Filed to story: Mated and Hated by My Brother’s Best Friend Book PDF Free by Anna Campbell
“Let go somewhere more private to talk before you go into the meeting” Bastain said.
“Are you two a part of the council?” I asked with a raised brow
“Yes, but there are matters to discuss before we head inside. Now hurry” Bastein snapped.
Right. Still the scary-as-hell combat instructor.
We walked in silence across the stone courtyard, the trees rustling softly around us. The scent of morning dew clung to everything, grounding me in the present. Reminding me of what I almost lost. As soon as we arrived at a secluded part of the academy, close to the forest, they turned to me.
“She’ll need to be monitored closely,” Miss Carrow said. “The mark rejection may be resolved, but there’s no telling what kind of strain it left on her wolf. Especially with the Solstice so near.”
I frowned. “What does the Solstice have to do with anything?”
Bastain gave her a look, and she gave him a nod-like he needed her permission to speak. Then he turned to me.
“The Solstice is four weeks away,” he said. “You remember what that means?”
“First-year manifestation,” I answered. “When wolves start showing their gifts.”
“Correct. Every year, the moon’s power is at its strongest on that night. Most of the time, the gifts come in predictable tiers. You know the different gifts. The ones most common and the ones rare that the council usually looks for. But occasionally …very occasionally… there’s something else.”
“Do you know something about Jiselle?” I demanded, not caring who the hell he was as long as he started speaking now. Bastain’s eyes met mine, steady and unreadable. “I’m saying that this year’s Solstice will be… unique.”
My pulse quickened. “You think Jiselle’s gift will manifest as a unique one.” It wasn’t a question.
“I know it will,” Miss Carrow said, stepping forward. “And it won’t be small.”
I looked between them, my heart starting to pound again-but for very different reasons than before. “What are you saying?” Bastain let out a breath, long and measured. “We believe Jiselle may be touched by something rare. Something directly tied to the Moon Goddess herself. A blessing-or a curse, depending on who you ask.”
I blinked. “You think she’s Veilborn like me?”
He didn’t answer right away.
Miss Carrow did.
“We don’t know for certain,” she said carefully. “She’s not my student, but according to Instructor Bastain, he’s seen some signs.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because I didn’t think you had a right to know. Up until a few days ago, no one knew you were mated,” Bastain said grimly. I hated that he had a point.
Wait. Did Laker know?
“What did you notice?” I demanded. “What level will her gift be?”
Bastain didn’t reply. But if she was veilborn too, that would equal three in the academy-in our generation. That was extremely rare and slightly terrifying.
“I’m telling you this now because I need you to know she must be protected. Hadelyn and others might see power as a threat. I’ve been doing what I can to keep her off their radar. But after solstice, there won’t be much I can do.”
“Do you understand what we are saying?” Miss Carrow added with a hint in her tone. “You might have to be prepared to do anything to ensure another waste of a millennial is repeated”
Waste of a wha-
Wait, were they implying that I might have to… break Jiselle out of the academy?
My hands clenched at my sides. “So what now? You want me to protect her?” I asked, just to be sure
Bastain gave me a long, heavy look. “No. I want you to guard her with everything you have. Especially on Solstice night.” i nanowed my eyes. “Why?”
“Because” he said, voice low and quiet, “if her gift manifests et full power, and it’s what we suspect she might not only just be humed”
Miss Carrow’s voice cut in “She’ll be claimed Controlled Weaponized. “
My entomacb tumed disete My hoolis A weapon?
Not while 1 breathed
“Then I’ll stay with her i said, steel creeping into my voice 7 watch her ever ha anyone who tries to come near her.”
Bastain studied me, then nodded.
“I believe you,” he said. “And that’s why I’m trusting you with this. But know this, Nathaniel-if the council decides she’s a threat, I may not be able to protect her. Not even I can defy the moon’s chosen hierarchy. Not forever.”
I took a step forward, staring straight into his eyes. “Then you won’t have to. Because I won’t let them get that far.” There was a beat of silence.
Then Miss Carrow said softly, “Just make sure she lives long enough to find out what she really is.”
They left after that-no formal dismissal, no council to meet. Just a warning. A message.
A truth I didn’t want to face.
The Solstice was coming.
And Jiselle wasn’t just a student anymore.
She was something else.
Something powerful.
Soon everyone would know.
I turned back toward the infirmary, the bond pulling me like a beacon, and I realized-
Protecting her heart had never been enough.
Now I had to protect her soul.
And I’d die before I let anyone take her from me again.
*Jiselle*
The crisp smell of antiseptic still lingered in the air, but the sting of it didn’t hit as hard this time. Maybe because I could finally breathe again. Maybe because the fever was gone, the aches and chills no longer strangling me from the inside out. But I wasn’t fine.
Not even close.
My legs still felt like overcooked noodles, and my arms trembled every time I tried to adjust the sheet over my lap. Still, the nurse had said I’d recovered enough to be discharged.
Discharged.
Like the hell of the last week could be wrapped in a bow and filed away with a single word.
Nate sat beside me, his hand loosely folded over mine, thumb brushing gentle circles against my skin like he needed the contact as much as I did. There was peace between us now-a fragile, tentative peace that felt like it could either bloom into something whole or fracture into a thousand pieces if I breathed the wrong way.
And still, I was grateful.
The door opened, and I didn’t even have to turn my head to know it was Ethan. His presence settled in the room like gravity -familiar, anchoring, but today… heavy.
He stepped in slowly, his dark eyes flicking from Nate to me. His mouth opened, then closed again, like he wasn’t sure where to begin. Nate stood without needing to be asked.
“I’ll give you two a moment,” he murmured, brushing a quick, warm kiss to my temple before walking past Ethan and quietly closing the door behind him.
Ethan dragged the nearest chair across the room and dropped into it with a long sigh. His elbows hit his knees, and he laced his fingers together like he was trying to hold himself steady.
I sat quietly, waiting.
“I’m not mad that you’re mated to him,” he said finally, his voice low, tired. “I’m mad that I didn’t see it. That I couldn’t stop any of this.”
His words made my chest cave in a little.
“You couldn’t have known, Ethan.”
“You’re my sister, Jiselle,” he said, looking at me. “My twin. I was supposed to know,”
“You were protecting me. That’s all you’ve ever tried to do.”
He exhaled through his nose, rubbing a hand over his face. “Doesn’t feel like enough.”
“It is,” I said gently, and reached for his hand. “But I need something from you now.”
His brows lifted slightly.
“I need you to forgive him,” I said softly. “Nate.”
Ethan leaned back. “You serious?”
I nodded. “He made a promise to you when we were kids. That’s why he left. That’s why he didn’t claim me. He told me… he thought he owed you his life.”
Ethan’s head jerked slightly. “What?”
“He wouldn’t tell me what happened exactly. Just that he wouldn’t have survived something without you.”
Ethan sat silently for a long beat, blinking. “I don’t even… I don’t know what that could be. But I’ll ask him.”
We stared at each other for a long moment, twin reflections of pain and guilt and the kind of bond only shared through years of unspoken understanding.
“I almost died, Ethan.”
His jaw clenched.
“I don’t want to ever be in a position where I leathe
Ethan looked away. His voice was thick when I Successfully unlocked!
I stiffened.
The realization ak. please, talk to him. Not just for me-but for you.” e fully mated now, aren’t you?”
“Jiselle.”
“It was… on our birthday.”
Silence.
Then-
“He had sex with you on our birthday!?”
I groaned. “Ethan, please-“
“I’m going to kill him!”
“Ethan!” I grabbed his arm. “No. He didn’t force anything. We were sixteen and stupid and scared and in love. I wanted it as much as he did.”
He yanked his arm away, pacing like a wild animal. “But then he left like a week later! I remember now-he disappeared right after that. You were a mess, and I thought it was something else entirely.”
“It was because of the promise,” I said softly. “He couldn’t stay. He thought he had to let me go.”
Ethan stopped moving. His face collapsed, and something raw passed through his expression. “So all this time, I thought he was the reckless one. I thought he didn’t give a damn about you.”
“He thought he was doing right by you,” I said. “He hurt me to protect your freindship.”
Ethan sank into the chair again, burying his face in his hands. “Moongodess. I was the reason you never had him.”
I touched his knee gently. “You didn’t know.”
He shook his head. “Still. That doesn’t make it okay.”
“No, but I forgive you.”
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?