CASSANDRAAs Ronald continued to study me, I knew I had to come up with an answer to his question quickly, so without skipping a beat, I flashed him a kind smile and then offered a polite explanation.“The king simply told me that he was in need of a healer,” I said. “So he invited me to come back with him to Yurene.”Ronald raised a dark eyebrow in surprise and tilted his head slightly, a typical gesture in this palace, from what I’d gathered.“And you agreed, just like that?” he wondered.I nodded right away to keep any suspicions at bay. My answers were lies, but what else could I say? I figured that Ronald was probably a well-respected figure here in Vlokwell, but I knew there was likely something tricky between him and Kaleb. As much as I wanted to get some useful information from Ronald, I needed to ensure I was safe before going any further.So, until I could figure out this strange but polite man’s intentions, I needed to remain vague and guarded.Ronald didn’t seem to believe
KALEB I stood in front of the window in my study and stared out at the wall that surrounded the castle. The afternoon sky was cloudy, but the brightness of the snow on the surrounding mountains illuminated everything. I’d missed the sight of snow during my stay in Anemond, but now that I was back in Yurene, I found myself missing the greenness of Wegalla. Behind me, Roxy and Anubis were seated in white leather chairs, waiting patiently for me to speak. Anubis had just come back from his investigative journey with disheartening news- there was no connection between the necklace and the Felix family. Even if there had been, there was no proof, since all of them were now gone. Since the Felixes were a warrior clan, the family didn’t usually purchase ornaments or accessories. Such a delicate piece of jewelry didn’t seem like it would belong to such a family. It was terrible news, but it wasn’t what concerned me the most. I had other things on my mind that circled within me like a storm.
CASSANDRA Given my experience with Kaleb and his intensity, I’d half-expected Ronald to force me into an answer before letting me leave the greenhouse. But much to my surprise, after he’d made his statement, he offered me a smile and a small, polite bow. “You have plenty of time to consider my offer,” he said, his kind blue eyes earnest as they stared into mine. I was relieved that I wasn’t being forced right away, but in the back of my mind, I knew I would have to face this again later. He didn’t say when he’d ask again for my answer, and instead, asked me some questions about Wegalla. They were small questions about Southern culture and how it compared to the cold North of Yurene. Had it not been for the deal he’d proposed, it would have been a comfortable chat between new acquaintances. When we finally left the greenhouse, the party had nearly come to an end. I searched the expansive banquet hall, but I couldn’t find Roxy, Raven, or Kaleb. Guests were leaving all around us, an
KALEB“So, you’re saying that she had been the wife of the king of Wegalla and the wife of Emmett Keller?” Raven uttered with a look of shock on her face after Anubis briefly told her the story. “And then she just went back to the king after Emmett died, only she had assumed a new identity? That sounds… unrealistic.”I rolled my eyes but then forced myself to conduct myself with more decorum. Raven hadn’t met Emmett Keller in person. When Emmett was alive and visiting Yurene, Raven and Roxy had been too young. But the twins, along with everyone else in Yurene, knew all about the great sorcerer who was capable of impressive magic and then disappeared like a ghost.Before I could offer a comment, Raven spoke again.“Do you believe that Cassandra is the key to Emmett’s great sorcery?” she wondered, and when I offered the smallest of nods, she nodded too. “That’s possibly true, but there’s also a chance that Emmett just ruined all of his inventions before his death and hadn’t kept any tra
KALEB“How many times do I need to tell you that these things are not magic-related?” Raven huffed, and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. She tucked a strand of her wavy black hair behind her ear and shook her head slowly.I frowned at her as irritation bloomed within me. “Are you sure about this?”“One hundred percent,” she replied without missing a beat, and then she grumbled. “Where did you find all of these things? All of these women’s clothes and makeup… are you some kind of a pervert? Why would you think any of this is related to magic?”I cast aside my anger at being spoken to in such a reckless and casual manner and focused on the girl’s answer instead. Nothing was related to magic?That couldn’t be true. Cassandra was the only one Emmett Keller had connected with in all of these years. For him to have left no trace at all made no sense.I exchanged a glance with Anubis. His black eyes didn’t seem all that convinced either, so I turned back to Raven.“What about the necklace?”
CASSANDRAWhen Ms. Benn arrived at our room to tell me that the king of Yurene wished to see me tonight, it felt like my heart had been seized by a sudden panic. It had been days since I’d been visited by Kaleb, and I wasn’t sure what he wanted to say after all of this time of silence.Ms. Benn had brought another dress, along with a pair of shoes, and a few pieces of beautiful jewelry. As I accepted the garment bags and the jewelry boxes from the head servant, I forced down the lump in my throat.“Is there another party?” I asked and she shook her head.“No,” she replied curtly, her steely blue eyes impossible to read. “The king wishes to meet you in private. You will be escorted to his chambers in a couple of hours.”“Oh,” I remarked, and I nodded my head politely. “Did the king say anything else?”Ms. Benn, like usual, gave me a cold glare and then shook her head. “Be ready in a couple of hours, Miss Cassandra.”Without another word, she turned on her heels and left. As she disappe
BECKYIt had been days since Cassandra had left the clinic and in the short time of her absence, the city of Anemond had changed greatly.From where I stood in the lab, I could only see the beautiful trees and flowers that grew outside the building, but I knew all too well that the street was empty. The entire capital was like this in the daylight now.The old Beta, Oliver Moses, had declared himself the King’s Regent in the absence of the Alpha King. There was no word of Asher Collins or his whereabouts, so the ruling of the kingdom fell on his self-appointed shoulders.He’d imposed a curfew on the whole city, claiming that some imposters were hiding within its walls. Those imposters were allegedly responsible for the disappearance of the king. Every single day, people were rounded up and brought to Merliscire Palace for questioning. Some left without issue, but some of them faced absolute punishment for their alleged crimes. They were questioned and accused of foregoing the “truth”,
ASHERAs Silas reported on what his father had been doing in Anemond, I pursed my lips in irritation but listened without making any sort of comment.In my absence, Oliver Moses had taken the Beta’s guards into the royal palace and imprisoned the Head of the King’s Guard. The councilors who had been loyal to me, their Alpha King, had either been imprisoned or killed. Everything had been done in the name of his so-called “justice” to expose the “imposters who caused the king’s disappearance”.And of course, my father-in-law was recruiting soldiers, using the excuse that he needed an elite army to fight for the Alpha King when I returned to Anemond. He was doing all in his power to make it seem as if someone else had taken me hostage to dispel blame from himself and his family.When Silas finished his report, silence hung in the room, and for a long moment, neither of us spoke. I wasn’t sure how to word what I needed to say, and my brain felt frazzled by this influx of information. I wa
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