My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 18

Avery

I’m filling a bowl with water for my giant hell dog while Lydia is silently making a bed for him. I haven’t read her mind for the past hour, but it’s not like I have to; I know what she is thinking.

Lydia’s sad face when I told her not to fall for me, well, it said it all: she pities me. And I suppose that’s better than the alternative: she not giving a f**k about me.

My ex-girlfriend, Yang, certainly didn’t care. She looked disgusted when I told her I had vampire b***d in my veins. And since she showed no remorse for dumping my arse for her alpha mate, I’ve been trying to suppress her from my memory. It is rare, but sometimes even alphas have a fated mate. Other times, they never meet that person, but since we are so important in the werewolf world, we can choose.

Anyway, I dated Yang for years—we were childhood friends, and she had no trouble breaking my heart. So yeah, I want to keep away from love. You can’t trust anyone in this world.

Yet I’m drawn to Lydia, and that’s bad—she deserves a normal man. Someone who actually ages.

Therefore, I’ve sworn that our relationship will only be se*x and b***d with no strings attached. But it’s becoming harder to block out the butterflies I feel around Lydia.

I want to get to know her…

I turn around, blinking when Lydia’s eyes jump from where my a.ss was a second ago to look into my eyes. A guilty smile spreads over her l!ps, and her cheeks rapidly turn red.

My l!ps twitch. Lydia was definitely checking out my b.utt; judging from her expression, she admired it too. Why her admiration makes me happy, I don’t know, but it does.

“See something you like?” I ask teasingly, not caring that line is entirely cliché and overused.

I swear her cheeks turn even redder. They look like two round tomatoes right now. Cute.

“If I lie, you’re just going to read my mind, so yes, I definitely saw something worth seeing…”

My happiness grows, but then I mentally slap myself—I’m not supposed to be flirting with her!

I avert my eyes with a private smile and don’t say anything else. Not because I don’t have anything to say, but because it’s dumb to try and woo the girl I shouldn’t be with.

Lydia is the omega, which I don’t care about anymore, but I still try to convince myself this is a problem.

The second reason is that she is my stepsister, or will become that once our parents marry, not that I give a f**k about that either.

And the last reason is that I’m a freaky hybrid and not her true mate, which is why I shouldn’t woo her.

“Not to freak you out, but where is Cero?”

I snap up my head and stare at Lydia in horror before I swear to myself and rush out through the door.

I can’t believe this!

My mind has been so preoccupied thinking about this woman that I completely forgot about the hell dog! How could I do that?! Cero better still be on the bed of the truck!

I hurry outside the building, freezing, when I notice the smell of roses in the air. A vampire was here—my mother.

Immediately I hear her laughter inside her head. It’s due to a spell she left behind, a message to let me know she is testing me again. This time by killing my pet—next time, it might be a friend.

I clench my fist, glaring at Cero. He is where I left him, but he is dead and slashed apart by what must be my mother’s claws. I can’t believe she came here without me detecting her.

‘You still need to grow in power, my son.’

My breathing seizes when I hear her ice-cold voice inside my head. It’s devoid of emotion, and I imagine her red l!ps curled into a smile. My mother is beautiful. White-haired, tall, and elegant, but her eyes lack something important: a soul.

‘I lack a soul? You wound me,’ she says inside my head. It seems mind-reading runs in the family. ‘I might be the vampire queen, but I’m not as cold as you think.’

‘Why did you kill Cero?’ I demand. I’m too angry to feel sadness. All I want is an explanation, even if there isn’t one. ‘If you had a soul or a consciousness, you wouldn’t murder your son’s dog!’

My chest constricts after speaking my mind. Who in their right mind kills a dog? The answer is no one. Dogs are precious. I cared more for Cero than I do some of my pack members! Cero was innocent, adorable, and cuddly. I’m tempted to go all John Wick on my mother and hunt her down!

‘It was a test to see if you would detect me—you didn’t, which means I might give the throne to your older pure-blooded vampire brother instead. Clearly, I overestimated your abilities.’

A growl leaves my l!ps. ‘I don’t want the dumb vampire throne anyway! And my powers are still growing, so don’t pull a trick like this again. Next time I will murder your a.ss for trespassing on my territory! I would do it now if I knew where you are hiding!’

‘Ugh, werewolves… Why are they always so aggressive? I’m not sure if I like this other side of you, son. It was just a dog. You should relax, Avery. I’m your mother, and killing me would be worse than murdering a dog.’

‘Like I care!’ I bark back at her while covering Cero with the blue tarpaulin. Lydia doesn’t need to see this. ‘I don’t care about you. You abandoned dad and me. You left us, and now you’re coming back to kill my dog?! You’re sick. Also, your opinion doesn’t matter. You’re nothing to me.’

‘That’s not very nice of you to say to your parent…’ my mother laughs. She definitely isn’t hurt by my harsh words. Her voice actually sounds amused by the ongoing argument. ‘I might have to punish you for that, though: how about I introduce myself to that new friend you’ve made? Lydia, that’s her name, right?’

More anger rises to my chest, but I don’t snarl this time. I don’t even bark back. Darkness gathers within me, yet I remain calm and brooding; if my mother hurts Lydia, I will end her and every single vampire on this planet. She needs to understand this, so I make my voice as flat and menacing as possible.

‘Keep your dirty claws away from Lydia if you know what is best for you, mother. If you hurt the only friend I’ve made, it won’t end well for you or the other vampires.’

‘Wow,’ she whistles in amusement. ‘You’re that protective of her? Your voice went all dark. I actually shuddered. Wow. Maybe Lydia is your mate…?’

I pause at that, blinking. ‘Wait… Why would you think that? Lydia isn’t my mate… There isn’t a bond between us at all. And alphas and vampires choose their mates—the only way I could be her fated mate is if I somehow was hers. If there was a bond through her.’

‘There might be,’ my mother muses mysteriously. ‘There is something weird with that girl… She doesn’t smell like an ordinary werewolf. I replace that peculiar—perhaps I should kill her before she becomes a problem in the upcoming war?’

‘War?!’ I growl. ‘There is no war!’

‘Oh, but there will be, son,’ my mother snickers. ‘I want Lavender City to be mine with or without you. I’m building a vampire army as we speak, and the purpose is clear: we want your territory.’

‘As if I would hand it over!’

‘Your answer saddens me, but it doesn’t surprise me,’ my mother says and breathes a laugh. ‘But since I’m feeling generous, I will give you two weeks to figure out whose side your stand on, son. Once your pack mates replace out what you are, they might not want you as their alpha anymore. They will fear you. Especially since vampires will start feeding in the city. Mark my words, Avery.’

And with that, I no longer feel my mother’s psychic connection. Like always, she had to have the last word. I growl in frustration until I hear the cottage door open behind me.

“Avery?” Lydia sounds concerned. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” I respond without turning around. Anger and frustration are running wild within me. “My mother was here and… She killed Cero…”

And knowing my psychopath of a mother, she will come for Lydia next because my own mother doesn’t want me to have anyone by my side. A lonely son means vulnerability.

It sickens me how my mother is thinking. She will definitely use my loneliness to manipulate me. She will try to turn me into a pawn that can join her in her mission: taking over and making the vampires reign over the werewolves again.

Total domination is my mother’s goal, and she will stop at nothing to achieve this dream: Lydia’s life is in danger.