Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates novel Chapter 828

Chapter 828: 828-The Black Pearl

Helanie:

We hugged for a few more seconds before breaking apart, because someone still hadn’t said a word. All of us turned to look at Emmet. He scratched the back of his neck, his face full of pain.

"Who are you?" he whispered, stepping back and glancing at us nervously.

"Shit," Norman muttered, rushing toward him. Emmet bolted, running farther and farther away.

"Shit, shit, shit," Kaye hissed, sprinting after them. Then he stopped suddenly, turned, and ran back to me. He cupped my face in his hands.

"I need to take you home," he said, nodding.

He couldn’t quite meet my eyes, guilt written all over him. I grabbed his jacket, pulled myself up, and kissed his lips to show him I wasn’t angry.

The fact that he’d broken the hypnotism and freed himself from the curse was a huge success. A siren’s hypnotism is not easy to break, and I was proud of him.

"No, you have to go help your brother find Emmet," I told him, gently pushing him away.

That’s when my friends started to appear.

"Oh my Goddess, Helanie!" Lamar and Jenny rushed toward me. Sage and Penn followed, then Lucy and Gavin. I realized they must have come into the woods to find us. Their swords were bloodied, which meant they’d been fighting the Zharns along the way. That explained why none of the Zharns had shown up in the well area. My friends had cleared them out.

"Kaye, I have my friends with me. You just need to go find Emmet," I insisted, pushing him back again.

He looked around at everyone, who seemed suspicious of him at first, until they noticed he didn’t look dangerous anymore. They realized he’d broken free from the hypnotism.

"Okay, but please take her home," Kaye told Lamar. His words came out more like an order than a request. Then he sped off after Emmet.

I turned back to my friends, and they hugged me one by one.

"What’s going on? Why are they running after Emmet?" Lucy asked. She looked pale, not at all how she’d looked when she woke up, and I wondered what was happening to her.

"Lucy, are you okay?" I asked, grabbing her hand. Her skin was burning hot. Was she running a fever?

"Yeah, it’s just that I keep mixing up my memories with the entity’s, because she lived my life too. I’m trying to piece everything together, but it’s so hard to keep track," she babbled quickly. Gavin watched her with deep concern.

"Wait, how are you that pregnant?" Jenny blurted, pointing at my belly.

"Do you not remember what Norman said? Her pregnancy would be quick," Lamar reminded her. I realized he hadn’t just said that to convince Kaye. It was true.

My eyes caught something shining near the well. I frowned and pulled away from the others.

"Helanie, listen," Lamar urged, probably thinking I was losing my mind and trying to run. But I was only walking toward the shining object to see what it was.

When I reached it, my eyes widened. I turned to my friends, and they rushed to follow my gaze. Together we stared down at it, hope stirring again.

"What is it?" Sage whispered, clearly wondering what this thing was doing here.

I broke into a wide smile. "Kesha. Kesha died. It’s a pearl from her tail."

Lamar crouched quickly, picked it up, and handed it to me. I grinned as I held the black pearl in my hand.

"Do you think it’s safe to open a dreamland with a siren’s pearl?" Lucy asked.

Honestly, I wondered the same. I had talked to my mother about it, but she’d never told me what exactly a siren’s pearl could do. All I knew was that her pearl would be stronger, able to hold more people for longer. What else it might bring, I needed to ask her. But at least it could open the door to another realm where Emmet would be safe.

"Help me get home. We need to start preparing for Emmet’s arrival right away," I said. Everyone nodded.

I held the pearl and started walking, but then Lamar scooped me up in his arms. I understood they were worried about me. He carried me to the main mansion, and thankfully, the others weren’t around. By others, I meant Jessica, Charlotte, and Azura.