Norman:
"Maximus!" I watched him rush after Helanie as she sprinted toward Kaye’s car. My muscles tensed at the sight. My brothers were letting her use our resources to defeat us. How the fuck was that okay?
"UGHHHH!" Maximus threw a fit once she was out of sight. As the other students left the ground, I gave them an awkward smile while grabbing Maximus’ arm and subtly pulling him away.
I needed to calm him down before he made himself look like a sore loser. I led him to my car, shoved him into the passenger seat, and gestured for the driver to take his car. I got in to drive him ho myself.
"What a b****!" he yelled again, his aggression starting to worry .
"It’s not that big of a deal," I sighed, feeling a pang in my chest from seeing my brother so shaken.
"Maximus! Calm down," I urged, growing increasingly concerned as he was losing control. I had never seen him this worked up before.
"How could that happen—" he hissed, slapping his forehead repeatedly until I parked the car on the side of the road to check on him.
He didn’t need to take it so hard. Things like this could happen to anyone. I hoped he wasn’t letting his ego take the hit.
"So what if she beat you? It doesn’t prove anything," I said, taking his hands to stop him from harming himself.
"How—" he grunted again.
"Are you upset because a wolf-less girl beat you? If that’s the case, just know this: you lost to a girl. Won are the most powerful and unpredictable creatures. Don’t feel bad about it," I said, trying to ease his guilt. I didn’t want him to feel this way just because she didn’t have a wolf.
You never know when a woman might surprise you.
And although I despise Helanie, today she impressed . I was honestly speechless at her courage and determination.
"I don’t get it—it just—" Maximus looked away, avoiding my eyes, and that worried .
"Maximus! Look at ; calm down," I urged, trying to turn his attention back to , but he wouldn’t focus.
"Norman! It’s not just that she won. It’s how she won—I felt...a pull towards her," he finally burst out, turning to face . My heart skipped a beat.
I couldn’t even respond right away, stunned by what he’d just admitted.
"What are you saying?" I asked, needing to be certain I’d heard him correctly.
"Norman, it was strange. Suddenly, I felt this pull towards her. I can’t explain it, but it was—" he covered his face with his hands, hesitating before he continued, "and it’s not even the full moon."
I could tell he wasn’t lying.
I had sensed sothing too when he did, but I’d assud it was just his anger. Clearly, it was much stronger for him.
"Uh, there has to be another reason. Maybe you thought it was a pull, but you were just angry—" I tried to co up with so excuse to put him at ease, but deep down, I knew there was no other explanation. He was certain of what he’d felt.
"Norman, I got angry afterward. Before that, I didn’t even care if she beat or not. It wasn’t a big deal—until I felt that strange sensation. It has to be a mate bond. And since she doesn’t have an active wolf, I don’t think I’ll ever know what it really was," he said, a hint of frustration in his voice. He wasn’t wrong.
"Does that an...she’s my mate?" Maximus’s eyes widened, and I felt my stomach twist.
"You didn’t hear your wolf call her ’mate,’ so that ans no," I said quickly, shaking my head to push away any ideas forming in his mind.
He’d said it himself. Helanie didn’t have an active wolf, so no one could fully sense a mate bond with her. Since that chance had passed, and he hadn’t truly heard it, there was no way she could ever claim they were mates.
At least, not until her wolf awakens.
Still, I need to handle this carefully—before her wolf does awaken, and this ti they feel the mate bond fully.
Because how else could we explain that pull?
"It was nothing. It wasn’t even a full moon," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him as he opened his mouth to speak.
"Trust , it must have been nothing," I reassured him, and he finally relaxed in his seat.
"I was so scared," he murmured. I could only imagine what the thought of discovering her as his mate would have done to him.
But I was concerned, too. It was possible he’d sensed sothing with her outside the full moon. I just needed to make sure she didn’t co forward with any ridiculous claims.
"Now, let’s go ho and rest," I said, starting the car again. I needed to handle this imdiately.
After dropping him off, I headed straight to my office, clutching Emt’s card in my hand.
"I’m not giving Helanie a single chance to change her mind. There’s a possibility she might go back to her hotel room and start thinking about the mate bond. What if she decides to claim Maximus as her mate instead of enrolling in the academy as his stepsister?" I said to myself, holding her admission papers tightly, determined to settle this matter.
I am not going to let her reconsider her decision. She must sign and beco our stepsister.
No one at the academy would take her seriously if she started claiming her stepbrother as her mate, and she wouldn’t be foolish enough to do it, either. After grabbing the admission papers, I set off for that cursed hotel where she was staying.
I wouldn’t give her a chance to think or change her mind. She needed to sign these papers as quickly as possible.
Just then, my phone rang, and I saw who was calling. I hadn’t spent much ti with Jessica lately, and I wondered when she’d finally snap.
But like every other day, I ignored her call and kept driving toward the hotel.
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