Awakened Senses

[CASSANDRA’s Point-of-View]

"Cassy? Cassy, are you alright?"

Blood drained from my face, and my whole body shivered.

I felt like time had stopped. Like I was pushed into a void and got trapped there for a while. There was nothing in that chasm. Everything was black.

But an alluring, powerful scent pulled me up to the surface. A lifeline that forced me to breathe and persuaded me to keep breathing. The pain of betrayal after watching Carter choose Kaya was hard to ignore, but the scent was so strong that it distracted me from the pain and wanted me to focus on it. It stirred my inner wolf, wanting me to search for whoever that was. There was fear and hesitation in me, but my curiosity was so intense that I had to do it.

With Macy shaking me violently on my shoulders, reality sucked me back as I stared at her terrified face.

"Cassy! You don’t have to stay here. Do you want me to walk you home?" Macy asked. She was furious and full of worry.

"I-I just need to go somewhere, I whispered to her, holding her hand tight before I left her in the middle of the crowd.

The scent was still there. It was as if I was the only one who could smell it, and the feeling was magical. I tried to identify the smell. Hmmm… lavender. With a touch of vanilla that was bewitching to the nose. I went in front of the stage, close enough to find myself gazing at the beautiful man with white hair and glowing skin, so striking that he looked like a moon god descended from heaven.

Carter invited him to give a speech to the people of the Midnight Pack, and I gasped when I heard his low, deep, sultry voice as he spoke.

"Tonight, I want to congratulate the new Alpha and his Luna of the Midnight Pack." He said the words so smoothly and full of confidence, but I saw that his smile didn't reach his eyes, although I felt the sincerity in his voice. "I am grateful that you gave me the opportunity to show you my genuine offer of friendship and alliance and prove to you that there will be no more dispute between our packs and that peace and prosperity will reign from now on!"

There was loud applause from the crowd, pleased by the good news. But It didn’t matter to me what he just said. My inner wolf wanted me to go and let him know that I exist. That something was drawing me to him.

My desire to meet the white-haired guy drove me to go further behind the backstage. While I was hoping that our eyes would meet, strong arms suddenly pinned me against the hard, concrete wall. I realized it was Carter, who was looking furious and baffled at the same time after seeing me hiding behind the stage curtains.

"What are you doing here?!" he hissed at me and then looked over his shoulder as if checking if there was something behind him who noticed our presence.

To my horror, he pushed me further backstage, where the curtain hid us from everyone. His breath started to get heavier, as if he got excited, as he smiled at me wickedly.

"I know you are madly in love with me, Cassy. But you know why I can’t choose you as my Luna, right?" 

He seductively looked down at my lips and touched my chin with his index finger and thumb, lifting my face. He frowned when I pulled away from him.

"Nice try," I sneered at him and tried to get out of his arms. I had enough of your excuses and manipulations, Carter, so better let me go or I will—"

Carter frowned, displeased by my sudden change of heart. But then she smiled like a dog and pinned me harder against the wall, making me gasp. His lips were so close to my ears. "I know you are just trying to play hard to get, Cass. You know what? I can make you my mistress if you like—"

My jaw dropped. Shocked at how brazen Carter was! I realized what kind of fool I was to believe every promise he said to me before. Now I understand why my family thought of me as a hopeless romantic.

"Go to hell, Carter!" I hissed at him, curling my lips against my teeth to show him how outrageous he was, "You really have a lot of nerve to say that after you made me believe that I was the only one! I even defended you against my brother and my Dad! You cheater son-of-a—"

Out of nowhere, Kaya suddenly appeared and approached me and Carter. Carter’s eyes widened in panic, and before I knew it, he had already slapped me on the face, making my cheeks numb for seconds until I felt the stinging pain as I touched my right cheek with my hand, still in shock at what he had done to me.

"It’s not what you think, Kaya! She went here and tried to seduce me!" Carter explained in panic, still a little shaken from Kaya’s presence, and then stepped away from me, giving me a threatening glare.

I was about to yell at Carter that he’s a coward and a liar, but Kaya grabbed my throat and glared straight into my eyes while showing me her razor-sharp teeth. Her lips pulled against her teeth in anger and jealousy.

"You know that my wolf is powerful against yours, Cassandra Clark, she sneered at me disparagingly, "You are just a pathetic Omega whose head is in clouds! Do you think an Alpha will take an Omega for a Luna? You should do a reality check, girl!"

She released my throat and pushed me away from Carter, who was still glaring at me. But this time, his smile was gone. I had never seen Carter with his eyes so cold. He was not the same person I loved with my whole heart anymore.

The bewitching scent that brought me backstage was washed away by the humiliation I felt as I stepped away from Carter and Kaya. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. The night that was supposed to be the happiest moment of my life had turned into a night of torment.

I tried so hard to hold back the tears that had been wanting to fall from my pale face as I got out of the hall. Dad and Troy were still not at home. The silence and darkness of the house amplified the misery I felt as my chest grew so heavy that I could barely breathe.

"Nana, I need to see Nana!" I murmured with a broken voice as I hurried to the woods where my Mom’s mother was staying. Nana was the oldest member of the pack, and despite Dad’s insistence on living with us, she stayed in the deepest of the woods, where she was staying in a small hut with all the herbs she grows for medicinal purposes.

"Nana!"

As soon as Nana saw me running toward her small hut, she stood from her rocking chair and welcomed me with open arms. I embraced her frail body as gently as I could as I cried like a small child on her lap.

She caressed the top of my head with worry on her face, "What happened, child?"

I told her everything that happened at the event of the choosing, and Nana patiently listened as I vented out all the horrible things that happened to me. But I noticed how Nana smiled when I told her about the enchanting scent that helped me cope with my broken heart.

"That is because you finally found your mate, dear. Fate brought you to the same place together."

I gazed at Nana’s gray eyes and still couldn’t believe that the amazing feeling I felt at the convention was the thing that my father had been telling me all this time. A mate! That beautiful white-haired guy with a stoic look on his face was my Mate!?

And then I remembered that I saw him somewhere else. Yes! He was the guy who talked with those three suspicious men at the door of the grand hall!

I bit my lower lip, wishing that my mate was not the man Macy was talking about. There was no way I would be mated with a ruthless Alpha like him. I never wanted to be with that kind of man.

But then my brain reminded me of the powerful, sweet aroma that enslaved me, and my eyes closed from the memory. There’s no way I could resist that.

It was scary and thrilling at the same time, and I didn’t know what to do…