Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 49

Chapter 49: 49-Cradled In My Arms

Maximus:

Rain pounded against the windshield as I gripped the steering wheel, my eyes scanning the dark road ahead. The wipers struggled to keep pace, but I barely noticed. I couldn’t get my interaction with Lamar and Sydney out of my head.

‘They were lying,’ my wolf caught on and I hissed under my breath. The strange thing was that I felt incredibly odd. I quickly checked my messages from Norman and realized the next full moon was in exactly four days. It made sense.

My chest tightened, but not just from frustration. A dull ache spread through my body, a warning I couldn’t ignore. My muscles were tense, and my joints burned as if I’d been running for miles. The full moon was still four days away, but the pull was already there, making every movement harder and heavier. That’s what happens every full moon.

Tonight, however, I felt as if I could sense Helanie’s scent. That was peculiar. I didn’t typically respond well to the scents or odors of living beings. Something was amiss.

My chest constricted. I had left the windows open to keep my focus on the aroma, as it had somehow become my greatest power tonight.

I floored the gas. The tires skidded on the slick road, but I didn’t care. I had to find her.

‘I just have a very bad feeling about this,’ I knew I wasn’t freaking out over nothing.

The scent grew stronger as I drove deeper into the mountains. I couldn’t shake the feeling—she was close, and someone had harmed her. My gut twisted with anger and concern.

Recalling Sydney’s words only made me feel more uneasy. Could it be that those two had done something to her? There was no way.

They were going to be students at our prestigious academy; they wouldn’t do something so reckless and jeopardize their futures. Rain hammered on the roof, a steady, maddening rhythm. I followed Helanie’s scent as best as I could, but it kept fading in and out, swallowed by the storm. I slammed the brakes as the road split ahead, the tires skidding on the wet gravel.

Left or right?

I growled in frustration, trying to concentrate, but the rain was washing her scent away. I turned left, hoping for a breakthrough. After a mile, the road ended abruptly, leading to nothing but dense trees and mud.

“Damn it!” I slammed my fist against the steering wheel.

“Calm down. Remember, it’s just Helanie?” Xim noticed my agitation and quickly tried to remind me that if she had left, it would be good for us.

“I don’t understand. Why the heck are you looking for her? Sydney said she left. Isn’t that what we brothers wanted? Weren’t you worried about Kaye?” I hated it whenever Xim referred to Kaye as just my brother and not his.

This was what Xim did whenever the full moon was approaching; hence, I avoided him. I reversed, trying the other road. For a moment, I caught her scent again, stronger this time—then nothing. Another dead end.

Then another wave of pain surged through my body, making me bite my bottom lip. I gritted my teeth, trying to shake it off. I didn’t have time for this. Helanie was out there—hurt, afraid. I couldn’t let the pain slow me down. Not now.

I slammed the wheel and turned the car around again, battling the stiffness in my arms. The tires skidded as I rounded the bend, and then I slammed the brakes. I just had a feeling she was here.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on anything but the rain. Then I heard a soft whimper.

“Ah!” It was filled with pain and misery.

I jumped out of my car, drenched by the rain, and looked around, reaching a slope where the whimpers grew stronger. I hastily grabbed my phone and turned on my flashlight to look down.

There she was.

At first, I barely recognized her through the blur of rain and darkness. Her small form lay at the bottom of a slope, struggling, barely moving. She was trying to crawl up—her fingers digging into the mud, her body shaking. Even in this state, with wounds painting her skin red, she was still fighting.

A whimper broke through the storm, faint but desperate. It tore through me, sharp as a blade. I was in disbelief. How the hell did this happen?

It was also proof that Lamar and Sydney lied.

Did the candidates do something to her? Of course, the smell of blood in the kitchen was similar to the scent of blood on Helanie.

“Helanie!” As soon as I yelled her name, I watched her slowly raise her head, and my heart twisted at the sight. She had swollen eyes, one of which was even shut. Her split lips were swollen, and her nose was a mess.

There were many more injuries, but they faded into the darkness.

“I can do this,” I focused on her trembling lips and saw her trying to muster some courage. It broke my heart.

Without wasting another minute, I rushed down.

“We can let her die here,” Xim whispered creepily, but I blocked his voice out. That wasn’t even an option.

I dropped to my knees beside her, my hands hovering for a moment, afraid to touch her, afraid of hurting her more. She tried to speak, but all I could hear was her ragged breathing and her struggle to stay conscious.

For the first time, I felt something snap inside me, something I didn’t even know I had. Protectiveness. Rage. A need so deep it hurt worse than any transformation ever could.

“I am here, Helanie. I will take care of you,” I whispered, cradling her as gently as I could. My hands trembled, but I lifted her and made my way up to my car. Once I laid her down in the backseat, I sped off to take her to the hospital.

“Uhhhh! I am—fine. I have done this before,” she muttered in her semi-conscious state. Every word that came out of her lips sounded like a tragic story.

I felt so terrible and guilty. We knew she was a vulnerable creature among crazed young wolves, and we didn’t warn them about treating her right.