My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 98

Josie

“Are you insane?!” I ask Misha after his battle… no, his s*******r of Alpha Blaze. I’m in shock. The duel was over within seconds. “Declaring war on the Howler pack when we don’t even have the numbers to defeat them. Is that really that smart?!”

“Calm down, Josie. It will be fine.”

Misha gives me a crooked smile and tries to come for me with open arms. He wants to hug me, but I get out of his way. He laughs at that, and I swear I feel it in my panties. Damn him for being charming.

I cross my arms over my chest, frowning. “I’m just worried, is all… a pack war sounds… I don’t know…”

“Don’t worry,” Misha assures me and tilts his head. “I have a plan. Becky and I will return to the vampire realm and ask Damien for help. It will be alright, Josie.”

“Should I come with you?” Avery asks. He joins us behind the bleachers. He glances between us, seeming to realize the atmosphere is thick and tense. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” I tell him. “Misha and I were just discussing how insane it is that we have declared war upon the Howler pack.”

Avery chuckles. “It is a little insane… not going to lie. The Howler pack is large, and they have plenty of alliances with other creatures,” his smile turns sheepish. “If they attack us, we will need my brother and his vampire people on our side.”

Misha straightens. “To ensure his co-operation, it would be great if you came with me and… apologized to him.”

Avery blinks in confusion. It doesn’t seem like he understands why he would apologize to his brother, and to be honest, I’m clueless too. Avery hasn’t done anything wrong, has he?

“Why would I apologize?” Avery asks. He sounds calm and raises his hands in mock surrender. “No offense, but I don’t understand what I’ve done wrong.”

“You never answered his letters,” Becky joins the conversation out of nowhere, and I turn around. With her at-the-moment pink hair, the vampire walks up to us with a hesitant smile. She is followed by—

I gasp in shock. “What is HE doing here?!” I point at Elijah. “Isn’t he on the enemy’s side?!”

Elijah lifts his hands and glances between us when we all stare at him with suspicious eyes. A laugh leaves his lips. “Technically, we aren’t at war yet, are we?”

“But you are on their side, aren’t you?” Misha sounds threatening, and I lift my hand and press it to his chest when I feel him gathering magic.

Elijah took away my memories, but I don’t think he isn’t a bad guy, and I tell Misha to calm down with a look. His eyes immediately soften up, and he exhales.

“What do you want?” Misha asks Elijah.

Elijah opens his mouth, but Becky beats him to it. “He is my fated mate,” she doesn’t sound happy about it and sighs. “Dude claims he is nineteen, but looks like forty… I’m unsure how to feel about that, considering I’m stuck looking like I’m twenty.”

“Twelve.” Elijah teases.

Becky snorts. “f**k you.”

Mild curiosity flashes over Misha’s face as he glances between the odd couple. Becky does look like a kid, not going to lie. She wears colorful clothing, and her hair is always a different color.

But Elijah? He seems prim and proper, like someone who could pass for an accountant. Also, Misha may have told me Becky likes big guys with muscles and abs, and Elijah is on the skinny side, which I find entertaining.

The mate bond seldom gives us what we want, but I also remember that Elijah doesn’t drain girls of their life force. Instead, he drained years from himself when he used his magic on me. I wonder if he can return to looking younger if he just mated with Becky?

“Anyway,” Misha clears his throat. “What are you doing here? Are you on our side or not?”

“It depends,” Elijah says and studies all of us. “I’ve always been loyal to my family and my pack, but my father would never allow me to become the next Alpha. We don’t like each other very much. And my other brother, Sky, is too young for the position of Alpha. He is out of the question too. So I’m guessing my father is the most likely candidate to take over the Howler pack, which would be a disaster.”

“Why would it be a disaster?” Misha asks.

“Well…” Elijah laughs. “My father isn’t even a werewolf, to begin with. He is a pure-blooded incubus, but the elders like him. And the second reason I don’t want him ruling is that he wishes to introduce Alpha offerings.”

I swallow thickly. I think I know what Elijah is talking about, yet I have to ask just to confirm my suspicions.

“What would that mean for your pack?”

Elijah isn’t the person who answers. Instead, Avery meets my eyes. “Tank, who is Elijah’s father, is an incubus. He has a mate but prefers to ‘eat’ from women who aren’t his. This is why he wishes to make it legal to suck the life force out of a new girl each month,” he glances back at Elijah. “Isn’t that right? Did I read your mind correctly?”

Elijah nods. “That would be correct.”

“And you don’t want that?” Misha asks.

“I can’t say that I do,” Elijah laughs. “But leaving my pack would be seen as a pure betrayal, and my father would most likely kill me. He is probably expecting me to become his right hand. I don’t want that, though… but I also don’t wish to die.”

“Which is why Elijah wishes to join our pack,” Becky says. I can’t help but notice how she creates distance between her and Elijah. She doesn’t seem entirely on board with him being her mate.

“I see…” Misha scratches his chin. “I need a beta… but I was thinking of recruiting a vampire for that position.”

“I can assure you that I would be the better choice,” Elijah says. “I know you hardly know me, but I’m willing to swear my loyalty to you. A b***d oath wouldn’t be wrong.”

“Alright…” Misha seems to consider it. “Mind if I ask you what sort of magic you have? You reek of it.”

“All my brothers, including me, were born with fire magic and the normal shape-shifting into a wolf, but we also have one unique ability,” Elijah smiles. “Blaze could open portals. Sky can momentarily stop time, and I can remove a person’s memories.”

“I see… that does sound useful…” Misha exchanges a look with Avery, and then he sighs. “I will think about it…”

“Thank you.”

Misha’s willingness to take in Elijah shocks me. I don’t think the man is evil, but there is one thing that isn’t clear to me, something which I cannot ignore.

“One last thing.”

Everyone looks at me. Becky seems surprised, Avery too, but Misha is smiling, as if he expected and WANTED me to speak up. It must be because he wishes for me to be his luna.

My cheeks burn at that thought, and then I focus my eyes on Elijah. He is patiently waiting for me to speak. “To use your magic, would you need to drain girls out of their life force?”

His smile is hesitant, even a bit ashamed. “I can shape-shift without a problem. Even using my fire is… fine. If I don’t overdo it. But removing people’s memories comes at a price,” he gestures at himself. “I’ve been taking from my own life force, but—” I notice how his eyes travel to Becky, and it looks like he is holding back a laugh. “If my mate would choose to mate with me, that would be no problem.”

Misha nods. “I understand,” he peers down at Becky, and his smile turns grim and wicked. “Then all that is left is for you to stop being a shallow a*****e and go out with the man. I know you’re worried about what people might think about you going out with someone older than you, but that’s just stupid. You’re a vampire, for f**k’s sake. You age slowly, and honestly, you should just be happy you found a mate.”

Oh my god.

I can’t believe he said that! My mate is ruthless!

I have to cover my mouth not to laugh. Avery is wearing a funny smile too, but Becky’s face is priceless! Her jaw is down somewhere on the ground, and her eyes are larger than saucers.

“How did you…” she gasps. “You read my mind, you bastard!”

Misha grins and ignores his smaller best friend when she tries to attack him. He holds her back and locks his eyes with Elijah. “Becky thinks you’re charming, but she cannot admit this. She also worries that you might just go and die on her. This is why she doesn’t want to give you a chance—she has this unrealistic view that non-vampires don’t live very long. You’re also unlike every other man she has dated.”

Elijah’s expression softens. “Ah, so you’re the type who isn’t honest with her emotions?”

Becky’s face immediately turns into a deep shade of red. “I’m not having this discussion right now!” She glares at Misha. “And you, stop reading my mind! It’s not fair!”

Misha grins. “This is payback for how you used to rat me out to Damien in the past whenever I snuck out of our cave.”

“I knew you held a grudge!” Becky exclaims.

Misha simply laughs, and Elijah chuckles until he seems to remember something. “Oh, by the way, we demons live very long as well. You have nothing to be worried about, Duchess!”

“D-Duchess?” Becky seems close to passing out from the nickname Elijah has given her.

It’s hard not to laugh. By now, I can hear Becky’s quick heartbeats. She is no longer clawing at Misha but looking like she wishes to sink through the earth. I find that cute. She is obviously a little bit enamored by her mate, and my attention lands on Misha. Does he know how much I love him?

His smile tells me he is perfectly aware of that, and my heart swells. I wish to have his babies.