Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 496

Chapter 496: 496-The Unexpected Groom
Helanie:

“Okay, listen up,” Vonston arrived shortly after I ended my call with Kaye.

“We have a groom on the way. It’s an old man—” he began, but I already knew who the groom was.

“I’m not marrying that old man,” I hissed at him.

“Well, you are getting married tonight.”

He shrugged and walked away, making me turn toward my family—who weren’t doing anything to help me.

“What am I going to do now?” I asked myself, rubbing my palms anxiously.

“What are you looking at me for? I’m not fighting anyone for you. The council gave us instructions—you have to get married or be exiled. And by exiled, they mean punished,” my dad said, emotionless as ever.

Of course, he’d never stand up for me.

Even after I returned and achieved so much, he still wasn’t proud of me.

Sometimes, I wondered if he had ever loved me at all.

“But you can fight them. Why won’t you?”

My stepmother smirked, making my stepbrother laugh at her words.

“And Helanie, what was all that academy training even for? It’s not like you can fight everyone,” my stepmother mocked, clicking her tongue at my misery.

“But I can!”

A loud, thunderous voice echoed through the hall as he walked in.

His presence filled the air, thick with tension. His body language screamed confidence.

“Norman!” I called out, running straight toward him and into his arms.

I’d been so stressed out and anxious, I didn’t even realize what I was doing. But seeing him gave me a sudden sense of calm.

He paused for a moment before gently placing his hand on the back of my head to comfort me.

“Where have you been?” I pulled back from the hug and asked, voice shaky. But before he could answer, my attention was already shifting. I was looking behind him—for Emmet.

“Norman, where is Emmet?” I asked again, my eyes widening by the second.

Norman looked like he had been through something.

“I—” he cleared his throat and then looked past me, toward my family, who seemed to have been watching us closely.

“Come here,” Norman gently held my arm and led me toward the exit so we could talk without anyone overhearing.

The clouds were quickly filling up the sky, and I knew the council would rush to get me married.

The punishment had to happen on the exact day.

“Why is your cellphone switched off?” I hissed at him.

“It ran out of battery. I’ve been in the woods—looking everywhere for—”

He paused, and that’s when I finished the thought for him.

“Emmet? Did Emmet go missing?”

I watched as his face filled with sadness.

“I don’t know…”

He was definitely hiding something from me at this point.

“Norman, please tell me the whole truth.”

As I insisted, Norman finally opened his mouth—and what he said shocked me.

“Emmet texted me that he wanted to drink a little. After that, I tried to call him, but he kept cutting my calls. And later, he just stopped answering completely. Before my phone died, I looked around for him… because I’m not even sure if he’s okay or—”

He paused again, one hand on his forehead and the other on his waist.

“Or passed out somewhere,” I finished for him, feeling a wave of disappointment hit me hard.

“Don’t think like that. He probably just forgot or something. I’ll find him soon,” he tried to reassure me, but I was already shaking my head. As if forgetting about his marriage with me was a kind excuse.

“Kaye is coming over. He said he’d offer himself… until the next full moon.”

I couldn’t believe Emmet had done that.

To go drink—on the one day he knew he got messy—was beyond me.

Why was he so anxious to drink and not even trying to be there for me?

I could feel my voice getting heavier as I held back tears in front of Norman. I feel like such a burden now.

“Kaye? No. That is not happening,”

And then the way Norman took a stand for his brother—like an older brother should—made me feel even guiltier.

“Of course I’m not so selfish as to ruin his life and chances with Kesha,” I muttered, changing my mind.

Before, I was so scared I thought I’d marry Kaye just until the next full moon, but now—after seeing Norman’s reaction, the way he shook his head so firmly—I knew I wasn’t going to marry Kaye.

Or anyone.

“That’s not what I meant,” Norman sighed.

“I’m calling Penn,” I said, nodding my head. That was it. He was the only one who had proposed to me genuinely.

I was just so hurt that night.

All the people who claimed to stand by me were suddenly… gone.

“By the time he gets here, Alpha Diaz will already be here with a new groom of his own choosing,” Norman announced, and I hissed.

“Then what do you suggest we do, huh? I’m doomed. I’m so stupid—I always trust people with my whole heart and—”

I hissed again, and out of sheer frustration and hurt, I slapped myself.

That’s when I heard Norman grunt and grab my hand.

The pressure he put on my wrist made me look him in the eye, shocked.

“If you ever touch yourself like that again—”

There was a warning in his voice. It wasn’t anger. It was desperation. Protective.

“I’m tired, Norman. I don’t want to fight anymore,” I whispered, barely recognizing my own voice.

I couldn’t believe I was saying this—but too much had happened.

The injustice, the public humiliation, and now this.

I had to admit it… I had lost.

I should’ve listened when my parents said I couldn’t go against the alphas.

“Come with me. I know what we should do,” Norman said softly.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before gently pulling me toward the council room—the place where the wedding was supposed to start.

“I don’t want to go in there,” I resisted, pulling back.

He stopped walking and turned to look at me.

Then he said something that shook the ground beneath me.

“I’ll marry you.”