Luring My Alpha Stepbrother

Tears Won't Help

Alissa's POV

"Knock, knock, knock.”

The rhythmic yet lazy sound of the knocking startled me. I quickly swallowed down the soft moan that had been lingering at the back of my throat. Meanwhile, I could feel Ethan's d**k thrusting in and out of my p***y slow down.

"Wake up! What time is it, and you're still in bed?" Avery, Luna of my pack and Ethan’s mother, snapped from the other side of the door.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before answering. "Luna, I’m not feeling well."

"What are you doing? Pretending to be sick again?" Avery’s voice sharpened. She kicked the door again. "You didn’t even hang up our clothes from last night, and the trash is still on the table. Have I spoiled you too much, Alissa?"

Her scolding was relentless, as it always was. Once she started, she wouldn’t stop until she had driven me out of my own room.

"You eat at home, live at home, and get the best education from us, but you can’t even do a little housework? Can’t you do one thing to make your father and me proud? Wait until you get married to another wolf. I hope his pack will see you for what you really are. Ungrateful child!"

I could no longer hold back the anger. I shot up from the bed, yanking the door open before she could say another word.

"Are you done yelling?" I shouted, my voice sharp. "Just because you're married to my father now, doesn’t mean you can treat me like trash. I’m still Max’s daughter."

Avery froze, staring at me for a long minute. Her eyes darkened with emotion, her face flushing with a mixture of anger and hurt. "Are you saying I’m not fit to give you a scold as your Luna?"

I immediately regretted my words. "I didn’t mean that," I hurried to say, lowering my voice. "You know that’s not what I meant. I’m sorry, I’m just not feeling well. I’ll clean up the trash later, okay?"

"How convenient of you to apologize after insulting your Luna," she retorted, her arms crossing in defiance. "You know what you need to do. You’ll be punished for this, to show me you’re truly sorry for what you said."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to steady my breathing. This was just how Avery was—always finding fault in everything I did and punishing me for it.

She didn’t like many things—especially the old human downstairs who walked his dog—but in her eyes, I was her greatest target. I was her symbol of frustration. She hated me, but she couldn’t get rid of me. And that irritated her to no end. Making me hurt or punishing me has become her greatest joy over the years.

With time, I had learned to endure it all, just so I could get her to shut up sooner and leave me alone.

"Fine," I muttered, "I’ll clean up... then I’ll take my punishment."

"I’ll clean it up," came Ethan’s voice from behind me.

I spun around, surprised to see him standing there, dressed neatly, his face calm and composed, not a hint of the lustful tension we’d just shared.

When Avery had knocked, Ethan had quickly pulled his d**k away from me, quietly taking care of himself as I hurriedly covered him with a blanket.

He was done now, wasn’t he? And was he already dressed up in this short amount of time? I must admit I am a little impressed.

"Ethan, what are you doing in here?" Avery asked, her tone slightly surprised.

He smiled and patted my head. "She needed help with some questions for tomorrow’s lecture. The breakfast on the table was mine. I’ll clean up and hang the clothes."

"No need, no need," Avery interrupted, waving him off. "Let Alissa do it. You shouldn’t be wasting your energy on these things." She shot me a knowing, threatening glance. "You better hurry and finish your chores before your father wakes up."

"I can handle it, Mother. Let Alissa rest. She’s not feeling well," Ethan said, gently pushing me back into the room and closing the door behind him.

Through the door, I could hear Avery’s voice, bitter and cutting. "When did you become so close to that bastard? Hasn’t she given you enough cold stares?"

Her words stung. She already had the Luna title, my father’s love, and now she was trying to take Ethan’s focus away from me as well.

"Go, go, go. Stop this nonsense," Avery continued. "Chores are for women. Ethan, listen to me. Focus on the job Max gave you. You’ll be an Alpha one day. You need to be prepared for bigger things than taking out the trash."

"Why don’t you say that when it comes to Alissa?" Ethan’s voice was low but firm. "She’s Max’s firstborn child. She’s more suited to lead than I am. I was never Max’s son..."

Avery’s voice trembled with fury. "Alissa is different. She’s a woman. Women can’t rule the pack! And once she’s married, she won’t belong to our pack anymore."

"Married?" Ethan asked, his voice flat.

"Of course! What else would she do if she didn’t get married? Max and I have been so good to her. There was a time Max wanted to send her away, but I insisted we raise her. But you know, I don’t want to keep paying for her master’s degree. Who knew a girl like her could get into a university? What’s the point of all this?"

Ethan fell silent, no response coming from him. I could hear Avery’s footsteps retreating, and the sound of her voice faded away.

I was left alone, in the quiet of my room, my chest heavy with anger and helplessness. The weight of everything pressing down on me made it hard to breathe.

I staggered to the bed, trembling, and saw the glaring bloodstains on the crumpled white sheets. My body tensed, and guilt and regret flooded me. What had I done? Why had I allowed myself to connect with that wretched woman’s son? What guarantee did I have that he wouldn’t turn out just like her?

I sank to the floor, holding my head in my hands, tears streaming down my face. Why had life never given me a chance? I had tried so hard, hadn’t I?

I opened the nightstand drawer and found a rusty iron box. It was the only relic my grandmother had left me, not an inheritance or a family treasure, but a simple letter.

My grandmother had never been educated. She had spent her life in the woods, far from civilization. But she was the only family who had ever made me feel warm. Every summer and winter break, I would run to her home in the woods—the only place where my heart could find peace.

For me, she had been the only light in those dark years. To encourage me, my grandmother had even learned to write, carefully scribbling out the characters I’d taught her.

I opened her letter again, the familiar crooked handwriting comforting me as always.

The letter read: "Alissa, my dearest granddaughter, study hard, eat well, sleep well. Your life has so much potential. Promise me you’ll live a good life."

I wiped away my tears as I finished reading it.

Tears wouldn’t help. They only made things worse and made me seem weaker. And I couldn’t let myself drown deeper. I need to live a good life, as my grandmother had wished for me.

With a shaky breath, I took a savings jar from the drawer, filled with the money I had saved over the years—small amounts from breakfast money, bus fares, anything I could scrape together. It totaled about two thousand dollars, hardly enough for even one semester of tuition. Applying for a student loan required family information, which meant I could never apply.

Ironically, my family could be considered "rich" since my father owned a small company, but here I was, struggling to get by.

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts, finding my good friend Ivy. I hesitated, unsure how to explain myself, but eventually, I sent a simple message.

"Ivy, do you have any part-time jobs you could recommend for me?"

The reply came quickly.

"Sure, but why the sudden interest in a part-time job? Aren’t you about to start your Master’s, and you already have a TA job?"

I typed and deleted a response several times, unsure how to explain myself.

Maybe this wasn’t the right choice, but it was all I had left.