My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 125

Alex

After becoming the Beta of my pack, there are celebrations. Our Alpha and his family have prepared a feast, and everyone is happy. We are in the middle of a war, yet everyone seems to have forgotten.

Not me, though.

Marissa’s evil smile and her stupid vials that she showed me. Those in different colors that she needled under my skin, I can’t stop thinking about them, fearing someone else might become her next victim.

My chest constricts, and if sensing something is wrong, Tarryn places her hand on mine. We are sitting by a white plastic table in Misha’s garden, and my mate’s smile is kind.

“Is something the matter?” She asks.

Since I don’t want to burden her with my dark thoughts, I plaster on a smile and pretend like it’s nothing. “No, I’m just… tired.”

She nods in understanding. “If you want, you could hurry home to shower and nap? You’re bleeding from the duel…” her beautiful doe-eyes rake me up and down. “Actually, I should come with you.”

“No!” I exclaim. Tarryn’s eyes widen in shock, and I calm down, smiling sheepishly. “I know you’re having fun and have been glancing dreamily at the cake. You stay, and I will head home to shower. After that, I will nap and wait for you in our bed.”

Happiness blossoms on her face. I’m unsure what I said, but Tarryn looks incredibly thrilled. I’m confused, but I like that she is smiling, and seconds later, she reveals why there are tears in her eyes.

“Our bed,” she repeats my words in a whisper. “You said our bed.”

A smile steals over my lips. It pleases me that something so simple can bring happiness to my mate. She likes the thought of things being ours as if we are a couple. I like that a lot.

“Of course,” I say. “We are mated, aren’t we? And your home…” I hesitate, unable to tell if I’m overstepping a boundary.

But to my relief, Tarryn strokes a hand over my arm, smiling. “My home is your home.”

Goodness, she is so sweet, this mate of mine. I keep my smile, and Tarryn smiles back until Misha clears his throat and begins his speech. I’m not listening, though. I’m too focused on how Tarryn squeezes my bicep.

Her tiny fingers dig into my skin and a waft of her arousal circles into my nostrils. f**k me. Is that all it takes to turn her on? Touching my muscles? She is as into me as I’m into her!

My c**k hardens and wants out of my shorts.

I almost don’t want to leave the celebrations, but I’m tired. Most of all, my head is weary, and a nap would help push Marissa and that other dimension of my thoughts.

My lower body wishes to take my mate here and now, f**k her behind the Alpha’s mansion, but now isn’t the time.

I’m in a dark place right now—when Misha angered me on the field by saying Marissa could come for Tarryn, I saw red. My b***d came to a boil. All I could think of was murder. It’s frightening, especially since the magic I used earlier still can’t be felt in my veins.

It’s bubbling under my skin. The most horrifying thing is that while Misha and my pack are happy I have discovered magic, I have no idea how to control it. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I think my magic is rather wild compared to the one Misha uses. The wind isn’t tamed; I don’t control it. When I used it, it possessed me.

I stand up, and when Tarryn questioningly glances at me, my lips twitch into a guilty, tired smile. “I will head home. Stay as long as you want, but wake me up when you get home.”

She smiles. “Okay.”

I leave the celebrations behind and make it back to Tarryn’s house. Her mother greets me, and when I say I’m heading to the pool house to nap, she doesn’t question it. She can tell I’ve fought hard.

“If you get hungry later, come inside. We ordered pizza earlier, and there are pieces left to warm.”

“Thank you.”

I’m given a hug, and then I head off to the pool house, locking myself up before showering. My head is still spinning with thoughts of Marissa, and I stare down at the tiled floor and my b***d disappearing into the drain.

My body is tired, but my brain suddenly remembers something long forgotten. Something Marissa told me before I was sent to that other dimension. When I was given the serums, her lips formed a snake-like smile, and she said…

I widen my eyes at the memory as it comes rushing back. I’m no longer in the shower but back in Marissa’s lab. The memory is so strong I can see it flash in my mind like a movie for my brain.

Marissa’s voice sends a shiver down my spine. “Oh, Alex. You will be given DNA from every supernatural creature I’ve encountered. Hopefully, with time, it will all settle inside of you to create just the being I want you to become.”

I remember how her words made me try to wriggle free. But it was useless. I was chained to the wall, and duct tape was over my mouth to keep me from screaming.

Still, I get trying to break free, which Marissa found amusing. She walked closer, tilting my head up with her clawed hand. It was to force me to look into her elderly face, and her eyes were purely black.

“I can’t let you go. I’m sorry. You’re my weapon, Alex. I’ve tried creating plenty of super soldiers before. Sadly, they all died. No one could handle what I injected them with, but maybe you will?”

I struggled even more, and she let out a laugh.

“Don’t look so scared. You should be excited. If you survive, you will be extraordinary—a mindless nine-tailed fox under my command.”

In my memory, her words sent me into a panic attack. Marissa was talking about changing my entire species. Instead of remaining a werewolf, I would become a nine-tailed fox. A creature known for destruction, and with the last serum she had given me, I feared becoming stronger.

Why?

Because I knew Marissa could control me. Not only was she changing what I was, but she was also messing with my mind. She had created a serum of vampire venom, strong enough to compel even a nine-tailed fox and make it her pet—that was her plan for me. I was to become her mindless slave. I remember now; I remember everything.

I remember how I fought like hell in an attempt to escape, but I couldn’t get anywhere, not even as Marissa pressed herself to me. It was disgusting, and I can recall thinking it was a nightmare right then and there, especially when her hand brushed my cheek as if I were her lover.

“So tense, young, and beautiful…” Her eyes had held mine. “Do you like the duct tape over your mouth? Do you love the handcuffs? I know I do. I like you a lot, Alex.”

Even in real life, I shudder at the memory.

Marissa had placed a cold, wrinkly hand on my chest and kissed my cheek with her dry lips before whispering in my ear. “I won’t sleep with you now, but I have big plans for you in the future, Alex. I will erase these memories, but when the time comes, you will be mine. I have plans for you.”

Those words send me back to reality, and while shaking, I turn off the water while panting.

It had been way too easy to escape from the Howler pack’s territory, and now I know why: Marissa wanted me to escape. Because her last words to me were, ” “You won’t awaken right away, Alex, but once you do, your mind will listen to me. But before that, I need you to become my spy. You will infiltrate the other pack for me, and then, you will destroy them from within.”