Filed to story: Mated and Hated by My Brother’s Best Friend Book PDF Free by Anna Campbell
“I don’t get to ask for a future. I destroyed that. I know that now. But I can still give you something else. A shield. A blade. A delay.”
The emotion tightened in my chest, but not from grief. From closure. From something old loosening its grip.
“You really mean that?” I asked.
“I do.”
“Then be careful,” I said, standing. “Because I might actually let you.”
He offered a bitter smile. “Wouldn’t be the worst way to die.”
“No,” I said gently. “But maybe-just maybe-it’s not how your story ends.”
He didn’t answer. But his shoulders straightened.
That was enough.
I turned away before the wind could steal the last of my strength, walking back toward the tent I shared with Nate. The bond tugged as I neared it, like it had felt every word, every breath I’d taken outside.
When I slipped inside, the firelight was dim. Nate had lit only one lantern, casting the space in soft golden amber. He stood at the center, bare-chested, arms crossed, eyes fixed on me like I’d been gone too long.
“You alright?” he asked.
I nodded. “I needed to say goodbye to something.
He didn’t ask what.
Just opened his arms.
And I walked into them
This time, I didn’t tremble. I didn’t flinch.
I just let go.
His lips found my temple first. Then my cheek. Then the corner of my mouth. His hands slid across my waist, up my spine, grounding me in ways even the bond couldn’t replicate,
“I want to mark you,” he whispered.
My breath caught.
“I know it won’t fix everything,” he went on. “But I want it to mean something. Not survival. Not desperation. Just… us.”
I tilted my chin up, eyes burning.
“Then do it.”
He paused.
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more.”
Nate didn’t waste another second.
He bent, lips brushing the curve of my neck. My breath hitched as his canines grazed my skin-not biting, not yet. Just waiting. Asking one last time with nothing but silence.
And then-
I nodded,
His teeth sank in gently. Not with violence. Not with hunger. With reverence.
The bond didn’t just flare. It sang. It lit up every vein, every nerve, every old wound that hadn’t yet healed. And in its place, something new took root.
A seal.
Of choice.
Of love.
Of sovereignty.
I gasped, arching into him as the mark sealed. Nate caught me as I nearly collapsed, cradling me in his arms like something sacred.
But we weren’t finished.
The kiss that followed wasn’t desperate.
It was slow.
Measured.
Claiming.
His hands moved under the blanket I still wore, trailing over my skin like he was memorizing it for the hundredth time-and still couldn’t get enough.
My fingers fumbled with the ties of his pants. He hissed softly against my lips but didn’t stop me.
There was no rush.
Just the hum of magic. The thrum of bond. The ache of two bodies, two souls, finally finally whvold
When he slid into me, I didn’t cry out.
I breathed.
Because this wasn’t fire anymore.
It was home.
He moved slowly at first, like we had all the time in the world. My hands gripped his shoulders, nails digging into skin as I rocked against him
We kissed through every thrust. Every slow roll of hips. Every gasp that turned into a whisper of names, of promises, of things we’d never gotten to say before this.
“I love you,” I choked out, trembling as the pleasure built low in my spine.
His eyes burned into mine. “Then take everything.”
And I did.
I let myself shatter.
Let myself fall.
Let the flame inside me rise-not to consume, but to crown.
His name left my mouth on a moan, and he followed with mine, breaking into me one final time, marking not with teeth now, but with body. With soul.
When it was over, we stayed tangled.
Naked.
Marked.
Whole.
And for the first time in a long time-
Safe.
The bond settled quietly between us, a gentle, living thing no longer frayed or cracked. I could feel it weaving deeper than ever before. Through flesh. Through magic. Through memory. fell asleep with my head on his chest, his hand in my hair, and the mark on my neck still warm.
But peace doesn’t last long in our world.
A sharp gasp jolted me awake,
The tent flap burst open.
Eva stood there, wild-eyed and shaking.
Her voice broke.
“I saw it,” she whispered.
Nate sat up beside me. “Saw what?”
Her lips parted.
“Not fire,” she said.
“Then what?” I asked, heart already sinking.
She looked at me.
Then at the mark on my neck.
And finally at the scar still glowing faintly on my back.
Jiselle
Eva didn’t move.
Not at first.
She stood frozen in the mouth of our tent, her lips parted, her eyes locked on something none of us could see. Her voice-already hoarse-had dropped to a whisper, the kind that clung to your ribs long after it faded.
“Blood,” she had said. “So much blood.”
Then she crumpled.
I caught her before she hit the floor, arms wrapping around her frame, which felt far too light. Far too breakable. She shivered against me, breath stuttering, her skin clammy as if something cold had torn through her and refused to let go.
“Eva-“I shook her gently. “Eva, what did you see?”
Her mouth opened.
But no sound came.
Nate was beside us in an instant, his arm curling around my back, grounding me as much as her. Bastain burst through the flap a heartbeat later, cloak half-thrown over his shoulders, already reaching for the satchel at his hip.
“She’s in a full flare,” he muttered. “The vision’s still unraveling.”
“She said blood,” I whispered. “What does that mean?”
Bastain didn’t answer. He dropped to his knees beside us and pulled out a small, glass orb etched with golden sigils-Sentinel-made. He placed it against her palm.
“Eva,” he said softly, firmly. “This is the anchor. Feel it. Breathe with it. Pull back.”
Her lashes fluttered. Her lips twitched.
Then-
“Not flame,” she rasped. “Steel. A blade she knows. A brother’s scream. A fall too fast-“
My stomach twisted.
“What brother?” I asked. “What scream?”
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?