Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 488

Chapter 488: 488-Choosing My Mate
Helanie:

“She ruined our name. We can’t even go out anymore,” I heard my stepmother yelling from outside the room, clearly making sure I could hear her.

“I can’t even go play games with my friends,” Sullivan added, using his harsh and loud voice.

I was lying on the couch in the room, reading a book and rolling my eyes every time I heard them.

“It’s not like you have any friends,” Vani yelled back from inside the room, sitting on the bed doing her homework.

I heard loud footsteps approaching the room, and then Sullivan stood in the doorway.

“You shouldn’t be sharing a room with her. She’ll make you just like herself,” Sullivan muttered, his eyes full of disgust when he mentioned me.

I calmly pulled the book to the side and raised my eyebrow at him.

“That would make me the happiest. Who wouldn’t want to get into the RVs and then become their top student?” Vani said with a bright smile, making me glance over at her and smile back.

“Really? I’m pretty sure she fucked her way up,” Sullivan grimaced, arms folded across his chest.

I sat up on the couch, then rested my hands behind my back, leaning on them casually. I crossed one leg over the other and began to gently shake it.

“Then you should try it too. If you’re so sure that’s how it works, go ahead—give it a try,” I said with a shrug. He let out a loud grunt in response.

There was a difference now—they didn’t dare hit me anymore. I’m pretty sure they knew I would hit back… and a lot harder than they could.

“Don’t waste your time on her. She’s only going to be staying with us for a few more weeks before we get rid of her. And then—that poor Alpha will have this trash on his shoulders,” Larissa appeared behind her son, her lips curling upward and her upper lip wrinkling toward her nose in pure disgust.

“He’s not even an Alpha. I’m not sure he’ll ever win the Alpha title. He’s screwed. His luck is gone,” Sullivan added.

As the two walked away, I kept thinking about their words.

I’m definitely not going to marry Kaidon.

Even though Kaidon had shown remorse and tried his best to be honest on the stand, I still couldn’t look at him without being reminded—traumatized—by that night.

And then there was Penn. The offer he made sounded a lot better than marrying Kaidon… or that old man.

“You’re going to marry Kaidon?” Vani asked, lifting her head from her books. Even the question in itself was so weird to me. I would never marry any of those losers for any punishment.

“No,” I answered honestly.

“You shouldn’t. What those Alphas did was wrong. They deserve punishment, not a mate like you. That would be a gift.”

The fact that Vani didn’t care what the trial said or what her mother thought—and that she believed me—made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a long time: a sense of peace.

“Thank you,” I said to her, and she lit up, getting out of bed to come sit beside me.

“Of course. We’re sisters,” she frowned, then sighed. “Please choose that man who came to our house asking about you. I know it might be wrong, but… could it be that you two might fall in love?” she pouted, surprising me. She didn’t even know Emmet was my mate, but she thought we looked good together.

“He’s my stepbrother,” I reminded her, raising a brow.

“No, he isn’t—at least not yet. Anyway—what are you reading?” she asked, peering into the book. I gave her a small nod, and she picked it up, flipping through the pages.

“It’s a book on Soren Vaughn. The man who never had a wolf. Everyone used to say he was an omega or something. It’s crazy—his adventures are all in here, but there’s no detail about what kind of wolf he ended up having to go on those adventures,” I explained, and she stared at the drawings of his tattoos.

She stopped at a black-and-white hand-drawn picture of him.

“Look, the gray pattern in his eyes—it looks just like yours,” she laughed, pointing at the meticulously drawn pattern.

“And those tattoos look like the moles behind your neck,” she added, quickly brushing my hair aside and holding the book next to my neck to compare.

“Damn, they really do look the same,” she gasped.

“Yeah, well, I guess all werewolves without active wolves look the same and have similar moles,” I said, laughing and gently taking the book from her hands.

She laughed with me for a while. We talked about her school before she went out to grab a tray of food for both of us. Her mother was getting angry about her eating with me, but Vani didn’t care.

She was more confident and stronger than I was at her age. Maybe it was because, no matter how loud her mother yelled, Vani knew they wouldn’t hurt her physically the way they hurt me.

Meanwhile, I held my phone in my hands and stared at Emmet’s number. I had been told to be careful and not write anything in a text that could be used against me later.

If anyone found out I was having an affair with my stepbrother, they’d tell Alpha Diaz, and he’d lock me up to make sure I had no chance of stopping the marriage with Kaidon.

So I had to come up with a gentle and sneaky way to tell Emmet about my decision.

Me: Hey, I’ve been thinking about everything, and I think I’ve made my decision.

It was like he’d been holding his phone, waiting—because he read the message almost the second I sent it.

Professor Emmet: Please tell me it’s good news.

I smiled while typing.

Me: I’ll attend your classes—only yours.

His response told me he understood exactly what I meant.

Professor Emmet: Thank you so much. I’ll prepare all the notes and make sure you’re satisfied with my lessons 😉