My heartbeat matched the ticking of the clock. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I glanced at Derek. I saw him avoid his gaze from me and return it to Hayley, who was now eager to hear his reply. Bonnie's brow furrowed, knowing full well that Hayley's question was strange and devious. Derek was mute for a moment because our stares made him uncomfortable.
"Okay. Why would you ask such a question?"
Gloria asked as she lifted her eyebrows.
Hayley smirked and replied, "Well. I asked him a question so It's left for him to give an answer. I don't think there are rules that determine what kind of questions we're to ask,.Are there?"
Hayley returned her eyes to Derek with a sarcastic smirk, drumming her fingers on the table while waiting for his response.
"Are you this hesitant to give a reply? should I take your silence as a positive response to my question?"
"No. There's no way I'd do that because we're step siblings. Have I answered your question?"
Derek responded, and I felt my heart sink into my stomach. My legs curled, my hair stood on my skin, and my lips separated slightly. I sat there confused, stunned, and deadened. I'm not sure why I was stunned and reacted that way. Perhaps it is because Derek and I have smashed not once, but twice, and yet his response appears to be off and perplexing. We've had sex previously, and now he's claiming he won't make love to me despite being given a large sum of money. Why am I feeling confused and disturbed?
Maybe I was just overreacting. We had sex as mates and not as step siblings right? Besides, everyone here, except Bonnie, considers us step-siblings. I guess he answered the question correctly. I'm not sure what would have happened if he had responded positively.
"So you mean, if you're badly broke at the moment and the only offer and condition for you to get rich was for you to make love with your stepsister, you mean, you won't accept it?"
Hayley asked again, her eyes still on Derek. With a nod, Derek replied, "No. I don't see why I should."
Bonnie caught a glimpse of me exhaling deeply and when my eyes met with his, I bit my lips and slipped my fingers into my hair. She nodded slightly, knowing how nervous and worried I was.
"See me later, okay." She mouthed, her voice barely above a whisper. Nodding at her words, I shifted my gaze back at Derek whose eyes were still on me..
"Let's say you both turn out to be mates, are you still going to claim each other?" Hayley asked again and I swear this time around, I was not only shocked but I was more than dumbfounded. Why was she asking all of these? Is she already aware that we're mates as well as step siblings?
"Okay. Is it only me or does anyone also feel Hayley's questions are with motive and are a bit nosy?"
Grabbie, a four-eyed lady who hadn't spoken the whole time asked, her face etched with confusion as she flicked her gaze at Hayley and the rest of us.
Gloria sighed and smacked her forehead softly before nodding in response to Gabbie's comment.
"It's just a question," Hayley emphasized, raising her voice and shrugging along.
"Then that's a really tough question. Are you trying to say that the Moon goddess can be stupid to pair two step-siblings as mates? Come on, girl.. that can never happen, okay. I feel you should ask something real and not unreal."
"I agree with Gloria," Ashley added with a nod.. "You asked him a question once, and he responded. I don't understand why you should ask him another question since he clearly answered the first one."
"I just wanted to hear Derek's suggestion and opinions regarding it," Hayley protested raising her hand in an exaggerated placating gesture.
"I feel you have a thing with Derek and Isabel. You've been so fishy, nosy, and odd since you found out they're going to be step-siblings that you've been asking them questions about their desire to be more than siblings. Could you tell me why you're asking all of this?" Bonnie intervened with crossed arms and arched brows, her gaze fixed on Hayley's for a moment. I was also intrigued as to why she asked, and I was surprised when her glance met mine and a sly smile tugged on her lips.
"Nothing. It's just a question. Everyone has the right to ask whatever it is they wish to ask,"..
Hayley gave her reply while Gloria bursted into a chortle.
"Perhaps she's worried that Derek might be interested in his own step sister and not her. She's just being nosy and jealous. I don't think we should take her questions seriously,"
"Gloria. It's just a f**g question!" Hayley yelled.
"But it's not real. Step-siblings can't be mates… Ask something more reasonable," Gloria retorted and their yellings enveloped into an argument.
Derek stood up and cut in, "If she turns out to be my mate then I'll claim her as mine. The Moon goddess must have paired us for a reason. We all know wolves are given special mates by the Moon goddess and it's always with a reason. Why would I reject her when she is a gifted mate to me from the Moon goddess?"
There was silence in the air after Derek gave his response. Hayley's jaw dropped as she flicked her gaze at me and Derek.
The others were quiet as well and after a while, Marco ended up clapping, breaking the silence that had ensued.
Marco turned to face Hayley and said, "I'll also do the same if I were in Derek's shoes. If I had a step sister who turned out to be my mate then I won't hesitate to claim her as mine,"
"Why do you ask this question though? Do you think Derek and Isabel are mates?"
Marco asked Hayley with a mouthful of popcorn, his brows cringing along.
After staring blankly for a while, Hayley finally confessed, "I … I just doubted the fact that they were step-siblings. I - I'm madly in love with Derek and I want him to be all mine. Experiencing how Mason chose Isabel over me made me have doubts about Isabel and Derek's relationship as step-siblings. I know my questions might be weird but I just wanted to be sure that they weren't more than step siblings.."
Everyone raised their eyes in disbelief at Hayley's confession. We all know she's been so clingy with Derek but it was too fast for her to be madly in love with him.
"Derek," Hayley called softly before tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She moved closer towards him and held his hands, her lashes fluttering as she maintained a gaze with him.
"I know you're aware that I feel different towards you even if it looks like I'm trying to hide it. Well . I'm outspoken and I'll confess how I feel towards you, Derek. I love you. I genuinely love you. I know it looks rushed, but I just wanted to tell you how I feel about you."
Hayley confessed, and the rest exclaimed with delight as they glanced at her. Everyone laughed and giggled, pleased to see her make her confession. My pulse raced as I noticed Derek smiling at her, obviously wondering what reply to give to her. It wasn't horrible that Hayley adored Derek, but it's sad because he's my mate, which no one knows about. Bonnie bit her lips as she turned to face me. Letting out a faint sigh, I slipped my fingers into my hair in exhaustion and anger.
"I'll give you time to think about it, Derek," I heard Hayley say as she gave Derek a wink. She had just asked for him to be her boyfriend. He didn't give a reply as usual because he knew deep down that his heart belonged to me and we were mates.
Everyone hailed Hayley for her courage except for me and Bonnie. We were speechless the whole time as we watched the drama going on. Hayley sat beside Derek and clinged onto him like a leech while we proceeded to continue the game.
The bottle spinned once again and this time around, it stopped with its ends facing Hayley and Ashley. They grinned mischievously, knowing it was the right moment to do something they had always wanted.
"Truth of dare?" Ashley asked Hayley, a smirk plastering her face.
"Dare," Hayley answered, twisting her hair with her finger.
"I dare you to give Derek a french Kiss. Let's see if you have the boldness to kiss your crush urh," Ashley taunted before winking at Hayley.
Hayley's smile brightened as she scooted over towards Derek.
"Definitely what I've been eager to do all along,"
Hayley mumbled, winking at Derek as she held his chin.
My eyes widened as I watched her, my heart sank heavily in my tummy once again and I felt so cringe seeing her wanting to kiss Derek. No.. Derek is my mate. She shouldn't be kissing him.. Won't I have to stop her?
Bonnie walked up to me before sitting beside me. She placed her hands on my shoulder and mumbled, "I know this can be weird and unexpected but I think you have to ignore it. If you don't feel comfortable seeing her kiss Derek, I think you can just look away. If you try to stop them, they might get suspicious,"
"Bonnie.. It's hard. I – I can't accept this. Derek is my–"
Bonnie placed her finger on my lips, cutting me off across my words. Gloria's eyes were on us the whole time and she was starting to narrow her gaze at us, thinking we were acting suspicious.
Bonnie withdrew her finger from my lips and shifted her gaze back at Derek and Hayley. I adjusted myself on the sofa, gulping down the lump in my throat as I forced myself to stare at them.
"Wait.." Derek stopped Hayley as she was about to bring her lips closer to his lips. She paused and opened her eyes, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"Can you dare her to do something else, I don't like kissing in public," Derek hinted as he turned to face Ashley.
Ashley smiled mischievously and mumbled a 'No' with crossed arms.
"It's the rule, Derek. If you can't accept to kiss her, then I'd ask you both to do a quickie in a room. I guess that should be better since no one will have to watch you."
Ashley added and this time around, my heart shattered completely. I fell on my knees and clutched my chest tightly, not having the courage to see my mate being intimate with someone else.
"You're taking things too far, Ashley. I guess a french kiss should do just fine," Hayley murmured before grasping Derek's head and claiming his lips in hers. She kissed him slowly at first and then with rising passion. She forced open his lips to explore the corners of his mouth with her velvety tongue..
The sight of my mate kissing someone else clawed on my heart. Tears stung in my eyes and I tried hard to pull them back.
After Hayley withdrew her lips from Derek, I watched as he cringed, feeling a little irritated. Our gazes met and I averted my gaze immediately, not knowing how to feel at the moment.
"I'm so sorry," Bonnie whispered and I nodded, trying hard to recover from the scene I just witnessed.
After numerous rounds of the game, we decided to call it a day, and the neighbors decided to leave as darkness approached. As I got on my feet to arrange my disheveled hair, Ashley gawked at the sight of my neck and turned to face others with wide eyes which was plastered in shock.
"What is it?" I asked curiously with raised brows.
"Everyone, Isabel has been marked. I think Isabel has found her mate," Ashley disclosed pointing at Derek's mark on my neck. My eyes widened and I could hear gasps from each of them as they all fixed their gazes on the mark on my neck.