Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 274

Chapter 274: 274-A Trap For The Lycan

Helanie:

“Others will be arriving soon,” Penn informed us while serving coffee. It was so cold in the cabin that Lamar and Penn had made plans to get some wood for the fireplace. I bet Jenny hadn’t been to this cabin in a while, ever since her mate had shown up at the cabin, and I ran out in a hurry. Or, a better way to say it would be when she last had sex with Lamar. That would be awkward now.

“We will be back shortly, okay? Helanie, do you need anything?” Penn asked, putting on his jacket.

“Yeah, brother, go ahead, forget about me already,” Jenny joked. However, no one laughed.

“You want something?” Penn noticed the awkwardness, so he went over to support his sister, who smiled and waved her hand in response.

“Okay, we will head out now,” Penn said, as he was the one talking most of the time.

Once those two left, the stress in the air grew thicker. We both sipped our coffee, avoiding eye contact.

“This coffee is good,” I complimented, sipping again.

“Penn really makes the best coffee,” Jenny added with a soft smile, “by the way, I’m so glad things have gotten better between you and Rayden.”

She shouldn’t have brought up Rayden at this moment. But since she did, I also had a question for her.

“Yeah. Anyway, what about you and Lamar? I thought you two–” I left it unfinished on purpose.

She immediately looked uncomfortable when I mentioned their relationship. “It was a mistake.”

Her tone was calm, but the guilt in it didn’t go unnoticed.

“I didn’t know you were also signing up for the lycan trap,” I quickly changed the subject.

“I’ll be in the cabin, waiting for everyone. If anyone is injured, I’ll help them,” she said, pointing to the bag full of towels and medical supplies.

“Oh, okay. That makes sense,” I murmured.

A knock on the door broke the awkward silence that had lasted for a few minutes. Jenny answered the door and welcomed the top seniors. Well, only two of them arrived: Rudy and Arlo.

They had their bags tossed over their shoulders as they came inside and checked out the cabin.

“Seems cozy,” Rudy commented, tossing his bag onto the table.

“With a little dirt around the corner,” Arlo muttered, his eyes briefly scanning me before he walked off to inspect the kitchen.

“We have coffee,” Jenny called after him, trying to make sure he didn’t make a mess.

“Hmm,” Rudy stopped near the bed, but his eyes kept wandering around. Finally, though, they stopped examining the cabin and landed on me.

I hadn’t interacted one-on-one with him before, so it felt a bit strange to be under his gaze. I also knew Rudy had all the academy girls fawning over him.

“Helanie!” Rudy said, “I’ve been hearing things about you. From your friend Lucy to your ongoing mess with Rayden.” He wasn’t teasing, just mentioning something he had heard.

“It’s no longer ongoing. It’s been dealt with,” I corrected him softly.

“Really?” He tapped his fingers on the backrest of an empty chair.

“You’re beautiful,” his sudden compliment made my heart race.

“Thank you!” I replied nervously, sure my cheeks had turned red.

He casually pulled out his phone and held it in his hand, leaning down to rest his elbows on the backrest of the chair.

“What’s your number?” He was so charming and laid-back that I didn’t immediately grasp what he’d asked. The next thing I knew, I was giving him my phone number.

At that moment, Jenny and Arlo came out with Arlo holding two cups of coffee. Jenny seemed upset–looks like Arlo had made some comments about the cabin that had bothered her.

“Where are Sage and those two sisters?” Rudy asked, slipping his phone into his pocket. I’d never had anyone come up to me and ask for my number.

“They’re on their way here. Rayden already met up with Penn in the woods. I guess in a few minutes, everyone will be here, and then we can talk about our plan,” Arlo explained, his eyes casually shifting to me before a tired look took over his face.

And just like he had said, soon everyone started to arrive. Sydney and Salem being in the same cabin as us was really hard for me. Salem reminded me of Lucy, and it hurt to think that nothing had been done about her situation yet.

Rayden hadn’t said a word since he entered the cabin and helped Penn with the fireplace. Now we all sat down in a circle with a big map in the middle.

“We need to bring the lycan to this spot,” Sage tapped his finger on the red mark on the map.

“We will all carry water mixed with wolfbane and rose water. Remember, rumors say that the lycan can only be vulnerable when these three things are mixed together,” Arlo pointed to the bag they had unloaded from the car earlier.

“We will first make him vulnerable and then attack him. We don’t plan to kill him, just capture him in a silver cage to present him to the council. We need to do this for our community,” Sage said with determination. I could tell she was really excited to catch this lycan for some reason.

“Now for the last part. Everyone will play a role,” Rudy took over. “Sage will be the bait to lure the lycan to the spot where we have our weapons and the cage. Lamar, Sydney, and Salem will hold the chains for the cage and drop it right when the lycan is under it. Penn, Arlo, and I will hold the weapons to attack him,” he paused and frowned at the papers in his hand. It seemed like they let Arlo take on this role, because Rudy gave him a confused look before he told me what my role was.

“Helanie and Rayden will be responsible for the water guns.”