Fated To My Lycan Stepbrothers
Chapter 56

Kyle Storm

Hm.

I should be a detective. Now that my curiosity was piqued, I would never leave Marley to herself. I slowly approached the corner, the shifting shades playing tricks on my eyes. It was tricky to see in the dark, especially these parts. They were dark, and the shadow

wasn't having it easy. If I wanted to see, I had to bring forth Shadow.

"What do you think she is doing, big boy?" I asked Shadow, who was busy licking his paws. He wasn't a f*****g cat! "And would you stop doing that? It's irritating." That's when I saw more of her unmistakable figure. Her silhouette was partially hidden within the interplay of shadows and light, making her presence almost ethereal. What was she doing behind that place?

He simply shrugged. "I need to look clean for Naya. You made sense when you were with her. It's unlike you. What changed?"

He was teasing me, and I knew it. My thoughts were his, and his thoughts were mine. We both knew Naya was our mate. We just haven't earned the position yet. Or rather, she hasn't earned it yet. I rolled my eyes as I thought of the best reply to give him. There was a feeling of unease growing inside me at the thought of Marley acting so suspicious. I wanted to know who she was with at the moment. I think I should watch her for now. I tilted my neck to see who the other person was. She was speaking in hushed tones now, and my ears couldn't grasp what she was saying properly. There were bits of her statement here and there. They were deep in conversation, though I couldn't quite make out who the other was. He was hidden in the shadows. Even her body language was tense, and she kept glancing around as if wary of being observed.

"Want to know what changed, you motherfucker?" I clicked the roof of my mouth. "I'll tell you." My footsteps slowed as I got closer, the din of the place fading into the background. I was close enough to hear snippets of their conversation-cryptic words and hushed tones that only piqued my curiosity further. "You knew all these things while she was our mate, right? Why didn't you say anything then?"

"Because you were slow." He was stretching now. I hated that we were so alike. Don't mind me; I love myself, but Shadow was like the wisest and older version of me. He was old, funny, and mocking. Even I hate such a version of myself. "I practically told you, didn't 1?"

"You gave me hints!" I snapped impatiently. His voice in my head was making me lose concentration. "Now tell me your suspicions about this red lady!" He better tell me what he thinks about her. Marley was a meticulous woman, and it would take a seventh sense to understand her movements. Shadow was my seventh sense, and I needed him right now. Enough with the discussion of the mate thing. I knew I brought the topic up, but I am okay now. Back to business.

"It's alright. I will tell you what I know." He laid his head on my beating heart. "Look. I had a discussion with dad once." He started, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"The both of you have been discussing behind my back. What else don't I know?" I gritted my teeth. Seriously, I wanted to get angry at the fact that Shadow has been using my body to speak with dad's wolf, Storm, every time I go to bed! It meant I had been sleepwalking during those times he felt he needed to take over my body just because it was weak. "Fine, I will put you on restrictions whenever I sleep." I meant I was going to chain my hands to the bedpost and throw the keys away. "It's not going to work." There, he read my mind again.

"Silver chains, then." I added.

"Stop." Shadow was beginning to get upset. "It was one time."

"Wolfsbane and mistletoe, then." I suggested telling him I could go all night, ignoring the true reason why I was here if he didn't tell me what I wanted to hear.

"You would injure yourself, and it would take years to heal. I am sorry, okay! It was one time." He finally said. "Stop this childishness and allow me to speak. I said it was one time. And it was dad who summoned me."

I paused to listen. Nah, scratch that. I couldn't hear sh*t. "Dad summoned you? Storm did that? Why?" I had to admit that Dad hasn't been good to me and my brother. He wasn't bad either. But Storm... we have both had our fair share of the cold and ruthless Storm. He was the Alpha, and I guess the duties weighed heavily on him. He became more distant and eventually shut us out. He reached out when it was extremely important. We've had normal discussions during dinner, but nothing special. Not like the one Naya had with her dad.

It was either about training, mates, or our next move about a thing related to politics, elders, and whatnot. Never a father-son conversation where I had to tell him of my nightmares, my fear... These made me wonder why Storm would summon Shadow while I slept. It wasn't fair at all. We were one. "When was it, and why didn't you tell me?" I tried to swallow the limo that formed in my throat. Sometimes I think my father deserved to die and not be remembered. I wanted to replace his killer.

Now, I am not so sure.

"You have asked a lot of questions, but I am going to answer you. He summoned us the night after the meeting. You know, when he said he wanted Naya to be the bait."

Us? "You mean, Flame was there too? Was Naya's wolf summoned too? What about Marley?"

A sigh escaped his muzzle at the mention of Marley. He has always been weary of Marley. It was no shock after all; we were watching her. "They weren't there. Just the two of us. He spoke about a lot of things, including how proud he was of both our sides-wolf and man. There was something in his eyes that I have never seen, Kyle."

I gulped at the revelation. "What?"

"Fear. Real fear. He said the enemy has managed to penetrate the pack, and he doesn't know who it is. He said he was protecting us, which was why he wanted Naya to be the bait. He wanted to know if she was the enemy." Shadow got up, taking a protective stance. The f**k? I tried to connect the dots together. Naya has every right to hate us. Her mother left her father and her for the Alpha. This caused the poor omega to die of a heart attack. He longed for his mate until he died, leaving Naya alone in this world. Unfortunately for Naya, she inherited her father's weak omega wolf and not her mother's strong omega wolf. They were a combination in her, but it was evident she was more of her father's side. Suddenly, my father announced Marley was his mate. Probably his second chance mate because our real mother died of an infectious disease that raided the people of his time. She was an alpha, hence our unmatched strength. Yes, Naya could conspire with the rival pack to harm Alpha Storm. I wanted to believe it. I should have asked Shadow earlier for his thoughts about all these. He has been quiet all these while waiting for me to calm down before he told me this.

All this time, we have watched Naya sneak out of the house and back to her cottage. She didn't want to completely lose herself to this family. Instead of stopping her, I followed her for months and watched my brother ask Reid to follow her too. We both promised not to let Naya know and not to let Marley or my father know.

That was it. Could it be that my father suspected her too? Was that why he brought her into your house to watch her closely? Then why did he allow Marley into our house if he couldn't trust them both?

"Stop overthinking it like your brother." Shadow stopped me. "Naya wasn't the enemy. The enemy was close by. It was when I saw Mr. Diego that it was confirmed. Mr. Diego is Na..."

Shadow was about to complete this statement when Marley suddenly turned her head, her eyes locking onto mine for a brief moment. I blinked in shock. Did she know I was there all along? The recognition in her gaze was fleeting, and before I could react, she abruptly ended the conversation and dismissed the person she was talking to. The person disappeared deeper into the shadows. I had been caught off guard. Marley stepped away from the shadows and into the light, and I couldn't help but feel intrigued. She was standing there, her expression a mix of annoyance and nonchalance, as if she hadn't just been caught in a secretive conversation. I caught her, but there was no evidence.