My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 21

Kade

I’m the lycan prince, young and beautiful in my human form, but I’m carrying a deep secret. You can’t tell by looking at me, but I’m cursed like the rest of my forsaken people to live a life of being a monster.

We turn into giant beasts every full moon. Our bones c***k without us being able to stop them. And while we once could control this phenomenon, we are no longer able to do so.

Because twenty-one years ago, a weasel of a werewolf stole something important from my people—the heart of Chang’e.

It was a gem that granted every lycan born into our clan the power to shapeshift freely between their forms. We could control our beasts without ever risking our instincts taking over. But with the gem gone, we are back to being monsters, and it’s all Erwin Hansson’s fault for stealing it.

According to Victoria the werewolves still have no interest in returning this gem to us. I have no clue if she is speaking the truth. Her kind isn’t known for lying, though. Victoria is the vampire queen who is visiting us today in the hope of making my clan her allies. The Lionheart would help her immensely in the upcoming war against the werewolves.

The vampire queen rakes me up and down. “I hope you understand that the werewolves must keep this gem hidden somewhere, and they are under no circumstances interested in handing it back to your clan.”

I glance down at Victoria from my throne. “Excuse me, but… Why are you speaking for the werewolves?”

Humor takes over her face. She clearly didn’t think I would possess enough courage to question her. “I must apologize. Were you expecting them to come and return the heart themselves?”

I growl but manage to stay calm enough to speak. “No, but I certainly didn’t expect the vampire queen to come here and try to make me and my people her allies in a war that isn’t interesting for us. We have no interest in taking over a human city and will remain in this realm.”

She laughs and flips her white, beautiful hair over her shoulder. Victoria might be more than a century old, but like all royal-born vampires, she stopped aging when she was the most beautiful. She is forever in her twenties.

“But what if you didn’t have to remain in this realm? With my people’s help, the heart of Chang’e could once more be yours.”

My eyes narrow. “I have no reason to believe you would hand it over to us if you managed to replace it. Like the werewolves I believe you have your own agenda and would use the gem yourself. For what I don’t know, but I hardly think you would return it to us. You are probably as power-hungry as everybody else.”

“Oh please!” Victoria shakes her head at me, seeming to replace my words of truth funny. “I’m plenty strong enough without the heart of Chang’e. I hardly need that rusty old gem. You can have it—if you help my people take over Lavender city. It hurts me to say it, but I need all the men I can replace.”

I consider her words for a moment.

It’s true that Victoria is powerful, but the heart of Chang’e could potentially make her even stronger. Unlike lycans, vampires can use magic—the heart would immensely grow her abilities to the point she became a god.

I sigh.

My gut tells me not to trust Victoria, but my people are tired of living in this realm. This isn’t an easy decision…

My clan lives in a pocket dimension. You must enter through a portal to replace us since we can no longer live among humans. Not when intense emotions and the full moon change us into bloodthirsty two-legged monsters.

To change our lifestyle, we need the heart of Chang’e to return to our hands. But until then, my people are forced to live a life in exile in the dark, magical forest.

It’s actually rather impressive that Victoria possessed enough magic to make it here on her own.

Perhaps I should strike a deal with her? She would be a powerful ally in stealing back the heart of Chang’e, or at the very least, replace out why the werewolves stole it in the first place.

When I asked them, they claimed they had no idea what I was talking about. And I can’t blame them—I killed the man who first stole the gem because he refused to tell me what he had done with it. The i***t came back to us. I think to apologize, but since he didn’t return the gem we had to end him.

I smirk down at the vampire queen, gripping the armrest of my throne made of dark vines. “Very well. You have convinced me, Victoria. I shall, on the behalf of my people, agree to form an alliance with the vampires in return for the heart of Chang’e.”

I have no intention of trusting the vampire queen, but I rather pretend to be her friend than turn into her enemy. I’m glad that she can’t read my mind. It seems my royal b***d is good for something.

Victoria looks pleased. “Excellent decision,” she looks around, and her predatory smile deepens. “I take it you miss the human world. That must be why you are striking a deal with my kind, am I correct?”

Anger ticks against my jaw. Typical vampire behavior to bring up a sensitive topic just to have the upper hand.

Yet I won’t falter.

“Yes, I do miss the human realm. So does my people, and if we could, we would leave this dimension.”

“I don’t see why,” Victoria looks around, smiling still. It’s fake and snake-like, just like her. “This place is marvelous and breathtaking. You even your own castle, Kade.”

Such a filthy woman.

“This castle is far from breathtaking…” I growl. “But I suppose a vampire with no taste might like it.”

Victoria laughs in amusement. The moonlight illuminates the gnarly roots spread over the floor, and the old walls are covered by vines. My home is far from paradise. This place is haunted and basically just one big graveyard of a green forest.

Truthfully, people don’t want to live here, but we have to for the safety of other people and humans.

We care about other people, which makes us different from Victoria and her vampire clan. Her kind chooses to hunt and drink human b***d for fun, which is another reason why I won’t ever trust her.

Vampires are vermin.

“You’re brave for saying that to me, but I shall let it pass this time since we are about to form an alliance,” Victoria says. “But I shall now stay for too long and make myself quick, for your sake.”

I snort. “You have more to say?”

“Yes, I do,” Victoria walks around over the vines. I hate to say it, but she is truly gorgeous, one of the most elegant and beautiful people I have ever laid eyes upon. “As you may know, the werewolves have a new alpha that is rather young.”

I nod. “Avery, am I right?”

“Yes,” her eyes glow unnaturally red, and she gives me a peculiar look that is hard to read. “He won’t be easy to defeat.”

I laugh and shake my head. “He is a werewolf alpha—I could beat his a*s with my arms tied behind my back. Hell, blindfold me if you want. It actually surprises me you haven’t killed him yourself. Shouldn’t he be an easy victim for a vampire queen?”

“No, he is not.”

My lips twitch. “You’re overestimating this werewolf.”

At this, Victoria laughs, but the sound is creepy and haunting—whose side is she on anyway?

“No, you’re the one underestimating alpha Avery, for the world has seen nothing like him until now. He is a hybrid between a vampire and a werewolf.”

I narrow my eyes in disbelief. “But how? Crossbreeds usually die moments after they are born!”

“Not this one,” Victoria muses and smirks. “And I would know because Avery is my son.”

My eyes bulge out of their heads. “So Avery has royal vampire b***d coursing through his veins along with being an alpha?”

“Yes,” Victoria smiles. “And it gets worse: Avery’s magic is the strongest I’ve ever seen, and it’s only growing. I’m starting to believe it got something to do with the heart of Chang’e.”

A growl dies in my throat, and my voice comes out dark. “Then Avery needs to be immediately taken care of because the heart of Chang’e has the potential to turn magic users into gods. All they need is to be near this item until it picks them.”

Victoria smiles. “IF the heart picks them, right? The heart of Chang’e is a picky little thing, isn’t it?”

“It is,” I sigh. “But it’s clear that the heart doesn’t always pick the best people for its master. So if Avery is the new master of the heart, we better hope he isn’t evil.”