Stepbrother's Mate Trap

For six years, I was secretly in love with my stepbrother, Connor, the Alpha of our wolf pack.

One full moon night, I snuck into his pack's corporate headquarters, hoping to surprise him.

But through a crack in the door, I heard him whispering with his Beta, Marcus.

"You still messing around with your stepsister, that Aria? When are you gonna cut it off? Don't tell me you've actually caught feelings for her?"

Connor smirked, his voice ice-cold.

"Feelings? She's just a beta who threw herself at me. A freebie, why not? My Luna will only ever be Elena."

"Her father betrayed the pack and got kicked out. And her mother seduced mine, got my own mother killed. Six years... that's just been me punishing her. She deserves everything she gets."

So, the mate bond I treasured... it was all just a carefully planned revenge.

All his sweet nothings, his gentle touches... they were all lies, laced with poison.

Fine. If that's how it is, I'm leaving. Hope you won't regret it.

"Don't worry about me. Just get everything ready for my Mating ceremony with Elena. As for Aria… I’ve got plenty of ways to make her life a living hell."

"Think about it. A she-wolf falls for her own stepbrother, tries to latch onto an Alpha, and then gets dumped in front of everyone at the Mating ceremony. After a humiliation like that, how could she ever show her face in front of any pack again? I honestly can’t wait."

Marcus, across from him, looked uneasy. He tried to reason, his voice low, "Her mother and your father mated three years after your mother died. That was ages ago. Aria was just a kid then; she didn't know anything about pack feuds. Isn't this a bit too harsh on her?"

"For a she-wolf, her mate bond and reputation are everything. You're basically killing her! She depends so much on your Alpha scent. If she finds out you've just been using her, I'm afraid..."

Connor scoffed, annoyed. He casually tapped his phone, sending me some meaningless emoji.

"Don't tell me she's innocent. When my mother died so horribly, who said she was innocent?"

"Being born from that traitor's bloodline means she was born worthless, meant to be trampled on!"

"If she had an ounce of beta pride, she wouldn't have accepted this fake mate bond six years ago. She made her choices to get here. She doesn't deserve pity."

Marcus let out a long sigh and finally asked, "Maybe so, but these six years… Don’t tell me you haven’t felt any Alpha instinct, any pull towards her at all?"

"Connor, I'm warning you. Some lines, once you cross them, you can never go back."

Connor's face turned frigid, his eyes like daggers stabbing into Marcus.

"Fall in love with the daughter of a traitor and a homewrecker? What do you take me for?"

"Looking at her face, so much like her mother's, even leaving a temporary mark on her neck