Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates-Chapter 688-Luring Me In

Helanie:

My heart skipped a beat watching Emmet hug Azura back. That was a shocker. But I had a bad feeling it stemmed from the fact that his brothers had objections to our relationship. I felt like he had given up—on us, for us.

There’s no way I’d believe he was playing me while also being ready to take things further with Azura.

"I heard you guys did an amazing job with the case," Norman said proudly.

"Yeah, it was mostly Emmet," I interrupted. "I was kind of going through a hard time in there until they all apologized. It was a nice feeling to know they’ve finally understood their mistakes," I uttered while still in Norman’s arms.

Emmet and Azura headed inside the mansion, while we stayed outside.

"You saw that?" Maximus said, pointing at the door, but Emmet was already gone. "He was playing with you."

I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. "Maximus, can we not talk about it?" I didn’t like how they were demonizing him.

"He’s playing you both—" Maximus stopped mid-sentence, and I followed his gaze to Norman.

"He’s our brother," Norman reminded him, making me wonder if he even remembered himself.

"He is not," I said, pulling away from Norman. "He told me she cursed him."

Sometimes I hated how we kept things from each other while sharing a bed. It was like we were the most open about intimate stuff, yet the moment it came to something important, we kept secrets.

"Cursed?" Maximus’s expression suddenly shifted.

"He recalled the whole event from that night. He doesn’t believe you did anything wrong," I said to Norman, before beginning to recall every detail Emmet had told me, including the heartbroken curse.

Norman and Maximus exchanged a look, then stepped away.

"Hello? You two need to tell me your thoughts!" I snapped, frustrated. "It’s time we shared everything. What if I know something that could change your perception? Or you know something that could help my own investigation?"

They exchanged heavier, deeper breaths, clearly needing time together first. ƒгeewebnovёl_com

"I need to figure something out," Norman said just as his phone began ringing.

"Hello? Yeah? Are you sure? Okay, we’re on our way." He hung up, and the urgency on his face told me it was serious.

"The warriors are certain they saw Kaye near our mother’s pack," Norman explained.

Maximus nodded and turned to enter the mansion, but then paused, glancing back at us.

"It’s the full moon tonight. We need to get our hands on Kaye and bring him to Helanie," Maximus said firmly. Then he added, "In that case, Helanie must come with us. We’ll book a hotel room for her in the pack. If we leave her here and catch Kaye there, it’ll be morning before we even get him back to her."

Norman began nodding at his brother’s suggestion.

"Wait, but you’ll be transitioning, Maximus. It would be dangerous for you to be in a pack and go through a transition while I’m also busy," Norman said, making my skin prickle with goosebumps.

We’d almost forgotten about Maximus. Pack members would lose their minds if they found out a Lycan was in their territory.

"But I want to come with you. Someone will have to stay with Helanie in the hotel room," Maximus argued, genuine concern lacing his words.

"Maximus, I can take care of myself. You need rest too, and privacy. We’ll be fine, don’t worry," I said, holding his hand and gently patting the back of it.

Then Norman said something that made me feel a little uncomfortable.

"But then Maximus will be here alone."

Maximus nodded in agreement.

"Guys, Emmet is still here. He’s been letting Maximus feed on him," I reminded them, watching their faces cloud with guilt. But Norman quickly explained why he hadn’t considered that option.

"He sometimes forgets—"

While Norman had a valid point, Maximus was already spiraling.

"And what if he doesn’t want to help me now, after I showed resistance to your relationship with him?" Maximus challenged.

I glared at him, and I noticed Norman doing the same.

"He would never do that. You know that, right? The only time he makes mistakes is when he forgets things," Norman said softly, so softly I wasn’t even sure Maximus could hear him.

But I wished someone else had.

Someone who might have also heard his brothers questioning if they could even trust him with a responsibility anymore.

"Don’t worry. I’d rather die than let anything happen to you, brother. I’m in a good state of mind. I’m not forgetful today," Emmet’s voice broke through the air, filled with a hint of sadness. He made steady, deep eye contact with Maximus.

But Maximus turned his back on him. His head hung low, and I saw his eyes begin to well up.

"Anyway, let’s pack our bags. I’m sure Emmet will take care of things here," I said quickly, brushing past the brothers to head upstairs.

Everything felt off. I was weirded out by the heaviness around us.

The journey had been long and draining, we’d been traveling non-stop. At least I had.

By the time we arrived at the Red Crown Pack, I was completely exhausted. I left for the hotel while Norman got to work almost immediately.

All I needed was two hours of rest before meeting Kaye. Or at least I hoped I’d get that.

I didn’t want to wait for another full moon to see him. I was expecting the call to come sooner, but it didn’t arrive until around midnight.

Still half-asleep, I answered the call without checking the caller ID, assuming it was Norman.

But the voice on the other end wasn’t his.

"Emma? Why are you calling me?" I grunted, climbing out of bed, stifling a yawn.

"Did you meet your mother?" she asked, concern heavy in her tone. "She left after you, heading for the Darcys’ pack to confront Darcy about something. I thought you’d already met her."

Her words made my heart drop. I needed to hurry before a confrontation between my mother and Darcy went too far.

Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on free(w)ebnov(e)l.𝒄𝒐𝙢