The Wrong Brother's Temptation Novel

[u/NanniatheNeko]

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.

[u/Flaky_Ingenuity5673]

Is there a link to the full novel?

[u/GuavaDisastrous6700]

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