Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 150

Chapter 150: 150-Without Her Everything Is Dull

Kaye:

It was unlike anything I had experienced before. I woke up to my mom bringing me bed tea.

It felt strange. The whole morning, Mom kept asking me about my plans for my herbs business.

The attention they gave me was unreal, but I was more happy that I was finally visible. However, the pain in my heart from watching Helanie hurt last night lingered.

The fact that she had been so honest when talking about her plans for the future also made me recall that I was the one who had convinced her I would wait for her.

I had been so wrong about this–leading her on and then acting impatient.

I had done her dirty, and that guilt had been eating me up the entire time.

“Kaye! A word–” Norman said, snapping his fingers in front of my face to get my attention as we all sat together for breakfast. He didn’t stop or look at anyone else; he just proceeded to walk out of the mansion.

My mom, Kesha, and Maximus were having a conversation when Norman did that, and it suddenly paused everyone’s activity.

I gave them a quick nod to excuse myself and rushed out to hear Norman out. He was waiting on the front porch, wearing a white suit and adjusting his cufflinks.

“Yes?” I joined him, adjusting my black shirt while wondering what he wanted to talk to me about.

“I heard about you and Kesha,” he started, his eyes wandering into the distance. The gardeners had arrived early this morning. They were going to trim the grass and the big trees. It was going to look so fresh. Everything would be perfect by the end of the day.

But if that was true, why did I feel so empty inside?

“Did Mom coerce you into making this decision?” The way my brother asked made me wonder if he knew more than he was letting on.

“Tell me, Kaye. Did Mom make you take this decision? Because I know you’re no longer interested in Kesha.” It wasn’t a shock that he was talking about my previous interest in her.

I wanted attention and thought she would make a perfect mate and rogue queen. Besides, I liked her before because my mom did too. And I knew instantly that if I accepted her, my mom would accept me as her favorite son.

“You not answering me isn’t helping,” Norman said.

“What if I tell you I like someone else, and it’s true that I’m only taking this step because it gives me what I’ve wanted all my life?” I murmured in a shattered tone. My demeanor and confidence had been shaken ever since I was offered this deal.

Norman kept watching my face before he nodded steadily, almost as if he were trying to consider something.

“Then I will do anything to make it happen for you.” His tone was stern, but there was just a slight pause before he added, “With the one that you like,” he finished.

It was like a different kind of relief hit me when he said that.

“But you will need to promise to wait for me to fix things first. I have to make sure some things are dealt with, because it could get messy between us brothers if–” He stopped talking, but his response had intrigued me.

What did he mean by that?

Wait, did he know that I liked Helanie?

“Because–my brothers would like to know about it too. They would like to know who their brother’s mate is, and also, that you defying Mom would change a few dynamics,” he quickly added when he noticed I looked slightly shocked. Good thing he didn’t know about Helanie.

But–sadly, things were already over.

I had asked Helanie, and she had told me straight up that she hadn’t even considered me yet.

“Forget about it. I was just testing you. I’m happy with the decision.” I gave him a fake comforting smile, but he only narrowed his eyes at me.

“Kaye, you don’t need to do it if you don’t want to. You know you can come to me to resolve your issues, and I won’t betray you.” He placed his hand on my shoulder, using a comforting tone.

That meant so much to me.

I had been so upset since the decision was made, so Norman having this talk with me meant everything.

“I know. But trust me, I’m fine.” I gave him a nod, and he finally bobbed his head in understanding.

“So, a date tonight, huh?” Norman asked with a smile.

He had always been the one I could count on. He never judged me or my brothers. It was just sometimes weird to me that he didn’t have a life of his own.

Even when Jessica was desperately trying to be with him, he would focus more on us. That made him earn so much respect in my eyes, but I did want him to live his life to the fullest as well.

But well, now that he had broken things off with Jessica, there was a little discourse going around. The packs and council weren’t happy that a rogue had broken the engagement with a pack rank holder.

Did Norman care?

Nope!

I didn’t see him sweat at all.

“Yeah, quite nervous I am,” I ran my palms together, pretending to be excited, and my brother knew I was pretending.

“Don’t ask weird questions,” he joked, shaking his head while pouting.

“Just a few, I’m courteous about women,” I lied, and he started laughing. I knew everything about Kesha and her previous relationships,

But for fun’s sake, if I were going on a date with Helanie, I would have asked her so many questions. It would have been so much fun.

“Good luck!” My brother patted me on the back, and I gave him a tired smile.

“After this date, um, I’ll need that monster in a cage. I’m stepping up the notch for the students. They should know they’re not here on a picnic,” I had made so many fun plans before. But now, even talking about them sounded so boring.

What was upsetting me so much?