Helanie:
I had been looking for them, but the weather had gotten so bad that I had to keep covering my eyes to avoid getting dust in them. I was starting to wonder if I’d be wandering around all night until I heard a commotion to my right. I instantly started sprinting without wasting a second. It was howling mixed with hissing, reminding of the Zharns roaming around freely. They seed like sneaky creatures. They would definitely take advantage of the brothers’ ssy state.
I took a deep breath before stepping into the scene of destruction. And just like I had guessed, the air was thick with worry—and for the first ti, the brothers didn’t seem to have things under control.
Norman was standing, facing Emt, while Maximus was behind him, bleeding and howling.
"What is going on with you, Emt? Is there sothing you want to tell ?" Norman asked in a soft, defeated tone. At that point, I realized the two of them were having trouble. But how did the argunt between them even start?
Was Emt upset that Norman was not attacking the lycan, not realizing it wasn’t just a lycan—but his own brother?
And then Emt answered my silent questions himself.
"Why did you kill her that night?" My body shivered at the way Emt’s eyes glistened.
"Emt, what are you saying?" Norman asked.
"You—it was you who was supposed to take care of her. You were supposed to take Azura to the hospital. But instead—you killed her," Emt hissed, pain flashing through his eyes and loud groans.
My body froze for a second before I snapped back to reality. I didn’t believe it. Even if Norman told he had killed soone, I wouldn’t believe it.
And from the looks of it, even Norman didn’t agree with the accusation.
"I didn’t kill her, Emt. Why would I do that—and hurt you?" He tried to take a step closer to Emt, who held up his hand to stop him.
"You killed her. You knew what she ant to , but you still killed her. All because—you wanted to hide the secret that you were hiding a lycan," Emt scread, covering his head with his hands, pacing back and forth.
"Emt—" As soon as his na left my lips in a soft whisper, Emt stopped and turned to . His hair was blowing with the wind, his eyes shining with tears.
"Helanie—" His whisper made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He looked around for a mont and then stared at Norman, stepping back.
I wasn’t an expert in reading body language, but he looked shaken—almost guilty. Maybe he realized what he had just accused his brother of.
But before any more words could be spoken, Maximus jumped at Norman from behind.
"Norman!" I scread, watching him not defend himself properly as Maximus bit him on the back.
I knew it.
I rushed forward—and so did Emt—but since I reached first, he stepped back. I grabbed the lycan and threw him off Norman, but before Maximus could get back on his feet, I ran closer and slamd him against a tree, standing right in front of him.
"Maximus—stop!" I whimpered. "Please, stop!" I repeated myself, my elbow pressing against his neck to keep him still. "What is going on with you? Why are you attacking the people you love? The people who love you?"
As I started to break down, I noticed him beginning to relax a bit. I never thought I’d be standing this close to a lycan and not be scared—but just feel sorry for him.
"What is it? Are you in that much pain? Please, Maximus, take control of your body again. We need you," I kept talking in soft whispers.
He was staring at my face with those big eyes. And then I saw them fill with tears. He was crying too.
"What is it? Where does it hurt?" I asked gently, loosening my hold on his neck.
Maximus kept looking at , then slowly placed his paw on his chest and let out a howl. Suddenly, he looked more like a lost puppy—a sweet one that couldn’t hurt anyone.
"Helanie, you’re doing good. If only we could take him ho—" Norman said, coming up behind . I saw Maximus’s eyes shift to him.
It was like he squinted to focus on sothing, and then everything fell apart.
Maximus let out a loud howl and pushed back—thankfully, Norman was right behind . He wrapped his arms around and caught , keeping from falling.
Maximus howled again, even louder this ti. It was the most terrifying and wild one yet.
I didn’t understand what made him so angry—until I noticed his eyes locked onto the mark on Norman’s neck. Then, without warning, he took off running.
"I’ll go after him—" Norman said, but I grabbed his hand to stop him.
"No, he hates you right now. He saw the mark on your neck, Norman. Let go," I insisted, cupping Norman’s face in my hands and standing on my tiptoes in a hurry.
"What if he hurts you?" Norman sounded so desperately worried that I couldn’t help but smile a little.
"I’ll be fine," I reassured him.
"Please go take care of Emt—" I turned to look at Emt and realized what he had just witnessed. He stood there, staring at us.
"Ohh," Emt muttered under his breath. "You two go ho. I’ll go... bring my brother back." He looked away, trying to hide his tears. His voice was shaking too.
"Emt—you’re bleeding too," I said, but he shook his head without even looking at .
"I’m fine. And yes, in case you’re wondering—I rember. I’m not going after him to kill him," he said with a bitter laugh, as if hinting that we might be judging him already.
"Helanie, go back ho. Let us go after him," Norman said then, and the look in his eyes told this wasn’t a suggestion—I had no choice but to listen.
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