The Brother Who Hates Me

Kael didn’t wait for my answer.

One second he was in front of me, the next his arm was around my waist, pulling me against his chest. My protest died in my throat as the world tilted.

“Kael!” Kade’s roar shook the chandeliers.

“Try and stop me,” Kael said over his shoulder, not even looking back.

The last thing I saw before we hit the doors was Kade’s face - furious, pale, barely holding back his wolf.

Then we were outside, and the cold night air hit me like a slap.

Kael moved fast. Too fast for a human.

He threw me into the passenger seat of a black SUV, slammed the door, and was in the driver’s seat before I could catch my breath.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I hissed, yanking at the door handle. Locked. Of course.

“Getting you out of there before my brother does something stupid,” he said calmly, starting the engine. The sound was low, dangerous, just like him.

“You kidnapped me!”

“No,” he glanced at me, silver eyes gleaming in the dark. “I saved you. There’s a difference.”

The SUV tore out of the pack gates before I could argue.

Trees blurred past the window. The Red Moon Pack shrank behind us, and with it, my last chance at a normal life.

“Why?” I asked finally. My voice sounded smaller than I wanted it to. “Why do you care?”

Kael was silent for a long time.

When he spoke, his voice was flat. Empty.

“Because I was there.”

I frowned. “There where?”

“The night Kade rejected you.”

My blood went cold.

---

*[Flashback – One Year Ago, Mating Ceremony]*

The sacred circle was lit by silver moonlight.

I stood in the center in a white dress, hands shaking, heart pounding so loud I was sure everyone could hear it.

Today was supposed to be the best day of my life.

Today, Alpha Kade was supposed to accept me as his mate.

I’d loved him since we were kids. He was my best friend, my protector, the boy who taught me how to throw a punch when the other pack kids called me “bloodless” for being an Omega.

He promised me.

_“When I become Alpha, you’ll be my Luna, Aria. I swear it.”_

So when he stepped into the circle, I smiled through my tears.

But his face wasn’t happy.

It was cold.

“Aria Blackwood,” he said, voice loud enough for the entire pack to hear. “Step forward.”

I did.

Kade looked at me like I was a stranger. Like I disgusted him.

“I, Kade Redwood, Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, reject you, Aria Blackwood, as my mate.”

The words hit me harder than any punch.

My knees buckled. The bond snapped, and it felt like someone had ripped my heart out with bare hands.

Pain. So much pain.

My wolf howled inside me, begging me to fight it, to beg him to change his mind.

But I couldn’t.

Because behind Kade stood Kaia – his childhood friend, a pureblood Alpha’s daughter. She was smiling.

“I can’t be mated to an Omega,” Kade continued, voice flat. “You’re weak, Aria. You’ll never be strong enough to be Luna. The pack needs an Alpha female.”

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

Humiliation burned hotter than the rejection pain.

I wanted to die.

I turned to run, but before I could, strong arms caught me.

“Don’t fall, little Luna,” a voice whispered in my ear.

Kael.

He was crouched beside me in the shadows, silver eyes burning with fury.

“Get up,” he said quietly. “Don’t give them the satisfaction.”

I looked up at him, confused. Kael hated me. Or at least, that’s what I thought.

He helped me to my feet. His grip was firm, grounding.

“Let them see you walk out with your head high,” he said. “Because one day, Aria, they’ll regret this.”

I nodded, swallowing my tears, and walked out of the circle without looking back.

Behind me, I heard Kade’s voice, low and furious.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kael?”

Kael didn’t answer. He just squeezed my hand once before letting go.

That was the last time I saw him for a year.

*[Present]

“Why were you there?” I asked, my voice shaking.

Kael’s jaw tightened. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

“Because I knew he was going to do it,” he said. “Kade’s been in love with Kaia since we were fifteen. The rejection was planned. The council forced him to wait until you were eighteen to do it officially.”

I stared at him. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

“Because if I did, the pack would’ve torn itself apart,” he said bitterly. “Kade was the heir. I was the spare. The violent one. The one they blamed when things went wrong.”

“So you just let him break me?”

Kael’s eyes flashed silver. His wolf was close to the surface.

“No,” he said quietly. “I let him break you so I could be the one to put you back together.”

The car went silent except for the sound of the engine.

I didn’t know what to say. Anger warred with something else. Something dangerous.

“Why now?” I asked. “Why take me now?”

Kael glanced at me, and for the first time, I saw vulnerability in his eyes.

“Because I heard your father sold your debt to the rogues,” he said. “And I knew if I didn’t get to you first, you’d end up worse than dead.”

My stomach dropped.

“So you’re my hero now?” I snapped, trying to hide how scared I was.

Kael smirked, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“No, Aria. I’m worse than that.”

“What does that mean?”

He pulled the car to a stop in front of a massive gothic mansion. The gates opened on their own.

“It means,” he said, stepping out and opening my door, “that I’m not going to let you go. Not again.”

---

We walked into the mansion in silence.

It was cold inside. Marble floors, black walls, silver accents. No warmth. No life.

It fit him perfectly.

Kael stopped in front of a set of double doors and turned to face me.

“Listen carefully, Aria,” he said. His voice was low, serious. “Kade won’t let this go. He’ll come for you. And when he does, I need you to remember one thing.”

“What?”

“You’re not weak,” he said. “And you’re not his anymore.”

He stepped closer, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off him.

“You’re mine now. And I don’t share.”

My breath caught.

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.

Kael’s silver eyes darkened.

“Because a year ago, I made a promise to myself.”

He leaned down until his lips were a breath away from mine.

“If Kade ever threw you away, I’d take you for myself.”

My heart stopped.

“You’ve been planning this?”

“For a year,” he said simply. “Sweetheart, I don’t do anything halfway.”

Before I could respond, he pulled back and opened the door behind him.

“Get some rest. Tomorrow, we start training you.”

“Training me for what?”

Kael’s smile was all teeth.

“For war, Aria. Because Kade isn’t going to let you go without a fight. And when he comes, I want you strong enough to choose.”

“Choose what?”

“Choose me,” he said. “Or choose him. But this time, Aria, it’ll be your choice. Not his. Not the moon’s. Yours.”

He closed the door behind me, leaving me alone in a room that felt both like a prison and a sanctuary.

And for the first time in a year, my wolf didn’t whimper.

She growled.