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
ASHERMy stepbrother’s face paled at the mention of Cassandra, and his violet eyes glanced downward. He ran his hand through his golden hair and then released a heavy sigh. When he didn’t speak, I continued on.“I guess I’ve always wondered why you became such a caring and supportive brother after she died,” I said as my heart pounded in my chest with anxiety. “We were never close in our childhood. So, why the sudden change of heart? It was because of her, wasn’t it?”Kane didn’t deny it, though I’d been expecting him to. “If you lose this battle, ASher, Cassandra won’t be able to come back.”I remained silent for a long moment. I knew Kane was trying to redirect the conversation, but I wouldn’t allow myself to succumb. I had too many things on my mind, and even though I wasn’t currently on my throne, I was still the Alpha King of Wegalla. He had to obey my questions, stepbrother or not.“How long have you had feelings for Cora?” I asked him directly.Kane’s eyes locked on mine and he
CASSANDRAI froze in place, but my hand began to tremble as I stared at the amulet in shock. My mother’s moonstone necklace shone like a beacon and the sight of it made my stomach twist into complicated and painful knots.I didn’t dare speak a word.Kaleb’s dark blue eyes glinted with satisfaction and his full lips curled into a cruel but contented smile. It was as if he were wearing his devil’s mask once more, and a shiver traveled down my spine when I met his gaze.How had he found the necklace?And how had he figured out my true identity?“I knew that you must have been from one of the prestigious families, but I didn’t expect you to be from such an important one,” he remarked after a while.”How interesting it was to figure it all out. You’ve been such a mystery to me, Cassandra, and I’m so pleased to know that such a strange story is finally being solved.”He plucked my mother’s necklace and held it up. The pendant swung and for a moment, I felt as if I were hypnotized. Even just
CASSANDRAA manipulation?My head began to ache as I tried to make sense of all that Kaleb had said. Had Emmett’s interference in saving me from the inferno truly been more than just an act of kindness and heroism?As I thought of Emmett, I remembered the unfinished sentence Emmett had said to me in that dream.I left something for you, Cassandra, and you’re the only one who could use it. And the thing…I felt suffocated by all of this. Between the necklace, my revealed identity, being taken to a foreign land, the downplayed marriage proposal, and now this business with Emmett and his sorcery, I felt as if I were about to break into a million pieces. There was simply too much going on at once, and I couldn’t handle any of it.I wanted to tell Kaleb that everything he’d uttered was wrong- deeply, horribly, completely wrong, but I couldn’t let out a word. The lump in my throat felt like a boulder and my heart kept skipping in my chest. As I swam with dizziness, I began to wonder if I wa
CASSANDRATwo days after my discussion with Kaleb, I found myself sitting outside with Ronald’s fiancee, Helene, on a large terrace. We were seated at a table laden with tea and a tray of delicacies. Despite the nice spread and otherwise nice patio, there wasn’t much scenery to observe.The terrace was on the third floor of Ronald’s tower, and all we could see beneath us were the guards that patrolled the area. There was little else to do, and I found myself missing the trees in Wild Crawler. This place was cold and sterile, and the enormous wall that surrounded the fortress did little to add to the atmosphere. The high, grim wall reminded me that I was a prisoner here and made me deeply uncomfortable. Luckily, the sun was bright and provided some much-needed warmth.When I came to visit Ronald, Helene received me and mentioned that Ronald had some business to attend to. I was about to leave, but she suggested that we enjoy some tea while we waited for him to return. While I wasn’t su
CASSANDRAI turned around and sure enough, Ronald was behind us. He stepped onto the terrace with an equally broad smile on his face, and as he approached, Helene rose from her seat. I did the same thing out of politeness and courtesy. Ronald was the king of Yurene’s cousin after all, so he deserved at least a little respect.Helene met him halfway, and Ronald drew her into a kiss. He held her close and ran his hand through her soft hair affectionately. Once their embrace came to an end, Helene turned to face me.“I’ll let you two talk,” she said in a warm, pleasant voice. “It was nice to see you, Cassandra. Let’s do this again soon.”“Thank you,” I replied with a smile. “I would like that very much.”Ronald kissed the top of her head and then Helene left the terrace. Ronald watched her leave, and once she was gone, he ran his hand through his long brown hair and took her seat opposite me. “Hello, Cassandra. So good to see you. What brings you here on this fine day?”“I was wondering
CASSANDRAI knew my statement was blunt and honestly, quite bold to blurt out, but I couldn’t stop myself. I still had no idea if Ronald could be trusted, but I supposed I had no other choice. I needed someone on my side who could curb Kaleb’s power, and Ronald appeared to be my only option. As a sorcerer, the king’s cousin was immensely talented. He could be the key I needed to make it out of this intact.I opted not to tell Ronald what Kaleb had mentioned about the talisman. I didn’t quite believe what the king of Yurene had said because it sounded far crazier than anything I could accept, but on the other hand, something in my gut told me not to bring it up. If Kaleb was correct and the talisman had something to do with me, being utterly frank with Ronald could be dangerousRonald stared at me for a moment with an expression that was both full of awe and concern. He raised a dark eyebrow at me and remained silent for what felt like an eternity, but finally, he cleared his throat an
CASSANDRABile rose up my throat and my eyes nearly fell out of my head at this suggestion.The idea of marrying Kaleb sounded crazy in so many ways, not to mention terrifying. My body stiffened involuntarily at Ronald’s suggestion and I felt as if I were about to lose consciousness. Was this truly the only way he would collaborate with me?Yet, Ronald made a good point when he said that Kaleb wouldn’t let me know anything if I went against him. The more I cooperated, the more privy to information I would be.As it stood right now, Kaleb might not want to mistreat me, but he was unpredictable. The longer I dragged the situation out, the worse things could be later.And now that Kaleb knew my true identity… like it or not, he would make use of it and use my real name and social standing as a way to manipulate me. There was only one option: to take the initiative and use my circumstances to get more information.But as I stared out at the fortress surrounding Vlokwell, my mind drifted t
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