Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates

Chapter 729: 729-The Unloved Mate.

Maximus:

"Norman, when Emmet loses his mind, he does forget everyone, but there’s a pattern. He doesn’t write things hastily. He usually records everything in his books. Even when he’s not well, he writes in his diaries in a very professional and organized way. And let’s not forget—his bedroom is never locked. Anyone can get access to it."

I watched Norman’s eyes widen.

"Did you check the footage across the passageway?" he asked.

Now he was finally getting to where I was.

"I did. And guess what? It’s gone."

Norman’s eyes widened even more. At this point, it was almost certain that someone had tampered with Emmet, and because of the curse that made him forget, he couldn’t defend himself.

"Emmet didn’t push Helanie," Norman said, almost declaring it before waiting for any more proof.

"I’m glad you concluded that on your own. I didn’t want to say it and upset you myself. But now that you’ve said it, that’s what I think too. And since everybody has access to his room, I’m pretty sure someone messed with him. But who? We need to find that person," I said, watching Norman finally look alive.

After everything that had happened, he had seemed defeated. This was the first time I saw him come back to life.

Since Norman had always been there for us and had helped us whenever we were low, I decided to take it upon myself to help my brothers this time. They had done too much for me to not to be there when they were in trouble. It was my time to take care of them.

"I’m waiting for the footage." noveldrama

As soon as I spoke again, we heard screaming from inside the mansion. Our eyes met, and his heart probably skipped a beat just like mine. The way we jumped up and rushed inside showed that we both knew something bad had happened.

Once inside, we came face to face with a broken daughter. Charlotte was devastated. Her hands gripped her hair while she looked around the living room.

"No, no, no, no, no, this is not true!" she screamed, crying hysterically, while my father stood beside her, watching her spiral.

"Did you hear what he said?" she asked, turning to me and pointing at my father. "They’re saying the Zharns attacked my mother and killed her."

She started to speak again, a small smile on her lips, as if trying to convince herself it was a bad joke.

"But that can’t be. My mother always goes to stay with her friend and then comes back. She never goes away forever."

I could tell she was struggling to keep herself together. I didn’t blame her. It was devastating news, and none of us could say a word.

"Charlotte, unfortunately, your mother died two days ago," Father said.

She dropped to her knees, crying and hugging herself.

As if the shocks we were already receiving weren’t intense enough, Kayd arrived with Emmet and Azura. Kaye was carrying the bags, at least his own, and I could tell that Emmet was carrying Azura’s.

Although I wanted to go and hug Emmet, to let him know that I knew something was wrong with him, something he couldn’t control, something that made him seem evil, I couldn’t. My attention went back to Charlotte, who was devastated, crying hysterically. My wolf also started to feel a little sad for her.

That was when I announced to everyone who had just come in that Emma had passed away.

"But how?" Emmet asked, stepping forward.

"She was killed by the Zharns two days ago. Nobody knew she had been lying dead in the woods for that long," I explained.

I could understand why Charlotte was so broken. I had known the two of them for a while, and I knew how much her mother had wanted her to be with me. I knew she had felt the mate bond with me, and she was going to be accepted and marked too.

Her mother was gone. And the fact that we had sat and enjoyed a dinner while her body was rotting alone in the woods, that was probably what was hurting Charlotte the most.

"Maximus, go help your mate," Emmet said.

Everyone turned to look at me, except for Charlotte, who was crying non-stop. And then I remembered, I hadn’t told my father that I had felt the mate-bond with Charlotte.

"Wait, I thought you told me that the bond you felt was a lie," my father said.

Then he seemed to realize it was the wrong moment to bring that up while Charlotte was crying so much.

I stepped forward and knelt down. She instantly jumped on me, hugging me. She probably just wanted to comfort herself, and a mate’s embrace is the greatest comfort. With some hesitation, I wrapped my arms around her. I did feel bad for her.

At the same time, I saw my father walk behind me, probably to speak to Emmet.

"I’m glad you’re back," he said in a dry tone.

"I had to come back. It’s my home, Dad," Emmet replied.

"So much has happened. I’m left alone. She left me without even saying a word to me."

I knew my father was hurting too. Ever since he returned and found out that she had left without him, I had seen him cry so many times. He never once said she had deceived him by hiding his identity. I guessed we got that from our father. He was madly in love with her. He didn’t care. She could have been a crow, and he still would have loved her. But the circumstances were too harsh. They had to leave.

"My mom is gone. What am I going to do now?" she cried.

While I gently patted her back, I realized it was the right moment to let her know that she wouldn’t be left alone. We had already decided to accept our mates. Even though it made me feel like I was betraying Helanie, I knew Helanie had agreed to it.

"Charlotte, you’re not going anywhere," I said, taking a deep breath.

"I’m going to accept you. I’m going to mark you."

As soon as I said that, she broke the hug and pulled away from me.

"I don’t want your sympathy. I don’t want a pity mark," she said, crying.

"No, it’s not a pity mark. We decided last night, before we got this news." The moment I confirmed to her that I wasn’t doing it just because her mother died, she lunged at me again and hugged me. This time, her arms were wrapped around me even more tightly.