Vasilios POV“Do you think it's too late to kill the fucker?” I asked Luca as I caught him up to speed on the dramas I'd faced since he left, hidden in the privacy of my bedroom. My best friend laughed and I could almost picture him cracking his knuckles as we spoke. “It's never too late.” I grunted and pulled the switchblade from my pocket, pressing the lever so the blade sprung from its handle and feeling the edge of the blade before I put it back. It had been a gift from Luca when we had been teenagers, and it had stayed with me ever since.“I'm not like you. You got away with killing your psychopathic family member… twice. As for killing mine? Well, I'd probably be chucked into a dungeon somewhere by the council if I harmed Viktor.”“OK, maybe killing him isn't the answer then,” Luca sighed. “But putting him and his bitch of a mate into a crate and shipping them to Peru is still an option.” I chuckled at the very tempting thought. “Damn, don’t put those things in my head.”“Do
Cassie POVVasilios drove carefully up the poorly repaired driveway, careful to avoid the giant craters in the asphalt as we approached the ancient looking house. It was the night after Alpha Dimitri’s funeral, and while Vasilios appeared calm to all who came across him, I could feel the tension in his every movement. “Where are we going?” I asked him for probably the twentieth time, half expecting him to give me the same response as he had given me half an hour ago when we climbed into the car - “not far”.Only this time, he actually revealed the secret mission we were going on. “This is the base of my operations,” he said as he parked the car and switched off all of the lights. “I need your help with something, if that’s ok with you.” The corner of my lip twitched as I bit back a sardonic laugh. “It’s a bit late to be asking if I’m ok with coming out to the middle of nowhere with you.” In the pale moonlight I could see the hesitation on his face before he reached for the door ha
Cassie POVI couldn’t have predicted what happened next in a thousand years. Even in the dim light of the basement, I could see Stacey hold her breath, her eyes darting around the room as if she were looking for an escape. I’m not sure how she thought she would get away with her hands tied behind her back and her feet tied to the chair - wishful thinking maybe. “After all we have done, you killed my father?” Viktor roared, straining against his restraints, his eyes flashing with his wolf’s presence. “You calculating bitch!” Vasilios grabbed my hand and pulled me behind his back, shielding me from whatever he predicted was going to happen. “Untie me!” Viktor demanded, his voice cracking with anger. Vasilios paused for a moment before he pulled out a knife from his pocket and slashed at the rope which bound his feet to the chair legs before he removed the restraints on Viktor’s hands.“It was a mistake, Viktor!” Stacey screamed, her eyes pleading. “Luna Delia was meant to drink the
Cassie POV“I'm turned on by the guy who I'm pretty sure would have murdered Stacey and Viktor in front of me. Does that make me a bad person?” I asked Elle, my phone pressed to my ear as I sat on the edge of the bed and filed my nails. It had been almost a week since the incident in the old house, and Viktor had - by some miracle - become somewhat tolerable. He was still a condescending prick to most people, but he did seem to be walking on eggshells whenever I was around so that was something new. “Well it does depend on if it's the thought of him killing people that turns you on. If that's the case I'll find you a psychologist ASAP,” Elle replied in her mom voice. “If that's not the case, then I'd say you're just like the thousands of women out there who are attracted to raw and dangerous masculinity.”I sighed. “Yep, that must be it.”Elle giggled, “why does that sound like such a burden?”I set down the nail file and inspected my nails. “Because I don't like that I'm not in c
Cassie POV“What do you mean Vasilios left with Amber?” I almost screamed at Reya. Reya flinched and stepped backward before she recovered from the sheer force of my anger. “I was up early to check on Reza - she hasn’t been sleeping well lately. Anyway, I was checking on her when I heard voices outside my bedroom window. I looked out and saw Vasilios putting bags into his car, and then he opened the door for Amber to climb in and they both drove off.” I know people always say that they feel hot rage, but the rage I felt wasn’t hot. It was as cold as ice as I calmly thanked Reya and walked back to my bedroom. I pulled my suitcase from the cupboard and packed my belongings neatly into the bag in a somewhat robotic manner. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I texted a quick message to Elle before removing my sim card and throwing it onto the bed. I knew Vasilios would come after me, and the last thing I wanted was to see his stupid face. I was just a toy to him, something for him
Vasilios POVI pulled up outside the packhouse and smiled to myself, eager to see Cassandra again.The two weeks away from her had given me some time to contemplate life, and I realised that I wasn't going to be able to let her go at the end of the six month deal. ***The morning I had been called away, I had been watching her sleep when my phone started ringing in my pants as they lay on the floor. I moved quickly, picking up the phone. “Vasi, I need your help,” I heard Luca's serious voice through the phone, the sound of crying in the background. I glanced over at Cassandra's sleeping face before I slipped into the bathroom and closed the door. “What's wrong?” I asked Luca in a hushed voice. “It's Enzo. The team of mercenaries he hired have sold him out to a group of radicals who hate our kind.”I could hear the tension in Luca’s voice. “Shit. Tell me what you need me to do.”It wasn't foreign to come across fanatic humans who had learned about werewolves' existence and hated
Cassie POVHave you ever had a moment when you’re suddenly struck by how badly you fucked up, and yet you have no idea how you can fix the mistake you made? Well, that was basically a summary of my life at that point. I was sitting at the kitchen table, staring into my bowl of oatmeal when Damian walked into the room, dressed to impress in a black suit and black shirt. “Have you even eaten any of that?” he questioned with a scowl.“I don’t feel like it,” I replied honestly, pushing the bowl away from me. “Every time I bring the spoon to my mouth I feel like gagging.”Damian’s scowl softened and he grabbed a pack of ginger biscuits from the kitchen cupboard and set them in front of me. “You’ve got to eat something, before I get my arse kicked by both the doctor and Vasilios for starving you,” he commanded sternly. “And don’t give me that morning sickness bullshit, I can see right through you Cassie Kythira.” “I’m not Kythira anymore,” I almost whispered, wallowing in my own despair.
Cassie POVDamian had tried - and failed - to persuade me against helping out, but he had eventually thrown his hands in the air proclaiming “well, I’m not paying you,” before he disappeared into his office, leaving me with a rather amused Terry and Benny. The guys seemed to be excited to have me back and kept throwing hints that it was “where I belonged”, and I have to admit that I felt more at ease there than I had in months. I even felt at ease when I felt, rather than saw, Vasilios step into the club. My awareness of him had certainly heightened, and I can’t be sure if it was because I was in love with him or not. “How about a tequila and your number, sugar?” a guy with slicked back hair and a gold chain around his neck breathed in my direction. I smiled politely and poured him his drink, not bothering to even speak to him as Benny took over seamlessly and finished the guy’s order. “Has that guy been bugging you?” Greg asked as he pulled up beside me, a frown on his face. I
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