Helanie:
My heart skipped a beat watching Emt hug Azura back. That was a shocker. But I had a bad feeling it stemd from the fact that his brothers had objections to our relationship. I felt like he had given up—on us, for us.
There’s no way I’d believe he was playing while also being ready to take things further with Azura.
"I heard you guys did an amazing job with the case," Norman said proudly.
"Yeah, it was mostly Emt," I interrupted. "I was kind of going through a hard ti in there until they all apologized. It was a nice feeling to know they’ve finally understood their mistakes," I uttered while still in Norman’s arms.
Emt and Azura headed inside the mansion, while we stayed outside.
"You saw that?" Maximus said, pointing at the door, but Emt was already gone. "He was playing with you."
I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. "Maximus, can we not talk about it?" I didn’t like how they were demonizing him.
"He’s playing you both—" Maximus stopped mid-sentence, and I followed his gaze to Norman.
"He’s our brother," Norman reminded him, making wonder if he even rembered himself.
"He is not," I said, pulling away from Norman. "He told she cursed him."
Sotis I hated how we kept things from each other while sharing a bed. It was like we were the most open about intimate stuff, yet the mont it ca to sothing important, we kept secrets.
"Cursed?" Maximus’s expression suddenly shifted.
"He recalled the whole event from that night. He doesn’t believe you did anything wrong," I said to Norman, before beginning to recall every detail Emt had told , including the heartbroken curse.
Norman and Maximus exchanged a look, then stepped away.
"Hello? You two need to tell your thoughts!" I snapped, frustrated. "It’s ti we shared everything. What if I know sothing that could change your perception? Or you know sothing that could help my own investigation?"
They exchanged heavier, deeper breaths, clearly needing ti together first.
"I need to figure sothing out," Norman said just as his phone began ringing.
"Hello? Yeah? Are you sure? Okay, we’re on our way." He hung up, and the urgency on his face told it was serious.
"The warriors are certain they saw Kaye near our mother’s pack," Norman explained.
Maximus nodded and turned to enter the mansion, but then paused, glancing back at us.
"It’s the full moon tonight. We need to get our hands on Kaye and bring him to Helanie," Maximus said firmly. Then he added, "In that case, Helanie must co with us. We’ll book a hotel room for her in the pack. If we leave her here and catch Kaye there, it’ll be morning before we even get him back to her."
Norman began nodding at his brother’s suggestion.
"Wait, but you’ll be transitioning, Maximus. It would be dangerous for you to be in a pack and go through a transition while I’m also busy," Norman said, making my skin prickle with goosebumps.
We’d almost forgotten about Maximus. Pack mbers would lose their minds if they found out a Lycan was in their territory.
"But I want to co with you. Soone will have to stay with Helanie in the hotel room," Maximus argued, genuine concern lacing his words.
"Maximus, I can take care of myself. You need rest too, and privacy. We’ll be fine, don’t worry," I said, holding his hand and gently patting the back of it.
Then Norman said sothing that made feel a little uncomfortable.
"But then Maximus will be here alone."
Maximus nodded in agreent.
"Guys, Emt is still here. He’s been letting Maximus feed on him," I reminded them, watching their faces cloud with guilt. But Norman quickly explained why he hadn’t considered that option.
"He sotis forgets—"
While Norman had a valid point, Maximus was already spiraling.
"And what if he doesn’t want to help now, after I showed resistance to your relationship with him?" Maximus challenged.
I glared at him, and I noticed Norman doing the sa.
"He would never do that. You know that, right? The only ti he makes mistakes is when he forgets things," Norman said softly, so softly I wasn’t even sure Maximus could hear him.
But I wished soone else had.
Soone who might have also heard his brothers questioning if they could even trust him with a responsibility anymore.
"Don’t worry. I’d rather die than let anything happen to you, brother. I’m in a good state of mind. I’m not forgetful today," Emt’s voice broke through the air, filled with a hint of sadness. He made steady, deep eye contact with Maximus.
But Maximus turned his back on him. His head hung low, and I saw his eyes begin to well up.
"Anyway, let’s pack our bags. I’m sure Emt will take care of things here," I said quickly, brushing past the brothers to head upstairs.
Everything felt off. I was weirded out by the heaviness around us.
The journey had been long and draining, we’d been traveling non-stop. At least I had.
By the ti we arrived at the Red Crown Pack, I was completely exhausted. I left for the hotel while Norman got to work almost imdiately.
All I needed was two hours of rest before eting Kaye. Or at least I hoped I’d get that.
I didn’t want to wait for another full moon to see him. I was expecting the call to co sooner, but it didn’t arrive until around midnight.
Still half-asleep, I answered the call without checking the caller ID, assuming it was Norman.
But the voice on the other end wasn’t his.
"Emma? Why are you calling ?" I grunted, climbing out of bed, stifling a yawn.
"Did you et your mother?" she asked, concern heavy in her tone. "She left after you, heading for the Darcys’ pack to confront Darcy about sothing. I thought you’d already t her."
Her words made my heart drop. I needed to hurry before a confrontation between my mother and Darcy went too far.
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