Hated By My Stepbrother Alpha

Chapter 11

_Cassian's POV_

I watched Raven walk away from me and sit beside Raphael. My jaw tightened so hard it hurt. She did not even look back once.

She just sat there with him like that was where she belonged. She opened her lunch box. She smiled a little when he spoke. She looked calmer with him than she ever looked with me.

Something ugly twisted inside my chest.

Ragnar stirred at once. I do not like this, he growled inside my head.

Neither do I, I replied coldly.

Raphael leaned closer to her and said something about studying. Raven listened. Then she nodded. A small smile touched her lips.

That smile made my blood burn.

Ragnar pushed harder against my mind. Why is she smiling at him like that?

Because she is a fool, I said.

No. Because he makes her feel safe.

Hearing that word made me hate Raphael even more. The idea that she could feel safe with him twisted something bitter inside me.

I should have felt satisfied that she trusted the wrong person. I should have reminded myself that Raven was the enemy, that every mistake she made would make it easier for us later.

But that was not what I felt.

What I felt was rage; hot, sharp and stupid rage.

I rose from my seat before I even fully thought about it. My feet carried me toward them. My body was too tense. My wolf was too close to the surface.

Ragnar’s voice was rough and dark. He should not sit so close to her.

I almost laughed at that. Since when do you care? I asked.

Since I saw her cry. Since I smelled her fear. Since I watched him touch her books and speak to her like she is precious.

She is not precious, I snapped.

Then why does it feel wrong?

I had no answer for that. And I hated that most of all.

So I went to their table. I let my voice turn cold. I let my smile sharpen. I mocked Raphael. I warned Raven. I pushed until she looked at me with anger in her eyes.

At least anger I understood. Anger was simple. Anger was clean.

That soft look she gave Raphael was not. When she told me to leave them alone, something in me went very still.

For one second, I only stared at her.

There was fire in her face. Her cheeks were warm. Her eyes were bright with annoyance. She looked beautiful when she was angry.

Ragnar rumbled low in my head. Even now.

Shut up, I told him.

I forced myself to laugh and walk away. But the rest of lunch tasted bitter. Every time I looked up, I saw them together. Raphael talking. Raven listening. The two of them bent over a notebook before lunch ended.

I wanted to flip the table. Instead, I clenched my hand around my bottle until the plastic bent.

For the rest of the day, Raven avoided me.

I saw it clearly.

Between classes, she took different hallways. When I entered a room, she looked away. Once, after the final bell of the last lesson, I saw her hurry out so fast that she nearly ran into another student.

She was trying to escape me.

That should not have annoyed me as much as it did. It was better this way, I reminded myself. Distance made manipulation easier. Fear made people easier to shape.

But Ragnar would not stop. She is avoiding us.

Good.

No. Not good.

She is the enemy.

Then why do you keep watching her?

I ignored him.

The last bell rang through the school. Students flooded the hallways. Voices rose around me. Lockers slammed. Shoes scraped the floor. But through all of that noise, I found Raven at once.

She was moving fast down the corridor with her bag pressed against her side. Her head was low. Her steps were sharp. She did not want me near her.

Too bad.

I pushed through the crowd and caught up to her just as she reached the front steps.

“Raven,” I called.

She did not stop.

I grabbed her arm.

She gasped and spun around. Her eyes widened for a second and then narrowed. “Let go of me.”

“Get in the car,” I said.

Her brows pulled together. “No.”

I tightened my grip without thinking. “I said get in the car.”

She tried to pull free. “You’re hurting me.”

The words hit something in me, but not enough to make me let go.

Not yet.

Around us, students were still walking by. Some glanced over. I leaned closer and lowered my voice. “Do not make a scene. Just get in the car.”

“I can go by myself,” she snapped. “I am not a child.”

“You’re coming with me.”

“I said no.”

I could feel Ragnar pacing in my mind. He did not like her pain. He did not like my hand on her arm. But he hated the idea of her going to Raphael more.

Bring her with us, he said.

You are impossible, I muttered inwardly.

Raven glared at me. “Are you deaf? Let me go.”

Finally I loosened my grip just enough to stop hurting her, but I did not release her completely. “The car is waiting.”

Her lips parted in disbelief. “You really think you can order me around?”

I gave her a hard look. “Move.”

For a second I thought she would fight me right there in front of everyone. But then she looked toward the road where the black car waited by the curb. The driver stood beside the open rear door, pretending not to listen.

“This is insane,” she muttered.

Then she yanked her arm free and climbed into the car. I followed right behind her. The door closed.

The driver got in and pulled away from the school.

Silence filled the backseat at first. Raven pressed herself near the window and folded her arms tightly across her chest. I sat on the other side but the space between us still felt too small.

Her scent filled the car. It smelled of lavender and warm skin, with something softer underneath that always made Ragnar go still for a moment before he started growling again.

She turned her head and stared at me. “You need to stop trying to control me.”

I leaned back. “Control you?”

“Yes.” Her voice shook slightly with anger. “I can walk home if I want to. I can stay after school if I want to. Why are you forcing me to ride with you?”

Because I cannot stand the thought of you going to Raphael, I thought.

Instead I said, “The house is too far. How exactly were you planning to walk such a long distance?”

“That is none of your business.”

“It becomes my business when you do something stupid.”

Her eyes flashed. “You don’t get to call me stupid.”

“Then stop acting like it.”

She laughed once but there was no humor in it. “You are unbelievable.”

I looked out the window. “And yet you are still in the car.”

Her breath caught a little at that. I felt it more than I heard it.

Ragnar lifted his head inside me. She is angry.

I noticed.

And hurt.

I know.

I do not like when she looks at us like that.

I almost smiled bitterly. That makes two of us.

Raven shifted closer to the door. “You do not own me, Cassian.”

I turned my head slowly and looked at her.

For a second, the sounds of the city outside seemed far away. Her face was warm with anger. A small loose strand of hair had fallen near her cheek. Her lips were slightly parted. Her pulse beat fast in the delicate line of her throat.

My body reacted before my mind did. I noticed the shape of her mouth. I noticed how close she was. I noticed that if I leaned even a little, I could...

Ragnar surged forward. Too close....too close and still not enough.

Stop, I snapped at him.

I forced my gaze away from her and hardened my voice. “No one said I own you.”

She let out a cold laugh. “You act like it.”

I said nothing after that.

Because if I kept speaking, I might say something I should not.

The rest of the ride passed in heavy silence. I watched the road ahead through the glass. Raven kept looking out the window. Once, our knees nearly brushed when the car turned. She pulled away first.

Good, I told myself.

Good.

When we reached the house, the car had barely stopped before Raven shoved the door open and rushed out.

She did not wait for me.

She did not look back.

She went straight inside and ran upstairs.

I stepped out more slowly. The afternoon air was cool. But the heat in my body had not faded.

Ragnar was restless. She ran from us.

I know.

You should not have hurt her arm.

I know.

And you should not let her go to Raphael.

At that, I paused on the front steps. My father’s words from before came back to me with perfect clarity.

You need to be protective, kind and loyal. You let her fall in love with this family… with us.

A slow thought unfolded in my mind. Raven was already slipping toward Raphael. That could not continue. If she needed help, it should come from me. If she depended on someone, it should be me.

That was the plan.

And suddenly I knew exactly what to do. I turned at once and headed toward my father’s study.

The door was half open. He sat behind his desk, reading papers with a glass of wine beside his hand. He looked up when I entered.

“Cassian.”

“I need your help,” I said.

His eyes sharpened. “With what?”

I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. “Raven plans to go to Raphael’s house to study this evening.”

A shadow crossed his face. “Raphael.”

“Yes.”

“And you want to stop it.”

I nodded once. “I want her to study with me instead.”

My father leaned back slowly. “Go on.”

“This is a good opportunity,” I said. “If I help her, I get closer to her. I act like the good brother you told me to be. I gain her trust.”

He studied me for a few seconds. I kept my face calm.

Then his mouth curved. “That is excellent.”

“So you will help?”

“Of course.” He rose from his chair. “We won’t forbid her directly. That would make her suspicious. We will make it sound reasonable.”

A few minutes later, we waited downstairs in the sitting room near the front hall. The light outside had already changed. Evening was settling in. The house staff moved quietly in the distance. My father checked his watch once. Then again.

At last, we heard footsteps on the stairs.

Raven came down dressed to leave.

She had changed out of her uniform. She wore simple jeans and a soft top. Her hair was brushed. Her bag hung from one shoulder.

She looked… pretty.....too pretty for a study session.

Ragnar growled at once. She dressed up for him.

For study, I said flatly.

You do not believe that.

I ignored him.

Raven slowed when she saw us both there. “Oh.”

My father smiled warmly. “Raven. Are you going somewhere?”

She shifted the strap of her bag. “Yes. I’m going to a friend’s house to study.”

My father looked at his watch with perfect timing. “Well, Raven… it is already late.”

She blinked. “It’s only half past five.”

“Yes,” he said calmly, “and by the time you go there, study, and come back, it will be much later. I don’t think that is a good idea.”

Her expression changed. “I already asked my mom. She said it was fine.”

My father’s smile stayed in place but his voice became firmer. “I understand that. But I am not comfortable with it.”

Raven stared at him. “What?”

“I am worried for your safety,” he said. “You are still adjusting to this new place. It is better for you to remain at home this evening.”

I stayed silent, though satisfaction curled low in my chest.

My father continued. “Cassian can help you study. He always has perfect grades. He is at the top of his class. He is the one most suited to help you.”

Raven’s gaze snapped to me.

I kept my expression calm.

My father added gently, “And this would also be a good opportunity for you to bond with your new brother.”

I saw it then. The tiredness settling into Raven’s face. The fight leaving her little by little. She looked from my father to me and back again.

Her fingers tightened on her bag strap.

For a moment, I thought she might refuse anyway.

Then she sighed.

“Okay,” she said. “Fine. I will stay back.”

A quiet thrill moved through me. Ragnar went still. He was very pleased.

My plan had worked.

And as Raven stood there, tired and annoyed and trapped in the house with me for the evening, I knew this was only the beginning.

I would get closer.

I would make her trust me.

And when the time came, I would be close enough to destroy her completely.