Chapter-8 Stay with me

AVYANNA’S POV

"Is something wrong?" I asked again when he didn't say anything for a good second, and he sighed before giving me the look that said, 'you know why I am here, don't try to act smart,' and I just sighed before nodding my head.

"Fine. I get it. Ask whatever you want to ask me. Let's just get this over with," I said, and he sat on the bench, looking at me closely, his scent flaring my nostrils, making me bite my lips as I leaned back in my seat to feel less affected by his presence.

"Can you tell me what it was that had you so stressed when I found you in the corridor? I know you are troublesome and everything, but I am not stupid to not notice the change in your behavior from the morning. You were so troubled about something that you weren't even looking where you were going. Tell me, what is it?

Has someone said anything that distressed you?" He asked me, looking at me genuinely, and I didn't know what to say.

When was the last time someone has asked me what was troubling me without being scared or having some alternative motive? I thought, feeling tongue-tied, and that’s why rather than answering him about what was troubling me, I asked the question I had been wanting to ask both him and his father since I heard about the matter.

"Did you know about it? About my registration process? I mean, what my mother has filled in the name of my guardian," I asked, and he squinted his brows, making me sigh.

"What do you mean by that? What has your mother filled in the registration form? Wait. Has my father filled his name in that area? Damn! I am sorry if that's what caused you so much distress. I had told that old man to not overdo things with you, and him being so eager will push you away and make things awkward, but he didn't listen to me. And see what happened. You don’t need to worry about it. I will talk to him regarding this matter. If that's the only issue, then I'll ask the teacher to keep the details to -'' he started, and I couldn't help myself as I scoffed, making him pause in between.

"Your father's name? Do you think I would be so troubled about it when my mom has already dropped the bomb on me that I have a new dad and a new brother now?" I asked, and he looked at me blankly as if wanting me to say more.

"I am even amazed that you thought that would distress me. I am hurt and sad and just lost because the place of my guardian is completely blank. You know what it means, right? Did you know I am admitted in this school as an orphan, who only got the admission because some head of the school urged the school to have me here?" I asked, and he looked at me wide-eyed, his expression telling me he was as much surprised as I was about the news.

“You see now? You see what kind of relationship I have with my mom. It was just a new school registration and she had to bear my responsibilities for one year, but she couldn’t lose the chance to make me an orphan. She was not abandoning me all this time because of my grandmother, but she couldn’t wait to make a move as soon as she was dead,” I scoffed, feeling like someone was stabbing my heart as I uttered those words.

“She just hated me so much that I don’t even know if I will ever be able to -” I paused when I realized I was just pouring my feelings in front of someone that I had met just yesterday.

Sniffing and wiping the stray tear that rolled down my cheek, I smiled before looking up at him.

"Anyway, coming back to the point, I guess, you didn't know about the matter either. I think it's kind of good. Things will be less complicated now. Things will be more clear and in control now. Since I am an orphan and don't have a relationship with your new mother, I don't understand why we should play this whatsoever game of being the stepbrother and sister. As I don't matter to her anymore, I don't think I should burden Miss Roosevelt with my problems. And since she isn't my mom and your dad isn’t my new father, I don't understand why I should stay at your place any further," I said before smiling at him through tears in my eyes.

"Thanks for the hospitality you showed me last night. You were better to me than my whole life combined with my mom. Anyway, keeping that topic aside, I will move out today itself. It's not like I have much luggage. I will be turning eighteen in two months and will be of legal age to take care of myself. Till then, I can always stay with Ashton. Since I earn for my necessities myself, it won't be a problem either. So don't worry about me, in case you start pitying me because I am underage," I said to him before sighing as I smiled at my situation.

Picking the bag and swinging it over my shoulder, I started walking towards the door of the room and had walked only two steps when Evander held my hand, and the next thing I know, he pulled me inside the teacher's room, closing the door behind him, making me look at him wide-eyed as I didn't expect him to act like this, at least not when we were at school.

What the hell is wrong with him? Does he not know how wrong his actions will be interpreted if someone sees us like this, especially with how he is hovering over me at the moment? I thought, trying to push him away.

Raising my eyes in surprise, I looked at him annoyed when he held my hands in a lock, making me more frustrated than I already was.

"What are you doing, Evander?" I snarled at him, my emotions all over the place as the air around me started to become heavy because of my powers that were trying to calm my agitation with some action, and I couldn't help but bit my lips as I tried to take calming breaths to not expose the thing about myself that I don't even know about.

"Evander? So I am no longer the Alpha Brother?" he scoffed, his eyes turning dark before pushing me on the wall, lifting my face, making me look straight into his eyes.

"What did you say just now? Can you repeat it?" He asked me as if challenging me to repeat what I said, and I, who wasn't afraid of him because of my turmoil of emotions, looked him straight in the eyes before uttering every single word loud and clear.

"I called you Evander because that's what you are to me now. Do you want respect? I will call you Alpha Evander but don't expect me to call you brother from now on. Since my mom has already announced me as the orphan and has broken her ties with me even legally, I don't see why I should address her new husband's son as my brother," I said, and he chuckled darkly before dipping his head, making me hitch my breath unintentionally as his face appeared right in front of me.

With his lips only a couple of inches away while his one hand placed on my waist, drawing me in, and the other hand gripping the back of my neck softly, I didn't even know what to even think about this situation.

If it would've been any other person, then I would've surely thought that the person was intending to kiss me and was flirting with me, but not with Evander. I know he is angry at the moment, and he was making it quite clear with his eyes.

The way he was pulling me into him, with his hands barely controlling the pressure on my body, I know he was trying to control himself from getting too angry, and given how he has a reputation of the devil, I know he was having a hard time.

"Avyanna Roosevelt, listen to me. And listen to me very carefully because I ain't going to repeat any of it. You are not going anywhere, neither now nor after two months or the coming months. I have taken your responsibility and promised my dad that I'll do anything to treat you well, and will solve all your problems if there would be any, not as a big brother, but as the person who has accepted you under his wings," He said before pinching my chin as he forced me to look back at him when I looked away.

"And when I make a promise, I intend to keep it. So, take it or leave it, I am your new guardian. Either you can agree to my terms happily and accept what I am offering, or I have other ways to keep you by my side. The choice is yours," He said, looking at me with dark eyes as I noticed how his eyes were changing colors between light brows and amber.

"A-are you by any chance changing into your wolf form? In a human school?" I asked, horrified by what he was about to do.

Yes, I know that my focus should be on the words he said just now, but with my survival instincts kicking in, who deep down knows that he is a devil with a reputation, I couldn't help but want to free myself from his steel-like grip.

As if my words caught him by surprise, he looked at me before sighing, his eyes settling back to the light brown color that I have grown accustomed to.

"Don't worry. I am not going to hurt you. Neither of us will ever hurt you, but think about what I said just now," he said before taking a deep breath and pulling me in close to his body as he half hugged me.

"Look, I know you are pretty disturbed right now, but trust me, if I am saying I want to take care of you and give you all the happiness, then I mean every word of it. I know you won't consider me as a brother from now on, and I don't have a problem with that. I don’t even give a damn about it to be very honest. Don't call me your brother from now on, okay? It's okay if you won't look at me as anything but a stranger. To me, you will be the girl I am responsible for. All I want you to do is stay by my side because I have promised my father.

At least stay till he is back?" He asked after a long pause, and I contemplated the options in front of me.

I was a prideful girl, and I know that I won't be staying in the same home as my mother from now on after what she has made me go through. I was enduring everything for so long because I had a hope deep inside my heart that maybe one day she'll love me.

However, a woman who turns blind eye to her daughter's bullying and pain and even goes to the extent of registering her as an orphan will never ever love me. A woman who couldn’t wait for a month after her mother died before disowning her daughter will never love me. And I have understood it.

Now I have two options.

Either I leave the school and go back to my old pack and live in the foster home of the pack while completing the final year of my school till I turn eighteen.

Or I stay here till his father is back and continue with the school here.

Of course, going back will have consequences because I am yet to turn eighteen and a foster home isn't exactly the best place. Besides, the fee here is already paid and I will have to use all my savings if I pay for my fee now.

It's about a month only, right? It’s not like Evander treats me badly. He has been the best with me than anyone has ever been. What's more, is that I feel comfortable and safe with him. It’s not easy for me to sleep with just anybody and in anybody’s presence like I did last night. It was something even new for me. Maybe, just maybe I can trust someone this time?

"Please," Evander said after a few seconds, and I bit my lips before sighing and nodding my head.

"Fine. Let's do it. I will stay here till your father is back, and I will leave as soon as he approves because there is no way in hell I am going to live in the same house as that woman and go on with calling him my father and that woman my mother again," I said before pushing him a bit, making him release his hold on my waist and neck.

"That's fine by me. As long as you consider me your brother or someone you can rely on while living here, I don't think you need to address any one of them as they are barely at home," Evander said, and I nodded my head before sighing loudly.

Evening my clothes, I looked up at him before smirking.

"I hope you can maintain a decent distance from me in school, Mr. Sterling. You can’t just manhandle me as you did right now. Let's not give other students the wrong idea about what is going on between you and me since we are not siblings anymore, yeah?" I said, and he looked at me, making me raise my eyes when he bent, stopping only a few inches away from my face.

"Fine, I won’t manhandle you or will try to refrain from doing it, in the school at least. Anyway, will you be comfortable sleeping with me, I mean, in the same house, since according to you, we are not siblings anymore? After all, you are a girl with a blooming teenage life, and I am a man with desires," He said, licking his bottom lips while looking me straight in the eyes, and I widened my eyes even more if it was possible.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked, and he chuckled before shaking his head, making a tut-tut sound, leaving me and my thoughts alone.

Just what the hell did he mean by that? And why the hell did he look so sexy while licking his lips just like that? Even if he is not my brother, it doesn't mean I can have forbidden thoughts about him.

Damn! Did I by any chance hit my foot with a hammer myself? Did I make the wrong choice? I thought, biting my lips as my stomach growled with hunger, making me sigh.