All Chapters of Forbidden: My Stepbrother, My Mate: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Kyle.I broke three punching bags in the training room before Dad found me.My knuckles were bleeding. Skin torn open and healing too slowly because the bond was draining everything. Every ounce of energy. Every bit of strength. My wolf howled inside my head, a constant noise that never stopped. Four days. Only four days and I was already falling apart.Dad stood in the doorway and watched me destroy a fourth bag. Sand spilled across the floor. I didn't stop. Couldn't stop. If I stopped moving, I'd lose my mind completely."Kyle."I ignored him. Kept punching."Kyle, that's enough."I hit the bag harder. It swung wildly on its chain."Kyle!"The Alpha command slammed into me like a physical blow. My body froze mid-punch. I stood there, arm raised, breathing hard."Look at me."I turned slowly. Dad's face was a mixture of concern and something else. Something that looked almost like satisfaction."You need to rest," he said."I can't.""You haven't slept in days.""I can't sleep. Every

Kyle.The vomit was black.I stared at it in the toilet bowl, wondering distantly if that was normal. Probably not. Nothing about this was normal.Day ten. Three days since I'd kept food down. Two days since I'd tried eating at all. The suppressants had stopped working completely. My wolf was a constant snarl inside my head, clawing at my sanity with every passing second."Kyle?" Dad's voice came from behind me. "I'm bringing in Dr. Bennett.""Don't need a doctor.""You're vomiting black. You need a doctor."I flushed the toilet. Rinsed my mouth. Looked at myself in the mirror and barely recognized what stared back. Sunken eyes. Gaunt cheeks. Skin stretched too tight over bone. I looked like a corpse.Felt like one too.Dr. Bennett arrived twenty minutes later. He was an older wolf, gray-haired and serious-faced. He'd been the pack doctor for thirty years. Had seen everything.He took one look at me and swore."Get him on the bed," he told dad.I didn't have the strength to argue. Let

Ella.Kyle thrust once more and went rigid. His whole body shook. I felt his release and it triggered my own. Waves of pleasure crashed over me. Through me. So intense I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Could only feel.The mark on my neck burned bright and then settled into a warm, steady pulse. Like a heartbeat under my skin.Kyle collapsed on top of me. Both of us gasping. Shaking. Completely wrecked.After a moment, he rolled to the side. Pulled me with him so we were tangled together on the hallway floor. His arms wrapped around me. My face pressed to his chest.I could feel his heartbeat. Fast at first, then gradually slowing. Each thump echoed through the bond, syncing with my own until we were beating in perfect rhythm.The bond hummed between us. Satisfied. Content. Finally at peace after ten days of screaming.I traced patterns on Kyle's chest, feeling the muscles beneath my fingertips. He was too thin. I could count his ribs easily. The trial had taken everything from him.

Kyle.I didn't have an answer for that.Marcus stepped forward again. "Ella will be given the chance to prove herself. Just like any other potential Luna. If she can adapt to our world and earn your respect, then she'll have her place. If she can't..." He trailed off. Left the threat hanging.The silence that followed was heavy. Uncomfortable. I could feel the weight of every pack member's doubt pressing down on me. On Ella. On the bond we'd just completed.Someone coughed in the back. Another shifted their weight. The tension in the room was thick enough to choke on.Marcus continued, his voice steady and authoritative. "The Elders will be involved in this process. They'll observe how Ella adapts to pack life. How she handles the responsibilities that come with being Luna. This isn't a decision that will be made overnight.""What if she fails?" The question came from somewhere in the middle of the crowd. A younger wolf I didn't recognize."Then we'll deal with that when the time come

Ella.Kyle shifted back. His eyes returned to normal. The claws retracted. He looked human again."That's not all," I said. My voice was barely audible. "Kyle and I are mates.""Mates?" Elena's voice was hollow."It's like soulmates. But stronger. Werewolves have one true mate. One person they're destined to be with. Kyle is mine. I'm his.""You're step-siblings," Dad said. His voice was rising. "You can't be together. That's wrong.""We're not related by blood," Kyle said. "And the mate bond doesn't care about human relationships. It just is."I pulled down my scarf. The silver crescent mark gleamed on my neck.Elena's hand flew to her mouth. "What is that?""A mating mark. It appears when the bond is completed.""Completed?" Dad's face was going red again. "You mean you two...""Yes," I said. "We completed the bond. It's permanent now. Irreversible.""No." Dad shook his head violently. "No, this isn't happening. This is some kind of sick joke.""It's not a joke, Dad.""You're eighte