All Chapters of My Swimmer Stepbrother's Forbidden Claim: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

Riley woke up to her phone exploding.Thirty-seven missed calls. Sixty-two text messages. Her email inbox overflowing with notifications.She grabbed her phone, still half asleep, and opened the first message. It was from Sarah."CALL ME NOW. There's a photo. It's everywhere."Riley's stomach dropped.She opened Twitter. The photo was the top trending topic in Springfield.There she was, wrapped around Samuel in the aquatic center, kissing him like her life depended on it. The caption read: "Springfield Herald reporter Riley Chen caught in compromising position with college swimmer she was assigned to cover. Age gap relationship or abuse of power?"The comments were brutal."This is disgusting. She's almost 30 and he's barely legal.""Classic predator behavior. Using her position as a journalist to get close to a young athlete.""Someone needs to investigate this. This is grooming.""Age gap relationships are valid! Stop being judgmental!""Seven years isn't even that much. My parents

Riley looked at Samuel. At his face, tight with anger and helplessness. At his hands, clenched in his lap.She thought about the article. About the weeks she'd spent crafting it, the interviews with the entire swim team, the hours of research and writing. It was good work. Important work. Work that deserved to see the light of day.She thought about Samuel. About the mate bond that felt like coming home. About the way he looked at her like she hung the moon.She thought about her career. About the years she'd spent building her reputation, the stories she'd broken, the truth she'd uncovered."I need time to think," she said."You have until end of day," Marcus said. "I'm sorry, Riley. I really am. But this is bigger than any one person."Riley and Samuel left the office in silence. They made it to the parking lot before Riley broke down."I can't do this," she said, tears streaming down her face. "I can't choose.""Then don't." Samuel pulled her close. "We'll figure something else out

The article hit stands on Monday morning at six AM.By six-thirty, it was trending on every social media platform. By seven, news outlets were picking it up, dissecting it, offering their own commentary. By eight, Riley's phone had exploded with messages again.But this time, the tone was different."This is beautiful. Real love.""Finally, someone brave enough to tell their truth.""Age gaps in mate bonds are totally normal. People need to educate themselves.""I'm crying. This is the kind of love story we need more of."There were still haters, of course. Still people calling Riley a predator, calling Samuel naive, calling the whole thing inappropriate. But they were drowned out by support. By people sharing their own stories of mate bonds that defied convention. By pack members across the country vouching for the sanctity of goddess-chosen connections.Riley sat at Samuel's kitchen table, scrolling through responses with tears streaming down her face."Hey," Samuel said softly, sit

The first draft of the book took four months to write. Four months of late nights and early mornings, of Riley staring at her laptop until her eyes burned, of Samuel reading chapters and offering feedback between training sessions. Four months of reliving every painful, beautiful moment of their story. Riley worked from Samuel's apartment most days. He'd insisted she move in officially two months into the writing process, claiming it was ridiculous for her to pay rent on a place she never stayed at anymore. "Besides," he'd said, pulling her close, "I like waking up with you here." So Riley had given up her apartment, moved her things into Samuel's tiny studio, and learned what it meant to build a life with someone. It wasn't always easy. Samuel's training schedule was brutal, six hours a day in the pool plus strength training and physical therapy. Riley's writing consumed her, whole days disappearing into the manuscript. They had to learn to exist in the same small space without

Six months after the Olympics, Riley found out she was pregnant.She stared at the test in the bathroom of their apartment, hands shaking so badly she nearly dropped it. Two lines. Undeniably positive.Pregnant.She was twenty-nine years old, had been mated to Samuel for just over a year, and was pregnant.Riley sat on the bathroom floor, trying to process this. They'd talked about kids eventually. Someday in the distant future when Samuel's swimming career had settled, when Pack Truth was more established, when they'd been together longer.Not now. Not yet.But wolf pregnancies didn't always wait for convenient timing. The mate bond, fully consummated and strong, made conception almost inevitable. Riley had been on birth control, but clearly it hadn't been enough against goddess-chosen biology."Riley?" Samuel's voice came from the bedroom. "You okay in there?"She opened the door, holding out the test wordlessly.Samuel looked at it. His eyes went wide. "Is that... are you...""Preg