ASHER “What’s the matter, Asher?” Adalyn demanded as she followed me into my study. “What exactly has gotten into you tonight?” I fought back a groan as I approached one of the leather couches in the corner. Alcohol had plagued me just a little and my head swam with a mixture of drunkenness and agitation. “Nothing is wrong,” I sighed as a heavy exhale escaped me “Go back to the banquet, Adalyn. I just need some time alone-” “Time alone?” Adalyn repeated back in confusion and she shook her head. “Time alone for what, Asher? We have guests downstairs to entertain, in case you’ve forgotten. We’re supposed to be welcoming the king of Yurene and his diplomats. I don’t think this is making too great of an impression of Wegalla.” “Don’t tell me what I’m doing wrong,” I managed to say as my head pounded angrily. “I’m fully aware of what’s going on down there. I don’t think our guests care if I step away for a moment-” “I bet Cassandra Keller cares,” my wife blurted out, and I whipped ar
CASSANDRA My heart beat like a hummingbird’s wings as I stared at Kaleb. I’d messed up and given myself away, I just knew it. Much to my surprise, Kaleb didn’t seem to put two and two together and simply continued dancing. “No wonder you don’t seem like you belong here,” Kaleb remarked with a raised eyebrow. “You look quite uncomfortable here with these… arrogant, upper-class snobs of Anemond.” I couldn’t contain myself and a laugh escaped me. Kaleb frowned. “Did I say something funny?” “No, no,” I assured him. “No, I’m sorry.” Truth be told, I didn’t feel uncomfortable in this setting. I used to enjoy the finer things like fancy balls and banquets. I also used to love dancing and having all of the eyes of the room on me as I lost myself in the music. But I wasn’t Cora anymore and Anemond wasn’t my home. It was a terrifying place where I needed to stay guarded and not let my disguise slip. The next move in the dance was a spin and Kaleb handled it beautifully. He had a natura
CASSANDRA I was half-asleep when I heard a loud knock on the door. Startled, I sat straight up in bed and caught my breath. My eyes flew to the clock. It was nearly three in the morning. Who was at my door this late? “Who’s there?” I called out just loud enough to not wake Finnick. Luckily, my boy was fast asleep and snoring lightly. When I didn’t get an answer, I pulled myself out of bed and headed toward the door. I was nearly halfway there when I heard another series of knocks. They were more forceful than the first and I felt a mixture of fear and irritation. I opened the door and when I did, my lips parted in surprise. It was Asher. I was about to ask what he was doing here at this hour, but before the words could escape me, the Alpha King rushed into the room, closed the door, and then cornered me against the wall. His steel gray eyes bore into mine with intensity and his breath was hot against my face. He smelled heavily like liquor. “Are you drunk?” I asked as my bod
CASSANDRA I stared at Asher in surprise. Adalyn? The Alpha King wasted absolutely no time. Without another word, he turned on his heels and rushed out of the room. “Go to sleep, baby,” I called out to Finnick. “I’ll be back in a while.” “Okay,” Finnick replied, but his sleepy tone dripped with confusion. “Mommy, what’s going on?” “I don’t know, honey, but I have to go check,” I said as my hands began to shake at my sides. “I love you.” As Finnick mumbled back a tired response, I followed Asher out the door. The Alpha King had managed to cover quite a bit of distance during my exchange with my son, but I was able to catch up to him on the staircase. “It sounded like it came from the garden,” Asher blurted when I arrived. “I don’t know what she would be doing there at this hour…” His gray eyes flashed with urgency and though his gait was a little staggered from the alcohol, he remained steadier than expected. Meanwhile, I was thoroughly panicked and just as confused as he was.
CASSANDRA“I got the test result, Cassy!” Becky exclaimed with excitement as she rushed into the lab the next day. I’d been half-asleep at my desk and close to nodding off when my assistant walked in, and I quickly regained my composure so she wouldn’t notice just how exhausted I was.Between the encounter with Asher and the situation with the snake in the garden, I’d gotten very little sleep and was feeling a little ghostlike.“Oh?” I managed to say, and I swept my long hair out of my face and pulled it up into a high bun. “What does it say?”Becky glanced down at the stack of papers in her hand and quickly, her excitement turned to concern.“Becky?” I prompted her again when she didn’t say anything. “What does it say?”“It says it wasn’t Udosyn,” she said quietly, and her lips curled into a frown. “And it wasn’t the same venom that we’d extracted from the vipers that had bitten Prince Marco and the Alpha King.”This time, it was my turn to frown. No matter what happened around her
CASSANDRA “Is there a way to open it?” I wondered as I stared at the box. The librarian squatted down beside it and inspected it closely. Her round glasses nearly fell off her nose as she leaned in closer and took the large lock into her hands. “Ah,” she remarked, and she pointed to the back of the lock. “See there? That’s the royal seal.” “Oh,” I replied simply and then I frowned. “So that means…” “You’d need permission from the Alpha King, most likely,” the librarian said and she offered me an apologetic glance. “His Majesty is probably the only one with the power to open it. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.” “It’s no problem,” I assured her, but it was quite the opposite. I was too afraid to visit Asher and didn’t know how to face him after the events of last night. “Is there anything else-” I shook my head. “No, I think I’m going to grab my things and go back to my lab. Thank you again for letting me in, I appreciate it greatly.” “Of course, Healer Cassandra,” the libra
CASSANDRA Just as I was about to make sure Adalyn was okay, the laboratory doors flew open, and in walked the Alpha King, Becky, and a pair of guards. Asher’s gray eyes were ablaze and when they caught sight of Adalyn on the ground in pain, he only grew more angry. “What have you done?” he demanded, and his face contorted as he roared. I recoiled at the sound, my heart racing, and my body shaking at his incredulous tone. This was it. I had been in plenty of trouble since I’d arrived in Anemond, but this would be my crowning glory. I was going to the dungeons or worse. Adalyn sobbed even louder. “I-I-It was all HER fault!” she cried out and pointed in my direction. Asher’s eyes fell to me and a lump formed in my throat. I wanted to protest, to explain what had actually happened, but the words were stuck in my throat. Even if I could explain, I doubted that Asher would trust me. I was terrified. The room fell into silence, save for Adalyn’s cries, and it was then I noticed a fou
CASSANDRA I was a little taken aback by the Alpha King’s question. Did Asher actually care that I’d been hurt or had he asked only out of politeness? I nodded anyway. “I’m fine.” He didn’t seem as convinced. His eyes remained fixed on my bandaged arm and his mouth drew into a thin line. With every second, I was growing more and more uncomfortable with this interaction and decided to not waste any more time. “How is Adalyn?” I wondered and immediately, Asher broke his gaze and cleared his throat. “Half of her left forearm is burnt,” he revealed and he ran his hand through his tousled dark hair tiredly. “Though the acid wasn’t strong enough to get to the bone, it will leave permanent scars. The royal healers did all they could, but there’s only so much they could accomplish. Adalyn is upset.” I nodded but didn’t say anything. Of course Adalyn would be upset. She was incredibly vain when it came to her appearance. Any type of flaw or imperfection would make her more emotional than
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