Filed to story: Mated and Hated by My Brother’s Best Friend Book PDF Free by Anna Campbell
My glare deepened. “What’s your deal?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed my arm and pulled me up, too close, his grip firm, his scent overwhelming. I hated myself for still feeling it-the pull.
I tried to remind myself of the morning I had with Max before he was thrown into some third-year training that didn’t release him until two hours ago-another reason I wasn’t sure Nate was going to show. But I should be thinking about that, not this.
I tilted my head, narrowing my eyes. “You’re upset with me.”
It wasn’t a question. He might’ve acted like I didn’t, but I knew him. He was hard, he was brutal, and he was rough.
But he wasn’t… spiteful,
“This isn’t about training,” I said, and his jaw ticked, his eyes darkening. “This is about Max, isn’t it?”
‘Take your stance,” he ordered, ignoring my question, but I stood my ground, literally and figuratively.
“Why do you hate Max?”
Max had said Ethan shouldn’t push. But he never said I couldn’t.
Nate’s jaw ticked. “Because he’s an arrogant prick.”
I scoffed. “Every male in this sexist-ass school is an arrogant prick, including you. So tell me something else.”
His lips twitched slightly, but there was no amusement behind it..
“His brothers are even worse arrogant pricks.”
He threw a punch, and I deflected it, my body reacting without hesitation. A flicker of pride crossed his face before he masked it.
“Stop lying to me,” I demanded, throwing a kick of my own which he batted away as if it was a small toy.
He exhaled through his nose, rolling his shoulders. “I can’t tell you the actual reason. But the short answer is the prick thing.”
I snorted and took a step back, trying to catch my breath. “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”
Nate moved faster than I could react, knocking me onto my back once more and the breath left my body as I saw stars, and not the ones in the sky.
Nate’s body hovered over mine, his blazing eyes drilling into me.
“If you can’t balance your energy levels between training and pleasure, then maybe you should reconsider your priorities,” he all but growled.
My breath hitched.
Then he yanked me up. “Again.”
***
I sneaked back into my room, relieved to find Eva finally back.
Last night, I had returned to the dorms, sore and exhausted from Nate’s training, only -to find her bed empty, Looked like she’d been having fun, too.
I wasn’t about to stay alone with Emari, of all people, so I went straight to Max’s room. He had opened the door without hesitation, barely questioning why I was there. I had collapsed onto his bed within minutes and fell asleep almost instantly.
Now, slipping back in, I found Eva curled under her covers with a book. At least one of us was going to pass the Alpha Strategy test at nine today.
The moment I entered, she perked up, but I saw the question about where I’d been.
“I kissed your brother,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. There. I said it.
Eva blinked, pushing herself up more. Emari, sitting at her desk, slowly glanced up. She had a pen between her teeth, flipping through a book, looking shockingly normal for once.
She raised a bored eyebrow.
I cleared my throat. “Can we please have the room?”
To my surprise, Emari gathered her things without protest and left.
I frowned. She really didn’t care about Max.
Eva stretched, rubbing her eyes. “Which one?”
“Max, obviously.” I shivered, making a face. “I wouldn’t even think of being with Lincoln, and I don’t even know the other one.”
Eva studied me before flicking her gaze over my wrinkled shirt and the red love bite on my neck.
“By the looks of your bed hair and that mark, I’d assume you did more than just kiss my brother.”
I sat on my bed. “Are you mad?”
Eva sighed, setting her book down. “Of course not. You’ve become my closest friend. And don’t tell him, but Max is my favorite brother.”
“Hate to break it to you, but they all already know that.” I chuckled.
Eva smiled softly, but then her face sobered. But that puts me in a situation where I’ll have to choose if things go south.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “And why would they go south?”
Eva sighed, looking me dead in the eye.
“Have you told him that Nate is your mate?”
I winced.
That was answer enough.
Eva exhaled.
“You are going to tell him, right? Because I know you’re not over Nathaniel. And I don’t -care if you use Max as a rebound. He’s a big boy. He can handle himself. But at least give him the option to decide what he wants to do once he knows Nathaniel wasn’t just some childhood crush.”
“I will.” I fidgeted, not meeting her gaze. “I promise.”
Eva nodded, but her voice remained firm.
“You do know that the mate bond will pull you until you either yield, reject each other, or take another’s mark, right?” she asked and I heaved a breath, falling back onto the bed.
Okay. Maybe this was more than I thought.
“I know,” I mumbled.
I had mated parents and had seen it firsthand. Even after decades, they could barely keep their hands off each other.
“Good think about that before you make any more decisions. Because I’ve never seen Max… care this much before. Just… don’t hurt him blindly, please.”
I finally met her eyes and nodded. “I promise I’ll tell him and give him the option to stay or leave.”
Eva smiled. “Good. If he stays, at least he’ll know what he’s getting into.” Then her face twisted in mock disgust. “But for the love of the moon goddess, Jiselle, don’t tell me about your sex life with my brother. I don’t want to know what he can or can’t do.”
A smirk pulled at my lips and my voice dropped dangerously low.
“Oh. He can do.”
Eva gagged and threw a pillow at me. I laughed so hard I fell off the bed.
* Jiselle*
The cafeteria was packed, wolves filling every available space, the buzz of conversation blending with the occasional clang of trays. I had barely stepped inside before I was grabbed.
One second, I was walking with Eva, and the next, Max had pulled me straight into his lap.
I yelped, gripping his shoulder out of instinct, but he just smirked, wrapping an arm around my waist to keep me in place.
“You’re late,” he murmured against my temple, his lips brushing my skin, sending a shiver down my spine.
“We had to stay back in Pack Landscaping because someone couldn’t get the ratio correct,” Eva said as she slipped into the seat between Max and his friend, Evan.
“I thought I had it.” I pouted, but Max kissed it away.
“Don’t worry, I’ll spend extra time tutoring you,” he mumbled, placing another kiss on my lips.
Eva snorted. “You already spend all your free time tutoring her in that course, Max. She’ s beyond redemption.”
“I am not,” I defended with a laugh, because I was, in fact, unteachable in that course.
Max chuckled, low and dark. “That’s not what I do with all my free time with Jiselle.”
“Okay ew. I did not need that image right before lunch.” Eva scooted away and Evan simply laughed.
I tried taking my own seat too, but Max wouldn’t let me off his lap.
I sighed. “Don’t you think everyone is tired of our PDA now?”
His smirk deepened. “I don’t care.”
I rolled my eyes but deemed it useless as I got comfortable on his thigh. This has been his move for the past week and a half since we started… whatever we started.
I could feel the stares, and the murmurs rippling across the room, even after all this time. I reckoned I’d give it a month before people just stopped caring.
He was Maximus Laker, after all. He was one of the most respected-and feared- wolves in this academy. He didn’t do relationships. He didn’t claim anyone. Yet here I was.
Max was… intense.
Not in a bad way. Not really.
He was possessive in ways that reminded me of an actual matebond, and protective in a way that made me feel safe, even though I knew I could handle myself.
His presence was constant. If he wasn’t holding my hand, his arm was slung around my shoulders. If we were standing, his fingers were brushing my skin.
It wasn’t suffocating, at least not yet, but I noticed it.
I noticed how he never let me out of his sight unless we were both in class, and how he always made sure I was within reach. It was thrilling and terrifying at the same time. Ethan hadn’t said much about it, but I knew why. He didn’t care that I was sleeping with his best friend’s enemy, because he knew no one would mess with me now. Because no one messed with Max. Basically, his life’s mission of keeping me safe has been accomplished.
Unlike Ethan’s threats-which only some wolves actually took seriously-everyone was scared of Max. Even the cockiest wolves knew better than to cross him.
Everyone except Nate.
He was always there. Always watching. Always pissed. We still trained every night at midnight, and I could feel him taking out that very frustration on me.
At first, I thought maybe he was just annoyed in general. That maybe it had nothing to do with me. But then Max started doing things.
Things like kissing me in front of him.
Like pulling me into his lap every chance he got.
Like touching me just because he could.
And Nate? He looked like he was about to break something every single time.
I needed to tell him that Nate was my mate.
But every time I tried, something interrupted us.
The first time was in the middle of a studying session in my room, and Emari came in, looking annoyed as usual. The second time, we had just settled into one of our late- night conversations when a group of third-years and instructors barged in, dragging Max into some ridiculous challenge, Stupid school.
The third time, Nate had walked past us, glowering, and Max had kissed me right there, backing me up against the wall like he wanted to make a statement.
It had been the reason for our first fight a few days ago. I didn’t like being a pawn in whatever they had against each other, and I felt like he was using me to get Nate upset.
But he had quickly dismissed that thought, apologized profusely until it just got… weird, and promised not to let his ego make me uncomfortable again. Then he made it up to me with his very… very talented lips.
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?