Touch Me, My Alpha Stepbrother

Trapped with me

Liam's pov

Ashley jumped, her whole body going rigid. She turned her head around so slowly I thought her neck might snap. The color completely drained from her face, her eyes wide with total terror.

Finally, you spoke to her, my wolf, Fang, grumbled in my mind. I told you to talk to her, not sneak up behind her.

I am talking to her, I snapped back mentally. Satisfied?

I meant, talk to her like a normal person, Fang muttered, restless and agitated. I don't think I meant ‘insult her’. I just wanted to figure out why I feel so uneasy every time she’s around.

That’s because she’s a freak, I replied coldly, glaring down at the top of Ashley's head. A noseless defect who doesn't belong here.

You really think so? Fang challenged softly, pacing back and forth in my chest. Then why does your pulse spike every single time she looks at you? Why did you follow her all the way to the gym? You really dislike her that much?

I shut my wolf up, shoving him back down into the dark. I didn't have an answer for him.

The moment I walked into the gymnasium and saw her sitting on those bleachers, staring down at Jason with that stupid, smitten smile on her face, something ugly had twisted in my gut. It was pure, irrational irritation. Jason? The golden boy? Did she honestly think a high-status wolf like him would ever look twice at a broken girl who couldn't even scent her own food?

“L-Liam...” Ashley stammered, her voice shaking as she clutched her bag to her chest. “What... what are you doing here?”

Beside her, her little friend Lily swallowed hard, shrinking back in her seat.

“I go to this school, remember?” I said smoothly, taking a slow step down the bleachers toward them. I kept my hands in my pockets, my jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached. “I can walk wherever I want. But hearing you utter Jason’s name like you actually stand a chance... it was just too pathetic to ignore.”

“I wasn't asking for your opinion,” Ashley whispered, trying to sound brave, though her hands were trembling so badly she could barely hold her phone.

“You don't have to ask,” I replied, stepping right in front of her row. I leaned down slightly, lowering my voice so only she could hear. “Jason wants a real she-wolf. Not a defective charity case playing house in my dad’s mansion.”

Ashley flinched as if I had slapped her face. Tears instantly welled up in her big eyes, threatening to spill over.

Stop it, Fang growled sharply in my head. You're hurting her! Why are you always making her cry?

She needs to learn her place, I shot back internally, ignoring the weird, uncomfortable tightness in my chest at the sight of her tears.

“Let’s go, Lily,” Ashley choked out, grabbing her friend’s arm and practically throwing herself off the bleachers to get away from me.

She sprinted out of the gym without looking back once. I stood there on the bleachers, watching her disappearing figure, my chest breathing heavy with an anger I couldn't even name.

By the time school ended, I stood by my car in the parking lot, waiting. I saw Ashley trying to sneak past the bus stop with her hood pulled low over her head.

I cut across the pavement, grabbed her backpack strap, and yanked her backward before she could step onto the sidewalk.

“Hey!” she gasped, stumbling against my shoulder.

The second her shoulder brushed my chest, a sudden, electric jolt shot straight through my arm, making my wolf howl in my mind. I flinched, dropping my hand like I had touched a hot stove.

Touch her again, Fang pleaded, clawing at my chest. Hold her!

I shoved my hand back into my pocket, my face turning cold and stony. “Get in the car.”

“No!” Ashley snapped, backing away. “I’m walking home!”

“I said get in,” I growled, stepping into her space until she was pinned between me and the passenger door. “Dad told me to bring you back. You think I want you in my car? Don't make me drag you.”

She glared up at me, her lower lip trembling with sheer hatred, before she yanked the door open and slammed herself into the leather seat.

The entire ride home was dead silent. I kept my eyes on the road, my hands gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. The air inside the closed space felt suffocatingly heavy. Every time she took a breath, I caught myself glancing at her sideways out of the corner of my eye.

The second I pulled up to the front entrance of the mansion, Ashley didn't even wait for the car to fully stop. She popped the door, scrambled out, and ran straight up the front steps like a demon was chasing her.

I parked the car, walked inside slowly, and heard her panicked footsteps echoing down the second-floor hallway.

“Mom?” Ashley’s voice called out frantically from upstairs. “Mom! Where are you?”

I walked up the grand staircase, my hands shoved into my pockets, taking my time.

Ashley came rushing out of her mother's bedroom, her face pale, frantically looking around the empty hall. She spotted a maid carrying a basket of folded laundry near the linen closet and rushed over to her.

“Where is my mom?” Ashley asked breathlessly. “Where is Felix?”

The maid paused, looking surprised. “Oh, Miss Ashley. They left over an hour ago. The Alpha said he received an urgent call. They had to travel to a neighboring pack for an emergency council meeting.”

Ashley froze. “A... a meeting? When are they coming back?”

“They said they wouldn't be back until late tomorrow or the next morning,” the maid explained politely. “The Alpha left a message asking young master Liam to call his cell phone as soon as you both got home.”

Ashley swallowed hard, a visible gulp moving down her throat. Her eyes darted straight past the maid and landed right on me, standing at the top of the stairs. Pure, unadulterated panic flashed in her eyes.

I slowly pulled my phone out of my pocket, sliding my thumb across the screen to dial my father's private line. I put it on speaker as it rang.

“Liam?” my father’s deep voice boomed through the speaker after three rings.

“Dad,” I said smoothly, keeping my eyes locked on Ashley. “The maid said you called.”

“Yes, son. Something urgent came up with the Eastern Pack borders,” Felix said, sound heavy over the phone. “Your mother and I had to leave immediately. We won't be back for the next two days.”

Ashley gasped softly, her hands flying over her mouth.

“I need you to look after the house while we're gone, Liam,” Felix continued. “And make sure you take good care of Ashley. Don't let anything happen to her.”

Before I could answer, Ashley darted forward. She snatched the phone right out of my hand, holding it tight to her ear.

“Mom?!” she cried out, her voice trembling frantically. “Mom, are you there?! Put my mom on the phone!”

There was a brief pause on the line before her mother’s sweet voice answered. “Ashley? Sweetie, what’s wrong? Why do you sound so frightened?”

Makes two of us, why does she sound so scared?

“Mom... you...” Ashley stammered, her teary eyes darting back to me, her chest heaving as she took in my cold frame. “You... you're leaving me alone with him?”

Her mother chuckled softly through the speaker, completely oblivious to the terror in her daughter's voice. “Oh, sweetie, it’s just for two days! Liam is family now. He’ll look after you.”

She's obviously scared of us, my wolf muttered.

Oh, there it is. She was genuinely, utterly terrified of being in this house without our parents protecting her.

She should be terrified, she should be.

A slow, sharp smirk stretched across my face.

I stepped forward, smoothly plucking the phone right back out of Ashley’s weak, trembling fingers. I held it up to my mouth, my gaze burning into her tear-streaked face.

“Don't worry about her, Luna,” I said smoothly into the mic, my voice dripping with dark satisfaction. “I will take very good care of my sweet step-sister.”

“Thank you, Liam! You’re such a good boy,” her mother replied happily. “Bye, sweetie, love you!”

Click.

The line went completely dead.

I tossed my phone casually onto the hall table, stepping closer to Ashley until she backed up against the cold wall. She looked up at me, shaking from head to toe, tears spilling over her eyelashes.

I leaned down until my lips were just inches from her ear, smelling that faint, invisible sweetness off her skin that kept driving my wolf insane.

“Your nightmare just began, Ashley.”