CASSANDRAMy heart dropped suddenly in my chest as I stared at Lila in shock. Had I heard the little girl correctly?“What does that mean?” I managed to ask as my belly began to ache from nervousness.Lila shook her head and tugged at a strand of her hair anxiously. Her big eyes stared off in the distance for a moment and then she turned back to face me.“It could mean that Lady Helene doesn’t have any thoughts in her mind,” she mused, and then she took her head. “Sometimes it’s hard for me to read people’s minds when they have complicated thoughts. If there’s too much going on in their thoughts, the pictures I see are like a mosaic. But I’ve never seen complete darkness before, Miss Cassandra.”I considered the information for a second and then a thought crossed my mind.Mind control.A year ago, I never would have given the concept any of my time. It sounded so preposterous, so strange and fairytale-like that there was no reason to take it seriously. But now that I’d seen the magic-
KALEB Much to my surprise, Cassandra walked into my study with a smile on her lovely face. As she approached my desk, though, I could sense that there was nervousness beneath the surface, like she was cornered prey. She seemed prepared to run at any given moment, and the sight of it, as well as the very idea, made me feel strange. I remembered the first time I’d met Cassandra in the village square in Anemond, in the back alley behind the pet store. When I’d saved her from the kidnappers, she’d thanked me while wearing the same expression. Smiling, but nervous. “Take a seat,” I requested. Once she sat down in the chair opposite me, I cleared my throat and continued. “How was the part at Ronald’s residence?” She smiled politely. “It was quite lovely, thank you for asking.” My lips drew into a thin line. She was speaking to me as if she did not know me in the slightest, and I wasn’t a fan of it at all. Why was she behaving this way in front of me? Was she truly so scared of me that s
KALEBAfter my meeting with Cassandra, I escorted the healer back to her chamber, and once she was back there, safe and sound, I made the decision to pay Raven a visit. As I rushed straight to her laboratory in the prison tower, my hands balled into a fist at my sides. I was angry, more angry than I’d been in quite some time.I couldn’t let Ronald take my throne from me.I couldn’t let anyone take my power from me. Not after everything I’d been through to become the king of this country. I’d made too many sacrifices, shed too much blood, and cried too many tears in the quiet of my bedroom, to allow someone as terrible as Ronald to take my crown from me.No.This ended now.When I reached Raven’s laboratory, I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see her goofing around. She was playing with a pair of blood samples, combining them with some unknown chemicals and potions, and seeing how they reacted. I wanted to swipe them off of the table and throw them on the floor. She was behaving like
BECKYBefore Rayden departed for the king’s cousin’s wedding in Yurene, he came to visit us in Anemond. When he arrived at the clinic, he was disguised as one of the businessmen who had swarmed the city in the hopes of attracting the attention of Oliver Moses. They wanted to show their loyalty to the Moses Family since they now controlled all of Anemond.In the Alpha King’s absence, they had taken over the capital of Wegalla, and much to my surprise, as well as Dickson’s everyone seemed to forget about the king. I wasn’t an optimist in the slightest, but to see the citizens of Anemond switch up their loyalty so quickly only added to my dislike of this place. While the Alpha King and I didn’t know each other outside of our interactions at the clinic, he seemed like a nice enough man, one who didn’t deserve any of this.We accepted Rayden into the clinic and then escorted him to the meeting room in the back. Dickson prepared us some fragrant tea, and once it was ready, we all gathered a
CASSANDRA Through my chamber window, I could see cars and well-dressed werewolves cross through the main gate and enter the fortress every hour starting from the early morning hours. Even from my place on the second floor, I could hear the bustling sounds of the grounds. Vlokwell was alive with activity, and my heart was racing as I realized the scale of this impending wedding. Most of the guests attending Helene and Ronald’s ceremony were being accommodated in the main building, but a few were being housed in the side buildings, including the one where I resided. With all of the activity and movement throughout the fortress, Ms. Benn was incredibly busy. The head housekeeper stopped by my chamber early in the morning when she usually dropped off Lila and when I noticed her daughter wasn’t with her, mentioned that she would be bringing her daughter by later in the day. As I heard the noise from the hallway filter into my room, I felt uneasy. I hadn’t heard this much commotion in
ASHERThe capital city of Yurene was heavily guarded, even more so than I’d expected. While I’d been well aware that the place would be swarming with security, given the scale of the wedding, the sheer amount of guards that stood around was impressive.Our car joined the line of other vehicles waiting to approach the enormous gates, and when I rolled down the window, the guards began to speak. We were told once entered through the enormous gate that our identities needed to be triple-checked before we could enter the castle that stood in the distance. The castle was equally impressive, its walls soaring so high into the air that it looked like it was kissing the clouds. It was an amazing sight to behold, though I hated admitting that anything in Yurene was impressive.While I had been nervous to come here, I knew I had a low chance of getting caught, especially since I had disguised myself using Darwin’s identity.When I’d initially proposed the plan, the Sky Pride wolf had been agita
CASSANDRAWhen Ms. Benn arrived at my room to pick up Lila, she handed me a small, folded-up piece of paper.“It’s an updated list of guests,” she explained when I frowned at her in confusion. “Many of the guests originally listed didn’t come and some new names have been added.”When I nodded my head, she released a reluctant sigh.“I also did as you requested and arranged most of the Southern guests in this building,” she revealed, a pained expression in her voice.Though I wasn’t proud of my actions, I knew they’d been necessary. Just before Ms. Benn had left my chamber earlier that day, I’d demanded that she move the Southerners to the same building I resided in. She’d been reluctant to oblige my request, but I hadn’t taken no for an answer.I was pleased to know that at the very least, she’d followed through. I hadn’t liked my actions, but this was too important of an opportunity to waste.“Thank you, Ms. Benn,” I said.“I don’t need your thanks,” the head housekeeper sniffed and
CASSANDRAI stopped struggling and widened my eyes as my heart stopped in my chest.Asher’s voice sounded coarse and more tense than I’d ever heard it, but I knew at once that it was him.It was almost impossible to believe, but it was true.Asher was here in Yurene.My mate was here in this cold, terrible country.He turned around to face me, and though we couldn’t see each other in this darkness, the scent, the warmth of his body… everything was so familiar it couldn’t be ignored.After a moment of silence, I felt Asher’s finger brush across my cheeks. I hadn’t realized I was crying until I felt the wetness of my tears against my skin.When he pulled me into a tight hug, he whispered in my ear.“‘I’ve missed you so much, Cassandra,” he said, and then he pulled away and kissed my neck and then my lips. Then he reached for my hand and began to kiss each of my fingers devoutly.“I couldn’t bear not seeing you,” he whispered in between kisses. “I’ve missed you so much.”As his lips danc
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