Page 3 of Brutal Alpha

“Yeah. Stay out of the way. He doesn’t need any more burdens right now.”

The words were like a gut punch. Surely I had misheard, had misunderstood.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, expecting him to backtrack, to clarify, to say it was a poor choice of words, but he only stared back at me with those cold, slate-grey eyes.

“It means that an Alpha isn’t only judged on his own qualities,” Ethan said as if he wasn’t tearing into me with freshly sharpened claws. “Abe might have been able to smooth over that business with his mate, but you’re his sister. He can’t distance himself from your weakness.”

The business with his mate. I had watched my father banish Alyssa Graves for the crime of claiming to be Caleb’s mate—for the crime of being half a witch—and she’d walked straight-backed out of town with nothing but a duffel bag and what was left of her pride. Was that what Ethan wanted for me? Did hewish he could give me my marching orders, have me disappear from my brother’s life?

“No one cared when I was the Alpha’s daughter,” I tried to argue. I wanted to sound strident and unbothered, but I only sounded so, so young. Weak, just like he said I was. “Why does it suddenly matter that I’m his sister?”

“Because Abe had already earned the Pack’s respect,” Ethan explained, as if I were a child. “People overlooked it. Now, they’re looking for any weak spots, and you’re right there. Stay home. Don’t act out. Don’t bother him until he’s settled and stable. Got it?”

It was lucky I had plenty of practice with orders like that. I’d thought my days of swallowing back tears and standing to attention had died with my father, but here I was, standing in the kitchen with their ghost.

“Loud and clear,” I said.

There would be no more sleep that night. Instead, I tossed and turned until dawn began to peek through my curtains. I didn’t want to get up, didn’t want to go downstairs and face Ethan, but I wasn’t a coward. I wasn’t going to hide up here until he was gone. Pulling on a clean t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, I had my hand on the door handle when I paused. Lying on my bedside table was an elastic hair tie; I only really used them for showers when I didn’t want to wash my hair, but suddenly, that unassuming black band was calling my name.

Snatching it up, I crossed to the mirror on my vanity. I leaned down until I could clearly see my face; it was a familiar sight, pale skin and severe bone structure, and that single bright blue eye—the other, the white one, the embarrassment, hidden beneath a curtain of shiny black hair. With my heart in mymouth, I pulled that hair back from my face, brushing it up into a high ponytail.

The girl who stared back at me in the mirror was entirely new: with her mismatched eyes proudly on display, this girl didn’t care what anyone thought.

Least of all, Ethan fucking Cain.

Chapter 1 - Julia

Four Years Later

Knock, knock, knock.

I had to leave for my shift at the elders’ cottages in five minutes, and Caleb knew that, so why my brother was currently knocking on my front door was a fun little mystery for the ten seconds it took me to open it. When I did, he was standing twenty feet back, off my porch, and halfway down the path.

“Why are you so far away?” I yelled, and he visibly winced. On a second look, even I could see that his clothes were rumpled, his usually neat black hair in disarray, morning stubble decorating his chin. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink.

“Emmy and Jack have the stomach flu,” Caleb said, his voice hollow and haunted in the manner of war veterans. Twin three-year-olds could do that to the strongest of men.

“Yikes. How’s that going?” I asked, although I feared I did not want to know.

“Well, Jack refuses to leave Alyssa’s side,” Caleb told me, “which makes him a little easier to manage, but Emmy decides she’s all better after every episode, so I’ve cleaned up throw-up off the floor in four different rooms.”

That made sense. Emmy was an absolute ball-buster on her best days, and I couldn’t imagine that changing a huge amount when she was at her worst.

“Disgusting. I’m so looking forward to motherhood.”

“You’ll have to find a guy who can put up with you first,” Caleb teased, the hint of a smile beginning to play at the corner of his mouth.

“Jackass,” I shot back instinctively. “What are you doing here, anyway? You shouldn’t leave Alyssa alone with them.” Caleb’s mate was the strongest woman I knew, but this would test even her resolve.

“I know,” Caleb said, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the Alpha’s residence. No doubt he could feel her anxiety through their bond. “But it’s the Solstice tonight, and I need a favor.”

“I am not looking after your vomit-covered children while you and Alyssa go and party it up on Ferris,” I said immediately, and Caleb shook his head.

“It’s not that. It’s, uh, the opposite, actually. I was hoping you could go to Ferris in our place.”

“Actually, I’ll take the vomit-covered children,” I said quickly. “No problem.”

“Please, Julia. It’s just one night; you’ll barely even have to see him.”

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