Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates
Chapter 603-Purple Is Not A Color Here

Chapter 603: 603-Purple Is Not A Color Here

Helanie:

"Don’t be nervous. Once we do it, we’ll get used to it," Maximus had suddenly changed so much. The same husband who once hated the idea of sharing me was now holding my hand and practically dragging me toward the mansion.

It was 5 p.m., and we were supposed to meet Rune for a fancy dinner before our session.

But I was suddenly hesitant.

I didn’t know what that feeling was, but something felt off. Like I was being suffocated.

"Maximus– this is not your child."

I don’t know what made me say it. I wasn’t even thinking about it when the words slipped out of my mouth.He let go of my hand and turned to face me.

"Are you suggesting you cheated on me?" he asked, a frown quickly forming on his forehead.

"I don’t know why I said that. Maybe we should just go back home," I said, trying to pull him back with me, but he stood firm, resisting me.

"We can’t. Mister Rune is waiting for us. We have to become part of his family," Maximus said, looking like a completely different person. He was forcing me now.

"No! I don’t want to do this," I said, shaking my head. Someone’s voice echoed in my mind.

"I trust you."

He looked so confident in me. And here I was-- walking into that monster’s mansion for a threesome.

"Maximus, something isn’t right," I tried to pull my hand free to clutch my head as pain started pounding in my skull, but Maximus wouldn’t let go.

"Don’t make up excuses. You’re fine. And once you do it, you’ll feel better," he said again, trying to drag me forward. I resisted, pulling away from him and from the mansion.

"I’m telling you I don’t feel well, and you’re still dragging me to get fucked by another man?" I finally snapped and yelled at him.

He lunged at me again, grabbed my hand, and pulled me against his chest.

"We can’t back out now. He gave his orders. You’ll enjoy it," he whispered in a creepy tone, and I had enough.

"Have you lost your damn mind or grown a spine made of slime?" I shoved him back and slapped him hard across the face.

He let me go, stunned, holding his cheek.

"I’m your brother’s wife! And you want me to sleep with some manipulative psychopath—"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I gasped and covered my mouth with both hands.

A wave of guilt and realization crashed over me.

"What?" Maximus looked completely lost.

"Shit," I whispered, looking around and then back at him and suddenly a huge smile broke across my face.

"You’re back," I cried out, throwing myself at him, cupping his face in my hands as tears welled up.

Seeing him stuck in his lycan form for a whole month had been so hard.

But then it hit me,

Shit.

I had almost given in to Rune’s manipulation.

"What are you talking about? I don’t have a brother. You’re my wife. You’re the mother of my child," Maximus pulled his face from my hands and grabbed both of mine, holding them behind my back. "And you know what? I’m not going to share you with anyone anymore."

His demeanor suddenly turned aggressive. He spun me around and started walking me back home. I followed him quietly, thinking of my next move.

"Wait, wait," I finally found my voice. "Maximus, this place isn’t real." I hoped it would be that simple, but he started shaking his head, refusing to listen.

"No. You’re losing your mind. You’re saying weird things. First, you wanted me to share you. Then you said the baby isn’t mine, then you said you’re my brother’s wife and now you’re saying this place isn’t real?" he muttered in frustration, grabbing my wrist tighter to pull me along.

"I’m not going back to that house. You don’t get it. This is Rune’s dream prison. We came here to save you," I said in a rush, realizing he wasn’t even trying to understand what I was saying.

And I had a feeling why. Before, when I was miserable in real life, I wanted to stay here in this perfect illusion. But now... now I am happy in the real world. I wanted to go back. Still, something about this place had kept me here for a few hours. And I had to ask myself why.

What had this world given me that made me stay, even briefly? I remembered how, in the past, Kaye wasn’t even affected when he wasn’t that unhappy in his life. He had hopes and plans to win his mother’s love. My eyes shifted to Maximus, and a gasp escaped my lips.

I wanted to mark him. I wanted him as my husband too. The realization struck me like a slap. Guilt bubbled up instantly. I quickly shoved the thought aside and grabbed his hand.

"We have to go back," I said, aware now that my wolf had always wanted all her mates, she’d said it out loud more than once.

"We’re going back home," he insisted, gripping my hand firmly. But at this point, I didn’t know what to do anymore.

I looked around, searching for the purple roses and then it hit me. I hadn’t seen any.

Not a single one. In fact, there hadn’t been anything purple anywhere.

"Maximus, where’s the purple rose?" I asked, panicking as he tried to drag me home.

I realized then Rune didn’t shape this prison like a werewolf world. We were just humans here, and the color purple... wasn’t allowed.

"What’s purple?" Maximus stopped in his tracks and turned to look at me, eyes narrowed.

"The purple rose. The color purple," I explained, watching his face twist with concern.

"There’s no such color as purple. You’re not well. You need to go home and rest," he said firmly.

That was it.

Panic fully took hold of me. I had no idea how long this world’s time translated to the real world, but I’d been here for at least a day. I needed to get back to help Emmet too.

Without another thought, I broke into a sprint, rushing into the woods to lure Maximus away from the house, away from Rune’s men, who were probably waiting for us there.

Because deep down, I knew we had underestimated Rune.