Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 486

Chapter 486: 486-What About The Promise To The Moon Goddess
Helanie:

“What?” I couldn’t believe Emmet was saying this. I thought he would want to first take care of his father and make sure he doesn’t lose his mind about Emmet marrying me. But Emmet was willing to risk it all for me.

I guess I never had anyone who was willing to risk everything for me. So I was stunned, just standing in my spot and watching him.

“She—she made a promise to the moon goddess that she will not accept her mates,” Maximus spoke up, breaking my attention from Emmet.

“In order for her to take revenge and get justice, she will need to at least get freed from this pack,” Norman supported Emmet with his idea. But Maximus had managed to cast some shadow of doubt over my promise.

“Helanie, I can wait for you. You know that. But marrying Kaidon would be way more traumatizing for you,” Emmet quickly held my hands when he saw me zone out.

“And who knows what he will do? His mother is toxic, his friends will walk all over the home. And even if you demand a rejection, it will only happen at the next full moon—so you’ll have to stay with him for a while. And I don’t know if I—we—are okay with that,” Norman raised his voice, making sure he was heard among the others.

I was silently watching them put forward their arguments.

“Kaidon is out of the question,” Maximus grunted. “That’s not what I meant.”

He explained, but his words had already made their way into my head.

“Excuse me, what’s going on here?” I hadn’t even realized another car had pulled up. Penn had returned after letting his parents drive away. “Is it about the marriage issue?” he approached us.

I was so relieved to see him—and my friends behind him.

“If it’s okay, and if she’s ready, I can marry her. I’ll take care of her and even reject her if she asks for it at the next full moon after our marriage,” Penn said, and my ears perked up.

He had my full attention, and it made Emmet slowly pull his hands back from mine.

“Marriage is not a joke,” Kaye grunted from behind his brother, already showing he wasn’t okay with the plans we were making.

“But apparently, it is to the councils,” Lamar groaned, his face red with anger.

“I think she shouldn’t make a rushed decision. Let her rest and then think about it. She still has days left, and they did say it has to be Kaidon, so we need to be careful with every step we take now,” Gavin suggested, his eyes telling me he knew I was struggling to make a decision.

“But there is no way she’s marrying Kaidon,” Penn added, and everyone else nodded with him.

“But let’s take her home to rest for now. She’s been through a lot, and seeing those alphas walk out free must have been so hard on her,” Sage said, agreeing with my despair.

“Sure, but can we have a word with her before you take her away?” Emmet said it in a way that made everyone share a glance. They weren’t stealing me from him, but I guess Penn’s suggestion—and my silence—had made it seem that way.

“We’ll wait in the car for her,” Lamar patted Penn’s back to make him walk away and leave me alone with my mates so we could have a personal conversation.

Since Penn didn’t know, but the rest of my friends did know about my mates, they also understood that today had been an incredibly hard day for all of us.

“Helanie, don’t think about anything else right now. I know you hate the moon goddess, but don’t let her be the reason you choose someone else over me, please,” Emmet said, making me feel so bad for him. I had never seen Emmet beg anyone before, so I felt his misery—and I guess he felt mine too.

“Let her rest for now,” Norman gently held his brother’s arm to pull him away from me.

“I’ll wait for your decision. Please be wise,” Emmet said before stepping aside. If I could, I would’ve kissed him goodbye. But I couldn’t.

We had to be more careful than ever now, because my character was under a microscope. I was on their radar, and they would do anything to keep me in prison so I couldn’t escape the wedding at the full moon.

So I needed to look like I was going to accept the marriage with Kaidon. As I walked away, I turned and saw the brothers looking at me.

They all looked so sad and defeated that it broke my heart.

“Don’t worry, we still have days,” Lamar said to me once I sat down.

“I thought we had days before the trial, too. You have no idea how I felt when my pheromones were brought up. That’s what I ran away from. I knew the council would never believe me because of the lack of evidence. And it makes me hate my father so much. If only he had let me take those tests and show them the bruises,” I sighed, going silent—because that wouldn’t have helped either.

“I guess… nothing could have helped me. Look how they separated Rayden’s case from the others. They want confessions from their mouths, which they will never give,” I sighed again, resting my head on Lamar’s shoulder and closing my eyes.

This car ride was the only time I could let myself be upset—because once I got home, I would need to build up my confidence and strength like a wall, so that no harasser or stranger could see through it.

My friends insisted we stop and eat at a café, but I couldn’t swallow anything. I just asked them to drive around while I slept in the car.

I felt safe with them around me. For the next few days, peace would be the last thing I’d worry about. My wedding day would probably go down as the second worst day of my life—where my future would be decided against my will.