Page 44 of Step Brother Bear

I sit up on my elbows and turn toward Darrell. His body has stopped twitching, and his skin is pale, his eyes wide and unmoving. The sight doesn’t rattle me like I thought it would. I’ve never seen a dead body before. He’s my stepdad, someone I’ve known for a large chunk of my life. But I think if I’m being honest with myself, I never really cared if he lived or died. Maybe it was his disinterest in me, but more likely it has to do with the constant mistreatment of the man I love. Even when we were younger, I felt the pull. I’m not a bear, but if I’m Derek’s mate, it only makes sense that I would feel some of the effects of the attachment between us. Besides all of that, he was about to kill Derek. It was either him or the man I love, and I’m too ecstatic that the latter is alive, that I can’t even muster a single tear.

I turn back to Derek, staring emotionless at his lifeless father. “Are you okay?” I ask, sitting up.

“I think the worst part is that I’m not even a little bit sad.”

“Don’t feel bad.”

“I don’t.”

“Well, don’t feel bad about not feeling bad. He was a prick.”

“Understatement of the year.” He sighs. “Your mom is going to be pretty upset.”

“Fuck her.”

His eyes widen, and he looks at me with a smile. “There is one good thing about his death.”

“Besides the end of his abuse?”

“Besides that.”

“What?’

“You’re not my stepsister anymore.”

I scrunch my lips. “I don’t know if it works like that.”

He shrugs. “Your mom isn’t married to my dad. Until death do us part and all that shit.”

I tap my lip and stare upwards. “I guess you're right. It kind of makes this all less hot.”

“Fuck off.” He pushes my knee.

“No, seriously. The taboo was what did it for me.”

His expression sobers. “Are you being serious?”

I jump him, wrapping my arms around his neck and falling into his lap. “You’re so gullible.” I kiss his lips with a smile. It’s odd for us to be giddy surrounded by carnage, but if our relationship is anything—it’s odd.

He pulls back, his words tickling my mouth. “You’ll pay for that later.”

“Later?”

“Yes, now we need to get out of here.” He walks over to his duffle bag and pulls out his phone, scrolling through as he jumps into a pair of sweatpants he retrieved from the ground.

“Where are we going to go?”

“I have a friend who can get us out of the country.”

“Out of the country?”

He pauses scrolling and looks back at me. “Yes, it’s too risky to stay here. At least for me. You still have the choice to stay and let me take the blame.”

I slap his chest. “Will you shut up already? I’m not leaving you.”

“Okay, okay! I can’t promise we’re going somewhere nice, though.”

“Who is your friend?”