Filed to story: Mated and Hated by My Brother’s Best Friend Book PDF Free by Anna Campbell
What if he died because I didn’t tell him?
Every time someone died, I felt like I was responsible. I could have stopped it. I didn’t know anyone else on the list, but I knew they existed. They were real people with real friends and family. This was far too wrong.
I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to scream. I wanted to demand answers from the sky or the stone beneath our feet.
I swallowed, looking down as my hands trembled.
“He was on the list,” I said.
Nate turned then. Slowly. “On what?”
My throat locked.
Shit.
It was too risky. I didn’t know how to reveal it without revealing it.
And suddenly, I understood how Max and Nate felt all year, not being able to tell me something because of the blood oath. This was like my own blood oath.
His eyes narrowed, catching it. “What list, Jiselle?”
*1…” I looked away. “I just mean… he was powerful. People knew it. That scares them, right?”
He stared at me too long. Long enough that I felt his suspicion like a hand pressing to my chest.
I felt it tightening between us.
The distance.
The silence.
The lie.
I’d never lied to Nate before.
Not like this.
Not when it mattered.
He said nothing else. Just turned and walked back inside. I followed, unsure if I was chasing him or fleeing myself.
I had to tell him. Tonight.
Or we both might not live to see the solstice.
That night, I didn’t eat.
I sat on Nate’s bed, staring at the parchment Solara gave me, like it might change. Like it might cross out another name while I watched
Nate came in quietly, dropped his weapons by the door and pulled off his cloak, boots, and armor without saying a word. I didn’t look at him as I hid the list away.
He didn’t ask what I was doing.
But I felt the tension.
Like storm clouds on the edge of thunder.
He sat beside me eventually, but not too close. Not touching. Not tonight.
“You’re still not going to tell me what you know?” he asked.
His voice was low. Careful.
I sighed “Nate, 1-*
“Stop”
I flinched
He turned then. Fully. His eyes were darker than I’d seen them in days.
“You knew his name before they said it. Kael. You asked me if it was true the moment you saw me. You knew he was on some list. And I want to know what the hell that means”
I looked down at my hands. “I can’t.”
“Bullshit.”
I winted
“Nate-“
“I can’t protect you if you keep things from me.”
“I’m not trying to keep things from you.”
“Then why am I risking everything for you?” he snapped.
My heart slammed into my ribs.
I stood. “I didn’t ask for any of this, Nate. Not this situation. Not this power. Not this war you keep pretending is ours to win.” He stood too, breathing hard.
“You think I like this? Watching you walk around with a target on your back while you lie to my face?”
“I’m not lying!”
“You’re hiding the truth. That’s the same damn thing.”
Silence.
And in that silence, I felt something ripple through me.
Power.
Not loud this time.
Not roaring.
Just… present.
Buzzing beneath my skin.
He saw it.
His jaw tightened.
And still, he didn’t move away.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He sighed. Rubbed a hand down his face. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. But if you start cutting me out-” “I’m not cutting you out.”
“Then let me in.”
My eyes burned.
I looked at him and wanted to say everything. Wanted to spill the truth at his feet and let him help carry it.
Instead, I told him that I needed to get to bed, and he didn’t argue.
When I turned back, he was already pulling the blanket up over me. His touch was soft. Too soft, though his face was hard. He didn’t say anything else.
Neither did I.
But when he finally disappear into his bathroom and I took the list out of my bag, the next name circled in dull red made me want to scream, as the agony and pain slapped me all at once.
Nathaniel Morningstar.
And Kael’s name?
Crossed out in red.
*Jiselle*
I couldn’t breathe.
It was like my lungs had forgotten how to function. Like the air was there, but it wouldn’t go in-wouldn’t stay. My fingers were shaking. My hands were cold. And all I could do was stare at the parchment crumpled in my lap like it had grown teeth.
His name was on it.
Nathaniel Morningstar.
Circled in blood red.
Marked.
Next.
A scream crawled up my throat, but it got stuck somewhere between panic and disbelief. I shoved the list away-tossed it across the room like it might explode-but it didn’t help. The name was already burned into my vision. Into my chest. Into every part of me that had come to love him, need him, trust him.
Kael was dead.
And now Nate-
No. No no no no-
My body moved before I realized what I was doing. I scrambled off the bed, nearly tripping on the edge of the rug as I tore toward the bathroom door. What if he slipped? What if it had already started working? What if I was too late?
“Nate-” 1 gasped, my voice choked and trembling. “Nate!”
The door opened just as I reached for it.
He stepped out, shirtless, damp towel slung over his shoulder, brow furrowed. Water still clung to his collarbone and dripped slowly down the lines of his chest.
But he was fine.
Whole.
Alive.
He froze when he saw me. “Jiselle?”
And then I broke.
The panic hit all at once, a tsunami of emotion so fast and full I couldn’t think, couldn’t stop it. I pressed my hands to my chest, trying to hold everything in, but the sob still ripped out of me. My knees buckled. The tears came hard, hot, and endless, falling in thick streams down my cheeks as I collapsed onto the bed and curled into myself.
He was beside me in an instant.
“Hey-hey” Nate whispered, kneeling in front of me. “Breathe. Look at me. Just breathe.”
I couldn’t. I couldn’t.
His hands gently cupped my face, thumbs brushing the tears from beneath my eyes. His voice dropped to that soothing, grounded register that always made my walls fall.
“Jiselle. Breathe in for four. With me.”
He inhaled. I tried to follow.
“Hold it now out”
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