My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 108

Tarryn

It’s been a long time since I last saw my best friend, Josie. Now every werewolf in the pack is gathered outside the mansion. People are suspicious of what this could mean.

I have so many questions…

Is Josie dead? Where is Alpha Misha? Why aren’t they here? Shouldn’t they be back from the vampire realm?

I look up at Lydia, who is about to hold a speech. She is standing on a balcony, dressed in fancy clothing. It’s giving me flashback vibes to when she was the luna.

“A war is coming, and all of us need to be ready,” Lydia informs every werewolf underneath her balcony. “Misha is recruiting the vampires right now, and until he is back, we need to be extra careful. There is no telling what the Howler pack might do.”

People exchange glances, and a murmur spreads among the crowd. I’m not one of the ones who are talking. I trust Lydia and my best friend, Josie, even more. I’m sure they must know what they are doing.

There is nothing to worry about.

Right?

I ponder on that while Lydia keeps talking. Once her speech is over, her eyes lock on mine, and I’m summoned to the mansion. I have no clue what Lydia wants, but I willingly follow an enchanted blue locker.

And yes, you heard me right, I’m following a piece of furniture down a corridor. Part of me wants to laugh at this crazy situation, but the locker makes this “Kata, ka! Kat-kat!” sound which tells me to shut up.

Don’t disrespect the locker, Tarryn…

The locker seems to have been given the position of commander, and I’m not about to question why they trusted that role with a piece of furniture. Certainly, this locker must know what it’s doing.

Besides, I’m a little bit too shy to be asking questions. I can be reserved around strangers, but… I can’t shut up once I get to know someone. Lydia, however, makes me incredibly nervous the second I see her.

“Hello, Tarryn,” Lydia sits by a table in the mansion’s kitchen. There is tea and cakes on top of it. “How are you this morning?”

A feverish blush spreads between my cheeks. “I-I’m good, Lady Lydia,” I sound as nervous as I feel. Like I said, I’m bubbly among friends but jittery among people I don’t know. “How are you?”

“Good, good,” Lydia motions for me to take a seat with her hand. I feel underdressed looking at her fancy clothes. Even her brown hair has been pinned, while my dark, unruly one isn’t even brushed. But Lydia doesn’t seem bothered and smiles wider. “Please have a seat.”

“Oh, okay.” Gulping, I sit down. “Umm… what is this about?”

Lydia lifts her cup of tea to her lips. Her expression is calm, the opposite of how I’m feeling. “So, Tarryn… you’re a good friend of Josie, right?”

“Right…” Why is she asking me this? I swallow thickly. My stomach is already in knots. Lydia looks friendly, but I replace her scary. She has that kind of motherly aura that tells me she takes care of her people but that her claws are ready for her enemies.

“Excellent,” she beams at me. “I need to hire a babysitter for Josie and Misha’s baby. We have strong… err… members… in our pack, but—” she glances at the blue locker behind me. “I’m afraid they don’t have that… werewolf touch, you know?”

“Oh,” I relax my shoulders in the chair. So this is what it’s about. I can handle being a babysitter for the next Alpha. No problem. “I’m sure I can handle being a babysitter for their baby. When is she due?”

“Hard to tell… it’s a hybrid baby, and while a werewolf baby takes two months to be born, lycan babies are born even earlier. Misha and Josie’s kid is also a mix of everything: vampire, lycan, werewolf—the b***d of the moon goddess. It will be a special baby.”

“Ah,” I give her a wavering smile. “So you don’t know when the baby will be born, even approximately?”

“Kade had a vision this baby would be born next week. The kids have already been in the vampire realm for a month. I’m honestly not sure why they haven’t returned yet. Maybe something happened?”

“I see… that’s indeed worrying…”

“In the meantime, I’m glad we haven’t been attacked. The Howler pack isn’t happy with us… that pack was seen on our territory a week ago, but Blue Locker and his army chased him away.”

“Ka-taaa!” The locker says and sounds like a gremlin. There is no other word to describe just how weird that thing sounds.

Lydia raises her voice. “Anyway—”

“Lady Lydia?”

I turn around when a warrior from the pack bows to the old luna. There is a smile on his face when he looks up. “Alpha Misha and his company have returned. They are in the garden.”

“Great,” Lydia smiles. “Any words on why they were this late?”

“Apparently, the portal couldn’t be opened without the power of a full moon. Misha had to teleport so many people at once.”

Unsure of what to do, I leave my seat and follow Lydia through the corridor. The doors to the mansion are opened, and a large white wolf with wings enters through it. It’s whining and whimpering and carrying a huge Josie on its back. Her stomach looks ready to burst.

“Oh my god!” Lydia exclaims. “Take her upstairs!”

Everyone around me starts to panic, and I’m honestly unsure what to do in this situation. I’m not a nurse or a healer. Josie is a friend, and I don’t want to leave her, but I feel so useless.

What am I supposed to do?!

Becky and whoever the guy with her is are hurrying upstairs after the white werewolf, who I assume is Misha. Avery is ordering men around to stand guard outside, and Leonora, Jinora’s sister, and our healer scream to let her through. It’s a crazy scene.

I look around me with my heart beating in my chest. The blue locker seems to be… staring at me?

“Hi, buddy?”

“Ka!”

The locker rushes past me up the stairs. I think I’m meant to follow it, so I do that. Josie is in another room, but the locker enters something that looks like a baby room. It’s yellow—gender-neutral, I guess. Lydia is standing inside the room, looking thoughtful.

When she hears me entering in the company of the locker, she attempts to smile. “Josie is in Leonora’s hands right now… the only we can do is wait and hope she makes it.”

I hand her my most assuring smile. “I’m sure she will be alright.”

“She better be,” Lydia says, then she sighs with a pained expression. “Because the Howler pack has finally made their move. It’s as if they knew Misha would be busy tending to his mate. I don’t know how but they are attacking right now, and I’m sorry, Tarryn. It seems you won’t be a babysitter right now. I need you to join Avery’s force right away. You will be put on the front line.”

Yikes… fighting now, are we? How fun… did I mention I suck at fighting even though I’m a werewolf?

Suddenly, I hear screaming from outside the room. The door is open, so I turn around and see Avery, Becky, and Elijah.

“No, he is innocent! He didn’t inform the Howler pack!” I hear Becky shouts in a teary voice. “Elijah is innocent!”

Avery growls. “Then how the f**k did the Howler pack know the baby was coming?! He obviously told them!”

“But he did… he did the b***d oath!” Becky cries. “He is loyal to Misha!”

Another voice, Elijah, I’m assuming, sighs. “I swear I didn’t inform my father of this. It must have been someone else!”

Avery growls again, frustrated. “Then who told the Howler pack about the goddamn pregnancy?!”

“Perhaps one of the vampires?” Elijah offers.

Becky gasps. “But my people would never do that!”

“How can you be so sure?! It has to have been someone who was there!” Now it’s Elijah’s turn to sound angry and irritated. “And it’s not me, which means it must have been a vampire! Or someone from the pack! Who knew about the pregnancy?”

Avery seems to have calmed down. “Or maybe the other pack also has a member with psychic abilities… you know anyone like that?”

Lydia, finally having heard enough, clears her throat. Immediately, she gains the attention of the three people. They all stare at her, and she plasters on her most determined smile.

“Tarryn is to join the forces outside the mansion. Will you take her with you, dear husband?” After Lydia has made her husband shudder, she focuses on the couple. “And you, you will fight too, yes? We need all the people we can replace on the battlefield. It’s finally starting. The war between the two packs.”