Chapter 854: 854-Going After My Mate
Helanie:
"Where are you taking me?" the gray woman demanded, eyes widening as she realized we were untying her.
Norman and Kaye had already told everyone we were taking the gray woman to the room with me.
"Do you seriously think you’ll drag me in and I’ll just lie there and sleep?" she hissed, shaking.
"I will scream and disturb everyone," she warned, watching everyone with as much anger as she could find in herself.
"The minute you start humming, we’ll jam something in your mouth," Gavin said, warning her through his own harsh glare. He’d shove an apple in and she’d bite, he’d do it again and again until her mouth was clogged.
I could tell Gavin hated her more. He hated anyone connected to the zharns.
Lucy and Gavin had been working closely. I’d even seen them share a laugh, and earlier they’d kind of snuggled together. It felt weird.
"Yeah, it doesn’t matter if you want it or not. By morning I’ll throw you in there," I said.
I noticed the look on the gray woman’s face.
"Why would you toss me in there?" she demanded as we dragged her down to the basement to tie her up for the night, not to Emmet’s room.
"We realized the longer you stay, the more monsters you’ll summon," Kaye explained to fool her.
"So while we figure out a way to help Emmet with the curse, we’ll just throw you in there," I told her, playing dumb that sending her straight into the place where she could manipulate Emmet.
Her protests and resistance slowly quieted.
We took her to the basement and tied her up. Norman and Kaye stayed with her while I went to our bedroom to tend to the babies. I was on a call for a few minutes with Lord McQuoid and he said Ursula was fine, but I couldn’t wait to see my mom again.
I had a bad feeling. Every time I asked McQuoid to show me a picture or to put me on speaker, he’d say she was sleeping.
"Do you have a minute? As I was about to lie down with my babies, Kaye knocked on the door. I let him in with a nod. He walked in and sat down, staring at the babies one by one.
"Do you want to hold him?" I asked, watching him smile at his baby wrapped in a white blanket.
"Yeah, can I?" he asked, making me laugh.
"Of course. You’re his father, you can," I uttered, watching him slowly pick the baby up and cradle him. The way he smiled at him was so comforting.
"What did you name him?" Kaye asked, still smiling.
"I didn’t. I wanted you to name him." As soon as I said that, his smile widened. He looked truly grateful.
"Do you have a name for him?" I asked, and he nodded almost instantly.
"I always wanted to name my first baby with my initials," he murmured, and I smiled, waiting for him to tell me what name he would choose.
"Can I name him Kian?" he asked, and I instantly laughed, nodding.
"It’s a really pretty name. Wow, Kian." I repeated it, sliding closer as I rested my head on his shoulder, gently brushing my fingers against my baby’s cheek.
"Helanie, when you go in there tomorrow, please take care of yourself. I know you can be selfless sometimes, but do your best instead of giving up. Remember, you have me and the kids waiting for you here," he urged, turning his face to the side and kissing my cheek.
"I know you’re all scared, but trust me, I know Emmet will remember me. I’ll be back with both my mates and your brothers. Don’t worry, it’s all gonna end soon," I said, kissing his shoulder before he set the baby down. Now it was time to rest.
I went to bed and lay down with my babies. After tending them, I fell asleep.
This might be my last sleep without Emmet, or my last sleep at all. Tomorrow, when I go into the dream world, things could get very messy.
When the next day arrived, everyone looked tense. I could tell they weren’t sure if this was a good idea, but I knew what I was doing. The gray woman herself had planted the idea in my head, and with that in mind, I was ready to go into the dream world and bring both my mates back with me.
"Okay, this lunch is specifically for Helanie," Lucy mumbled. "It’s not that I don’t think she can do it or that it’s her last meal with us. I just want her to eat well so she can go in full and do an amazing job breaking the curse and saving Emmet."
Lucy stood up to make the announcement after preparing the food with Sage and Jenny. I wasn’t sure I could live up to their faith in me, but they trusted me because I told them to. I’d reassured them I had it handled, even though deep down I was still scared.
I sat, forced a smile, and took a sip of wine. Just a few sips. I didn’t want to drink. I never liked it anyway, so it wasn’t hard for me when I’d given birth, I hadn’t craved alcohol at all while I was pregnant.
"Thank you so much for this," I said, hand to my chest. "It means a lot. It proves you guys love me, and I love you just as much."
I felt content with my friends around me. With everyone here, I knew they’d take care of the babies and my mates.
"By the way, your mom woke up. I hope you heard her voicemail. Go in there feeling happy and relaxed, okay?" Kaye urged, giving me a look of pure hope.
Norman squeezed my hand to reassure me that everything here would be fine and taken care of.
"Just so you know, there’ll be a mate of yours anxiously waiting for you. Come back, we still have to name our baby," Norman reminded me. He wanted to wait until everything was over so we could choose the name happy and free of stress. I kissed his hand and gave him a nod.
After we finished lunch, we all stood up and moved toward the room. That’s when Kaye went ahead and dragged the gray woman upstairs. She had no clue I was coming along. At first she thought I was, and I saw fear on her face. But the minute I told her I was sending her alone, she relaxed.
I could tell she didn’t expect me to follow. However, I had to go with her, because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her sight. So, the minute I brought her to the room and stood back, she realized I’d lied.
"No, I’m not sleeping," she snapped, shaking her head almost instantly.
"If you really thought you could make me do it, you were so wrong," she laughed, still shaking her head.
"What made you think I’d fall asleep just because you wanted me to?" she asked, eyes full of disdain and malice.
"What makes you think we convinced Azura? How do you think she got in there?" I asked with a smile.
Before she could even process it, I pushed her back. Norman hit her from behind and she fell on top of me. He grabbed her, tossed her over his shoulder like a giant, and carried her through the door into the room.
There were already three people sleeping, and we’d be going in too, which made five. The pearl was dwindling quickly, so we needed to hurry, we didn’t have much time.
When they laid her down, I lay down on the bed too and closed my eyes. Eating so much delicious food helped me fall asleep. It was evening anyway. When I opened my eyes this time, I realized I was in a room with the gray woman and she was just waking up.
Before she could get up and run, I was already on my feet. I was much stronger than she was. I turned, snatched the sheet from my bed, and wrapped it around her, tying it tight.
I didn’t have magic or my powers here, but I was younger and more athletic than her. I had trained hard after the brothers worked with me, so while I was tying her up, she began to wake.
"Huh? What are you doing?" she shrieked.
"I’m just tying you up a bit," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
Once I had her tied, I grabbed the back of her neck and forced her to walk.
"Come on, we need to find them before it’s too late," I hissed.
Even though she was struggling, I dragged her out of the white building. I didn’t understand why everything looked so plain.
\Was this how Emmet felt deep down? I couldn’t be sure. When I stepped outside, there was nothing but woods, wide and empty. It was my first time here, so I felt anxious, but also eager to see my mates again.