My Jealous Alpha Stepbrother
Chapter 158

Michelle

It’s been a week since I found out Kit is my mate, and tonight I’m going to tell my sister the news.

My pulse is ticking against my neck as I step into Bella’s room. She turns around in her computer chair, eyeing me with raised eyebrows.

“What’s up?” Bella asks.

I wince at her words and question whether or not this is a good idea. I’ve been gathering my courage all day, knowing I have to tell her what has been going on between me and her ex-boyfriend, Kit.

Bella needs to know, but telling her isn’t easy. She is going to be hurt, and that sucks. It’s not my intention to hurt her, but I can’t stay away from my fated mate either. I’m curious about Kit, and I want to get to know him. Though, for that to be fair, my sister needs to know about it.

I have to be honest; there is no other choice.

Taking a deep breath, I finally speak.

“Bella, I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it,” I begin, my voice shaking. “I’m seeing Kit. I know he is your ex-boyfriend, but we are mates.”

The words hang in the air between us, and I can feel the tension thickening. I watch as the shock and disbelief in her eyes shift to white-hot anger.

“How long have you known he was your mate?” she asks, her voice cold and emotionless.

“Since my birthday party,” I reply, my stomach churning.

The silence becomes deafening. I can sense that Bella is trying to control her emotions, but her intense hatred for me at this moment is evident.

Finally, she speaks.

“You let me cry in your room and remained silent even though you knew why Kit broke up with me?” she asks, her voice trembling. “And you’ve been seeing him ever since your birthday party and you didn’t think to tell me?”

“I’m sorry,” I say, my eyes filling with tears. I don’t want to fight with my sister.

“You slept with him too, didn’t you?” she asks, her voice rising. “You slept with Kit and you didn’t even have the decency to tell me!”

It feels like my heart is breaking. I want to explain myself, but the words won’t come. My tongue feels heavy in my mouth, and my throat feels dry and scratchy. I feel like I can’t think, breathe or swallow properly.

Suddenly, Bella explodes.

“How could you do this to me? You’re my sister! I trusted you! You should have told me he was your mate! I feel like a complete moron now!” She screams.

Her anger is intense, and I feel like I might be consumed by it. Again, I try to open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out and Bella growls. Her eyes flash like those of a wild cat, her face is scrunched up in anger, her teeth are gnashing, and the whites of her eyes are bright against her flushed skin.

I’ve never seen my sister this angry. Even her face is red, and her hair is frizzled, curls looking like flames from a wildfire; her pupils are dilated, and her irises are black, like pools of tar.

“I’ve been coming to you every night to talk about how much I miss hanging out with Kit, and all this time, you’ve been mated to him!”

“I didn’t mean for that to happen! I didn’t choose my mate!”

Bella cries louder. “No, of course, you didn’t! And that’s not why I’m sad and angry. I’m a mess because you didn’t f*****g tell me about Kit and let me come to you and cry about losing him as my boyfriend! I feel so stupid!”

In an attempt to diffuse the situation, I reach out and place a hand on Bella’s shoulder. She flinches away from my touch as if my hand burnt her skin.

In a voice trembling with emotion she says, “Don’t touch me!You betrayed me; how could you do this? For five nights in a row I’ve cried to you, and now, come to think of it, there was one night where there were weird sounds from your room. Did you f*****g sleep with him?”

My cheeks flush. “We didn’t have s*x that time! Kit had a nightmare and—”

Her right hand flies up to silence me, knuckles smashing into my cheek. It knocks the winds out of me and I stare at Bella’s shaking l*p and teary eyes.

“I f*****g hate you!”

She storms out of my room. My heart rips open, exposing my raw and bleeding center as I hear Bella sobbing in the hallway. Why didn’t I tell her about Kit earlier?

I feel incredibly guilty. I should have told her sooner. Bella trusted me and I fear I might have destroyed the sibling bond between us.

I walk over to the window and stare outside into the twilight sky. The stars shine brightly, their light offering me some comfort in this dark hour.

I was set on rejecting Kit, but… I don’t want to. I’m curious about him, and wish to learn more about him.

Suddenly, there is a knock on my door. I turn around just in time to see my mom walking into my room. She is wearing an uneasy expression.

“So, you and Sky Howler’s son, huh?”

My face burns. “Did Bella tell you?”

She laughs. “Michelle, the entire house heard the commotion happening inside Bella’s room,” her fingers grip the door, and then she gives me a head nod. “Come, let us talk about this somewhere in private.”

I follow my mom through our hallway. The half-moon is illuminating the walls, and my mom is leading me to the door of the mansion. She holds it open, waiting for me to follow.

We walk to the edge of the lake, my mom and I. We both sit down on a rock, and then she gazes out into the lake.

“Kit Howler…” my mom wears a funny smile, and laughs to herself while looking up at the mom. “He seems like a nice guy. Not much of a werewolf, but that hardly matters.”

I hug my knees. “It matters a little since I’m afraid of demons.”

My mom falls silent for a bit. “Are you… are you frightened by your own mate?”

“A little bit,” I admit, shrugging. “I haven’t seen him in demon form,” it doesn’t count when it’s dark, and I’m only able to see his yellow eyes. “And… if he’s anything like the demons that are currently wreaking havoc, then…”

“Wreaking havoc?” My mom gasps. “There have been more demon attacks?”

“Lots.”

“Really?”

Hasn’t dad told her about the demons?

Shit…

I wet my lips, trying to gather words. My mom hasn’t been that invested in the things happening in our pack lately. It’s dad and I that run things, and I suck sticky air into my lungs. It seems like I must be the one to tell her…

My eyes catch hers in the moonlight. “Yesterday, a whole squad of our people was attacked by demons of various forms and sizes. No one knows where they came from, but many men were injured before dad, and I could diffuse the situation. Teeth didn’t work on the creatures, and we had to use ice magic to defeat them.”

My mom’s face falls and she looks away. I can see the worry and fear etched in her features.

“I guess it’s time I start paying more attention to the happenings around the pack,” she admits quietly. “It sounds like we have a serious situation on our hands.”

I nod, not wanting to add to my mom’s worries by bringing up Kit Howler again. She places a comforting hand over mine, and then we both stand up.

“Let’s go back inside and take some time to figure out what we should do,” she suggests, her voice firm yet gentle.

We both walk back into the mansion in silence, my mind racing with questions and worries of my own. As soon as we enter the living room, I notice that Bella is gone.

My mom looks around before asking me. “Where is your sister?”

I shrug helplessly. “She probably left to go see her friends after our argument…” A lump forms in my throat as I recall Bella’s angry words directed at me moments ago. Would she ever forgive me for this?

My mom nods solemnly before ushering me towards the stairs leading to my bedroom. “Go get some rest, Michelle,” she states firmly with a k**s on my forehead before disappearing down the hallway.

In my room, I throw myself onto the bed and exhale heavily into its softness as sadness overwhelms me – What will happen now? Will Bella ever forgive me? How can I make things better with Kit?