Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 475

Chapter 475: 475-I Left Her Behind.
Altan:

“Why did you leave me behind?”

I saw him in the shadows, standing there—someone I had betrayed.

“Everyone is right about you. You’re a coward.”

I grimaced in my sleep, the finger pointing at me making me turn over in bed.

“You’re such a coward.”

“I didn’t want to leave you—behind—,” I gulped, trying to wake up. I knew I was in deep sleep, paralyzed. And I needed to wake up.

But just when I thought I could, I saw her behind him.

Now both of them were pointing their fingers at me.

“Helanie—” I wasn’t shocked. She always came to my dreams to haunt me.

What I did that night would stay with me. She didn’t deserve it.

The way she asked me to stay with her, begged for them to leave her alone—I would never forget that.

“He’s always like this. He leaves the people who love him behind,” he said to Helanie. My heart trembled and tears welled up in my eyes.

“No! I didn’t leave you behind—” I screamed, and that’s when I finally forced myself to wake up.

Life had become such a weight on my shoulders. Nothing felt interesting enough to keep me going. I had no goal, none at all—except finding a way to do something about a crime that had been committed.

That night, those Alphas… they all did her wrong. But how could I get justice for her when she was no longer here to speak up? When there was no record of any crime?

I dragged myself out of bed and took a shower, getting ready for breakfast with my so-called righteous family.

As I held my phone and looked at the notifications, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

Sydney: where are you?

Sydney: The seniors are done with their test so the academy is giving us all some days off before we start a new semester.

Sydney: I was hoping we could spend some time together?

I didn’t reply to her. There was a time I was fond of her, maybe even loved her. But not enough to stop seeing other people. I dated many, and one of them was Helanie.

I was only infatuated with Helanie and thought of her as a friend. She was so beautiful that I wanted to keep her around like a trophy. But after that night, I couldn’t forget her.

The injustice she faced was all my fault.

And then I couldn’t bring myself to love anyone again—even my love for Sydney faded.

“Morning,” my dad grunted, clearly taunting me for not greeting him first.

“Good morning,” I said as I sat at the table with him and my mother, who was too busy on her phone to even lift her head.

“Altan! I want you to go to training,” Dad said. The mention of that intense training—meant to disconnect me from the world—made me raise an eyebrow.

I had wanted to go for that training after Helanie’s death, but Dad refused. Now, him suddenly asking me to go? That was suspicious.

“What is it this time? What are you trying to stop me from?” I asked, watching him glare at me.

“Are you suggesting I’m playing some kind of game with you?” he hissed. “I’ve already prepared everything for your journey. Finish your food and get going.”

That wasn’t normal. I looked over at my mother, who finally put her phone down and stared at us like she was trying to snap out of whatever world she’d been lost in.

Mother had always been that way, but one bad incident had left her even more traumatized.

“What’s the rush?” I asked, confused.

Suddenly, Dad got up and tried to snatch the phone from my hands. I pulled back and got out of my seat.

“What is going on?” There was no way he wasn’t freaking out about something.

“There’s been an issue, and I want you gone before you get dragged into it,” he hissed, trying to get behind me and take my phone again. He was sending me away to training—where I’d have no phone, no contact, and no way of knowing what was going on.

“Dad, what is it? What issue? Why would I be dragged into it?” I asked, keeping my tone firm. But I already had a feeling what was coming. My dad was a control freak. He hadn’t even given me his crown, while most Alphas had already passed theirs to their sons.

My dad loved power and control.

“It’s just some pack tax stuff,” he waved it off, holding out his hand for my phone.

“And how does that concern me? I’m not even a crowned Alpha yet. You should be the one going into hiding—which means you haven’t paid the taxes. Why wouldn’t you?”

I watched his face change color, but a notification on my phone distracted me.

I pulled my hand forward and unlocked my phone, stepping behind the table to put space between us.

It was a message from one of my high school friends, and it grabbed all of my attention.

David: Hey, did you guys know that girl Helanie who died months ago? She’s been resurrected somehow. They caught her alive and are now presenting her to court for a trial—apparently for running away from her punishment.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my eyes locked onto my father’s face. He groaned, shaking his head at me.

“Is that what you’ve been hiding from me?” I couldn’t even form a full sentence as a whimper slipped from my lips.

“Ugh! I didn’t want you to go all crazy. I haven’t paid so much for your therapy just for it all to go to waste the minute you read the news,” Dad waved his hand to dismiss me.

“Huh? You think I don’t deserve to know? That guilt has been killing me—” I yelled, tears streaming down my face.

My mother rushed over, hugging me, sobbing as she watched me break down.

“Nothing has changed. She should have stayed dead—and if not, I’ll make sure it happens,” my father’s eyes glinted with something dark, his finger pointing straight at me. “And if I have to kill you too, I will.”

His reputation and ego won once again.