All Chapters of Forbidden: My Stepbrother, My Mate: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Ella.We’d talk but not with Kyle there. Not yet. I needed to understand what Jason wanted before the three of us were in a room together.The bond pulled. Kyle was on his way back. Still angry about something.I wondered if he knew Jason had texted me. If he could feel my confusion through the connection.Probably. The bond didn't hide much.Elena called up the stairs. "Kyle's here!"I grabbed my backpack and headed down. Kyle waited by the front door. His keys jangled in his hand."Ready?" he asked. Not looking at me."Yeah."The car ride to school was silent. Uncomfortable. Kyle's hands gripped the steering wheel too tight. His jaw still clenched.I wanted to ask what was wrong. Who he'd met. Why he was so angry.But I didn't. Just stared out the window and felt the bond humming between us.We pulled into the school parking lot. Students streamed toward the entrance. Normal Wednesday morning chaos."See you after school," Kyle said. Still not looking at me."Actually, I'm getting a

Ella.I rested my chin on my knees. The bond with Kyle pulsed in the back of my mind. Steady. Constant. Always there."Thirty days sounds impossible.""It might be. But don't you want to know? Don't you want to know if you're strong enough? If what you feel is real or just the bond?""What if I'm not strong enough?""Then at least you'll know the truth. You'll know the bond is everything. That fighting it would be pointless. That completing it with both Kyle and me is the only real option."A duck quacked somewhere across the pond. The sound echoed over the water."What if Kyle can't survive it either?""Then you'll both know. You'll both understand what you're dealing with. And you can make your choice with full knowledge of what the bond really is."I lifted my head. "He's going to hate this.""Maybe. Or maybe he'll understand that you need to know if your feelings are real.""When would the trial start?""Whenever you invoke it. But it can't wait too long. Every day that passes mak

Ella.Kyle shifted so he could look at me. His eyes were dark in the dim light from my alarm clock."Do you regret it?""No.""Then what's wrong?"Everything. Nothing. I didn't know anymore."I'm scared," I admitted."Of what?""Of this. Of us. Of what happens when our parents get married and we're legally related.""They're not married yet.""But they will be."Kyle's jaw tightened. "So what? You want to stop? Pretend this never happened?""I don't know what I want."That was a lie. I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted to invoke Trial by Distance. I wanted to prove I was stronger than the bond. I wanted real choice.But I also wanted this. Wanted Kyle. Wanted his arms around me and his heartbeat under my ear and the way he looked at me like I was his entire world.How could I want both things when they were complete opposites?"Talk to me," Kyle said. "Please.""I can't.""Why not?""Because you won't understand.""Try me."I sat up and pulled the blanket around myself. Kyle sat up

Kyle.My phone buzzed at midnight."Meet me outside. Now."Ella.I stared at the message. Something in my chest twisted tight. The bond hummed with her fear. Her determination. Whatever she wanted to say couldn't wait until morning.I pulled on a hoodie and climbed out my window. Dropped silently into the backyard. Ella stood by the old oak tree, arms wrapped around herself."What's wrong?" I asked."I need to tell you something."The way she said it made my blood run cold. Like she was about to break me in half."Okay."Ella took a breath. "There's something called Trial by Distance.""Trial by what?""It's an old pack tradition. If bonded mates can survive thirty days of complete separation without completing the bond, it proves they can survive without the bond forcing them together."I stared at her. "Why are you telling me this?""Because I want to do it. Not thirty days. We don't have time for that. But two weeks. Your father gave us two weeks anyway. Why not use that time to pr

Ella.The pain hit at exactly midnight.I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, when something inside my chest yanked hard. Like a fishhook caught in my ribs and someone pulled the line. I gasped. Clutched at my shirt. Tried to breathe through the sudden wrongness spreading through my body.Kyle had crossed the territory line.The trial had begun.I rolled onto my side and curled into a ball. The bond stretched between us, pulled taut like a rubber band about to snap. I could feel him. North. Moving farther away with each passing second. Fifteen miles. Maybe more. The distance made my skin crawl. Made my heart race. Made every instinct scream at me to get up and run to him.But I couldn't. Those were the rules.No contact for fourteen days. No texts, no calls, no visits. Kyle would stay at Crescent Moon pack territory. I would stay in town with Dad. If either of us broke the rules, the trial ended and the bond would be declared compulsion rather than choice.I pressed my face into