All Chapters of Mated To My Brother-In-Law: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The drive back home felt longer than it ever had, even though the road from the pack house to our street had not magically stretched overnight. Dad drove in rigid silence, both hands gripping the steering wheel like he feared it might escape him, while Mom stared out the window with her jaw set tight enough to crack a tooth. Kayla was seated beside me in the back seat, her body angled toward the door, her frowning reflection faint in the glass. The car was filled with so much unsaid and it was just itching Kayla to burst it out, but she was holding back. going head on with our mom never ended well. Especially if her actions were an act of protection. She would go to the end of the earth just to punch anyone who dared to trifle with us. No one in the car bothered to speak for the first few minutes, but the silence was not peaceful. It was the kind that pressed against your ears and made your thoughts louder than they should be. I could still feel Nick’s presence clinging to me l

KiraThe next morning arrived softer than the chaos of the days before. Pale sunlight streamed through the thin curtains of my bedroom, stretching in quiet lines across the wooden floor and climbing halfway up my unpacked suitcase. For a few seconds, I lay still in bed, listening to the distant chirping of birds and the low hum of early movement downstairs. The house felt normal again, deceptively so, as if nothing monumental had shifted beneath our feet.I pushed myself up slowly, my muscles stiff from tension rather than sleep. The suitcase sat at the foot of my bed like an accusation. Half-zipped. Half-committed. A silent witness to my attempted escape.I swung my legs over the bed and crouched in front of it, fingers resting on the zipper. Yesterday, I was so sure. So determined to leave before Nick could tighten his hold on me with words, threats, or that infuriating calm authority of his. But somewhere between Elder Esme’s visit and lying awake all night staring at the ceiling,

Nick was seated across from his mother and Alfie at the breakfast table with different food laid out for an entire household. Nora, the pack house caretaker and head chef, added another stack of pancakes onto Nick's plate, and he mumbled, “Thank you.” After a very long session of morning warm-up, Nick was tired. Not as tired as Alfie, who kept scoffing down every available food into his mouth as if they were going to vanish. Alfie had received the brunt of Nick's bad mood; their workout extending over 2 hours, he could barely feel his legs. “You'll choke if you keep up with that pace,” Nick mocked, pointing his fork in Alfie's face. Alfie rolled his eyes far back into his head and swallowed the food in his mouth, then replied, “It would be a reward for the horror you've put me through this morning.” “Whining because of an hour extra? I overestimated you,” Nick said. “2 hours extra,” Alfie replied with vigor. His legs were still vibrating from the horror Nick had put him thr

“Anything can happen, Nick.”Matilda dabbed the corner of her mouth with her napkin as if she hadn’t just dropped a threat in the middle of the table. Her movements were calm, calculated. Too calm.Nick leaned back in his chair slowly, the wood creaking beneath his weight. His jaw flexed once. Twice.“Is that supposed to mean something?” he asked.Matilda tilted her head slightly. “It means fate has a sense of humor. And leadership requires foresight.”Alfie swallowed the last of his pancakes and reached for the jug of juice, mostly to give his hands something to do. The air was thick now — not loud, not explosive — but tight. Like a bowstring pulled too far.Nick stood.The scrape of his chair against the stone floor echoed in the dining hall.“I don’t need foresight to recognize my mate,” he said, voice steady but edged. “The bond is not a political appointment.”“No,” Matilda agreed smoothly. “But the Luna position is.”Silence settled between them.Outside the tall arched windows,

The thin line between love and hate theory was real. What better way to confirm it as Kayla's face twisted in horror as her eyes moved between Nick and me.I had never seen that look in her eyes. Disgust, disappointment, and sadness. All at the same time, and I felt a piece of me break.What had I done? Of all the times for my secret to be exposed, it just had to be now. This wasn't how I planned to tell Kayla, Nick was also my mate. The vision of how it would go down wasn't even clear, but I at least hoped it would be nothing as chaotic as the live action happening. Everything around me went still. I didn't care for anything around me, my eyes solely focused on Kayla. My throat was raspy as I tried to utter a word. Nothing came out. Only a soft gasp at the realization I was caught in a bad position fell from my mouth.“Kira?” Kayla called again, her voice shaking. “What… what's going on here?”“Kayla, it's not what you…” I looked way too guilty to be dropping such a cliche phrase,