Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 132

Chapter 132: 132-The Change In Me

Helanie:

“Everyone, please go to your assigned rooms, take a shower, and then come out to the garden for dinner with the Alpha Queen,” Sydney was yelling when I arrived at the guesthouse.

It was an enormous space with many rooms inside. A big wooden staircase stood in the center, and a massive window displayed a stunning view of the mountains as the living room’s centerpiece.

There were a few bedrooms on the ground floor, while the rest were on the second and third floors, each with balconies, and finally, a rooftop.

“Why are you not obeying me?” she screamed again, her fists clenched. I could tell she was struggling to make everyone listen to her.

And for the first time, I agreed that she needed to be heard. The students had turned the guesthouse into a fish market.

“EVERYONE, GO BACK TO YOUR FUCKING ROOMS!” As soon as I yelled, the entire place went dead silent.

Their heads turned toward me, slow whispers beginning to spread, but it was their actions that mattered. They all grabbed their stuff and rushed to their rooms.

I don’t know what happened, but I had grown so tired of people not listening.

After everyone had scattered, I realized Sydney had been watching me with her arms folded across her chest.

“You can thank me later,” I said tiredly, not even stopping to look at her as I walked away.

My room was next to the backyard, which I shared with my classmates and Jenny this time. I could tell Kaye had been observant and had chosen Jenny as our fourth roommate because he knew I would be comfortable with her.

Once I was in the room, I noticed all eyes were on me—except for Lamar, who had a smirk on his lips as he sat on the couch, playing a game on his phone.

“What happened?” I asked Jenny and Lucy, who were standing next to the window, probably discussing me.

“Exactly! What happened to you? You came in there with all your guns out,” Lucy commented, referring to me yelling at everyone earlier.

“Ah, that? I was just trying to warm up my voice for the next few days,” I shrugged. After a few seconds of silence, the two of them burst out laughing.

Lucy rushed over to give me a hug when the door opened again. This time, Gavin walked in with his bag. I was surprised—I hadn’t known he would also be sharing the room with us.

His arrival immediately changed the atmosphere.

Lucy stepped away from me, her entire attention now focused on him, while Jenny awkwardly walked over to her bed. The room had three king-sized beds: Lucy and I were probably sharing one, Gavin and Lamar would share another, and Jenny would sleep alone.

It was also extremely cold in this pack.

“Don’t look at me like I’m an outsider. Remember, we used to be friends before,” Gavin said, breaking the silence. He would make a comment here and there, and then things would go back to normal before turning awkward again.

“It’s not that. I was just wondering why I have to be the one to sleep alone,” Jenny pouted, pointing at Lucy and me.

Lucy had warmed up to Jenny, though not completely. At least she wasn’t accusing her of sleeping with her mate anymore, so I guess that was a good start.

“You can always share the bed with me—I’m single,” Gavin said with a smirk, patting the empty side of his bed.

The room fell into an awkward silence the moment he made that remark. I watched as Lucy’s face turned pale before she clenched her fists.

“You are so shameless,” she muttered, voicing her emotions openly this time.

“How? I’m single. It’s not like I’m jumping into someone’s bed after believing in my delusions that my mate cheated,” Gavin’s voice still carried hurt. And why wouldn’t it? They were still fated to each other.

“I was talking about—” Jenny tried to softly clarify, but Lamar ended up cutting her off.

“Me? Did you want to sleep with me?” he joked, making Jenny roll her eyes, but instead, his remark caught the attention of the wounded bear in the room.

“Haven’t you slept with enough she-wolves already? Or do you plan to sleep with everyone present in this room?” That was it. Gavin had taken it too far. He could argue with Lucy all he wanted, but dragging Jenny and me into the mix wasn’t fair.

“Don’t ever mention me like that again, Gavin,” I said with a stern voice, making my point clear. Once again, everyone turned to stare at me.

“I was just—forget it,” Gavin muttered, his voice laced with defeat as he dismissed us all with a wave of his hand.

“Gavin and Lamar will be sharing a bed,” Jenny quickly said before shutting up. She wasn’t the type to stir up issues, but this was something that needed to be discussed. The boys could pretend they weren’t aware of the arrangements, but they had to accept it.

“I’ll sleep in the bed with Helaine. She has plenty of space or we can put pillows between us. Or I’ll sleep alone. You guys should share beds,” Gavin disagreed quickly, wagging his finger in refusal.

“I’ll sleep on the couch. I’m fine there. No need to take your anger out on sleeping arrangements,” Lamar finally gave up his spot.

He wasn’t always troublesome—it was only when he wanted to do something that he wouldn’t listen to anyone. For example, coming back to the dorm drunk and wasted, doing drugs in the room, or sleeping with literally anyone who looked sad.

Once that was settled, I took a shower and got ready, slipping into the black tracksuit that Jenny had insisted I accept as a gift.

With the clothes sorted and a desire for some fresh air, I walked out of the room and into the backyard. That’s when I saw someone splitting wood.

It was a shocker to see him here—or in fact, to see him in front of me after so long.

In the cold, chilly weather stood Maximus, shirtless, his muscles pumped as he raised the ax and split the wood with precision. Then his eyes fell on me, and he stopped what he was doing.