Page 50 of Rejected by My Stepbrother Alpha (Billionaire Shifter Club #1)

A lexander

Water drips from my body as I step out of the shower, steam curling around me like a ghostly presence in the vast, dimly lit bathroom.

I run a hand through my damp hair, pushing it back, exhaling sharply as I reach for the towel and sling it around my waist. My reflection stares back at me in the wide mirror—broad shoulders tense, jaw set in a grim line, eyes filled with thoughts I can’t seem to quiet.

I step into my bedroom, the cold air brushing against my skin as I walk toward the large window that spans nearly an entire wall.

The estate stretches before me, a kingdom bathed in silver moonlight, its high walls and sprawling grounds a symbol of my authority, my responsibility.

From the outside, the window reflects like a polished shield, allowing no one to see in.

But from here, I can see everything—every light that glows in the distance, every flicker of movement along the estate’s borders.

It’s a view that usually brings me some measure of peace. Tonight, it does nothing for me.

Because tonight is my damn mating ceremony.

Tonight, I’m supposed to stand before my entire pack, before the highest-ranking Alphas, before my family—and I’m supposed to accept a bond that I never wanted.

I should feel something, anticipation, excitement, even nervousness.

But all I feel is a deep, simmering resentment.

Because I have one thing to do tonight. Reject that mate bond.

My gaze moves to the perfectly tailored suit laid out on my bed—black, sleek, pristine.

It waits for me like an executioner’s robe.

I walk over, dragging a hand across my face before I begin dressing, sliding the crisp shirt over my shoulders, buttoning it slowly, mechanically.

My mind drifts as I tighten the cuffs, slipping into the memory of how all this started two nights ago.

I’m in my office late that evening, drowning in reports, when my phone buzzes. My mother’s name flashes on the screen. I lean back in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose before answering.

“Mother.”

“Alexander,” she says, her voice laced with an excitement that immediately puts me on edge. “Gabriel Garcia just arrived in Lunaris territory. He’s at the estate.”

I frown. “That’s rather impromptu. I wasn’t expecting Garcia today.”

“Yes, well, it was a last minute visit, but it’s necessary for you to be here. He’s a guest in our home, and it’s only proper for you to welcome him.”

I clench my jaw. I know Gabriel Garcia well enough.

The Alpha of the Crimson Pack, an older man, calculating, ambitious.

For years, he’s been angling for a closer alliance with Lunaris, pushing for ties that I have no interest in deepening.

A man like him never does anything without a reason. And now, he’s here, unannounced.

A sigh leaves my lips. “Fine. I’ll be there soon.”

I had planned to head straight to the movie premiere. Vesper is probably already there, expecting me. I know how much this premiere means to her, and she seemed genuinely excited that I’d be there with her.

She deserves that much—at the very least.

It’s been two years since we signed that contract, and honestly?

She’s been more than I expected. No drama, no stress.

Just… easy. Steady. Sometimes I think she forgets it’s a contractual arrangement with the way she acts—making breakfast, remembering how I like my cocktail and surprising me with it after a long day.

Things like that.

This was always meant to be purely transactional, but somewhere along the line… I’ve started to grow fond of her.

Still, duty calls. I’ll be late—disappoint her a little—but I have to attend to whatever it is that has brought Gabriel to town.

So, I head toward the Lunaris Pack’s estate.

The estate is alive with movement when I arrive, servants moving quickly, guards stationed at their posts. Inside, the atmosphere is even more charged. I step into the grand hall, where my mother stands alongside Gabriel Garcia—and his daughter, Celeste.

I greet my mother first with a kiss to her cheek, then turn to Gabriel, extending a hand in a firm shake. “Gabriel.”

“Alexander,” he greets, his grip just as firm, his dark eyes sharp with unreadable intent.

And then I turn to Celeste. I barely spare her a glance at first, my focus on getting this meeting over with. But when I extend my hand in a polite greeting, something happens.

The moment my fingers brush against hers, a sharp, foreign sensation shoots through me—like a static charge, but deeper, more primal.

My pulse spikes, my breath hitches just slightly.

And then I see the way her entire body reacts—her pupils dilating, her lips parting in a quiet gasp, the tremor in her fingers as she tightens her grip on my hand.

Oh no. Not this.

I jerk my hand back, stepping away, as if distance can undo whatever just happened. But my mother sees. Gabriel sees. And in the next breath, my mother is beaming, clasping her hands together as if the Moon Goddess herself has just descended upon the estate.

“Oh my… She is your mate,” she breathes, the words dripping with reverence.

Gabriel grins, stepping forward, placing a hand on my shoulder like we’re suddenly family. “This is incredible news, Alpha Thane. Our families were always meant to be united. And now, the Moon Goddess has made it so.”

I barely hear them. Whatever this meeting was supposed to be about is instantly thrown out the windows of all our thoughts.

My mind is spinning, trying to process the reality that has just been shoved in my face.

This isn’t some ordinary attraction. This is the mate bond.

The sacred, unbreakable, all-consuming tie that is supposed to be fate’s will.

Celeste still stands there, her body practically vibrating with the intensity of it all. She looks at me like I’m the only thing that exists in the world. Like she has already accepted what this means.

I have not… I will not.

Now, as I pull my jacket over my shoulders and adjust the collar, I look back at my reflection in the mirror. My jaw is set, my eyes cold.

The entire pack is waiting for me. They expect me to walk into that ceremony tonight, to accept the bond, to take Celeste Garcia as my mate and lock our packs in an alliance that has been brewing for years.

But they don’t know me.

They don’t know that I refuse to have my fate dictated to me. They don’t know that I have no intention of playing along. Because I will walk into that ceremony tonight, and I will reject the mate bond.

I smooth my hands over my suit, exhaling deeply as I glance at my reflection one last time.

The fabric molds perfectly to my frame, every detail pristine, every inch of me composed.

On the outside, I look like a man in control.

The Alpha of Lunaris. A man who walks into any room and commands it.

But inside, my thoughts are anything but settled.

How the hell did this even happen?

I reach for the drawer beside me, pulling it open and retrieving a small case.

The pills inside sit neatly in their slots, untouched since the last time I took one.

I pop the case open, rolling one of the tablets between my fingers, studying it.

A drug designed specifically to suppress the mate bond.

I’ve taken it religiously for years—ever since I became Alpha, ever since my father passed and I took his place at the head of the pack.

Ever since I decided that I would never put any woman through what my mother had to go through all because the mate bond chose her for my dad.

It’s done its job without fail. Until now.

My jaw clenches as I snap the case shut. So why the hell did it wear off now?

I shouldn’t have felt anything when I touched Celeste’s hand. I shouldn’t have felt even the faintest flicker of that bond. But I did. And now, everything is spiraling.

I glance toward the trash bin. Without a second thought, I toss the pill case into it. Fucking useless. The words slip from my mouth in a low mutter, my frustration simmering just beneath the surface.

None of this makes any sense. Celeste is not some stranger.

I’ve met her countless times before—at formal meetings, at gatherings where all the high ranking Alphas were present, standing dutifully beside her father as she always does.

And not once, not even for a second, did I ever feel anything for her.

No pull, no recognition, nothing. And now, suddenly, the bond has snapped into place like a cruel joke.

I roll my shoulders back, trying to shake off the weight of the thoughts pressing down on me. But it lingers, curling around my mind like a persistent shadow. The worst part? It wasn’t even that overwhelming.

I’ve heard the stories. How the mate bond is supposed to be this all consuming force, this undeniable, magnetic pull that makes every other attraction seem dull in comparison.

Wolves go mad for their mates. They crave them, need them, become utterly lost in them.

But when I touched Celeste, what I felt was…

underwhelming. A jolt, a flicker. Something primal, but not nearly as intense as the legends would have me believe.

Must’ve been the pills.

Maybe they didn’t block the bond completely, but they must have dampened it. Diluted it, like a drug wearing off too slowly. If I had never taken them, maybe I would have felt something stronger. But it doesn’t matter now. It changes nothing.

I step out of my room, moving through the long hallways of the mansion, my footsteps echoing softly against the polished floors. When I reach the kitchen, a steward approaches immediately, his posture straight, his expression expectant.

“Is there anything you would like, sir?”

“Yeah. A long island..” My voice comes out sharper than I intend, but the irritation is creeping back in, wrapping around my ribs, coiling in my gut.