Filed to story: Mated and Hated by My Brother’s Best Friend Book PDF Free by Anna Campbell
Fear flashed in his eyes for a quick moment before he quickly masked it
“She won’t,” he said confidently.
“Won’t you?” Max asked with a certain edge to his tone that made my heart break. “I… I-
“Jiselle,” Max growled with a warning in his tone.
“I didn’t know-
“Yes, I pushed you away and I was an ass even when you came back to me. But I was afraid and stupid,” “Jizelle
Max growled again. “Reject him.”
I stepped back bit, until I was far away enough from both of them not to do anything I would regret.
“I’m not trying to hurt either of you, I whispered
“But you will have to,” Nate said.
“I know” I turned to Max. “And I’m sorry.”
He didn’t say anything
I turned back to Nate. “And I’m sorry to you, too”
He nodded once, a sharp movement. “Good. Then maybe it’s tim
My heart stopped.
“What?”
He looked at Max I’m not going to fight you for her”
Max’s eyes narrowed. “Good. Because you’d lose ” it’s time you made a choice.”
Nate ignored him. I’m not going to compete. I’ve already done that once in my life, and I lost.”
I frowned. “Nate-“
“No” he said. “It’s okay. I know what I feel. I know what you feel. But you’re not ready to face it, and that’s on me for no giving you what you needed. And I’m sorry.”
He turned to the door, paused, then glanced over his shoulder.
“But I already know your choice. So do you. You just have to tell him.”
And then he left.
I stood there, frozen, staring at the empty space where he’d been.
Max didn’t move either.
That arrogant, self-serving, audacious son of a-
“Well.” Max sighed.
I turned to him, my voice small. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Then don’t,” he said, and something in his tone softened. “You already said enough.”
I closed the distance between us slowly. “Do you believe me? That I love you?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I just don’t know if that’s going to be enough.” He sighed as if he was in pain. “Because you love him too. A lump formed in my throat.
“But we can try.” I didn’t deny it. He told me to stop lying to him.
He hesitated.
Then nodded again. “We can try.”
I leaned into him, resting my forehead against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me slowly. Carefully. But he didn’ t embrace me fully
“But you have to reject him, Jiselle. It’s my only condition.”
*Jiselle*
The air outside Max’s room felt colder than I remembered. Maybe it was just me. Maybe it was the weight of what I’d just agreed to. My feet carried me down the hallway, but it felt like I was walking through fog-thick, silent, suffocating.
My hands trembled at my sides, the echo of Max’s voice still clawing at the back of my mind
“You have to reject him, Jiselle. It’s my only condition.”
It echoed. Over and over again. Like it had been burned into the inside of my skull. I had told him I loved him. I meant it. Every word. But those words had never felt heavier than they did now,
Because to keep Max. I had to sever the one thread I wasn’t sure I had the strength to cut.
Nate.
I should have walked faster. Should have marched with determination. But every step toward the door-toward his room- felt like dragging iron chains behind me. It was only a few doors away yet felt like an entire mile.
My wolf stirred uneasily, torn and restless. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to reject her mate.
But I wasn’t doing this for her.
I was doing this for me. For Max
For the fragile, bruised relationship that was barely holding itself together after everything we’d been through.
I stopped in front of his door as my heart hammered against my ribs. My fingers clenched into fists.
“Just knock,” I whispered to myself. “Get it over with.”
I took a deep breath and raised my hand.
My knuckles rapped gently against the wood, and I hated how I hoped he wouldn’t answer. That maybe he was asleep. That maybe I’d be forced to come back later, and I’d have more time to build my strength.
But fate had other plans.
The door opened after a few seconds.
And there he was.
Nate.
Shirtless, damp from what looked like a recent shower, his hair tousled like he’d run his hands through it one too many times. A pair of loose, dark joggers hung low on his hips, and his expression-his sleepy, confused expression-shifted the moment he saw me.
His eyes sharpened instantly,
“Jiselle?” His voice was rough from sleep. “What are you
“I need to talk to you,” I said quickly, trying to keep my tone firm. But it cracked on the last word, and I hated that he noticed. He stepped aside and let me in, quietly closing the door behind me. The room was warm, cozy, dimly lit by the early morning light seeping through the blinds.
I stood near the center of the space, arms folded across my chest, trying to stop myself from shaking.
He walked past me, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, if this is about Laker |-
“It’s not,” I interrupted. “Not… really”
He turned slowly, brows furrowing. “Then what is it?”
I swallowed hard, unable to meet his eyes. “It’s about the bond.”
The silence that fell between us was deafening.
I didn’t have to look up to feel his entire body tense. When I finally did glance at him, his expression had shuttered completely
I see,” he said, voice tight.
“I need to break it, I whispered “I’m here to rej
The words were out before I could second que.
And they felt like poison on my tongue.
Successfully unlocked! ern back
Nate didn’t speak for a long moment. He just stared at me. And for the first time in weeks-maybe even longer-I saw something shatter in his eyes. Something raw and real.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed, stepping closer. “And Maximus put you up to this, didn’t he?”
I flinched. “He didn’t-force me”
“No. He just gave you a condition. Nate said flatly “And you, being you, agreed.”
I looked away
“He’s scared,” I whispered. “He’s been through enough.”
“So have we” Nate said, softer now.
He took another step forward. And another. Until there was barely a breath between us.
Tve been through hell too, Jiselle. Watching you fall in love with someone else. Watching you come back to me and then pull away again. You don’t think that destroyed me?”
My breath hitched.
Tm sorry” I said, voice trembling. “I never wanted to hurt you. But I need to move on.”
“No, you don’t” he snapped, “You just think you do.”
He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek, and my knees almost buckled,
His touch was warm. Steady. Familiar in a way that nothing else had ever been.
“You’re trying to erase this, he whispered. “But you can’t. You can’t erase a mate bond, Jiselle. Not by loving someone else. Not even by rejecting me.”
I blinked back tears. “I don’t want to love you.”
“Too bad,” he murmured. “Because you do.”
I shook my head, my vision blurring.
“This is the only way,” I insisted. “I have to do this.”
Nate studied me for a long moment.
And then he did something I didn’t expect
He laughed.
A bitter, broken laugh that sounded nothing like him.
“You think this ends with you saying a few words?” he asked. “You think the moon goddess just goes, “Oh, never mind. Forget what I carved into your soul”?”
“Nate”
“You’re in love with him. I get it. But don’t stand here and pretend this is what you u want.”
“I came here to reject you,” I said, more forcefully this time. “So let me do it.”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?