My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 180

Michelle

“Oh, Michelle. How brave of you to believe you can kill me. It’s quite endearing, really,” Jarq mocks me.

Rage burns inside me. My first instinct is to throw ice swords at him, pierce his heart and rip it out of his chest, but I know he won’t make it that easy for me. I have to fight his army of the dead first.

“Hop off that rock and come fight me alone, coward,” I cry out in an attempt to single him out, but his laugh echoes across the battlefield. He seems to relish in the fear and anger he has provoked in me.

“I have no need to prove my bravery to you, my dear,” he taunts. “But I think watching you fight someone else would be way more fun.”

What is he talking about? Someone else?

I don’t have to speculate who he is talking about because the necromancers clear the way for her.

My heart stops dead in its tracks as I lay eyes on the last person I expected to see. Bella. Her eyes are like hollow pits, completely void of emotion, and a chill races up my spine so strong I’m convinced my bones have turned to ice. Paralyzed with fear, I can’t move or blink—not even when Bella slowly steps towards me.

“You bastard!” I try to shout at Jarq, but it comes out as an emotional sob. “You want me to fight my own sister!?”

“Ironic, isn’t it? I figured it’d be entertaining to watch you two fight it out. Tell me, Michelle. Would you kill your own sister to save yourself?” Jarq t**s his head and winks at me.

My throat constricts as a wave of dread washes over me. Bella advances, and fear claws at my insides. I can barely move. My limbs are weighted down with terror. I don’t want to fight my own f*****g sister!

“Bella. Don’t fight his battle for him,” I hiss. I know I can’t reason with an undead zombie, but maybe Bella is still in there somewhere?

“Bella?” I ask again, but the only response I get is a cricketing sound before her undead eyes lock on mine.

A smirk spreads over my lips, and before I know it, her body twists and snaps and changes into an undead wolf.

She is ready to battle me.

My heart sinks at the thought of what I must do, but I know I have no choice. I have to fight her because I must protect my pack no matter what.

Taking a deep breath, I summon my courage and prepare for the fight ahead. I brace myself for the pain I know I will feel when I have to hurt my sister, but I remind myself that this is not Bella anymore. Jarq’s dark magic has taken over her, and I must do what is necessary to stop him.

As Bella charges towards me, I shift into my wolf and meet her head-on. I want to wait to use my ice power on her. Maybe I could subdue her with my strength, and it will give me a small chance to save her later.

Maybe.

I race forward to strike. It’s a fierce battle between my wolf and Bella’s, with both of us biting, clawing, and dodging each other’s attacks. But deep down, I know that I can’t hold back. I have to fight with all my might, and that includes the possibility of having to kill my own sister.

The thought is almost too much to bear, but I push it to the back of my mind and focus on the fight. Bella is fast and strong, but I’m not about to let her defeat me. I counter her attacks with my own, and we continue to circle each other, searching for an opening.

When her eyes meet mine, I try to reach her telepathically. ‘Bella, please. It’s Michelle. Snap out of it!’

But there’s no response from Bella, just a fierce snarl as she lunges at me once again. I manage to dodge her attack and land a blow on her side, but she is quick to recover and returns the favor with a vicious swipe of her rotten claws.

A pained whimper leaves my mouth.

I can feel my own b***d flowing from the wound, but I don’t let it distract me. Instead, I keep fighting, using all my strength and skill to hold my own against my sister.

As the battle wears on, I can feel my willpower weakening. I don’t want to hurt Bella, but I know that I have to. And as she charges toward me again, I make a split-second decision.

With a fierce snarl, I summon all my power and unleash a blast of ice toward Bella. The blast hits her directly in the chest, and she stumbles back, dazed and disoriented.

For a moment, I think that I’ve won. I’ve managed to subdue Bella without hurting her too badly. But then I see the look in her eyes, and I know that I’m wrong.

Bella isn’t just dazed. She is enraged.

I brace myself as Bella charges towards me once again, her eyes blazing with fury. This time, she is even more ferocious than before, and I realize that I can’t hold back anymore.

She is relentless, and each blow she lands sends waves of pain coursing through my body.

But I refuse to give up. I keep fighting, and then, in a sudden burst of energy, I manage to land a solid bite on Bella’s jaw, sending her staggering back.

For a moment, Bella seems to waver on the brink of unconsciousness, and I can see the old Bella, my sister, struggling to break free from Jarq’s dark magic.

Hope flares inside me again. ‘Bella? Is that you?’

Bella looks at me with her dull, emotionless eyes, then she charges toward me again, her eyes blazing with a feral light.

This time, I don’t hesitate—if I don’t kill her now, I will be the one to die!

I summon all my power and unleash a blast of ice that engulfs Bella completely. For a moment, there is nothing but a frozen silence. And then, with a sharp c***k, Bella shatters into a million pieces.

Ice sprinkles all around me, and I blink repeatedly.

I stand there for a moment, panting and trembling, my heart heavy with grief and regret. I never wanted to hurt my sister. But I know that I did what had to be done to protect my pack and the people I love.

“MY BABY!” I hear my mother scream nearby. She saw it happen, she saw me kill Bella.

I taste tears in my mouth. I didn’t even realize it when I started crying.

I slowly turn towards my mother, my heart aching at the sight of her grief-stricken face. I know that nothing I say or do can ever make up for what I’ve just done, but I can’t just stand here and do nothing.

“Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do it, but she left me no choice,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

My mother looks at me, her eyes brimming with tears and understanding as she speaks to me. “Sweetheart, I know. Don’t let Jarq get away with this.”

I nod, feeling a sense of determination settle over me. Jarq will pay for what he’s done, and I will make sure of it.

With a heavy heart, I turn away from my mother and the shattered remains of my sister and face the necromancers and Jarq. They stand there, watching me with amusement and interest, as if my fight with Bella was nothing more than a game to them.

I feel a surge of anger and hatred toward them.

“You made a huge mistake underestimating me,” I say, my voice low and dangerous.

Jarq just smirks at me. “Oh, really now?”

I take a step forward, my fists clenched at my sides. “You killed my sister, your own mate,” I say, my voice rising. “And for what? Your twisted sense of power? Your sick pleasure in controlling the dead?”

Jarq’s smirk fades, replaced by a look of annoyance. “Your sister was weak,” he says dismissively. “She would have never survived in the world of the necromancers anyway.”

I feel a surge of rage at his words, but I force myself to stay calm. “You’re wrong,” I say. “My sister was strong, and she deserved better than to be used as a pawn in your sick games.”

Jarq just shrugs. “It doesn’t matter now. She’s dead, and you will soon be joining her.”

I feel my powers surging through me, growing more intense by the second. I am angry and heartbroken and I want him to know just how much.

“You underestimate me, Jarq. You underestimate what I’m willing to do to protect the people I love,” I say, my voice growing louder and more forceful with each word.

I can feel my anger and grief fueling my powers as I summon all of my strength and unleash a blast of ice. This time, it is much bigger and stronger than the blast I used on Bella. This time, it was an ice storm that engulfs all the necromancers in front of Jarq.

Everyone but Jarq. I need him to be awake when I fight him.

The other necromancers are caught by the sudden attack of ice and stay frozen. I can see the surprise and fear in Jarq’s eyes as he realizes the full extent of my power.

But I’m not done yet.

With a fierce determination, I charge forward and unleash a barrage of ice attacks at Jarq. He tries to dodge and deflect them, but I am relentless, channeling all of my anger and sorrow into each strike.

Finally, he staggers back, his guard down for just a moment. That’s all I need. With one final burst of power, I summon a massive shard of ice and hurl it toward him.

It strikes him in the chest, and he falls to the ground, unmoving with his heart caught on the shard of ice sticking out from his body.

For a moment, I stand there, breathing heavily, my heart pounding in my chest. The necromancers around me are still frozen. I send another blast on their way, and they crumble into pieces.

But I don’t care about my victory. All I can think about is my sister lying dead behind me in my mother’s lap and the terrible loss and pain that has consumed me.

I turn around, tears streaming down my face as my eyes land on Bella. She is cold and still in my mother’s lap, and I know that nothing I can do will bring her back.

My mother’s eyes meet mine. “She is gone,” she whispers.

Tears prickle behind my eyelids. “Oh, Bella.”

My legs feel too weak to stand. I’m about to fall down to my knees, but I feel hands on my shoulders, so I look up. It’s Kit. He is staring down at me, his eyes full of pity.

“Michelle,” he says, his voice soft. “It’s over now.”

My tears come faster as I take one last look at my sister’s unmoving body. “I’m so sorry, Bella,” I whisper. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

I feel Kit’s arms wrap around me. “I know, Michelle,” he says. “Come on, let’s go home.”