Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates
Chapter 723-Last Words

Chapter 723: 723-Last Words

Helanie:

"No, Helanie, that’s not only your decision to make. You’re our mate, we will make this decision together," Norman said as he watched me rush toward my bedroom, the one I used to share with him, to grab my bags.

That was decided. I could not stay here and get justice for my mother when all the creatures around me were on Darcy’s side. They hated mermaids. Of course they would take Darcy’s side.

"Norman, it’s not about us anymore. It’s not about love anymore. I cannot look away from my duties, just like you cannot look away from yours," I said, watching him shake his head.

"You don’t get it. You cannot do this to us. How do you suppose we would live after?" He then paused, closed his eyes, and clenched his fists. "I cannot live without you."

I guessed he was done talking about everyone’s relationship with me. He wanted a one-on-one confrontation. He wanted to know why I was not thinking about us anymore.

"Norman, people outside are angry, and I don’t want to go through another trial for these people. I will not stand in a box trying to explain why I am a mermaid as if it’s a crime. It is not. As for us– if things went well, if life gives us a chance—" I stopped talking because it was not easy for me to say that.

"Then stay here. I will get justice for your mother," he said, and I started to smile.

"Let me talk to everyone. I don’t fucking care. This is a rogue community. Nobody gets to decide who can be a rogue and who cannot be," he tried to explain, but he still failed to understand.

"That is, sadly, not how it works now. Rogues, werewolves, they would never let anyone wander even in the rogue community if they aren’t werewolves. They treat them as monsters. All the other creatures are monsters to them," I delivered, feeling my heart break little by little.

Then I watched Maximus and Kaye walk toward us, and I stepped away from them. It wasn’t that I was angry with Maximus. Through all this time, Maximus and Norman had stood beside me. They didn’t care what others were saying. Not once did they make me feel like I might be in the wrong.

"Please, Maximus. It’s already hard for me to prepare myself to leave you. Don’t make it harder by saying anything. Please," I said, with nothing but love in my voice for him.

"Listen, if you’re angry with me—" Kaye began, but I held up a finger.

"You will stay away from me," I said to him.

"I am going through a lot too. You need to understand. We all are," he added, pointing toward Emmet, who was walking toward us.

"Oh please, tell him to stay away from me," I said, grunting angrily.

"Emmet, please," Norman said, stepping ahead and warning him with his eyes.

"I just need one moment alone with her," Emmet said.

"Why? Why do you want to talk to me now? What could you possibly say now?" I screamed at him.

That was when his mother rushed upstairs. I hated how she treated these grown-ass men like they were children in diapers who couldn’t do anything for themselves.

"I don’t care what this woman is to you guys, but I’m going to call everyone here and make a decision about her. She cannot stay. She’s a monster!" Darcy started screaming, pointing her finger in my direction from afar.

I gave Norman a look, reminding him that this is what he wanted me to deal with by staying here.

"And once McQuoid is back, he’ll hate Ursula too," she added, pointing downward, toward where my mother was.

That’s when I began to worry. My mother was all alone. What if they snuck in someone to hurt her? Darcy had done it before. She could do it again.

"Mom, you need to just stop it," Norman said, stepping forward to confront her.

I began to feel bad for him as I turned toward the stairs again, leaving my bags behind. I didn’t fucking care about the stuff anymore. I just needed to get my mother and leave.

"Helanie, listen—" Emmet called, while the others tried to stop their mother from calling the guards inside.

Emmet began to follow me.

"I just need a moment with you," he whispered. But I pulled my hand free from him the minute he tried to hold it.

"You’ve done enough, Emmet. All this time, I loved you more than everyone else. And it’s true, all their complaints are true. I felt more drawn to you than to anyone else. That’s because I fucking loved you more than anybody else. From the beginning, we had a different kind of connection, starting with you saving me, then becoming friends, then teacher and student who could trust each other, and then lovers. All of that. And you still turned out this way."

I expressed my heartbreak while watching his mother break free from the others and move to the top of the stairs.

"Stop her, Emmet! We have to make the others confront her. She cannot just leave after she stayed in our land. Goddess knows what if they were traitors. Goddess knows if they were feeding information back to the mermaids!" she screamed.

I gave Emmet one last look, maybe because I wanted him to see exactly who he defended against my mother.

"We cannot stay," I said.

"If you just let me—-I can’t speak here. She’ll know," he tried to utter, without even opening his mouth.

And that’s when I realized he was such a coward. He couldn’t even defend me in front of his mother. He only wanted to pull me aside and lie, say something to comfort me.

"No, Emmet. I can’t take that risk. You and your brothers have your mates now. I hope they’ll help you with your curse. But I have to help my mother get justice now. I cannot stay here," I said, stepping away from him and rushing downstairs.

Kaye and Maximus started to come after me while Norman argued with their mother again. So much was happening, I was losing my mind.

"Please don’t come after me. I won’t be staying. And I guess the timing is right, the Moon Goddess gave you all your mates so you could say goodbye to me," I said in a loud, stern voice so they would understand and stop following me.

They were making it so hard for me to leave, even when leaving was the one thing I absolutely had to do.