My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 126

Tarryn

I’m sitting by the kitchen table inside the Alpha’s mansion. Josie isn’t here. She is with her daughter, but Misha, Avery, and Elijah are here, and they have all listened to Alex.

It surprised me when my mate came back to the celebrations. But that happiness only lasted for a second…

Alex was drenched in a cold sweat and looked haunted when he returned. Now I realize why. He has told us everything about Marissa’s experiments and future plans for him.

“If what you’re saying is true, then we have a problem,” Misha comments. He isn’t sitting like the rest of us but standing with his arms crossed while looking down at Alex.

“Yes…” Alex is staring down at the floor with a hung head. “I’m not fit to be your Beta either. You can’t trust me to become your most loyal man when I’m basically a slave to Marissa.”

“Nonsense!” Avery growls, and everyone looks at him. His eyes are glowing brightly. “You’re probably already my son’s most loyal man for coming clean about this instead of keeping it to yourself. That takes a lot of courage, Alex. Say what you want about your parents, but you’re not like them. Not at all. You’ve earned my respect.”

“Mine too,” Misha admits with a grin, and then he turns to face Elijah, who hasn’t spoken a word. “Do you think your brother, Sky, was in on this? He was the one who helped Alex and Tarryn escape.”

“Sky definitely wasn’t in on this,” Elijah says, lifting his cup of coffee to his lips to drink from. Everything about that man screams aristocrat. “He probably dislikes our mother more than I do. Sadly, he has once again been a pawn in my mother’s sick games.”

“Is that a common occurrence?” Misha asks.

Elijah manages a half-smile, but it’s bitter. “My parents are sadistic, manipulative bastards. They have played with my siblings and me for as long as I can remember.”

“I see…” Misha turns back to Alex. “Either way, you’re not spared from becoming my Beta. I want you and won’t have anyone else. Your wind powers are curious to me.”

Alex’s jaw slacks to the floor. “But how can you trust me so easily? What if coming here is part of Marissa’s plan? I don’t understand. Nothing of this makes sense. You should lock me up in a prison cell until that woman has been defeated once and for all!”

“Alex…” I say and take his hand. When he looks at me, his eyes are filled with unshed tears, and I stroke his skin, smiling. “You’re not a bad person or evil, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my mate. Our Alpha and former Alpha can also see that you’re a good person. Nobody is locking you up, okay?”

“Alex…” I say and take his hand. When he looks at me, his eyes are filled with unshed tears, and I stroke his skin, smiling. “You’re not a bad person or evil, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my mate. Our Alpha and former Alpha can also see that you’re a good person. Nobody is locking you up, okay?”

Alex looks back at me, eyes haunted and darkened with his inner turmoil. I can see that he is pained, and I stroke his hand. But to my disarray, he withdraws his hand as if my touch burnt him.

It saddens me.

Aren’t we supposed to get through this together?

***

Later, when I’m at home with Alex, things are awkward. He is sitting on the bed and staring out into space. I’m sitting beside him, but he isn’t paying me any attention.

“Alex?” I say and place my hand on his lap. That makes him turn his head and look at me with a pained expression.

“I’m sorry… I was just deep in thought.”

“About what?” I ask in a whisper. “Marissa on your mind?”

“Not only that. I now realize I’m not a good mate for you,” he says. “It’s one thing betraying the pack, but betraying my mate? I would rather die than do that. And since it might happen, maybe you and I should walk our separate ways so that I won’t hurt—”

“No,” I interrupt him, determined and already teary-eyed. Dang. I’m so passionate about him that I’m almost angry he dares suggest such a thing. “You and I aren’t breaking up with each other if that’s what you were going to say. Do you hear me, Alex?!”

My words make him gape at me. Even his eyes are bulging out of their sockets. Good. It means I have his attention, but it’s not enough. I need him to REALLY listen to me.

“I said, do you hear me, Alex?!” I use my finger to prod it into his chest to make sure he focuses on me.

His lips twitch as if he is trying not to laugh. “I hear you.”

“Good, but I’m not done speaking yet.”

Alex blinks at me in confusion, but I won’t let his good looks dazzle me. No. Not today. It’s time to put him into place. He is mistaken if he thinks we will break up over this. He isn’t going anywhere!

“You’re my mate, and I won’t let you use this as an excuse to leave me,” I tap him with every word that I spell out. His eyebrows are almost in his hairline, yet I continue to lecture him. “I don’t care about the Marissa bullshit. We will get through this together. Do you hear me? It’s you and I against the world, and I won’t let this ruin that. I need you.”

“Tarryn…” Alex still looks pained. It’s not the expression I hoped he would wear, and I’m devastated when he stands up. “Believe me, you’re the only one I want, but if you get too close to me, it will hurt even more when I betray you. And it will happen. I know it will. This thing inside me, the fox, isn’t loyal like a werewolf. It’s mischievous and can’t be trusted.”

“But you’re still my mate,” I point out and look up at him. Alex is still looking uncertain, so I stand up. “That means the fox is still you, and if that’s the case, maybe we should complete the mating ritual? What if that will save you and make you more loyal to me?”

“Or that is also part of Marissa’s plan?” Alex sighs. “I’m sorry, but I think we should stay away from each other until the war is over and the b***h is dead… sorry for the language, but that’s what she is.”

“You’re being ridiculous…”

“Maybe…”

“And infuriating,” I add.

At that, he smiles. “Oh yeah?”

“Mhm, I finally have a mate, and now he is making himself hard to catch. It’s really irritating.”

“Please, you waited years to replace your mate—surely you can survive a little longer. Just until Marissa is gone.”

Is he serious?! The answer is most likely yes, which is really freaking annoying. How can I keep my hands off my mate when we live in the same room?!

Ugh, I guess I only have one option—play dirty.

I sigh. “Fine…” I stroll to the other side of the bed and pull the bedsheet to the side. “I guess I will just have to touch myself then… you know… since my mate won’t do it for me.”

Alex stares at me with narrowed eyes, his nostrils flaring as if seeking to confirm. “Are you horny?”

“Very,” I smirk at him from across the bed. “I’m always ready for you, Alex. But… since you told me to stay away and want nothing to do with me, I guess I will just finish off myself. There is no other option, right?”