Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

Chapter 253

Chapter 253

KASMINE.

The crowd grew still.

I tilted my head back and stared up at the sky. The moon was almost there- gliding slowly and painfully toward the center of the heavens. It wasn't full tonight. Just a gentle crescent. But that didn't matter. Everyone knew-on your twenty-first birthday, the second the moon touched the center of the sky, the magic awakened The wolf either came-or it didn't.

My chest rose and fell quickly.

Almost there.

Almost.

Then-

It happened

A sharp, stabbing pain shot through my spine like lightning. My legs buckled. I hit the ground hard, knees slamming into the grass as my hands dug into the earth.

A scream tore from my throat before I could stop it.

It felt like fire was eating me from the inside out. Like my skin was being peeled, my bones shattered and glued back together wrong. I could hear them-cracking, shifting, snapping-over and over again like a thousand sticks breaking at once.

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't even think.

I was writhing and gasping, my body folding in on itself. Every nerve was burning. My hands were stretching-elongating-fingers tearing and reshaping into paws. My back arched violently. My spine curved. I clawed at the ground, screaming into the dirt, barely aware of the sobs and groans around me from the others going through the same thing.

Then-just when I thought I would pass out-

It stopped.

Silence fell.

Everything in me was still.

Everything outside me was different.

I opened my eyes. Everything looked clearer. Sharper. Brighter. I could hear everything-even the thump of Jake's heart from where he stood. I could smell the grass, the fire, the sweat, the fear, the excitement.

I didn't feel the granymore. I didn't feel the tremble in my limbs or the ache where

into the ground. All I felt was light bursting, surging, and rippling through

but not

four legs, not

1/4

Chapter 253

dug into the dirt with an

and clapped, End

after years of being

my head back, let out a

paws barely touched the

sure-but even if it hadn't been, I would have done forest beyond the altar, past

me, but somehow, I could still see everything-every leaf, every root every drop of dew hanging

didn't want to

But I had to.

back through the tree line, back into the

with a soft white robe, draping

around my

And then-

The scent hit me.

Holy. Fucking. Hell.

I staggered.

someone had punched me in the

but there was

It was him.

was burning

after rain. Powerful. Dark. Thick. It was sex and danger and dominance- everything a wolf could crave

subtle warmth. Jake smelled like cinnamon and

This scent?

bring empires to their

immediately rolled over inside me like she'd found

Alpha. Or a Beta, maybe. But

2/4

Chapter 253

And that meant

My throat went dry.

to fall because I turned slowly, my heart hammering so hard I thought the whole world could hear it. My eyes scanned the sea of faces-one by one. I could barely focus and barely breathe. The scent was so strong it made my head swim. I felt hot and dizzy like I

was it coming

Who?

still cheering and celebrating.

him with the