Filed to story: Mated and Hated by My Brother’s Best Friend Book PDF Free by Anna Campbell
I barely had time to dodge before her fist sliced through the air where my head had been. She was toying with me, testing my reflexes. I went for a low kick that I had seen Ethan do before, but she anticipated it, shifting her weight and countering with a devastating strike to my ribs.
Pain exploded through my side.
I staggered but didn’t fall.
She laughed. “That all you got?”
I gritted my teeth and hanged, aiming for her midsection. She deflected my blow effortlessly, catching my wrist and twisting, forcing me to my knees.
More laughter. From the crowd. From Emari.
Humiliation burned hotter than the pain.
I twisted free, rolling away and scrambling to my feet just in time for her next attack. This time, I managed to dodge, barely, but my movements were sluggish compared to hers.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan shift forward.
‘Don’t you dare,’ I hissed through our mindlink, catching him mid-step. His jaw clenched, but he stayed back.
Nate remained stone-faced, but something about the way he stood, rigid and watchful, made me think he was fighting something-his wolf, maybe. For a second, I swore I saw him move like he might intervene.
But Max was gone. Nowhere in sight.
My stomach lurched as Emari’s fist connected with my ribs again, this time harder. A sharp crack split through the air, and pain tore through my side. hit the ground hard.
The crowd fell silent.
I struggled to breathe, my vision swimming, but I refused to stay down.
My fingers dug into the dirt, and I forced myself up, trembling but standing.
Emari tilted her head, amusement flickering in her eyes.
“Still not giving up? Cute.”
She moved in for the final blow.
And then something inside me snapped.
A flood of power surged through my limbs, burning like liquid silver. My vision sharpened. My hearing became razor-focused. And then-I felt it.
A pulse. A shift deep within me.
For a fraction of a second, my vision darkened at the edges, and then everything came back in sharp, impossible clarity.
Emari lunged-
And I stopped her.
I didn’t grab her. I didn’t dodge.
I just willed it.
Pain-sharp and blinding-flashed across Emari’s face. She let out a strangled gasp, stumbling back as if an invisible force had slammed into her. She clutched her head, her legs giving out beneath her.
The crowd gasped, but from this angle, no one could see that I didn’t actually touch her. For all they knew, I kicked her down.
I stared, my breath coming fast, my hands shaking.
What the hell had I just done?
Emari hit the ground, panting, her eyes wild with confusion and something else-fear.
Before she could move again, the instructor’s voice rang out. “Match over!”
Silence.
The entire academy watched me, eyes wide. Some in shock. Some in suspicion.
I’swayed slightly, the power retreating as quickly as it had come. My knees threatened to buckle, but I refused to fall
For the first time in my life, I had done something more than just survive.
I had won.
But then I saw black as Ethan rushed towards me. The pain took over, and I succomend to the darkness, falling into his strong arms. Or at least, I thought it was Ethan, but they felt larger….
Warmer. Like home.
“Jiselle
I woke up to the soft glow of moonlight streaming through the infirmary window, my body aching but no longer throbbing with unbearable pain. My mind took a second to catch up, but when it did, fury burned through me.
I passed out. In the middle of the academy, in front of everyone.
Because of a single broken rib.
I groaned, dragging a hand down my face, barely aware of the sound of shifting beside me until a warm hand took mine.
“Jizzy.”
Ethan.
His green eyes held so much relief, so much love, that my initial anger faltered. He kissed my knuckles, squeezing my hand. “You scared the shit out of me.”
I swallowed hard, blinking up at him. The weight of his worry settled over me, heavier than my own frustration.
“I’m fine.” I muttered, though my voice was hoarse.
“No, you’re not.” He exhaled sharply, his forehead creasing. “I should have trained you harder. I should have found the time-“
“Ethan.” I cut him off with a weak smile. “You’re doing everything you can.”
He shook his head, still gripping my hand as if I’d disappear if he let go. “You need more training, Jiselle. I can’t be there enough, but I-“
I gave his hand a small squeeze. “I’ll find a way to stay alive.” I promised him, my voice softer now.
He hesitated, but finally sighed, brushing a loose strand of hair from my face. “I just wish things were different. I know Eva is training you but I just…” He sighed. “I’m always so busy with classes.”
I smiled at him. “Like the one you have now?”
It was late, but we both knew he had to go. He had this class twice a week-The classified first-year male-only class. He tried to hide it, but I knew.
“You should go,” I said. “My rib is practically healed, thanks to my wolf.”
That was a lie. Well, half of one.
I’d broken a rib before-on a stupid dare back in Crescent Pack-and it had taken nearly a day to fully heal. But now? My ribs felt… fine. Whole.
Ethan frowned but nodded, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead.
“I promise I’ll make time.” He offered me a sad smile before heading out.
Once he was gone, I exhaled, staring up at the ceiling, my mind swirling.
What had happened in the ring? How did I stop Emari? What was that strength I felt? It was wild yet focused. It was odd yet… me.
A knock interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up just as Max stepped in.
A lazy smirk played on his lips. He looked like himself again, instead of the version of himself that I met today full of anger. Now, his eyes glistened. with a familiar teasing look, and his boyish smirk was back.
“From what I heard, your ass was handed to you,” he said as he stepped into the room.
I rolled my eyes. “Yet, I won.”
He chuckled, closing the distance between us and dropping into the chair Ethan had vacated.
“Yet, you did.”
Something flickered in his gaze, something knowing.
“You know something,” I said, crossing my arms. its smirk deepened, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Maybe.”
“Then tell me.” I sat up, ignoring the slight ache in my side. “Tell me what you know.”
“I can’t.” He shrugged.
I frowned. “Can’t or won’t?”
His expression turned almost… sad. “Literally can’t.” He made a slicing motion across his throat, eyes wide in exaggerated horror before grinning. “I’d die.”
“Is it some kind of blood oath?” I asked, remembering that there were rumors about blood oaths happening at the academy, but they were all debunked.
“Can’t tell you that either.” He looked genuinely sorry that he couldn’t, but that was enough of an answer. A shiver ran down my spine. What kind of secrets are they making in this place that they tied students’ lives to them?
Maybe Nate would tell me if I asked? But he would die too.
I sighed, frustrated, but he quickly changed the topic. “Eva’s at the head office, threatening them to have Emari moved from your room.”
I blinked, then laughed. “That’s sweet of her, but I think I can manage sleeping in the same room as Emari.”
For a moment, I considered asking him if he and Emari had history-if they had been something. But I swallowed the question. It didn’t matter.
“It matters that she’s a good fighter.” There goes that jealousy again. Pesky thing. Max stretched his arms over his head.
“I’ll help train you.”
I hesitated, then shook my head. “Ethan and Eva are already helping me.”
Max smirked. “You mean your brother who just left for Night Nav and won’t be back until dawn?”
I blinked. So that’s the classified male-only class? Night Navigation? Why were only males allowed in it?
“Sexist-ass school,” I muttered under my breath.
After Max left for bed-or better yet, after I forced him to leave because of his evident fatigue, the infirmary got too quiet. Too suffocating.
So I snuck out, knowing the nurse-wouldn’t have given me clearance until tomorrow. But there was no doubt about it. I was already healed.
My feet carried me to the forest’s edge, the only place where I could train alone without prying eyes, but not too far for it to be dangerous. The moon hung high, bathing the trees in silver light as I threw punch after punch into the air, my footwork clumsy but determined. The class we had today, Fitness and Combat, was designed to weed out the weak. It started with an obstacle course to test and strengthen our stamina, and then basically flung us into ‘combat’ to imitate a real-life event of running and having to go into a fight. For now, we were only doing it in human form, and we wouldn’t start in wolf form until next semester.
More persons are known to die in wolf form-namely in the challenges.
I had to get stronger. I had to get faster.
I used a fallen tree as a ramp as I ran up its length, jumping down only to start again and again, even as my lungs burned.
A twig snapped behind me, putting me on high alert as I froze, my breath hitching.
Then, a voice. Low. Steady Familiar.
“You call that training?”
I turned, my stomach twisting.
Nathaniel stood a few feet away, his face shadowed under the moonlight. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes… his eyes were sharp, assessing.
“How long have you been standing there?” My fingers curled into fists. “Were you following me?”
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