Mated - Chapter 154: Chapter 154

To My Obsessive Stepbrother
“What the fuck do you mean?” He laughed, but it was uneasy. “Kasmine would never let that happen. You know she’s careful. She’s probably on birth control right now.”
“Good thing I swapped her birth control for vitamins.”
“You what?” Norlan almost yelled over the phone, “That’s some next-level insanity! Dude, you are taking this too far.”
“I plan to take it even farther. You have no idea,” I said. “Kasmine is my life. And I can’t imagine a life without her. Quit trying to make me.”
The silence that followed was charged. I could almost hear the gears in Norlan’s mind turning.
“So, you mean to tell me,” he finally said, dragging out the words like he was still processing, “that you’ve been having unprotected sex with Kasmine this whole time while she thinks she’s protected?” A beat of silence. “She’s gonna kill you when she finds out, Kes.” he sighed in resignation.
“By then, it’d be too late,” I replied.
Norlan let out a low whistle. “You do realize she’s meeting her mate in five weeks, right? What’s your plan? Let her waltz into another man’s arms while she’s pregnant with your kid?”
The very idea made my blood boil, and my anger rose to a feverish degree.
I had to take a second to swallow down the burning rage so I could form a coherent sentence. “Fuck, Norlan. I’ll erase that man who is that unfortunate to be called her mate.” My hand clenched around the phone. “I’d kill any man stupid enough to think he has a claim on her. I’d kill him before he even had the chance to breathe near her.”
I always tried to keep that thought aside for my sanity. But Norlan sure knew how to make me lose it sometimes.
“Okay. Okay. You don’t have to snap. It’s fine,” He said, and I imagined him pinching the bridge of his forehead and rubbing his palm on his skin-cut hair, “Whatever you choose, you know I’m always with you. But at the same time, I won’t hesitate to tell you the truth.”
I was quiet, taking in a deep breath to calm myself.
Norlan clicked his tongue, thinking. “If you really want to win this game, the sensible thing to do is simple–marry June.”
I froze.
“Marry June, Kes,” he repeated. “That way, you still keep Kasmine. You still have her. And when June’s father finally hands you the crown of Alpha King, you can throw her to the wolves and take what’s yours.”
“I can’t stand that woman,” I said after a long silence.
“You don’t have to stand her, Kes. You just have to try–at least long enough to survive this.” Norlan replied smoothly. “Treat her right enough to keep her happy for the time being. A little effort won’t kill you.”
I scoffed. “She might.”
Norlan chuckled. “Come on, you can handle two women. You always do. Besides, Kasmine hasn’t shown any signs of jealousy… yet. She won’t care if you throw June a bone now and then. Play your cards right, and she won’t mind you spending a minute or two with your lovely little fiancée.”
Fuck. I hated this.
I wanted every second, every breath, every heartbeat of mine on this vacation to belong to Kasmine.
I wanted to spend every millisecond with her. Not sharing the few hours we have to be here with that pest.
Speaking of Kasmine… I hadn’t seen or felt her around the house for almost an hour. She hadn’t even come out of the kitchen to see June.
A slow, cold realization crept up my spine. I’d been too caught up dealing with my father’s bullshit, too consumed by my own rage, to notice earlier.
I paid attention, listening to all the conversations and voices from as far as my wolf’s hearing ability would go, but I couldn’t hear her voice. Not even her breathing.
My blood turned ice-cold.
Fuck. She wasn’t in this house.