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
CASSANDRAAfter we exchanged goodbyes with the kind shop owner, we left the store and began to roam along the streets. I spotted many clothing stores along our walk, but Helene didn’t seem all that interested. Every time we would go inside one, Helene would peruse the displays and try on a few items, but she didn’t seem impressed by any of them.After we left the third shop, I got the feeling that Ronald’s fiancee didn’t actually want to buy anything. She appeared as if she was just acting like she was shopping, though I didn’t understand why. There was some sort of ulterior motive behind this visit, but what was it?I had no idea what was going on, but I remained cautious regardless.We continued walking down the street, and when I glanced around, I realized we were quite far from where the car had dropped us off. I was admittedly exhausted. I hadn’t walked that much in quite some time. Since I’d been confined to my chambers in Vlokwell, the only exercise I’d gotten was the journey t
KALEBI was in the middle of having a meeting with a few lords when Roxy suddenly burst into the meeting room.While part of me was annoyed by this interruption, I was also a little relieved. This meeting hadn’t been going well.Yurene didn’t work like Wegalla. Once a Pack was taken over by our country, they no longer functioned as a true Pack, as they had before. Their former Alpha was stripped of their title immediately and was no longer a true Alpha. Instead, they were made Lords, their new position authorized by myself, the king of Yurene.I was the only leader these new citizens could pay their loyalty to. That was the rule of our country. But true to our nature, wolves had always lived in Packs and served their own Alpha. So, technically, the Lords still had their independence and absolute authority over their Pack members. Therefore, it was important to make sure the Lords were on my side.At my core, I didn’t believe in faith and loyalty. I knew once my power declined that tho
CASSANDRAI was completely stunned. Had Helene really said that sentence aloud, or had I simply imagined it?Leave Yurene? With her?As the shock of her proposal died down, I realized that Ronald’s fiancee didn’t seem to be joking. Her expression was quite serious. The rosiness of her cheeks had faded and her lips were a solemn, thin line.“I don’t understand,” I uttered for what felt like the millionth time, and after I glanced around us, I lowered my voice even further. “Helene, you’re betrothed to Ronald. Your wedding is scheduled in less than a month. Why would you leave?”“Because I don’t want the wedding to happen,” she replied bluntly. “I don’t want to marry Ronald.”My eyes nearly fell out of my skull and my lips turned into a frown. “I don’t get it. You seem like such a nice couple-”“It’s nothing but a performance,” Helene cut me off and then she shook her head. “I suppose I’m a better actress than I thought. It’s the only way I’ve been able to stay alive for so long. My lif
BECKYAfter days and nights of hard work, I finally hit my breaking point and collapsed.Dickson had been right when he’d tried to tell me to slow down, but I hadn’t been eager to listen. So, when my body finally caved, I succumbed to an intense bout of illness. Dickson ushered me into a private room in the clinic and started treating me right away.I was feverish for days and my mind was dizzy. The hours moved in ways I couldn’t comprehend, and I didn’t know how long I had been sleeping. I could feel it when Dickson came into my room and applied a cool cloth to my forehead, but I didn’t have the strength to say anything. I was far too weak to move or speak.Sometimes, I had nightmares. In those wicked dreams, I would see the faces of Marina and Angela, as well as shadow-like beings that lingered in the background. The shadows would surround me and try to engulf me with their black power.I would wake from them crying but then fall back into heavy slumber. This continued on for a whil
BECKYJust as Jasper suggested, Marley’s report was concise and clear.The reanimated corpses had gained newfound strength in death. They were able to move and attack swiftly and gracefully. They also had great physical strength, more so than some of the most impressive and powerful werewolves in Wegalla.However, they didn’t seem to possess the ability to think for themselves. Marley also wrote that she didn’t think they had sight as well because when the surviving guard ran away for help and returned with a group of heavily armed individuals, they all witnessed the living dead still attacking the body of the dead guard. Marley surmised that the smell of flesh and blood attracted them to a target and that alone seemed to be the reason why they attacked.As I scanned the report, I made note of a few question marks Marley had scrawled beside some bulleted points. There seemed to be some things she wasn’t sure about, but from her findings, I could draw a few simple truths.First, the “l
CASSANDRAThe moment I agreed to help Helene, I regretted it and wished I could take my promise back. How could I possibly help Ronald’s fiancee escape from Yurene when I was still in trouble myself?But Helene appeared greatly moved. Her light brown eyes filled with tears, and her cheeks blushed a deep shade of rose as she reached across the table and took my hands in hers.“Thank you,” she uttered quietly as she squeezed lightly and gave me a grateful smile.I smiled back at her, but before I could reply, the door to the cafe opened, and the bells chimed as Helene’s maid returned. The poor girl’s cheeks were flushed and she panted heavily as she rushed over to the table.“I searched high and low, but your ring wasn’t in the shop, my lady,” Alana lamented, and her eyes fell to the ground as if she were steeling herself for physical punishment. “I don’t know what could have happened to it.”As the maid tensed up as if by instinct, Helene pondered her statement for a moment, and then,
CASSANDRAAnubis suddenly snorted and glanced at me with irritation with yet even further cruelness.“Healer Cassandra hasn’t even agreed yet,” he sneered, and his black eyes flashed. “It seems our king isn’t charming enough to illicit a response.”As he laughed, Raven appeared surprised. She folded her legs beneath her and sat forward.“Why wouldn’t you want to marry Kaleb?” she asked me in confusion. “Every girl in Yurene dreams about the king.”Anubis lifted a thick dark brow. “Including you, Raven?”Raven’s jaw dropped and she shook her head firmly. “Me? Of course not! My sister, though… she probably went nuts when she heard about this.”Anubis laughed again, and I felt my face flush as I watched this exchange. Roxy had seemed intense when I’d met her, so I was a little surprised to find out that she admired Kaleb. Then again, with how cruel and blunt the dark-haired beauty was, I couldn’t be too shocked that the cruel Northern king was her type.As I glanced at Kaleb, I wondered
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