Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother

I and Axel sat in silence for a while. It was such a pin-drop one that only the sound of my fast heart and the distant noise of pigs snorting somewhere far too close to my current romantic crisis.

Then I sighed. "Alright. Fine. We’ll find something."

Axel’s grin returned, smug and victorious. "That’s my girl."

"But if you go full evil villain on me, I’m snitching to your mother."

He choked on a laugh. "Fair."

I leaned back, flopping onto the bed dramatically. "This is insane. You’re insane. I’m probably insane. My wolf is definitely insane."

Axel lay beside me, propping his head up on one arm and tracing lazy circles on my stomach through the shirt. "You forgot to say I’m sexy."

"See? Insane."

"I’ll take it."

We lay there like that for a while, intertwined in warmth and uncertain plans. Every now and then, I’d feel that whisper again.

Like my wolf was pacing inside of me, trying to stretch after years of sleep. It scared me. But it also thrilled me. Because maybe... I wasn’t broken or cursed.