Helanie:
"Mom, you’re talking about my wife. What makes you think you will suggest something like that and I will agree to it?" Norman’s hands gripped the steering wheel even harder as he hissed at her. I could see the veins popping in his arms. He was really angry at that moment.
I was honestly too shocked to even utter a word. I just sat with my spine erect, goosebumps all over my skin and my throat dry.
"She’s not only your wife, she’s also everyone’s mate. Your brothers’ mate. How come you’re gatekeeping her? What happened to my selfless son? Saw a gorgeous blonde and became selfish?" It was the way she was speaking, as if she were taunting him.
I was taking heavy, long breaths. My mind had gone numb.
"Do you ever want to see us again? You better start treating Helanie as my wife and the Luna Queen of the North. I don’t believe a word you’re saying—" he was angrily muttering, but it seemed like he was struggling to form a proper response for her.
"Son, I’m not trying to hurt you. Mating alone with her will cause her immense pain especially to her body. Just think about my words."
Norman snatched the phone out of my hand and cut the call.
Then, silence took over. After a while, Norman started shifting and fidgeting in his seat. His agitation was visible.
And I didn’t blame him. Even I was confused. What the heck did she mean it would be harmful for my body?
"Don’t focus on what she said," he grunted, finally breaking the silence.
The problem wasn’t whether I believed her or not. It was the fact that I was having flashbacks from a year ago.
It was when I had those crazy nightmares. I remembered being thrown in the well and then the one where I saw myself with all the brothers.
I quickly opened the water bottle to take a few sips because my throat had gone dry so fast.
"She says the wildest things sometimes," Norman kept murmuring while driving us back home. Neither of us spoke about it again, except when Norman had to show anger toward his mother.
"All set. He’s in the basement!" Kaye yelled as we were getting out of the car. Norman had been so angry that he took several wrong turns one after another.
But at least we had finally made it home. Maximus had been staring at us with curiosity, and I was worried he’d pick up on the anxiety in our body language.
"Anyway, the Zharns are going crazy. It’s about time we do something about this damn organization," Maximus clapped his hands to get Norman’s attention, but the way he was watching us with his little judging eyes made me uncomfortable. I did not want to talk about what their mother had told us.
"Now, that’s the issue. It’s said he has four kids that are his biological babies. And in order for us to kill him, we must kill all four of his children," Maximus explained. Norman tilted his head, clearly thinking. It seemed like this was a new piece of information Emmet had been working on.
"And where are his children?" Norman asked.
"Brother–it’s going to hurt but—-we’ve already encountered them. At least one of them mentioned here," Maximus’s eyes made me nervous. The way he was sharing the info was almost chilling.
"Just say it. He’s doing it to impress someone," Kaye grunted, pointing at Maximus like a child.
"Ignoring Kaye again, the one we’ve met is *Rune*. He was the eldest," Maximus said, and as soon as he said his name, my heart dropped.
"And we killed him, right? So that’s a win. One down!" I said quickly, getting excited for a second–even though three were still left. But then Maximus corrected me, and I felt like dying.
"Actually— we freed him. He had been kept in a prison by my ancestors. And we probably reunited him with his father," he admitted.
The look on his face while telling us that Rune might now be roaming free in our world made me slap my forehead and let out a deep sigh.
"In simple words, we might meet him again–-soon," he added with a straight face.
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