Chapter 18: Step-Monster

REYNA

My stepmother was a sorceress.

My stepmother was a ~SORCERESS.~

This whole time I knew there was something off about her, but this was the last thing I’d expected.

Blaire had lured my dad in with that fake cruise site and placed him under her spell. He’d never even set foot on a ship!

I wondered how many other men she had done this to…

And what she did to them afterward…

She might’ve had my dad and Anya under her control, but I wasn’t so easy. Making me stop moving was one thing, but making me do whatever she wanted?

~Not today, bitch.~

My stepmom might’ve been a sorceress, but what she didn’t know was that her stepdaughter was a half-vampire.

I didn’t know exactly how my powers worked, but, at least for now, it seemed as though they allowed me to resist her powers of persuasion.

Blaire had tried nearly every spell she could think of to put me under her control, but nothing was working. She had no idea why. It was actually kind of entertaining watching her get so frustrated.

“What are you hiding from me, you little bitch?” she screamed in my face.

Blaire had to tie me to a chair because her spells only lasted so long, and the more I resisted, the more she got worn out.

“Maybe you’re just a shit magician,” I said, taunting her.

The Haze might’ve boosted Blaire’s powers initially, but they were boosting mine too.

A timer dinged on the stove top, and Blaire eyed me evilly. “Finally, it’s finished.”

She glided over to the stove where she had brewed some sort of foul smelling, green potion.

“If you won’t submit to my spells, you’ll surely submit to this,” she said, her lips curling into a smile.

Blaire spooned the thick liquid into a cup and shoved it under my nose. “Open wide, dearie.”

I nearly gagged, it smelled so putrid. Blaire forced my mouth open and the warm liquid trailed down my throat, tasting like a mixture of dirt and window cleaner.

Blaire watched me impatiently as she waited for it to kick in. “This will make you obey me, you little brat.”

Something was definitely happening in my stomach. I was starting to feel woozy.

Blaire leaned in close to me, smirking. “That’s it. Good. You’re feeling it.”

She got even closer, eye to eye. “Now tell me. Who do you answer to? Who is your mistress?”

“I…it’s…” I tried to get my words out, but something else entirely came out.

~BLEEEEEERRRRRRGGGHH!~

I vomited the contents of the potion as well as my lunch and dinner ~all~ over Blaire.

Looks like I could resist that too.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, dancing around like a toddler, drenched in my puke. “You fucking brat! It’s in my mouth! It’s in my fucking mouth!”

She ran out of the room, leaving me alone in the kitchen. I heard the shower switch on in the master bathroom.

Now was my chance. My backpack was on the other side of the room with my phone. If I could just get help…

I scooted my chair across the room as quickly and quietly as I could, thankful that the shower was blocking out the commotion. I pulled my backpack open with my teeth and positioned it so I could grab my phone with my tied hands.

It was an extremely awkward position, but I could sort of type.

~Okay, Reyna. You have one shot at this. Here goes nothing…~

I knew exactly who I could trust the most to save my ass.

Reyna

hEyy

Reyna

H p

Reyna

soRC

Reyna

rs

Jed

reyna?

Jed

what’s going on?

Jed

are u drunk?

Reyna

HEP

Reyna

teared up

Reyna

cnt movie

Reyna

socialist

Reyna

BLer

Jed

dude ur making NO sense

Jed

are u pranking me?

Reyna

BLAERE !

My phone suddenly flew out of my hands and smacked against the wall, sliding into the garbage bin.

I looked up to see Blaire, a towel wrapped around her head.

“You’re such a clever little bitch, aren’t you?” she said venomously. “But don’t worry, I’m clever too. I figured out how to get you to comply, magic or not.”

“And how will you do that?” I spat. “You’re just a glorified, two-bit witch! Why don’t you go back to your coven and practice your spells!”

“Oh, honey, I don’t do ~spells,~ the magic runs right through my veins,” Blaire taunted. “And there are more like me, but…they aren’t from this miserable world.”

~What does she mean they aren’t from this world? There’s only one that I’m aware of…~

Blaire focused her energy, and Dad and Anya’s unconscious bodies floated into the kitchen.

“What did you do to them?” I screamed, tears welling up in my eyes.

“Nothing.” She snapped her fingers and their bodies slumped to the floor. “Yet.”

“If you’re a good little girl, they’ll be just fine. But if you’re bad…” Blaire looked at the kitchen knives and muttered another spell, causing them to fly out and hover over Anya.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“Just a little signature,” she replied, smiling. “You’re going to sign away your inheritance to your ~favorite~ stepmother.”

JED

I stood under the hot shower of the pack house locker room and breathed a heavy sigh.

Raphael had been running me ragged since the Haze imbalance started. There were so many weird occurrences being reported that the Millennium Wolves couldn’t even begin to keep up with them.

And since I was also part of Eve’s special task force, I hadn’t had much time for a social life.

It was a huge honor to be Raphael’s Delta, but sometimes I wished I had time to pursue other things.

When I saw Raphael and Eve together… I wanted what they had. Their mating bond was so strong that it seemed like it could withstand anything.

I didn’t even have a girlfriend, let alone a mate.

~When would I even find the time?~

Reyna sure as hell found the time, though…

She’d been spending nearly every waking second with that Derek guy. I was tired of hearing about him. Especially when it felt like he was the reason that Reyna and I had been spending less time together.

I turned off the water and sat down on the bench to dry off.

“Yo, Jed, get out of here. You’re off the clock,” Shade said as he passed by and whipped a towel at me.

“Shade, we’re Millennium Wolves. We’re ~never~ off the clock,” I replied seriously.

“Well as the Gamma, I’m telling you to take the night off,” he said in a commanding voice. “Go do something fun. Don’t you have a girl or something?”

I nodded appreciatively. “Thanks, Shade.”

I pulled my duffel bag out of my locker to see my phone lighting up. Texts from Reyna. Only… They didn’t make any sense.

I texted her back, trying to get her to explain, but they just became more unintelligible. ~What the hell?~

After a couple minutes, she stopped texting altogether. This wasn’t like Reyna at all.

~With all the weird shit going on in this city, I’d better investigate this.~

***

As I pulled up the long driveway to Reyna’s house, I saw another car parking near the entrance. I immediately went into Delta mode.

I sniffed the air, taking in his scent—cloves and pine needles.

I perked my ears up, listening for any aggressive movements.

I even extended my claws, just in case.

Exiting my car, I walked over to the vehicle as a young male werewolf got out of his own.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked forcefully. “How do you know Reyna?”

He looked taken aback at first, but then he eyed me disdainfully. “Oh, you must be Jed.”

“And you are?” I asked again, growing impatient.

“I’m Derek, Reyna’s… well, I’m not sure what we are… but we’re seeing each other.”

Everything about this kid annoyed me. His ripped jeans. His finger tattoos. His messy hair.

“What are you doing here?” Derek asked. Now he was the one who sounded suspicious of me.

“She sent me some weird texts. I’m just checking in,” I said coldly.

“She wasn’t responding to mine, so I’m doing the same,” he said as he stared me down.

There was an incredibly awkward tension between me and Derek. It was clear neither of us liked the other.

“She told me,” Derek said suddenly, a hint of cockiness in his tone.

“Told you what?” I asked in a low growl.

“That she’s a half-vampire. She told me everything.”

I felt a queasiness in the pit of my stomach. I wasn’t sure why that bothered me so much. Reyna was free to share her background with whomever she wanted. But it was almost as if this kid knew it would annoy me that Reyna had confided in him too.

“Who is that?” Derek asked abruptly, drawing my attention to the direction he was pointing.

I almost jumped as I saw Snow silently standing a couple feet away from me.

“Snow, what the fuck are you doing here alone?” I asked nervously. “Your parents are going to kill you. And probably me.”

She started frantically pointing at Reyna’s house.

“What’s going on? What does she mean?” Derek asked confused.

“When Snow shows up…it means something bad is about to happen,” I said, starting to shift.

REYNA

A contract hovered in front of me—a contract to sign away my entire inheritance to this conniving sorceress.

But my family was under her control, and they were way more important than any amount of money.

I knew what I had to do.

Blaire smiled evilly as I picked up a clear pen. “There’s no ink in this,” I said.

“You don’t need any ink, girl.”

As I pressed the pen against the parchment, I felt a sharp sensation running through my body. The pen was filling up with my blood.

“Now sign,” Blaire demanded. “And be quick about it.”

I cringed as I moved the pen across the paper and watched my blood seep out onto the contract, spelling my name.

The deed was done.

“You got what you wanted. Release my family!” I said angrily.

“Stupid girl,” she said, laughing. “None of you are leaving here alive. For this contract to be valid…”

Her eyes pierced me like a dagger.

“I’m to be the sole remaining ~living~ member of this family.”