Her Brother, Her Mate

“Did he tell you?” I asked.

My dad nods solemnly, “He did. He also said you didn’t react well when you found out.”

“Found out what?” Uncle Nathan asked.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

I chew on my bottom l*p, and Elena and Tommy shift uncomfortably.

“Parker is my mate,” I told him softly.

“The young alpha?” he scrunches his eyebrows in confusion, “Is that what all that was about this morning? Is he trying to force you to stay here now because of that?”

“I thought it was strange,” my dad ponders, looking pissed, “It was too random how Jared wanted to do this adoption and how fast he pushed for it to go through. He pushed a lot of money at a judge to sign off on it by the end of today.”

Elena nodded, “It explains a lot. That….horrible woman claimed she was mean to you to protect you. She probably just wanted to save her own skin. Her daughter being mated to the alpha’s son proves you both share no b***d.”

“Wait,” Courtney holds her hands up, “You’re mated to Parker Snider? Isn’t he your brother?”

I shrug, “Step brother, technically. We have completely different parents, but neither one of us knew that until yesterday. Parker spent the last 4 years thinking he was mated to his half sister. I just had no idea.”

“Eww,” she shudders, “that’s so weird.”

“Tell me about it,” I rolled my eyes, “I didn’t like the idea, but when I’m around him I get all these confusing feelings and can faintly feel the pull towards him. We were really close before he turned 18, so it’s hard to separate the two versions of Parker in my head; the brother I used to be close to, and the mate that abandoned me when he found out we were mates and only now wants to try and claim me.”

Elena started playing with my hair again in a motherly gesture, “Maybe that’s why he was such a great brother to you. You are both dominant wolves. He could probably feel the urge to love and protect you your entire life. We would watch the both of you and it would give us some peace to see someone in that home truly loved you. When he found out you were his mate, I’m sure it scared him just as much as it’s scaring you now. And he didn’t have the added benefit of knowing you weren’t really his sister.”

“Elena,” my dad sighed, obviously not approving of her words.

“What? You know just as well as I do that you shouldn’t fight the mate bond. Look what happened with Jared and Mary. Do you want the same thing for Carli?”

He grunts his disapproval, “I don’t want her to be forced to stay where she doesn’t want to be just because of a mate bond.”

“Tom….” Nathan looked at him in brotherly concern, “I’m not any happier about this than you, but you know the moon goddess won’t do things to harm her children.”

“So she’s just supposed to stay here and be those toxic people’s daughter-in-law? They treated her so amazingly as their daughter, I can’t wait to see how they do as in-laws.”

Elena nodded in agreement, “That’s the hard part. Carli,” she turns my face towards her, “I know all about toxic, abusive parents. I know this is a difficult decision to make, and when you make it, I don’t want you to let their influence dictate your decision. Your mother tried to abuse you to protect her secret, so you would leave and reject him, and Jared is abusing his power to try to force you to stay. We had no idea why until Parker came by, but now everything makes sense. Whether you choose to stay or go, we will be behind you 100%.”

I smiled shyly, feeling her love for me radiate in her words, “Parker told me if I left, he would renounce the pack and follow me. He said he’s done with his parents too.”

“Well,” she wiped a few stray tears from my eyes, “he just gained a few points in my book.”

My dad and uncle help me to bring boxes over to my room while Courtney helps Elena with the dishes after we’re all done eating. Nathan tells me they’re just in case, but my dad seems insistent that we will still be moving. After bickering over the topic with his brother for a few minutes, he told me to use the boxes to pack up my stuff and move in with them at the very least. He didn’t want me to be alone anymore.

The 5 of us sat in their living room, Nathan and Tommy telling us stories about their childhood, and everyone was telling me more about the side of my family I knew nothing about. I can’t wait to meet my paternal grandparents. I never had grandparents before. Alpha Jared’s parents are still alive, but I was never allowed to meet them. Around major holidays when they would go visit them in Fort Lauderdale, I was left behind with a sitter or nanny when I was younger, and left to my own devices the older I got. I spent every holiday with the Childes for the last 8 years, and now knowing they’re my real family, those holidays are so much more meaningful to me.

“Did you know that I named you?” my dad asks.

“Really? How?” I scrunched my nose in question. It doesn’t seem like something my mom would allow.

“When I first first found out about you, before Jared came to claim Mary, I told her if you were a boy I liked the name Clayton, like my grandfather, and Carli, after my grandmother. My grandmother’s whole name was Carli Rose, but for obvious reasons I left Rose out at the time. Your mother detested Luna Rose because of the rejection. When I heard Mary still named you Carli after you were born, that gave me hope that one day I could be your father.”

F**k, I hate crying. I feel like that’s all I’m doing this evening. My dad wipes the tears away and I wipe the ones rolling down his cheeks too. The man who claimed to be my dad for 18 years didn’t even know my name, but I’m okay with that. My real dad, the one who truly matters, is the one who named me anyway.

“You know what would be super sinister?” Courtney smirks at me, “If you do accept your mate, and if you have a daughter, you should totally name her Rose.”

“Oh, I like that,” Elena chuckles.

I laughed softly. I’m not vindictive, but the name is pretty and I would love to see my mother’s face when she hears the name of her granddaughter.

“So what does this stepbrother look like?” Courtney asks, “I need to see his face to make my final decision. I’m still on the fence about him now.”

I laughed, then pulled out my phone, scrolling to a picture Parker took of us at lunch today. His smile is brilliant and he’s looking at me like I’m the most precious person in the world. When he took my phone to take the picture, I didn’t check it then, but seeing it now; seeing the way he looks at me even when he’s supposed to be taking a selfie makes my heart flutter in my chest.

I turn the phone to face Courtney and her mouth drops.

“That’s him?! If you don’t want him, can I have him? He’s….wow.”

I chuckle softly, even though the possessive twinge in me almost makes me growl instead.

“He is decent looking, isn’t he?” I said, turning the phone back to me. I stare down at the screen, absentmindedly touching the picture like my body is seeking him out on its own.

Elena chuckled softly, “Just wait until your birthday. The pull is going to be a hundred times stronger then.”

I smiled up at her shyly, “It’s already hard to resist him. I can’t imagine the pull being any stronger.”

“Your dad almost mated and marked me right in the Wawa gas pumps. I bet Nathan was the same way.”

Uncle Nathan nods, “Fiona was here on spring break with her parents. Her dad had to physically pull me off her, then her mom had to physically pull her off me.”

“Gross dad,” Courtney gags in disgust.

Uncle Nathan laughs, “You just wait, young lady. One day I’m going to be choking out some young man to keep him off you.”