Beyond the Pack’s Law: My stepsister or nobody else

Hayley’s POV

“As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t. I’m sorry for what I said earlier.” Aiden apologized over the phone.

“I know you were; it doesn’t justify what you said, but I’ll let it go.” I responded, not wanting to fight with him.

“So who is he?” His voice was lowered, like he was sad.

“Kayden?” I asked back.

“Yes, I didn’t give you the chance to explain who he is.” He paused and waited for me to answer, allowing me to explain myself, but I didn’t know how to.

I closed my eyes. This wasn’t going to be easy. I could hear his uneasy breath from the other side of the phone, breathing in and out slowly and deeply, the way he did when he was trying to stay calm.

“I met him a couple of weeks ago, and we’ve gone on a few dates.” I told him the truth; it would be cruel to lie to him.

I was expecting an angry reaction. I wanted it. I wanted him to flare up and express himself; the thought of him being alone over there brooding on my betrayal made me feel even worse.

But he didn’t scream; he didn’t raise his voice. He continued talking in that low, steady voice.

“Do you like him?” He asked

That was the question I had been pondering the entire time. Sometimes it felt like Kayden was just a distraction, a rebound from my separation from Aiden. I could never feel what I felt with Aiden.

“I don’t know., I said back.

“Do you still have feelings for me?” He asked

The answer to that was simple: it had never changed. I had tried my best to mask it, but it never changed.

“Yes., I answered.

“Then we’ll figure it out.” He said it reassuringly. I didn’t feel very reassured, though. We couldn’t figure it out; everything was against us-our parents, the world, everything.

“I don’t think we can; they’ve picked a date for the wedding, Aiden.’, I said softly.

Mom had announced to me a few days ago that she had officially chosen a date to marry Aiden’s dad. It was closer than it was before, and she wanted to get married to him as fast as possible. If that happened, our fates would be sealed, and we could never be together when our biological parents got married.

I knew the truth deep down-the truth Aiden refused to accept.

“What do you mean?” He asked with a hint of confusion in his tone; he didn’t know. I was surprised they hadn’t told him yet; they must have known he would freak out if he did.

“Your dad and my mom-they’re getting married in three weeks. Mom told me. They’re going to get married, Aiden; we’ll be siblings. We can’t be friends and siblings at the same time.” It broke my heart to say it out loud. I had thought about it in my head ever since, but the reality that came with actually saying the words is painful.

“What? The wedding isn’t supposed to happen for, like, three months. Why now? Why am I just hearing about this now?” His voice had shifted from the calmness he was trying to portray and was slowly tilting towards anger.

“I don’t know, but that’s already decided. It might be their way of making sure we’ve never been together ethically, or they’re just really excited to get married. Either way, they are doing it.” I said plainly that I didn’t need to feed myself any more false hope.

He gave a sad laugh, bitterness echoing in his tone.

“What if we did it first?” He asked

“Did what?” I was confused.

“Get married; they can’t get married when we are already married.” He laughed when he said it, like it was a joke, but I could tell a part of him meant it, and I was slowly considering it too.

“You want to go against the Alpha’s wishes?” I already knew the answer. He had too much to lose, and even if he was willing to let go, I wasn’t going to let him throw his life away.

“He’s old.” He said dismissively that he wasn’t a very important factor in this scenario.

“But he’s still the Alpha and your father.” I reminded him.

“I know.” He replied, “What do we do now?”

I had no idea, but there was one obvious option. It was a choice that would hurt to make, but it was the only one at the moment.

“Maybe we let them have the win on this one; think of it as giving them their happy ending.” I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I spoke.

Don’t do this, my wolf voice echoed in my head. We both understood how heartbreaking it would be to lose another mate.

He didn’t respond, and it only made me worry more. What was on his mind? What was he thinking about? Did he feel like I was just letting go of him without putting up a fight?

“Aiden?” I said softly.

“I’m not letting them have it-a happy ending or whatever you call it. I refuse to let you go. I said I’d always be with you, and I meant it.” He said it confidently.

My heart lit up with hope; he wasn’t giving up. As hopeless as it seemed, he was still going to keep trying. The mere thought filled me with so much hope-maybe there was still a chance after all.

“Okay.” was all I could muster up without bursting into tears.

“I have to go; call me anytime you need me, okay?.” He said

“Sure., I said back.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Give me some time so I can wrap all this up, and I’ll be home before you know it. I love you, Hayley.” He said, and then I heard the beep sound declaring the end of the call.

“I love you too., I said to no one.

The sound of my heart beating filled my ears. I collapsed on my bed and stared at the ceiling. I wished my mom and his dad had never fallen for each other, but I had still met Aiden. Maybe then we could be happy, and all this wouldn’t have happened.

A knock came from the door, and I turned to look.

“Who is it?” I asked

“It’s me., Mom said back.

“Come in., I said, sitting up straight.

The door knob turned, followed by the creaking sound the door made with its hinges, and she stepped into the room.

She was wearing her nightgown with her hair packed up in a messy bun. She always did it like that; I remember fiddling with her bun anytime she read me a bedtime story growing up.

The more I looked at her, the more I was reminded that I couldn’t knowingly hurt her. No matter how many times I argued and said she was being selfish by not letting me be with Aiden, it was all so she would willingly let go and approve of our relationship.

She had always been there for me, for as long as I could remember. The overprotective, extremely paranoid mother that she was.

She sat next to me, looking into my eyes with a concerned expression on her face.

“Are you okay?” She asked

I nodded and forced myself to smile.

“Tell me the truth; what’s wrong? Is it Kayden?” She asked again, and I could imagine her going out to give Kayden an ass whooping if I said he was the reason I was sad.

“It’s not.” I mustered up the courage to voice my thoughts:’It’s about Aiden.”

Her expression went from concerned to displeased, and I could instantly tell how this conversation would end.

“We’ve talked about this; he’s your brother. His dad and I are getting married.” She said it for the millionth time.

“I know.” I shifted my gaze to the lamp by my bedside. Trying to talk to her was hopeless; there was no getting through.

“Then why don’t you understand? Do you really want to make me unhappy just so the two of you can be together?” She asked

That statement sounded a lot like guilt-tripping, but we were already at a point where it felt like everything she said was aimed at guilt-tripping me into letting her have her way.

“Can’t we both be happy?” I asked near tears, Why couldn’t we both have our happy endings?

“It doesn’t work that way.” She said it plainly.

“What if you don’t marry the Alpha? Then Aiden and I could still be together, and then you guys could figure something out.” I said.

Her eyes creased, and she moved back, like I had said something repulsive. I knew I was being delusional, but she looked disgusted at me.

“You’re hell-bent on this; why?. What happened to Kayden?” She asked.

Kayden? Nothing would happen to him; he’d just have to find someone else who really loved him back the way I loved Aiden. I’d feel like an ass if I broke his heart; he had been nothing but good to me, but I didn’t want to make him feel like a plan B.

“This isn’t about Kayden.” I said that and tried to convince myself that it could all work out.

“So what? You just strung the innocent boy along all this while to distract you so you can go back to fooling around with your stepbrother.” She said it angrily.

“Mum, stop.” I didn’t want to hear any more of the hurtful things she said when she was upset; she had a tendency to say things she shouldn’t say when she got upset.

“You want me to stop? Then stop this madness and let me be happy.” She said that and stood.

The sound of the door being opened caught our attention and interrupted our little argument. Aiden’s dad stepped into the room and looked at both of us; he looked just as dissatisfied as my mom.

A part of me felt scared. Was he going to join her in trying to hurt me with her words?

I looked to him, but he looked to my mom instead.

“Rachel, it’s the middle of the night.” He said this, trying to pacify her.

“No, I don’t care. Don’t take her side right now.” My mom faced him instead as she spoke, and I was thankful I was no longer in her range of sight.

“You’re going to disturb the neighbors and draw unnecessary attention. Whatever it is this time, we’ll deal with it tomorrow morning.” He wasn’t giving room for negotiation; he was practically ordering her back to bed.

She looked at him for a while before angrily walking past him, and I heard her footsteps hitting the hard wooden steps and receding towards the kitchen.

Aiden’s dad looked at me; he had probably guessed what the commotion was about, and last I checked, he was on her side.

“Stop triggering her.” He said it sternly.

“I wasn’t trying to; I just… Aiden…” My voice trailed off when I saw the warning look on his face. I had no idea why I even bothered with it.

“Don’t; Aiden will be Alpha, and he will not soil his bloodline by being mates with his own family. I have tried to make you both understand that nicely, but since you remain adamant, you’ll just have to live with it.” He said that and closed the door.

It was just my mom and his dad disapproving, but it felt like the whole world was against us. I wanted to scream.

I lay on my bed frustrated. I concentrated and projected my consciousness into the kitchen. I was too scared of them hatching another plan.

“Rachael, you need to calm down.” Dad said

“Calm down? After everything I have done for her, this is how she repays me. I even went out of my way to set her up with that boy.” She said, pacing back and forth angrily.

“Huh? What do you mean? Which boy?” Dad asked, as confused as I was.

“How do you think that Kayden boy met her? It was me; I went through the stress of setting her up because no one else will date her because they think she is a whore.”

My heart skipped. What?!

“You set up Hayley?” Dad asked

“More like I paid him to go out with her.” She rolled her eyes, and I felt a knife run through my soul.

What in the world did she just say??