Page 39 of Step Brother Bear

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t say I wasn’t.”

He jumps to his feet and storms to the other side of the room. “It doesn’t matter.”

I stand. “Derek, haven’t we spent enough time lying to each other? Look around. You can’t tell me anything that’s going to scare me away.”

He finally looks at me, glassy-eyed and tight-lipped. “That’s the point. You can’t be with me, Isabella.”

“Derek, you don’t get to make that decision.”

“Yes, I do!” he yells. “How about you look around? You can’t live like this. Yes, you are my mate. Yes, I’ve known it since high school. Do you know what it’s like to find your fated mate when you’re still going through puberty? Hell. I was feral, unable to control my shifts. It was so bad, I went to juvie after attacking a police officer who tried to stop me from skateboarding. And now it’s happening again. I can’t control myself. And then you moved next door.” He growls, glaring at me with malice. “I tried to make your life miserable, just like I used to do. I wanted you to leave. I couldn’t control myself. I had to jerk myself off constantly just to breathe.”

My heart bounds in my head, and I untangle which part of his rant to address first. “I cause you to attack people?” A sob lodges in the back of my throat.

He charges me, pressing me against the wall, furry hand at my throat. “You don’t want me. You’ve said so yourself. No one will ever accept us. I can’t live in New York City, and that’s where you want to be. I nearly killed your fucking boyfriend, and hurt you for God’s sake. I can’t have you. And that fact is what makes me attack people.” He takes a step back, but I wrap my hands around his wrists and pull him back.

“So you’re saying, being without me makes you attack people?”

His eyes widened as if caught. He tries to pull away. “It doesn’t matter.”

I hold him tighter. “It does matter. We can run away together. You won’t attack people if I’m with you.”

He yanks his arm again, his wet skin slips out of my grasp, and I fall on my ass. “Isabella!” he yells, crouching to examine me.

“Derek, I’m fine.”

His expression freezes, and he backs away. “No. It’s not fine. Get your fucking stuff and leave.”

“What?”

“Take the car back home. Tell them the truth, that I attacked Lewis. I’ll leave town.”

“No, I…”

“Stop!” He roars, a shift happening so quickly that his beast self disappears as quickly as it came. He takes a calming breath before addressing me again. “If you won’t leave. I will, but I’m not coming back until you're gone.” He turns to step out the door.

“Derek.” The feeble sound mixes with my cries.

With his hand still on the door frame, he turns to me. “I’m your stepbrother, Isabella. It’s already fucked up, even if we were the same species.” He shifts and pounces forward, disappearing into the woods.

Chapter 18

Derek has made me cry plenty of times, but never like this. As I drive farther away from the woods, my body feels more and more like a corn husk. Why did I leave him? He told me to go, said he wouldn’t come back, but I should have called him out on his shit—stayed in the cabin until I was on the brink of starvation. He wouldn’t let me die. He’d see my way eventually.

As I turn down my street, I’m seconds away from making a U-turn, until I see the cop car in my driveway. I’m scared shitless, but curiosity gets the best of me. I have to figure out what happened to Lewis. I won’t know our fate until I discover the gravity of his actions.

My hands shake as I get out of the car and step inside. This is stupid. Why am I coming home? I flicked Lewis off before stepping over his mauled body. I’m definitely going to jail. But perhaps I want to stick up for Derek. He told me to blame the attack on him, but I’ve spent enough of my life letting him take punishment, even if it didn’t belong to him. I doubt they’d believe I’m the one who attacked my ex. My brain does somersaults, trying to think of a believable explanation for how I could have caused the damage.

“Isabella?” My mom’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. Her eyes are puffy, and she stands between two uniformed officers. She rushes forward, wrapping me in her arms. “I was so worried about you.” She pulls back, examining me. I can’t miss the disgust that flicks into her eyes. Good. For a second, I almost believed she was concerned for my safety.

I push her away. “What’s going on?” I’m no idiot. I need to know what they know before admitting to a crime.

“Do you know where your stepbrother is, ma'am?” An officer in his mid-forties with a thick mustache asks, coming up from behind my mother.

“No, I don’t.” Technically, it’s the truth. “Why?”

“Do you know what happened to your boyfriend Lewis?”