Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates

Chapter 731: 731-Can’t Live Without My Mates.

Helanie:

The desert went on forever, full of sand and heat. The sun was high above us, and the wind blew soft but dry, making my eyes sting. Every step was hard, our feet sank into the sand, and it felt like we were walking in a dream that never ended. Our camel walked beside us, calm and slow, like it didn’t feel tired at all. I looked back once. The place we came from was far behind now, almost gone in the hot air. It had been days that we left the mansion behind. My chest hurt, but I didn’t say anything. I knew we had to keep going. Ahead of us was a new place, a new life. I didn’t know what it would be like, but I kept walking, holding onto the hope that it would be better.

But every time I convinced myself I was happy, I was reminded of the faces of my mates.

"Are you okay? We can take a rest," my mother placed her hand on my shoulder to check on me after I sniffled a little too loud when cleaning my cheek with the back of my hand.

"I am fine," I lied. I wasn’t fine. I was missing them already. Every step I took away from them felt like walking on sharp knives. noveldrama

My heart was in a constant battle of whether to beat or sink. My mind filled with the memories of us together. We had come a long way, me and my mates.

We started off as enemies and then turned into friends, becoming obsessed with each other. All that and so many memories created, only for me to walk away?

"No, you don’t look fine." After a while, my mother looked at me and slowed down. She didn’t say anything, but I knew she could see how tired I was and probably crying silently as well. She led the camel toward a small patch of shade where some rocks stood, half-covered by a dry, thorny bush. We weren’t going to find a motel here, no way. We sat down on the warm ground, the sun still strong above us, but at least the rocks gave us a little cover. Every little help was a lot here. I quickly grabbed my water bottle and drank from it. The camel knelt beside us and made a soft sound, then began chewing lazily on something it found in the sand, so my mother had to quickly give him food. I didn’t want the poor animal to suffer with us. But when we started this journey, we needed someone with us. Even when the ones I left far behind would always make me feel lonely, now I have a hole in my heart from their absence. I leaned back against a rock, breathing slowly, my legs aching. My mother placed her hand on mine.

"It is okay to miss them," my mother uttered, and my eyes started getting heavy with tears once again.

"I feel like I made a mistake," I uttered softly, staring at my hands that used to look so good being in my mate’s hands.

"You didn’t leave them behind for any other reason but to save our lives," my mother stated, and I swallowed my tears, licking my lips to moisten them, "and they must have accepted their other mates by now."

"They accepted me with my mates," I watched her turn her head down.

"But you don’t have to do it. It was their choice," she lifted her face again and gave me a broken smile. "You are a queen of Arethendal. You don’t need to bow down to any conditions," she added.

"You know they had to accept the conditions because of their curse. But Mother, I convinced them to accept their Mates. But isn’t it wrong that I left them afterwards? How can I leave them when they still don’t have a choice?" Prior to the break we took, I did not plan on going back. But the moment I started speaking with my mother, I couldn’t help but say what was in my heart.

"You want to go back and watch them with other women?" my mother almost looked like she was going to lose her mind if I said ’yes.’

"I just know I will die if I am not with them," I watched her close her eyes and start sobbing.

"Mother, please," I hugged her, feeling bad for her.

"I cannot let you do this to yourself. There is so much to the curse that crazy psycho lady is hiding. How can I watch you walk right back into her trap again when you can lead your people as a queen? And then what about the others? They will kill you for being different from them," She was not wrong. Darcy was way crazier than I had imagined her to be.

But that’s why I needed to go back even more passionately. I did not want my mates to suffer because of her or rely on her for help with their curses.

"Mother," I cupped her face in my hands and smiled through teary eyes. "Wouldn’t you have done the same for my dad?" I watched her stop crying at the mention of his name.

"I would have crossed seas of fire for him," she smiled, and a broken smile flashed across her lips. "You are right. You should go back to them. We should go back but make sure you protect yourself from the crazy council and other alphas," she cleared her tears and decided, but I held her to stop her from getting up as I wasn’t done yet.

"I will go. You will go back to Arethendal, Mother. You have been misplaced for years. And our people, they didn’t have a home because their queens weren’t returning either. Go home and start our pack once again. Bring all the pirates back home, bring every pack member who wanted to be in Arethendal, and give them hope. Lead them. Their ships have been sailing for way too long now, Mother. Let them come home. I will join soon, but with my mates," I watched her break down at the thought of leading her army without me, of going back home where my father had initially wanted us to be.

"They will ask about you," my mother said.

"Then let them know their queen is taking care of her mates and that I want them to see you as their queen until I am home," I watched her nod her head, then pull me into a tight embrace. We both cried our hearts out. My mother needed rest, and her place, her respect, and it was time she moved on because now her daughter was going to carry on with the revenge plan.