My Mate Is My Brother.

Stay Away From Him.

"Exactly. They're definitely together somewhere, and I need to find them. I've already told Carmine everything. He asked me to let him know the moment I identified that Alpha."

I took a shaky breath.

"I'm so anxious every minute of every day. My heart never stops racing. All I want right now is to run to him and hold him."

"That won't be possible."

Jessie and I immediately stood as we turned toward the doorway. Carmine and Star were standing there.

"How did you two get in?" I asked nervously, silently praying they had brought good news.

"Um... I'm sorry for coming in without permission," Star apologized. "Carmine said you wouldn't mind and opened the door himself. I truly apologize if that upset you."

"Relax, love." Carmine gently patted Star's shoulder. "She's my sister."

"That doesn't give you the right to be disrespectful," Star replied while adjusting his glasses. "This is her home, not yours."

"I'm not a child."

"Then stop behaving like one."

I couldn't help smiling as I wiped away my tears and motioned for them to sit down.

"It's okay. Don't mind him. My i***t brother has always been like this."

"Hey! I'm not an idiot."

I looked at Carmine. "You said it wouldn't be possible. What exactly did you mean by that?"

I was far more concerned about what Carmine had just said than the fact that he had entered my house without permission.

"He isn't Gerard," Carmine said firmly.

"I recognized Gerard's scent on him. How can he not be Gerard? No two Alphas in this world have the exact same scent unless someone is deliberately masking theirs."

"It's possible he's using another scent to hide his real one," Carmine explained. "He isn't Gerard Daciana. His name is Ivy Thorne. He's thirty-four years old, the eldest son of the Alpha of the Dragon Pack and the heir to that pack. He probably just happens to resemble the Gerard we're looking for, but he isn't him."

I refused to accept what Carmine was saying. Deep down, I knew it.

He was Gerard.

"No... I won't believe it until I see his brother with my own eyes."

"Oceana, listen to me," Carmine urged.

"I can't just sit here, Carmine!" I cried. "Gerard is my mate. When we touched, I felt our bond. I know I did... and he felt it too. He is Gerard."

"Then why do you think he's hiding his identity from you?"

"I don't know!" I shouted in frustration. "Maybe he's doing it because of my parents. Maybe he doesn't want them to find him."

"I think she's right," Jessie spoke up. "When I was holding him while waiting for the ambulance, he whispered Oceana's name before he lost consciousness."

I froze.

"Are you telling the truth, or are you making this up?" Carmine asked.

"She's telling the truth," I answered immediately. "Jessie would never lie to me. I'm not giving up until I meet Amoux and..."

"Well, here I am."

A familiar voice interrupted us. Amoux stepped inside with a dark expression on his face, and Garold entered right behind him.

"Amoux..." I whispered.

How long had he been standing there? How much of our conversation had he heard?

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Oceana."

His voice was cold. Why did he look so furious? Why did every word he spoke feel like it was cutting straight through my soul? I slowly rose from the sofa.

"Ashamed of myself? What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying you're nothing but a f*****g whore."

"Don't you dare insult my sister!" Carmine snapped. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Sit the f**k down. This is my house," Garold ordered Carmine before turning toward me.

"I've heard enough. Apparently you've been acting like a w***e, and this Alpha has a lot to say about you."

He walked past Carmine and sat beside me, forcing Jessie to move away.

"For years I've had to listen to this name... Gerard. That Alpha has haunted my life, my dreams, and the woman I married. Can you believe I ended up marrying a woman who couldn't let go of another man after my brother Kai died? Even now, after all these years, you still haven't forgotten Gerard."

His face twisted with anger.

"I'm sick of hearing his name!"

He grabbed a glass jug from the table and hurled it against the wall. It shattered into countless pieces. He immediately stood, grabbed my shoulders, and squeezed them painfully.

"Do you have any idea what you've done, Oceana?" he roared inches from my face.

"Garold..."

"I've done everything I could for you!" His grip tightened. "And this is how you repay me?"

I winced in pain.

"After everything I've sacrificed just to make you happy... this is what you choose to do to me?"

"I never wanted to hurt you..."

"Shut up!" he shouted. "You think I don't know you chased after my best friend because of Gerard? That's enough! You degraded yourself just to be with him. What about our children? What are you going to tell them? Especially Nolana?"

His eyes burned with rage.

"I'm not her father. Am I?"

"That's not..."

"Then stay away from my people," Amoux interrupted.

"I don't care if your marriage with Garold is falling apart. Stay away from them. None of us wants you around. We hate you with every fiber of our being, and we hope you die a miserable death. So stay away from my brother."

"I only met him that night," I pleaded. "You can't keep lying to me. Who was he?"

"He was Gerard."

Everything inside me went still.

"Gerard Daciana," Amoux continued. "He looked different, didn't he?" He laughed bitterly before pacing around the room.

Then he stopped directly in front of me.

His glowing green eyes locked onto mine.

"Gerard is alive," Garold murmured in disbelief.

"Where is he?" I asked desperately. "I need to see him..."

My voice softened into a whisper.

"Please."

"Oh? I thought you were about to order me to bring him here so you could ruin his life all over again." His expression darkened. "So you could kill him a second time."

"How could I ever kill my own mate?" I shouted. "I've loved him for years!"

Without warning, his hand struck my face so hard my head snapped to the side.

"Don't raise your voice at me," Amoux hissed. "I'm not Gerard."

I slowly raised a hand to stop Carmine and Garold, who were already moving toward him to defend me.

"Besides," Amoux sneered, "what kind of ridiculous name is Gerard anyway?"

"I love my mate. I had absolutely nothing to do with whatever you're accusing me of."

"You think I care?" he said with a wicked grin.