Mated in the Shadow of My Sister novel Chapter 225

Chapter 0225

(James POV)

Deciding that I was done with Brady’s bullsh&t, I lunged for him. It was not the fact that he accused me

of sleeping with Stephanie that bothered me. It was the fact that Brady was continuing to mock our

relationship, coupled with the fact that he continued to want to remind Lily about our painful past.

Whether his claims were true did not matter; it was his intent that bothered me.

“STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!” Lily yelled just before I reached Brady.

I do not know if Lily meant to do so, but she used her alpha command -the same one that she had used

in Hawaii. I felt the weight of it even though it no longer worked on me. The command caught my

attention and brought me back to reality. Instead of giving Brady the punch he deserved, I reached out

and wrapped my arms around my mate.

“I am sorry, my love. He just went a step too far.”

Lily hugged me back. To my relief, she was not angry with me. She was, however, glaring angrily at Brady.

“What is with you, Brady? I do not recognize this version of you,” she said to him.

Brady did not say anything.

“Did you really sleep with Lily’s sister?” Charlotte asked me, trying to make sense of everything she had

heard. “Is that the big, complicated secret between you two?”

“NO!!!” Lily and I exclaimed at the same time.

“Brady does not know what he is talking about,” I added. “Lily is the only female that I have ever been

with sexually.”

Charlotte was taken aback. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. Wow! That is so sweet! Sq then…. what are the two of you fighting about? Charlotte asked.

I decided to wait for Brady to say something. However, when he continued to stay silent, I realized he was still under the alpha command.

“Lily, you need to release your command so that Brady can respond.”

“Oh. Sorry, Brady, you can talk.”

Charlotte turned to Lily in shock. “Wait, you are not an alpha. How do you have an alpha command?”

“It is a long story,” Lily responded.

“It is a long flight. Tell me.”

“Let’s get the guys settled first, okay?”

Charlotte nodded reluctantly and then looked back at Brady.

“So what were you two fighting about?” she asked again.

“Just debating which one of us was the biggest di ck,” Brady said bitterly, 15

“Not quite, A&&hole,” I retorted.

“What? You think anyone on this airplane actually believes that little ‘virgin’ story you just tried to tell?”

“Are you sure about your timeline, James?” he asked me softly.

“Yes. Andrew and I were talking regularly back then. I remember how upset he was to find out that your and Evelyn were mated, as opposed to him and Evelyn. I also remember how relieved he was when she came back to him. And I remember him talking about the DNA test they did to confirm the pup was yours

and not his.”

Brady sank down in one of the seats and ran his hands through his hair. “I broke up with Evelyn only once, on the day of her 20th birthday,” he said quietly. “We had been together in a committed relationship up until that point. I was told she did not meet Andrew until months later.”

Charlotte looked at Brady and I in disbelief. “You mean… Evelyn was cheating on Brady with Andrew for a

year before they were mated?”

“I guess so,” Brady said in shock.

“Who was Andrew’s first mate?” Charlotte asked.

“I don’t know,” I responded. “I do not think Andrew knows. Andrew and Evelyn are chosen mates.”

“WHAT?!?!?!?!?”

“You mean you really did not know any of this, Brady?”

“No. I was told they were second chance mates.”

My heart sank. A part of me still hated Brady, but now

I felt incredibly bad for him. The look on his face. reminded me of how I felt when I first discovered that half my life had been a lie.

To her credit, Charlotte sat down next to Brady and began rubbing his back. He seemed comforted by her embrace.

Watching them, I linked Lily. “I hope they are second chance mates,” I told her.

“I think it is pretty certain that they are,” she linked back. “They just don’t know it yet.”