CHAPTER 655: 655-ALREADY HAVING SEX WITH HER

Helanie:

"Every person makes a wish for how they want their body to be treated once they’re gone. Azura always wanted to be sent to the ocean after her death. So when her body was found in a well—the one Emmet had retrieved her from—we gave her a warrior’s farewell. We laid her body in a boat, surrounded it with flowers, and let the tide carry her out to sea," Norman explained as we all sat in the living room among the other housemates. They had returned as well.

"So you’re telling us that she woke up in the sea and then took years to come back?" Emma asked, while I stayed quiet.

"No! That’s what’s confusing us. It’s not possible. She was dead for days before her body was sent out," Norman argued, and his father rubbed his face with both hands. I noticed my mother’s eyes on me, she looked worried.

"So how is she alive now?" Charlotte asked, her eyes flicking to me. At this point, I wondered if everyone knew the situation between me and my mates.

So every time someone asked anything about Azura, they’d glance at me with eyes full of sympathy, and I hated it.

"Because the Moon Goddess sent her back."

We all fell silent when Emmet showed up. He didn’t seem too pleased that everyone was questioning her return instead of being happy for him. I sighed again, rubbing my hands on my jeans.

"Emmet, we would have celebrated if it were possible. When has anyone ever come back from the dead?" Norman said, and Maximus looked visibly upset too.

"It’s always the start of something. Don’t tell me you think it’s impossible when we live in a world where strange things happen all the time," Emmet stood tall, his fists clenched, but he looked more alive than he had in days.

"Okay, let her wake up and we’ll ask her how she came back," Lord McQuoid suggested, and Emma started nodding.

"We should make sure she isn’t some creature just wearing Azura’s skin—" Emma was in the middle of speaking when Emmet’s sharp glare shut her up.

"I hugged her, I knew her scent. She is Azura. But sure, she’ll tell you all herself," Emmet said defensively before turning and walking back to his room.

"Yep. Not Azura at all," Maximus muttered, clearly still suspicious. His eyes then landed on me, and he just stared in silence.

"Anyway, the list of new people showing up just keeps growing," Emma said with an eye roll, before everyone started heading off to their rooms. Now it was just Maximus, Norman, and me, sitting awkwardly.

"Are you okay?" Maximus finally broke the silence, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs.

"I’m fine. I’m happy for him," I said, though it took effort to get the words out because I wasn’t fine.

But telling them wouldn’t change anything. I didn’t want to seem like the desperate one who wanted all her mates.

The mate eclipse was over, so there would be no reason for us to get intimate by force anymore.

"Why are you so quiet, Norman?" Maximus asked, making me turn to look at Norman, who was leaning back on the couch with the tip of his index finger on his temple and his thumb under his chin, forming a V shape.

"How is she alive again?" Norman repeated his question.

"I think Emmet would know if something was wrong," I said gently, patting Norman’s thigh. I got up, but he held my hand and sat me back down.

The families had arrived early that morning, which made things feel even weirder.

"If it hurts you, we can talk to Emmet about it," Norman said, but I quickly shook my head.

"If he wants her, he wants her. I won’t ruin his happiness," I said firmly, reminding them not to do anything that would make me look bad.

I excused myself and went to the kitchen, but realized almost immediately that I shouldn’t have. It wasn’t the same mansion anymore. The peace had vanished the minute Emma returned. She was busy yelling at the maids, ordering them around.

"Oh, you," she sighed when she saw me, straightening her posture, her eyebrows raised high with fake composure. The attitude she showed me was ridiculous.

"So? Isn’t it my mansion? I should be the one shocked to see you here," I snapped back. I was already annoyed, and her attitude was only pushing me closer to losing it.

"You know, Helanie," she said, her tone full of fake pity, "seeing all the problems in your life makes me realize how blessed I am to have a daughter like Charlotte. She’s sweet and thoughtful. She makes me hold my head high with pride. And you? Now I understand why your parents don’t want anything to do with you. You’re just a troublemaker."

She kept praising her daughter while I stood there, arms crossed, my face blank with boredom.

"I’m proud of my Charlotte," she repeated again, like a broken record.

I sighed. "Go tell that to the wall. I don’t have time for you." I pointed toward the door and walked past her to check the dinner menu. A whole day had passed, and I hadn’t eaten anything.

"Hmm, so we’ll cook something for the new she-wolf? Azura? Yeah, let’s welcome her with a great feast. What do you say?"

The smug way Emma got the last word in made me wonder if she knew more about my mates than she let on.

I ignored her and went on giving instructions to the maids.

Eventually, I left the kitchen and found out Azura had woken up. I had no energy to go see her, but I had to. We needed to make sure everything was truly okay.

I walked with Norman and Maximus through the hallway toward Emmet’s room. He had left the door wide open.

When we entered, I saw Azura sitting on his bed, her hair wet and wearing a white dress, something I assumed Emmet had picked out for her.

"Hello," she said quietly, giving us a weak smile.

Just then, Emmet walked out of the bathroom, also fresh from a shower and that’s when I began to wonder why. Has something happened between them?

Then I saw it: his shirt and pants on the floor, right next to her clothes.

Yep.

No wonder they had to take a shower.