Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: 37-My Stepsister Is My Broken Mate

Kaye:

It just felt right. I thought if I reminded her about her real life, she would wake up, but then I realized it wouldn’t be that easy. Getting out like that would be too easy. But what’s not easy is to find someone to kiss, someone who is not under the hypnosis of that crazy Mr. Rune. That’s when I remembered something my foolish brothers had told me when I was a kid. They would tell me these fairytale stories of how the sleeping princess wakes up after a kiss. I wasn’t Helanie’s prince charming but a kiss night do.

“Kiss her!”

If I kissed her, she would awaken, like some Disney tale. I wasn’t entirely convinced, but there was nothing else I could do.

I cupped her face and watched as shock registered in her expression. I didn’t want to do this. I had never even considered kissing my stepsister-to-be. And Helanie!

Never!

She was irritating and reminded me of her gold-digging mother. It’s women like these who ruin homes for women like my mother.

But right now, I had to close my eyes and do the right thing. Before she could even protest, I pressed my lips against hers.

I thought it would be a quick kiss. Our lips would meet, and before I knew it, the torture would be over. But the moment my lips tasted hers, something switched inside me.

I felt my body heating up, urges rising. My hands held her face tightly; her skin was soft and smooth, like butter.

Instead of breaking the kiss, I found my head tilting and parted my lips just enough to take in her upper lip. That’s when I felt a push from her. She had placed her hands on my chest and pushed me away, breaking the kiss.

The awkwardness made me look down, my gaze shifting to the side.

“What the heck was that?” she hissed, wiping her lips clean in a panic.

I wondered what had happened to me.

How had I ended up acting so desperate?

The fact that I never wanted to touch her but ended up holding on made me feel even more embarrassed.

“I told you that might be the way,” I groaned, clearing my throat to appear confident. If I acted guilty, it would confirm my shame.

“Yeah, but a peck would have been enough,” she mumbled, her mouth barely moving, then she began to look around.

“It didn’t work,” she said, staring at me, her hands now on her hips.

“Or maybe you’ve made me lose my mind too. I’m such an idiot for thinking this isn’t the real world. You’re crazy, and you’re driving me crazy—” she hissed, already turning to leave. I had this one chance to make her see the truth, and I screwed it up.

“You had a rough life,” I called out, watching her slow down.

The warriors and pack members had passed us, oblivious to our presence in the woods.

But it wouldn’t be long before they found us.

“What did you say?” She turned around to face me.

“You weren’t just kicked out by your mother; I believe your father never loved you either,” I murmured, something I had previously thought was a lie.

But seeing her desperate need for love made me wonder if part of what she had said about her life was indeed true.

“And—you don’t even have a wolf. Not a mate or a lover either. You don’t have a shelter or any money—there’s no one who—” I paused when I noticed tears beginning to form in her eyes. Well, I’m not the kind to make a girl cry, but damn! I had to do it now.

“You were lonely,” I added, and soon a tear rolled down her cheek.

“And I’m sure nobody is even looking for you,” I continued, watching as her face began to change color. It took me a moment to realize her hair was changing color.

We stood facing each other, the full moon shining above us.

“You—” I fell silent when she closed her eyes, only to open them again with a sniffle.

“I remember everything,” of course she did.

Her hair had now turned platinum blonde. Maybe now we could find a way out of here. She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing, causing me to tilt my head and zone out. I thought she would be grateful to wake up from a dream that had imprisoned her.

“Don’t worry, we will find a way to get out of here,” I told her, taking a steady, deep breath.

Instead of responding, she simply shook her head.

“Okay, you know what? Very soon, they’re going to come looking for us. We need to escape before Rune finds you and marks you as his forever,” I urged, glancing around and listening as the crowd drew closer once again.

One of these times, they would discover us. The only reason they hadn’t yet was, my best guess, the darkness. Mr. Rune didn’t like the shadows. He fooled everyone with light and promised a good dream world to make them stay.

“Let’s go; we need to hide somewhere else,” I said, expecting her to follow me. Instead, she finally uncovered her face and looked me in the eyes.

“No!” Her voice was soft and gentle as she dismissed me.

“What do you mean by no?” I inquired, furrowing my brow.

“My real life sucked. I—I don’t ever want to feel that way in my body,” her words sent goosebumps coursing through me.

“Your body? What do you mean? Are you upset because you didn’t have a wolf?” I was trying to understand her purpose for wanting to stay here, where she wasn’t even promised a happily ever after. The minute Mr. Rune marked her, her story would end, and she would become a side character.

“No! I hated everything. Especially how I felt after that night. I don’t ever want to look at myself in the mirror and see that victim of abuse—and—” she paused, her words enough to shake the ground beneath my feet.

“I don’t ever want anyone to touch me again. So I’d rather stay here and disappear—” It couldn’t be. She was saying things that were horrifying.

“No! I am not going to let you ruin yourself,” I reached for her hand, and the moment I did, I heard something so terrifying that I instinctively gasped and stepped back.

But the voice echoed through my head again.

“Mate!”