Bullied By My Alpha Stepbrother

Hardin’s POV

It was hard to not hit the steering wheel of my car with my fist in anger as I drove back to the mansion.

To be very honest, it was not hard. It was just that Jasmine was sitting so still in the car, trying to stop herself from shaking even though she was failing horribly at it and I understood that anything could scare her into crying because she looked like she was an inch away from breaking into tears.

And I swallowed the growl that was making it’s way up my throat and continued driving down to the mansion.

But as I parked in front of the mansion and Jasmine jumped out of the car, heading inside, I rushed after her and grabbed her hand, turning her around to face me, with a growl that I could not stop anymore.

“You don’t need to lecture me, I already know that I could have been hurt out there.” She said shakily, her eyes avoiding my gaze and I released her, frustrated beyond measure at the fact that she had come so close to being mortally wounded.

“I don’t think you know just how close you came, Jasmine. That arrow was a split second away from hitting you. And it would have been a deadly shot. It was not meant to maim, but to kill” I yelled even as my brain spun as I thought of who could want Jasmine dead.

Who wanted her gone so badly that they would take that route?

“You think I don’t know that, Hardin?” She screamed, her facade of calm finally cracking as tears rolled down her eyes and I looked away, surprised that her tears made my chest tighten and rubbed me off the wrong way.

I wanted to reply but Camilla walked out of the kitchen towards us, her brows raised as she found Jasmine and I standing head to head, the air around us tense.

“What’s going on?” She asked and I realized that I was close to roaring in rage so I walked away immediately, pointing in Jasmine’s direction.

“You should ask your daughter.”

Heading into the bathroom, I could feel my claws and fangs extending and I turned on the shower and stayed under, trying to organize my thoughts. Trying to remain calm.

Because anger did not solve anything. And rage did not change the fact that if I had been a second too late, that arrow could have hurt Jasmine. Or worse, killed her.

I hated the fact that it hurt to even think about it. That I was in this much agony just imagining what I would have done if I had not gotten there fast enough.

And then there was the fact that my father would only make me feel worse and incapable, if something had happened to Jasmine under my watch. It would be an utmost shame to even think about it. The greatest embarrassment in fact and it would be almost impossible to explain what had caused my incompetence, given that he still believed that I hated his wife and her daughter and would do anything to see them leave the pack.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t even say that I wanted Jasmine and Camila to leave anymore. And I didn’t like the fact that I felt this way. That I felt like I had to protect them. Especially Jasmine.

Slamming my fist against the bathroom tile hard, I placed my bruised knuckles under the shower and as blood ran to the ground, I sucked in a deep breath, reminding myself to remain calm.

By the time I came out of the bathroom, my phone had rang and when I saw who the call was from, I quickly returned it.

The warriors had been out searching for the person behind the arrow shooting and I wondered if the person had been found yet.

Because if the person missed, there was almost an assurance that they would try again. And why? Was Jasmine their real target? Or was she just about to be a victim of circumstance?

“Hello, Hardin.” Eric, the pack warrior that I had asked to get back to me greeted and anxiety made my throat tighten as I waited for the answer to the order that I had given.

“Hello, Eric. Any news yet?”

He waited a second before he answered but that second felt like years and I could already feel my anger rising again.

“No. The archer has not been found. We’ve scoured through the entire woods and were unable to find anything that could help us catch them. All we had was a scent and even that is gone.”

My grip on my phone hardened even as I listened to him reassure me that they were going to do everything in their power to make sure that they found the culprit and when the call ended, I felt even more lost than before.

I didn’t bother to go down for dinner, knowing that if my father had already heard about what happened, there would have to be someone that answered for it. And that someone would be me , his son that he didn’t think had what it took to be an Alpha.

Tightening my grip on the bottle of vodka, I took giant gulps and kept drinking until I passed out, only to wake up with a splitting headache.

Heading downstairs, I was about to walk out of the house when Camila called my name and when I turned around to squint at her, she gave me a soft smile and handed me a bag.

“Jasmine has already gone to school. I wanted you to have this. You didn’t come down for dinner last night and I’m sure you’re hungry. Thank you for saving her life.” She whispered, looking around to be sure no one was coming and I realized that my father had not found out.

Taking the bag from her, I walked away, stunned when she gave me a kiss on my cheek and waved as I entered my car and drove off.

The rest of the school day went by normally, for those who weren’t on their guard, looking out for a potential killer.

I had spent the majority of classes today trying to draw theories on who could be the culprit.

Was it a student here at school?

As I sat down in the cafeteria and my eyes remained on Jasmine, I wondered who could be responsible for trying to harm someone like her.

Besides being a straight A student, she wasn’t even werewolf enough to be called an omega and despite the new popularity that she had found at school, she still stuck to her best friend, Nadia.

When Lorenzo walked to sit down with them at their table, I had to swallow the growl that tried to make it’s way out of my throat.

She smiled brightly at him and I was appalled because here I was, stressing about her almost murder attempt and she wasn’t even looking like she cared that she had almost taken an arrow in the chest yesterday.

Focusing my hearing on their table, I listened in on their conversation and my frown deepened when I heard her agree to meet up with Lorenzo after school at a diner.

It didn’t matter that it was for their group project. Frankly, I didn’t care what it was for, but the fact that she agreed to it so quickly made me want to drag her somewhere and spank some sense into her.

She was supposed to be trying not to be outside, not doing the complete opposite.

“Whoa, relax, Hardin. What’s wrong?” Alex said beside me and when I looked at him with my brows raised, he pointed to my hand and I realized that I was bleeding from where I had gripped the sharp edges of the utensil too hard.

“I’m fine” I answered and I knew the look on my face warned him not to push.

Lorenzo reached out to remove something from her hair and I already ha more than enough of this fiasco.

Rising to my feet, I walked up to her table and her smile dimmed as she noticed me.

“We need to talk. Now” I said and she looked at Nadia who merely shrugged and Lorenzo, who had a small frown playing on his lips.

“Okay.” She said and rose to her feet, following me out of the cafeteria into the empty hallway and when we were alone, I turned around to face her.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous things could be for you from now on after what happened yesterday? I’m sure you don’t because you’re busy flirting with that kid.”

Jasmine frowned.

“I was not flirting. We have a group project.”

“That can be done online. You don’t have the slightest inkling on how to defend yourself. No heightened senses. Nothing. And you’re agreeing to go out with him under the guise of group project? You will always walk into trouble and trust me that next time, I might not be fast enough to save you.”

I could see her facial expression change and I knew that I had hurt her by preying on her weakness but I needed her to understand what was at stake.

Walking away, I accepted that no matter what I had said to her, I was going to keep looking for the culprit. And I hoped to find the person before it was too late.