Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother

I sighed, shaking my head in dismay. "Alright, fine," I muttered, sitting up. "There’s only one way to settle this."

Hugo hummed, amused. "Do tell, oh wise one."

"I’ll go see her," I said, ignoring his sarcasm. "That’s the only way I’ll know for sure. I’ll talk to her, spend some time with her, and if I feel... something—" I paused, my chest tightening at the mere thought of the possibility. "Then I’ll deal with it. And if not, then I can move on and prove everyone wrong."

Hugo rasped. "Oh, yes. I’m sure that’ll work out perfectly. You, the great Axel, sitting down and rationally analyzing your emotions like a scientist observing a bug under a microscope. What could possibly go wrong?"

I ignored him. "And besides," I added, "even if I don’t love her, I should at least make sure I’m not leading her on. If there’s even a chance that she’s waiting for me, it’d be cruel to leave her hanging. She doesn’t deserve to have her feelings neglected. María José, she’s..."

I sniffed in dreamily, remembering her lavender and honeysuckle scent. "She’s heavenly. She’s angelic and she deserves the world."

There was a long silence. Then Hugo let out a low chuckle. "You know... for once, I actually like you."

I stretched my mouth to the side. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah," he mused. "You almost sounded mature just now. It was terrifying. Never do that again."

Motherfucker.

I scowled. "Oh, shut up."