Navy's Sons: Bullied by Quadruplet Stepbrothers novel Chapter 19

17.Sneaky–1

Tabitha’s POV

The sound of the door creaking open snaps me back to my senses. I quickly push past my stepbrothers and step as far away from them as possible. Alpha Emery’s figure emerges from the entrance, his brow knitting in confusion as he scans the whole room.

“Thought you were here…” he glances at his sons, but then his eyes stop at me. “But what is your stepsister doing in here too?”

Oh shit. “I–I was-”

“We’re just showing her around.” Jace throws his arms around me, making my heart go at it again. “She said she wanted to do some exploring, so we were kind enough to show her some parts of the estate that she hasn’t explored yet.”

“And you decided to take her to the training room?” Alpha Emery looks at his son as if he’s spouting some nonsense.

And I can’t blame him.

“What? We’re just showing her where to go if she wants to get a little sweaty.” Jace smirks at his father.

None of his brothers even bat an eye with his ridiculous excuse. If anything, they look almost amused about it. They look unfazed by the absurdity of this all and even by the fact that their father almost caught us in an intimate position!

Alpha Emery folds his arms over his chest and turns to me. I stiffen. “Tell me, Tabitha… are my sons giving you a hard time?”

It’s in the tip of my tongue to say yes, but something holds me back. Instead, it’s Reed who answers, “Are you kidding? We’re being such good boys to her. Right, Tabi?” Reed’s mouth quirks into a lazy, smug smile. “In fact, I think she’s starting to warm up to us. We had a real heart–to–heart just the other night, didn’t we, Tabi? Real… intense bonding experience.”

Jace snickers at my side. Suddenly, I have the urge to elbow him.

“Tabitha?” Alpha Emery probes.

“I–uh… yeah. They’re fine,” I manage to say, though the words come out stiff and a little too forced. My cheeks are still burning from Reed’s teasing.

Alpha Emery exhales a long breath, his gaze lingering on me like he’s still not quite convinced. “If they ever give you any trouble, you come straight to me. I’ll handle it.”

I glance at my stepbrothers. Jace raises a brow like he dares me to take their father up on that offer. Luca’s mouth lifts in a crooked smile.

“I will. Thank you,” I say quickly.

Alpha Emery gives one last look at each of his sons. “Dinner’s served.”

But no matter how much I try to stay away from my cocky stepbrothers, they’re still everywhere. The scent of them lingers in the hallway, on the bannisters, in the towels in the laundry chute. It’s maddening. Their absence feels like a weight I can’t shake, but their presence is a wildfire. I don’t know which is worse.

Maybe it’s the bond. At least that’s what I convince myself with, that maybe I am acting all crazy because of the magical connection I have with my stepbrothers. It makes me feel this primal need to be near them. It’s like a stupid conscience whispering that we are tied together. That ignoring it only makes it worse. With this justification in mind,

it makes me feel detached from my emotions. Blaming the bond somehow doesn’t make me feel responsible for the way

I react when I am around them.

I keep my busy charade until after lunch, when I know the brothers will be preoccupied upstairs. Aside from avoiding the brothers‘ shadow, I also have something in mind today.

I need to sneak back into the restricted part of the library.

It’s not exactly the safest or smartest idea, but I need to get in there again somehow. The longer I let this bond exist, the stronger it grows. And I don’t want to come to a point when it grows too strong that I can no longer undo it.

I need to find a way to break it now.