Claimed By My Step Brother

Chapter 3: The space between us

The house felt different after the hallway.

Not louder. Not quieter. Just… charged. Like the air itself had started paying attention to where Lucas was and where Aria wasn’t.

She stayed in her room as long as she could the next evening. Homework. Music. Pretending the text he sent after school didn’t exist.

L: I’m giving you space.

L: But I’m still here if you need me.

She read it three times before locking her phone and shoving it under a pillow.

Dinner was unavoidable.

Elena had made lasagna. The good kind, with too much cheese. Marcus sat at the head of the table like always, scrolling through something on his phone between bites. Lucas took the seat across from Aria again. She wondered if he did it on purpose.

“How was school?” Elena asked, bright as ever.

“Fine,” Aria said.

“Interesting,” Lucas said at the same time.

Their eyes met for half a second. Something warm and dangerous flickered in his before he looked away and reached for the salad.

Marcus glanced up. “Interesting how?”

Lucas shrugged one shoulder. “Just the usual. People talking. Rumors. Nothing new.”

Aria stabbed a piece of pasta harder than necessary. Elena kept smiling like she could hold the whole table together with pure optimism.

The meal dragged. Every time Lucas shifted in his chair, Aria felt it. Every time she reached for her water, she was aware of his hands resting on the table. Long fingers. A small cut on one knuckle that hadn’t been there that morning.

She hated that she noticed.

When Marcus finally stood and said he had calls to make, Aria almost sighed in relief. She carried her plate to the sink, rinsed it, and escaped to the back porch before anyone could stop her.

The evening air was cool and smelled like wet leaves and pine. She wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against the railing, staring into the dark line of trees behind the house.

She didn’t hear him come out.

She just felt him.

That low, steady awareness that had started the day she moved in. It settled under her skin the second the door clicked shut behind him.

“You’re allowed to be mad at me,” Lucas said quietly.

Aria didn’t turn around. “I’m not mad.”

“Then what are you?”

She let out a slow breath. “Tired. Confused. Trying very hard not to think about the fact that half the school thinks we’re already sleeping together.”

A soft huff of laughter came from behind her. “We’re not.”

“I know that. They don’t.”

He moved closer. Not touching. Just near enough that the heat of him reached her back.

“I meant what I said yesterday,” he said. “About space. I’ll keep my distance at school. I won’t push. But I can’t pretend the bond isn’t there, Aria. It’s… loud. Especially at night.”

She finally turned. He was standing with his hands in his pockets, shoulders slightly hunched, like he was trying to make himself smaller. The porch light caught the gold still lingering at the edges of his eyes.

“What’s it like?” she asked before she could stop herself. “The bond. For you.”

Lucas was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was rougher than usual.

“It’s like someone reached into my chest and tied a string around the most important part of me, then handed the other end to you. Every time you’re near, it pulls. Every time you’re not, it aches. And the worst part is I don’t actually want it to stop.”

Aria’s throat felt tight.

“That sounds exhausting.”

“It is.” He gave her a small, crooked smile. “But it’s also the first time in years I’ve felt like something actually belongs to me. Not the pack. Not my father’s plans. Just… mine.”

The honesty in his voice made something in her chest twist.

She looked down at her hands. “I’m not used to being anyone’s anything. Not like that.”

“I know.” He took one careful step closer. “That’s why I’m trying to go slow. Even if every instinct I have is screaming at me to close the distance.”

The air between them felt thicker. Aria could smell him clearly now — pine and rain and something warmer underneath that made her pulse skip.

“You’re doing a terrible job at giving me space right now,” she said, but there was no real heat in it.

“I know.” His eyes dropped to her mouth for half a second before he caught himself. “Tell me to leave and I will.”

She should have said it.

Instead she asked, “Does it ever get quieter? The pull?”

Lucas shook his head slowly. “Not so far. But being near you helps. Even if we’re just standing here not touching.”

Aria’s fingers curled against the railing. She could feel the truth of that in her own body — the restless, restless feeling that had been under her skin all day had softened the moment he stepped onto the porch.

“This is dangerous,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “It is.”

They stood there in silence for a while. Not quite looking at each other. Not quite looking away. The night settled around them, cool and quiet except for the distant sound of wind in the trees.

Eventually Lucas spoke again, softer.

“I challenged my father once. When I was sixteen. Over something stupid. I lost. He made sure I remembered it.” He glanced at her. “I’m not planning to lose this time. But I need you to know I’m not doing any of this lightly. Not the claim. Not the fight that’s coming. None of it.”

Aria swallowed. “What fight?”

“The one where the pack decides whether they’ll accept a human mate for their future alpha.” His jaw tightened. “Talia’s already making noise. Others will follow. My father won’t make it easy.”

Fear flickered through her, sharp and sudden. “Then maybe we shouldn’t—”

“Don’t.” The word came out low and firm. “Don’t finish that sentence. Not yet. Give it time. Give us time. That’s all I’m asking.”

She searched his face. The arrogance he wore at school was gone. In its place was something rawer. Younger. Almost hopeful.

“Okay,” she said finally. “Time.”

Lucas’s shoulders loosened like he’d been holding his breath. “Thank you.”

He didn’t try to touch her. He just stayed there, close enough that she could feel him, far enough that the choice remained hers.

After a few more minutes he straightened.

“I should go inside before my control gets any thinner. The moon’s getting stronger.”

Aria nodded.

He paused at the door. “Aria.”

“Yeah?”

“If the rumors get too bad… or if Talia says something… you tell me. I’ll handle it.”

She almost smiled. “I can handle myself.”

“I know you can.” His voice dropped. “That’s one of the things I like about you. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to stand between you and the worst of it.”

He disappeared inside before she could answer.

Aria stayed on the porch a long time after he left, the ghost of his words still warm under her skin.

For the first time since the hallway, the pull in her chest didn’t feel like a threat.

It felt like a promise she wasn’t sure she was ready for…

…but wasn’t ready to walk away from either.