was left of my sanity. I should've listened. I pushed the door open with cold fingers. My whole body went rigid with shock at the entrance of his room as I watch another woman naked and on top of my man, riding the f**k out of his c**k and having the time of her life. That tattoo on her back… I recognized that tattoo anywhere…