My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 19

Lydia

What had started as a sweet date has ended in a disaster. There is unhappiness and gloom all around.

Avery and I have dug a hole under a great oak where we will bury Cero. I’m sad that Avery lost his dog. I didn’t know Cero that well, but he seemed like a good boy.

I shoot Avery a glance.

He stares down at the tarpaulin with haunted eyes, yet he isn’t shedding any tears. It must be because most men think that crying is for the weak, and I’m sure Avery shares the same beliefs.

Still, I wish he would speak to me because it’s obvious he is in pain. It’s not healthy to bottle up one’s emotions.

I place my hand on his back. Avery jerks away from my touch and turns to face me. I lower my hand to my chest.

“I’m sorry for what happened to Cero,” I say in a heartfelt voice, hoping to calm the storms in his eyes.

Avery slumps his shoulders at this, seeming to understand that I’m not his enemy. I’m only trying to help, but his walls have been raised. I don’t blame him. His own mother can’t be trusted—I would probably be as trusting as a wild wolf in his position.

“She will come after you next,” Avery says, and without saying it’s his mother, we both know it’s her he means.

“Why me?” I question. “I have never met her.”

“Yet my mother knows you exist, and she isn’t stupid. She knows that you and I are…” Avery hesitates briefly, his eyes narrowing into slits until he looks like a cat ready to vomit a hairball. “Friends.”

I laugh. “Is it that hard admitting that we are friends?”

“Yes,” his response is immediate. “But not for the reason you might think… You and I tied, Lydia. We aren’t mated, fated, or whatever. Neither are we just lovers,” he grumpily turns away, frowning. “Even friends don’t sound like the correct word to use. I care about you deeply.”

A bubble of joy lifts from my chest. “I care about you deeply too.”

Avery’s grumpy frown deepens while I beam at him like the sun. The happiness doesn’t last long, though. As we stand there, a particular scent becomes stronger and stronger.

A shudder passes through me, chillier than the northern wind, and I hear something moving in the forest. It smells like newly blossomed roses, but I can sense inhuman strength and almost imagine the sound of sharp teeth clicking together.

“We should leave,” Avery grips my arm, tugging me away from the grave we dug for Cero.

I look up at him. “But why? This is our territory. If that thing is what I think it is, it poses no danger to us.”

“Oh, it doesn’t pose a danger because we don’t know if it’s here alone or if there are friends around,” Avery gives me a bitter look. “Vampires are known to hunt alone, but not the ones directly under my mother. They listen to her and work together. And I would stand no chance against a pack of hungry vampires. My magic is too unpredictable.”

“That’s true… So what do we do?”

“We get into the car and drive home. The vampire is only here for us. I doubt they would attack the pack if they hunt here later since member. A vampire wouldn’t want to fight a group of werewolves.”

Avery’s words make sense, and I let him lead me to his pickup truck. But even with the door closed and the seatbelt crossed over my chest, I’m shuddering in my skin.

I’m well-acquainted with fear. My pack members have always wanted me dead. I’m used to running and hiding to survive. But the terror in my chest is different now. It’s raw and wilder, and when I look at the forest, it’s like it stares back at me with ice-cold eyes.

I shiver again and turn around to look forward. I’m determined to ignore the last part, even though I can’t shake off the feeling that someone or something is watching me.

Regardless, I shake it off and let Avery take me home. I replace my mom in the kitchen and spend time with her fussing over wedding dresses. Avery joins us for a while but eventually leaves for alpha duties.

I eat dinner with my mom and watch tv with her and John. I even spend some time studying and relaxing a little. But when I later come out of the shower, I’m afraid all over again.

Avery isn’t in his room, and the sizeable kingsized bed is empty. I sit on top of it, unable to shake off that feeling I had in the forest. It felt like even the branches were watching me.

It almost felt like the forest itself had its own presence. Dark and evil and clearly waiting to curl gnarly roots around my feet and pull me into the darkness of the night.

“You’re being silly, Lydia…” I whisper to myself while running a brush through my dark hair.

Night has fallen, and I should be sleeping. I don’t know if Avery actually needs sleep anymore or if he only pretends. Either way, I’m too tired to wait for someone who might not come home tonight.

After Cero died, Avery might be off mourning somewhere. Maybe he even took to the bottle…

“I hope he is safe…” I yawn and close my eyes, pulling the blanket to my chin before drifting off to sleep.

And tonight, dreamland takes me away.

I’m walking on pink grass in some fantasy kingdom. My dream consists mainly of clouds, sugar, and butterflies. It’s a pleasant dream until the light sky gets replaced by darkness.

The stars disappear, and I spin on my heels, watching as the grass, trees, and everything living rots before my very eyes. The air smells like rot, and my brain recognizes it as lycans.

My eyes dart around the place, but I can’t see. I can only hear snickers inside my head. But the voices aren’t mine or ones that I’m acquainted with. They sound like whispering, creepy children.

‘Your father didn’t die by chance…’

‘Not by chance!’

‘Not by chance… No… Your father was murdered… Murdered…’

‘Yes… It was all planned, but not by the lycans… No… The lycans didn’t kill him… No…’

Is it truly my father that they mean? It couldn’t be! My father died in a lycan attack three years ago. It wasn’t a planned murder. It was all part of a war for territory!

“You’re spreading lies,” I say, although I’m unsure. “My father died in a lycan attack resulting from the war.”

The voices snicker like crazy.

‘The lycans killed him.’

‘Yes, they wanted your father, but not for the reason you thought.’

‘He was a traitor to them.’

‘A pest.’

‘He needed to go for betraying them.’

Betraying the lycans?

What are these voices talking about?!

I spin around again, but all I can see is darkness. Yet I can’t help myself from trying to communicate with these voices.

“What do you mean by saying my father betrayed the lycans? He would never try to strike a deal with such vile creatures! There wouldn’t be a reason for him to betray those monsters!”

‘Oh, but he did, girl—he took something from them. Something important! They want it back!’

What?

I narrow my eyes with my heart pounding in my throat. The snickering has gotten worse. I don’t like it.

“What did my father take from them?” I demand.

The voices and mumbles grow wilder around me. It frightens me. The creepy voices in the dark seem to be fighting each other. I don’t know for what reason, but they aren’t getting along.

Eventually, one of them speaks. ‘The lycans will come for you, girl. Sooner or later, they will replace you.’

Huh?

“What do they want to do with me?” I damn near scream, mainly because the darkness is getting colder. Goosebumps are prickling over my legs and arms while a voice inside my head is begging me to flee.

But I can’t do that.

This is a dream; the only escape would be waking up.

Yet I don’t want that.

I might be scared, but this dream feels essential. The shadows are trying to tell me something: first, I got to deal with Avery’s vampire mother being out after me, and now the lycans?

What on earth is happening?!

“What do the lycans want with me?” I repeat, hoping the shadows will answer me this time.

‘Well, isn’t it obvious? They want your b***d!’

The voices all laugh loudly at that, and I fall down on my a*s when invisible forces crash into me—it’s like being attacked by ghosts! But when I look down on my arms, there are actual claw marks and b***d!

“No…” I breathe while lying helpless on my back. “What are you doing to me?! Stop! It hurts! Stop slashing me!”

I jolt awake inside Avery’s room, sweaty and gasping for air. Strong arms wrap around me, pressing me against a warm, solid chest.

“Schhh… I got you… It was only a dream…”

Avery.

Some of my fear evaporates, and I lean against him, allowing the tears to crawl out of my eyes. What the heck was that dream?

I’m shaken and replace Avery’s scent incredibly soothing. I place my palm on his chest, feeling his rhythm heartbeat—it seems hybrids still got a pulse. It beats beautifully.

My eyes close. “I had a bad dream…”

“I could tell…” Avery brushes his fingers through my hair and k****s the top of my head. “I’m glad I came home when I did to wake you… You were screaming…”

“I’m not surprised. This might have been the worst nightmare I’ve ever had in my entire life…”

Avery smiles against my head. “Don’t tell me about it.”

I breathe a laugh at that. “Are you bad with horror stories?”

“Guilty,” he whispers and pulls me down with him as he lies down against the pillow I previously used. I awkwardly land with my head in the crook of his arm, and he chuckles. “You’re so tense—relax a little.”

My cheeks burn, yet I manage a smile. “It’s hard to relax…” Because around you, my heart is pounding so fast.

“That’s cute.”

My body freezes instinctually, and then I take offense and pat his chest with a growl. “Hey, don’t read my mind!”

Another chuckle. “Sorry, I can’t help it… It just happened,” he sighs then, and I can tell something is on his mind. “But I would try not to fall for me, Lydia. Nothing good will come out of that.”

“You say that as if there is a choice…” I grumpily close my eyes and get comfortable beside his giant body.

Avery doesn’t seem to mind that I’m stealing his body heat. “You have a point, but you have a mate out there somewhere.”

“I don’t care.” He really smells nice…

He snorts. “You don’t mean that. Who doesn’t care about their mate?”

“I don’t…” I argue, and since I’m in a bad mood, I’m not afraid of taking what I want—I use his pectoral muscle as my pillow.

Avery tenses up at that, seeming unsure what to do when I k**s it. I can feel him staring at me, but I don’t care. I continue to cling to his body like a backpack. Eventually, he breathes another laugh and pulls the blanket tighter around me.

“It’s late, and you should try to fall back asleep.”

I smile while resting my cheek on his warm, round pec. “Already on it.”

He chuckles. “Good night, Lydia.”