Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 526

Chapter 526: 526-The Missing Bastard

Helanie:

“Yeah, she has double-colored eyes and fur,” I giggled like a teenager—which I was, but I’d forgotten about it.

“Tell her—tell her about the battle,” Lamar pointed at Salem and then at Jenny, asking me to share the news.

“Oh, I’ve challenged Darius to a battle for his crown, and before you guys worry, I’m ready for it,” I spoke up quickly, trying to stop any concerns before they came.

They looked concerned, but then they all wished me good luck and said they’d love to be there when I train—which I was doing every day with the brothers.

“Guys, did you see Kaidon’s live a few hours ago?” Gavin asked.

“Yeah, it was traumatic to listen to, but it probably explained a lot to the council,” Penn spoke up, feeling guilty and trying to talk more with Gavin and Salem after wrongly accusing Salem under pressure.

“I heard Kaidon is trying to stay safe and away from the culprits—even though he’s one of them too, but still—” Jenny explained. That’s when Lucy walked out of the bathroom after taking a shower.

She looked at all of us sitting together on the floor and sighed.

“Why did you lie and say I had something to do with the muffin?” Salem asked her, not letting the lie slide.

“I didn’t. I asked them to ask you—I didn’t blame you. Maybe it’s in *their* hearts that they don’t trust you,” she shrugged, making all of us clench our jaws.

“Anyway, the entity is out there. Don’t expect me to be nice. And if I were to give some advice, I’d say—be bad,” Lucy was trying to convince us she was helping, but I had to stop her.

“You didn’t think the entity was in Jenny, did you?” I folded my arms over my chest. It must’ve been the confidence in my voice, because suddenly everyone was staring at me.

“What makes you say that?” Lucy asked.

“Because you knew Sydney drugged that muffin. And the reason you didn’t let Jenny go to the hospital was because you were afraid Sydney would get caught. So stop acting like we trust anything you say,” I hissed at her, watching her tilt her head and smile.

“I guess I need therapy,” was all she said before walking past me.

It left us all stunned. Was that an admission to drugging Jenny?

“Anyway, we’re headed to the carnival, aren’t we?” Jenny clapped, talking about Rudy’s pack’s carnival.

“Great, he’ll have plenty of time to flirt with someone else’s wife,” Penn muttered under his breath. He never hid the fact that he hated how Rudy always acted perfect around me.

“Are you coming, Penn?” I asked, and he tiredly nodded.

“I have to. Someone has to make sure Rudy stays in his lane.”

That wasn’t good. I didn’t want Penn to ruin the carnival with his bitterness toward Rudy. That would only make Penn look bad too.

The next few days leading up to the carnival were amazing. I would take classes, then train with the brothers, return to my room to eat a lot, and then go to bed. Sydney was unusually quiet after everyone told her to back off from me. There were times when other classmates would stare at her too long, silently reminding her to either be nice to me or not talk to me at all.

Although she wasn’t the type to let anyone control her actions, this time I was giving her the benefit of the doubt. But that didn’t mean I believed she wasn’t plotting something behind my back.

And then, it was the day of the carnival.

“I’ll be fine. You take care of Emmet—make sure he doesn’t forget everyone,” I said to Norman over the phone. He had been blowing up my phone, asking me to share my location and all that. He was never really the overprotective type—or should I say, the clingy husband type—but it wasn’t a bad kind of clingy.

His concern for me would sometimes fill my heart with so much peace. It felt like I’d achieved something. After all, this was Norman I was talking about.

“Okay, eat well, and try to train with Penn whenever you have time,” he warned me gently on the phone. I’m guessing the brothers were extremely worried about me fighting Darius. Of course, Darius wouldn’t be sitting around doing nothing either.

“I will. Take care,” I said, hanging up after we’d talked for another fifteen minutes.

As I turned around, I saw Jenny and Salem standing by Penn’s car, smirking.

“Oh, I miss you, wifey,” Jenny said in a deep voice, mimicking Norman.

“I miss you too, baby. Even though I say I hate you, deep down inside—very deep down inside—I miss you,” Salem added dramatically. My cheeks turned red. I’d never thought about Norman in that way, so them joking about it made me playfully glare at them.

“She’s coming with us,” Sage snapped her fingers in the air as she arrived, just when everyone started piling into Penn’s car.

I was fine with it. Penn’s car was going to be packed anyway with Lamar, Gavin, Penn, Jenny, and Salem. I didn’t think I’d be able to fit in.

I waved at my friends before getting into the car with Sage and Rudy.

The way Penn rolled his eyes made Gavin and Lamar chuckle. I could tell the vibe in their car would be way more fun than ours.

The journey was great. As expected, Rudy was in a good mood. He made me sit in the passenger seat as he drove. We sang, ate food, and after many hours, we finally arrived at his pack. My friends were a little late, but Rudy had already asked Sage and Arlo to stand at the entrance and welcome them to their guest rooms.

“The one upstairs is your room,” Rudy said, walking away since he had to go see his father.

It was late, so I didn’t have time to meet his parents. I rushed upstairs to the room where my bags had been placed to freshen up. Once inside, I cleaned up in the bathroom and changed into grey sweatpants and a white shirt.

But when I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw something I didn’t expect.

The eyes—the hair—the way he smirked.

It was him.

“Rhiz!”

The missing piece of the puzzle in the portrait of that bastard.