Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 346

Chapter 346: 346-I Was A Fool Back Then

Helanie:

“That’s the Alpha?” he asked, looking completely shocked.

“Yeah, the one who left me,” I repeated. I guess I hadn’t focused much on Altan when telling Lamar about the incident before. I had only briefly mentioned him.

“That’s… crazy. He was in love with you? I mean, you two were dating back then?” Lamar was sitting on the bed with me, forcing me to eat the burger he had brought for me.

“Helanie, I don’t know if I should tell you this or not, but I have some information on him—from before I even knew he was the asshole who left you with those animals that night,” he said, looking down, closing his eyes, and taking deep breaths. That worried me.

“Tell me everything you know,” I said with confidence, even though I knew the truth would hurt.

“Altan has been lying to you,” he paused. “He found his fated mate the day he turned eighteen. They turned eighteen together. But… she was from another pack, so you never got the chance to know much about her. He was very protective of her, so he kept her a secret.” He hesitated on the word *protective*.

I couldn’t believe it.

I lost everything for someone who had been playing me?

“But he never told me. He said he would accept me, and—oh my God, I’ve been such a fool,” I covered my mouth with my hands, tearing up. He quickly hugged me while I sobbed my heart out like crazy.

“Lamar—he used to be so draining, mentally and emotionally. He kept me hanging with false hopes. Of course, he didn’t stay to fight for me. Of course, he didn’t protect me—he chose his reputation over mine. He didn’t want anyone to find out. He didn’t want his mate to know he had been with me, so he would rather let me die there. Yeah!” I nodded, letting out a bitter laugh at how stupid I had been.

“Hey, he’s an asshole. It’s his loss—he lost a gem like you,” Lamar patted my back. After a while, I broke the hug and wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand.

“Tell me more,” I needed to know. All this time, I thought he got cold feet, but now I finally understood why.

He didn’t want to protect me—he was already protecting his mate.

I was just his side chick.

He never really cared about me.

“You know he’s engaged?” Lamar asked, holding my hands tightly, trying to comfort me.

The question itself was heartbreaking.

He moved on without any guilt.

It confused me because, even if he never truly loved me, we had been friends since childhood. Did our friendship mean nothing to him at all?

“Who?” I asked in a whisper, barely able to say the word.

“Sydney Coombs. She’s his fated mate.”

My heart sank at the revelation.

“What?” I gulped, trying to wet my dry throat.

“What are you saying, Lamar?” I tried to pull my hands from his, my voice breaking miserably.

“He’s been with her since they were fifteen. Sydney told me all about it one night when she was upset with him,” he explained.

Lamar wasn’t the kind of guy to spill someone’s secrets. He had never done it before—until now. And that was because he knew I ‘needed’ to hear this.

“Of course,” I remembered. “You slept with her that night because she was depressed about something.”

I finally understood why she had so desperately wanted me dead.

“Yeah, she wanted to stay with her Alpha mate but didn’t want rumors spreading that she had cheated on him. Their relationship was already hanging by a thread, so she was ready to go as far as getting you thrown out of the academy tests just to save her reputation. And I wanted to stay in the academy because I wanted to find those asshole Alphas,” he explained, watching me as I smiled to myself.

“What happened?” he asked.

“It’s just so funny. I walked out of my house that night thinking I’d be safer with an Alpha who loved me. Turns out, everything was a lie.” My eyes burned with tears once again.

We remained silent for some time, and that’s when it hit me.

“You know… it’s so odd that the Alphas that night mentioned my pheromones. In the moment, it didn’t faze me because I was so scared, but now that I think about it—my pheromones have been kept a secret in our pack. Why did I assume people from other packs knew about them?” I muttered under my breath, finally recalling the small details I had tried to forget about that night.

Watching Lamar’s confused expression, I added, “They even mentioned me wearing my pendant—” I stopped mid-sentence when I realized my explanation wasn’t helping Lamar—it was only confusing him more.

“Pheromones?” He squinted his eyes, and I gasped.

Shit.

I had never really told him much about that either.

“You mean… the scent that disappears when you feel the mate bond—?”

I’m so stupid. He must be wondering why I’m still wearing the pendant when I’ve already felt the mate bond with three Alphas.

“Actually, um… it’s not just a heat thing. It’s a curse, and I have to wear it forever,” I admitted, watching his eyes widen in shock.

The next few minutes were difficult as I explained everything—the story of my pheromones, how the pack members perceived me as filthy, and why I was so afraid of anyone doing research on me. All of this could be used against me by the Alphas and their parents.

“Look,” Lamar said after hearing everything. He took my hand and gave me a gentle smile. “None of that matters. What happened, happened. We’re on our journey to get revenge. As for Altan—there will come a time when you’ll have to face those Alphas again. You must stay strong and remember—I’m always with you.”

His words gave me so much comfort that I instantly flashed him a broken smile.