My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 88

Misha

“Wake up!” Josie’s voice rings in my ears, waking me from my slumber. I blink around and g***n when the sunlight hits my eyes.

This is Josie’s room, and we never shut the blinds after we fell asleep wrapped up in each other.

“Gah…” I say, and nuzzle my nose into Josie’s neck.

Most of her red hair is in a muffin on her head, but tiny baby hairs tickle my nose. It makes me smile. I don’t want to ever leave this bed.

Not when things couldn’t be more perfect.

My mate, my beautiful and precious Josie, is in my arms. Hugging her is heaven but to my dismay, she continues to harass me.

“Get up, Misha!” Josie wriggles around like an earthworm. “You have a battle against Asher in two hours, and you should eat breakfast before beating him up! Get moving!”

“I can’t believe my mate is a morning person…” I mumble into her warm skin and tighten my grip around her.

“The morning is the best time of the day.”

Seriously?

I g***n at Josie’s reveal and can see the bitter, cold future ahead of me: Josie waking me up early for the rest of my life.

“Maybe the moon goddess was mistaken…” I complain. “Morning people and night owls don’t go well together…”

“Are you a night owl?”

“Yes,” I mutter and sigh. “Since I told you that, will you wake me up every morning from now on just to torment me?”

“E-every morning?”

“Mhm? Why is that a surprise? You’re my mate, so we are definitely sharing a bed every night from now on, Josie.”

How cute. I can hear Josie’s heart speeding up. Her skin is also warmer, and I smile against her delicate shoulder. She gets so nervous talking about a possible future with me. It’s endearing.

“I will wake you up during those days it’s needed…” she mumbles, all shy and adorable.

“Poor Misha…” I fake a sob.

“Poor Misha?”

“Misha doesn’t like early mornings, but… luckily, Misha is stronger than little Josie—we won’t leave this bed for another hour.”

Josie g****s in frustration and tries to escape from my arms locked around her. She wriggles and moves around on the bedsheets but gets nowhere. I stifle a laugh, and another g***n leaves her lips.

“Stop talking about yourself in a third-person perspective, and get your a*s out of bed! And release me!”

I wrap my legs around her too. “But this is so comfortable!”

“For you!”

“It’s not for you?” I tease and nip at Josie’s ear from behind. “I thought you liked this…”

“I don’t.” Her voice betrays her, and I smile wider.

“You don’t like it when I do this…?” I’m circling my thumb over her n****e and trailing soft k****s up her neck.

“Misha…”

She whimpers in my arms, and I nip at her again, feeling shivers spread over her skin before I chuckle.

“Josie… Josie… Josie. You’re wet for me again, aren’t you?” I press my c**k against her cute butt. She turns stiff, and I add, “We totally have time for a quickie before my match…”

Josieswallows audibly, definitely considering my idea. I count the seconds in my head, unable to hide my smile when she says, “Okay, but make it quick!”

***

“I don’t love you yet! Nothing happens that quickly!” Josie pouts at me while brushing her hair. “So you can stop teasing by saying I’ve already fallen for you.”

“Why?” I question, amused by her grumpiness.

Josie glares at me. I’m cooking us breakfast while she sits at the kitchen table, gathering her hair in a ponytail.

“Because it’s… it’s embarrassing…”

I smile.

Josie isn’t as hard and harsh on the inside as she likes me to believe. She mewls and whimpers whenever I touch her but protects herself by telling me lies such as, “I don’t love you” because, for some reason, she thinks that I will hurt her.

It’s silly.

It’s as if Josie doesn’t know the true meaning behind the mate bond. Not that I mind. The fact my fierce, beautiful mate doesn’t take me for granted is charming.

And honestly, I don’t mind Josie being mean and childish with her mouth, not when I know I occupy her mind. Josie would never admit it out loud, yet I know this to be true.

“Why is it embarrassing?” I ask while adding salt to our omelets. We will eat them together with bacon.

“Because it’s true… I love you, and that’s embarrassing because it’s happening way too quickly, Misha. Loving you, caring about you… already thinking of our future together… this isn’t normal falling.”

Okay, I didn’t expect that level of honesty. I turn unnaturally stiff and slowly turn around, only to see Josie staring at the table. Her eyes are emotional, filled with feelings she has yet to share.

But when she doesn’t speak, I open my mouth. “But we are mates, so thinking about the future is normal—we are destined.”

She laughs at that, but the sound is almost bitter. And then, when she looks at me, her eyes are fierce. “The mate bond isn’t why I love you, Misha. Not even close.”

“What do you mean?”

Now she is wistfully smiling. “I don’t think the mate bond magically makes you love someone, Misha. I think it shows the potential with whom you can have a beautiful future. And you’re that person for me, Misha. But my love for you isn’t because of the mate bond.”

When I say nothing, Josie continues talking.

“My emotions go deeper than the mate bond. I’ve always wanted you. You were my crush, the boy in the same house who used to knock on my door and play hide and seek in the garden with me. We baked together. Swam together. Messed with each other. Stayed up late at night to watch stupid movies together. When we were kids and before I grew taller than you, you used to pretend to be Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon and carry me on your back. You were the best friend I secretly admired. And then when I thought you were dead… I still thought of you; now, you’re my fated mate.”

A gentle smile spreads over my lips, and I turn around to arrange our breakfast plates. “I’m failing to see why it’s a bad thing that you like me so much, Josie.”

“It’s a bad thing because you disappeared, Misha. You left me, and even though you’re back, I’m just… scared. What if you abandon me without a word again? And this time, it will hurt even more because I’m… because I’m stupidly in love with you—I think I always was. I’m just now realizing it because I had the best night of my life with you.”

Josie’s words shock me. I knew she was scared of admitting her feelings for me, afraid of admitting she likes me. Terrified of falling in love. This is why she acted like a brat. It was a sort of protection, but never in my wildest dreams did I realize that…

“I really hurt you when I left, didn’t I?” I ask.

Josie smiles, but there are visible tears in her eyes. “Yes. More than I’m willing to admit. When you left, you broke your mom, your dad… and you broke me. And ever since then, I’ve had trouble letting people in. I shut people out because I’m scared they will leave me someday.”

My chest constricts. I dislike the sadness in my mate’s eyes and can barely handle setting down our plates without hugging Josie. She is opening up to me, which makes me love her more.

Suddenly I perfectly understand where Josie’s reluctance to love me comes from. It’s from fear. She is afraid of me because letting yourself love someone gives that person the potential to hurt you.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her and tilt my head, smiling. “I will become the alpha of my pack, and then I have every intention of marrying you.”

She laughs. “Isn’t that a human thing?”

“Does it matter?” I ask, amused. “Some of their ideas are wonderful, including marriage. It sounds way better than just announcing you as my luna in front of a pack of savage werewolves.”

Josie looks so happy that my heart swells inside my chest. Her sweet laugh is everything, and I patiently wait for her to tell me her thoughts. I need to know what she is thinking.

“Tell you what, if you win that alpha tournament, I will marry you immediately.”

“And if I don’t?” I ask and take my seat.

“Oh, then you have to work for it a little harder,” Josie winks at me, and I laugh in entertainment. She is messing with me and replaceing her confidence. I like it.

“The challenge is on,” I announce as I dig my knife into my omelet. “And guess what? I will win. I always do.”