Chapter 1

KASMINE'S POV. My name is Kasmine, and soon it will be my twenty-first year living in the Crescent Moon Pack. When I was five, I lost my father. Although my mother and I were heartbroken, she managed to move on in just two years because she found love again with the Alpha of our pack, who had also lost his mate. Since then, I gained a stepbrother. His name is Kester, and he is the Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack. The year I met my stepbrother, he was fourteen, and I was seven. Kester protected me like the big brother I saw him to be. He never allowed anyone to bully me. He never went a day without getting me gifts. I was the envy of my friends because I was loved and pampered by my big brother. But as we grew, this protection slowly turned into something else. Something that made me even more terrified of him. When I turned sixteen, I noticed Kester's protectiveness becoming a little too much. He never allowed other men to come near me, and neither did he allow me to spend so much time with my female friends anymore. Now, at twenty, I still don't have a boyfriend. Having a boyfriend would be over Kester's dead body. He kept telling me that I should keep myself for my fated mate when I got my wolf at twenty-one. Tonight was my future sister-in-law’s gathering. I slipped away from the party to get some fresh air, never expecting that a stranger would follow me outside. I noticed that he seemed to want to greet me, his lips parting slightly—but before he could utter a single word, Kester appeared. His gaze was cold and murderous, giving the man no chance to explain. Without hesitation, he reached out and tore the stranger apart. Blood splattered everywhere, the metallic scent thick in the air. All that remained on the ground was a mangled corpse. I stood frozen, my heart pounding wildly. "No..." I whispered, my hands trembling uncontrollably as my blurry eyes took in the sight before me. "Wh.. What have you done?" I choked, taking slow steps backward, away from the man who I had thought was my savior and protector. "Kasmine..." He called in his familiar deep voice that always remained calm no matter the storm raging in him. "Don't come near me. You... You just killed him... You killed him..." I sobbed, feeling my limbs grow weaker by the minute as I kept staring blankly at the young man lying lifeless before me. "Stop being dramatic, Kasmine. He tried to force himself on you!" Kester's tone was a bit firmer now. "He didn't! He barely even touched me! He was just talking to me, Kester! You just took an innocent life!" I screamed. I was fed up. I didn't know how much of this I could take anymore. Never did I ever imagine that my stepbrother would ever kill anyone because of me, let alone an innocent man. "Come on. Let's get back to the party," He stepped toward me, but I stepped backward. How could he sound like he didn't just kill an innocent person? How? "Get away from me! Don't come near me!" I shrieked, turning on my heels, but I was no match for him. He was way faster than my small legs could ever carry me. Kester held me firmly in his strong arms, and I felt disgusted being so close to him. "Stop it, now!" He yelled furiously, unleashing his Alpha command on me, and I immediately lost my will to him. But the terror and pain were still there, "you will act like the good girl you are and return to the party immediately," He commanded, his deep green eyes almost piercing the depths of my soul as he held my gaze. I nodded sheepishly, unable to fight against his Alpha aura. As I walked back to the party, I began to wonder how my life turned out to become this sour. After the party ended, I told my parents about what had happened, but they saw nothing wrong with everything Kester had been doing. They kept saying they felt happy I had a protective older brother. Now, I desperately look forward to turning twenty-one in a few months and meeting my fated mate. I am desperate to be free from his control. I feel suffocated already. * Days passed by, and I couldn't get over the gory image of the innocent man who was killed in front of me. I couldn't sleep or eat. I haven't set eyes on Kester either. He only comes home during the weekends to visit Mum and Dad. Kester Kyrell, the CEO of Zamford Technologies, is a big name in the country. He took over the company just about the same time he took over the Alpha position from our father, former Alpha Kyrell. And since then, he has taken the company to great heights. At twenty-seven, he had already made a name for himself. His pack is the biggest in the country. He was the envy of all. Thankfully, I had to deal with his controlling presence only during the weekends. But that didn't mean I was free during the week, as he had bugged my phone and laptop. No calls or text messages come in or go out of my phone without him seeing them. So much for a big brother. My alarm blared for the fourth time, and I jumped out of bed. I wouldn't want to be late for class. Being in my final year in college, we were expected to go on an internship program according to our fields of study. As a computer science student, I have already submitted the three tech companies I would love to work with for my internship. None of these companies were as good as Kester's, but may I be damned to add his company to my list! Not when I have been so desperate to be out of his reach as much as possible. Jake and I already submitted the same choices, and hopefully, we will be posted to the same company. There, I'd have more time and freedom to be with Jake without Kester ever finding out. Jake is a guy I admire so much. And I couldn't be more thankful that he also felt the same way for me. He just hadn't asked me out yet, but I am still hopeful. Perhaps spending more time during our internship program might spark things between us a little further, and he might ask me to be his girlfriend. The thought of seeing Jake today made me blush hard. "What's happening?" I asked Claire, who looked like she had just been through hell, as I approached the school entrance. She heaved a sad smile with an eye roll, "I was posted to J&F Technologies," She said, and I understood why she was sad. Since high school, Claire has always had a crush on Kester, but he hardly ever notices her. Probably because she was a little too chubby for him. He liked slim, model-like girls. She had submitted his company, hoping she'd be posted there, but she wasn't. I felt sorry for her. This was the only opportunity she had to be close to him for at least six hours daily for the next three months. But she missed it. "I am so sorry, babe." I said, pulling her in for a hug, "Did you see mine? Where was I posted to?" I asked, pulling her towards the information board. She wasn't saying anything, and I wondered why. The Claire I know would have already told me where I was posted, even before I got the chance to see it for myself. But I ignored her. She was probably still sad about her posting. My eyes eagerly scanned the long list pasted on the board, and the first name I looked out for was Jake's. He was posted to Plush Technologies. I nervously searched for my name, praying to the Moon Goddess that I'd also be posted to Plush Tech, but I paused abruptly when I saw my name. "No... This must be a mistake." I said with wide eyes and trembling hands. "How..." My heart drummed in my chest, and I felt my head spinning as I tried to grasp what was going on. How the hell was I posted to Zamford Technologies? My stepbrother's company.