But I had a family. I had a dad and a mom. And now I have nothing.
Chapter Two
Haylee
The car slows down in front of a huge modern house. It seems to be made with glass and cement. But it’s only after getting out of the car and being inside that I realize how the word beautiful isn’t enough to describe it. The huge windows seem to take in the outside landscape. It’s as if the trees, flowers and even the sky tried to enter and merge with the modern furniture and pale gray of the walls. It takes your breath away.
I look around, so caught up in the majesty of the place that I don't notice the three guys looking at me from the top of the stairs with their eyebrows furrowed. If I couldn’t find the right word for the house, then I’m rendered speechless in trying to describe the three of them.
"Guys," I hear Gordon call, looking up at those I sense to be his sons, "come here to say hi to Haylee and help her to settle down."
The three of them look from me to their father. None of them talk or move for a few moments.
"Why?" the one on the right asks. He’s the shortest among them, and even though I can't really say how tall they are from down here, I could swear that they are at least six feet. "I believe our guest can carry the suitcases on her own." The way he emphasizes the word guest, and the tone of voice he uses, lets me understand I’m not quite welcome here. Well, it's not like I really want to be in this house anyway.
"Ryan." Gordon stares at his son. It seems a kind of challenge, as if the first to look away loses. I could swear I saw Ryan’s forehead lightly beaded with sweat, just before his gaze fell to the floor.
What a strange family.
I sigh. "I don’t want to impose, Gordon. I can carry my own stuff."
Gordon ignores me, too busy staring at his sons. The guys come down the stairs and get close enough to confirm my suspicions about their height. Ryan is the shortest, but he seems a little better-muscled than the others. To be honest, all of them seem to come from one of those fashion magazines. Tall, muscular, beautiful and rich. The perfect guys, if only they didn't look like assholes. What a shame.
"Take Haylee to her new room and make sure she has everything she needs," Gordon demands. "Then come into my office. I need to talk to you."
"Yes, sir," they answer with one voice.
I had never heard Dr. Stevenson use a tone of voice that was not kind or nice. With me and my mother, he always spoke lovingly and affectionately, but here in his house he’s bossy, powerful.
I shake my head. "Gordon, it's not nec—"
"Don't worry, Haylee," he hushes me. "My sons are more than happy to help you. Aren't you, guys?" He looks at them again and I swallow, trying not to think of the awkward situation.
I’m a stranger who has just entered into their lives and will live in their home for the next two months. I can definitely understand why they didn't welcome me with open arms.
I go to grab my suitcase, but a hand gets to it first. One of the three boys shoves me away. "I'll take it," he grunts. He’s the tallest of the three, with dark brown hair and two brown eyes looking at me as if they wanted to tear me to pieces.
"T-thank you" I stammer, immediately turning away from him and looking to Gordon. I’d like to insist that I don't need help and that I can manage everything on my own, but as I open my mouth to speak, he gives me a smile.
"See you later," he tells me before turning and disappearing behind one of the many doors.
I swallow. I take a deep breath and wait for my three new roommates to move.
But nope, they remain staring at me with a curled nose and frowning eyebrows as if I were a big stinky poop in the middle of their shiny house.
"What?" I burst out a few moments later, looking at them one by one in the eyes.
"You have to leave, stray," the middle brother growls. He’s the one with slightly darker hair than the others and brown irises with bright green streaks.
"Yeah, well, thanks to your father, I'm stuck here, so get over it," I say, poking my forefinger to the middle of his chest. "By the way, my name is Haylee, asshole."
I swear that if a look could kill, I'd be dead right now.
"Let's hurry up," Ryan says, interrupting our duel of glances to the death. "The Alpha wants to talk to us."
What a strange title to refer to your father, but I don't ask questions. I don't want to talk to these three jerks, and even better, I don't want to have anything to do with them.
I follow them silently up the stairs and then through one of the doors.
The taller one holding my suitcase lets it go to the floor with a loud thud.
"Hey!" I start to complain, but they’re already out of the room, slamming the door behind them as they go out.
"Assholes" I mumble to myself as I head for the large bed in the middle of the room. It's pretty, and I can't complain, with a large window overlooking the garden, a wardrobe definitely too large for the few clothes I own, a desk with a brand-new computer and a bookcase well-stocked with all kinds of books.
Still, it's not my room, or my house, or my place.
Chapter Three
JACOB
We leave the girl in her room and don’t say a word as we cross the house and go to our father's study. She's pretty, I have to admit. She was around five foot forty-one inches in height, with a slender body, long dark brown hair and big brown eyes. She has a round face, high cheekbones and two full lips that I imagine I could use for so many naughty things. But I must not forget that it was because of her mother that my father left mine. I'm sure the woman is just a gold-digger bitch. Or, at least, she was. And now her daughter is here to do the job, and my father is so foolish as to let her come and live with us. But we just made it.
"Come in," a voice yells from behind the closed door. He knew we were here even before we knocked. The advantages of not being human.
We go inside and before he even tells us, we take a seat on the three chairs lined up in front of the desk.
"What's were you thinking?" Ryan shouts. "Bringing a strange little girl here, how—"
"Enough!" our father thunders. "I’m the Alpha, son. It’s up to me to make decisions and you must obey!”
Ryan averts his eyes. He’s becoming more powerful every day and soon he will be a great Alpha. For now, though, our father is right.
"Dad," Noah intervenes. He’s the voice of reason as the middle brother, the one who has always had the role of peacemaker. "I understand the situation. Truly. But don't you think it's a danger to have a stranger in our house? Don't you think she could discover our secret? "
Gordon sighs. He closes his eyes. Then sighs again. He looks tired. I imagine this is what it means to be the leader of a wolf pack. But it seems he has become older in the last period. It seems he has lost himself.
"I couldn't leave Haylee alone. I had promised her mother that I would protect her and her daughter and ... "
Oh, there he is. He had to care a lot for that woman to be so sad over losing her. Of course, I knew things weren't going well between him and my mother, but I didn't think he could get so attached to his other lover.
"I just ask you to be careful around her." He clears his throat. "And also, to treat her well. She has been through a lot, poor thing. In two months, she will go to college and you can resume your normal life. But until then, I want you to do everything to make her feel at home. That's an order.”
He looks into our eyes one by one. None of us can hold his gaze for more than a few seconds.
“Fine, Dad. We will do as you wish," I reassure him, getting a dirty look from my brothers. I roll my eyes. Is it possible they are so dull sometimes? In front of him we will behave like perfect gentlemen, but when he isn't there ... let's say that Haylee will regret having set foot in our house.
I give a little smile to my brothers to let them know we would talk later. As soon as the old man lets us go, we will let Haylee Davis understand how not welcome she is in the Stevenson house.
Chapter Four
HAYLEE
I wake up in a bed that is not mine. The blankets are too nice to have been bought in some cheap shop and the pillow is so soft under my head that I would like to stay all day with my face buried in it. But if the light coming from the window announces the morning, then I know I have to get up. Okay, I don't have to actually do anything, but I know I was a bitch with Gordon yesterday and I’d like to make it up to him somehow. Maybe I could make breakfast or do some housework to help. I know he told me I'm his guest, but really, I don't want to take advantage of his generosity. A part of me still blames him for what happened to my mother, yet the rational part of my mind knows the only one to blame is that bastard I call my father. Gordon really loved my mother and would have done anything for her.
I sit on the bed and look around. My suitcase is still on the floor. I don't want to undo it, not if there's still the possibility that Gordon is tired of my presence and kicks my ass out of his house. So, I get up and simply rummage in it until I find a change of clean underwear, shorts and a tank top.
I go to the bathroom, thankful to have my own and not have to share one with four men. After washing and dressing, I tie my hair in a ponytail and leave the room. Although I don't know where the kitchen is because I slept through dinner yesterday, I find it immediately, attracted by the smell of coffee and the sound of voices.
I open the door and three pairs of hostile eyes are on me. There’s no doubt that the Stevenson brothers are blood relatives. They all have the same eye shape, although Ryan has green irises, while those of the other two tend more to brown. Their hair is of the same brown and even the cut is similar, shorter on the sides and back, longer in the middle.
"Good morning," I greet them with a whisper. "Where's Gordon?"
"Why?" one of them asks me. I don't know how old they are, but he definitely seems to be the middle brother.
"Er, I just wanted to thank him," I say with a shrug, stuttering a little. Their presence makes me nervous.
"He's at work. Do you know what work is? It’s that thing you do to earn money and buy things." He chuckles. "No, of course you don’t. Given where you come from, you can't know what the hell I’m talking about."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, Noah, the poor thing doesn't even understand the language." The taller brother laughs at me. "It's just a stupid stray." This time he grins at me as he says those words.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Jacob. Don't treat our guest so poorly. Haylee is a member of the family now.” Ryan looks at his brother and I know it’s not a good thing. At least not for me.
I swallow loudly. "I'm sorry for having dropped into your lives. I really don't want to bother you or–"
"Oops!" Ryan exclaims, throwing down the bow full of milk and cereal he had in his hands. "How careless I am. Haylee, dear, why don't you help me clean up?"
I widen my eyes and open my mouth to tell him to go fuck himself, but then I think better of it. I really want to try to be on decent terms with them.
I sigh and go to the sink to grab a towel. Then I go over to Ryan and kneel on the floor to help him clean up, even though he hasn't moved an inch from his chair.
I'm still bending over the floor when I hear the door open.
"Where are you, guys?" shouts an annoying high-pitched voice.
"In the kitchen," the Stevenson brothers answer as one. I get back on my feet just in time to see a stunning blonde girl come in, swaying her hips in a little short dress and stiletto heels.
"Uhm?!" She stops ahead of me. She sizes me up from head to toe. A frown shows on her face. "Who are you?"
"Hi." I smile at her. "I'm Haylee." I reach out, but she ignores my hand, still staring at me with that fishy look.
Only after a few seconds, when her eyes go beyond my shoulders and find Ryan, her expression changes and a big smile is drawn on her lips.
"Good morning, my beloved!" She squeaks, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips.
"Good morning," I hear Ryan murmur.
I turn around and see that Noah and Jacob have approached the blonde and are greeting her by kissing her on the lips, too.
They are definitely a weird family.
"So, can you tell me who this is?" the bitch asks once more.
"Nobody, Mya," Ryan says. "She’s just a stray animal that Dad decided to take home."
The four of them burst into laughter while I feel the tears filling my eyes. Why must they treat me so badly? What have I done to deserve it?
"Let’s leave the stray to clean up while we go into my room to talk, honey," Noah says, putting an arm around the blonde's waist and nudging her toward the door.
Jacob follows them. His hand is on Mya's back.
Ryan is behind them. Before going out, he turns and looks at me. "Wipe everything well, stray," he tells me. "Earn what my father offered you so generously."
I hate the tone of his voice and the way he makes me feel every time he speaks to me.
But I'm stronger than that.
I clench my fists and keep staring straight into his eyes. “You know, I have already read this story. You’re like the evil step-sisters, but male. And do you know what happens to them in the real story? One cuts her toes and the other her heel to put on the shoe and eventually bleed to death." I look at him defiantly. "So, in the end, I win."
"Yeah, well, actually I was thinking of a different story. Do you know the one about the red hooded girl who is eaten by the big bad wolf?" He pauses. His eyes shine as he looks at me and his lips are raised in a grin. "Guess who wins there."
He exits, leaving me alone in the kitchen.
I swallow. Fuck, I don't know if my panties are wet with arousal or because I just peed myself.
Chapter Five
NOAH
From the moment she set foot in our house, I did nothing but think of her. She confuses me and, for this reason, I hate her. I don't know why my father decided to take her home. She’s nothing but a stray dog and yet there is something in her that calls to my wolf. I feel him pacing inside me. He wants to get out, take Haylee and claim her as his.
I shake my head and look back at the girl beside me. It is to her that I should think, it is for her that I should have a hard on, and yet ...
I move Mya's arm from around my body and sit on the bed. My brothers continue to sleep. Ryan has his back to me. He’s the coldest and most detached of us. He doesn't like cuddling after sex or all those sweet things that seem to please women. Jacob, on the other hand, is like a big teddy bear. His arms are wrapped around our mate's body and his head is pressed against her neck. He’s probably the only one among us who is really in love with our girl.
Not that Mya isn't beautiful. It's just that she has that something that makes her a perfect bitch sometimes. Well, basically, I think it's normal to feel superior to others when you are the daughter of the Beta of the pack as well as betrothed to the future Alpha and his two Betas.
Haylee, on the other hand, has a sweet and tender look. She seems so lost and fragile that part of me would like to protect her ... while the other would like to tear her to pieces. Yeah, well, like I said, the girl confuses me. And worst of all, she does the same with my wolf.
I slide away from the bed, making sure to be quiet and not wake anyone up.
I don’t think it is a normal thing for humans, and it’s probably the animal in us that drives us to sleep like this, to crave some sort of physical contact. Even without Mya, I can't remember a single night when my brothers and I slept apart. Who knows what Haylee would think if she saw us like this.
Nope! Don't go there, Noah!
Two months. That's how much I will have to suffer her presence. Then I will no longer be forced to see her. I will do everything to make sure that when she turns eighteen, she will leave this house. I know the presence of Haylee unnerves my brothers, too. I can see the effect she has on them. Fuck my father! What had he been thinking? Doesn’t he realize she could discover our
secret? Doesn't he understand the danger the pack members are being put in? He's our Alpha, for fuck’s sake!
I sigh and drag my tired body to the bathroom. In the shower, I turn on the water and try to free my mind from the thought of my new little sister.
Fuck. Just thinking about her makes me hard. I should ignore my erection. I should stop thinking about her that way. Yet I can't help but imagine her full lips wrapped around my cock. Her firm breasts bouncing up and down while she sucks me hard.
My hands slide down my length. I rest my forehead against the cold tiles and jack off picturing Haylee in my mind. My damn new sister!
I come with a groan and spill my seed everywhere.
Damn, I can't go on like this. She has to go. She has to disappear ... now.
Because I know that if she has to stay a few more days, then I won't be able to stop myself from taking her and making her mine.
I already have a mate, I remind myself. I have already promised to bond myself to someone else. And yet...
Fuck.
Chapter Six
HAYLEE
I can't sleep tonight. I keep turning over in bed and mulling over what happened during the day. After Mya made her appearance in the Stevensons' kitchen, she and the guys holed up in one of the bedrooms and didn't leave until dinner time. As I passed the door, I heard whispering, moaning and crying with pleasure. My sexual experience is really limited — I could say it’s non-existing actually — but I'm pretty sure they were having an orgy in there. And I felt a strange sensation, like I was ... jealous.
I hate the Stevenson brothers. I hate the way they look at me. I hate the way they talk to me. I hate everything about them, yet there is a part of me, a stupid little part of me, that craves their closeness, their bodies, their mouths ...
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