Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 401

Chapter 401: 401-Love Triangles Everywhere
Helanie:

Everyone cheered while Sydney rolled her eyes, but the real surprise was when Lucy clapped. Although her cheering lacked enthusiasm, she still joined the others in praising me.

“And Hans, I’m proud of you for not letting your ego get in the way,” Emmet pointed out, making Hans lower his head proudly and blush.

“Now, the second team to arrive was Kaye’s team,” Norman turned to Kaye and gave him a nod.

“I think Lamar and Penn’s coordination was amazing,” Kaye clapped for the two, making me wonder if he was even fully present here. Sometimes, I would look at him and notice him just standing in his spot like a statue, barely breathing and not blinking once.

“Now—,” as soon as Norman moved on to the third team, Sydney straightened her posture and looked around to make sure everyone knew they had to cheer for her.

“Two teams were in close competition. They were headed to the finish line with only a few seconds’ difference. But as I said, there will only be three winners,” Norman paused to glance at Maximus’ team, and Gavin quickly looked down as if hiding his eyes.

I could only imagine how he was feeling. He had expressed his fear of letting down Maximus, and I guess he was feeling it hard now.

“So—my team arrived a few seconds sooner,” Norman declared, not even looking upset that his team didn’t perform as exceptionally as the other semesters used to.

He really had a sportsman’s spirit.

“Yay!!” Sydney raised her arms and started doing her cheerleading moves until Norman pointed at her, and everyone stopped cheering.

“Stop this,” his harsh tone confused everyone. Sydney bit the inside of her cheek, but no one could bring her down that day.

No one but Norman.

“However, since Sydney harmed one of the students outside the testing ground with a foreign substance, her team—my team is disqualified,” his announcement made everyone’s jaws hang low, and they started looking at each other.

“So, Maximus—your team is the third winner,” Norman’s words pulled Gavin out of his misery. He raised his head, clenched his fists, and lifted them in triumph.

“Gavin!” I turned and gave him a hug, jumping up and down happily. He then went on to celebrate with Lamar, Penn, and Jenny, while my eyes landed on Emmet, and I recalled his words.

‘Use this information wisely.’

He knew that if we had complained first, the trainers would have waited for Jenny to heal and then conducted the test. But he wanted to punish Sydney in the worst way—to make her realize she lost because of her own actions.

“Fucking bitch,” one of the girls from Sydney’s team cursed at her, making her stare at Norman.

“Sir, may I please know why I am getting disqualified?” she asked, making everyone go silent. She was already in tears, ready to let out sobs.

“Didn’t you put pigeon eye powder in Jenny’s eyes? That’s what made Jenny act up on the ground today. You didn’t care about the test; otherwise, you would have been focusing on your training instead of using cheap tricks to secure victory. And since you didn’t care, we don’t care either,” Norman was no longer speaking nicely. He growled as he pointed at her.

“Sir—give me a chance,” she broke down, hands on her face, sobbing.

“Your chances keep running out, but you never learn,” Emmet shook his head at her.

Maximus was happy watching his team celebrate. Lucy still stood silently and still, not even celebrating with her own team until she heard about the surprise gift.

“Now, onto the gift. As I promised—it’s going to be special. At the beginning of summer, all the winning teams will go on a luxury cruise and party for seven days,” Norman’s announcement made us lose our minds.

We all stared at him, then started jumping up and down. I kept my hands clasped near my chest, imagining the night I had escaped my pack—to finally raise my head and live a life of revenge, power, and happiness.

Fighting till my last breath had been worth it.

“No! Sir, please—” Sydney was crying loudly when someone threw a dirt ball at her. She stopped, turned, and cursed under her breath before breaking into sobs again.

“Hey, no bullying,” Norman yelled while walking away, warning whoever had thrown it.

Once the trainers left, I turned to look at my friends.

“We’ll all be together!” I excitedly clapped my hands, noticing Jenny smile at me.

“Thank you for carrying me,” she said softly.

“It wasn’t just me, Hans really helped us today,” I admitted, but I could tell she already knew that.

“Hans, thank you!” Jenny turned to him, and at that moment, I witnessed something surprising.

Hans was blushing while nodding at Jenny. But his smile faded the moment Lamar wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in for a hug and a quick kiss on the lips.

“Oh!” Hans frowned. “I didn’t know you two were—” He said it so softly that only I heard him because I had been watching him.

The sudden change in his mood didn’t sit well with me.

Was he interested in Jenny?

I recalled how he had acted when Jenny was attacked during the test. He hadn’t even cared that much for Sydney and Salem when they were in the cage test with the Frogster.

“Ready for party week?” Penn whispered in my ear, and I smiled, but before I could turn around and respond, I heard Rudy yell in the distance.

“Told you—your friends would prevent you from winning.”

I stared off and frowned, not liking that competitive side of Rudy.

But it was Arlo who said something that soured my mood even more. “If Rudy hadn’t trained you, you would have lost because of that burden on your shoulders.”

“Watch your fucking tone,” Penn yelled, but Arlo only laughed with Sumit. Sage and Rudy kept staring at me as they walked away.