The Wrong Brother's Temptation

Chapter One

Sienna

I chewed at the end of the pencil, staring at the form in front of me.

“We don't have all day, Sienna” Mom reminded me for the millionth time already.

“Yeah, I am trying”

I had been stalling it for weeks but mom was now in front of me, demanding I fill the compatibility questionnaire right away.

One question in particular nagged at my brain. It asked whether I preferred my future mate to be "verbally expressive or the strong silent type" as if I was ordering a custom wardrobe and not a husband.

Ever since I had turned eighteen, my parents began looking for a suitable groom for me, an alpha to strengthen our pack’s strength.

And truth be told, I wasn’t completely against it.

"Breathing would be a good start" in the margin as an answer at last but my mother did not find this funny.

"Sienna!" She used that tone that had exactly two settings: gentle and I will love you into compliance.

"I filled it out," I said, pulling the form back toward me and scribbling over my margin note with something more diplomatic. "Open communication is valued."

All mature and reasonable which was the exact opposite of how I felt.

"The Ashford Alpha arrives in four days," she said, sitting down across from me with her tea, which she holds the way other people hold weapons. "Four days, Sienna. This is not the time for humor."

"It's always time for humor. Humor is a coping mechanism. My therapist said so."

"You don't have a therapist."

"I've been meaning to get one."

She rolled her eyes and walked away with the form.

I knew a lot was riding on me. And truth be told I wasn’t against it entirely. I understood duty and as the only daughter of the Vaelon Pack's alpha pair, I had been told to put the pack’s needs above my own.

So I reluctantly agreed to meet whatever alpha was coming over to see me tonight.

There was only one problem- a cute boy named Aaron who I had a crush on since seven. It also didn’t help that he was my best friend and completely oblivious to my feelings.

“Hey, what are you upto?” Aaron asked as he stepped inside my room without bothering to knock. He had never bothered to.

And my heart fluttered slightly at the sight of him. He had a boyish charm to him, a lean and athletic frame, a witty tongue and a smile that made me agree to whatever he said like an eager, hopeful puppy.

“Aaron! I could have been changing clothes!” I gave him a look but he only shrugged.

“Then I would have just looked away”

He said with a laugh, settling beside me on the couch.

And those words, that simple truth stung like hell.

Because Aaron had never looked at me with anything except sisterly affection. I was still that stupid girl he found crying in school over her melted icecream, the girl who helped him befriend the school’s hottie, Carla.

I had always been an intermediary, a bridge between Aaron and whoever he wanted to date.

“Why would you?” I asked, unable to stop myself.

I knew I was not the most gorgeous girl to be alive but hey, I looked decent-ish. I had the same strawberry blond hair like my mother and dark brown eyes like my father.

And I tried my best to hide the freckles behind my glasses.

“What do you mean why?” He asked, trying to find the remote already.

Irritation flashed through me.

“Because you know, I am a girl” It sounded stupid and lame to me.

"You okay?" he asked, noticing my irritation.

"Perfectly fine," I said, trying to see if the idea of losing me affected him in the slightest. It did not.

"Extremely chill. Totally not spiraling about the fact that a stranger is arriving tomorrow to assess whether I'm a suitable political acquisition."

"You're a little spiraling."

"I'm elegantly spiraling. There's a difference."

He smiled, and it was the smile I had memorized without meaning to.

Aaron was careful with his expressions the way some people were careful with money. He didn't spend them on just anyone.

"Just talk about books and bore him to death."

“Did you just call me a bore?” I asked, slightly hurt.

Aaron didn’t bother paying attention to the conversation, already distracted by the notification sound of his phone.

He quickly reached for it and I saw the biggest smile flash on his face.

“Look! Sandra said yes!”

I managed to smile, trying to hide the obvious hurt.

How could this man call me his best friend and yet not even notice me despite spending most of the day together.

Sandra was his latest obsession. A tall brunette with curvy hair and a seductive smile who was horrible at maths so Aaron was giving her private lessons after learning it all from me.

“It worked! God, you are the best, Sia!”

Aaron shouted in excitement, pulling me closer for a hug. He was the only one who called me Sia.

“My glasses!”

I frowned but let him pull me anyway because I loved the warmth of his embrace. I loved that despite his complete ignorance to the fact that I was a girl too, I managed to put a smile on his face.

“Fuck! I should get ready for the date. Love you, bye.”

He placed a peck on my cheek and ran outside a minute later, my words dying down on my tongue.

“Yeah, love you too” I said in a whisper, desperately hoping he knew I’d give anything for him to actually mean it, that he realized I wasn’t the same girl with a doll scared of ghost stories anymore.

I spent the entire day worried about his date with Sandra, feeling jealous of her receiving all his attention. Usually, he would call me in an hour, telling me she wasn’t his type or something similar and I would go back to living in my bubble.

But he hadn’t yet.

Maybe they had already found a room, and gotten frisky…

“The meeting. Focus on the meeting” I reminded myself.

This was why I had said yes to it anyway. Partly to see if Aaron would react to seeing me actually meeting someone, if he would be averse to the idea of me dating someone else.

I had a plan.

I fell asleep that night feeling hopeful, ignoring the absence of any calls or messages from him which could only mean that his date with Sandra was going very well.

Stomping down on the hurt that was going to rear its ugly head at me, I told myself I could do this.

That Aaron would come to his senses before another man claimed me, and that my feelings for him weren’t one-sided.

I was, as previously noted, catastrophically wrong.

Chapter Two

Sienna

The next few days passed in a blur with no contact from Aaron. It was as if he had suddenly forgotten I existed.

There were no messages, no phone calls.

And the fear that I had truly, completely lost him began to look very real.

“Where are you lost? I asked you which color you prefer?” Mom asked, dragging me out of my thoughts.

She held two gowns in front of me, both elegant and sophisticated. One was a soft pink and another a deep shade of purple.

“Any is fine” I mumbled, distracted by the sound of notification from my phone. I dashed through the room, grabbing the phone lying on the side table.

It was not Aaron.

He had never gone silent before, never not checked on me for days.

Something was wrong.

“Mom, Aaron must be hurt. He must be in trouble” I voiced out my fears, imagining the worst. But mom only laughed it off.

“No, he went with his girlfriend to some weekend destination two days ago.”

“What?” I asked in shock.

Mom inched closer to me, patting my back softly.

“Yes, he had given a call to our beta to check for last minute flights that I overheard because apparently his girlfriend only wanted to fly first class. He would have been ignored if not for being your friend.”

Ouch. That was so not how I imagined being of help to him.

His crushes always faded away in a week or so, he would just return to me after the girl walked all over him and everything would be fine in my life again.

I always hoped that cycle would end one day with him realizing no other girl would be there for him like I was.

But Sandra had proven me wrong.

“And it would be good if you forgot about him. You should worry about your own future, dear.”

Mom suggested with a small smile.

I felt completely broken to have been ignored like this. The silent treatment like I had been tossed away from his life as if I had never been a part of it weighed heavy on my heart.

I had never experienced heartbreak because I never had a boyfriend technically but I imagined the pain to be similar to what I was feeling right now.

My eyes fell on the two gowns mom had laid on the bed for me.

A memory popped up in my head of me prancing around in my pink dress in school and Aaron distracted by some girl wearing a deep blue dress.

“That one. I will go with the purple one” I said and Mom beamed at me.

“Excellent choice” she clasped her hands together and then the maids walked in, prepping me up like a pig for slaughter, applying lipstick and rose tint to my face and styling my hair to hang loosely around my shoulders.

Mom expected me to argue and bicker like always but I let them do their thing, transforming me from a nerd to a glamorous diva.

When they were done, I stared at my reflection in shock.

“Is that me?” I asked, mouth slightly ajar.

“You look gorgeous, Sienna. The alpha would be smitten by you, I have no doubt.”

“I will do my duty to our pack, mom, don’t worry. I wont chase him away, not this time.”

Because I had done that for Aaron who proved he would never belong to me.

All set to impress the alpha I didn’t bother asking the name of, I waited with my parents in the living room in anticipation.

But one hour passed and then three but there was still no sign of him.

By the fourth hour, I began to feel abandoned all over again, this time by a man who had not even seen me yet.

Mom could clearly see the disappointment on my face and gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“They must have run into some sort of problem. The alpha is said to be a man of his word.”

I wanted to get up and just leave to cry my heart out in the pillow but one look at my dad’s face was enough to change that idea.

Because I was seeing real concern on my father’s face. I could see the alliance slipping away from his hold and the uncertainty of our pack’s future gnawing at him even though he hadn’t said a word.

My misery transformed into irritation and slowly morphed into anger. I was annoyed at the alpha who thought it was good to waste our time without so much as an explanation.

Night came and when there was still no sign of him, I got changed into my usual pajamas, cursing my life, my fate, Aaron and just about anything that had ever been an inconvenience.

But I couldn’t sleep so I went to check on dad one last time and heard him talk to someone over the phone.

“No, no, its perfectly alright, alpha…”

Dad was bending backwards for some asshole after he had clearly given him hopes and I knew how that felt.

So I did something stupid.

I grabbed the phone from dad’s hand and shouted.

“Who the fuck are you to treat us like our time or pack doesn’t matter to you?”

“Sienna!!” Dad shouted, trying to grab the phone from me.

Meanwhile, I shook my head. “Enough is enough dad. That asshole can go find another bride for all I care.”

A deep voice spoke out loud from the other end.

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah, you are excused. You are forgotten and wiped out from our memories. I pity the girl who will end up marrying you because you are so self centered and smug that you waited for bloody six hours before caring to give a call.”

“You don't know what happened” He began but I cut him short.

“And I don’t care. May the Goddess give you the taste of your own medicine one day!!” I shouted, emptying all my frustration and hurt on a person I had never met and was never going to.

I was done with people taking me for granted.

I was done being the sweet and understanding girl.

Going forward, I was going to be the mean girl.

Chapter Three

Sienna

For some reason, I felt a little better after yelling at the stranger. It made me feel calm though a small part of me realized it was fucked up.

“Dad, don’t call him again, don’t give that asshole any unnecessary respect.”

“Sienna!! Mind your tongue!” Mom let out a scandalized wail after hearing me swear.

“It is what it is. I don't want to meet him. In fact, I will marry the next alpha you want without even looking at him. But this one can rot in hell for all I care.”

I walked off, mom and dad staring at me as if I had grown another head.

They had never seen me act like this. Hell, I had never imagined cursing someone on the phone but I didn’t care anymore.

And honestly, it felt good to give that guy a piece of my mind. He totally deserved it.

It had been almost a week since no contact with Aaron but for the first time I didn’t worry about him as I went to sleep peacefully.

That peace lasted for a total of twelve hours because the next day at breakfast was unusually quiet.

Mom and dad ate in silence, only speaking to pass on the butter or cutlery.

Meanwhile, my eyes darted from one to the other, trying to figure out a way to break the ice.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” I asked, foot tapping impatiently.

Mom and dad shared a look before mom answered. “We have a peculiar problem.”

I knit my brows.

“What kind of peculiar?”

Mom again looked at Dad as if to check with him how much she was allowed to say. But it only made worry unfurl from the pits of my stomach.

“The alpha wants another meeting with you at a diner. I forwarded the address to you.”

“What?”

Of all the things I had expected them to say, this was not even in the top hundred. Scratch that, it had never even crossed my mind.

“Why would he?” I asked, that seed of worry now burrowing itself to grow into a massive tree in the next few seconds.

“Because…he was occupied last night” Mom said carefully and I could tell she knew something I didn’t.

“Just ignore the request” I said, returning back to my plate but Dad shook his head.

“It doesn’t work that way, Sienna. Angering him could potentially ruin our pack’s condition that is already in not a good state.”

I couldn’t believe it.

The audacity of this man to not show up on time, request another meeting and threaten an attack on us just because HE couldn’t keep his word was insane.

“This is unbelievable” I said, getting up from the table and pushing my chair back that scraped against the floor.

“He wants to mend things, sweetie.” Mom said, trying to convince me. “And if just an hour of meeting could save us from future troubles, it would be great.”

I chewed at my bottom lip, unsure if I wanted to go ahead with the meeting just to slap the shit out of that arrogant alpha.

Dad saw the conflicted look on my face and sighed. “I will deal with it, Sienna. There is no need if you don’t feel like it.”

But I could read the hidden message behind the words- I trust you to anger him further.

Which was so not true. Okay, maybe I was wrong to take out all my frustration related to Aaron on him but it was not as if this latecomer alpha had not made a mistake.

I took a few calming breaths, and then said. “No, I created this mess, I will clear it.”

Mom threw me a concerned look but I reassured her. “I will be on my best behavior, I promise I won't do anything to hurt our pack.”

“Don’t mess it up any further” Mom cautioned as I quickly rushed to the bathroom to shower and get changed.

When I stepped outside the bathroom, Mom was waiting for me like yesterday, two dresses laid out for me yet again.

“There is no need for dresses” I muttered and opened my wardrobe to grab my familiar pair of jeans, a white tank top and paired it with a simple jacket.

“Sienna, you don’t understand. You have to dress up and…” She began but I shook my head.

“No, you need to understand, Mom. This guy obviously hates me and is simply putting on a good face to show others that he isn’t the asshole that he actually is.”

“Sienna!” My mom shook her head at the curse word yet again.

“I mean do you think he would really want an alliance or a marriage after I called him out for being late? This is just a stupid attempt for him to feel good about himself. As such, I won't dress up for him. I will return in an hour anyway.”

Mom still was shaking her head as I put on my clothes, paired it with black boots and headed towards the door.

“Stay safe” She said as if I was heading out for a war. “I will” I said and then looked at a knife lying on the table.

I tucked it behind my back, hidden beneath the jacket. I wasn’t sure I would need it but there was no harm in staying prepared.

With that in mind, I hired a cab that dropped me an hour later at Dining Haven, an upscale and posh diner in the city.

I stepped outside the cab and suddenly became conscious about my choice of clothing because even from outside I could get a peek into the diner that was filled with elites dressed in expensive clothes.

Everyone here looked like they belonged. I didn’t.

Maybe I should have taken up mom’s offer to wear a dress. But it didn’t matter, I wasn’t here to dine.

I approached the front door and a female attendant briskly walked towards me, wearing a polished smile and her hair tied in a bun.

“Are you miss Sienna Miller?”

“I am and I am here to…” I trailed off.

Shoot. In my haste to meet the guy, I hadn’t even bothered asking for his name.

“Please follow me”

I did as she asked, passing the elite crowd of guests as she led me up the stairs and away from the rest of them.

“Aren’t we supposed to meet downstairs?” I asked.

The attendant shook her head. “No miss, the private VIP dining suite awaits you.”

My ears popped at that.

Why would this man waste so much money for a girl he wanted to lecture about her language? Because I didn’t see any other reason for him calling me here.

The upper floors were even more chic with velvet carpet laid all over the floors and expensive vases lining the hallways.

The attendant finally stopped outside the door. “The alpha is waiting for you.”

I was about to knock when I heard a loud intimidating voice from inside.

“Dont show me your face again!”

A second later, the door sprang open and a girl ran outside, sobbing bitterly.

And across the room, pouring himself a drink was the most handsome man I had ever laid my eyes on.

Chapter 4

Sienna

So this was the alpha.

Because apparently, on top of being an arrogant, inconsiderate jerk, he also had to look like that.

His entire posture was relaxed as if he hadn’t just reduced someone to tears, as if people crying in front of him was something he dealt with on a daily basis.

I swallowed as I took in the sight of the tall, broody man with messy dark hair.

His jaw was sharp as if the Moon goddess had personally carved him, angular cheekbones, stormy eyes and a face that could make any woman fall for him.

His gaze lifted and landed on me, and for a second I froze, trapped in his gaze as he looked at me for exactly two seconds before dismissing me.

And it bloody hurt.

I straightened anyway, lifting my chin because if he thought I was going to cower after what he pulled yesterday, he was very, very mistaken.

“Well,” I said, stepping fully inside, “if this is your idea of mending things, you might want to work on your people skills.”

His brow lifted slightly, but he took a sip from his drink with that infuriating calm that grated on my nerves.

“You’re quick to draw a conclusion,” he said, voice low and dangerously calm.

I folded my arms, refusing to be intimidated. “I saw enough.”

His lips curved, not into a smile but something sharper.

“Did you?”

“Yes,” I snapped, “you call me here after not showing up yesterday, then I walk in on you making someone cry. Let me guess…now it’s my turn?”

He paused for a second, then laughed softly, like I’d said something genuinely amusing, and for some reason that annoyed me more than if he had shouted at me.

“You’re not just quick,” he said, taking a slow sip of his drink while watching me, “you’re also stupid.”

My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”

He tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was some strange puzzle he hadn’t decided whether to solve or discard.

“You build entire stories in your head that are very detailed, very dramatic, and completely wrong.”

“Oh, I’m wrong?” I scoffed, heat rushing to my face. “Then please enlighten me. Was that not a girl running out of here crying two seconds ago?”

“It was.”

“And you weren’t the reason?”

“I was.”

I stared at him, disbelief mixing with anger. “…wow.”

He shrugged like none of this mattered. “See, you’re proving my point.”

Something in me snapped then because the calm arrogance in his tone was unbearable.

“Good,” I shot back, “then I’m glad I called you out yesterday. You’re exactly the kind of person I thought you were.”

His eyes narrowed just a fraction, barely noticeable but enough to tell me I’d hit something.

“And what kind is that?”

“The kind no one should be stuck with,” I said, the words spilling out before I could stop them, “so congratulations, because I’m never meeting you again. Because whoever ends up with you is going to be miserable their entire life.”

The silence stretching between us felt heavy and suffocating, but I didn’t take it back.

I wasn’t going to stand back and let him take his sweet time to reply.

So I turned on my heel, ready to walk out because I’d said my piece and honestly, I’d had enough of his face for one lifetime.

I didn’t make it two steps before a hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling me back.

I let out a surprised yelp but other than that my brain was now suddenly going haywire, my skin was tingling with tiny sparks shooting up from where he touched me.

He spun me on my heels so suddenly that I barely had time to react before my back hit the wall and he towered over me, invading my personal space as his eyes bore into mine.

I gasped, my lungs finding all the air around me insufficient to keep functioning.

And as if he wanted me to die due to hyperventillation, he braced his other arm above my head, trapping me in place.

“You didn’t think this through before coming here, did you?”

I swallowed, my brain momentarily forgetting how to speak, how to form a sentence.

His gaze dropped to my lips and something in my stomach flipped in a way that made absolutely no sense given the situation.

This was not the time to notice that.

“Let me go,” I croaked.

He didn’t. Instead, he leaned in close enough that I could feel his breath on me that made my skin prickle.

“Are words suddenly failing you?” he asked, a hint of a smirk appearing on his face.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to slap him or angle my face so that our lips aligned perfectly.

What was wrong with me?

When I didn't answer, he added, “Or…are your ladybits suddenly in a frenzy?”

How dare he?

My hand moved before my brain could catch up, plucking the knife from under the jacket with shaky hands as I pressed it against his throat.

The cool metal contrasted sharply with the warmth of his skin as I warned, “Back off,” fully expecting him to get annoyed or frown.

Instead that cocky bastard flashed me a full smile until his lips were hovering over mine..

“What are you doing?” I hissed, my pulse spiking.

“Seeing if you’ll follow through.”

My grip tightened on the knife’s hilt. “You think I won’t?”

“I think,” he said, voice dropping lower, “you don’t know how.”

The sheer audacity of this man!!

“I…of course I know how!”

“Do you?” he murmured, and before I could react, his hand covered mine, sending a jolt through me as he adjusted my grip on the knife like he was teaching me something instead of standing there with a blade at his throat.

“Your angle’s wrong,” he said casually, shifting my hand slightly, bringing the blade closer, the tip almost digging into his skin.

“If you actually wanted to hurt me, you’d press here.”

I didn’t really want to kill him, I just wanted him to leave me alone.

“Stop!”

“Go ahead,” he said softly, his other hand sliding to my waist and pulling me closer instead of away, “Use that knife,” he repeated, his gaze dropping to my lips again, “while your mind is still working.”

It wasn’t.

My brain short circuited because the way he said it didn’t feel like a challenge, it felt like a warning..

“Because a second later,” he added quietly, “it won’t.”

“What does that even…”

I didn’t get to finish because the next second his lips crashed into mine.

Chapter Five

Sienna

I had expected him to flip that knife and point it at me, say something arrogant but this…this totally caught me off guard.

It wasn’t the way everything inside me seemed to go still for a split second before crashing back all at once, louder, faster, and overwhelming in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

His kiss wasn’t gentle, wasn’t hesitant at all.

It was sure, controlled, like he had already decided how this would go and I was just… struggling to keep up.

My first instinct should have been to push him away, to remember the knife still in my hand, the utter humiliation and hurt I had felt to be all dolled up for a man that didn’t even bother showing up.

He was the reason I had pulled the knife out in the first place, the reason I had even thought of carrying it with me.

But that instinct tangled somewhere with something else, precisely the ladybits he had boasted about and I hated how right he had been.

And my brain had flat out surrendered to my body’s desire because instead of pulling back, I felt myself falter, my breath hitching as a shiver ran down my spine.

His lips were warm, firm, moving against mine with a slow, deliberate pressure that made my thoughts blur at the edges, like I couldn’t quite hold onto them anymore.

I wasn’t supposed to dissolve in a heap of puddle because this was my first interaction with him.

I barely knew him and yet he had just pinned me to a wall and turned my own threat into a game, but instead I felt myself lean in just enough to feel more of him, and that tiny shift felt like a mistake the moment it happened because he noticed.

I heard a small growl escape his throat because then his hand tightened at my waist, pulling me closer, erasing whatever space had been left between us, and the contact sent another jolt through me.

My grip on the knife loosened without me even realizing it, my fingers slackening as my focus slipped completely.

I was ashamed to hear the sound leaving my mouth but it was all beyond my control.

Somewhere between trying to keep myself from falling apart, the knife slipped out of my hand and hit the floor with a dull, echoing thud that failed to snap me out of this.

One second his hands were holding me in place, and the next they were on my face, both of them cupping my cheeks and tilting my head just enough to deepen the kiss, and I felt my bones, my entire body turn to jelly.

I wasn’t even aware of when the hand holding the knife snaked under his jacket to lay on his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat under my palm.

The warmth of him, the way his lips moved against mine with a confidence that made my breath catch again enveloped me in a beautiful haze.

For a few blissful seconds, I forgot to think.

And the most terrifying part wasn’t that I was just letting it happen but that I was actively responding to it.

My body betrayed me in an effort to burn myself more in the delicious fire this man had ignited with me.

Then he pulled back just enough for his lips to brush against mine as he spoke in a low voice edged with that same infuriating amusement.

“You were never going to use it.” He said, looking at the discarded knife.

Like a pinprick to a balloon, the haze of desire popped away from my mind and I jerked back instinctively, my breath coming faster now.

My mind was scrambling to catch up with what had just happened.

But before I could fully pull away, his hand tightened slightly at my jaw and he tugged at my lower lip just enough to make my breath hitch again before he let go completely.

Like he was proving a point that he was the one letting me go and I would still lean in if he allowed it.

Like he had already won something I hadn’t even realized we were playing for.

I stepped back, putting actual distance between us this time, my chest rising and falling too quickly, heat flooding my face as the reality of it settled in.

I couldn’t even look at him for a second, couldn’t process how easily everything had slipped out of my control, how my own body had just… betrayed me like that.

I needed a cold shower.

While I was almost having a meltdown and needed a great deal of courage to just look him in the eye again, he was watching me with that same smirk, thumb brushing over his lower lip.

He was completely unaffected while I stood there trying to remember how to breathe normally.

“Still can’t talk?” he asked casually.

And I realized what this had been, that the kiss had been a way to humiliate me.

Anger flared up again inside me but this time it was directed more at myself than him, and instead of giving him the satisfaction of another reaction, I turned away abruptly, not trusting myself to say anything without making things worse.

I needed to leave before he saw me running out of the room with tears in my eyes just like the previous girl though he hadn’t even raised his voice at me.

I half expected him to grab me again, to pull me back into whatever this was, but he didn’t, and somehow that almost made it worse because it meant he had made his point.

I pushed the door open and stepped out into the hallway, almost rushing as I tried to put distance between myself and that man.

I wasn’t looking where I was going which was why I slammed straight into someone.

“Ow”

I stumbled slightly but then a familiar voice cut through the haze.

“Sienna?”

Everything inside me froze.

“What are you doing here?”

My head snapped up to see Aaron standing in front of me.