ASHERWhy did I trust Cassandra Keller?That was a great question. But I was completely surprised when the healer asked it, and even more surprised when I realized her question had a point.I hadn’t told anyone about my ailment apart from Lancel. My most trusted guard had been attempting to investigate the mark for me, but it hadn’t been going well. Besides him, no one else knew I had the disease. Not the royal healers or even Adalyn.So, why was I willing to entrust this secret to a healer from a mostly forgotten Pack on the border?In all honesty, I didn’t know why, but something in my gut told me she could be trusted. When I’d shown her my mark back in Alpha Gareth’s meeting room, I hadn’t thought about it twice. Trusting her felt natural as if she were someone I’d known for years.But in reality, it was unnatural, strange even.Why would I trust a village healer?So, I reached into my mind and crafted an answer for Cassandra Keller that seemed passable. I told her it was nothing,
CASSANDRAI could only blame myself for my own carelessness. Finnick’s eyes. Why hadn’t I found a better excuse for their coloring, and why had I let myself tense up so much when the Alpha King had inquired about them?I should have been more prepared, more calm… but everything about Asher Collins’ presence set every nerve in my body on fire. I was a deer, cornered by his steel-like gaze.I couldn’t even keep my grip on a simple teacup. When it shattered all over the floor of the king’s study, I found myself wishing I’d shattered with it to avoid the embarrassment of facing him.“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty!” I cried, and then I lept to my feet and started collecting the pieces from the floor. All the while, my forehead broke out in sweat, and heat spread through my cheeks. This was beyond mortifying.“It’s okay,” Asher muttered as I cleaned around the room. “It was an accident.”Yet, his tone said otherwise. I’d made a huge mistake. I’d broken palace property and probably burned the A
CASSANDRAThe dream began just like many others before it.I knelt on the floor, begging the intruder to see Asher until my throat was raw. But the soldiers never listened.Their faces were black, undiscernible no matter how much I stared at them. They were like shadows, mocking my every word, my every whimper, my every cry.As my voice caught in my throat, one of the shadow men took a step forward and gripped my arm. He pulled me harshly to my feet, gripped my face, and pried my mouth open. I kicked and kicked, but the effort was useless. The shadow man forced a liquid down my throat, and as it streamed into my mouth, I began to gag. It was cold and harsh and burned every bit of the way down.My mind started to swirl as the room spun around me. I collapsed to the cold ground and froze, unable to move.The shadow men spit and snarled at me. They cursed me, called me an indecent, terrible woman, and swore that I deserved every bit of what came next. And then, they left the room, lockin
CASSANDRA My heart skipped a beat in my chest and every inch of my skin broke out in goosebumps. Was this real? Was that really my tomb? But as I stared on at the marble monument, I knew it to be true. That tomb was indeed for Cora Felix. Had Asher built it himself? And furthermore, did he have Rosepetal reconstructed? There was no other logical reason for the mansion to be intact after the inferno. The blaze had rendered everything damaged and destroyed. I stared at the Alpha King and frowned. His stance, his bowed head… he appeared to be in mourning. As sad as it was, it made little sense to me, and many questions swirled around my mind like a tornado. Why did he do all of this? Was he sorry for me? Why had he left me alone that night and why didn’t he come to my rescue if he was so sad? My instincts told me to run to him and demand answers, but after a moment of deliberation, I managed to get myself under control. What would change if I got the answers anyway? It was too lat
CASSANDRAWhy had there been a viper near the Palace?And why had Asher uttered my true name before he’d lost consciousness in the garden?The questions swirled around in my mind as I stared down at Asher. The Alpha King was fast asleep and tucked tightly into bed. His forehead was still shiny with sweat and his chest heaved as he breathed laboriously.Just after he’d been bitten by the viper, I’d screamed my head off and caught the attention of several guards out on the grounds. They’d rushed over to Rosepetal and helped get the king back to his room in the palace.One of the guards, an older one whose name I couldn’t recall, had asked if I wanted the aid of the other royal healers, but I’d turned down the offer. I didn’t want to risk the others seeing the dark mark on Asher’s skin. Injured or not, I’d made a promise to keep the king’s disease a secret.Since I’d been appointed as Asher’s private healer, the guards had no problem with me treating him personally. They’d even gone out
CASSANDRAThough it’d been a long time since I’d heard it, I recognized the voice almost immediately. I stiffened a little at the sound and turned around to see the commotion. Moments later, in walked Kane Collins.Asher’s elder stepbrother.I’d only met Kane a handful of times when we were younger. Back then, he was playful, with an air about him that made him easy to talk to and be around. But ever since my return to Merliscire Palace, I’d heard servants and guards alike whisper about the Alpha King’s brother. It was said that he’d become something of a womanizer, someone who cared more about his sexual desire more than his power.I’d heard rumors of his conquests all throughout the palace and I couldn’t help but feel bad for his victims. It was a shame that Kane was no longer the person he had been years ago, but then again, none of us were. We’d all endured our own traumas and experiences that made us completely different people, myself especially.“Lord Kane-” the guard at the do
CASSANDRA Luckily the small crowd of people that had gathered in the chamber left after nearly an hour. Adalyn had wanted to stay and keep watch over Asher, but Margaret insisted that the Luna accompany her instead. It took a little pleading on Asher’s stepmother’s part, but Adalyn finally agreed and left along with the rest of the family. Once they were gone, relief flooded through me. This had become quite a messy affair, and I didn’t need the added pressure of a million eyes on me while I tried to get Asher’s condition under control. When I was certain that no one else was going to burst into the room, I carefully lowered the blanket I’d tucked around Asher. Kane had seemed curious about why it was there when Asher was so feverish, but I’d made up some kind of excuse that it was used for treatment. However, keeping him warm was the worst thing I could have done. In all reality, the blanket had been a means to cover up Asher’s dark mark. I hadn’t wanted his family to know about t
CASSANDRAAs my assistant walked toward me, my mind ached with a million questions. What were the results? Was this dire? Were we going to be able to save Asher after all?Becky pushed her round glasses up the bridge of her nose. She was a beautiful girl- petite with short dark red hair and a pale, angular face full of freckles- and under normal circumstances, she had a pleasant demeanor. But tonight, her russet eyes were underscored by dark circles. She looked visibly worn out. Her lab coat had been hastily pulled on over her night clothes. I felt bad that she’d been awoken at this late of an hour.“Cassandra,” she greeted me as she approached, and then her eyes fell to Asher. “How is the Alpha King?”“Not great,” I admitted, and then I gestured toward the stack of papers in her hands. “You have the results?”“Sort of,” Becky replied, and her eyebrows creased together. “But sort of not at the same time. I… I couldn’t identify the venom.”My heart dropped in my chest.“Oh,” I whispere
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