Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 381

Chapter 381: 381-One Gone, 5 More To Go
Helanie:

“He will be in jail, and Jenny will face no consequences. That video she recorded helps her case. Not only was it self-defense, but Rayden was a scumbag too,” Norman said as we stood on the road next to the woods and mountains.

We had been silent throughout the car ride. It was like we were taking time to process everything before talking about it.

“Emmet said Mores said to check your background—” Norman said as he looked at his phone.

I couldn’t believe that guy was still on my back, even when his son was proven guilty.

But the background check thing was scary. I had seen how much his father defended him—imagine what the others’ parents would do when they found out about me.

“Emmet did his search and found out—you weren’t part of the pack for long. There’s no record because you left on your own,” Norman shocked me. I frowned in confusion because I was sure that if they had searched properly, they would have found a whole lot of data on me.

How the hell did my name and records get wiped clean?

“You should have dropped me at the academy,” I muttered softly, avoiding eye contact with Norman and Kaye.

Emmet had left with Lamar to take care of the formalities and drop him home, while Maximus had stayed in Jenny’s pack to handle the paperwork against Mores.

“I shouldn’t have,” Norman replied gently, while Kaye was busy on his phone. I had noticed how emotional the others were, but Kaye—he reacted how someone would for a victim, but other than that, he seemed unfazed that it had happened to me.

“Kesha, sorry, babe, I had some work today—” Kaye excused himself to his brother and stepped aside to take a call, not sparing me a glance.

I knew it was wrong of me to expect him to look at me, but sometimes, I still wondered—what if I had agreed to stay as his side chick while he waited for me and dated Kesha?

It didn’t seem like he was only dating her for a while or for whatever reasons he had told me before. He seemed very much involved with her. If I had agreed back then, he would have dumped me along the way, and that pain would have been so much worse.

Besides, I would have never been okay with Kaye playing Kesha.

“Helanie.” Norman pulled me out of my thoughts, his voice full of compassion.

“You don’t need to say anything. It happened in the past, and I’ve healed since then,” I said.

I had healed in a way, but the pain was still there. However, I didn’t like people bringing it up.

“I’m glad you did, but—why didn’t you tell us? If you had—I would have—” Norman clenched his jaw but quickly turned away, hiding his raw emotions from me.

“Tell me something, when was it?” He then turned to face me again, his eyes full of rage and unspoken emotions.

“Why do you—” I tried to stop him, but he kept insisting.

“Tell me, when was it?” he demanded, and I replied.

“Back when I had come to the mansion. It was the day before—” I shut up because he threw a punch in the air and briskly walked away from me.

This is why I didn’t want to talk about it. It would remind me of how everyone had treated me during that time.

“I will go back to the academy. I cannot stay in the mansion,” I finally decided as I watched Norman lose his mind. He turned to me and shook his head, but when I showed him my palm, he realized I didn’t want to go back there.

“And I would appreciate it if this whole mess isn’t discussed in the mansion. Just keep my name out of it, please,” I requested. Honestly, I didn’t want my mother or anyone else to find out about it.

My name getting dragged into this would open up all sorts of problems.

“Then I will drop you off myself,” Norman said, looking exhausted, his hands hanging by his sides. He kept stealing glances at me, and there were moments when I wondered if he was tearing up.

That couldn’t be. My misery wouldn’t affect him this much… would it?

“Don’t worry, no one will attack me. I can fight now,” I tried to lighten the situation and walk away, but he held my hand and said,

“You’re right. No one would dare lay a finger on you ever again.”

The intensity and determination in his voice stunned me.

I gulped, giving him a nod of understanding before noticing him holding the car door open for me.

“What about Maximus?” I asked, looking toward the woods.

“He’s transitioning to get the heat off his mind. He’ll be fine,” Norman didn’t seem too worried about Maximus. I wondered if the Lycan transformation was only a full moon thing, and the rest of the time, he was just a normal wolf.

“Okay,” I nodded and got in the backseat of the car. That’s when Kaye finished his call and returned.

“I’m dropping her at the academy,” Norman informed his brother, who nodded casually.

“Don’t you think you should comfort her too? You’re her mate. She’ll feel much better if it’s her mate saying words of comfort,” Norman suggested to Kaye.

I didn’t want comfort from my mate, but Norman was pushing for it.

“Brother, I’ll be honest with you. Yes, I’m angry with Rayden—but not because Helanie was on the receiving end of it. I’m angry because what happened was wrong. No woman should be treated that way. The rest…I don’t know if I can ever forgive her. But rest assured, I’ve moved on, and I will pray she finds comfort.”

Those words from Kaye—as if I was the one who had hurt him—really knocked me down.

He had completely moved on, and it showed in his behavior. The only issue was that he was spinning it on me.