Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Brother’s Challenge

Enzo’s

I walked away from Noah, my lips still tingling from the sudden, quick kiss. A smile crept onto my face, the first genuine one I had felt in what felt like years. Me, smiling because of a human? The thought was ridiculous and insane. I hated humans—they were weak, fragile, and utterly useless creatures.

But Noah, my mate, was clearly different from the rest. That strong, undeniable pull in my chest, the mate bond, grew more intense every single time I saw him. I couldn’t shake the feeling off, no matter how hard I tried to resist it. My boots echoed loudly in the long hallway, and I desperately tried to push the overwhelming feeling down, but it stubbornly clung to me, warm and heavy in my chest.

My phone buzzed loudly in my pocket, immediately snapping me out of my deep thoughts. I pulled it out quickly, and my mood instantly soured when I saw the caller ID: Dean. My irritating brother. I growled low in my throat, but I answered the call anyway. “What do you want from me?” I said, my voice sharp and full of impatience.

Dean’s soft laugh came through the phone line, smooth and immediately mocking. “Chill out, Enzo,” he said. “I just thought we could grab a quick drink together tonight. Are you free? Or is that human of yours keeping you too busy now to talk to family?”

I clenched my jaw tightly, my fingers instantly tightening their grip around the phone. “Meet me at eight,” I said, keeping the order short and final. “Don’t be late for the meeting.” I quickly hung up before he could say another word, my blood already boiling hot with raw anger. Dean always knew exactly how to push my buttons perfectly, and mentioning Noah was a calculated, low blow he used specifically to rile me up.

I called for Ren, and he immediately appeared within a second, his scarred face completely blank but his eyes sharp and alert. “What is the issue, Alpha?” he asked, his voice steady and calm as usual.

“Get the car ready now,” I said, pacing quickly down the hallway. “I’m meeting Dean tonight to talk.”

Ren nodded his acknowledgment, but he didn’t move an inch toward the door. “Are you okay, Alpha?” he asked, tilting his head slightly in question. “You look… off and unsettled to me.”

I stopped pacing instantly, glaring directly at him. Only Ren could talk to me that casually without fearing for his life. “I’m perfectly fine,” I snapped back at him. “Just follow the command I gave you.”

He didn’t flinch at my anger, just slowly raised an eyebrow in quiet challenge. “Are you going to tell the pack the truth about him?” he asked seriously. “About Noah? Is he truly your mate? And is he a human one at that?”

I froze completely, my chest feeling tight and heavy with worry. Moses, my inner wolf, growled deep inside my head, instantly pushing me hard to claim Noah and make the bond official right away. “Do you honestly think a human mate would be easily welcome in our cruel world?” I asked, my voice low, almost a desperate growl of disbelief. “An Alpha appearing with a human as a mate? They would laugh me straight out of the entire pack.”

Ren laughed softly, a rare, short sound that actually made me blink in surprise at his reaction. “They would accept him without question if you simply ordered them to,” he said, confident in my power. “You are the Alpha, Enzo. You command them all, and they immediately follow your word. It truly doesn’t matter at all if he’s human or not.”

I stared at him, my jaw clenched tight with frustration. “You make the whole thing sound incredibly easy to solve,” I said. “It’s absolutely not easy. He’s… he’s completely weak. All humans are inherently weak.”

Ren leaned casually against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is that truly you talking right now, or is that Moses speaking for you instead?” he asked pointedly. “’Cause I clearly see the way you look at Noah all the time. You have hated humans your entire life, but with this specific one? You truly can’t stay away from him. Is it just the demanding mate bond forcing your hand, or is it something else you feel for him?”

I didn’t answer his challenging question, my hands clenching tightly into fists at my sides. He was completely right, and I absolutely hated that he knew the truth. Noah was constantly in my head, permanently in my chest, all the time now. “He doesn’t know the truth yet,” I said finally, my voice low and defeated. “About me, about the pack, about any of this world. And the full moon is only two days away from now. If I don’t…” I stopped speaking suddenly, my throat tight with panic. If I didn’t bond with Noah very soon, he would suffer badly. The mate bond would completely tear him apart, regardless of whether he was human or not.

Ren’s eyes softened slightly, showing genuine concern for my dilemma. “You truly can’t keep the truth from him forever,” he said quietly. “He is definitely going to find out what you actually are eventually. And when he does, you’ll absolutely have to explain everything you hid. Do you really want him to hate you for lying to him all this time?”

“Enough of this talk now,” I snapped, my voice sharp and final in the command. “I am handling this problem myself and alone.”

Ren shrugged casually, stepping away from the wall. “If you’re truly not comfortable meeting Dean, I can easily go in your place instead,” he said, offering his help. “He’s your brother, yes, but he’s nothing but constant trouble. He always has been.”

“No,” I said, my voice instantly hard and commanding. “I will deal with him personally. Drive the car now.”

Ren nodded his acceptance, and we headed straight for the car outside. The ride was quiet at first, the passing city lights blurring quickly past the windows. I stared out the window glass, my mind heavily focused on Noah, on the unexpected kiss, and on the terrifying thought of the approaching full moon. Moses was restless and agitated, growling low inside my head, urgently urging me to go back to Noah immediately and claim him as mine. I pushed him back down hard, my hands shaking with effort and internal resistance.

We pulled up slowly to the club entrance, and Ren opened the car door for me. I stepped out into the night, the music immediately loud and overwhelming, the air thick with the smell of cheap smoke and sweat.

We spotted Dean sitting casually at a corner table, openly making out with a guy sitting in his lap—Stan, his known human boyfriend. Dean saw me approach and instantly smirked, quickly pulling away from Stan. “Well, damn, look who it is,” he said, his voice loud over the pounding music. “I genuinely didn’t think you would actually show up here tonight, Enzo.”

I sat down across the table from him, my jaw tight with irritation and rising anger. “I don’t back down from a challenge,” I said coldly. “Especially not one involving my own family.”

Dean laughed loudly, leaning back in his seat confidently. “Family, huh?” he said. “That’s rich coming from you.” He waved Stan away from the table, and Stan silently slid to the opposite side, watching us with a quiet, knowing smirk. Dean leaned forward again, his eyes glinting with malicious mischief. “Do you truly think I’m stupid, Enzo?”

I raised an eyebrow slowly, keeping my voice dangerously calm. “What exactly is that supposed to mean to me?”

He chuckled softly, sipping his drink slowly. “I know the truth,” he said, his voice dropping low and provocative. “I know you’ve already got a human mate hiding away. Noah, right? That little kid you’re suddenly so fiercely protective of now?”

My blood instantly ran hot with rage, and Moses growled furiously, loud and angry, inside my head. I lunged quickly across the table, grabbing Dean’s shirt collar and violently pulling him close to my face. “Stay completely away from Noah,” I said, my voice now a terrifying, uncontrolled growl. “I genuinely don’t care if you are my brother. If you dare touch him, you are dead to me forever.”

Dean just laughed loudly at my threat, not even flinching at all. “Relax, big brother,” he said dismissively, easily prying my tight hand off his shirt. “I’m just calmly pointing out the obvious truth to you. You’re completely twisted up and possessed over a weak human.”

I shoved him hard back into his seat, immediately standing up from the table in rage. “You don’t know what you are talking about at all,” I said, my voice shaking with pure fury. “And don’t you dare forget this fact—your precious Stan was a human too, until you forcibly turned him into what he is now.”

Dean stood up instantly, his smirk completely gone now, replaced by a cold fury. “At least Stan is no longer weak like your Noah is,” he said cruelly, stepping closer to confront me face-to-face. “You are absolutely pathetic, Enzo. A powerful Alpha, tied down to a weak human who truly can’t even fight for himself properly.”

Moses roared violently in my head, and my eyes flashed a warning red color. I felt my claws itch, ready to instantly rip into him, but Ren suddenly grabbed my arm firmly. “Calm down now, Alpha,” he said, his voice low but completely firm and commanding. “He is not worth your valuable time and attention.”

I glared intensely at Dean one last time, my chest heaving with barely contained rage. “This is not over between us,” I said, my voice cold and full of promise. I turned sharply and walked quickly away from the table, the club’s

overwhelming noise fading behind me as I left the chaos behind.