My Stepbrother’s Secret Mate Chapter 05

My Stepbrother’s Secret Mate Chapter 05

After the Night War, many packs lost contact with one another.

It wasn’t until five years ago that Blackspine Pack reestablished its alliance with ours. That was when the

Alpha of Blackspine Pack learned that his brother’s son, Xander, was still alive.

Theodore was deeply grateful to my parents, but because he was occupied with war duties, he let Xander continue living with my family.

The Blackspine Pack Theodore ruled wasn’t the largest pack in the forest, but it was the pack with the bloodiest reputation. After the Night War, Blackspine Pack had always called for revenge against dark creatures and actively prepared for war.

Back then, I was a little afraid of him, so I had never spoken to him much.

What I had forgotten was that his number was in my contacts too.

Ivan and Xander both straightened at once. The authority of a battle-hardened Alpha was something they

couldn’t resist. Compared to him, Ivan and Xander were just two recruits.

I was nervous too, and I tried to explain.

But Theodore spoke first. Then he waved a hand and said to the other two warriors, “I don’t think any of us

need introductions.”

Ivan leaned in and whispered, “You never told me your mate was an Alpha. And not just any Alpha. The Alpha

of Blackspine Pack.”

I whispered back, “That’s because you never asked.”

Theodore had obviously heard that. In an unexpectedly gentle tone, he said, “We meant to tell you, but…

Valencia was worried about how you’d react.”

Ivan nodded awkwardly. “Yeah. I probably would have overreacted. You’re… you’re an Alpha.”

Theodore took my hand. “And I found my mate.”

I had no idea why Theodore was helping me hide the truth.

But I had a guess. Maybe he had decided to help me, even without knowing the full story, because he was

grateful for what my parents had done.

What he didn’t know was that my real boyfriend was Xander.

No matter what, I was grateful for his help. Maybe he wasn’t as terrible as the rumors said.

Embarrassed to keep taking up his time, I said, “Theodore, the bonfire party’s almost over. If you’re busy, we should probably just go…”

“Go where?” Ivan suddenly yelped.

“This is not the time to leave.” Theodore stopped me firmly. “I need to explain tonight’s situation to everyone.”

I begged him with my eyes to let it go.

Instead, he turned to the crowd gathering around us and said, “I’m the Alpha of Blackspine Pack, and

Valencia has been afraid that being with me would only make my reputation worse, so she wanted to keep

our relationship hidden. The truth is, my reputation can’t get much worse than it already is.”

“She may have done a few foolish things, but all of it was my fault. I failed to make her feel secure.”

“I don’t want to keep sneaking around with her anymore. So here, before the Moon Goddess, I swear…”

“I, Theodore Blackwood, accept the Moon Goddess’s blessing, and I accept Valencia as my mate.”

I saw moonlight rush toward me.

Inside me, my wolf said in astonishment, “I’ve never felt this good before.”

The blessing of moonlight was sacred among werewolves. The people around us no longer looked at me

with ridicule. Instead, they looked at me with blessing in their eyes.

I was stunned. How was this even possible?

My stepbrother being my mate had already been bizarre enough.

And now my stepbrother’s uncle was my mate too. No novel would dare write something this ridiculous.

Still holding my hand, Theodore lightly hooked his pinky against my palm.

The sudden touch made me shiver, and my heartbeat skipped.

“An Alpha sure isn’t picky. Looks like absolutely anyone can catch your eye.” Xander’s face twisted with rage.

I looked at him again and finally recognized the expression for what it was: jealousy.

Ivan’s face darkened, and even Theodore was angry on my behalf.

But I spoke first. “Who the hell do you think you are? Stay out of my business. Don’t try to use being my

brother to control me. Whatever exists between us has never been a normal brother-sister relationship.”

Ivan thought I meant that we weren’t blood-related.

But Xander knew exactly what I meant. I had no intention of exposing the truth in front of Ivan.

Only Xander had already lost himself to his anger. He said, “What if I stop calling you out as your brother and

start doing it as your mate instead?”

I snapped, “Don’t say insane things.”

Xander forced himself to calm down a little. “You didn’t even know Theodore before this. Both of you are

lying.”

I was frantically searching for an excuse.

Theodore beat me to it.

“My relationship with Valencia was kept secret,” he said. “I have too many enemies, and I didn’t want her

getting hurt.”

“But I have plenty of proof that we’re in love.”

“Valencia likes the scent of cedar because that’s what I smell like. Blackspine Pack is cedar country.”

Xander went deathly pale.

In a quiet voice, Theodore continued, “Valencia ran into the mountains on her birthday because she was trying to find me. Blackspine Pack was part of the rescue effort that day too. But I missed her.”

“She hid my existence from everyone because she didn’t want to tell her brother.”

“And she especially didn’t want to tell you, Xander Hale.”

“She didn’t know how to tell you she was involved with your uncle.”

“So that’s it. That explains everything.” Ivan gasped.

But I could feel Theodore making the misunderstanding even bigger. I had never been close to him before. He was only taking the history between me and Xander and grafting it onto himself.

I wanted to explain, but Theodore’s voice carried Alpha compulsion, and it was impossible to resist. Everyone listening obeyed him instinctively.

Xander realized it too. “That’s not true, you… thief. Valencia and I were obviously-”

Theodore looked straight into Xander’s eyes.

“If she ever said anything strange to you, it was only because we happen to have similar eyes.”

“Oh my God, that’s right. Valencia had that sketch of blue eyes. She was drawing Theodore.” One of my

friends cried out from the crowd.

Without my even realizing how it happened, I had gone from being the crazy she-wolf Xander had pushed over the edge to Theodore’s secret lover. I couldn’t say that second version was worse, but everything had

happened too fast. It was too unbelievable.

Under the firelight, uncle and nephew, brother and sister-every relationship between us seemed even more

tangled than before.

Xander looked like he wanted to say more, but Pallavi grabbed him tightly. “Honey, you’re acting really weird.”

Xander stood there like someone who had just lost a war.

I hurriedly said, “Everyone’s already heard more than enough tonight. Let’s go somewhere else.”

I grabbed Theodore and pulled him away. God only knew how I had enough strength to drag an Alpha

anywhere.

We walked deeper into the woods. No one else was around. Fireflies lit up the brush.

I let go of his hand and exhaled hard, trying to sort through the chaos of the night.

But Theodore only added to the chaos in my head.

“Valencia, would you consider becoming my mate?”