Bonded to My Ex's Alpha Brother Chapter 47

Erin's POV

The next morning, as I walked across Silvermoon Academy's campus, I felt the familiar weight of stares following me. Groups of students turned to look as I passed, their whispers barely concealed behind hands.

Curious and increasingly uncomfortable, I approached a girl from one of my classes who was giggling with her friends over a phone.

"What's everyone talking about?" I asked, forcing a casual tone. "Share the gossip—I'm curious what's new."

The girl looked up, her eyes widening with recognition. "Erin, haven't you seen Lily's post?"

My stomach sank. "What post?"

She held out her phone, and I felt the color drain from my face as I quickly opened the campus online group on my own device. There, with hundreds of comments already, was a post from Lily containing a photo of Mark and me laughing together in the Stone Group cafeteria.

The caption made my hands tremble with anger. “Our little Erin has found a new target! From the Pack Alpha's brother to the Pack's Delta. Wonder how she became the Pack Alpha's permanent personal secretary?”

My fingers tightened around my phone, fury burning through me like wildfire. This was how she repaid my mercy yesterday? Enough. I'd tolerated Lily for too long, hiding behind a mask of politeness and forgiveness. No more.

I stormed into the systems building, my footsteps echoing on the marble floor. Students turned to watch me pass, their expressions ranging from curious to almost undisguised judgment. I didn't care. Only one person had my attention now.

"Where is she?" I demanded, my voice sharper than intended. "Where's Lily?"

Several fingers pointed toward the central plaza, and I headed in that direction, the wolf inside me stirring restlessly. She was as angry as I was, pushing against my control, eager for confrontation.

---

I found Lily in the middle of the plaza, surrounded by her usual followers. She was laughing, carefree and arrogant, as if she hadn't just tried to destroy my reputation again.

"How dare you spread these lies?" I shouted.

Lily turned slowly, a smirk spreading across her face. "Oh, hello there, Miss Erin. Or should I say, Pack Alpha Derek's new secretary."

Without thinking, I stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face, the sound cracking like a whip in the suddenly silent plaza.

Gasps erupted from the crowd, quickly gathering around us. No one would have expected me to resort to physical confrontation, especially against a Beta.

Lily's hand flew to her reddening cheek, eyes wide with shock. "How dare you?"

"How dare I?" I repeated incredulously, my voice rising with each word. "How can you be so hateful? Should I have done the same? Should I have taken pictures and posted them online when I caught you in bed with my boyfriend?"

Lily glanced nervously around, realizing her credibility was being damaged. These curious onlookers were now potential witnesses to her further humiliation.

"How did you even get that job?" she asked, changing tactics. "How does an undergraduate Omega become the Pack Alpha's personal secretary? It doesn't make sense."

"If you want answers, go ask Alpha Derek himself," I shot back. "Don't try to humiliate me like this."

Lily's expression hardened. "I don't need to ask the Pack Alpha anything. Someone like him would never give you such an opportunity. I bet he feels sick having you around. But you seduced his Delta, so he did it for his Delta. It's because you're nothing but a whore."

My hand automatically rose to strike her again, my wolf surging forward in fury at the insult.

Just as I was about to complete the motion, a strong hand caught my wrist in mid-air. I turned to find Bradley standing beside me, his expression fierce as he gripped my arm tightly.

"Bradley," I gasped, surprise temporarily replacing anger.

His fingers tightened on my wrist as he studied me carefully, his eyes reflecting a complex mixture of emotions. Without warning, he began pulling me away from the scene, his grip firm despite my protests. Students parted before us, nobody daring to interfere with the Pack Alpha's brother.

I looked around desperately for help, but Amy and Jack weren't on campus today. For the first time since our breakup, I was alone with Bradley, a realization that made my heart pound with anxiety.

---

He dragged me through corridors until we reached a deserted passage, then roughly pushed me against the wall. My back ached from the impact, and I winced, rubbing my shoulder.

"What's wrong with you, Bradley?" I asked, watching him warily.

He placed his hands on either side of my head, effectively trapping me between his arms. "What's going on?" he growled, his face inches from mine. "What are you doing with Delta Mark?"

The question caught me off guard. "Why do you care? It's none of your business."

Bradley leaned closer, his voice dropping to a pained whisper. "Can't you see what this is doing to me?"

I noticed the slight tremor in his voice, the pained expression in his eyes, and suddenly, I was transported back to happier times—before his betrayal, before everything fell apart. Bradley had been my first love, my everything. Now he was just another painful chapter in my past.

"I thought you were alone," he continued, "which is what you wanted, and I gave you space. And I didn't bother you in any way. But seeing you with another man..." his voice broke slightly. "It's painful, Erin. I regret everything I did behind your back. Everyone deserves a second chance; why can't you give me one?"

"Stop, Bradley," I said, trying to stay calm. "Let's not do this. There's nothing between Mark and me. He's just a friend. Lily is lying..."

My words trailed off as I realized the irony of the situation. "And you believed her again. You really disappoint me!"

Bradley's hand moved to my face, his thumb gently stroking my cheek in a gesture that was once so familiar. I immediately tensed under his touch. Where once I would have found comfort and love, now I felt only discomfort. To my shock, it wasn't Bradley's face before me, but my mind suddenly filled with images of Derek—his gray eyes looking down at me, the warm feeling of his tongue on my skin as he healed my bruise.

I blinked hard, trying to dispel the image, confused by my reaction. Why would I think of Derek now, of all moments?

"Get away from me, Bradley," I said firmly, trying to push him away, my voice unsteady.

Instead, he pulled me into a tight embrace, pressing his cheek against the exact spot Derek had licked the night before. In memory, my skin tingled, as if it remembered Derek's touch. That contact which should have felt wrong—the intimate healing between an Alpha and a non-mate Omega—had felt more right than Bradley's embrace.

"I'll do anything you want," Bradley pleaded, his voice muffled in my hair. "Please don't give up on me. I promise I'll never be unfaithful again. I love you, Erin. Please come back to me."

My wolf, who once responded happily to Bradley's presence, now stood completely still within me, indifferent and distant. This was in stark contrast to her reaction around Derek, when she practically climbed the walls of my consciousness, wanting to be closer to him.

I stood rigid in Bradley's embrace, unable to reciprocate his feelings. The Soul Bond was changing me from the inside out, recalibrating my emotions and responses. Even Bradley, my first love, couldn't evoke a fraction of the feelings I experienced from just a glance from Derek.

"Bradley, it's over," I said, calm and resolute. "It's been over for a long time. Please accept that and let me go."

He pulled back slightly, his eyes searching mine. "Is there someone else? Is it true about you and Mark?"

I shook my head, unwilling to explain the complicated reality of the Soul Bond with his brother. "There's no one. I just need to focus on my studies and my new position at Stone Group."

"I don't believe you," he said, his hands tightening on my shoulders. "Your reaction when I touch you—that's not just indifference. You're thinking about someone else."

His insight caught me off guard. "You're reading too much into this."

"Am I?" Bradley challenged, his expression hardening. "Is it someone at Stone Group? A Beta? Or..." his eyes widened slightly, as if a terrible thought had just occurred to him. "Is it my brother?"

The question hung in the air between us, full of dangerous implications. I carefully maintained a neutral expression, but inside, my heart raced in panic. "Don't be ridiculous."

Bradley stared at me for a long time, his jaw tightening as he processed my reaction. "You've changed, Erin. There's something different about you."