My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 136

Tarryn

“I hate this world already!” I cling to Alex and bury my face in his neck as the apartment rattles again. The hell dragon outside is trying to tear it down, and all the windows in the other room have shattered.

“Hate it?”

“Yes, it’s scary!” I shriek when the building shakes yet again. The only thing keeping me from leaving is Alex’s smell of body wash mixed with his own soothing scent.

Noticing my inner panic, a softer expression takes over Alex’s face. He cups my cheek, stroking his thumb over my skin. “The hell dragon can’t hurt you while you’re inside the apartment.”

“That doesn’t stop him from trying, and he might succeed in tearing down the entire building if he continues!”

“That’s…” he sighs. “True… looks like I need to head out there and defeat the dragon before it comes to that.”

“What?!” I exclaim and sink my fingers into Alex’s shoulders while I search his eyes for a hint of him joking. But he looks entirely serious, which sends reeling panic tunneling through me. “You can’t go out there! It’s too dangerous, Alex! I won’t let you fight a dragon!”

He huffs an amused laugh. “I will be fine,” his nose brushes against mine, and the corner of his lips are curved upwards. “I’m a skilled fighter, especially when I’m this motivated.”

“You’re motivated? To fight a dragon?” I can’t believe the crazy things coming out of his mouth, and I narrow my gaze. “Why?” Did he hit his head or something?!

His voice goes soft and teasing. “I’m motivated because killing this dragon would put my mate to ease. And helping my mate might earn me a reward for later.”

I’m given a saucy wink from Alex, and my insides warm seeing his sharp and pointy canine teeth. That smile is one of my favorite things about him since there is so much personality in it. He might be a demon and no longer a werewolf, but I love him regardless.

Alex is the love of my life, and when another demonic screech fills my ears, I sigh heavily. “I can’t stop you from going out there, can I?”

“No,” he murmurs and places me down on the bed. He is gentle yet determined when he pushes me as if wanting me to lie down. I do just that, and he tucks me in with a smile. “Comfortable?”

“You’re sweet,” I smile back at him. “And yes, I’m very comfortable.”

“Good,” he leans in to k**s my lips. “I will be right back with you in a few minutes. Just wait here, and whatever you do, don’t look outside through the broken windows in the kitchen. You don’t like my demonic form, so… don’t look at me. Please.”

I sink my teeth into my bottom l*p. Worry is gnawing at me. I don’t want Alex to fight the hell dragon, yet I force myself to give him a jerky nod because he has made up his mind.

“Be careful.”

He walks over to the door and glances over his shoulder. There is a cocky smirk tipping the corner of his sexy mouth. “The hell dragon should be careful, not me.”

With that, Alex leaves me alone in the room. The hell dragon is still screeching and making noises. I listen to it. It sounds crazy, miserable, and hungry. I don’t like the sound it makes one bit.

I listen to it some more, pulling the blanket up higher. Falling asleep with Alex out there feels impossible. I don’t think I can do it.

Instead, I wait until I hear another demonic scream that must be Alex. To my surprise, relief washes through me as he screeches. I’m unsure why, but I know everything will be alright.

My eyes close, and I calm my breathing down. The apartment is no longer shaking. I can hear snarling and growling, though, most likely coming from Alex. It continues for a while, and then I hear something snapping, which sets every alarm off within me.

Is Alex okay?

Something heavy thuds on the ground outside, so large that the apartment rattle one last time before settling. Was that the dragon or Alex being defeated? I get up from the bed and wrap the blanket around me, tip-toeing to the kitchen where I will be able to see.

It’s dark inside the apartment and even darker outside, but Alex’s rainbow eyes are glowing in the dark outside. He is panting and standing in his hideous fox form, but this time, I’m not scared of him. I’m concerned because there is no mistaking the smell of b***d—his b***d.

“Oh, sweet baby,” I whisper. “Did you hurt yourself?”

Alex’s eyes widen when he hears my voice, and in the faint moonlight, I can see his ears twitching before falling alongside his large head. He seems uncertain about what to do. Almost confused about me standing on the top floor and communicating with him.

I imagine he must think, “Why isn’t she scared of me?” I’m baffled about that too. I was terrified of him before, but I’m not anymore.

Alex just defeated a hell dragon for me in his fox form. I’m grateful and realize that regardless of his appearance, this is still Alex, MY Alex. Even if he is really big and scary-looking, he is still my mate.

I tilt my head. “You’re not badly injured, are you?” I can’t see where he is bleeding in the dark and drop the blanket. “Do you want to come here so I can tend to your wounds?”

Alex blinks at me repeatedly, then he approaches me without shape-shifting back into a human. I’m not sure if he is REALLY himself in his demonic fox form or if he acts solely based on instinct.

Nevertheless, I’m soon poked by his strange nose and laugh when it almost sends me toppling over like a domino brick.

“Easy there, big guy,” I’m smiling at him. “How about you change back into a human before I give you affection?”

Alex stares at me as if trying to figure out what I just told him. It confirms that he isn’t entirely himself in his demonic fox form. He does seem to realize I’m his mate, though, which is lucky.

I keep smiling at him, giving him patience since he deserves it, but I shriek in terror when the hell dragon snarls from the ground behind him. It looks like the dragon isn’t dead, and Alex turns around in haste, biting its neck to keep the creature from writhing around.

A smell of iron fills the air, and I wrinkle my nose in fear, staring at Alex as he slowly kills the weak hell dragon by biting it. He has huge teeth, and I shudder when he glances back at me, realizing how easy it would be for him to hurt me if he wanted to.

If he didn’t remember we were mates in this form, I would probably be dead, just like that dragon…

My eyes stay rooted to Alex, and he takes it as a sign to drag the lifeless body of the hell dragon forward. I have no idea what he is doing until he releases the monster in front of the apartment complex and then looks expectantly at me with wide, glowing eyes.

Is he presenting me with his kill like a cat?

The thought of that makes me laugh out loud. “You’re a funny beast, aren’t you, Alex?”

His red, nine tails swoosh around when I say his name, and a lightbulb goes off in my head.

“Whose a good boy?”

More tail wagging.

“Oh, you’re the good boy, aren’t you?” I ask. “And if you turn back into a human, you will be rewarded.”

Interest shines in his huge eyes, and light shrouds him as he changes back into his human form. Huh. So the demonic fox form actually does listen to me? Interesting.

Perhaps Marissa miscalculated?

Judging from Alex’s behavior, Marissa didn’t make herself a weapon. She accidentally handed one over to the Howler pack because something tells me Alex is loyal to me, his mate, and not Marissa.