Chapter 3; My Wolf Belong To You

Eunice's voice echoed through the room as she asked Matthew if they could share a room. Cheska couldn't believe what she was hearing - the woman was practically begging to be with him! Cheska would never stoop to such levels just to gain someone's attention.

"How many rooms are there in this house?" Matthew suddenly asked.

Cheska hesitated before answering, "I'm not exactly sure, but I think there are around ten or twelve rooms throughout the entire house. I didn't include the workers' quarters in my calculation."

"And how many of them are currently occupied?" Matthew continued his line of questioning.

"Three," Cheska replied. With Matthew's arrival, they now had four people in the house, not including Eunice.

Eunice sneered as she asked, "How does that have anything to do with whether or not we can share a room?" The request was still on her mind, and she seemed determined to get her way.

The Thunder pack's home was large enough to accommodate all of them, but tensions were already high with Eunice's presence. Cheska couldn't help but wonder what other challenges they would face as they tried to live together under one roof.

"Nothing. I simply wanted to let you know we don't have to share because our house is large enough to accommodate you," Matthew explained, his refusal to share a room with Eunice obvious.

Cheska couldn't suppress a smile at Matthew's response.

"Matthew, we already share a room in my house, so what's the big deal here?" Eunice persisted.

Cheska waited for Matthew to deny Eunice's claim, but he remained silent, confirming the truth that they were indeed sharing a room.

"Since you haven't decided, you can use this room," Cheska offered, pointing to an available room.

"Great, then we'll put this room to use!" Eunice eagerly entered the room.

"If you need any assistance, my room is at the end of the hallway," Cheska informed them before leaving.

As Cheska walked away, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. She didn't even bother to look at Matthew, knowing that her emotions would betray her. "Cheska Macbride, what's wrong with you? Don't tell me you're envious of them!"

"This mate bond is a sham! What kind of lunacy is this?! Is Matthew truly my mate? My brother! I'd be better off with someone insignificant in the pack; at least it wouldn't be an issue!" Cheska grumbled to herself as she entered her bedroom.

She walked around for a few minutes, lost in thought, before deciding to get dressed. As she was preparing to do so, someone knocked on her door. Assuming it was her younger brother, she didn't bother to finish dressing and wrapped a towel around her body instead.

"What do you want, kid?" Cheska asked, not bothering to turn around to face the door.

"Hmm, is that how you greet your brother?" Matthew's voice halted Cheska's walk.

Cheska wasn't sure whether to confront him or run to the bathroom in shame.

"You don't have to do this because my wolf is already crazy for you," Matthew said, clenching his fist.

Cheska couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was he really admitting to having feelings for her? She turned to face him, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Could you explain what you mean? I thought Liam was knocking, and I wasn't expecting you to show up here since your girlfriend is being so into you," Cheska replied before quickly changing into an oversized T-shirt.

Matthew walked closer to her, his expression stern. "I don't have any feelings for Eunice, so don't assume there's anything romantic between us."

"Sure, whatever. So why did you come to my room?" Cheska asked, trying to calm herself down as Matthew stood just inches away from her. She could feel the heat of his body and the scent of his cologne.

"What, you don't want to talk about us being mates?" Matthew whispered, placing his hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him.

Cheska shook her head and clasped her hands together tightly. "No, I just want to stay close to you like we always have, as siblings." She avoided his gaze and spoke firmly, trying to push aside any romantic feelings she may have had for him.

Matthew seemed to accept her answer, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Alright then. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with everything that's been going on."

Cheska nodded, grateful for his concern. She knew that their situation was complicated, but she was determined to do whatever it took to protect her pack and her family, even if it meant putting her own feelings aside.

"Are you really going to deny me as your mate?" Matthew's voice was filled with dread, and his grip on Cheska's shoulder tightened, indicating his disappointment.

"Matthew, we can't talk about this. We're siblings," Cheska replied, realizing that she couldn't answer his question openly.

"We're not related at all!" Matthew corrected her, cupping her chin and looking her in the eye.

Cheska couldn't believe what was happening. Matthew's face was so close to hers that she could smell his breath, and she felt her heart racing in her chest.

"But even if we're not biologically related, we're still considered siblings because our parents got married," Cheska argued, averting her gaze from his intense stare.

"I disagree," Matthew retorted with a wicked grin. "We don't even share the same last name because our parents wanted us to end up together."

Cheska felt a chill run down her spine. She had always known that their situation was complicated, but she never imagined that it would lead to this. She pulled away from Matthew's grasp, needing space to think.

"You've got it all wrong," Cheska managed to say, staring into Matthew's eyes as he held her face in his hands.

"Good job, Cheska," Matthew murmured, his face inching closer to hers.

Cheska's heart was pounding in her chest as she anticipated his kiss, but before it could happen, they were interrupted by Liam's loud voice.

"Cheska! Mom wants to talk to you!" Liam yelled, knocking on the door.

Matthew let go of Cheska's face and muttered, "Dammit, kid," as he stepped away from her.

Cheska was left feeling confused and overwhelmed. She didn't know what to do or how to feel, so she clutched at her chest and tried to calm down.

"What do you need?" Matthew asked, his voice laced with annoyance as he stepped towards the door, blocking Cheska's way out.

"Mom wants to see Cheska in the kitchen," Liam explained, cutting Matthew off.

Cheska didn't waste any time and hurriedly left the room, feeling grateful for the interruption. She needed time to process what had just happened and figure out her next move.