Tasting Nora-Pleasing Her Stepbrother Mates

Tasting 274

274–A Sad Ceremony

Nora:

“Brody! What are you saying?” I asked, my eyes wide and tears forming. How could he be so comfortable saying something so dangerous? It could cost him his life.

“What happ–” he paused and nodded when he realized why I looked so terrified. “Oh! I was just joking. There’s no such thing as a chosen mate dying or whatever,” he laughed, clapping his hands together.

“You scared me,” I said, relieved as his joke cheered me up a little. I managed to smile as he held my hand.

“You’ll be fine. They’ll soon realize their mistake, and I’m sure the next time you return, they’ll even ask you to stay longer,” his soft, comforting voice gave me hope. One would think I wouldn‘ t want to go back, but I did. My body and mind desperately wanted to be with my mates again. Just their scents had been enough to comfort Akira and help her cope with not being able to transition.

“Now come on, let’s get this done so we can start our journey already,” he said gently.

I didn’t want to be seen as fragile, but the recent events had left me shaken and miserable. As I followed him, I made sure to stay close behind. It wasn’t easy to act like I wasn’t hurting, but I was determined to make it work. Reaching the entrance and seeing Yuki again felt heavy, bringing back flashes of that

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horrible day. I haven’t been able to sit in peace and recall every detail of that day, including Mr. Ford.

“Alpha Brody Donovan of the Silver Jaw pack, please proceed with the acceptance,” Yuki said tiredly. I guess my court–mating ceremony wasn’t really their main concern.

Brody turned to me and gave me an apologetic smile before holding my hands. I never thought my mating ceremony would happen like this—swollen eyes, broken dreams, and with a man I only saw as a friend despite trying so hard to fall for him.

“I, Alpha Brody Donovan from the Silver Jaw pack, accept Nora as my mate and the Luna of this pack,” he declared.

My body shuddered slightly, but I kept calm and acted as if I was fine. I hadn’t paid much attention to the mate bond topics in school, and now I was being accepted by a chosen mate when my fated mates hadn’t been very cooperative.

“I, Nora, accept Alpha Brody Donovan as my mate and Alpha,” I mumbled, nodding my head, thinking this was probably the right thing to do now. I had begged and pleaded with the others to let me stay, so there wasn’t much left to do but accept my fate.

“Please mark her now,” Yuki said to Brody, gesturing with his hand. I stepped back and watched their faces, wondering what they were planning. They had only talked about accepting me—l didn’t

know he would be asked to mark me, especially since I wasn’t sure how I would mark him back. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“Is there a problem?” Brody asked, his eyes scanning the hesitation in my body language.

“I don’t have a wolf. How would I mark you back?” I questioned

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274A Sad Ceremony

their methods, wondering if he would be okay with not being marked back.

“That will be fine. Whenever you get your wolf, just mark him then. Now come on,” Yuki rolled his eyes, probably frustrated by the fact that I was taking longer than he had anticipated.

“But—I wasn’t told–” I gulped, looking around in confusion.

“You were told about marking and acceptance. You probably don’t remember, just like you don’t remember your own father,” his sarcasm made me lower my head and close my eyes, taking a deep breath. The more I stayed here, the more this man would taunt and become aggressive with me. So, the only option left was to just do it.

“It wouldn’t make much difference. We’ve already accepted each other,” Brody said. He was right and seemed irritated standing next to Yuki. Yuki was always like this. He never really cared about

Omegas and thought only the men of the pack were valuable. The she–wolves were always disregarded by him. But since he had previously been an Alpha King, everyone

respected his words. The fact that he had willingly given up his crown added to his mystique.

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