My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 12

Lydia

I leave Avery’s room to prepare myself for the pack hunt. When I was together with Owen, I never had to worry about these things, but now when he is no longer my boyfriend, I have to make sure I’m presentable.

Clothes don’t matter—I will remove them before shape-shifting, but if I do my makeup, and look cute, maybe I won’t be picked on?

I can hardly remember a pack hunt I’ve been to alone. Usually, I always went to them with Owen, and no one dared to pick on me. And before that, my mom used to go with me. Now I’m alone and frankly quite terrified of what may happen…

Werewolf hierarchy is scary, and an omega like me could quickly become a punching bag for another pack member. I’ve even heard horror stories of some omegas being rocked by pack members yet to replace their mate to release their se.xual frustrations.

I shudder at that.

I don’t want some random pack member to use me for their pleasure. Avery is the only man I crave. And yes, I know he won’t pick me at the ball, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting him.

And a girl can always dream, right?

Smiling, I take a shower to smell nice for the hunt. I don’t do my hair and let it hang down freely. It’s silky and curly on its own. Perfect. I feel fresh and dab on some makeup, hoping to look presentable.

“All set and ready for the hunt,” I tell my reflection. “With a little luck, I look too cute to be picked on by the male wolves.”

I get into my mom’s car, a ridiculous little Fiat, and drive off to the nature reserve owned by my pack.

The humans know about this place but rarely come here. Ages ago, a spell was placed on it: when humans drive closely enough, they get the sudden urge to turn around. It keeps them out of here, and everyone in the Grimfang pack can feel safe about shape-shifting.

I park my car and immediately hear laughter from a trio of werewolf females standing further away.

I recognize one of them as the girl from the Supermarket. She is smiling at me knowingly, and my heart picks up speed.

This is the woman that Owen left me for, and she indeed seems high and mighty about it too.

“Hey… Remember our omega girl who Owen dated before we found each other at the supermarket?”

“Yeah?”

“Well… She is here now.”

The three girls turn around to look at me, laughing and whatnot until I wonder if I should tuck my tail and leave. It doesn’t bid well that the hunt hasn’t even started, and I’ve turned into a laughingstock.

My lips quiver, but then I mentally slap myself: no, I’m not going to head home. I have every right to be here and haven’t eaten anything. I will chase deer like everybody else and enjoy it!

Determinedly, I try to stand a little bit prouder. But it’s not easy when more and more people gather. It feels like everyone is either smirking or passing me a dirty look.

I also hear a few werewolf men talk.

“Hey, our omega is pretty cute…”

“Maybe we should chase her inside of the deer?” Someone suggests and snorts at the idea. “She wouldn’t be able to fight us off if we decided to have some fun with her.”

“Yeah, not only is she the omega, but she is short as well—fun-sized. I could easily push her into a tree and take her.”

“Oh yeah… I haven’t found my mate yet, and our omega would be the perfect person to practice with…”

A shiver creeps down my spine. Werewolf men are sick. How can they even think about using me for practice with a clean consciousness? What they are talking about is just pure disgusting.

I step back, hoping to disappear into the crowd around me so the single werewolf men can’t see me—only to back into a sturdy body.

“Oh, sorry,” a familiar voice says. “I didn’t mean to—”

The voice stops talking, and I turn around to see Owen staring at me, dumbfounded. An awkward silence falls over us, and my heart pounds even faster, but not out of fear. I’m embarrassed.

The scene of him replaceing his mate at the store comes rushing back to me, and everything gets worse when he keeps absorbing me. It would have been a thousand times easier if he would just ignore me…

But Owen is too friendly for that.

“Lydia…” he breathes and tilts his head to better see me. “I didn’t know you would be hunting tonight.”

I plaster on a smile even though I’m hurting. Seeing my ex-boyfriend isn’t easy, and I’m unsure how to behave. Most of all, I just want to cry, but I couldn’t possibly do that now.

Owen would then know that a tiny piece of my heart still belongs to him, even though I don’t want to admit it.

But that’s the truth.

My crush on Avery is just a distraction to keep me from all the pain that is secretly happening inside my heart.

“Yeah…” I say and continue smiling. “It’s a great day for a hunt, full moon, and everything…”

“It really is nice weather…” Owen looks up at the skies, then lowers his gaze, allowing himself to smile. “I’m sorry.”

I stop breathing. “For?”

“You know what I mean…” Owen grimaces. “The mate-bond crashed over me so fast that I forgot everything and everyone else… And I just… I’m so sorry, Lydia.”

I no longer have to fake my smile. It comes naturally. “Apology accepted. I’m happy that you’ve found your mate.”

“I’m happy too,” Owen chuckles. “So, how is it to live under the same roof as our alpha?”

“Not that bad, actually,” I answer earnestly because it hasn’t been bad. Though, I won’t mention that I’ve had s*x with my alpha anytime soon.

“Really?” Owen seems surprised. “Because Avery can be quite a d**k to deal with. He is so moody.”

“Oh, that,” I laugh a little and shrug. “Meh, he can be grumpy, but he hasn’t been mean to me or anything.”

“That’s a relief,” Owen says. “I hope he arrives soon so the hunt can begin. I can’t wait to shape-shift.”

“Same,” I admit. “It sucks that we must wait and allow our alpha to shape-shift first. I’m starving.”

“Starving?” Owen looks worried. “Avery isn’t starving you, is he?”

“No, gosh, no! I just missed dinner for this hunt. It was my own choice to have as much empty space for deer as possible.”

Owen laughs. “You’re still a weirdo.”

“Guilty.”

We smile at each other, but our moment gets interrupted by Owen’s mate pushing past people while growling. I look in the direction of the sound, but by the time I look, it’s too late.

I’m not given a warning before she pushes me in the chest.

“Get away from my mate, you fu*cking bItch!” The woman growls like a rabid dog. “He is mine—not yours!”

I land in the mud with a thud, and some people laugh while pain shoots up my spine.

f**k, could this day get any worse?

My palms are wet, and my a*s is sitting in a puddle. Dirth has splashed onto my face. I can feel it running down my cheeks, and when I open my eyes, the crowd around me laughs at me.

“Sally didn’t even add much force, and she fell! She f*g fell! What a weakling!”

“Pathetic!”

“Such a loser!”

My eyes sting with unshed tears. Owen is staring down at me but not daring to act. I meet his eyes, pleading with him to drag me up. Sadly, he averts his eyes, and that breaks me.

The tears finally come, and I stare at the ground while my entire pack laughs at my expense.

I hate this so much…