Mated To My Alpha Stepbrother (A Sunwoo ff) ✓

Chapter Twenty-One

˚₊໒🌙꒱Jihyo₊˚

Jihyo had pretended she was asleep. it'd been on her mind since she realized Sunwoo pulled away and went to get ready for the day.

She'd laid awake, pretending to sleep, while he held her.

It was selfish. Cruel to Seojun. But she couldn't stop herself.

His touch felt like an inferno, heating her skin from the inside out.

She'd scolded herself until nayeon made her way inside, and offered her another dress.

Jihyo tried to forget it on the way down to the dining hall for breakfast. though she still felt his arms around her until she noticed Soojin sitting amongst a group of shewolves in the corner of the room.

Jihyo made eye contact with her, daring her to say or do anything out of line. Growing up in a pack, Jihyo knew how shewolves were about their alpha, especially the ones hell-bent on snagging him.

Sunwoo leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Do I need to ask them to meet you outside?"

Jihyo smirked and glanced up at him. "Maybe, let me eat first. I can't fight on an empty stomach."

Sunwoo handed her a plate. "So, tell me why you feel the need to chase off shewolves when I had to bargain with you to give me a chance?"

She scoffed. "My wolf is very persistent. She already sees herself as Luna of the pack, and thinks she should put every shewolf in her place."

Sunwoo looked down at her with his dark brown, boba-like, eyes. "She's not wrong. If you were to take the position of Luna, and I mark you, she'd be in charge of all the shewolves I think she'd fit in nicely."

Jihyo didn't want to think about being in a pack. She'd only been there a day and her mother was forcing midwife jobs onto her, and she'd had a run-in with a shewolf.

It was all the more reason not to be part of a pack. Those were only a few of the reasons she hated pack life.

Sunwoo elbowed her in the ribs. "You okay?"

She napped out of it and finished making her plate. "I'm fine. Where do we sit?"

Sunwoo gestured towards a small table by the windows. there were only two seats but Jihyo didn't mind. As long as she didn't have to eat with the shewolves.

Nayeon made it to the dining hall around ten minutes later, giving Jihyo a finger wave, she sat down with a few unmated wolves.

"She's such a flirt," Sunwoo said, shaking his head. "She's hell-bent on finding an alpha for a mate. She prays every night for it."

Jihyo laughed. "She'll need a strong wolf, probably an alpha, to handle her."

Sunwoo smiled. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Speaking of alphas. When is the meeting?"

"In about thirty minutes. We probably need ot head that way."

Jihyo finished eating, drank her coffee, and followed Sunwoo out of the dining hall. She felt eyes on the back of her head, so she lifted her head high and ignored all of them.

The conference room reminded her of a scene plucked out of a fairytale. King Author, and the Knights of the Round Table.

She'd been a little curious about alpha meetings in the past, so getting to sit in on one almost excited her.

Sunwoo took his spot at the head of the table, rifling through a folder full of rogue attacks, and a calendar that jihyo didn't pretend to understand.

A few alphas began to trickle in, while Sunwoo greeted them. jihyo stood up and awkwardly waited for him to introduce her. The testosterone in the room was heavy, and she noticed one alpha wink at her.

She ignored him. she really didn't want to be the center of a fight on her first day here.

"Thank you all for coming."

The conference room door opened, and another alpha walked inside. She froze at the sight of him. It was Kevin Moon, a wolf from her old pack, who she assumed had been named alpha. He looked the same. Short black hair and deep brown eyes. he'd always been so laid back in school, and jihyo liked him well enough.

He recognized her immediately and smiled. "Jihyo?" he asked.

Jihyo waved awkwardly as the entire room glared at her. "Hey, kevin," she whispered.

She felt the hostility from Sunwoo. His gaze followed Kevin as he walked around the table to her. Jihyo's body tensed when he bent down to give her a hug.

Sunwoo grew more and more irate.

"I can't believe you're here. The last time I heard you were about to graduate college-" He stopped when he realized Sunwoo growled at him. "Oh, you're... this is your mate?"

Duh, why else would we be here, her wolf growled. tell him to leave.

"yeah," Jihyo said, clearing her throat. "I assume you know Sunwoo?"

Sunwoo ignored his outstretched hand. "How do you know each other?"

"We lived in the same pack," Jihyo said avoiding his gaze.

It seemed to take the edge off his anger, but he didn't shake Kevin's hand. "Fine. Have a seat," he said, his gaze moving towards the opposite side of the table. "Over there."

Jihyo eyed him, and almost laughed at Kevin's face. He seemed... intimidated. Kevin took his seat, and Sunwoo cleared his throat. "This is Jihyo, my mate. I... found her a few days ago. her mother, Hajoon is marrying my dad."

A few alphas chuckled. "So, we'll be stepsiblings soon."

Kevin smiled at her front across the room, though she noticed it didn't meet his eyes. maybe he'd been upset that her mother just left their pack.

"Okay. Now, we need to talk about the rogues that we've found on our land. We have four locked up right now."

"Four?" a dark-haired alpha asked. "Since when?"

"A week?" Sunwoo said, sitting back in his chair. "One showed up, and then three at once. Has anyone had any problems on their land?"

Most said no, with only a couple saying they caught one or two over the last month. SUnwoo seemed agitated about it, but she knew better than to interrupt. She was there to be introduced, and nothing else.

The meeting went on with rogue talk, an upcoming run, and a formal for any unmated wolves to potentially find their mate.

"What about you?" one alpha asked. "Are you two hosting a gathering for your new Luna?"

Jihyo cringed. That was the last thing they needed. She wasn't staying.

"Nothing set in stone yet," Sunwoo said.

"Come on," he pushed. "You two need to host a dinner for her. Doesn't she deserve it, Sunwoo?" he asked with a big cheesy smile.

Sunwoo glanced over with a softness in his eyes. "Of course she does. We'll get together and talk about it. You all will be the first to know."

Guilt slammed into Jihyo's chest. She watched Sunwoo try to hide the pain in his eyes and dismissed all of the alphas.

Jihyo kindly said her goodbyes, watching Kevin mouth goodbye to her from across the room.

Once the doors shut, Sunwoo turned to face her.

"Did you date him?"