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
CASSANDRABy the time I had Asher’s condition stable and under control, I was utterly exhausted. The clock on the wall read 4:00 AM, and I was certainly feeling the effects of being up so late.It took a lot of effort and plenty of medicine, but Asher finally looked better than he had before. His breath was steady, no longer labored, the blueness of his lips had faded, and the swelling of his bite went down. Yet, he still hadn’t regained consciousness, so I needed to stay with him and make sure he was truly alright.I pulled a chair up over to Asher’s bedside and then slumped into it with a long, heavy exhale. This felt like the longest night I’d ever experienced, longer than the night Finnick and I had spent in the woods.I rested my head in my hands for a moment and closed my eyes. My adrenaline was finally wearing down and sleepiness was starting to take hold.As I sat there, Kane’s earlier words played like a repetitive song in my mind. There was a chance Asher’s stepbrother was r
CASSANDRA “Mommy, look! Erika taught me how to make a paper crane!” When I entered our bedroom, Finnick came charging toward me, his little arms extended out in front of him. His normally serious gray eyes were wide with excitement and his lips were curled into a happy grin. He presented me with the little crane and I held out my hand to accept it. He set it there gently and then looked up at me with glee. “Wow, baby!” I exclaimed with genuine excitement. “This is incredible. You did such a great job!” “Thanks, Mommy!” he replied, and then I turned to Erika. “Thank you,” I mouthed, and the maid winked back at me. Her warm eyes were friendly as she smiled and for a moment, I remembered what it was like to know her as a child. She’d taught me the same thing when I was young and the tiny crane in my hands reminded me of happier times. A week had passed since the viper had attacked Asher in the garden. These days, I returned to my quarters earlier than I did before. The Alpha King
ASHER “Checkmate!” Kane laughed as he shifted his pawn. An agitated grumble rose out of me and I sat back on the couch in irritation. “That’s the third time you’ve lost today,” my stepbrother remarked, much to my annoyance, and then he grinned at me. “So strange, brother. Ever since we began playing years ago, you’ve never lost a single match. Tell me, what’s bothering you?” I remained silent and did my best to ignore him as I crossed my arms against my chest. It had been a huge mistake to invite Kane to play chess with me, but I’d needed something to distract me from thinking about Cassandra Keller. That being said, this experience only added to my frustration. “Let me take a guess,” Kane continued on, and he rubbed his chin and gave me a mischievous, boy-like expression. “It’s the healer, Cassandra, isn’t it?” I wanted to curse him out at even mentioning her, but I held my tongue and rolled my eyes instead. How dare he pretend to know me? “Don’t deny it,” my brother prodded,
CASSANDRA Erika was preparing to leave for the evening when we heard a knock at the door. It was the end of the day, so I was surprised by the sound. Who was there at this hour? “I’ll get it,” Erika said in a helpful tone, and before I could stop her and do it myself, the maid went to the chamber door. On the other side stood a servant dressed in the royal family’s colors. “Hello,” I addressed him, and I took a step forward. “Can I help you?” “Lady Adalyn and Mistress Margaret sent me to deliver a message,” the servant said politely. “They wish to invite you to dinner, Miss Cassandra, as a token of their gratitude for curing the Alpha King and Prince Marco.” I was instantly taken aback. Adalyn and Margaret wanted my company? This was a trap. It had to be. Why else would the pair of vicious and vengeful women seek out my company? The room fell silent as I considered my options. There was no part of me that wanted to go through with this. And yet, despite my suspicions, I knew
CASSANDRAAs I stared back at Margaret, I pushed down my disbelief and tried to keep my face as neutral as possible. Asher’s stepmother’s words were harsh, but I couldn’t let her threaten me.“Rest assured, I’m being completely honest with you,” I said calmly. “The Alpha King was especially concerned after the viper appeared here at Merliscire, and wanted a thorough investigation done on the beast.”“Were there any findings?” Margaret practically demanded. The woman’s nostrils flared in agitation, and her mouth pursed as she awaited my reply. “Yes,” I confirmed, and I made sure to keep my tone as even as possible as I leaned forward. “The viper that attacked the Alpha King seemed to be raised deliberately by someone-”“What does that mean?” she interrupted me, and her eyes narrowed further.“The essence released in the bite wasn’t venom,” I revealed. “It was an artificial poison.”The moment the words left my lips, a strange feeling moved through me. I didn’t regret blurting out the
CASSANDRA Once dinner was over, a servant guided me back to my chambers, and when I entered the room, the lights were dimmed and Finnick was fast asleep. Erika sat at the table, reading a book by candlelight, and when she looked up to face me, her kind eyes were wide with concern. “You look stressed, Cassandra,” she noted quietly, and she patted the seat beside her. “Come, tell me what’s wrong. Did something bad happen at dinner?” I crossed over to the table and took the seat next to her. The entire way there, the weight of the conversation earlier hit me hard, and my hands began to shake. “Lady Margaret made me an offer earlier,” I remarked. “She suggested that Finnick should join Prince Marco in his afternoon lessons.” “Oh,” Erika said simply, and her brows furrowed. “That… seems… generous.” I could tell the maid was stringing her words together carefully in hopes not to offend me, but little did she know, she could never say anything to hurt me. “It is,” I replied, and I lea
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