My Alpha Brother’s Regret Was Too Late Chapter 02

My Alpha Brother’s Regret Was Too Late Chapter 02

“Tessa!”

Elias’s gaze went dark as he yanked Mira to him. “Let’s see how long you can keep this act up.”

He lowered his head and kissed her, bold and rough.

My brother reacted on instinct, reaching out to clamp a hand around my wrist. “Tessa…” He was afraid I’d make a scene.

But I only turned away and headed straight for the stairs.

Rather than stand there and watch them put on an X-rated show, I’d rather go back to my room and rest.

On my way up, I even turned the central air two degrees warmer, careful and considerate.

“Damn it!” Elias roared behind me, and a second later came the thud of him kicking the front door and the scream of an engine as he peeled out.

My brother stood there, frozen, staring after me with an expression too tangled to read.

“Tessa, didn’t you used to love Elias the most?” he asked. “So why are you…”

So he did know. For a while, I’d honestly thought he didn’t.

How did he force me to let go?

It was simple. The moment Mira said she liked Elias, my brother started pushing them together, even when Elias and I were practically at the point of sealing our mate bond.

The day before our mating ceremony, he drugged us and sent Elias to Mira’s bed.

Then he put me in another man’s bed and personally arranged for the Ravenstone Pack elders to catch us “in the act.”

The next morning, everyone packed the doorway, jabbing fingers in my face and calling me shameless.

When Elias rushed over, he could barely stay on his feet. “Mira used to tell me you were sleeping with a bunch of men behind my back, and I never believed her,” he said, shaking. “But today, you really taught me a lesson.”

He threw his clothes onto my still-naked body to cover me.

“Tessa,” he said coldly, “loving you is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever done.”

A sharp pain suddenly bit into my foot.

The dog I’d raised for ten years was baring its teeth at me.

Mira walked over with a bright smile. “You’ve been away from the pack house too long,” she said sweetly. “He doesn’t remember you anymore, so he thinks you’re a bad outsider and he’s protecting me.”

My brother stood at Mira’s side like he always did, her personal guard.

“He didn’t mean it,” he said flatly. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

I looked down at the dog I’d once rescued off the highway, and in the next second I kicked it away without hesitation.

Then I lifted my eyes to Mira. “Of course,” I said evenly. “Why would I bother arguing with a heartless animal like that?”

I meant it.

I couldn’t control my own brother’s betrayal, or the betrayal of my childhood sweetheart, so why would a dog matter?

My brother’s gaze darkened, while Mira took it as a jab at her and her face fell instantly.

The next moment, heat rushed through my nose, and something started dripping down before I could stop it.

I wiped at it, and my palm came away bright red, the bleeding refusing to slow.

My brother’s expression changed, and he almost lunged at me, grabbing my wrist. “What’s going on?” he snapped. “Come on, we’re going to the hospital.”

His hand was scorching, and I could feel the faint tremor in his grip.

“Ah.” Mira pressed a hand to her temple and swayed. “I feel dizzy. Maybe I caught a chill the day sis shoved me into the water.”

My brother looked at me, then at Mira.

In the end, he released me without hesitation and bent down to scoop Mira into his arms.

“Call a doctor right now,” he ordered. “Get her checked.”

Mira looped her arms around his neck, and when she glanced back at me, her eyes were smug and undisguised.

I didn’t have the energy to watch her performance, and I didn’t care who my brother chose to worry about.

I twisted up two wads of tissue and stuffed them into my nostrils, then looked up at the wall calendar.

Only two days remained.

That was all I had left before I left this place for good.