All Chapters of MY POSSESSIVE ALPHA STEPBROTHER IS MY MATE: Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

I press the balled-up green silk harder against his ribs.Dark blood soaks right through the wet fabric, staining my bare fingers.Ryder stares at me, his amber eyes wide with a mix of shock and pure exhaustion.He just tried to use his heavy Alpha aura to force me out of this decaying building.He wanted me to leave him here to die alone on the dirty concrete floor.My chest heaves as I glare back at him."I am not going anywhere," I tell him, my voice shaking but firm."Jaslyn, you have to run," he rasps, his voice breaking."I am not leaving you," I snap, blinking back the hot tears stinging my eyes.I look around the dark, smoky corridor.I see the broken men scattered across the wet floor."You fought them in silence," I whisper, the realization hitting me hard."You snapped their necks quietly so I wouldn't hear the fight downstairs. You did this to protect me.""They had silver," he mutters, his head rolling back against the rough cinderblock wall."They would have killed you.

The heavy weight of his words hangs in the smoky air between us.I did it because if the elders knew you were my mate, they would have executed you on that floor.I stare at him through the dim light of the hallway.The freezing water soaking through my ruined silk dress suddenly feels very far away.The brutal memory of the rejection ceremony flashes through my mind, sharp and vivid.I remember the deep humiliation burning my cheeks as the entire pack watched him turn his back on me.I remember the cruel whispers from the elite families standing in the crowd.I remember the way my chest actually hurt when he told me I was not strong enough to be his Queen.I spent the last month hating him for it.I convinced myself he was just another arrogant, cold Alpha who thought a foster girl was beneath his royal status.But he wasn't rejecting me because I was weak.He was hiding me because I was in terrible danger.He stood up in front of his family, his friends, and his entire pack, and he b

The bright white beam of a heavy flashlight cuts right through the gray smoke.It sweeps across the peeling wallpaper and lands directly on us."There they are!" a rough voice shouts from the darkness.The loud, sharp click of a gun cocking echoes off the stone walls.My Alpha instincts should be taking over right now.I should be pushing Jaslyn behind my broad shoulders and rushing forward to tear their throats out before they can pull the trigger.My wolf should be roaring in my mind, demanding blood.But I cannot move a single muscle.I am frozen against the damp cinderblock wall, my boots planted in the dirty water.I stare at the small, faded square of glossy paper resting in my bloody hand.The pregnant woman sitting on the narrow hospital bed stares back at me.She has dark, messy hair falling over her pale shoulders.She has bright, defiant silver-flecked eyes.Jaslyn's voice sounds muffled and distant, like I am listening to her from deep underwater.She yanks hard on my fore

Paige's scream still echoes in the narrow corridor.The three rogues freeze in the dirty water, their heavy flashlights shaking as they point the beams up at the rusted air vents.Thick black smoke pours down from the ceiling like a toxic waterfall, blinding us in seconds.I shove the devastating truth about Jaslyn's mother to the very back of my mind.I cannot afford to think about my father or the twisted secrets hidden in the royal vault right now.I just need to get my mate out of this decaying building alive.I take a deep breath, pulling the ruined air into my burning lungs.The faint chemical scent I noticed down in the basement is no longer subtle.It burns the inside of my nose, heavy and overpowering, washing away the smell of the old flare gun.It is pure gasoline."Vanessa's backup team," I snarl, grabbing Jaslyn’s hand and hauling her to her feet. "They drenched the perimeter. We have less than a minute before the entire asylum goes up."Jaslyn stumbles against my side, h

"Ryder, get up!" I scream, pulling desperately at the torn fabric of his shirt.The blistering heat radiating from the burning walls is unbearable. It sears my pale skin and singes the ends of my wet hair. The smell of gasoline and melting plastic is so thick I can taste it on my tongue.Ryder doesn't move. He stays on his hands and knees on the hot stone floor, his massive shoulders heaving with the effort just to stay upright.Another violent, wet cough rips through his heavy chest. He spits a dark mixture of soot and fresh blood onto the dirty tiles."Please," I beg, wrapping both my arms around his massive bicep. I plant my sneakers against the floor and pull backward with all my newfound strength.He is just too heavy. My wet shoes slide against the puddles, and I fall hard onto my backside.The fire roars like a hungry animal all around us. The grand wooden staircase collapses with a deafening crash, sending a massive wave of bright orange sparks into the air. The heavy railing