Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates-Chapter 682-The Real Altan

Helanie:

"You took his what?" Emmet asked, trying to understand his statement. My jaw hung low, it just clicked.

"It wasn’t Daltan who died that day," Altan began, sniffling slowly. "It was the brave one. The one the entire pack adored. The one who was supposed to do greater things, like a seer once told our pack. It was Altan. The real Altan." He covered his face in his hands and started sobbing.

It all made so much sense now.

The one I was with until the age of nine was different. That was the real Altan, the one who would stand up for me without caring what others said about a golden alpha taking the side of an omega.

Even when we were just kids, he used to come to my house to bring me my stationery, books, and supplies. He would tell my parents to be nice to me in his cute, childlike aggression.

He was the one who had promised that when we grew up, we would become mates.

The one who wasn’t a coward.

"You must be thinking I fooled you when I continued my friendship with you," Altan raised his face, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"It was my father who wanted me to act just like Altan, so that nobody would suspect the truth. He even let me befriend you, just so it would look like the cowardly one died. But then he grew wary of me. He knew I was weak. He knew that, at any point, you would make me fall for you—truly fall—and that you would steal me from him, from everyone. He knew I would crack before you and tell you my secret. So he tried to get rid of you. He wanted bigger things for me. He forced the fate of the real Altan onto me by making me marry an alpha’s daughter. That’s why Sydney’s father did all that to become an alpha too. It was all one big plan. They were all trying to control destiny, my parents, Sydney’s parents, and your parents," Altan said, then pointed at Emmet, whose eyes narrowed.

"Lady Darcy hates Helanie. She’ll do anything and everything to get rid of her," he added, what I couldn’t bring myself to tell Emmet, Altan just did.

"My mother is planning to take her down?" I heard Emmet’s jaw clench.

"She’s been having an affair with my father, with Beta Coombs, and many others. She knew how to use her charms to make them follow her lead. It’s all one big scheme," Altan continued. Then he took a deep breath and turned to stare at the tree.

"I know what you want," he yelled, but it wasn’t angry. It was full of love, as if he wanted his brother to hear him.

"You want your identity back. You want prayers. You want a respected burial," Altan said softly. As he spoke, the tree began to grow silent once again. And then, he did something that woke it up.

"My apologies, Alpha Altan. It was you who passed away. You deserved the acknowledgment," he said, bowing his head.

As soon as he spoke those words, a light began to form beneath the tree. Emmet instinctively pulled me close, his body tense, ready to protect.

"Brother," a voice echoed. We turned toward the light. A child-like figure appeared, more like a hologram.

"Daltan?" the child said, his voice faint. His face was pale, his form tinged in a glowing blue. "I’ve been waiting for someone to say my name."

My heart broke at the sight. How had I never realized they had been switched?

"I’m so sorry," the real Daltan said, his voice cracking. "I should have spoken up. But you can’t blame me. After all, I was the coward nobody wanted alive."

I felt my chest tighten. I felt bad for Daltan too—the real Daltan, the one who had lived in silence.

"I didn’t care about the others," the child said. "I cared about you. I thought you’d tell everyone it was Altan who died. I was so lonely here. I wanted to be buried among my pack members so we could meet again. But Father put me here– all alone, in the darkness."

He paused, looking down.

"I had to come and collect children, those who were courageous enough to want to leave and play with me," he added gently. The way he mispronounced certain words made me smile, just a little. That was indeed Altan.

"I want you to live your life as Daltan now. That’s who you are," the boy said kindly. "Don’t be ashamed of yourself. And don’t ever let Father tell you what to do." His tone darkened at the mention of their father.

"I will. I miss you so much, every day," Daltan whispered, beginning to break down.

I noticed Altan’s eyes shift toward me.

"I wish I were there that night, my best friend Helanie," he said, his voice trembling. "I would’ve killed them all—or died there."

A tear slipped down his cheek.

"But the man beside you—him, I approve of," he added with a small smile, glancing at Emmet. "But look at you—you grew up, while I stopped growing."

I started to sniffle, taking slow steps toward him.

"I used to wonder what happened, how my friend forgot the little promises he made to me," I said, hiccuping softly.

"Oh, I remember all of those," Altan said. "Maybe in some other life, we’ll meet again, and I’ll be able to fulfill those promises."

I began to nod slowly.

"Please forgive my brother too," he added gently. "He wasn’t the one who made those promises, help him, please."

I couldn’t say no to him. I began to nod more vigorously, tears welling up.

"Can I say goodbye to him?" Daltan asked, barely able to stand on his feet. Emmet and I quietly walked away, giving them the space to say their final goodbye.

---

Later, we sat in the living Room, waiting for Daltan to return.

"Did you see that?" Emmet asked.

"Yeah! it was so weird seeing him again," I replied, slouching down on the sofa.

"No! I mean, even the ghost approved of me."

As soon as Emmet made the joke, I started to laugh, but only tears came out instead.

Emmet rushed over and sat beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer to his chest.

"If it weren’t for you, we would have never found out what had been cursing this pack," I said, closing my eyes and listening to Emmet’s heartbeat.

And then a memory of Norman’s four heartbeats hit me hard.

I was hoping he would have forgiven me by now.

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