Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5: 5-Accidentally Touching His Bulge

Helanie:

"Great, Lord McQuoid said you'll be staying in my room," Charlotte remarked, sounding more irritated than ever. I had always admired her, even though she was only a year older than me. But seeing her now made me realize how luxury can change a person.

She paced around the room, scoffing and clenching her fists in frustration, unable to calm down.

"Charlotte, it's only temporary. Soon, she'll be gone, and you can have your room back," her mother reassured her, gently patting her on the back to soothe her. I felt like such a burden sitting on the mattress they had hastily laid out for me.

"But there are so many other bedrooms," Charlotte grumbled.

"If she gets her own room, it means she's staying here permanently. Try to understand, we don't want that, right?" Aunt Emma muttered under her breath, running her fingers through Charlotte's hair as though she was trying to be discreet.

I didn't respond to anything they said. All I wanted was to lie down and drift off to sleep. I hadn't eaten all day—just an apple, which a maid handed me when everyone left for dinner, abandoning me in Charlotte's room.

"Fine. But not for more than a week," Charlotte snapped before climbing into her bed and turning off the bedside lamp.

Aunt Emma shot me one last glare before leaving the room. Finally, I could lie down and rest. But that wasn't the case. Sleep wouldn't come easily, and when it did, it brought the same nightmare—where I was pinned to the cold ground and those alphas were crawling over me.

"No, get off me," I screamed, feeling their hands on my body. I was repulsed. I wanted to tear at their skin, break their fingers, and throw them into boiling oil.

"Get off me!" I shouted again, this time thrashing violently. A blow struck me hard, jolting me awake.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Shut up and go back to sleep," Charlotte growled, having woken me from the nightmare.

I was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, but realizing it had all been a dream brought a brief sense of relief.

"Dammit, if you're going to wake me up every night crying over your nightmares, you better ask for a new room," she muttered, already back in bed and sounding thoroughly annoyed.

I didn't blame her. I would have been terrified too if I woke up to someone screaming like that.

After calming my breaths, I eventually drifted off again. But that didn't mean the torturous nightmares stayed away. By the time morning arrived, I was awakened by the sound of murmurs around me. Charlotte and her mother were already in the room, getting Charlotte ready.

A deadly storm was expected in two days, and the weather was predicted to turn dangerously cold. Every single student at the academy, along with the staff at the mansion, was busy preparing for it.

My two brothers, whom I was meeting for the first time, were out in the woods, gathering firewood. I was told to get ready quickly, as everyone would be working together to secure the mansion and academy from the storm and also pick the fruits from the trees before the storm destroys them.

I'd never seen anything like this in the packs. The rogues had a very different way of living. I didn't have a suitable outfit for this kind of work. While Charlotte was dressed in black pants and a white top, I had to make do with an old blue dress.

We marched alongside the other maids to the woods to join the stepbrothers and share the load. We stopped when we approached two men. The one stepping forward was a tanned, handsome man—tall, broad, with a slim waist, and wearing a dirty white sleeveless shirt over black shorts. He held an axe in his hand, effortlessly splitting wood with a single throw.

"That's Maximus. He's Lord McQuoid's third son. Isn't he cute?" Charlotte whispered in my ear before smirking and straightening her posture.