Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates
Chapter 704-Ready To Kill His Rival

Chapter 704: 704-Ready To Kill His Rival

Helanie:

I had passed out once again, but probably only for five minutes. Maybe it was my body trying to readjust to the previous environment after being in the water for who knows how long. Maybe it was two minutes, maybe five, but it felt like an eternity. It felt like I belonged there.

Now I had woken up again, and everything felt pretty awkward. I could tell that most of my friends had already found out the truth, the truth about my identity that even I hadn’t known until now. I’m not sure how, but they told me that students outside had seen my mermaid tail. They saw something glowing, so they started asking a lot of questions.

Now I sat on the bed, watching everyone’s faces.

"That was so cool," Jenny whispered, showing her excitement until she noticed eyes on her. Then she quickly fixed her posture.

"Do you know it’s not that cool? Because if the news gets out, she could be in danger," Gavin said flatly, eyeing her with a very displeased expression.

He had lost his cool ever since he lost his mate. He wasn’t the same guy who used to find comedy in tense situations. Now, he was someone who took everything extremely seriously. I guess it came from the fact that he had already lost both a mate and a friend. The idea of his loved ones being in danger again was probably too much, and we all understood that.

"No, she won’t be in trouble," Maximus retorted, stepping in among my friends, those who were sitting either on chairs or on the edge of the bed with me.

"We won’t let anything happen to her," he added.

Kaye, who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, only nodded, his eyes fixed on the floor as if he were deep in thought. That’s when Norman stepped forward.

"Actually, Jenny’s right. It was pretty cool."

I looked at him, and a smile spread across my lips.

"I’m not just saying this because it was you," he continued. "The way you jumped into the water, the way you transformed, it was like watching a beautiful anime transition. You have these gorgeous golden scales with hints of silver and red. Your golden hair was shining like it had fairy lights in it. Your eyes were sparkling. It was unreal. Your skin had golden lightning freckles. And the way you were able to control the sharks, just one movement, and they obeyed you. You might not have noticed all of it, but we did."

Norman concluded, and I began to feel truly satisfied with myself.

My eyes traveled to Emmet because I did want to know what he thought about it. But instead of finding him looking at me, I found him checking on his brother, Kaye, who hadn’t said a word or moved in a while.

"What about the students? What if the news gets out?" I asked, scanning all their faces one by one.

"I’m pretty sure it’ll be fine. All the alphas are on your side. The rogue kings are on your side," Penn spoke up, offering his input.

"Yeah, but you know it takes them only a second to demonize someone. And I don’t know how many alphas who’ve shifted to my side still secretly hate me," I explained anxiously.

"You don’t have to worry about it. Everything will be dealt with," Norman said, giving me a reassuring nod.

"Anyway, she should rest now," he added.

The first to leave was Gavin, but not before giving me a look that told me he would be watching out for me. He was followed by Jenny, Lamar, and Pen. Lamar, who had thanked me nonstop for saving his life, now looked weighed down with guilt. I could tell he felt responsible because my truth had come out, and now I could become a target of the council. They could call me a monster.

But just as Jenny opened the door, we all received another shock.

Lucy was standing right outside, almost as if she had been eavesdropping.

"Lucy!" Jenny said sharply, her frustration plain in her voice.

"I was just waiting for you guys to finish talking so I could come in and say what I saw," Lucy said quickly, shifting her tone to something more confident.

"What do you mean, what you saw?" Norman asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Of course, we were all worried she was about to threaten us with the truth about my identity.

But instead, she said, "Actually, I saw who pushed Lamar in."

She didn’t mention me. She talked about what we should have been focusing on from the start. They had all been so busy acknowledging me, they’d forgotten the incident with Lamar.

"You saw who pushed Lamar in?" Norman asked, after exchanging a glance with Maximus and Emmet.

"Yeah. Do you really think an adult man just fell off the railing?" she said, rolling her eyes.

But this time, she was looking directly at Jenny, even though Jenny hadn’t been the one to ask the question.

"Yeah, actually, it’s true. I was indeed pushed in," Lamar nodded, raising his hand dramatically to speak and get everyone’s attention.

"Why didn’t you say that before?" I gave him a look.

He shrugged. I mean, we already knew why, they were too busy talking about me.

"Anyway, is anybody gonna listen to me now?" Lucy rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed that Lamar and I were chatting instead of paying attention to what she had to say.

"Yeah, Lucy. So tell us, who pushed Lamar in?" Norman asked, stepping forward.

I noticed the way she stared at him with those hungry eyes. Or maybe I was wrong. Maybe that’s just how she was now, unpredictable. She wasn’t the same Lucy I used to know, the shy, innocent, emotional one. She had changed a lot. Ever since she became friends with Sydney, she had kind of become like her. No emotional attachment to anyone, just herself.

"The one who pushed Lamar in is someone who wanted him gone for a reason," she began, clearly enjoying the fact that all eyes were now on her.

"And who is that?" Lamar asked. She groaned, clearly irritated by the interruption.

"The one and only—Hans Willerk. The alpha who has a crush on your girlfriend," she said, dramatically snapping her fingers as she spoke.

The revelation hit us hard, it was genuinely shocking. And I could tell Jenny instantly felt guilty, even though it wasn’t her fault.