Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 59

Chapter 59: 59-Losing My Brothers

Norman:

I haven’t been able to rest ever since Kaye left. His eyes held so many questions for me.

“He must have just been upset,” Maximus guessed, noticing my silence.

“It’s fine. I’m not upset with Kaye—he’s my brother. It’s just that…” I stopped, realizing that my brother saw me as a role model, and I had let him down.

My real issue was with Helanie. She was coming between us brothers. But I also decided then and there not to speak about her in front of any of them from now on. If I had to make changes for our own good, I’d do it quietly, without discussing it.

“Maximus! Maximus!” As we entered our mansion, a loud, high-pitched voice echoed through the hallway before we could even see who it was.

Then Charlotte appeared, practically bouncing in front of us, her wide smile making me cringe. She was wearing a short purple dress and holding a plate of cookies.

“I made these for you!” she said, raising the plate up, even getting on her tiptoes to reach Maximus.

My brother shot me an awkward side-eye before sighing and accepting a cookie. Her smile brightened even more when he took one.

“Oh, Norman, why don’t you try one too?” she asked, turning toward me, though her eyes remained fixed on Maximus. I’d been noticing how she kept eyeing my brother lately, and I wasn’t pleased. We allowed her to stay here, but that didn’t mean she and her mother could start stirring up trouble.

“No, thank you. And what are you doing in the kitchen, making cookies?” I asked, stepping in front of Maximus. Her surprised look told me she hadn’t expected me to confront her.

Just because I hadn’t done it before didn’t mean I wouldn’t do it now.

“I… I saw a video on baking and thought I’d give it a try. I remembered how much Maximus likes homemade cookies.” She stepped back, keeping a careful distance but still stealing glances at him.

The hesitation and stuttering in her voice gave away a hint of the fear she must have been feeling in that moment.

“You don’t need to do anything for me or my brothers. Now go feed these cookies to someone else,” I raised my voice, watching her flinch. Her mother, hearing the commotion, rushed out of her room, hugging her daughter protectively and avoiding my gaze.

“Let’s go.” I grabbed the cookie from Maximus’s hand, tossing it back onto the plate as I walked past the two of them. They were not good people—they had bad intentions. Charlotte was probably trying to trap Maximus because, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to marry a future rogue king?

“What was that? Why did you even accept that cookie from her? Are you interested in her?” I demanded as soon as we were out of earshot. Maximus awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

“No!” he replied quickly.

“Then why are you accepting cookies from her? Don’t you realize she’s trying to show interest in you? When you take the cookie, you’re giving her hope,” I said, frustrated. I couldn’t understand why my brothers struggled to see the difference between simple kindness and encouraging someone’s advances.

Besides, I’d never allow Charlotte to cling to him. Anyone connected to Ursula had no place in our lives.

“Sorry. I thought I’d just keep her guessing and then tell her I wasn’t interested if she asked directly,” Maximus shrugged, still not grasping the seriousness of the situation.

“Maximus, you can’t play those games here. I know you see other women outside this mansion, but do you not remember what Dad warned you about? You can’t bring any of those affairs into this house. And as much as it pains me to say this, Charlotte lives here. She’s family—though by force—so if you lead her on, it’s going to be a problem, and you’ll have to see her every day afterward.” I grabbed his arm, trying to make him understand the gravity of the matter. My brothers were my everything, my soul purpose of living.

I’d tried to teach him countless times to have patience and trust in the Moon Goddess. She would reveal his fated mate in time. But he was impatient—and, if I’m honest, a bit too addicted to the attention from women.

I winced at my own thoughts; honestly, it was a disgusting habit.

“Fine, fine, I get it. I’ll go to rest. Hopefully, Kaye and Emmett will update us about Helanie’s condition,” Maximus’s voice softened a bit when he mentioned her.

I had noticed something strange about that girl—whoever spent time with her would start acting oddly. Somehow, they would find a way to bring her up in conversation, as if she’d cast some kind of spell on them.

“They’re weak, or maybe just too emotional,” I muttered to myself, heading to my room.

But I needed to make sure Kaye still saw me as he always had. Everything I did, I did for my brothers. How could he look at me and judge me like that? His comment earlier had really gotten under my skin.

It’s not like he hadn’t made his own mistakes. But I always understood him and stood by his side, and he knew that about me too. That’s what hurt the most—he questioned me today, and all because of Helanie.

Grabbing my phone, I dialed one of our warriors’ numbers, lying back on my bed and staring at the ceiling.

“Get me some information on Helanie Niles,” I said, nodding to myself. The only way to deal with this was to understand why she was here. If I could dig into her past, maybe I’d discover her real intentions.

As soon as I hung up, Emmett’s message popped up on my screen.

Emmett: Kaye has volunteered to stay with Helanie and take care of her. Also, we’ll need a new team of doctors and nurses.

I sat up, stunned. This was too much. Things were spiraling out of control. Helanie needed to be sent away.