KASMINE''S POV.

"No..." I whispered, my hands trembling uncontrobly as my blurry eyes took in the sight before me. "Wh.. What have you done?" I choked, taking slow steps backward, away from the man who I had thought was my savior and protector.

I was wrong.

"Kasmine..." He called in his familiar deep voice that always remained calm no matter the storm raging in him.

"Don''te near me. You... You just killed him... You killed him..." I sobbed, feeling my limbs grow weaker by the minute as I kept staring nkly at the young man lying lifeless before me.

We were in the woods. Just the two of us and the dead man.

"Stop being dramatic, Kasmine. He tried to force himself on you!" Kester''s tone was a bit firmer now.

“He didn''t! He barely even touched me! He was just talking to me, Kester! You just took an innocent life!" I screamed.

I was fed up. I didn''t know how much of this I could take anymore.

Kester, my stepbrother, is the Alpha Of the Crescent Moon Pack. It was all so cute and harmless - his protectiveness towards me. But as we grew, it slowly turned into something else. Something that made me even more terrified of him.

Never did I ever imagine that my stepbrother would ever kill anyone because of me, let alone an innocent man.

"Come on. Let''s get back to the party," He stepped toward me, but I stepped backward.

How could he sound like he didn''t just kill an innocent person? How?

"Get away from me! Don''te near me!" I shrieked, turning on my heels, but I was no match for him. He was way faster than my small legs could ever carry me.

Kester held me firmly in his strong arms, and I felt disgusted being so close to him.

"Stop it, now!" He yelled furiously, unleashing his Alphamand on me, and I immediately lost my will to him. But the terror and pain were still there, "you will act like the good girl you are and return to the party immediately," Hemanded, his deep green eyes almost piercing the depths of my soul as he held my gaze.

I nodded sheepishly, unable to fight against his Alpha aura.

As I walked back to the party - his girlfriend''s party- I began to wonder how my life turned out to be this sour.

I was once a sweet little girl who lost her father at the age of five. Two yearster, my mother found love again with the Alpha of our pack, who had also lost his mate. Kester was fourteen, while I was seven.

He protected me like the big brother I saw him to be. He never allowed anyone to bully me. He never went a day without getting me gifts. I was the envy of my friends because I was loved and pampered by my big brother.

But right now, I don''t think my friends would still envy me, knowing what I have been going through for the past four years.

When I turned sixteen, I noticed Kester''s protectiveness bing a little too much. He never allowed other men toe near me, and neither did he allow me to spend so much time with my female friends anymore.

He always wanted to be the one I spent all my time with and tell all my secrets to. And as the years went by, it began to reach an unhealthy point.

At twenty, I still don''t have a boyfriend. Having a boyfriend would be over Kester''s dead body. He kept telling me that I should keep myself for my fated mate when I got my wolf at twenty-one.

Father and mother saw nothing wrong with everything Kester had been doing. They kept saying they felt happy I had a protective older brother.

Now, I desperately look forward to turning twenty-one in a few months and meeting my fated mate. I am desperate to be free from his control. I feel suffocated already.

*

Days passed by, and I couldn''t get over the gory image of the innocent man who was killed in front of me. I couldn''t sleep or eat. I haven''t set eyes on Kester either. He onlyes home during the weekends to visit Mum and Dad.

Kester Hamilton, the CEO of Zamford Technologies, is a big name in the country. He took over thepany just about the same time he took over the Alpha position from our father, former Alpha Kade Hamilton. And since then, he has taken thepany to great heights.

At twenty-seven, he had already made a name for himself. His pack is the biggest in the country. He was the envy of all.

Thankfully, I had to deal with his controlling presence only during the weekends. But that didn''t mean I was free during the week, as he had bugged my phone andptop. No calls or text messagese in or go out of my phone without him seeing them.

So much for a big brother.

My rm red for the fourth time, and I jumped out of bed. I wouldn''t want to bete for ss. Being in my final year in college, we were expected to go on an internship program ording to our fields of study.

As aputer science student, I have already submitted the three techpanies I would love to work with for my internship.

None of thesepanies were as good as Kester''s, but may I be damned to add hispany to my list! Not when I have been so desperate to be out of his reach as much as possible.

Jake and I already submitted the same choices, and hopefully, we will be posted to the samepany. There, I''d have more time and freedom to be with Jake without Kester ever finding out.

Jake is a guy I admire so much. And I couldn''t be more thankful that he also felt the same way for me. He just hadn''t asked me out yet, but I am still hopeful. Perhaps spending more time during our internship program might spark things between us a little further, and he might ask me to be his girlfriend.

The thought of seeing Jake today made me blush hard.

"What''s happening?" I asked ire, who looked like she had just been through hell, as I approached the school entrance.

She heaved a sad smile with an eye roll, "I was posted to J&F Technologies," She said, and I understood why she was sad.

Since high school, ire has always had a crush on Kester, but he hardly ever notices her. Probably because she was a little too chubby for him. He liked slim, model-like girls.

She had submitted hispany, hoping she''d be posted there, but she wasn''t. I felt sorry for her. This was the only opportunity she had to be close to him for at least six hours daily for the next three months. But she missed it.

"I am so sorry, babe." I said, pulling her in for a hug, "Did you see mine? Where was I posted to?" I asked, pulling her towards the information board.

She wasn''t saying anything, and I wondered why. The ire I know would have already told me where I was posted, even before I got the chance to see it for myself. But I ignored her. She was probably still sad about her posting.

My eyes eagerly scanned the long list pasted on the board, and the first name I looked out for was Jake''s. He was posted to Plush Technologies.

I nervously searched for my name, praying to the Moon Goddess that I''d also be posted to Plush Tech, but I paused abruptly when I saw my name.

"No... This must be a mistake." I said with wide eyes and trembling hands. "How..."

My heart drummed in my chest, and I felt my head spinning as I tried to grasp what was going on.

How the hell was I posted to Zamford Technologies?

My stepbrother''spany.