CASSIUSIt took me a while to convince Talon to stand down. As I watch them talking for the time being, my anxiety skyrockets and it’s taking everything in me, not to march right on over there and take what’s mine. Xeraphina is smiling ear to ear, the smile she once used to give me. She’s enjoying herself and I can tell she likes the guy standing in front of her, giving her attentive attention. Something I’ve been lacking on, the last two years. I know deep down that I should leave. But I don’t. I just stew in my own shit, stand here clenching my fists and glaring at them as they get to know one another.Everything is going well until she glances over and catches sight of me in my crazed state. She shifts her gaze and climbs on top of the guy. From my angle, it appears as though she is nuzzling his neck or something. What the fuck?! Then she points towards the stairs, and instantly, my nerves sizzle.‘Is she taking him to her room or what?! Hell no!’ A growl emits from my throat as Ta
CASSIUSWhile Talon and I race through the forest, my anger towards Charity intensifies. She has shown herself to be nothing but a manipulative snake, using me for my position in the pack and my wealth. I felt overwhelming gratitude when they allowed me back into the pack house. It would have been challenging for me if Alpha Joseph hadn’t let me return. It still astonishes me that Charity had the audacity to kick me out of the house. I put in so much effort, pouring my blood and sweat into constructing that damn mansion with my own two hands. Xachariah and a few others from our pack lent a hand, but it would have taken me years to complete it alone. Charity’s once sweet and innocent demeanor turned into something unrecognizable after we said our vows. She has treated me like shit stuck to the bottom of her shoe for the past two years. I bet she’s over the moon with happiness with the chaos she has created for me and Xeraphina. Making me lose my mate while she gets to run off with he
XERAPHINA “I can’t stand to be down here anymore after what Cassius did. Let’s go upstairs. I’m sure my parents would understand. We could go to my room to have more privacy,” I say, craning my neck towards the stairs.“That sounds awesome to me, Xeraphina. Do you want me to grab a couple more beers?”I can’t help but grin and wink at him in response to his question. “Sure. I don’t see why not. Three beers for me shouldn’t be too much, alcohol should it? I promised my father I wouldn’t go overboard. But I don’t even know what my limits are, because until tonight, I have never drank a drop of alcohol,” I explain, shrugging my shoulders.“Nah. With all that food you chowed down at dinner, you should be fine.”As Vaegon walks off, I mind link my father and tell him that Vaegon and I are going up to my room. It’s been a long freaking day and I’m beat. Beyond shifting into my wolf for the first time and all that happened between Cassius and me, I have found my second chance mate and have
XERAPHINA“My mate requires some attention,” Vaegon’s wolf states, his voice seducing and husky. Vaegon rises from my bed, his eyes flitting back and forth between the gold of his wolf and his grayish sky-blue.Vaegon approaches me. Fixated on sky-blue irises, his eyes reveal he has achieved total control over his wolf. One hand tangles in my thick hair, while the other grips my hip, bringing me closer to him. He presses his lips against mine as his partially erect penis rests on my belly button. I experience a burning blaze within me, accompanied by the spectacle of shooting stars behind my closed eyes. Tingles electrify my entire body, traveling to the very center of my being, and my core pulses with need.We’re both struggling to gain control, even though we’re clueless about what we’re doing. It was at that moment when I understood he had kissed no one before, just like he said. My heart fills with happiness, knowing that we are experiencing our first kiss together.Vaegon draws m
XERAPHINATurning off the engine, I’m saddened by the distress emanating from Vaegon, clear in his tense body and sweaty forehead. His wolf Vane growls as Vaegon tries to control him. It’s not surprising that he’s upset. Losing me is his biggest fear. He’s been attempting to persuade me to stay in his room here at the lodge. I’m torn between staying with him and keeping my word to Cassius. I have a strong distaste for liars and have no interest in becoming one myself.Once Vaegon has gained control over his wolf, Vane he glances over at me with a pout on his face. “Xeraphina, please don’t go to Cassius tonight. Stay with me, please. I don’t think I can stand to be away from you now that I’ve found you. Let alone knowing you are going to another man. Vane and I need you. I swear to be a true gentleman and not touch you beyond holding you close to me all night. It’s not physical now. Only a need to be near you every second. The mate bond is intense, and Vane is whining and thrashing aro
CASSIUSAll fucking day, my nerves have been shot all to hell. It doesn’t help that Talon is pacing back-and-forth growling at me as he yells at me, telling me what a fucking idiot I am. I’ve been mimicking his actions, pacing back and forth, checking my phone every five seconds to check the time. Xeraphina is never late to anything. She’s always early to anything she does. But right now she’s fifteen minutes late and I’m wondering if she’ll show up at all.If I had just kept my cock in my pants and not married Charity in the first place, Xeraphina rejecting me, never would have happened. She wouldn’t have a second-chance-mate I would have to compete with. I’ve tried everything to get Xeraphina’s attention and make amends. If this next plan of action cannot get her attention, I don’t know what else I could do. I can’t lose her to a fucking stranger, and I won’t. Xeraphina is mine and I’m going to earn her love and trust back. No matter what it takes. Even fighting Vaegon to the death
CASSIUSFeeling a surge of panic, I find myself rooted in place as Xeraphina walks away from me. The urgency to stop her consumes me, and without hesitation, I break into a sprint. “Xeraphina! Wait! Please, don’t leave me!” gasping for breath, I catch up to her. Desperation fuels my grip on her elbow as I spin her around to face me. In that moment, an electric jolt courses through my arm, igniting the intense bond between us.Tears swim in her eyes as she glares at me. “What do you want, Cassius? Why can’t you just give me some space? After all that has happened today between us and the party tonight, I’m so exhausted. This day has just been…” she trails off, shaking her head as tears fall down her cheeks.“You hurt me, Cassius,” she says, as her gaze sears into my own. “I haven’t even got to know my wolf because of you. She’s been asleep all day. I’m so angry, sad and confused. This is not how things are supposed to be. I’m supposed to be with my mate, and going over marriage and mat
XERAPHINAI believed the mate bond would be unbreakable with Vaegon. That our mate bond was stronger than what I was feeling for Cassius. But my connection with Vaegon pales compared to what I share with Cassius. Now that our mate bond has healed, I can sense the immense contrast between being with a second chance mate and that of your destined, fated mate. It’s incomparable. Oh goddess! What the hell am I going to do now?!“We won’t die from rejecting one another now. We are going to be alright,” I whisper, staring into his heated captivating eyes, and still clinging on to Cassius, like my life depends on it.“Yes, darling. Nothing will ever come between us again.”Resting my head on his chest, I can hear the rhythmic thumping of his heart synchronized with mine. The sound is comforting and I wish we could stay like this forever.“Please don’t be upset with me, Cassius,” I whisper, tightening my grip on him as he stiffens. The weight of my promise to Vaegon hangs heavy in the air.“I
XERAPHINA“Don’t worry, Angel of Mine. We won’t kill each other. We’re just gonna rough each other up some,” Vaegon says, glancing over at Cassius. “Right, asshole?”“You’re still lucky I’m behind bars, fucker,” Cassius warns, ramming himself against the bars and reaching his arms out to grab Vaegon, but he steps out of reach.“Quit y’all’s shit already. You are two grown men. I’m not in the mood for this. Sleep. I need sleep,” I say, strolling away from them and walking towards Xachariah.Getting on tiptoe, I whisper into Xachariah’s ear, so Vaegon and Cassius can’t hear us with their heightened wolves’ senses. “Those two are going to kill us all. We’re all doomed.”Xachariah chuckles and shakes his head. Then does the same, whispering into my ear. “They know if they kill each other, they’ll kill you. If what your wolves are saying is true. Vaegon and Cassius would do nothing to jeopardize your life, Xeraphina,” Zachariah explains, a snarl coming from his lips when Cassius comes into
XERAPHINA Cassius’s gaze met my own, gold swirling in his irises and confusion washes over me. Then I look over at Vaegon to see gold swirling around in his irises as well. What the hell is going on here? Talon left Cassius, but he’s back now, out of nowhere; for what reason? Talon reconnecting with Cassius will make rejecting him so much more difficult now. A fresh wave of tears collect in my eyes and I reach up to swipe them away when they slip down my cheeks.Glancing at Vaegon, my voice hitches as I whisper, “Vaegon, I’m sorry, but I need you to leave, please. Cassius and I need to have a private chat.”“You can’t reject him, Xeraphina,” Vaegon states, as he glares at Cassius, growling and crossing his arms in anger.My brows furrowed, I turn to see Cassius coming closer. “What the hell are you talking about, Vaegon? I thought you of all people would be the happiest about me rejecting Cassius.”“Has Xariah not reached out to you about anything regarding the three of us?” Cassius
XERAPHINAWhen Xariah rushes into the forest, I decide to end our shared consciousness. I don’t care what Xariah does during this time. Thanks to Cassius, I’m a ball of anger, pain, and sadness. Looking back, I see if I had just kept my rejection of Cassius from the start; things would be fine. I gotta spend more quality time with Vaegon. This is something that Cassius promised me I could have, but went against his word, which isn’t fair to Vaegon.Why do I still have such powerful feelings for Cassius, despite all the harm he has caused me, my family, and our pack? Well, I guess it’s because Cassius is family, and I have always loved him. However, I can’t continue this way any longer. The recent events, like him starting a war with Charity and losing his wolf Talon, have pushed me to my breaking point. I need to let go of Cassius and move on, just as he needs to let go of me. Our relationship has become toxic.As of now, I need to focus on Vaegon. It’s not fair to him. I’ve been in a
CASSIUSMy senses come rushing back to me when Vaegon informs me about Xeraphina’s panic attack. In addition, he reveals Alpha Joseph’s plan for both Xeraphina and me to reject each other, ultimately leading to my expulsion from the pack. These words hit me with a force that I can no longer ignore. This manipulative asshole is on the verge of accomplishing everything he has desired since entering our pack, and it pisses me off.“I bet you’re fucking happy, aren’t you, asshole? You’ll have her all to yourself now.”It’s not until he calls me a fucking spoiled teenage brat that I can’t hold off my anger anymore. In my drunken catatonic state I lunge at the fucker, forgetting about the fucking jails bars between us. My head collides with the steel bars, almost knocking me out, but I shake my head, ridding the stars shooting out in my vision away.“You better be glad I’m behind bars or I would fucking kill you, fucker! She is my fucking fated mate! Mine! I’ve known her my whole fucking li
CASSIUSXachariah drives my truck as we head back to the pack house. He vents his anger, yelling and cursing about what happened with Xeraphina this morning and the incident involving Charity. With each outburst, he slams his fist down on the steering wheel, distorting it to where it seems unusable. When he realizes he can’t hit the steering wheel anymore because of its fragile state, he bangs on the dashboard. I’m relieved Xachariah isn’t directing his anger towards me this time, or else he would kill me. However, I know once we reach the pack house, I will face the consequences.At some point, he stops the truck, and we step out. I receive several blows to the ribs, some causing fractures, and a strike to the head, all while he continues to curse at me. After venting his anger, he forces me to drive the remainder of the journey.As Xachariah settles into the passenger seat, a sense of foreboding washes over me as I see his glazed eyes. I know he is reaching out to Alpha Joseph to di
VAEGON It took us forever going down several twisted tunnels and stairs before we made it to a massive door that leads to the dungeons. We must be several levels underground, at least eight from the amount of stairs we went down.Xachariah unlocks the massive door and pushes it open. Then he ushers me inside and growls when Cassius’s scent wafts towards us.“We don’t use the dungeons that often. Cassius is the only one down here right now. So it shouldn’t be hard for you to find him. He’s towards the end, is all I know,” Xachariah says, pointing in the direction I needed to go.“I’ll lead you to our bunker afterwards, so you’ll know where it is for future reference. Instead of taking a left like we did to get here, you take a right. Good luck, man. I’ll be right here if you need anything.”Glancing around, I see several jail cells akin to that of the human jail cells. Where there are cots and toilets, and that’s about it. The only difference is that they welded the cells into giganti
VAEGONSkinning and chopping, the moose brought Xeraphina and me together, and we could bond a bit. We were just kidding around and having a blast. Xeraphina was good once she stopped thinking about Cassius.During our conversation, we discussed various topics, including my background and alpha training. I shared my passion for vintage cars and my talent for fixing engines with her. In fact, my dad and I have a hobby of buying old cars, fixing them up, and then deciding whether to keep them or sell them. Interestingly, Xeraphina suggested I might get along well with her youngest brother, who is a year older than me. It turns out that he shares the same enthusiasm for classic cars as I do.We discussed various topics like the lodge, her love for horses and cattle roping, and our family backgrounds. Cassius’s name never came up. Xeraphina mentioned a friend who passed away a few months ago. She got lost in thought and Cassius crossed her mind. I changed the subject to learning horse rid
VAEGON“It’s Charity who has caused all this. You shouldn’t be so angry with Cassius. He’s just having a hard time, coming to terms with everything,” Xeraphina says. The fact she's putting the blame onto someone else other than Cassius makes my blood boil. I can't take this anymore.That’s when I pause my actions, clutching a massive chunk of intestines in my hands as I glance over at Xeraphina. “Don’t sit there and tell me I shouldn’t be angry, Xeraphina. He’s a man, holding a high rank within the pack as a beta male. It is not fair to blame his ex-wife for everything he has done. He made the choice to marry her and allowed all this chaos to unfold within the pack, all while knowing you were his true mate. He needs to face the consequences of his actions.”Xeraphina winces, affected by my harsh words. She glances out the window closest to her, squirming in her chair. “I apologize, Vaegon. You are right. I’m overwhelmed by everything that has transpired in the past few days. It’s beco
VAEGONVane sprinted through the forest with lightning speed, him unleashing all the built-up anger and desire to kill Cassius. However, the faster he ran, the more enraged we both became. Our shared consciousness echoed with shouts, urging us to turn back and track down that bastard.Who knows how long we’ve been sprinting through the dense forest, the towering trees casting dancing shadows on the ground? Vane halts at the glistening stream, its gentle babbling filling the air, calming our hatred. He bends down to drink from the stream, the water refreshing and cool against his parched tongue. Feeling a desperate need to cool off the searing heat radiating from his enraged body, he plunges into the crystal clear waters. As the coolness envelops him, he realizes the depths are greater than expected, and the sensation of weightlessness calms our turbulent emotions.After thrashing around in the cool water for a while, he trudges out of the stream, refreshed and wanting to hunt.‘We sho