Chapter~3

Fuck!

Saira’s arousal hit me in the gut, rendering me stiff as a stick like a virgin boy witnessing the naked body of a woman for the first time.

“Fuck yes! She’s reacting to us!” Malko danced with joy, his howl sounding like a beast about to be slaughtered.

Before my mind could register the meaning of his words, Saira shoved me aside and ran out of the kitchen.

I sagged against the counter, thankful Einas wasn’t in the kitchen, otherwise, I might’ve just lost my sanity if he had smelt her arousal. Saira was mine, and I didn’t plan on sharing her with another.

Not even her fated mate.

I raked my hands over my face, deeply inhaling the lingering scent of her arousal through the gaps of my fingers.

She reacted. No, her body reacted to me. But to what part of me? Was it my nearness or my touch? I didn’t remember touching her. When I pulled the tray out of the oven, I merely smiled, right?

“Right! It’s the smile! She was definitely turned on by your smile!” Malko cackled gleefully, then growled with indignation. “You idiot! Why didn’t you smile at her earlier? It could’ve saved us so much time and effort!”

“You’re the idiot!” I snapped, finally coming out of my trance. “Did you forget how much I smiled at her in the past half a month?” It evoked no reaction. “There must be more to what happened earlier.”

I had a feeling our bond was finally playing its part. It was the only thread between us that could explain the situation. But just in case I happened to be wrong, I needed to take things slow and experiment.

Looking towards the stairs, I released a disappointed sigh, and filled a tray. Knowing her, she probably wouldn’t come down for breakfast after what happened. And as a husband, I couldn’t eat while my wife remained hungry.

~Einas~

I clenched my teeth, gripping my fists so tight my knuckles cracked. Saira didn’t even notice me standing at the corner of the stairs. I barely caught a waft of her arousal before she flashed past me and disappeared into the guest room.

The room she shared with Idris.

“Fuck!” My fist slammed into the wall, pain and rage blurring my vision as the scent of blood drifted in my nose.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I rejected her. Disdained her very presence and went as far as to push her to my half-brother. This was the same obnoxious, delusional, pretentious woman I abhorred and loathed with a vengeful edge.

Then why?

Why did her growing bond with Idris bother me so much? Why did I feel like wiping off the goofy grin on his face with a punch and beating him to death?

Was this the consequence of an incomplete rejection?

“The consequence of an incomplete rejection?” My wolf scoffed in the back of my mind. I didn’t like the disdain I caught in his tone. “Einas, can you for once stop being a coward and man-up? Face the truth. You fell in love with our rejected mate!”

“Impossible!” Nostrils flaring, veins popping, I vehemently denied his claim. I had witnessed her multiple facades. The she-wolf had an insufferable attitude, her personality sucked, and her beauty was nothing but an illusion crafted to hide her uglier side.

There was no way. No fucking way in hell could I fall in love with Saira Malivik.

Not when I knew what she looked like in her wolf form.

Licking off the blood on the back of my knuckles, I threw a disgusted glance at my dazed brother. Accurate to my prediction, the she-wolf was exactly the kind of toxic poison that led righteous men astray.

I needed a breather. A little run in the crisp winter breeze to cool off and regain my wits. Because I refused to fall victim to the slut’s seduction like my brother.

~Caira~

“What do you think? Should we give them a push?”

“We can only achieve our goal by removing the obstacle in our path. As for the others…”

“They can only blame themselves for being used.”

For being weak.

I pulled out my phone and tapped on the first number in my contact list. Once the line connected, I flicked my nails while staring at the open door. The mixed blood mongrel's figure had disappeared from sight, leaving the cold howling wind to fill in the ensuing silence.

"Code?"

“Invasion. Make it clean and quick.”