My Alpha Stepbrother is My Bully (Nevaeh) novel Chapter 104

Chapter 104

Eli

59

55 vouchers

“Did you like the big city?” Klain asks me from the driver’s seat. He is the only butler I get along with, so I asked him to drive me to the pack meeting.

“It was alright,” I shrug, not wanting to get into the details of my failed college experience or doomed relationship. “But there’s no place like home, right?”

Klain chuckles. “I suppose that’s true, Miss Elmyra. Though I imagine the mansion feels a bit different now with Master Camden all grown up and preparing to take over as Alpha.”

My nose wrinkles. I don’t mean for it to happen, but it does, and Klain laughs in response.

“I take it you’re not too fond of the idea of your stepbrother ruling the Spring pack?”

I breathe a laugh. “That obvious, huh?”

“Your emotions have always been easy to read.”

“That’s not a good thing, Klain,” I sigh in my seat, nervous now that we are so close to the Sping pack’s forest territory. I’m afraid Cam has told bad things about me to the other pack members.

“It’s not a bad thing either, Miss Elmyra. In a world where so many people fake their smiles, it’s refreshing to meet someone who doesn’t.”

“Yeah, well, grimacing and not faking a smile in the werewolf world is something that could get you killed. Openly disliking Cam as the new Alpha? That’s not a smart move if I wish to live.”

“You don’t think Cam appreciates you being honest?”

I snort. “Definitely not.”

“Oh well, that’s his loss. Between us, I’ve always loved how earnest you are, Miss Elmyra, and if I were Master Camden, I would be happy to at least have one pack member who didn’t…what do you call it when you pretend to like someone?”

“Lick ass?” me and my big, dirty mouth helpfully offers. I doubt Klain will use such dirty words, but he proves me wrong by doing it.

“Yes, as the pack’s Alpha, I would like it if there was at least one person who didn’t lick my ass.”

I burst out laughing at Klain’s crass words, the unexpected vulgarity from the usually proper butler catching me off guard. “Klain! I’m shocked! I didn’t know you had it in you!”

Klain chuckles, his eyes twinkling with mirth in the rearview mirror. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Miss Elmyra. I’m full of surprises.”

His playful response makes me grin, but it disappears as soon as we pull up to the clearing in the forest where

18:57 Tue, Jan 20

Chapter 104

(59)

55 vouchers

the pack meeting is being held. I can already see the large bonfire crackling in the center and half the pack shouting and celebrating around it.

It makes me grow shy watching them. It’s been so long since I last saw the rest of my pack that I had almost forgotten that I’m a werewolf. I never shape-shifted in the big city, and my ex-boyfriend was a human.

Klain opens the car door for me and gives me an encouraging smile. “You’ve got this, Miss Elmyra. Just remember, you belong here just as much as anyone else.”

I give him a vulnerable look, which is rare for me. Around my family and friends, I’m this without-a-filter type of girl, but with Klain, it feels like I can be myself. Maybe it’s because he is old and wise?

..or maybe it’s the fact Klain gives a fuck about me while my own mother hasn’t called me once since I moved from home?

“Do you really mean that?” I ask.

His dimples show. “I know so, Miss Elmyra,” he pats my shoulder with a kind smile on his lips. “Now, please find yourself a seat by the fire. Master Camden’s birthday is approaching, and tonight, the eldest pack elder will summon the spirit of the moon goddess to ask her for a clue about who his fated mate might be. It would be unwise to miss such an event.”

I force a smile onto my lips. “You’re right. I wouldn’t want to miss Cam’s big moment.” Even if the thought of him finding his fated mate tonight makes my stomach twist uncomfortably, I don’t want to examine it too closely.

Could the reason be jealousy? That I’m eventually going to die from my cancer while everyone else gets to find their happiness and start families?

Regardless of which, there’s a heavy feeling in my chest when I leave the car. I feel like crap, and although I would never admit it, I get shy whenever a pack member looks at me. My cheeks burn, and so I busy myself with smoothing out non-existent wrinkles in my black dress to avoid everyone’s eyes as I walk up to the bonfire.

“Eli, over here! We saved you a seat!”

I look up to see Evie waving at me with a big smile. Clara is sitting beside her and my heart warms when I notice she is holding my favorite soda in her hand.

I hurry over to join them, grateful for their familiar faces amidst the crowd of pack members. “Thanks,” I whisper as I slide into the empty spot they reserved for me. Clara hands me the soda can with a small smile.

“Thought you might need this for the shit show that’s about to go down,” she says.

“Shit show?” Evie asks. “You mean us finding out who our Alpha’s mate might be? How is that a shit show?”

Clara sighs. “Because if it turns out Lautner is our future Luna, then we are in for many years of hell.”

“Amen,” I say and pop the tab. Clara does the same to her drink and holds it up to clink it with mine in solidarity.

18:57 Tue, Jan 20

Chapter 104

“To years of hell.”

(59)

55 vouchers

Evie pouts at us. “You two are so negative! What if Cam’s true mate is someone amazing? Someone who will be a great Luna for our pack?”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” I mutter, taking a swig of my drink. The cold, sugary liquid feels good going down my throat.

Clara nods in agreement. “Same. I don’t have high hopes.”

Evie starts to argue but is interrupted by a hush falling over the gathered pack members. All heads turn towards the center of the clearing where Cam is now standing with the pack’s eldest elder, a wizened old woman with long grey hair. She looks up at him and Cam appears to take a deep breath before stepping forward. The firelight flickers across his handsome face as he opens his mouth.

“Spring pack members, as you all know, I will ascend to the role of Alpha on my eighteenth birthday. And the tradition will be kept: tonight, we will ask the spirit of the moon goddess for a sign of who my destined mate might be.”

Cam nods at the eldest pack elder, who smiles before she lifts her hand over the fire and throws moon dust into it. The flames turn silver, and everyone grows quiet when the silhouette of a wolf begins to form within them-the moon goddess herself.

“Camden Florence,” the moon goddess speaks in her calm voice that gives away no emotion. “You will soon turn eighteen, and thus, the time has come for you to find your other half. I’m pleased to reveal that she is sitting amongst you here tonight.”

A murmur ripples through the gathered pack members, and Cam’s gaze sweeps over the crowd, his expression unreadable. For a moment, his eyes seem to linger on me, and my heart skips a traitorous beat. But then he looks away, and I tell myself I must have imagined it.

Lautner, sitting a few seats down from me, flips her hair over her shoulder before whispering to her friends, “The moon goddess obviously means me. How could his fated mate be anyone else? I’m the strongest female in the pack.”

Really? How arrogant could a person be? Lautner is so full of herself for thinking she’s better than everyone else just because her father is Cam’s Beta. I glance over at Cam to gauge his reaction, but his face remains stoic as he listens to the moon goddess.

The ethereal figure in the flames continues, “Your destined mate is a strong female, but not in the traditional sense. She has faced many trials in her life and has always overcome them, but she is about to face a storm. Your mate is sick, Camden Florence, and she might not live for very long.”

Cam’s

eyes widen in terror. “Wait! Are you telling me my mate is dying?!”

All around me, pack members start whispering and speculating. Who could this mystery mate be? My heart pounds as a sickening realization starts to dawn on me. The moon goddess couldn’t possibly be talking about…me, could she?

I glance nervously at Clara and Evie. Clara is studying me with narrowed eyes while Evie looks completely bewildered. I quickly avert my gaze to stare down at my feet. Perhaps I should tell everyone about the cancer?

18:57 Tue, Jan 20