Mated - Chapter 207: Chapter 207

To My Obsessive Stepbrother
KESTER.
I froze.
The sound of that name alone was enough to curdle my blood.
I had foolishly hoped that Kasmine wouldn’t hear about Karina. But, come on, this was an entire pack. A small world with too many mouths. Of course, she’d find out eventually.
Kasmine isn’t a child anymore.
I exhaled slowly, forcing my muscles to relax as I turned to face her. The anger I had been directing at her and Jaden shifted, curdling into something more volatile.
I hadn’t seen her since the day I walked her out of my office, nor had I heard anything from her since then, but I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that meant she had given up.
No. She was planning something. That manipulative, poisonous bitch was always planning something. And I needed to be ready.
“She is my half–sister,” I replied without mincing words.
Kasmine blinked rapidly, trying to wrap her head around what I had just said, “What? I don’t understand. What do you mean she is your half–sister?”
“She’s my father’s illegitimate child. One of my father’s numerous mistakes.” I said, doing little to hide the disgust in my tone as I strode to the armrest of the chair and picked up my shirt.
“I… I don’t understand, Kes. Dad had…”
“Yes, baby. He had another woman aside from his mate. She was born about a year before me,” I put on my shirt, “Ever wondered why my parents didn’t stay together?”
I walked over to her and caressed her cheek, “Don’t worry. Karina isn’t a threat, okay? I’ll make sure she doesn’t come anywhere near you.” I kissed her lips before turning to the door. “Get some rest. No one would bother you for the rest of the day.”
I swallowed down the drowning need to ask her why she was at Leroittaa Hospital. I was tempted, but I had to stop myself. I wasn’t ready to know why she was there.
For what felt like the thousandth time, I declined the call.
Again.
And again.
Fuck! Can’t she take a goddamn hint?
The phone buzzed once more, vibrating like an annoying fly that refused to die. My patience, already razor–thin, snapped. I snatched it up and answered, my voice laced with venom.
“Tell me how you’d like to die, Claire, because you’re certainly begging for death.” I spat into the phone, my voice rising a notch. “Because that’s the only reason I can think of for this level of stupidity.”
There was a sharp inhale on the other end.
“Alpha Kester…” She called cautiously, “What’s going on? You’ve been ignoring my calls for days now if not weeks.”
I exhaled slowly, regaining my control again. “I thought even someone with your level of intelligence would have picked up on the message by now.”
There was a pause.
“I thought we had something…I mean…” She said in a pathetic, sniffling voice.
And… Wait.
I blinked.
Was she crying?
A scoff pushed past my lips.
Did Hauttuilly give her such an impression?
“Don’t embarrass yourself. I was polite. That’s all. You mistook basic courtesy for something it wasn’t, and that’s your problem, not mine.”
“Without the calls, the texts, including the date…. You seemed really nice to me a few weeks ago, Alpha Kester.”
I took a slow sip of my whiskey, savoring the burn as I leaned back. “I called you three times, texted you twice, and bought you lunch once. That somehow translated to something more?”
“But I…”
“Claire. If you misunderstood those gestures, it’s totally on you. Nothing can ever happen between us. Purge your mind off it,” I dropped the call before she could say anything else.
A knock on the door made me shift my focus from the phone, which I was about to smash into the wall in anger.
“Who is it?” I asked, standing up from my bed.
“Who else, dumbass?”
I didn’t need anyone to tell me who it was.
“Come on in,” I replied, taking lazy steps toward the door.
The door swung open, and before I could brace myself, Norlan was already striding in like he owned the damn place.
“Gods, Kes, do you ever look anything less than a fucking menace?” He grinned, shutting the door behind him.
I smirked, taking in the familiar sight of him. He was a few inches shorter than me, but carried himself with a magnetism that made up for it. Brown hair, always slightly tousled like he didn’t give a damn, with that effortless kind of handsomeness that had always made women double–take, and a face that was just enough to make anyone look twice.