BLAIR'S POV

It felt like the sitting room was suddenly shrinking and then it began to spin. The furniture, the TV and even my mother blurred into nothing as I stared at him.

That face.

No. No. No.

This could not be happening.

I tried to swallow but it felt harder than anything. I couldn't even breathe properly and I was sure everyone could hear my heart beating so loudly.

Why was it him?

I pinched myself, desperate to wake up from my dream. I must still be sleeping because this could not be my reality.

The pain I felt in my hand after I pinched myself made me realize that this was real. I was here, with my mother and the boy I lost my virginity to.

Last night, he had kissed me, and we had sex. And now, he was standing there, about to be introduced as my new step-brother.

My lips opened to talk but no sounds came out. I looked like a fool, my mouth opening and closing out of shock.

Immediately, I looked away, biting down on the insides of my lips. There was no way this was happening to me.

Oh, my Goddess, I thought, taking a step back.

What have I done?

What kind of chaos have I brought into my life?

"Kade, this is Blair, my daughter." My mom's voice cut through my thoughts. She smiled, completely oblivious to the horror I was feeling inside. "Blair, this is Kade, Robert's son."

I couldn't breathe and her introduction was making everything worse. I had slept with my stepbrother! I lost my virginity to him. It was better to die than for me to keep standing here.

Kade took a step forward and I slowly looked up at him, his expression unreadable as he extended a hand toward me.

"It's nice to meet you, Blair."

Nice to meet me? Was he kidding?

My fingers twitched as I hesitantly placed my hand in his, and the second our skin touched, the memories I couldn't recall came flashing back.

I suddenly remembered his hands on my body last night. I remembered his lips on mine and the way he made me feel things I'd never felt before.

I gasped, withdrawing my hand instantly like he had burned me with a hot iron.

I barely registered myself mumbling a response. I wasn't even sure if words had actually left my mouth because my ears were ringing too loudly.

Meanwhile, Kade looked completely unaffected. Calm. Like he didn't even recognize me.

Like we hadn't just slept together.

What the hell was going on?

My head snapped toward my mom as she smiled. "We have something to share with you both."

Oh Goddess. Let it be that he was not moving in with us anymore. Let it be that I didn't have to see him again.

"Robert and I decided that I should officially move to his pack," she announced. "I know it's sudden, but it's best for us."

My stomach dropped and goosebumps immediately masked my skin. She was moving? Would they leave with him?

I could only blink, and when I finally found my voice, I decided to ask.

"When are you leaving?" I asked, my voice coming out smaller than I intended.

"Tomorrow."

Tomorrow?! My heart skipped.

She said it so casually, like she wasn't about to pack up and possibly leave me alone with the stepbrother I'd just unknowingly slept with.

"You and Kade will join us during breaks," she added.

That didn't make me feel any better.

Robert nodded in agreement. "I'm sure the arrangement is not so inconvenient, is it?"

I forced myself to shake my head, but inside, I was screaming.

I was fucked.

As if the situation couldn't get worse, my mom turned to me with an almost pleading look. "Blair, honey, I was thinking... maybe you and Kade could be roommates for a while. He's still having issues with accommodations, and it might take some time to get it sorted."

My mouth fell open.

Roommates? With Kade? The same guy I was just naked with last night?

Before I could speak, Kade shifted beside me, clearing his throat. "Actually, I can stay here. I have a car, and this place isn't so far from school."

Yes. Perfect. Do that, I thought. Stay away from me. I couldn't possibly be roommates with him.

But his father waved a dismissive hand. "No. Staying with Blair is better. She can help you adjust." He said.

No, please.

Kade's jaw ticked. "I can adjust just fine on my own. I don't need to move in with her."

"It's not up for debate," Robert snapped and the room fell silent. It was obvious they had talked about him moving in with me and that was why he was in a bad mood last night.

Oh, he had even told me about it.

I was the step-sister he was supposed to babysit.

How couldn't I have pieced together the details? 

How could I have not suspected?

"Blair, just accommodate him for at least a month until we get everything settled." Robert said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I stared at him, wondering what to say. Could I say no? What would be my reason? 

My mother would be unhappy and it would look like I didn't want them together.

But then, there was Kade. This was a hard decision to make.

One month.

That's all it would take.

But could I do it?

Could I really live with my stepbrother, the guy I'd slept with, the guy I found so utterly irresistible?

BLAIR'S POV

Kade dropped his box on my bedroom floor with a heavy thud.

I knew I shouldn't be staring as he bent down, but my eyes had a mind of their own. His jeans clung to his body in all the right places, like his ass, and his muscles flexed as he moved.

Moon Goddess, please help me. How would I survive living with him for a full month?

"Snap out of it!" my wolf growled, dragging me back to reality.

I cleared my throat, trying to focus on something other than him. But I had questions, things I needed to ask.

I folded my arms. "Did you know?" I asked.

Kade didn't look up at first. He just kept unpacking his things like we weren't in the most awkward situation in the world. But when he finally turned, his blue eyes looked me over for a second, making my breath hitch before I could stop it.

"Know what?" he asked.

"That I'm your step-sister." I responded. "At the bar last night."

"No."

I opened my mouth, ready to say something, but then he beat me to it.

"Forget about last night," He continued in a calm and indifferent manner. "It's not a big deal."

I scoffed. "Did you really just say that?"

He shrugged, acting like we were talking about something unimportant while we were actually talking about my virginity. Did he think I kept it all these years just to give it to him?

"My mom did say you were a bit arrogant, and now I see why," I muttered, crossing my arms.

He didn't even react. He just glanced at me, looking completely unaffected. "I'll be out of your hair before the month is up, so your opinion of me doesn't really matter."

Oh, this guy.

I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to throw something at him. It hadn't even been a full day of living together, and I already wanted to kill him.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why are you being such an ass?"

He exhaled, still looking very unbothered. "Look, just because we fucked doesn't mean we're besties. Besides, siblings fight all the time, don't they?" he added so casually.

"You're not my brother." I spat.

He tilted his head slightly, almost like he was amused. "Yeah. I wouldn't have fucked you if I were."

Unbelievable.

I was pissed at this point.

"Do you..." I started to say but a sharp knock sounded at the door. I turned, my irritation deepening the second I heard the voice on the other side.

"Blair, open the door." Jaxon said, knocking again.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, trying to calm down before going over to the door and pulling it open slightly, just enough to talk to him without letting him see Kade.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I've been calling you since last night." He said, running a hand through his hair. "We really need to talk, Blair."

"Do we?" I asked. "What part of we broke up did you not understand?"

Before he could answer, I tried shutting the door in his face, but then he looked into the room and spotted Kade inside. His eyes widened and he forced his way in.

Jaxon looked Kade over before asking me, "Who the hell is this?"

I ignored his question, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. Could my day get any worse. Did I really have to deal with this?

"I said, who is this?" he demanded, his tone annoyingly possessive, like he was still my mate and still had a say in my life.

I crossed my arms. "I don't owe you an explanation."

Behind me, Kade didn't even glance up, still folding his clothes like he couldn't care less about the drama unfolding in front of him.

Jaxon scoffed, his jaw tightening. "Is this why? Is he the reason you're ruining our relationship?"

Wow, I thought. Ruining our relationship?

"Did you forget the part where you cheated on me with Harper?" I asked, the painful memory I tried to forget replaying in my head.

Jaxon stepped closer to me, his eyes filled with anger. "Blair, couples have issues. We argue. We make mistakes. That doesn't give you the right to turn into a slut one day after our breakup."

My stomach twisted and my anger flared.

"First, you call me a prude," I spat, stepping toward him. "And now, a slut. Which is it, Jaxon?"

Jaxon didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Kade, his fists clenching. "Get out, buddy."

Kade still didn't react. He folded another shirt even more slowly, completely ignoring Jaxon.

I exhaled sharply. "Please leave, Jaxon." 

His gaze snapped back to mine, and he looked furious. "Leave? Did you just ask me to leave?" he barked, raising his hand, and it was obvious that he was about to hit me for disrespecting him.

But before I could react, Jaxon's back hit the wall with a loud thud. And when I looked, Kade's hand was tightly wrapped around his throat.

I was breathing heavily as I stumbled back.

Kade had moved so fast I hadn't even seen it happen. One second, he was folding his clothes, completely uninterested. And the next, he had Jaxon pinned against the wall, stopping him from hitting me.

Jaxon choked, his fingers clawing at Kade's wrist, with his feet barely touching the ground.

I sucked in a sharp breath. "Kade..."

But he didn't even glance at me. Veins lined his neck, and he looked really mad. His entire body was vibrating with barely restrained anger.

"Touch her again," Kade said in a low voice, "And you won't find your fingers anymore. Stay away from her."

Jaxon let out a bitter laugh. "Or else what?"

Kade's fingers tightened for just a second before he let go. Jaxon dropped to the floor and began coughing.

Kade crouched beside him and answered his question, "I'll break your fingers and shove them down your throat."

Jaxon wiped his mouth, glaring up at him. "And who the hell are you to threaten me? Her bodyguard?"

Kade tilted his head slightly. Then, without a hint of hesitation, he said, "Blair is mine. So, fuck off."

My stomach flipped when I heard that.

His? What did he mean by that?

Jaxon's face twisted in disbelief, his eyes darting between us. "You-"

Before he could finish, Kade grabbed him by the collar and shoved him out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

BLAIR'S POV

I sighed as I dropped into my chair in biology class, glancing towards the boys that were laughing at the back.

I pulled out my books, trying to relax before the class, but Kade's words kept replaying in my head. 

"I didn't do that for you," he'd said. "I just don't want your ex-boyfriend disturbing my peace while I'm here." 

I rolled my eyes just thinking about it. Seriously, what was wrong with him?

One second, he was throwing Jaxon out of my room and claiming me like I belonged to him, and the next, he was acting like I was just some inconvenience. 

He was really making it even harder for us to live together. 

I shook my head and forced myself to push the thoughts away. I had bigger things to worry about, like surviving this semester.

But just as I opened my notebook, I heard heels clicking against the floor. 

I already knew who it was before I even looked up. 

Harper. 

I exhaled sharply. Just my luck. Of course, I was stuck in most of my classes with the two faced bitch who acted like she was my friend all this time but ended up sleeping with my mate.

I could practically feel her presence before she even sat down. And then, there she was, sliding into the seat beside me like nothing had happened between us, like she hadn't completely betrayed me. 

"Still sulking?" she asked with a smug smile on her face.

I gripped my pen tighter and ignored her, but the pain crept back in anyway. 

How could Harper even do something like that to me? All that time we spent together, and she had been secretly eyeing Jaxon? My mate?

She'd mentioned that they even started fucking eight months ago. Who knows who made the first move! And they just continued to fool me, thinking I'd never find out.

"If it's any consolation," She continued, acting pretentiously sweet, "Jaxon came to me first." 

I see.

I whipped my head toward her so fast I nearly sprained my neck. "Is that supposed to change the fact that you slept with my mate?"

She shrugged, completely showing no remorse. "Someone else would've done it if I didn't." She twirled a strand of hair around her finger, saying it like she had done me favor.

"Besides, let's be honest, Blair," She went on. "Did you really think your relationship with Jaxon would last? I mean, he's the Alpha's son! And you're... well, nobody."

My fingers balled into a fist under the desk. I scoffed softly, finding it quite amusing how she had pretended to like me all this time.

"You must really think being the Beta's daughter makes you special." I turned to face Harper fully and I did not hide the disgust in my voice. "Remember my father was once the Beta before he died and I had everything you have now. You're just like every other girl with really low self-esteem who goes after their best friend's mate for attention." 

Her smug smile faltered for a split second before she rolled her eyes and hardened her gaze.

I didn't give her a chance to retort as I leaned in slightly to tell her, "Don't ever speak to me again." 

And before she could respond, the classroom door swung open, and our biology professor walked in.

Like everyone else, I turned my attention to the professor and that's when I noticed someone entering behind him.

"Oh no," I murmured.

Standing in front of the classroom, looking confident and almost intimidating was Kade. His eyes raked around the room and eventually landed on me.

But he looked away almost immediately, like he hadn't seen me.

The professor cleared his throat before saying, "Class, we have a new addition today. This is Kade, and he has picked biology as his science elective course. Let's all welcome him." 

There was a brief pause before I heard the sickly-sweet giggles of girls around the room. 

I turned and rolled my eyes as I watched them practically bat their eyelashes at him. Seriously? 

I turned my gaze to Kade once more and he looked unaffected by the attention from the girls. He didn't even smile at them.

Good.

I hoped he would look in my direction again to see my glare because, of all the classes and electives, why did he decide to choose biology? My major?

Why?

I wasn't stupid. This couldn't a coincidence but what was he hoping to achieve with this?

He scanned the room, searching for a seat, and before I knew it, Harper perked up beside me. 

"You can sit with me," she purred, flipping her hair and smiling up at him invitingly.

I felt a fresh wave of anger as I watched her.

Was she really trying to pull this again? First Jaxon, and now Kade? Did she just make it her life's mission to go after anyone remotely involved with me? 

I turned to Kade again, waiting to see what he would do. 

Then, without a word, he walked right past me. 

And sat next to with her.

Wow! I thought, looking away from both of them. My anger was rising and if I even glanced at them again, I would explode like a bomb.

Throughout the class, I could see Harper whispering to him, leaning in just a little too close, talking about Goddess-knows-what.

And Kade? He just sat there, listening.

I could barely focus on the lecture and it got to a point where even the professor noticed.

"Miss Thorn?" He called and I looked up right on time to see him lowering his glasses to the bridge of his nose.

"Are you with us?" He asked and I just nodded.

As soon as class ended, I shot up from my seat and followed Kade out of the room. My heart was still pounding from the way Harper was just leaning into him and overtly flirting.

"Kade!" I called, picking up my pace as he was about to round a corner. 

He turned around and gave me that blank stare. "What?" 

I stopped in front of him, crossing my arms. "Harper? Really?" 

His brows furrowed in confusion. "What about her?" 

I let out a frustrated breath. "She was my best friend-the best friend who stabbed me in the back. And you were flirting with her." 

He maintained a straight face. "I wasn't flirting with her." 

Before I could argue, a loud voice came through the other end of the hallway. 

"Blair! You've got nice titties! I've got them here in my phone!" 

Everything inside me froze as I turned to the direction the voice had come from.

Other students began to laugh and I turned slowly, my stomach twisting into knots. People were staring, grinning, whispering and pointing at me. 

"Yo, your nudes bomb!" someone else shouted. 

"What...?"

My hands started shaking. I was breathing heavily as I wondered what the hell was going on.

And then, through the sea of laughing faces, I saw Jaxon. 

He was leaning against the wall with a satisfied smile plastered across his face and I realized what he'd done.

Tears burned in my eyes as I slowly shook my head.

No. No, no, no. 

Without thinking, I turned and ran as fast as I could, shoving past people as I covered my face, feeling humiliated.

I just had to get out of there.