My Alpha Stepbrother is My Bully (Nevaeh) novel Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Blair

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Duncan is acting weird. We found shelter from the storm and are currently sitting inside a cave, but it’s almost as if Duncan is…freezing. But that shouldn’t be possible. The man is a dragon-surely he is just acting as if he is cold because his kind can’t be cold.

“How is the fire coming along?” Duncan asks from where he is sitting on a rock.

“Umm…nothing much is happening,” I stare down at the circle of rocks and the wood placed in the middle.

“Do you want me to try to create a spark?” Duncan nods at the rocks I’m currently holding in my hands.

“Sure, but wouldn’t it be easier if you breathed fire?”

Duncan’s face flames, which is odd. Why is he looking embarrassed? I stare harder at him, and he sighs before mumbling, “That’s the thing…I can’t.”

“What?!”

His face turns even more red. “I can’t shape-shift, okay?”

“Yes, but what do you mean by that?!”

“Exactly what I’m saying!” he snaps without offering me a further explanation as to why he can’t shape-shift. The man’s redder than red, though. Is he self-conscious about this? He must be, or else he wouldn’t be blushing.

I wet my lips. “Do you want to…talk about it?”

“No…”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure!” Duncan growls. I’m shocked at how frustrated he sounds and when he realizes how angry he just sounded, he calms down, muttering, “All I want is to get the stupid fire going so I can sleep.”

“Ah,” my lips curl into a mischievous smile. “Wait, if you’re suddenly human…does that mean you need my body heat to survive the night?”

Duncan’s eyes widen at my teasing tone, but he doesn’t dare to tell me I’m right. I know that I am, though. If he can’t stay warm, he is going to need his fluffy and warm lycan mate. The fun part, however, is that Duncan is too proud to admit that I hold all the cards.

I snort. “The irony of you needing me for once isn’t lost on me… So, where do you want to sleep?”

Duncan glares at me from his rock, clearly not amused by my teasing. “I don’t need your body heat, Blair.”

“Really?”

18:54 Tue, Jan 20

Chapter 97

“Yes….I will be just fine on my own.”

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I arch an eyebrow at his stubborn pride. “So you’re telling me that the mighty dragon who can usually withstand sub-zero temperatures is totally fine with his broken leg in a drafty cave in the middle of a blizzard, with no fire?”

He grits his teeth, his cheeks flushed from more than just the cold. “I…I can handle it.”

I roll my eyes at his unwillingness to admit that he needs me. He is almost acting like me. I’m usually the one feeling intimidated and pushed into a corner by his strength, but now the tables have turned. I’m the strong one here, and I’m actually excited about it. I want to be needed, which is weird. I thought I would hold a grudge against Duncan, but I don’t. I just want my mate to survive the night.

“No one said you were weak, Duncan. But you need help, and there’s no shame in admitting that. I’m your mate, aren’t I? Asking me to keep you warm shouldn’t be hard.”

Even though I’m trying to sound soft, Duncan looks away with his jaw clenched. I can practically feel the war waging inside him-his pride battling against his need for warmth.

I sigh, my teasing tone disappearing. “Look, I know things between us are…complicated. But right now, survival is all that matters. So please just stop fighting what you need and let me take care of you.”

Duncan is silent for a long moment, the howling wind outside the only sound in my ears. Then, finally, he meets my gaze, his blue eyes troubled but resigned.

“You’re right, Blair,” he admits quietly. “I…I do need your help. Being close to you is the only thing that’s going to keep me warm, and the mate bond is my only hope of my leg actually healing.”

My heart clenches at the vulnerability in his voice. “That can be arranged.”

Duncan says nothing but lifts himself from the rock-not a good idea. He immediately grimaces at the pain, and I rush over to prevent him from falling.

“Are you crazy?” I growl, letting him place his arm on my shoulders for support. “You can’t walk on that leg!”

Duncan grunts in pain as I help lower him back onto the rock. “I just… I didn’t want you to have to carry me.”

I roll my eyes. “Duncan, you can barely stand. Just let me do this, okay?”

He looks like he wants to argue, but another wave of pain crosses his face, and he nods tersely. I shift into my lycan form, easily scooping his large frame into my arms.

Duncan’s eyes narrow when I glance down at him. “Please put me down as quickly as possible. I feel like a princess in your arms, and I don’t like it.”

I nuzzle his hair with my snout in response, a low rumble building in my chest. Having him close like this is fun, and since I feel devilish, I lick his face.

He immediately pushes away my face. “Eww, gross!”

I huff in response, wagging my tail as I carry him to the back of the cave, where it’s slightly warmer and more

18:54 Tue, Jan 20

Chapter 97

རཱ5% 」

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sheltered from the wind. There’s no snow there. Only a bunch of leaves-I think this place has been used by a bear, but it’s only us here right now. We are safe to use it.

“This place is going to be much warmer,” I carefully set Duncan down on the ground and grin. “Do you want me to sleep in my lycan form tonight?”

“Hell no,” he says with his eyes still narrowed. “You’re warm in your human form, too.”

“True, but that means you will have to get close and personal with me to keep your heat.”

Duncan pauses at that before mumbling, “I…I don’t mind if you don’t.”

He is so much cuter without his dragon abilities. Is it possible to keep him as a human?

“I don’t mind at all,” I shape-shift back into a human and beam down at him when I’m standing naked before him. “I hope you don’t mind my mama bod.”

I expect my words to make Duncan laugh since I look nothing like my former self. My glorious body is gone, yet there’s a slight tint of red to Duncan’s cheeks as his eyes roam me up and down. Is he…actually appreciating the way I look right now?

“You’re more beautiful now than you were before having our son, Blair,” Duncan says in a low voice.

For some reason, I get happy hearing his words, but I also don’t completely believe him. A lycan like me is supposed to be tall and strong, not soft like Mrs. Santa Claus herself.

“Don’t lie to me,” I mutter.

“I’m not lying.”

“You are-I have tiger marks everywhere, Duncan. I’m not more beautiful than I was before.”

“You are,” his eyes meet mine, and hell, they are filled with fire-the kind of fire that tells me he will fight me on this until I surrender. “Those ‘tiger marks’ are proof of the most beautiful thing you’ve ever given me-our son. He is a gift, and I’m so grateful that you carried him for all those months.”

My cheeks warm at Duncan’s sincere words. How can he melt my defenses so easily? I avert my gaze, suddenly feeling exposed in more ways than one standing naked before him.

“I…thank you,” I mumble, hating how my voice wavers slightly. “I’m glad you see it that way.”

Duncan says nothing, and I awkwardly flop down beside him. Our eyes aren’t meeting, but he still sees it as an invitation to come closer. Suddenly, our sides are glued together, and my heart skips a beat at the proximity.

It’s laughable. Duncan and I have had sex in the past-we have a kid, for fuck’s sake, and here I am, nervous about our arms touching. What’s the fucking matter with me?

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. It’s just Duncan, I remind myself. My mate, the father of my child. There’s no reason to be this nervous.

But the truth is, everything feels different now. The power dynamic between us has shifted so dramatically.

18:54 Tue, Jan 20

Chapter 97

A

59

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For once, I’m the one with the physical strength, the one he needs to rely on. It’s kind of making it easier to be around him. Like, my pride isn’t there in the way every time I’m reminded of how much stronger Duncan is than me.

“Fuck, I’m still cold…” Duncan mutters before lifting me into his lap. It seems dragon strength isn’t needed to move me, and I blush when he places me in his lap with his big arms going around me while he rests his chin on the top of my head. “Is this okay?”

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18:54 Tue, Jan 20