My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 112

Alex

My eyes are locked on the dark green, almost brown, eyes belonging to the beautiful, dark-skinned woman in front of me. Is that what they call hazel eyes? Either way, they make butterflies swoop down into my chest and touch my heart.

I’ve never felt this way before. Tarryn is so cute that my teeth hurt. There is a pink shimmer on her cheeks, long lashes framing her eyes, and while she isn’t tall, she has these luscious curves.

She is gorgeous, and I’m so blessed because Tarryn is mine. I know it, my wolf knows it, and once my birthday comes, I will claim her. This beautiful woman will have my mark.

f**k. Why couldn’t I be eighteen already? Right now, Tarryn is the only thing keeping me together, and I want her. No, in fact, I think I need her. We are soulmates; she is the only bright thing I have left.

My brothers are dead. My parents are scum. I don’t have any real friends despite being the number one quarterback. The girls that want me are cleat chasers that want their future childcare taken care of, and the guys are mostly jealous of me.

I live and breathe football. I don’t party. I don’t drink. I don’t hang out with people late at night, but… right now, I have a mate, and it’s everything to me. Because if I think about anything else regarding this situation, I will shatter into fragmented pieces.

I’m a literal prisoner. The enemy pack is running experiments on me, but at least I’m here with my mate. Who I’m hoping will realize we belong together. f**k, I need her to understand!

“Tarryn?” I ask, needing her to answer what I just told her. She has been staring at me for what feels like an eternity.

She blinks. “Sorry… I spaced out,” her eyes refocus on mine. “Are you saying that we are mates?” Her voice tells me she is skeptical about this, and boy, if that doesn’t make me smirk.

“You don’t want me?” I ask, half-teasing because now and then, her eyes swoop down to my t-shirt, which is glued to my body.

I shouldn’t be wearing this t-shirt. It’s a size too small, but with Tarryn checking out my abs, I don’t care. I open the zipper to my hoodie even more while pretending it’s not an open invitation for Tarryn to look. The truth? I want her to stare. f**k yeah!

Like I’m not stupid. I’m attractive, and I worked hard to look like this. I’ve been a total freak regarding training, and now that’s paying off. Sure, werewolves build muscles easier, but I train at the gym daily. Different muscle groups, but like I said, I work hard.

“Well…” Tarryn swallows thickly at my chest, lifts her eyes to mine, and blushes once she realizes I caught her checking me out.

It’s adorable.

She is all flustered, and I fight the urge to tease her. I shouldn’t. Tarryn would probably suffer a heart attack if I did.

But it would be so much fun… I can’t help myself.

“If you want, I could remove the t-shirt completely,” I say with a glint in my eye. “Hell, if you warm me up, you can touch me. I’ve heard that my skin is baby smooth, velvet-like.”

Tarryn’s reaction is amazing. Her ears are burning red, but her facial expression changes. Those hazel eyes narrow, her lips thin, and she looks so royally pissed off I have to stifle a laugh.

“Why are all popular guys so cocky?” I don’t think I’m meant to answer that question, and Tarryn sighs.

“QB.”

“Of course, you’re the quarterback… why aren’t I surprised? Am I suddenly living in a teen movie?” She is silent for a minute, and since I don’t know if she expects an answer, I grin, and she sighs. “God, even your face is the picture of the American dream.”

I frown. “Are you insulting me or complimenting me?”

I can’t tell with this one. My head is spinning. I’m not very smart—I will admit that. But perhaps Tarryn is much more intelligent than me. I’m having trouble keeping up with her one-sided conversation…

“It’s a mix of both.”

“Oh,” I don’t know how to feel about that. Still, I attempt to smile. I’m freezing, and I need to warm Tarryn up to the idea of sharing her body heat with me. “So… cuddles?”

Her eyes rake me up and down. I shudder. I might be twice her size, but every man knows who is secretly the boss in every relationship—the woman. They are beautiful creatures, but ack so scary.

Tarryn is no different. She terrifies me by being so beautiful and having a brain I can’t keep up with. I’m fascinated by her but terrified she will reject me later because I’m not a good enough mate.

“Are you really that cold?”

I nod, and it’s no lie. It’s freezing in here. The serum the Howler pack injected me with was said to make me stronger, but I feel weaker. I can’t shape-shift. Not while the serum is working: they told me my wolf would be stronger tomorrow.

“Well, I guess—”

Is this my opening?! Oh, shit—it is!

“You won’t regret this!” I interrupt and throw myself at Tarryn. She shrieks in surprise, but I got her. We roll over on the floor, landing on my back with Tarryn confused and squirming on top of me.

“Holy s**t!” Tarryn is panting and looks down at me with wide eyes bigger than saucers and her dark hair wild and untamed. She looks cute, and I like having her on top of me. “What… was… that?”

I tilt my head sideways. “What was what?”

“You tackled me!”

My lips twitch. “You’re on top, so it looks like you tackled me,” I glance at Tarryn’s hands. They are resting on my chest, but once she notices, she tries to bolt up, but I grab her wrists, keeping her in place. “I thought you were agreeing to this?”

Her face couldn’t be redder even if she had a paint bucket. “Yes, but this is… this is too much…”

“Is it?” It saddens me to hear that. “I like this, though,” I release her wrists, and my body turns a little tense when her hands land on my pecs. I might be wearing clothes, yet my c**k is already hard. “I’m very warm. Even though you’re small, your body is like a furnace.”

She relaxes a little, letting me feel her entire weight. “Werewolf genes… you should be warm too…”

“The serum did something to me…” I don’t want to talk about that. How can I focus on that when a pretty lady is on top of me? I lift my head and try to give her my most charming smile. “But I’m okay. I have you to warm me up, don’t I? You’re my hero… err… heroine.”

“Gosh…” her eyebrows are furrowed. “Do you ever stop saying embarrassing stuff? Are you trying to humiliate me?”

“What?” I’m confused. Doesn’t she think I’m serious? “I meant what I said about you being my heroine,” Can’t she see that I’m freezing? “I would be so darn cold without you. Lonely too.”

Her eyes get this shiny look, and her lips pull into a shy smile. Still, she doesn’t say anything. Tarryn simply relaxes and presses the side of her head to my beating heart. It makes it pound faster, and I such sticky air into my lungs. Not good. I like this too much.

Why is that bad? Because there isn’t a mate bond yet, but I’m already crushing on the woman. The only confirmation I need is to look up and see her pretty face, and then my heart goes thunk-thunk again.

“You really think we are mates?” Tarryn suddenly asks.

I breathe a laugh. “I don’t think; I know.”

She is silent for a while. “I’m older than you.”

My lips twitch. “Yes, ma’am.”

“So why aren’t I feeling the bond?”

I shrug. “I don’t know… happens?” I pause then and gasp in horror before looking at her again. “You feel nothing?”

“Well, I…” she looks overwhelmed, shocked that I’m staring at her, and her blush is back to flirt with me. “I feel something…”

“Something?”

She nods and averts her eyes. “You’re very pretty… so it might just be… you know… attraction—”

She is attracted to me!

Tarryn keeps talking about her inexperience with guys, but I’m only half-listening. Can you blame me? I’m celebrating! My mate replaces me attractive, and this is a victory!

“You’re the first guy I’ve hugged.”

That makes me freeze and stare. “I am?”

Another nod and I laugh, which is the wrong thing to do. I hadn’t meant it to make fun of my mate—I laughed because of happiness, but Tarryn is already slipping down from my chest.

“I knew you would laugh…” She mutters. “Which isn’t nice… I know that I’m not a popular girl that many guys want to k**s, but it was hard to say I don’t have any guy experience.”

“You’re pretty, though.”

“I never said I wasn’t pretty…” she is still fighting me. Back turned against me. s**t, this is the first time I’ve been cold-shouldered by my lady—it shouldn’t make me happy, but it’s a first experience. It makes me happy.

“That’s not what I meant,” I place my hand on her back. “I just meant that I don’t understand why every guy isn’t fighting for you.”

She is silent for a while before eventually giving in. “It’s because I’m too busy studying. I want to become a marine biologist in the future, and studying takes up a lot of my time,” I can hear the smile in her voice. “When I’m free, I like to spend time with Josie. We drink lots of coffee, and there is no time for a guy.”

Her words horrify me, and I scoot closer. My front is now pressing into her small back, and I whisper. “Surely there must be a little time?”

She giggles and then teases me. “If you’re truly my mate, you have to prove you’re worth my time.”

I snort. “Oh, the challenge is on. I will make you fall for me, and once I’m done,” I lean closer to Tarryn’s ear, and she shudders when my hot breath hits her skin. I smirk. “Once I’m done, you will be so in love with me that you can’t imagine life without me.”

Those words are a promise both to her and myself. The mate bond is sacred, and I know that Tarryn is mine. I can feel it.