Claimed By My Stepbrother novel Chapter 114

Camila POV

I felt the mattress dip slightly and realized he had shifted closer. Not too close. Just enough that I could feel the warmth of him again. My whole body reacted before I could stop it–tense, alert, but not in a bad way.

“You don’t have to be scared when I’m around,” he mumbled softly.

“I’m always scared,” I replied without thinking. “It’s like my natural state now.”

He was quiet at that.

And then, to my surprise, he held out the bottle. “Wanna try?”

I snorted. “What, so I can burn my throat and wake up with a werewolf hangover?”

He laughed under his breath. “It’s not that bad.”

I stared at the bottle, then shrugged and took it. “Fuck it. If I’m going to spiral, might as well commit.”

The drink burned like hell. I coughed, gagged a little, and glared at him through watery eyes. “You liar.”

He smiled, and for once it was soft. Less creepy. More… real.

We sat like that for a while. Passing the bottle back and forth. Not saying much. Just existing in the quiet together.

Eventually, my head drooped against his shoulder without me meaning to. I was exhausted.

Too exhausted to move.

Too exhausted to be scared anymore.

Ethan didn’t say anything. Just leaned his head gently against mine.

“I think I’m drunk,” I slurred, letting my head roll a little too comfortably against Ethan’s shoulder.

He chuckled, a low hum that vibrated against my ear. “Hmm?”

I pulled back just slightly, squinting up at him like I could glare the amusement right off his face. ‘Don’t ‘hmm?‘ me. You know what you

did.”

“Me?” He raised his brows, grinning like an idiot. “You’re the one who took the bottle and said ‘fuck it.”

I huffed, pouting a little as I pushed at his chest half–heartedly. “You offered. That’s enabling.”

He caught my wrist mid–push, his fingers curling gently around it. Not tight, just firm enough that I felt the weight of it. “You didn’t seem like you wanted to say no.”

God, that smile. That calm, confident, I–know–exactly–how–much–l–affect–you smile. I wanted to smack it off his face.

And maybe kiss him.

Wait. No.

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Chapter 114

No, no, no.

I pulled my hand back quickly, like touching him had triggered some kind of electric shock. My skin was hot. My face even hotter. Maybe it was the whiskey. Or maybe I was finally just losing it.

I stared down at the floor, my voice dropping. “I haven’t been drunk in… ever.”

“Ever?”

I shrugged, my words mushy but still coming out. “I never liked losing control. Like, what if I say something dumb? Or do something dumb?”

Ethan shifted beside me, angling his body so he was facing me more directly. “You’re not dumb, Camila.”

“Yet, I corrected, raising my index finger in a wobbly “gotcha” motion.

He laughed again.

“I’m just saying,” I continued, blinking slowly, “drunk me is a little unfiltered. Like, no brakes.”

“That should be interesting. His tone dropped into something teasing, and god help me, my heart did a little skip.

I looked at him, head tilted. “I’m scared to ask… but what does sober me sound like to you?”

He smirked, tilting his head too. “Stubborn. Hard to reason with. Smart. Sharp. Always on edge. And hiding so much under that sarcasm that it almost hurts to look at you.”

I blinked.

That shut me up real quick.

He didn’t sound like he was teasing anymore. His gaze was steady. Way too steady. Like he could see through me and didn’t even mind the mess inside.

My throat tightened. “You’re so weird.”

“Yeah?” he said softly.

I looked away, suddenly too aware of the fact that we were still sitting close. Still sharing a bed like it wasn’t the weirdest thing in the world. Still drunk. Still scared. Still stuck in this fucking mansion with dead bodies on my memory and a werewolf staring at me like I was the sun and moon all wrapped in one.

‘What are we even doing?” I muttered, dragging my palms down my face. “I’m on your bed. Drunk. Rambling. You’ve killed people. Like recently. This is so fucked up.”

He didn’t respond right away. Then I heard him say, real quiet, “I would kill them again.”

I froze. Pulled my hands down slowly.

He was still watching me.

‘I would kill them again if it meant keeping you safe,” he said. His voice didn’t shake. It wasn’t some dramatic confession. It was a fact. A statement. Like he was saying the sky was blue.

And the part of me that been so alone, so scared, for so long–wanted to believe that was okay. That maybe, just maybe, having someone obsessed with you wasn’t the worst thing when everyone else seemed ready to murder you.

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Chapter 114

“You’re not normal, I mumbled.

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