SUNSHINE:
Mate.My head spun in a moment and even Alpha Knoxx also realized our connection. He was my second chance mate? Why? I was not prepared for this nor wanted any of this. I haven't moved on from my failed relationship and now there was my stepbrother?His nostrils flared and clenched his jaw. “Mate? What kind of fuck twist is this?”I shook my head and watched him in panic. “You think I also want this? You’re the last person I wanted to become a mate.” There had to be some kind of mistake. Why would this happen?Growling, Alpha Knoxx said, “No one will know of this.”Yeah. For the first time, I agreed with him. No one should know of our relationship or else, we will become the cause of ridicule and mockery among the pack. They all knew Knoxx and I had a dog and cat relationship, always biting each other’s heads.And having a mate as my stepbrother? We were siblings. What would Alpha Ezra think? What about Mother?“You think I also like this? You’re the last person I wanted to be paired with, Knoxx. I still haven’t forgotten how you ruined my wedding.”“It was your groom who ruined it in the first place,” he retorted. Droplets of water fell to my chest from my wet hair. Following the path of the water, Knoxx’s eyes stopped in my chest. Something flashed in his eyes before it disappeared the moment I tried to decipher it.“Cover your eyes!” I snapped and drew the towel closer to my body. "Indecent!" he exclaimed. “You’re seducing me. Did you know I will become your second chance mate, that's why you’re dressed like that?”He glared at me which was not a shock. He was always in a bad mood whenever he saw me.Putting both hands on my hips, I said, “Excuse me? I never wanted you in the first place. I can even reject you now.”He smirked. “You can? You just rejected that bastard last time. You think you can do it now?”Reality slapped me hard. I could not reject him. It was something of a rule among werewolves that we cannot reject twice in a year. It should only be once a year. “Reject me, then!” I demanded. “You hate me, right? Rejecting me is as easy as pie to you. I promise your Father will not know of this.”The corner of his lips suddenly lifted. Then, he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Why should I, Rain? I want to see you suffer in my presence.”Rain. Sometimes he would call me that. According to him, my aura was not full of sunshine but of darkness. Seeing me always reminded him of rain.“Fuck you, Knoxx. After a year, I will make sure to reject you!”He mockingly bowed at me. “Be my guest. There's a pool of water under your feet. It will become slippery. The slaves will fall."“The slaves are luckier than me. Tell me. Why do you hate me so much? Why can’t you accept me as the new member of your family?”It had been two years since Mother's marriage to his father, but until now, he could not open his heart and treat me nicely."If you wait for the day when to accept you, stop. It won't happen. Ever. I won’t ever welcome someone like you.""Why?""Seeing you makes my blood boil. It angered me how Father replaced Mother easily.""We did not replace the previous Luna. We were an addition to your family."I already felt the cold seeping inside my pores. "Your Mother and you did," he spat. "Don't ever wait for me to accept you. It won't happen. Not in this lifetime. You will never become my sister and my mate."“You won’t accept me? It’s not like I also wanted you.”"Pathetic. Loser. Cover yourself, woman. You're inviting others to sin. Seductress."Seductress? I never seduce anyone. "Who would I invite to sin? You never treated me as a woman, anyway." And even if we were mates now, he wouldn't desire me. His eyes went down to the cleavage on my chest but returned his gaze to my face.My cheeks burned and wrapped the towel more securely around my body. It did not even reach after my knee. It was way shorter than the other towels I had in my room. "There is nothing attractive about you," he spat.“Same as you!” I retorted, lying with a straight face. I would never say the dimples on both sides of his cheeks were attractive. I won’t. Silence passed between us and when it became unbearable, I asked, "Why do you hate me this much? Is it really about Mother marrying your Father? Your hatred was too great for that reason alone."When we first reached this pack, I was always good to him. Tried to get his favor. But all my efforts were futile. It won’t reach his hardened heart. He scoffed and folded his arms in front of his chest. "That’s none of your concern. You won’t understand it.”“I understand that you don’t like me as your mate. But what I don’t understand is why you cannot accept me as your stepsister. It sounded immature to me, Knoxx.”“You should call me alpha.”“Are you still thinking that your father no longer loved your Mother? No one could replace the previous Luna in your Father’s heart.”“I know. Your mother is incomparable to my Mother,” he spat. “There is only one luna in Heartstone Pack. That’s not Luna Margot, but my mother.”Knoxx was civil towards Mother. Maybe he also hated her, but he never showed. Instead, he showed how he did not want us through me. He kept on taunting me to tell his father about his bullying, but I did not give in to the temptation. At the back of my mind, I was silently waiting that someday, I hoped he would have the heart to accept me and Mother. But now…I understand that there was no more hope for us.Knoxx had four other siblings. All male. The previous Luna died due to sickness, leaving the former alpha to manage the pack. When Knoxx’s father asked his son’s permission to wed again, Knoxx proposed that the alpha position should be handed to him so that the wedding would push through. Knoxx was cunning.He had the alpha position, so I did not understand why he continued hating me.“Yes, so why, Knoxx?”He smirked. “You think I will answer your question? I won’t. Cover yourself. Seeing you like that disgusts me.”My hold on the edge of the towel tightened. “What do you want me to do so that you will stop loathing me?”He leaned into my ears and whispered loudly. "You want to do anything to remove my hatred? The answer is simple. Disappear from our lives. Both you and your mother." He leaned away and smirked at me. "I'm sure you cannot do that."He wanted us to disappear?"Alpha Ezra will be devastated if Mother and I leave.""You leaving is enough."“You want me to leave? Can you deal with your wolf? It will always long for my presence. You may not notice it now, but soon you will.”“I can handle my wolf fine.”He turned his back. "Finish your bath. Father wanted all of us to dine together. He is expecting your presence. Be sure not to say useless things to him, especially what we discovered today. And for fuck sake. Stop wearing a towel anymore. Stop seducing men.”“I don’t see any men!” I called. “You don’t even know how to become a man!”SUNSHINE:When I reached the dining room, Mother and her husband as well as my other five stepbrothers were already at the table. Knoxx's delicious scent hit me hard.'Mate,' Helena exclaimed. 'Let's go to him, Sunshine.''Knoxx is our enemy, Helena. He ruined our wedding, remember?' I recalled. I tiptoed, making my presence as small as possible, but they noticed my presence. Especially Knoxx. "Sunshine. We've been waiting for you," Alpha Ezra said. Did they?Sometimes, I couldn't help but feel that my presence felt like it was no longer essential in this house. Or was it not necessary in the first place? It was only me who was asking for a spot in this family. The five siblings were having a great time eating and talking about what happened in their day.I bowed. "Sorry to keep you waiting.""That's okay. Have a seat." He motioned the seat next to Knoxx. But instead, I sat opposite him. If there was no other vacant seat. I wanted this to end as soon as possible. I could not sta
SUNSHINE:"Alpha Ezra…" I started, forcing my tears to come out. I began acting and sniffed as if I was about to cry. Alpha Ezra growled. "Knoxx!""Father. I'm sure the alpha had some excuse. We cannot arrive at a hasty decision. Brother is rational," the second stated. Bernard. The beta of the pack.Of course, the beta would always side with the alpha. In this house, it would always be me against the five of them. Me against these five powerful men in this pack. However, I was done with being the submissive type. It was also the reason why Aloha Jericho cheated on me. He thought I was easy to fool. "Alpha Ezra...did you know that Alpha Knoxx was the one who told me that Alpha Jericho was having an affair? Yes. A few minutes before the wedding. He was that kind of dick.""Hey! Watch your mouth! That is the aloha you're referring to!" Beta Benedict roared. "Benedict! Lower your voice.""But Father. Can't you see that woman is making us fight among ourselves?""Sunshine, keep quiet
SUNSHINE:All eyes were trained at Knoxx. My mouth opened and closed, clearly, no words forming in my mind. His brothers were also surprised at his decision. They did not want Knoxx's decision."Brother. Why would you stop her?" Beta Benedict asked. "You wanted her to move out. That's what we all want.""Benedict. Not a word from you anymore. You made me feel embarrassed. The five of you talk like women!" he scolded. "How could you say those words?""Darling..." Mother said. She put her hands on my stepfather's arm. "Please don't get your anger ahead of you. You might say something later that you would regret."Mother was always like that. She acted like a peacemaker in the family. Acting like a bridge between me and her husband's family."No, darling. These boys need to earn their lesson.""Alpha Ezra. With all due respect, would you help Alpha Knoxx change his mind?" I said politely even if I was seething inside.My mind refused and could not accept this kind of punishment Knoxx wa
SUNSHINE:My stepbrother's burning gazes continued to burn a hole in my face.Gritting my teeth I fisted on my palms. They would always doubt what I could do. In their eyes, I was that weak woman who only knew how to follow her ex-mate wherever he went. Weak. Pathetic. Disgraceful. Name every degrading word and that would be how my stepbrothers would call me. Yeah. They were that kind of asshole."I can do it. Why do you continue giving me that look?"'Make sure you don't drag me away,' Knoxx stated inside my head. 'If they killed you there, I won't be dragging your dead body here. I will feed them to the scavengers. You hear me, woman?'A shiver ran down my spine.I knew this man had no inkling of like in me, but I never knew this would be this intense. I sucked in a breath and then pursed my lips. ‘Asshole,’ I spat.‘Not the kind of asshole like your mate.’‘You are my mate. And I also had my ex-mate. Are you referring to the former or the latter?’ ‘Your ex-mate. What else?’'No
SUNSHINE:If I had a camera by now, I would have long captured the shocked faces of my stepbrothers. Especially Knoxx.It seemed like they did not expect the silent girl before who would only talk when she was being talked by Alpha Jericho and her mother would say bold words like that.That was one thing they never knew about me. In fact, all they exhaled was judging me before getting to know me. After almost three years of staying in this pack, all they did was judge me. Alpha Ezra became our referee. I smiled sweetly at them when they had not gotten over it. "Are you surprised, my dear brothers? Surprise. Your stepsister is not someone whom you thought she was."My other three brothers cleared their throats. "How disgraceful," Knoxx exclaimed. "Are you even proud of your behavior?"Compared to mine, these five brothers were treated like princes in the pack. They were luckier than me. Never experiencing the harsh reality. While me…'It's not their fault they were born from an alp
SUNSHINE:It was Knoxx who recovered from the shock first.“Don’t mind this crazy woman,” Knoxx muttered. "Not as crazy as you.""Will you shut your mouth for a second?""Will you stop being an asshole for a second?" I retorted."Brother! You must leave this woman here. I'm afraid you will kill her on the road.""Oh, thank you so much for that fair warning. I will also make sure he won't be left without a wound.""That's a threat against the alpha! She must be punished," the fourth brother said. Knoxx held his hand and stared at me. "You made us sound as if they were the antagonist of your life," Knoxx declared, his eyes narrowing at me. 'We are not the spawns of the devil.'"If not, then what do you call everything that I suffered in your hands for the past two years?" I retorted back. "You never wanted me to be happy. Especially you, Knoxx. You ruined my wedding all because you hated me. And now you think I am wrong?""You are wrong!" the three brothers— Cayden, Dustin, and Alonso
SUNSHINE:My chest kept breaking apart. Alfonso looked like a candle losing its fire. I could not blame him really for being an asshole. He was also influenced by how his brothers treated me. And the worst part of all? I allowed them back then. I did not fight them. All I did was stay silent. Which was not supposed to be. By staying silent, I was giving my bullies the power to inflict pain. 'Knight-in-shining armor, huh? In your dreams. I just did not want the servants to report that we are ganging up on you. Father has his eyes and ears.''Fuck you, Knoxx,' I spat on his mind, feeding him all my hatred towards our bond. 'I hate you.''More than you hated your ex-mate?' he asked. 'Why do you have to keep hurting me?''It will be my goal to return how your mother hurt us through you.''I hope your wolf will give you a little spanking and defend me!' I hissed. 'My wolf already did. If I don't help you, he will nag until I can no longer fathom it,' Knoxx answered through our link.
SUNSHINE:To anger Knoxx more, I tightened my hold on him. Helena purred inside my head, liking the closeness we had. 'More,' she said. 'Hug him tighter.''Look who's talking now. The last time I checked, you were still clinging on to your ex-mate.''Knoxx is my new mate now. I have to deal with that.''As if I have a choice. After this one, I will reject him before I return to my previous pack.' 'No! Was the rejection not yet enough? I almost died, Sunshine. Please think of me for a moment.'And continue forcing myself on someone who loathes me and is a bully? No, thank you very much.'If we handle it well on the first rejection, we can also deal with the second.''We barely survived, Sunshine!' Helena cried. 'How could you do this to me?'If this man did not hate me this much, then he would protect me to the best of his ability.“Release me this instant!” he growled. I was brought back to the present. “And if I don’t?” I retorted. “I will cut off your hands,” he threatened as I