CASSANDRAI gulped back the lump in my throat as I stared at the black mark on Asher’s skin. Of anyone, I never would have expected the Alpha King to become infected with the mysterious disease. Especially since he’d just arrived here from Anemond.Was the disease running rampant in the capital just as it did here?We hadn’t heard anything about it here, and besides, if it was so prevalent, there would have been no reason for Asher to keep his condition so private and concealed. So, how did he get infected in the first place? From the research I’d conducted with my patients, I’d come to the conclusion that the disease didn’t transfer very easily, which was especially lucky for us. Otherwise, we’d all have been infected by now, especially me. I worked around the infected so often that it was a miracle that Marley and I hadn’t become infected yet. Though the illness was peculiar and mysterious, there was one thing I did know- the disease weakened werewolves’ power. Once present in the
CASSANDRAI lingered outside the meeting room door for a moment, and my heart beat ferociously in my chest. Sure enough, Marley was gone, and I took this alone time to center myself.It’d been a long time since I’d thought about the girl I’d been before the inferno.As the years had grown by, I’d allowed her to fade away into near nothingness, but the return of Asher Collins to my life had changed that entirely. Cassandra Keller, my new identity, was no match for the Alpha King, and his arrival, along with the order to return to Anemond, had a chance of tearing my life to shreds.Long ago, I’d been Cora Felix, the daughter of a Gamma wolf named Darrin Felix. I had been born into a prestigious werewolf family, exalted in the Wegalla Empire, and the Crescent Pack in particular.My father and my older brother, Ector, were well-respected warriors in our Pack. They were tough as nails and a major asset to the crown. After a chain of events, I was chosen to be Asher-the Alpha prince’s-mate
ASHEROnce the healer left, I leaned back in the armchair in Alpha Gareth’s meeting room and released a sigh. My head was aching, as if I had a million hammers pounding at it at once. I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers. It was difficult to say whether the headache was from the mysterious disease worsening or the lack of sleep. I barely got a full night’s rest these days, and it was beginning to take its toll on my entire body. It was simply too difficult to rest when there was so much plaguing my mind.And now, there was someone else to consider, someone I couldn’t get out of my head. Cassandra Keller. Even though she was gone, her name ran circles in my mind, over and over, as if it were a song rather than a name. Cassandra Keller, a nobody healer from a long-forgotten Pack on the border of Wegalla. Over the past few conversations I’d held with her, I knew there was something special about her, something weirdly familiar that drew me in in unexplainable ways. As
CASSANDRAMuch to my excitement, when Amalia brought me to my intended room, Finnick was waiting for me on the other side of my door. His little face lit up with excitement, and his normally serious gray eyes widened as he grinned at me. “Mommy!” he exclaimed, and he rushed over to meet me. I’d half-expected him to look a little rough around the edges after our encounter with the bear in the woods, but Finnick looked perfectly healthy. He threw his arms around me, and I fought back a sound of pain as he squeezed. “Careful, baby,” I said softly as tears welled in my eyes. “I’m still a little sore.”“Oh,” he realized, and he let go and took a step back. “I’m sorry.”“Don’t be,” I assured him, and then I gave him a look over. “Are you doing okay, sweetheart? I’ve been so worried about you.” “I’m better now, Mommy,” he assured me, and he gave me a tiny smile. “I was a little scared at first, but after I took a warm bath and got some new clothes, I was feeling better.”Suddenly, a stra
ASHERI stared out the window and admired the way the light entered the room. Dusk here in the Wild Crawler Pack was far more tranquil here than it was all the way out in Anemond. Out in the capital, it was nearly impossible to see the horizon amidst the tall buildings and structures. Here, there was nothing but open sky for miles. I peered out at the front lawns. Here, the grass grew tall and was a plush, emerald green. The lawns of my palace in Anemond were nothing like this. They were broad and spacious but cut meticulously short by the team of gardeners. It was almost as if wildlife was forbidden. There was no smell of pine, no fresh air…I inhaled deeply. I’d never admit it to anyone, but I would miss the fresh air here. There was something to be said for this land beside the border. There was a wildness here that didn’t exist out in Anemond, no matter how much I yearned for it. Far out on the lawn, two boys were playing ball with one another. One of them, I assumed, was the
ASHER After the boy disappeared, I released a sigh and then followed Gareth’s servant into the dining room. I wished that Finnick had joined us and explained what he meant by his words. Had Cassandra Keller really told him that I was a bad man?The idea should have enraged me and yet, I was somewhat amused. I didn’t love the idea of a child fearing me, but perhaps he’d simply twisted her words as children so often did. Either way, something about the Kellers was intriguing, and I looked forward to getting to know them once we reached Anemond. Upon my arrival, Alpha Gareth and Luna Sofia, along with their son, rose to their feet and offered me solemn bows. I inclined my head in their direction respectfully and then turned my attention back to the servant leading me through the room. A long, rectangular table sat at the center of the wood-floored room, and around us, the light from the enormous red-brick fireplace flickered. The room itself was painted a rich dark red, and a smile fo
CASSANDRA After I concluded that the pendant wasn’t in the backpack, I discarded it and looked around the room I’d been confined to. There was a stack of boxes in the far corner I hadn’t noticed when I’d first arrived. I rushed over to them and wasted no time. I rummaged through the closest one, and once I finished rooting through it, I moved on to the next. I continued this way for nearly an hour. In the process of searching my belongings, a pair of servants took turns delivering more boxes. With every one, I prayed to the Moon Goddess that the pendant had just gotten misplaced in a pocket or bag, and when it wasn’t in any of the spots, my frustration grew. Finally, the servants stopped arriving, and I began to give up. My mother’s necklace wasn’t here. Thankfully, one thing was certain- the pendant hadn’t been found by the Alpha King’s guards. If it had, things wouldn’t be nearly as quiet as they were now. If my true identity had been revealed, Asher Collins would have been cr
CASSANDRARayden suddenly grabbed my hand, and when I whipped around to stare at him, his eyes bore into mine intensely, so much that my heart began to race.“Let me go with you, Cassy,” he insisted, and his eyes grew sorrowful, as if he was a young boy who’d lost something he couldn’t recover again. “Please.”My eyes widened as I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening.“Rayden…” I uttered.As Rayden stared at me with his large brown eyes, a feeling swept through me along with understanding. Asher’s earlier words in the meeting room played through my mind. The Alpha King had quipped that the prince of the Wild Crawlers fancied me. At the time, his words had been a massive shock, but as I stood here in the garden, I began to suspect that Asher may have been right.But I didn’t want to believe it.At the time, I never could have imagined that Rayden could see me like that. I’d always been something of a friend to him, as well as a healer. Just as I’d done with countless others
CASSANDRAIt was a sunny day, the first one in a long time.After the long winter and cold spring, summer eventually came, and it was hotter than it had been in forever.Sunlight streamed in through the clinic window, and I was a little distracted as I stared out at the window at the kids in the yard.Finnick, Lila, Marley’s boys Eric and Adrian, and Dominic were all chasing each other, playing a game of tag with one another. Marco was out there with them too, but he was sitting on a bench alone, meters away from the rest of the kids. He looked lonely and didn’t move as the others played around him.It had been a month since the chaos in Merliscire and Adalyn’s death. I supposed it was still hard for Marco to accept the fact that his mother was gone. She had killed herself right in front of him after holding him hostage and threatening to hurt him. The poor little boy had endured so much trauma in such a short amount of time.He wasn’t a bad kid. He had a mean disposition at times, bu
ASHERIt had been a while since Cassandra entered the building, and with every passing minute, my nervousness and anxiety grew stronger. While I knew she was capable of handling herself, I didn’t like the idea of her being in the House of Moses without me.I began to feel restless. It was a mistake to let her leave with Adalyn alone.I pondered my options for a minute and then decided I couldn’t wait out on the grounds any longer, not when my mate could be in danger. I started to walk toward the building, but before I could get too far, the soldiers guarding us stopped me.At first, they were polite but quickly, they became rude. They shouted and told me to back up. I wasn’t allowed in, not until Lady Adalyn said so.I considered pushing past them but didn’t want to escalate the situation, so I nodded and retreated ever so slightly. All around me, the councilors grew restless. They too, wanted to leave, only they desired to go back to Merliscire. However, when a group of them tried to
BECKYAfter our conversation with Oliver Moses, Dickson and I had been seized by the Moses guards and taken into a room that appeared to be used for interrogation. The door was crafted from iron and there were no windows, so the room was dim and quiet. There were only a pair of chairs, each a little rickety and old-looking. It was a pathetic, desolate sort of place, which was surely on purpose.Time didn’t make much sense in there and I soon couldn’t figure out how long we’d been locked in. My body ached and my mind was spinning out with a million thoughts as I absorbed all of the information I’d heard in the past couple of days.I had thought Oliver Moses would quickly find out the truth or ask me to confront Adalyn again, but Dickson thought the opposite when I presented the idea to him.“Look at this place, Becky,” he said, his voice gloomy and negative. “No one is going to visit us any time soon.”Sadly, he appeared to be correct, and his point was only proven as time went on. Tho
ADALYN Ada. How long had it been since I’d heard that name? My parents had never referred to me as Ada. They had never given me a single nickname or pet name. Mother had always said it was improper to call a child by anything other than their name and Father had never given me enough affection to bother. There were only two people in this world who had ever called me Ada. Asher. And Cora. I tensed as I tried to understand how Cassandra knew this. Had Asher told her about our close friendships when we were young? No, there was no way. Suddenly, I was hit with a realization, one I couldn’t ignore. I stared at Cassandra and studied her carefully. I searched her features, scrutinizing her nose, her mouth, the shape of her eyes. None were familiar, but as I stared at her deep emerald green irises and recognized the hue of them, it all began to make sense. I’d never understood how Asher could fall in love with a common healer. Cassandra wasn’t ugly by any means but to care so deepl
CASSANDRAAdalyn’s golden eyes narrowed and then locked on mine.“Why would that wicked woman come with us?” she demanded as she continued to shoot daggers in my direction.“Those are my terms,” Asher insisted. “You want an audience with me? Those are my requirements.”It was a bold assertation on his behalf. As long as Adalyn had Prince Marco in her grasp, she had the upper hand, but she was far too weak to realize her power. Asher was still the Alpha King, after all, so I supposed that subconsciously, she felt compelled to obey.Silence hung heavily in the air and then finally she sighed.“Fine,” she huffed and then she flashed me a sneer. “Let her come. Perhaps we’ll have some fun with your little plaything once we’re there.”“You won’t harm her,” Asher growled.“We’ll see,” Adalyn said with a shrug. “Come. It’s time we left this musty room.”Her big eyes scanned the room and then she addressed the councilors. “The rest of you shall come as well. Might as well make an event of it.”
CASSANDRAAdalyn’s face twisted again at Karsh’s cold and daring question, only this time, she didn’t recover and lost any sense of calm within her.“How dare you demean the future king’s mother?” she roared, her golden eyes flashing with anger as she bared her teeth.Despite her outrage and fierce expression, the councilor remained as cool as ever and didn’t even flinch. It was an impressive sight to behold and it made me respect Karsh even more. Adalyn had always been a brat but I had the sense that her ferocity wasn’t something to take lightly, at least not today.“I’m just stating the truth, Lady Adalyn,” Karsh said with a slightly raised chin, his eyes locked on hers. “The king is alive, I can assure you-”Before he could finish his statement, Adalyn motioned with her hand and gave a signal to the soldiers behind her.“Seize that traitor!” she ordered, and her men launched into action at once.My heart raced in my chest as I saw the soldiers approach Karsh, but before they could
CASSANDRAThankfully, Adalyn’s proposal wasn’t as convincing to the councilors as she’d expected. It was clear from the glint in her golden eyes and the proud expression on her beautiful face that she assumed all would accept the idea of Marco’s ascension without complaint, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. The room dissolved into whispers and gasps at once.One of the councilors I didn’t know the name of cleared his throat and all fell quiet.“Pardon me for my bluntness, Lady Adalyn, but it’s absurd to announce a new Alpha King when there is no evidence showing that the king is dead,” he pointed out, his thick dark eyebrows furrowed at her. “We have nothing of the sort before us-”“The forensic report will explain everything-” Adalyn began to say but the councilor waved her off with his hand.“A report means nothing,” he stated boldly, and then he glanced around the room to garner attention from the other councilors. “If the Alpha King is dead, we need to see his co
CASSANDRAOne thing was absolutely certain amongst Asher, the councilors he trusted, and I.Whatever Oliver Moses wanted to do at the council meeting, we needed to stop him. We were in complete agreement but knew we needed others to agree to our cause. We needed the support of other Packs in order to bring him down, and knew we wouldn’t get far without it.“Oliver Moses has quite a number of soldiers stationed in Anemond, especially around Merlisicre,” Karsh revealed solemnly. “If we want to confront the Moseses, we will need a troop of good soldiers of our own.”Though I didn’t want to admit it, the councilor was correct in his assessment. Despite having support from Alpha Gareth, Wild Crawler on its own couldn’t provide enough soldiers. If we wanted to gather real numbers to stand against the Moses soldiers, we needed to contact other Packs and ask for their support.“Your Majesty, it would be best for you to remain in the darkness before the meeting,” Jacoby advised after a moment
ADALYNThis girl was stupid and annoying, to say the least.Yet, despite these facts, I regretted that I had underestimated her. I should have dealt with the tiny redhead girl right after Cassandra Keller had disappeared. Now, she had become a big problem, one I wasn’t sure how to handle.“I was hiding in the room next to yours when you spoke,” Becky chimed in.Father’s face changed when she mentioned the meeting. His complexion paled and his hazel eyes widened, but when he ran his hands through his graying hair, it was clear that he seemed convinced by her words.I had to hand it to her.Placing herself at the scene of the crime was a bold move, one I wasn’t sure how to work around. This was damning to be certain but I had to remain collected if I wanted to make it out of this and continue my plans without interruption.Silas’ little kitten was a true thorn in my side.Father studied the girl’s expression like a fox studying its prey. “I hope you acknowledge that you will be punished