Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 126: _ An Addictive Little Problem

Chapter 126: _ An Addictive Little Problem

I ran a hand down my face, puffing out a breath. My mind was racing, colliding with too many thoughts, all of them equally disastrous.

María José had no idea.

She had no idea what she was doing to me, no idea what last night meant, no idea that she had just set me on a path I had no damn business walking.

And worse? She had no idea who the hell she was dealing with.

I was unworthy of love. Any kind of love. I had spent my entire life proving that to myself and everyone else, and I had succeeded with flying colors.

No woman should love me because I couldn’t love them back.

So what the hell was María José doing looking at me like that? Like I was some kind of answer? Like she actually wanted something from me?

I groaned and slammed my head against the windowpane. I needed a fucking way out of this mess.

"Hugo," I muttered.

"Yeah?"

"Was there a chance she doesn’t like me? That it’s just the mark working?"

A long, suffering sigh filled my head. "Oh, for fuck’s sake, Axel."

"I’m serious."

"So am I," Hugo said dryly. "But by all means, let’s continue your pointless quest to deny the obvious."

I ignored him and pressed on. "You don’t think the bite has anything to do with it? Maybe I—I don’t know—accidentally tricked her body into responding to me?"

Even that didn’t make any sense to me at all but I had to consider all options. María José thought I and Rosa had something going on. She couldn’t have liked me, could she?

"Axel, if that was a mate mark, sure. But last I checked, María José is wolfless."

I turned away from the window, pacing again. "There has to be a reason I got the urge to bite her."

"Because you’re a dumbass?"

I scowled. "No. What if Álvaro was mistaken?"

Hugo hummed. "About?"

"About María José," I pointed out, gripping the air in frustration. "What if she really does have a wolf?"

The silence that followed spoke volumes. Then, Hugo gave a slow, considering hum.

"If she had a wolf, it would have awakened at the Alpha wolf’s call," he said. "Álvaro has a damn Alpha wolf. His wolf’s presence should’ve pulled hers out, even if it was dormant."

Dang. He had a point. But there had to be another explanation. Yes...

"Maybe Álvaro’s Alpha wolf wasn’t the one María José’s wolf needed," I shot back. "Maybe it was mine."

YES! Makes total sense!

There was another pause.

I could practically hear Hugo scratching his chin, like this was some kind of interesting puzzle he hadn’t thought of before. "That... would be something," he admitted. "But if that were the case, why didn’t her wolf rise when you bit her?"

Fuck... another stumbling block to my hypothesis.

I chewed the inside of my cheek. "There must be an explanation."

"For why your bite wasn’t good enough?"

Bloody jerk!

"Shut up."

Hugo huffed a laugh. "You’re really reaching here, aren’t you?"

I ignored him and kept pacing, my mind working at full speed.

"Maybe we didn’t do it properly," I said finally.

"Do what properly?"

"The bite."

There was a long silence. Then, very slowly, Hugo said, "Are you saying you need a do-over?"

I gritted my teeth. "I’m saying it would put everyone to shame if María José actually had a wolf. It would give her the justice she deserves."

That shut Hugo up.

For a moment, I thought I’d won. That I had finally gotten him on my side.

Then he snorted. "Axel, just admit you’re looking for another excuse to bite and kiss María José again."

What?! That was an absurd thing to say! Of course... I mean—I wasn’t.

I whirled around. "Shut up."

"I mean, it’s okay if you want to. Just own it."

"I said shut up."

Hugo was full-on laughing now, his rumbling voice vibrating in my chest.

"Alright, alright," he said, chuckling. "But let’s consider something else. If you do bite her again, and her wolf responds, doesn’t that mean she’s our mate?"

My eyes bulged. Why didn’t I think of that?

I stopped pacing. My fingers curled into fists.

Mate?

No.

No, no, no.

The thought of it sent cold terror shooting down my spine.

"I hope not. Aren’t you supposed to know these things, Hugo? Shouldn’t you recognize our mate?!" I remarked, throwing my hands in the air.

I could picture Hugo rolling his eyes. "Last I checked, I am an Alpha wolf and I can only be mated to a Luna wolf bearer, and only until a bite can put me on the path of recognition."

Of course, I knew that. Argh... why the heck was I so dumb right now?!

"So then, we’ve bitten her and got no reaction. I just need to do it again—properly this time." I nodded, biting my upper lip and nodding simultaneously.

Hugo scoffed. "Think it’ll work again? That she has a wolf?"

"I’m 80% sure María José is not an Omega, Hugo. I just need a way to prove it."

"Here we go again..."

"SHUT UP AND BE OPTIMISTIC, HUGO!"

"That’s a strong reaction," Hugo noted, amused. "You afraid, big guy?"

I clenched my jaw. "I would bite her to help her awaken her wolf and shame Álvaro and all the bastards who looked down on her. After that, I’d find a way to break the bond."

Breaking a mate bond was a phenomenon history had never recorded. However, none of what was going on between me and María José was normal.

Hence, I declare myself sane for considering unique solutions to this mess.

Hugo made a thoughtful sound. Then he laughed. "Keep fooling yourself, Axel."

My eyes went round. "You’re insufferable."

"And you’re delusional," he shot back. "You think this is about proving a point? About sticking it to Álvaro?"

I crossed my arms. "That’s exactly what this is about."

Hugo sighed, like he was dealing with a particularly stupid child.

"Okay. Let’s look at this from a different angle," he said. "What if María José isn’t our mate? What if she doesn’t have a wolf? What if this is just... love?"

The word made my stomach grumble like it’d been empty for a week. I actually flinched.

Love?

The real, raw, terrifying kind?

No wolf instincts. No mate bonds. No supernatural explanations.

Just me... and her?

The air in the room suddenly felt too suffocating. What sort of hypothesis was that?

That’s insane!

I ran a hand through my hair, my pulse throbbing. "That’s not—"

"Not possible?" Hugo finished.

I swallowed hard.

"You tell me, Axel."

My throat was dry.

I had no answer.

All I knew was that María José was a problem.

A soft, dangerous, addictive problem.

And I had no damn clue what to do about her.

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