06: Happy Family

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 stay in the same room with Knoxx.  

He doesn't want anyone to know we were mates? Same with me!

"Sunshine. Are you okay?" Mother asked. 

My heart tightened. 

If only she would always ask me how I was, maybe I would feel less that I was alone in this new pack. 

Mother had blended well in the family. She was all smiles to my other stepbrothers, seemingly forgetting my presence and that she still had a daughter in the house. Until now. 

Good for her. 

She didn't even ask whether I was okay or not after my wedding. All she cared about was my stepbrothers and stepfather. Only this time.

Smiling sadly, I responded, "I'm trying to get better, Mother. I will forget about this for a couple of months."

"You will forget about Alpha Jericho. There are far better men than him. You will meet your second chance mate and he will love you the most."

If you only cared about me, Mother, you would know that I already found my other mate. And that was the man glaring at me now. 

"I don't want to meet him, Mother."

Knoxx's expression turned dark. 

Did I hurt his pride? It served him right. 

"Your mate doesn't want you, either," Knoxx replied. 

"I also don't like him," I responded. "I don't need a man who will only betray me in the end. I don't want someone good at telling lies and then who will hurt me in the end. If you get what I mean, Alpha Knoxx."

A low growl escaped his lips. 

"Knoxx. Stop throwing a fight with your sister."

"She is not my sister."

I showed him my fist. 

The other four brothers did not like what I did but held themselves in check.

"Boys!"

They straightened themselves aside from Knoxx. 

"Sunshine. You're not touching your food," stepfather declared, seeing my untouched food. 

I had nothing against him. He was good to be. It was Mother whom I had something. 

Despite the pain of what happened to my wedding, I was glad that it also happened. I never wanted to be someone like her. 

"I…I don't have the appetite, Alpha. Seeing Knoxx's face ruined my appetite."

"Sunshine. That's not how you will talk to your alpha," Mother scolded. 

Alpha Ezra held his hand. "Let her be. It's good that someone will make Knoxx stay on his ground." His eyes softened when he looked at me. "When will you call me Dad?"

Calling him daddy would only mean forgetting my biological dad who died in a war against the rogues. 

I was only three years old back then when Father was alive. And the only thing that I could only remember was the laughter whenever he played with me. 

But then he was killed and we were demoted into omega and slaves. 

"I'm uncomfortable about it, A-Alpha. Maybe when I get used to it," I explained. 

My eyes darted at Knoxx. If looks could kill, I would be dead now. 

I glared back at him. 

I hated him. To the eternity and beyond.

"It's been more than a year since you came here, Sunshine. Maybe you should start getting used to it. Besides, I'm no longer your alpha, but your stepdad. Your brother is the new alpha."

I appreciated all his efforts to make me feel comfortable. When we got here, Alpha Ezra wanted us to dine together every day so that we would be comfortable with each other. Something we still had not achieved. 

His five sons, especially Knoxx, scared the hell out of me. 

It felt like I was all alone now despite the presence of everyone around me.

If I had known this would be my life, I should have not left my previous pack and let Mother leave. I would have not met Jericho and been betrayed by my own mate. 

Helena whimpered inside my head and I could not help her. 

"Don't force her," Knoxx interjected. "We cannot force an unwilling woman."

"Knoxx!"

"What? That's true. What's the point of this dinner if she won't talk?"

I fisted my fist. 

How dare he! He never even felt a little bit sorry for what happened to my wedding. The worst thing of all was that  I was paired with him. What kind of sick joke was this? A stepbrother for a second chance mate?

The pack would mock us!

"Knoxx. We will give her all the time."

"You're babying that woman."

"Knoxx!" Alpha Ezra shouted and punched the table. "Watch your mouth! You might be the alpha, but you are still my son. In this room, we are a family."

Mother and I flinched as the utensils danced. 

The servants around us whimpered. I felt their fear as they hugged each other. 

"No family would willingly ruin his step-sister's wedding," I mumbled.

Knoxx's head went in my direction.

"What. Did. You. Say?"

My heart felt like it was going to burst. It thumped loudly against my ribcage.

"No family would willingly ruin his step-sister's wedding," I repeated, this time louder, and stared at him in the eyes. "Brother," I added, calling him using the words he never liked to hear from my mouth. 

A low growl escaped from his lips. 

"Sunshine," Mother interjected. "Will you calm down?"

Calm down?

I scoffed. "How could you tell me to calm down after what he did to my wedding, Mother?"

"What did he do?" Alpha Ezra asked. 

Oh, right. Stepfather did not know that his beloved son had entered my room and showed me the video and pictures. No one did not know what had happened.

'Don't tell him,' Knoxx ordered using our mind link. 

'What if I tell him? Who do you think will sympathize?' I retorted. 'Or do you want me to tell him that we are mates?'

'No!' he shouted in my mind. 'Don't you dare, Sunshine. If you do, I will make sure you will be punished.'

'Make me, Brother. I challenged you. You want war, I will give you war, Brother.'

"Sunshine. Tell me. Don't be scared of my son."

'Don't you dare, woman,' Knoxx muttered. 

I smirked.