Filed to story: Mated and Hated by My Brother’s Best Friend Book PDF Free by Anna Campbell
“You kissed me that day to get him out of your system, not because you chose me.”
Max’s voice was hollow, stripped of the fire it carried moments ago. He pushed off the wall, walking away from me, rubbing at his forehead like he was trying to keep himself together
The words stung
But that’s where he was wrong
“That’s not true,” I said, my voice steadier this time. “You started tearing away at my walls from the first day you showed up at my room looking for Eva. I didn’t kiss you because I wanted a rebound. I hadn’t been with Nate in any way like that in years”
Max visibly flinched at the admission
I swallowed hard, watching as his fingers curled into fists at his sides
“I kissed you because I wanted you I continued, taking a hesitant step toward him “Because for once, someone actually
His Breath hdched Just slightly
Then, just like that, the walls slammed back into place
“Yet, even now, you want him”
His voice was low, so deadly quiet, that a chill swept through me.
I opened my mouth to protest, but he didn’t let me
“You don’t realize it he said, his silver eyes flashing. “But training with him, Jiselle, it was never about the training. You craved being near him”
“That’s not true it doesn’t matter that you didn’t talk” He swerved around, eyes locking onto mine with raw, furious intensity “You don’t have to fucking talk “
I flinched, and he exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face as if physically trying to restrain himself,
“Have you.” He swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Have you even rejected him?”
The question shattered me
Tears stung my eyes as I shook my head:
“Max” M
His nostrils flared, his body going rigid
“Fucking hell
He turned away, pacing the room like a caged animal. His hands raked through his already disheveled hair, his breathing
“You haven’t rejected him he murmured, more to himself than to me. “You haven’t because you still want him”
No?” I burst out, desperate, stepping toward him. “That’s not it the roared
His voice echoed off the walls, raw and filled with something more than just anger-something that broke him.
I had never seen him like this before. Never seen Max shattered
“Like I said, I have brothers who are mated, Jiselle,” he said through gritted teeth. “Lincoln is mated. He met her last year when she first came here.”
Want What?
Lincoln?
The cold detached, permanently pissed-off Laker brother had a mate?
“He’s the hardest ass I know, Max continued, eyes burning into mine. “And he doesn’t let people in. He swore up and down that he never wanted a mate. But you know what?”
I knew
I already knew
The didn’t reject her Max hissed. “He lied to himself, lied to her, lied to all of us. But he didn’t reject her because he wanted her. He broke within two weeks.” swith? Why did I always assume it was a different person each time? Maybe because
Was that the woman he was always wi that’s the perception I had of him.
I closed my eyes briefly as the words landed
Mar stepped closer.
“So tell me his voice was quieter now, but no less lethal. “Am I just a placeholder for you?” “No, Max. 1-
“A placeholder until Nathaniel pulls his head out of his ass and realizes what he’s really missing?”
I shook my head violently “No, Max, I swear-
“Then why haven’t you rejected hum?”
The words slammed into me like a freight train
I swallowed “1. I don’t know
Mars face twisted
“You do know he
His trapidly, his breaths coming in sharp, heavy bursts. I watched as his fists curled at ed at his sides.
Then, suddenly, he deflated.
The anger, the fire, the fury-it all bled out of him bike air from a balloon, leaving only something else behind.
Something worse
Disappointment.
“You do know, Jiselle,” he whispered, shaking his head.
I felt my heart break.
A lump formed in my throat as I took another shaky step forward, reaching for him, desperate to touch him, desperate to fix this
But he stepped back.
Out of reach
His silver eyes met mine, and I knew
I knew I had lost him
“I’m not doing this anymore.”
The words came out low, almost too quiet. But they destroyed me.
“Max wait-please” I choked out, stumbling forward.
But he was already storming out the door.
I rushed after him, my vision blurred with tears, but before I could get far, Eva caught me.
She wrapped her arms around me tightly, holding me still.
“Let him cool off, she whispered, her chin resting against my head. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “This isn’t what I wanted”
“I know,” I gasped through my sobs, my hands fisting the front of her shirt as I clung to her. “It’s all my fault. If I had told him earlier, maybe-*
“I know,” she repeated softly, guilt thick in her voice.
And that was the worst part.
Because Eva had been trying to protect us both.
She had warned me. She had given me every opportunity to tell Max the truth,
And now?
Now, by choosing her brother’s best interest, she had hurt me.
By keeping quiet, she had hurt him..
And I?
I had ruined everything
I should have been focused.
I should have been preparing myself, mentally running through the techniques I’d learned and observed, anticipating my opponent’s strengths and weaknesses,
But all I could see was Max
He stood across the field, muscles tense, movements precise as he dodged a strike from his friend as they spared before class started. Even now, pissed at me beyond belief, he was a force to be reckoned with and falling
I took a hesitant step toward him, watching as he ran a hand through his already tousled hair, his chest rising steadily. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. I opened my mouth to call out to him, to try to say something-anything-but just as his silver eyes landed on me.
His jaw licked.
And he turned away.
My breath hitched before I blow out a defeated sigh. Despite the hollowness in my chest and the evident look in his eyes that he wanted nothing to do with me, I took another step, my pulse pounding-
“Max,” I whispered once I was close enough, but he had already moved on, already focused on something-someone- anything that wasn’t me.
Pain pierced through my chest, but before I could chase after him, a sharp voice cut through the tension.
“Johal Instructor Bastian called just as the hour for Combat and Training struck. I watched Max walk away with a heaviness in my heart as I turned to glance at Instructor Batsain with his regular clipboard with the list of challenges for today
And my challenge had been the first to be called.
I clenched my fists, forcing my emotions down as I exhaled slowly and turned away. Not now. I had to push it down now. As I walked toward the designated ring, my steps faltered slightly when I caught Nate’s eyes from across the field
He had been watching
He had seen everything.
His brows lifted in silent question, and for a second, I thought he was about to come over. Instead, his gaze flickered to Intrsyor Bstain who I now realized was heading straight for me.
“Are you ready for the challenge?” he asked in a tone that seemed normal to anyone who might have heard, but I knew exactly what he was asking. Did I use the dagger in anticipation of the shift.
I lifted my pinky subtly, flashing him the tiny, almost invisible prick.
His shoulders relaxed slightly, and he gave the smallest nod. It was a bit, odd.. seeing the sternest instructor in the most rigid academy in the world care if I lived or died.
It just made me even more curious. What the hell would be the waste of a millennium if I died?
I brushed it off as I turned toward the makeshift curtained-off enclosure where students would shift before their matches. It wasn’t really private-nothing in this damn school ever was-but it provided enough coverage for students to strip and shift without a full audience.
I stepped behind it, my fingers shaking slightly as I pulled off my clothes, folding them neatly before exhaling deeply This is it
My first shift in front of the entire academy. My first challenge in wolf form. The snow was about ankle length and we were freezing out asses off. But this was just another day at the Alpha Training Academy, where if you aren’t uncomfortable, you aren’t doing it right
Taking another breath, Het go
I felt the familiar snap of my bones, the rush of heat crawling beneath my skin as my body twisted and morphed, the change familiar yet still unsettling My claws elongated, fur sprouting along my limbs as my spine stretched and cracked. And then I was on all fours. It had been way to exhilarating to be in this form again, even if it v
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