Cassie POV I stared at myself in the mirror as I brushed my hair, my eyes sparkling in the muted light from the bedside lamps next to Vasilios’s gigantic four poster bed. “It’s just a bit of fun, Cassie,” I told myself, suppressing any common sense which may have remained in my head. “You’ve always thought he was the most gorgeous man to ever walk this earth, and now you can have him - no strings attached. He made the deal, six months with him and then you can go back to doing whatever you want, wherever you want. So why not take advantage of it?” My pep talk to myself seemed to convince me that I could do whatever I wanted with Vasilios and be able to walk away, consequence free at the end of it all. It sounded great - so no wonder I jumped at it. It had been over an hour since I'd left the party, and Vasilios was finally able to break free from the event, many of the guests slowly wandering to their beds. The alcohol had dulled in my veins and the foggy feeling had given away to
Cassie POV The sun filtering through the curtains fell across the bed, waking me up gently with its warm embrace. I smiled and stretched lazily like a cat, only to become painfully aware of four things. One, I was still naked. Two, Vasilios was no longer in bed next to me. In fact, his side of the bed was ice cold which meant that he had probably been up for hours. Three, My inner thighs were sticky. And last, but certainly not least, I was extremely tender. Apparently there was a price to pay for the multiple rounds of love making Vasilios and I had enjoyed throughout the night. I staggered to the bathroom, desperate to pee and almost screamed when it felt as if I were peeing fire. “Never again,” I grumbled miserably - but I knew that I was definitely lying to myself. I dressed casually in a maxi dress, tying my hair up and slapping on just enough makeup to cover up the evidence of the very little sleep I’d got. With a yawn, I trod down the stairs into the foye
Cassie POV“You look like shit,” Elle announced as I entered the gym where Luca was beating the living daylights out of another alpha. “Thanks,” I grumbled back, sinking onto the bench she was sitting on. She turned her entire body to face me, her eyes scanning over me as she assessed for damages like some weird robot. “OK, spill,” she demanded when she couldn't find any physical signs. I bit down on my bottom lip before I let the words flow out of me like a volcano, knowing it was pretty damned useless to keep anything from her. “Vasilios and I slept together… again. All that talk about how great he was in bed made me think that I should have a little bit of fun while I'm still with him.” “As long as you were being safe,” Elle said sternly, sounding more like a mother than ever. “Don't worry, I'm on the pill,” I drawled and Elle shook her head. “That's not what I meant. As much as I love that man like a brother, Vasilios has had more sex partners than I have fingers. You'd be
Vasilios POVI had known from the moment that I had seen my great uncle Otis that something shifty was going on behind the scenes - and surprise, surprise, I was right. The Council’s manipulation strategy was all bundled up with a nice little bow in the form of “helping the werewolf species” and “putting an end to the rogue threats”, but anyone with half a brain would be able to see the real aim behind their words. They wanted more power. “So tonight’s diplomatic mission is to get each alpha to agree to allow one of the Council’s agents to live within the pack territory. This will allow the Council to monitor rogue activity,” Otis had croaked, his beady eyes darting between Viktor and myself as we stood in my father’s office. “Sure,” Titan grumbled in my head. “He really means the agents will be able to report all the activities of the pack to the Council. They’re scared that the packs will rise up against them when they hear about the increase in taxes that the Council are asking
Cassie POV“Thanks for walking me back to the packhouse.” Damian smiled and tucked a stray hair behind my ear, “anytime. You know that I am always here for you.” I couldn’t help but smile back at him. He had come to my rescue when he had seen me furiously stomp toward the doors of the gym-come-ballroom, angry at myself for being disappointed when I saw Amber’s hand on Vasilios’s arm. What did I expect of him? This arrangement of ours was just temporary - because I had wanted it to be temporary. “Are you sure you’re going to be alright here? Everyone is at the party after all, and you’ll be alone,” Damian asked, concern in his voice. I squeezed his hand reassuringly, “I will be fine. I just didn’t feel like being at the party among all those fake people.” He chuckled and pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me. “You’re one of a kind, Cassie. You really don’t fit in this world of politics. Why don’t you come back with me when I leave?” I sighed, “I wish I could. But it shoul
Cassie POVI ignored Vasilios at breakfast, refusing to meet his gaze as I sat chatting to Eliana in hushed tones instead. Viktor sat in his usual spot in the centre of the long table, his gaggle of adoring female admirers clinging to every word which oozed from his mouth. When Alpha Dimitri called Vasilios into his office, I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d been painfully aware of him - every move he made, every time he looked my way - it was like I was being burned with his presence. “I can make Vasilios disappear from your life forever, and you will never have to fear him again,” Otis whispered in my ear as he left the table, smiling secretly at me before he moved to the balcony and lit a cigarette. “I need a smoke,” I said under my breath to Eliana who raised an eyebrow in question but didn’t say anything, continuing her attack on the piece of toast in her hand. No one paid attention to me as I left the table and stepped out onto the balcony, for which I was rather grateful. Oti
Cassie POVI waited for Vasilios and my father in the alcove next to Alpha Dimitri's office. I didn't have to wait long before I heard a door close and Vasilios walked by, his face like a thundercloud as he spoke in muted angry tones to my father, who looked deceptively calm.“Papa,” I called out, forcing the men to stop in their tracks. “Cassandra, I thought you'd still be at breakfast,” my father responded, a questioning look on his face. I shrugged, “I was. But then I had a little run in with Otis, and decided to hide out in your office only to find it occupied… by Viktor.”My father turned to me and took one of my hands, concern evident in his eyes. “Cassandra, Otis didn't… do anything to you. Right?”I shook my head, “other than offering to help me escape Vasilios,” I eyed the man in question before returning to my father. “No, he didn't do anything. But Viktor, the snake, he's bugged your office.”“What?” Vasilios roared, obviously not in the mood for any more insults from his
Vasilios POVI let Titan take control, the urge to run far away from Poros becoming more and more overwhelming. “Why are we fighting for this title?” I asked my beast, the question plaguing me. “If I give it up, then we can take Cassandra back to New York and she will be happy. We can live with her there. We can start a family there.” Titan barked in protest, his paws crunching the fallen leaves as he marched toward our favourite spot. “You would let our people suffer at the hands of Viktor and his deluded wolf? Ha! Maybe you’re not an alpha after all.”His comment hit its mark and I felt instantly guilty. My pack would be destroyed within a matter of months with Viktor at the helm. He may be a smooth talker, but he knew nothing about the real work behind running a successful pack. He knew nothing of the delicate balance we had maintained with the tourists, or of the verbal contracts we had with other packs. Sure, he had the backing of the council - but that wouldn’t get him very f
Chapter 2Kat POVI pressed my ear to the door of the suite on the third floor of the Palazzo Hotel, hearing the steady breathing of the occupant inside. He must be fast asleep - just how I wanted him.“This should be easy,” I whispered to myself as I pulled the lock picks from where I had hidden them in my hair.The hotel had been deserted as I had made my way through the foyer and hallways, as it should be at 3am. Only a sleepy looking desk clerk had possibly seen me, but I think the man was too busy scrolling through reels on his phone to even realise that I had snuck in.Not exactly the kind of service you would expect to find at a five star hotel, but I was glad for it. Within a few seconds, I had the door unlocked. With a slightly proud smile, I slipped off my shoes and pushed the door quietly open before I snuck inside. The room was lavishly decorated and my bare feet sunk into the thick carpet. Exquisite paintings hung on almost every wall and I had to stop myself from pullin
Chapter 1Kat POVI was drowning. The water flooded my lungs as I tried to scream, my clothing dragging me down into the dark depths as shadows hovered above the water. Bright lights flashed across my vision like fireworks as my lungs burned, and then it all went black.“Wake up, Kat, it’s just a nightmare.” I felt a hand press against my mouth and my arms flew out to ward off my attacker. “Stop screaming before you wake up the others!”Giulia’s face was barely visible in the dark room, her warm brown eyes filled with sisterly concern.I nodded my head and she removed her hand, brushing my hair from my face just like a real big sister would do. “Was it the same nightmare again?” she whispered, careful not to wake up the four children who slept on mattresses on the floor.“Yeah,” I whispered back, shivering as the cool night air cut through my pyjamas which were drenched with my own sweat. Giulia tugged the thin blanket up under my chin, looking after me just as she had done ever sin
Cassie POVI stood watching the ceremony with tears in my eyes as Aleko took over the Alpha title amidst cheers from the pack. Once the shock of Vasilios stepping down had worn off, the elders of the pack were elated to have Aleko back again. The giant man had begun helping with training the younger wolves, and had even gone as far as to redo the roof of one of the ancient widow’s homes that Vasilios and I hadn’t even known was leaking. All in all, he was far more suited to the role than Vasilios ever had been. And we had come to the conclusion that Vasilios had just wanted to be Alpha because that is what had been expected of him his whole life. Vasilios had formed a strong bond with Aleko in just a few short months, and the man had quickly become like a father figure to him. In fact, no one was surprised when we named our own son Niklos Aleko after his great uncle. The baby boy had launched himself into our lives a month early, but according to Luna Delia it was probably a good th
Cassie POV“I wonder why Damian is being so secretive about who he wants us to meet,” I mused aloud as we drove to Damian’s house. Vaslios was driving at a snail’s pace, and I had to resist the urge to take over. The man had been driving me insane over the last few days with how over protective he was being - “No Cassandra, you can’t lift that. You’ll hurt yourself.”, “No agapití mou gynaíka. You shouldn’t be straining yourself. You need to rest.”I was seconds away from murdering the man. I guess it was cute that he was trying to protect me, but I was made of tougher stuff and I didn’t feel like being imprisoned in my own apartment because the man thought the stairs were too dangerous. “I guess it won’t matter since I will die of old age before we get there,” I muttered under my breath. Vasilios snorted and rolled his eyes before he increased the speed by a fraction. Luckily we weren’t far from Damian’s house and as we drove up the driveway we could see another car parked. “Well
Vasilios POVI watched the screen as the doctor slid what looked like a product scanner across Cassandra’s stomach, not entirely sure what to expect. I’d always heard that foetuses look like little aliens, but to me it looked like perfection. “There’s the spine, and there you can see baby’s heart beating,” the doctor pointed out bodyparts on the screen which I could barely make out. It was a bit like those black blobs shrinks use to determine if you’re insane or not - only in this case I was trying to figure out my kid’s anatomy. My child. The thought was still so strange and yet so welcoming. “Are you wanting to know the gender?” the doctor asked. Before I could respond, Cassandra shook her head. “No. I want it to be a surprise.” As if having the kid in the first place wasn’t enough of a surprise, but I let her have her way. Either way the child was going to be loved beyond measure. If it was a girl, she would be my princess. I would treat her in a way that she would know what
Cassie POVVasilios and I collapsed onto the bed in the honeymoon suite of the hotel - the same one where I had lost my virginity to him. I chuckled when we had pulled up outside the Aman and he had shot me a strange look before he took my hand and guided me into the gigantic, minimalistic monstrosity.The honeymoon suite was on the top floor, and Vasilios lifted me into his arms and carried me through the door into the candle lit room, laying me gently on the petal covered bed before he collapsed beside me.Our wedding reception had been a blast, even with the very few guests attending. By the end of the night, Laryssa had pulled out a handy pair of scissors and had styled a fashionable knee-length dress out of my gown, and we had all danced to music played by Benny while Terry poured drinks into any glass that seemed slightly empty. The pair had celebrated my pregnancy and my nuptials in style, insisting that they be part of the celebration.Vasilios and I had been slightly surprise
Cassie POVIf someone ever tells you that you can’t organise a wedding in twenty-four hours, tell them that they’re wrong. By the time the sun rose the next morning, I was relaxing in my apartment with Elle and Laryssa, sipping mocktails and gushing about the gorgeous dress Laryssa had managed to get for me for an absolute steal. “So, Amy is on her way to pick up the bouquets we ordered and then she will come and dress here. Luca says the decor is already set up and that Damian’s chef friend is preparing what seems to be a twenty-course meal. We are all sorted,” Elle ticked off the to-do list on her fingers, smiling brightly. I took her and Laryssa’s hands and squeezed them slightly, “thank you for everything you have done for me. I really don’t think I could have pulled this off without you both.”Elle kissed my cheek and winked before she snuck off to call her mother-in-law so that she could check in with Gia - the kid was probably having the time of her life without her mother c
Cassie POVI’m pretty sure that the nurses held a party the moment I walked out of the hospital. Not because I was a terrible patient, but because Vasilios was probably the most non-compliant family member the ward had ever experienced. He refused to leave my side, and only my father was able to make him leave for an hour, although he complained about that too and made my dad stay while he was away. Vasilios broke all the hospital rules; climbing into bed beside me, reading my medical chart, getting food delivered because he said hospital food didn’t have enough nutrition to feed both me and his baby. The guy was overbearing to put it mildly. But I didn’t mind in the least. Vasilios drove carefully through the city, and we spoke about our wedding plans. I was determined to be able to have a relaxed ceremony with just our close friends and family, where we could actually say our vows and mean it. Yes, I know that we weren’t technically divorced, but this ceremony was going to be the
Cassie POVI felt as if I was burning alive, the fire clawing at my chest as restraints held me down. I tugged on the rope which seemed to be emerging from my own arm, but that only caused screaming from the depths of the dark cave I was locked in. “Someone, help!” I thought I heard Vasilios’s voice, but then a sharp pain radiated from my arm and my world went dark once again. It seemed like just a few moments later that I woke up again, the pain in my chest more of a dull throb than the fire it had been. The room was dimly lit, but my eyes seemed to take a while to adjust to the light as I slowly became aware of my surroundings. The clinical environment and the drip poking out of my arm seemed to be enough clues to point to the fact that I was in hospital. The highly flattering hospital gown and catheter removed all doubts that remained. I tried to sit up and groaned as the fire burned through my chest again, and I was forced to remember that I had been shot. The last thing I re