Chapter 838: 838-Another Curse Bit The Dust
Helanie:
I walked beside Maximus while he dragged Charlotte along. Since I was a little behind him, I saw her body facing up, pulled by her hair across the ground. It was honestly the most devastating sight.
I couldn’t help but remember all the times we had talked in the past, the times when she acted kind, and I thought she had moved forward. It felt strange remembering my first meeting with her and her mother, and now they were both gone.
I let out a deep sigh and noticed Maximus slow down, only to turn and look at me before continuing toward the well of sacrifice. He had been grunting, letting out guttural snarls the whole time, but whenever I sighed, he would stop and glance back at me, almost like he was checking on me.
I was exhausted. I just wanted to see my babies, feed them, and be with them. I could only wish for everything to end soon.
When we reached the well of sacrifice, I stayed behind, making sure Maximus took this step on his own. If he didn’t, I would remind him, but it seemed like he knew it was his only mission.
The moment he reached the well, he howled, lifted her onto his shoulder, and tossed her headfirst inside. He placed his hands on the edges of the well and watched. I heard the sound of her skull hitting and breaking, and I grinned.
The storm had stopped. The weather was clearing. Of course it was. It always gets worse when we’re going through something. The minute the sacrifice was done, Maximus snarled, fell to his knees, and covered his head with his hands. In no time, he transitioned back into his human form.
I rushed to him, squatted down, and watched as he lifted his head. His eyes rose to meet mine, misted with tears. Relief and happiness mixed in them.
"I did it. I’m free," he said.
I remembered Kaye saying those same words. Hearing them always gave me relief. One by one, they were breaking free from the curse, but it felt like these were the hardest ones. With the others, the main problem was how they would fight their mates. With Norman, Jessica was just innocent. I sighed, but focused on Maximus’s happiness for now.
"Yes, you did it," I told him, smiling.
"And I’m so glad you were there with me," he said, gently touching my cheek. He was only in his shorts, his clothes torn away. His muscles were ripped, and his hand was still warm.
"And you took a dagger for me," he added.
"Of course I did. And I would do it again and again."
Before I could finish, he covered my mouth with his hand.
"Let me be happy for now. Don’t say things like that," he insisted.
I jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. We stayed like that for three minutes before breaking apart, and I reminded him we needed to make sure Norman was fine. After our reunion, we held hands and walked out of the woods with Kaye’s phone in my hand.
"What do you think? Do you think Norman will wake up now?" I asked, too scared to call Kaye, wanting reassurance first.
"I definitely think he will. He won’t have only one heartbeat anymore. I’m fine, so now there will be two, plus his own faint one," he reassured me.
Then, seeing how hard it was for me to make the call, he gently took the phone from my hand to call his brother.
Maximus spoke with Kaye for a few minutes, mostly nodding. He told him he was fine and that he felt light. I guess the two had that in common. They had both been freed from their painful curse. When the call ended, Maximus turned to me.
"What? Is he okay?" I asked right away.
Maximus gave me a soft, reassuring nod.
"He’s fine. But he’s weaker now. We need to hurry and find him a third heartbeat." He handed me back Kaye’s phone.
"You should keep it," I mumbled and he chuckled.
"Kaye trusts you more than me. He thinks I’ll go through his search history." he laughed while I frowned.
"Why? What’s in his search history?" I grabbed the phone and checked right away. There wasn’t much, just some advice for new fathers on how to take care of babies. I looked up and saw Maximus laughing.
"See? The phone is safer with me," he laughed, and I growled. I guessed it was his way of finding a moment to joke through all this stress.
But now I had to ask the hard question.
"How are we going to get him a third heartbeat? Emmet is sleeping in his dream world. And Jessica, she’s innocent. How are we going to do it?" Tears filled my eyes as I asked.
"We’ll figure everything out later. First we need to see Norman. He wants to see you," Maximus said, holding my hand.
As we started walking, I noticed his ass and began to laugh. He stopped, frowned, and turned his head toward me.
"What?" he asked.
"You’re going to walk into the hospital butt naked?" I teased. He glanced down to check and then raised his eyebrow at me.
"I’m wearing shorts," he muttered.
"Yeah, but why are they so tight?" I asked, and he gave me a look that almost made me laugh harder.
Before deciding if he would go home first, we agreed to check what was happening with everything else, and then leave to meet Norman. At this point, we had no real plan. We were just moving forward, hoping an opportunity would present itself, maybe that Azura would make a mistake.
But then again, how would we get her sacrificed? Just because she was rude, or had treated us badly, didn’t mean she deserved to die. And what if she had killed someone she loved by accident, in self-defense, or something else entirely?
These questions circled in my mind. I cleared my throat to speak to Maximus.
"Who do you think Azura killed? Who do you think she sacrificed for the mate bond? I don’t remember her ever saying she had anyone."
He slowed down, and I could tell he had no idea how we were supposed to handle her situation either.