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Chapter 12: A Mother’s Shadow
Last Updated:
2025-02-16 14:56:33
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"You were never supposed to see that."Lucien’s voice was a low rasp, thick with something between anger and regret. My breath came in sharp gasps, my body trembling as the vision faded, but its ghostly imprint lingered behind my eyelids.I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think.All I could see was my mother—alive, standing before a younger Lucien. They weren’t fighting. They weren’t enemies. They were allies.Lucien had lied."You knew her," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the roaring in my ears. "You knew my mother."Lucien didn't answer.I sat up, my body drenched in cold sweat. My hands curled into the sheets beneath me as I turned to face him. "Tell me the truth."Lucien’s jaw tightened. The muscles in his neck tensed as if he were fighting an internal war. "Cassia—""Don’t you dare lie to me again." My voice shook, but there was steel beneath it. "You knew my mother. You knew who I was all along."Lucien exhaled sharply, running a hand through his dark hair. "It’s complicate
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I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms as I glared at Lucien. His face was unreadable, his golden eyes dark with something I couldn’t name. Anger? Fear? Regret? I had no idea, and that infuriated me."You knew my mother," I said, my voice tight with accusation. "You knew her, and you never told me. Why?"Lucien exhaled slowly as if measuring his words before he spoke. "Cassia, some truths are more dangerous than lies."I scoffed, stepping forward, refusing to let him tower over me. "Don’t give me riddles, Lucien. I deserve the truth. I’ve spent my whole life being lied to—by my father, my stepmother, and now you. I want answers!"His jaw tensed, a flicker of something flashing across his face before it vanished. "You think you want answers, but you don’t. Not really."I reached for him, gripping his wrist before he could turn away. "Don’t you dare walk away from me? Not this time. Tell me what you know about my mother!"Lucien’s eyes burned into mine, his muscles coiled li
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The moment my fingers brushed against the brittle parchment, my breath caught in my throat. The rogue had placed it in my hands like it was the key to a secret that could change everything. And maybe it was. My mother’s handwriting, delicate yet firm, stretched across the page in dark ink."My dearest Cassia,If you are reading this, it means the prophecy has begun to unravel. It means you have awakened."The words blurred as my hands trembled. My heart pounded against my ribs, the weight of her message pressing down on me like a storm cloud ready to burst. My mother had known about my powers—about the curse. She had known about Lucien."He was never meant to be your captor, Cassia. He was meant to be your protector. But fate is cruel, and so are the ones who seek to control it. The prophecy binds you both in ways neither of you can yet understand. Be careful, my love. Trust your instincts. And if you must choose—"A shadow loomed over me. The letter was yanked from my grip before I c
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The cold stone walls pressed in around me, the scent of burning parchment still lingering in the air. My heart pounded as I stared at Lucien, his face shadowed in the dim candlelight. He had stolen the letter—my mother’s final words—and destroyed it before I could understand its meaning."You don’t want to know the truth, Cassia," he had said. "Because once you do, you’ll never forgive me."But I already knew. I would never forgive him.I turned away, my hands trembling with rage. The prophecy, the truth about my past, had been within reach, and now it was ash at my feet. I felt the flicker of power beneath my skin, an ember waiting to ignite. But I needed more than anger—I needed a plan.A sharp knock echoed against the thick wooden door. My pulse quickened as I recognized the voice on the other side."Let me in," the rogue’s voice was low, urgent.I hesitated for only a moment before unlocking the heavy door. The rogue, a man known only as Kael, slipped inside, his dark cloak concea
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"You can’t be serious, Cassia."Lucien’s voice was rough, barely controlled. He stood in front of me, blocking my path, his broad shoulders tense. His golden eyes burned with something I refused to acknowledge—something that almost looked like pain.I clenched my fists. "I’m leaving."His jaw tightened. "With her? Do you have any idea what she’ll do to you?"I did. My stepmother had spent years ensuring I remained weak and powerless, a mere shadow in her kingdom of cruelty. But she had the answers I needed. If I wanted to break free, if I wanted to uncover the full truth of my magic, I had to face her."It’s my choice," I said.Lucien growled, stepping closer. "You belong here. With me."I laughed bitterly. "With you? As your possession? Your prisoner?"His expression darkened, but I saw the flicker of something else—hesitation. Doubt. The ruthless Alpha was struggling with his own feelings, but I couldn’t afford to care.Behind him, my stepmother stood with a smug smirk, draped in he
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"Do you really want to know the truth?" My stepmother’s voice slithered through the darkened chamber, curling around me like a serpent.I clenched my fists. "I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t."She smiled—a slow, deliberate expression that sent a shiver down my spine. Her silver robes shimmered under the candlelight, making her look every bit the powerful enchantress she had always claimed to be. The woman who had stolen my father’s will murdered my mother, and crushed me beneath her heel now held the final answers I needed.But at what cost?"Very well." She lifted a delicate glass vial from the wooden table beside her. The liquid inside glowed an eerie shade of blue. "This will help you remember what was stolen from you."I hesitated. I had spent my whole life wanting to uncover the secrets buried within me, but now that I stood at the edge of revelation, my pulse pounded with hesitation."What’s in it?""A key. To your past, your power… and your destiny."I didn’t trust her. I never h
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The dagger trembled in my grip, its tip barely an inch from Lucien’s heart. His fingers curled over mine, pressing the blade against his chest. His golden eyes—always cold, always unreadable—held something different now.Acceptance.“Do it,” he whispered.The words sliced through me more than the blade ever could.I clenched my jaw. My body screamed for me to drive the dagger forward, to end him the way my stepmother had foretold. But my heart—traitorous and reckless—refused to obey.Lucien’s lips curled in something almost like amusement, but there was no humor in his gaze. “You don’t hate me, Cassia. You hate the part of you that wants me.”A sharp breath left my lungs, my fingers twitching against the hilt. “You don’t know anything about what I want.”He laughed, low and dark. “Don’t I?” His hand slid to my wrist, guiding my trembling grip. “I’ve hurt you. I’ve been cruel. And yet, you hesitate.”I hated that he was right. I hated that my chest ached more from his words than from t
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"You should have run when you had the chance, Cassia."The voice was unmistakable. Cold. Familiar.I turned slowly, my pulse roaring in my ears. The rogue stood at the edge of the battlefield, his sword glinting under the blood-red moon. But something was different. His eyes, once filled with silent promises of protection, were hardened now, unreadable.He wasn’t here to save me. He was here to destroy me.Lucien stepped forward, his body tense beside mine. "So this is how it is," he murmured, his voice thick with restrained fury.The rogue tilted his head, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. "I made my choice."A sharp wind cut through the clearing, carrying the scent of war. The battle had begun, but my fight had just turned personal.Three Hours EarlierLucien’s war tent was dimly lit, the flickering lanterns casting jagged shadows across the map spread before us. We were surrounded by warriors—his most trusted pack members, men who had killed for him, bled for him and wo
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"Lucien," I whispered, barely able to make the words escape my lips, my heart heavy with the weight of everything I knew was about to happen.He stood before me, the air around us crackling with energy. His golden eyes locked with mine, and in that moment, everything I had ever feared and wanted collided. There was a fire in his gaze, a fire that burned for me, for us, for the world we were trying to save—yet it was tinged with sorrow, an almost unbearable sadness."Cassia," he replied, his voice low, almost a growl. "This is the only way. You know that, don't you?"I nodded, my throat tight with the grief I could no longer suppress. My body was trembling—not from fear, but from the deep sorrow of knowing that everything we had fought for, every moment we had shared, was leading up to this. Lucien was about to make the ultimate sacrifice, and there was nothing I could do to stop it."I love you," he whispered fiercely as if trying to etch those words into the very fabric of my soul. "
