BECKYThis was the boldest thing I’d ever done in my life.I had always been a good girl. I rarely lied and rarely got myself into any sort of trouble. I obeyed the wishes of my mother and everyone else without any complaint.But things had changed. This time, I had lied more than I’d ever done in total over all these years.I had assumed the identity of a royal healer and used my invented position to sneak into the House of Moses. Cassandra had left her official badge in the clinic and I saw no other option than to pretend. So, I did all I could to disguise both myself and my scent. I changed my usual style of clothing to one that was more professional. I switched out my glasses and made sure that my hair was neat and orderly. I had to pass as a royal healer and they often appeared very well-dressed and put together.Dickson had been against the idea when I had proposed it to him. He didn’t like the plan of sneaking in to infiltrate the House of Moses and insisted I could do nothing
BECKYThough I was no stranger to witnessing Adalyn’s awful behavior, this was something else entirely. When she had ransacked our lab and gotten into altercations with Cassandra, she had been whiny, childish, and bratty. But here in Silas’ room, she was acting differently. It was awful and infuriating to see her acting as if she cared about her brother or all of these healers.Strangely, I had the sense that Adalyn was trying to control her father. I thought it was the other way around, but Adalyn seemed to be pulling the strings successfully.Oliver Moses scanned the room and then his son’s lifeless form for a moment and then let out a heavy sigh. He ran his hand through his graying hair and then nodded his head. The pair left the chamber and once the door closed behind them, I shook my head and frowned.As the healers around me let out collective sighs of relief and talked amongst themselves, I thought about Adalyn’s words.A plan?What plan?Mentioning the king and the country in
BECKYI knew Cassandra and the Alpha King needed to be informed of Adalyn’s plan before they returned to Anemond. If Adalyn really intended to use their son to manipulate the king, they needed to be aware in advance so he wouldn’t fall for the ruse.Of course, I had no idea how to get this information to them. I hadn’t received any news about Rayden or Cassandra before I arrived in the House of Moses, nor had I in a while. I phoned Wild Crawler every day in hopes of hearing about their whereabouts but there hadn’t been any updates since Rayden had left for Yurene. There was no telling where they were or if they were safe.I wanted to pull my hair out in frustration but I managed to remain calm and level-headed. I needed to keep my wits about me here if I wanted to survive this mess of a situation.As their talk ended, I was about to get close to the door so I could peer out through the door crack. I needed to make sure no one would see me when I left the room, maids or otherwise.Befo
CASSANDRAWe had disguised ourselves before returning to Wild Crawler.Heavily armed Wegallan soldiers were patrolling the borders so there was no way that we could slip in undetected unless we were dressed as normal civilians. Asher was too noticeable of a person to just walk into the Pack and I was likely just as recognizable. We didn’t want harm to come to us, especially when we weren’t certain of which side the soldiers worked for.After we got dressed, we managed to look like normal Pack members.My stomach was in knots as we prepared to cross the forest but I managed to hold my own and remain brave on Finnick’s behalf. It was so strange to think about all that time ago when I was going to take my son and flee these woods to get away from Asher and his order to come with him to Anemond. Back then, I’d seen Asher as this terrible villain, and here we were.He was not the same man I’d feared so much and vowed to escape from.He was my mate.Rayden had prepared passes for us quite s
BECKYI hadn’t expected that healers were forbidden to leave once they came to the House of Moses. After I had overheard the conversation between Adalyn and the head healer, I had waited until they had long been gone from the room and then slipped out. I headed right down the corridor I’d come from and once I was near Silas’ room, I traveled down the hallway and made an attempt to go. I needed to return to the clinic so I could tell Dickson all I had heard. I needed his intellect and opinion on how to proceed.I would return once I had a plan, using Cassandra’s badge to get back into the House of Moses. I had to find some way to stop Adalyn, and by extension, the healer, from carrying out their wicked plan.Silas couldn’t be paralyzed or disabled by whatever drugs they intended to use. I wouldn’t allow it.But when I tried to leave, the guards stopped me in my tracks and my plan began to fall apart. They explained that the Moseses had arranged rooms for the royal healers and if we wan
BECKYAfter I was caught in the room by Adalyn, I was seized at once and tied up against my will. They shouted at me and forced my hands behind my back. I tried using my claws to escape the ties but it was no use. They were much stronger than me and besides, I was outnumbered. My heart beat heavily in my chest as I thought of Dickson. All I wanted was to tell him the news of Silas’ drugging and let him know that while I was rattled here in the House of Moses, I would be just fine. All I needed was to keep my wits about me and try to uncover Adalyn and Oliver’s secret plot.But all of that had been ruined and now I was bound against a wooden chair, facing Adalyn.The Alpha King’s wife walked languidly, reminding me again of a jungle cat rather than a wolf. Her calculating gold eyes assessed me with a sharp gaze that made me want to avert contact. But I maintained my own gaze to show her she didn’t scare me.“I noticed you yesterday,” Adalyn revealed. “When you attempted to blend yourse
CASSANDRAWhen Asher and I and a few Wild Crawler soldiers arrived at Keller’s, we were surprised to find that Dickson wasn’t there.Instead, there was another younger man looking after the clinic, one I didn’t recognize. He had a gloomy expression on his bored face and his brown eyes rolled at us when we entered the clinic.“I thought you were Dickson,” he remarked, then sighed as he shook his head in annoyance.“Sorry to disappoint,” I apologized, though I barely meant it.“Whatever,” he mumbled. “Who are you?”“We’re friends of Dickson,” I replied vaguely, unsure of how much information to provide to a total stranger. “And you are?”He sighed, as if my questions were inconveniencing him, and then he straightened his posture and began to speak. “Max. I’m Dickson’s friend. He asked me to do him a favor, which normally wouldn’t be an issue, but I didn’t expect to be babysitting a clinic like this. I haven’t worked as a healer in a long time. How am I supposed to look after patients?”
CASSANDRAAs my heart dropped in my chest, I felt paralyzed from sheer disbelief.I wanted to reach out to touch his face or his hands. I wanted to tangibly feel that he was real, lying in this bed before me, but I couldn’t move. For all of these years, I had believed that Ector was dead.When he had been exiled to the borderlands, I had given up any hope of ever seeing him again. Those exiled from Wegalla were never seen again and after the undoing of our family name, Ector was no exception. A small part of me had wished we would reunite one day, but after the inferno, that part of me went silent. Though my heart ached for my dear brother, no one ever returned from the borderlands unless they were soldiers specifically sent on a mission.But here he was, lying in this bed, breathing.For a moment, I felt like I was about to collapse. My knees wavered but before I could fall, Asher reached out to stabilize me.“Silas found him months ago out in the borderlands,” my mate explained as
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