Screw My Childhood Sweetheart His Alpha Brother Marked Me First novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Caspian swallowed, and it was almost as if the motion pained him. “Where did you meet him?”

“Um, in the woods. I needed a break from my house and-”

“And you thought you’d roam around some woods you aren’t familiar with?” Knox barked.

River put a hand on Knox’s shoulder and squeezed hard.

“You sound a lot like Vaughn,” I muttered.

Caspian’s head snapped in my direction. “He spoke to you?”

“Why is that weird?”

River was the one to answer. “Vaughn’s been through a lot. He’s not overly warm and doesn’t really like other people. Especially if he thinks they’re encroaching on his territory.”

“It’s national forest land,” I argued.

River shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m guessing it was that ridge by the creek?”

I nodded.

“That’s his spot.”

“He barely lets me go there,” Caspian muttered.

“So he is your brother?”

“Yeah, older by two years. He and I live close to the creek.”

I noticed Caspian didn’t say anything about their parents. That absence made my chest clench. I moved without thinking, laying my hand over Caspian’s and wrapping my fingers around his palm. “Your brother’s a character, but he’s also kind, in his own way.”

I thought about how Vaughn had sat with me in silence, making me feel a little less alone. He might’ve ended the afternoon on a bristly, rude note, but I had a feeling that had more to do with pushing away the intimacy of the moment.

Caspian’s thumb moved on top of my hand, sweeping back and forth. The action sent a pleasant shiver up my arm. The sweeping motion turned to circles. “Go easy on him. Vaughn isn’t like other people.”

I wanted to ask a million other questions, but it wasn’t my place. I’d just have to hope that I’d learn the story one day. That Vaughn would trust me enough to share it.

River smiled at me from the front seat, his eyes sweeping over Caspian’s and my joined hands. “Let’s hit the road before we all get tardy slips.”

Sorow My Childhood Sweetheart–His Alpha Brother Marked Me First!

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Chapter 31

“Shit,” Knox muttered as he began driving. “My dad will kill me if I get one the first week.”

“He’d have your hide if that happened any week,” River said.

Knox grunted something under his breath and pressed a little harder on the accelerator.

We made it to school with time to spare. Students were still milling around. Sadie and her crew were still sticking close to Anson and his friends. As Knox put his truck in park, Caspian pulled his hand away from mine.

I’d completely forgotten that we were connected, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. When his hand left mine, I felt cold, and that tugging sensation in my chest was back. I clenched and flexed my fingers.

As we slid from the vehicle, Jasmine appeared at Knox’s side. She slid her arm through his. “Missed you at breakfast this morning.”

Knox straightened his arm, as if hoping that her hands would slip off. They didn’t. “Had stuff to take care of.”

Jasmine’s hold only tightened. “You know I’m around to help.” She looked up at him, lashes fluttering. “Whatever you need.”

Caspian let out a half–cough, half–laugh.

I couldn’t move. Anger bubbled up in my chest like I’d never experienced before. I wanted to tear her hands from Knox’s arm. Rip them from her body.

An arm circled my shoulders. “He doesn’t like her like that. Jasmine is that annoying fly he has to be nice to because her mom works with his dad.”

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