Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates

Helanie:

"It was you that night who cursed it," I said, pointing at her. "You tricked all the werewolf ladies into coming for the half-full moon. You trapped those girls and made the father impregnate them so you could have as many babies on the way as possible. So if none of your children were able to take over the next x-Codex, then the others would."

I watched her eyes widen. She clenched her fists, grinding her teeth.

Last night, after Kaye left and I finally fell asleep, I did some research. I read about the half-full moon and the story didn't add up. She cursed that night after the other ladies killed themselves to stop giving birth to x-Codex children.

She cried in anger over the failure, and then she cursed it because she knew someone would eventually be desperate enough to sleep with their mate and become pregnant. Then they would unleash the curse on themselves.

The holy mother didn't want anyone to know the entire truth because then nobody would have taken the cruise seriously if it wasn't the Moon Goddess who had cursed the night. Regardless, the holy mother had to stop the mates from mating that night and suffering.

"I put it all together after a dream," I continued. "A lot happened last night. When I finally slept, the Moon Goddess appeared in my dream. She smiled at me and I told her I would pray for her again. I no longer held grudges. She had been there for me, but I wanted to know why she would curse her own children like that. All she did was shake her head and smile sadly. I realized she did not curse them. You did." I hissed as I remembered how she had mentioned the well.

She basically outed herself when she mentioned the curse and cursing the well. Suddenly, it all made sense to me. She was the one who wanted everyone to suffer. Just like the X-codex. They had always been enemies of werewolves.

"Lady Darcy fell for it," I said. "She got pregnant and then the curse was unleashed. Then you presented yourself as a helper and led her into disaster. You must have figured out that if Lady Darcy gave birth, she would produce the strongest babies. If she'd only waited, the Moon Goddess would have blessed her with children. The four brothers were special. They were meant to be born anyway." My words extracted gasps.

The gray Woman's fists tightened and tears of rage filled her eyes.

"So you figured it out, huh? And you think just because you did, you're a winner now?" the gray woman asked, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

Everybody was shocked to hear it. All this time we'd been fooled, only so we'd be scared of ever mating and falling victim of the curse on the half-full moon night. But sadly, some people just can't stop getting into trouble, and Lady Darcy seemed to be one of them.

"You're here, and Emmet doesn't believe you two anymore. I mean, he remembered me. What else is left for you to do?" I asked the gray woman, smiling sarcastically at her.

"She literally just told you that my mother is a victim of pain and suffering, Emmet. Aren't you going to feel sympathy for us?" Azura suddenly spoke up, shocking us all with what she had gathered from the situation.

"Huh?" I said in confusion.

"Victim of what? Your mother victimized innocent women, you dumbass," Maximus grunted, yelling at her. She looked so offended that she was being questioned and that her mother was getting heat for her crimes.

"Maximus is right. You, your mother, your father, your siblings–you've all been nothing but a curse to us. You should have been dead long ago," Emmet stated confidently, which made Azura upset.

She turned her head to me and pointed at me.

"It's because of her. You're saying all this because of her. I know you're not that cold-hearted yourself!" she screamed.

At this point, it was pretty obvious that no matter what, this mother-and-daughter duo never admitted their own faults. They were going to blame everyone else for calling them out on their wrongdoings instead of looking at themselves.

Azura sprang up and shoved me. She drew back her hand to strike, but Emmet grabbed the back of her head and yanked her away, exposing the dagger clutched in her hand. The fact that she actually thought she could do it and get away with it surprised me. She was really bold whenever it came to doing something wrong.

"Did she really think she had a chance to kill me?" I said.

Maximus swiftly patted my back to let me know he was still here and that if Emmet hadn't stopped her, he would have done it.

Watching Emmet grab Azura and slap her made the gray woman step forward and scream. She spread her arms and started to wail.

For a moment I was really scared, I thought she still had her powers. But the minute she started making those weird sounds and none of us were affected, I saw panic creep in. She was getting anxious.

"Bitch, you don't have your powers here. Did you forget that?" I said, rolling my eyes.

She lowered her hands and glared at me, hissing like a snake.

"Step away from my daughter," she warned Emmet. He shook his head and strode toward Azura, who was backing away on her hands and knees.

"You cannot kill me, Emmet. Even if you don't love me now, there was a time we shared great memories. We were friends. You liked me. I was your first love. How can you forget all that?" Azura pleaded softly, reminding him of what they once had now that he seemed to remember.

"That friendship was all planned by you," Emmet spat. "That's why you clung to me. You wanted to use me so the monsters could stay alive and the world would turn into one big monster land." He kept walking toward her, voice low and furious.

"Would you ever even die?" he asked. She gulped hard, like each new truth was cornering her.

"That is why you aged," he continued. "You were never really dead. There was no sacrifice that brought you back. You were always hiding in the shadows, making giants and monsters leave signs –your bracelets, your traces. Your monsters tried to snatch me so you could reappear. When that failed, you picked the perfect day to act like a sacrifice saved you, to make trouble between me and Helanie."

His words made me gasp and cover my mouth. It finally clicked. If she hadn't actually died, if her body stayed in this world, then when she came back it would explain why she hadn't aged like someone truly gone.

"But I did it all for you," Azura stuttered, her fists clenching like she was bracing for what he might do.

"Really? All for me?" Emmet shot back, kneeling in front of her as kept crawling back. "You didn't even tell me you were the daughter of the man who unleashed the monsters on the world. You didn't tell me anything. How was any of that for me?" His voice made her sniffle.

As streams of tears left her eyes, I saw the gray woman's anxiety mirrored on her face.

"Stay away from my daughter," the gray woman screamed and lunged toward Emmet. Maximus grabbed her by the hair and hauled her back. She swung, trying to scratch him, but he shoved her down and threw her back onto the ground.

"You know, Azura, when you died, I felt guilty," Emmet whispered, pressing the tip of the dagger to the earth.

"Not because I loved you, but because I thought maybe if I'd pretended to love you, things might have been different. It was guilt more than love that dragged me into sorrow. I missed you, even the crazy part. I'm glad you're here today. Do you want to know why?"

She forced herself up so their faces were inches apart, probably still expecting mercy. I watched Emmet's face. He did not soften.

"Because I learned how peaceful it was when you were gone. Whatever I say now is the last thing you hear. I want you dead," he said.

He drove the dagger into her chest, straight into the heart, and pushed it deeper. Her eyes widened as she stared at him. The ground seemed to lurch beneath us like an earthquake.

"No!" the gray woman screamed, scrambling up and collapsing beside her daughter.

She shoved Emmet away to stay close to her daughter. Emmet didn't fight back. He rose steadily, stepping backward, never breaking eye contact with Azura.

He only stopped once he was beside me. His arm slid around my waist, pulling me close. With his other hand, he reached for his brother. Maximus walked forward, clasped his hand, and the two shared a rough side hug. Then we all stood there, watching Azura.