My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 142

Josie

I stare at my reflection in the mirror. My once-red hair has faded to grey, and there are faint wrinkles around my eyes. Due to the curse, I’ve aged, but I don’t look bad. I like my appearance, but I still wish it hadn’t happened over a few days.

Because now, I have anxiety over it, and I’m somewhat self-conscious. I’ve been hiding my hair under a hat so Misha won’t look at it too long. And yes, I know it’s silly. He knows about the curse, but I’m doing this to keep some of my self-confidence.

The last thing I want is for Misha to look at me and realize that I’m not as beautiful as I once was… sigh. It sucks to be shallow, but it’s not only that. I feel less energetic too.

“Josie?” Misha calls from the other side of the bathroom door. “Are you ready to drive and find Sky? Elijah finally got a hold of him. Sky agreed to meet us at a hotel outside the city.”

“Yes, almost done…” I do one last mascara swipe, yet, even with makeup, I still feel dissatisfied with my appearance.

It’s hard to explain. I look good, but imagine waking up twenty years older—I’m certain anyone would feel anxious in my situation.

“I feel guilty about leaving Michelle at home again, but I think it’s the safest option since we will leave our territory.” Misha is putting on jeans. I can hear the sound from his belt.

“Same here…” I still can’t look away from my reflection. I’m almost afraid to leave the bathroom. Misha will see me in pure daylight then, and I’m so scared of his reaction. Will he comment on my hair?

“Are you alright in there?”

I take a deep breath before answering. “I’m perfectly fine…”

“You don’t sound fine…” Misha sighs. “If you’re scared, Josie, you should tell me. I’m afraid too.”

I sink my teeth into my bottom l*p.

Misha sounds worried and affectionate, and I feel silly for worrying about my appearance. It’s not like a little grey hair, and some wrinkles will make him repulsed by me.

Still, I know Misha will tease me about it, so I hold my hand over the door handle, contemplating whether to open it. Maybe he can find Sky on his own and just send him my way? No. That wouldn’t work. They need to combine their magic. s**t.

I take a deep breath. “Promise not to laugh.”

“Laugh?” Misha sounds confused. “At what?”

“Me.”

Silence.

“Why would I laugh at you?”

“Just because…” I can’t say it. “And don’t tease me either.”

Misha lets out an amused huff of a laugh. “I’m not following, but sure, I promise not to laugh at you. Not that I understand why I would laugh at you, to begin with… did you accidentally shave off your eyebrow or something? Did you draw too thick with your eyeliner again? Is this another one of your ‘panda’ days?”

I giggle. Whenever I draw too thick with my eyeliner, I call myself a panda, and Misha usually calls it my panda days. It’s an inside joke between the two of us.

“No, I did my makeup to perfection today,” I inform him, then I roll my eyes at myself and just open the door. “I just don’t want you to laugh at the fact that I’m older…”

I almost crash into Misha on my way out and lift my head a little to see the bewilderment in his eyes.

I didn’t expect that.

He looks confused as if it had never occurred to him that I would be self-conscious about the curse. And then his lips move into a smile, and my heart pounds when he cups my cheek.

“Josie, everyone ages sooner or later, and since I’m a vampire, you will grey before me either way. But I don’t give a f**k about that. You’re gorgeous, and your wrinkles add character.”

“Add character?” I snort because it’s a ridiculous thing to say, but I don’t laugh because I can tell it was meant as a compliment. Misha looks at me like I’m the moon goddess’s greatest gift to him.

“Yes, you’re gorgeous,” he steps closer and pulls me into his chest for an awkward hug, with his chin dropping onto my head. I wrap my arms around him, and he squeezes me back. “Is this why you’ve been hiding in the bathroom for an hour?”

I hesitate a little before murmuring, “Yes…”

Misha breathes a laugh into my hair while gently stroking his hand up and down my back. “You’re silly.”

“Maybe…” I close my eyes. “Do you really think I will turn grey before you? Aren’t our lives linked through the mate bond?”

“We are linked, and while I’m not sure how it all works, I know that my dad looks younger than my mom. I just assumed things would work out the same between us.”

“Does that… bother you?”

He snorts. “No, why would it bother me? You look extremely gorgeous with some silver hair, you fox. I didn’t think I had a thing for cougars, but it seems I was wrong.”

I laugh out loud, and some of my anxiety goes away. “Don’t call me a fox. It feels super wrong. Also, Alex might get offended if he hears you say that out loud.”

“Nah, Alex is cool,” Misha steps away from me, still smiling. “I like you looking like this,” he runs his fingers through the tips of my hair. “But since your life is in danger, we should hurry and find Sky.”

“Agreed,” I beam at him. “Are we taking the car or traveling as wolves? Because no offense, but my body is hurting. I think the curse is draining me of my energy.”

A look of concern washer over Misha’s features, and he holds my hands tighter while peering down into my eyes. “Then we are obviously taking the car. I’m not letting you run if you feel tired, Josie.”

I keep my smile. “Okay.”

We make it to Misha’s car, which is really Avery’s car, but whatever. It’s a silver Aston Martin and without a roof, I know I feel the winds in my hair. It makes me happy. This will be the next best traveling option seeing I can’t handle running as a wolf.

I sit in the passenger seat, and Misha rolls the car out from the garage into the bright, early day. I can’t help but steal glances at his handsome face as he wears aviator sunglasses.

He truly is stunning.

“What?” Misha asks as I’m busy drooling over him.

“Nothing,” I smile at him. “Just admiring the view while hoping Sky can help us with this problem.”

“He will be able to help you,” Misha says in a determined voice. Hearing him use it breaks me because I can tell he will have a mental breakdown if Sky can’t save my life.

I swallow thickly. “I hope you’re right.”