Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 204

Chapter 204: 204-That Alpha Is Dumb

Helanie:

“And the siren was so loud,” Jenny leapt, talking about the earthquake and how the weather got worse after that. We were at the lunch table and, sure enough, just like the way Rayden had said, he was sitting with us.

He would pass me a quick glance and smirk but then look back at Jenny and act like he was listening to her.

“Anyway, Helanie was so good at the ground today,” Lamar brought the attention to me, smiling at me. I bet he noticed I wasn’t my regular self today. I could barely eat anything when, most days, after not eating for a while, I ate like a barbarian.

“She really was—” Gavin suddenly shut up as he narrowed his eyes behind Lamar. I was too focused on the scene behind them as well.

It was Penn flirting with none other than Riri. He was sitting with the top seniors and enjoying the lunch.

“Wow, that is new,” Lamar followed our gaze and commented under his breath. Jenny’s smile faded away quickly when watching her brother sit and enjoy a feast with someone who had beaten us up.

“I am done,” Jenny announced, getting up from the seat to leave.

“What happened?” Rayden rolled his eyes, his focus on his food. One could tell he didn’t even want to go after her but had to since he was her mate.

“I’m coming,” he sighed, picking up a sandwich on his way to follow her.

I saw Penn side-eye Jenny but then force a smile when talking to Riri again. However, after a few minutes, he raised his head and our eyes met.

There was so much going on that I had to look away from him. With Rayden threatening me now, I couldn’t really do much.

We finished the lunch and saw Penn take Riri out of the hostel. It all happened right before our eyes. Since we had back-to-back classes, the lunch was served way later than it usually does.

“Where is Jenny?” I asked Lamar, who was always the one who would keep an eye on us.

“She is in our room.”

He replied.

So of course, she didn’t go to her room where Penn might return to. I don’t know why Penn was acting this way. Was he punishing me and not realizing that by doing so he was ending up hurting his own sister?

“I will go speak with her,” I said, speeding up to reach the elevator before Rayden appeared. I got to my room and opened the door in hopes of finding her alone. But how the hell did I forget that she had Rayden with her now?

He was in our room, of course, acting like it was his first time. Jenny would not feel weird about him being in our room, but I did. He was like a ticking bomb and also someone who could be going through our stuff to find out more information about me and my friends.

The fact that he went out of his way to look into me in my pack was what made him scarier.

He stopped moving around just to acknowledge me before he began to pace around again. But this time, he had a smirk on his face as he used his phone.

Jenny was sitting on my bed, her legs curled up to her chest and tears brimming in her eyes. She raised her head to me, and I understood that she wanted me to sit with her. I walked over and sat down on the bed; she instantly put her head in my lap.

Rayden stopped pacing once again, this time to watch his mate interact with me.

“My brother has never acted this way. Why would he go out with someone who humiliated me so much?” she let out a cry, complaining in my lap. I was half-present consoling her, and half of my attention was on Rayden.

Being in the same room as him and acting normal was just so insulting to me.

“Maybe you should have a talk with him? Be open about it. What if he doesn’t know what those seniors did—” As I spoke softly, trying my best not to be heard by Rayden, Jenny lifted her head from my lap to watch my face.

“That is not true. I told him everything,” she sounded beyond hurt when telling me that her brother indeed knew everything and yet chose to hang around those messy individuals.

“I will have a word with him.”

Rayden suddenly arrived and sat down with me, causing my body to go fully alert. He placed his hand on the mattress but ‘accidentally’ touched my hand. I got startled to the point that my body jumped visibly, but he was quick to divert attention to himself while I snatched my hand away from his.

“Hey, I am sure he has a good reason. But if not, I will be the one punishing Riri for my mate.” His fake sweetness and concern that he was suddenly showing seemed like just an excuse to sit so close to me.

I bet he knew what his presence could do to me.

I steadily rose and shifted to the other side where Jenny was sitting, but now I was in direct view of his eyes.

“No thanks. I guess Helanie is right. I will confront him about it,” she cleared her throat, putting her head on my shoulder. I could tell he didn’t like his mate putting so much faith in me.

“How about you go spend some time with your roommates? I want to speak with Helanie about something.”

The minute Jenny requested he leave, I watched his jaw clench.

There was a weird look in his eyes whenever someone crossed him. His own reputation and self-respect meant a lot to him, but others meant nothing to him.

“Okay,” he replied harshly and got up, strolling toward the door. When he left, he actually slammed the door shut hard.

“Who were you running from?” Jenny went straight to the point.

“Not from you,” I replied quickly.

“Then Penn?” she asked, and I shook my head.

“Was it Rayden?”

The minute she said her alpha mate’s name, my heart crumbled like a cookie.

“No! It was—someone else,” I lied, but I noticed her not blinking as she shifted in front of me and kept watching my face in silence.