Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 360

Chapter 360: 360-I Misread The Signs
Helanie:

My heart had crumbled into tiny pieces like a cookie. My eyes kept trying to hold back the tears, but there were times when it became too hard for me.

Right before my eyes, Maximus chose Charlotte.

I could only think back and remember when he was convincing me to share my past with him. Imagine if I had done that. We make mistakes when we are emotional and overshare. Thankfully, I didn’t.

But would that help?

Right now, it wouldn’t. Because I was devastated inside my heart. All I could think about was leaving this place and going back to the academy. I couldn’t wait to kick Rayden’s ass.

I began to think about other things to stop myself from crying and drawing attention to myself.

“Helanie!” Emma calling my name turned heads to me, “Are you not going to congratulate her? I know she’s not your cousin, but you two have grown up like cousins. Come on, give her a hug,” she stretched her arm out and wiggled her fingers, asking me to go hug Charlotte, who was looking at me with those eyes that said she had won a better position in this family.

“Before that—,” Emmet cleared his throat, stepping in front of me, “I would want to congratulate my brother.”

Thankfully, him stepping up ruined the moment for Charlotte. The brothers gathered around them, and I saw Norman gesturing at me to escape the living room now that no one was looking.

As I was about to do so, Emma called me again.

“Where are you going?” It was becoming too much. If she was happy for her daughter, she should just stay happy and not drag others into the mess, using this moment to get back at them.

“She has some pending work. She should submit it before the academy starts. Just because she’s our stepsister doesn’t mean she gets a pass,” Norman excused, giving me a reason to hide in my room for the rest of the night.

Even when we hated each other’s guts, he somehow helped me out of the situation. I bet he did it so I wouldn’t ruin his brother’s happy moment.

I nodded my head and went straight back to my room, and once I was in my room, I broke down.

“Fucking idiot, Helanie. Why do you keep getting fooled?” I hissed under my breath, kneeling down on the cold floor and remembering Kaye’s words.

Today, right before my eyes, I saw the worst sights.

Both the men that made me believe they loved me had someone else beside them, but that’s how it was going to be.

I was the one who chose revenge over my love life, so I shouldn’t be crying and focusing on it so much. But then the pain was too much for me to ignore.

I sniffled and cried for two hours before climbing into bed and falling asleep.

I woke up to the maid knocking on the door a few times. She had brought me all the food from lunch and specifically told me that Emma sent it to my room.

I did eat it. In fact, I ate it like a savage while tears streamed down my eyes. I wanted to be left alone, so when Emmet texted me to ask if I was okay, I just told him I was and that I was heading to bed again.

I respected him for giving me the space I needed in that moment. I woke up again around midnight.

“That’s it,” I grunted, getting out of bed to go outside and force my wolf to wake up and transition. I needed her desperately tonight. I wanted my mind off my pain, so I had decided to focus on my wolf instead.

I grabbed my purple sweater and walked out to the garden, rushing to the back exit. Since I had been living here, I knew when the warriors would change shifts. Those two minutes were enough for me to get out of the mansion and get some fresh air.

Once I was outside, I began to hear howls in the distance. I frowned, looking around. But I kept walking on the road until I heard a lycan’s howl, and that’s when panic struck me.

I checked the calendar on my phone to see a full moon, not the eclipse. That’s when it hit me. I was stupid enough to think that since the eclipse was over, the lycans would be gone and hiding. But Norman was out there, running around and howling.

I understood it wasn’t a good time for me to be out here. But then the howls were so painful that I couldn’t move away.

They were also from a pretty nearby place, so I got kind of intrigued. It was a few minutes past midnight, so maybe he was still transitioning.

Curiosity struck me, and without thinking twice, I rushed toward the sounds. I reached the deep wooded area in no time, and the howls grew louder. It was the right place. I hid behind a tree when I realized there were other people around.

I stuck my head out from behind the tree and saw Kaye standing in my view. Not only him, but Norman stood in front of him too.

Huh? Norman seemed fine.

Of course, he did.

Because the one transitioning was right between them, howling in pain. The sight was too much for me. I wanted to turn around and run back, as far away from this place as I could. But my steps were glued to the ground.

Tears streamed down my face as it started to make sense to me. Of course, I caught feelings. I wasn’t some jerk who decided to go after her mate’s brother for no reason.

The damn mate bond did it to me.

“Maximus, just relax. Get your mind off all the depressing stuff so you can transition painlessly,” Norman uttered to Maximus, who was howling as he was transitioning into a lycan.