Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 607

Chapter 607: 607-The Lost Mates
Maximus:

“I’m feeling much better now,” I reassured both Norman and Kaye as I sat on the ground after shifting back to my human form. After returning from the dream prison, I went through the transition again. It was exhausting, but at least I was able to become human once more.

I could tell my brothers had been scared and worried that the whole mission might not work out.

“Kaye, you keep an eye on him. I’ll go home and check on Helanie. She must’ve been asleep all night,” Norman said, checking his phone as he got ready to leave.

“We’ll celebrate the good news once we get back home,” Kaye replied, and once again, Norman’s face lit up.

“He’s so happy,” Kaye commented as we watched him walk away. Norman would flinch every now and then from excitement and smile to himself.

Even when I was in my lycan form and wasn’t supposed to remember anything, I still remembered catching glimpses of him throughout the night—creeped out by the wide smile on his face.

He looked kind of creepy.

But he was so happy.

“I can’t believe she agreed to go into the prison to free you, especially when she might’ve already known she was pregnant,” Kaye said as he sat down beside me, head lowered, his voice heavy with guilt.

“I was shocked too. She’s so selfless, like you,” I reminded him that he had once gone into the prison world for her too.

“That was different. Helanie did it out of pure concern for you, and nothing else. And here I was, giving her such a hard time for marking Norman,” Kaye said, looking more defeated than I’d ever seen him. Not even when he used to try to impress our parents and failed.

“You were giving her a hard time? Man! I get that you were upset, but it’s not her fault. We all let her down. Norman was the only one who stayed by her side. Of course she was going to fall for him,” I said. Then, almost without thinking, I touched the mark on my neck and a smile crossed my lips.

“You know, that constant pain we used to feel? It’s gone,” I said, remembering how her touch had felt.

“But what are you going to do now? You’ll hurt even more when she rejects you,” Kaye reminded me, grounding me again and my smile began to fade.

“They told you that? I mean, what was decide-? I thought they agreed to—” I paused, remembering what had happened in Rune’s world and what he’d said.

I knew most of that world was based on dreams, but those dreams came from deep within—a part of someone they couldn’t speak out loud or make real.

“You thought Norman agreed to share Helanie with you? Dude, no!” Kaye let out a scoff, almost laughing at me.

“I don’t mean share-share. I just thought maybe they’d let us stay as mates and see where it goes,” I said quietly.

But I couldn’t bring myself to tell Kaye about the Rune’s dream prison. At least not yet.

Helanie had just given my brother good news, and I found it selfish of me to make it about myself.

“We’ll let them be happy. I don’t want to force her into anything,” I said. I had finally made peace with accepting her choices. But that didn’t mean I would move on from her. I would live my life as an uncle and take care of her, her children, and my brothers.

“Emmet wasn’t there. Did he forget about me?” I asked Kaye, who sighed and looked up at the sky.

“I don’t know, man. He stayed by your side, wiped your sweat, took care of Helanie… and then suddenly, he just up and left. Last thing I heard him say was that he needed some fresh air,” Kaye replied to my concern. “He’ll come back. Probably needed a drink.”

That was true about Emmet. Nothing was more precious to him than his alcohol. That’s how he lost Helanie in the first place.

“Let’s go home,” I said, getting up from the ground now that I felt much better.

We talked as we walked back home, but then we saw Norman frantically running out of the mansion. Right off the bat, I had a bad feeling.

He was supposed to be happy. He should’ve been inside with Helanie. If I were him, I would’ve stayed in that room with her for a week straight.

So for him to be leaving in such a rush and panic, something serious must’ve happened.

“Norman! What’s going on? Are you okay? Is everything alright?” Kaye stepped forward to ask. I looked beside Norman. He was alone.

“Helanie’s not in her room. And Emmet isn’t at home either,” Norman explained the reason behind his panic, and in that moment, it felt like we all stopped breathing at once.

“Did you check the whole mansion? Or Emmet’s bedroom?” I had to ask, even though the thought of Helanie being in Emmet’s room was hard for any of us to stomach.

“No! Emmet’s not in his room,” Norman said firmly. He didn’t even want to entertain the idea.

“Then let’s go look around,” I said, truly starting to panic. Where could they have gone?

We spent the rest of the afternoon running around the woods, calling their names over and over. Emmet’s phone was still switched off, and Helanie’s phone had been found on silent in the mansion. She had left it behind when she left.

Finally, Kaye and I arrived at a bar and that’s where we found Emmet.

“That’s Emmet, right?” I asked Kaye, pointing at the last chair where a guy sat with his head down on the table. That thick, long hair was unmistakable. His build was clearly recognizable.

“That’s him—passed out drunk,” Kaye said, the disappointment in his voice echoing exactly how I felt at that moment.

“Let’s go collect him,” I said, walking toward the last booth.

The fact that he had left me suffering just to come here and drink had already been upsetting but then he took it too far. When I touched him, he raised his head and said,

“Get your hands off me.”