Page 42 of Step Brother Bear

Chapter 19

The daylight doesn’t make racing through the woods much easier, especially with my heart thumping at a jackrabbit speed. I stumble over exposed roots and uneven terrain. “Derek!” I yell all the way, hoping to warn him, but mostly because I can’t contain his name any longer.

Darrell is here. I parked next to his car at the end of the unpaved road ending at the wall of trees. I may already be too late but I must hold out hope. Could Darrell really hurt his own son? Of course, he did all throughout Derek’s life, but Mom wasn’t implying that Darrell planned to whip him with a belt.

The small shack comes into view, the door open. I race up the steps and fling myself inside. Darrell stands at the center of the room, a shotgun pointed at Derek lying on the cot with his hands raised.

“Stop!” I yell.

Darrell whips his attention to me, his brown eyes darker than usual. “Isabella? What are you doing?”

“What are you doing? He’s your son, Darrell!”

“Isabella, go!” Derek yells.

Darrell shakes his head, gun still raised. “He’s right. Go. You don’t understand.”

I step forward. “Do you think it’s okay to kill your son because he’s a bear?”

Darrell’s eyes widen for just a moment and he shakes his head. “I knew you’d find out one day. Did you know that he almost killed your boyfriend?”

“I was there. I helped.” I fling the words through clenched teeth.

“Isabella.”

I smile, reveling in his shock.

“Whatever he told you, it doesn’t matter. You may be his mate, but that doesn’t mean you need to end up with him.”

“You knew?”

“Of course, I knew. His mother seemed to think I was her mate.” Something like sadness flashes in his eyes. “Didn’t matter much because she died in childbirth, all because of this bastard. I’m the one who told Derek what was going on when he started to go feral. I didn’t worry about it when he was home. You both hated each other. Besides, he was gone most of the time.”

“And you treated him like crap whenever he was home?” I yell.

“He’s not human. I thought I could beat him like a dog to get him to behave, but you can’t turn a wild animal into a pet.”

I always thought Derek must have taken after his mother. Besides the dark hair and eyes, he and his father look nothing alike. Now, with only a small space between the two, but somehow worlds apart, it’s even more jarring. Darrell is right. They’re entirely different species. “You’re the only animal I see,” I yell. I’ve never hated someone more than I do at this moment.

“And you're the bitch stepdaughter that’s been nothing but an annoyance.”

I can’t even process the insult.

A roar. A flurry of fur and fangs.

I scream and fall to the floor, covering my head with my hands. A shot rings through the small space. Seconds ago, I was brave, ready to fight for Derek. Now I’m a trembling puddle on the floor. It lasts only a moment, though, because Derek, my Derek, could be hurt. I prepare to pop to my feet, but before I can move, a furry mass covers me, holding me in clawed hands and turning me toward a bloodied snout.

“Derek!” I say through a sob, wrapping my arms around his thick neck.

He wraps his paws around me and slowly shifts back to his human self. “Are you hurt?” He pulls back to examine me.

“No, are you?” Our eyes lace over each other, both breathing out a small breath of relief once satisfied with our inspections. Blood still coats his jaw, but I know it’s not his.

I turn back to Darrell, no longer standing. No longer breathing. He wheezes, blood spurting from the chunk ripped out of his neck. His dark eyes are glazed over, and the pool of red underneath him must surely be more than the liquid still in his body.

“Shit.” Derek pulls into himself, leaning against the wall behind him, eyes glued to his father’s corpse.

I crawl in between his legs, wrapping my arms around his neck. “It’s okay. We’ll figure this out.”