Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 223

Chapter 223: 223-They Did Horrible Things To Me

Helanie:

My body was covered in goosebumps. Lamar had stopped crying, but his eyes were stuck in space, his body language entirely silent. He was breathing so slowly that I wondered if he was still alive after narrating the whole terrifying tale to me.

“When did they—release you from jail?” I asked, and Lamar let out a little laugh. But it was so sad and broken that it shook the world from under my feet.

“I was tortured every day to tell the truth. They claimed I planned it against her and that I had been waiting for her to come of age. The fact that they—had my sister’s body with all the evidence on her but did nothing—nothing to find the killers. They were supposed to do my DNA testing, but because I had too much wolfbane in my system, they kept delaying. And then they told me that it was no match. In fact, the DNA of the two assholes didn’t match anyone. They said it must be some rogues, but I know it wasn’t true. My sister’s hand clutched onto a residue of a blue jacket. It was when I found her body, but I was so distraught that I couldn’t focus on it. Later, they told me they tested the students at the Fellmoon Academy, but there was no match. The council had been giving me shit, saying I must have preyed on my sister and let her wander around near the border for some rogues to come and do that to her. Somehow, the fingers always pointed back at me,” I could hear the frustration in his voice.

“You know—I used to do drugs sometimes because I was just lonely. I grew up having a lot of trauma, so whenever I was alone in the workshop with my coworkers, I would do drugs. They used that excuse to tell everyone I was capable of doing something to my sister. One theory was that maybe I was high on drugs, or that I couldn’t afford drugs, so I sold my sister,” he began to harshly pat his chest with his fist.

“I didn’t do anything, I swear. I—bought a home for her—for us. I wanted her to get married and live a happy life—Helanie! It was all stolen from us, and those council members and alphas didn’t do anything. They protected the students of the Fellmoon Academy,” he hissed, cleaning his cheeks with the back of his hand.

I had no idea how much I had cried in those few hours of hearing what happened to Lamar and his sister. I cried more than I had cried for myself.

“And that’s why you joined the academy?” I asked.

“I knew the academy fights the—Fellmoon Academy assholes, so I just hoped to get access into the Fellmoon Academy without raising suspicions. That is why I wanted to hang around the elites. Remember when I beat you up so that you wouldn’t join the academy? I was scared I would get kicked out if you complained. I was blinded by revenge, but then I looked at you again, and I felt like I was no better than those alphas. I should have known you could die—you are not like the rest of us. But—I just wanted revenge. I am so sorry. I am so glad you didn’t die that night. But I swear, I knew you wouldn’t die because your injuries were not that bad,” he was yapping, guilt dripping off his voice. “Helanie, when Jenny showed me those hairs, I felt like my soul left my body. All I could think of was that missing chunk of hair from my sister’s head. They had beaten her up so badly that they left bald spots in her head. In that moment, I promised I would hurt Rayden so much—” he hissed, grimacing uncomfortably.

“I did the DNA test of the hair and—it was my sister’s hair,” he grasped his hair in his fist and sobbed again.

“I wanted my sister to tell me—to share her pain with me, to tell me how they tortured her so that I could do way worse to them,” he had such an innocent request.

The restlessness he showed shocked me. There was a girl somewhere who went through almost the same and even worse fate as me, but she had someone who wanted to hear about it. Someone who wanted her to come back home so that he could bring justice for her.

And then there was me. I went home, and everybody wished I had died.

“I know what you are feeling—” I sighed, as there were no tears left to cry anymore. “I know that feeling too well. The feeling of seeing Rayden’s face and realizing he is the culprit.”

I clutched my hands tightly and then threw a fist on the ground, sobbing louder than Lamar. I didn’t even realize he had gone silent and was watching me.

With all the courage in my heart, I raised my head and stared into his eyes. “Lamar! It was horrible. They did—horrible things—and they laughed throughout the night and then—they tried to kill me, but I—but I survived,” I hiccuped, covering my mouth with my hands as I couldn’t speak anymore.

“Helanie! What do you mean?” he inquired, his aura changing.

“Lamar! You asked me many times what it is that makes me go numb at times? You remember that?” As I posed that question, he nodded.

“That was because—I am one of their victims too.”

A gasp that he let out covered my body in goosebumps.

“There were too many that night, but I remember Rayden was one of them. I remember when his friend got on top of me to strangle me because I didn’t have a wolf and I could die from it. All his friends cheered, and—Rayden kept laughing until my eyes closed. I don’t know how I survived, but I did, and it’s been just one torture after another. And now he is here, blackmailing me and threatening me,” I broke down, and Lamar quickly pulled me in for a hug.

I had finally let someone in on my secret, the secret that I don’t even speak to myself about.