My Fiance is Sleeping With My Step Sister

Chapter 46

I'd just finished training with Joey and my body was aching all over. My arms were shaking, my legs felt like jelly, but I couldn’t let it show because she’d only push me harder. Devon had passed by once to check on us, his eyes dark when he saw how sweaty and tired I looked, but I told him I wanted to keep going. He kissed my forehead and left without arguing, but I could feel his worry burning into my back.

As we walked back toward the pack house, Joey talking about what moves I’d done right today, I noticed the way the whispers followed me. I didn’t need to hear the words clearly to know they weren’t good. The eyes said it all suspicion, resentment, hatred.

“She almost killed Clara the other day.”

“I swear she brought something into that fight. No one has that kind of power without cheating.”

“Our Luna is cursed.”

The words weren’t even hushed enough. Like they were being loud on purpose so that I'd here them. My chest tightened, but I forced myself to keep my head straight, walking beside Joey like I couldn’t hear.

“Don’t listen to them, Addy,” Joey said, low but firm. “They’re scared. Scared people talk trash.”

But it didn’t feel like just fear. The venom in their voices went too deep, like they hated me for existing.

Inside the pack house, I excused myself and went to my room. I shut the door and leaned against it, trying to breathe. For a second, I thought I smelled smoke. It wasn’t real, not this time, but my skin still burned with the memory of fire crawling up when I lost control before.

Devon found me sitting on the edge of the bed, my head in my hands.

“Addy?” His voice was soft but carried that Alpha command he couldn’t hide. He came to sit beside me, tilting my chin up until my eyes met his. “What happened?”

“They hate me,” I whispered. “I can feel it. It’s not normal, Devon. I walk past and it’s like they’ve already judged me guilty of something I haven’t even done.”

His jaw tightened, and his hand moved to the back of my neck. “They don’t matter. I’ll make them respect you.”

I shook my head. “Respect doesn’t work like that. It feels like… like something else is twisting them against me. Like it isn’t all their choice.”

He went still at that, his eyes narrowing slightly. “What do you mean?”

Before I could answer, Joey barged in without knocking. She was panting like she’d run the whole way.

“You need to see this,” she said.

We followed her out to the edge of the training grounds. Behind one of the storage sheds, Joey pointed to the ground. At first I didn’t see anything, then the faint scratches in the dirt became clearer. Symbols. Circles, lines, shapes that made my stomach churn just looking at them.

“What the hell…” I whispered.

“Witch markings,” Joey said grimly. “I don’t know much, but I’ve seen enough to recognize them.”

Devon crouched down, his hand hovering just above the marks, not touching. His face was thunder, his jaw clenched tight.

“They’ve been here a while,” Joey added. “Not fresh. Someone’s been carving them into the earth, maybe to… I don’t know. Influence things?”

The unease that had been sitting in my chest all week spread like ice through my veins.

“Do you think this is why they all hate me?” I asked quietly.

Devon stood, pulling me into his chest like he could shield me from even the idea of it. “If someone’s using witchcraft to poison the pack against you, I’ll find out who.” His voice was low and deadly serious.

But I couldn’t let go of the guilt. “Even without spells, they’ve never liked me. What if this is just… me?”

Devon gripped my face with both hands, forcing me to look into his stormy eyes. “No. You’re not the problem, Addy. Whoever is behind this is. And I swear I’ll tear them apart with my bare hands when I find them.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to feel safe in his arms and ignore the pit in my stomach. But the whispers of the pack stayed with me even as he held me close, as if they were crawling into my skin.

Later that night, lying curled up in bed with Devon, I couldn’t sleep. His arm was heavy across my waist, his steady breathing grounding me, but my mind was racing.

The marks, the whispers, the way the pack’s hatred felt sharper every day. It didn’t add up. Something was moving behind the scenes, something dark, and I didn’t know how to stop it.

I touched Devon’s hand, needing the comfort. He stirred slightly, pulling me tighter against him even in his sleep, like his body knew I was breaking apart inside.

I wanted to believe in this love. I wanted to believe I could finally have happiness. But in the quiet of the night, it felt like something was waiting to snatch it away.