Page 3 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
We never talked about that night again. But I never forgot about the calm feeling that Asher’s presence had made me experience. It seemed like I’d been chasing that same kind of tranquility ever since that night. I’d been unable to find it.
Maeve’s hand squeezing my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts.
“I'm sorry that I wasn’t there to help you through your first time shifting,” she said.
“Don't be sorry.” I caught her eye in the vanity mirror. “You're here now.”
We shared a grin, and she squeezed my shoulder once more, then got back to work finishing my hair.
“That looks so good,” I said when she secured the last bobby pin into place.
She smiled at my compliment.
“Turn away from the mirror before I start your makeup,” Maeve instructed. “I want you to see the final look when you put your dress on.”
After I spun around, she got started on my makeup.
“What about your new stepdad? Do you get along with him?” Maeve asked as she compared two foundations with my skin tone, trying to find the one that best matched my pale complexion.
“Russell is nice. He’s a really busy guy because he’s the Alpha of our pack and running a huge corporation, but when he talks to me, it seems like he actually cares to get to know me,” I said.
Russell seemed like a truly decent guy. That was why I didn’t know what he was doing with my mother.
“What about your stepbrother, Asher? Everyone knows that he's the most eligible bachelor in all of Ambervale Kingdom.” Maeve giggled. “He’s so cute. Honestly, Asher could be a contender for the hottest guy I’ve seen in all of our kingdom.”
Oh my Goddess.
I prayed to the Moon Goddess—she was the shifter deity—that she would take pity on me and kill me now.
“I mean, uh, obviously I don't see him that way,” I said, hoping that my high-pitched voice didn’t betray me. “He’s my stepbrother. And, besides, I barely know him. Right after my mom and Russell’s wedding, Asher moved out of the house to attend college in another kingdom.”
I believed that Asher moved away because of my mom and me. Asher was going to take over his dad’s technologycompany, BloodMoon Enterprises, in the future. It didn’t make sense for him to move to another kingdom in the middle of his college career. Unless he had a reason to want to get away. Or two reasons.
“Girl, you're not actually related to him, and you guys didn't even grow up together. It's okay to admit that he's cute,” she said and winked.
Maeve—and most shifters my age—were pretty open about their sex lives. Not me. I'd always been shy about that sort of thing. My experience with romance was limited to a few awkward first dates and even more awkward kisses.
“I mean, um, he’s a little cute. I guess.” That was the understatement of the century. “He actually just moved back here a month ago, right before my birthday. He’s going to start at Sun Fire University this fall and help run his dad’s technology business.”
Sun Fire was the city that most of Asher's dad's pack—BloodMoon—resided in.
I didn't tell her about the disdain I could feel coming off of Asher whenever he looked at me the past few weeks. The loathing in his beautiful hazel eyes always made me shiver.
The only time that he’d actually shown any other emotion was when we ran into each other in the hallway one night. He was just out of the shower, a white towel wrapped around his waist—this was where the image from my daydream had come from—and when I’d unconsciously bit my lip and scanned his bare chest, a flash of attraction had crossed my stepbrother’s face.
It had been so quick, and Asher hadn’t looked at me since then. I was starting to think I had imagined it.
“Why is Asher moving back?” Maeve asked as she finished lengthening my eyelashes and picked up a tube of pale pink lipstick.
“His dad had a heart attack,” I said quietly. “It was pretty serious. For a minute there, um, we didn’t think he would make it.”
I swallowed and hoped I wouldn’t cry. Although I hadn’t known Russell for long, I admired his leadership within our pack and his company. I hadn’t met anyone who had one bad word to say about him.
“Oh, Ivy, I’m so sorry,” Maeve said. “How is Russell doing now?”
“He seems to be doing better. He’s even back at work andattending pack meetings. Russell told me that Asher is helping him a lot with the business and our pack.”
My pulse jumped from just saying my stepbrother’s name.
