Cole’s POV Several long hours later, Cole trudged his way into Cassia’s room. He’d fought the urge to run to her sooner, but his mother had informed him she was sleeping, so he’d taken his time showering. When he reached the room, he knocked lightly on the door, whispering “it’s Cole,” before quietly entering. Sam and Samuel both stood, tense, as he entered, and immediately relaxed as the dim light from the floor lamp by the door illuminated his haggard face. Cynthia stood and rushed to him, flinging her arms around him. He embraced her eagerly, and for a moment, he felt like a child again, even though he was now so much larger than her. He felt her tears hit his skin and held her tighter. She’d probably put on a brave face until then. “Shh,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “Garrett?” “He’s fine, Momma. Dad’s just come off a watch shift. Go to bed, and you can see Garrett in the morning. He has a nasty cut on his neck, and he needs to sleep off the wolfsbane concoction, but
Cassia’s POVCassia woke slowly, feeling far too comfortable to open her eyes. She could feel the early morning sun on her skin, and she sighed snuggling into the soft bed. A smile touched her lips as she felt Cole’s body around her. She wasn’t sure where her fear had gone, but she thought it had something to do with how worried she had been and how sick she felt whilst he was gone. She wriggled luxuriously, enjoying the feel of the pillow under her head and the soft fabrics against her skin - and the warm body behind her. “I think I could get used to this,” she thought. She froze as she felt Cole nuzzle his face into her neck and plant a delicate kiss just above her bandages. “Morning, beautiful,” he growled, his voice thick with sleep, sending a pleasant tingle down her spine. “Careful with all that wriggling. You’ll make it hard not to kiss you.” Cassia fought with herself for a moment, her fear surfacing just slightly. When Albius and his men had kissed her, it had been rou
Cole’s POVCassia may have been steadier on her feet, but Cole made sure she was holding onto him at least, as they made their way down to the pack house kitchen. Sam sat at the kitchen table, smirking into his coffee mug and shooting knowing glances at the pair. “Knock it off,” Cole mindlinked him. Sam had snuck out of the room when he heard the two whispering, and Cole was fairly certain Cassia had missed it. “Did you have a pleasant morning?” Sam mindlinked back, his lips twitching. Cole growled. “Oh don’t worry, I wouldn’t embarrass her. You, on the other hand…” Cole ignored him and helped Cassia into a seat at the table before checking in with the kitchen staff on what she was allowed to have for breakfast. Forty-five minutes later, the three of them piled into Cole’s jeep and made their way to the pack hospital, Cole buckling Cassia into the passenger seat, and Sam ignoring his seatbelt and firmly planting himself in the back middle, leaning his elbows on the console and
Cassia’s POV Cassia had never been a person to cry very often - not that she’d ever really had need to. But she still couldn’t get a handle on how it felt to cry so very often, even if, perhaps, it made sense that she would. Did everyone do this? Or was it just her? How could she tell if she was handling this well or being too emotional without her mother there to tell her? She sniffed harshly, biting her lip. If she went down that path, she’d be sobbing all over again, and she was very, very sick of tears this morning. The hospital was busy, crawling with doctors and nurses and pack members. Many people turned as the three of them walked down the hall, to stare and nod their heads with little murmurs of “Luna, Alpha.” She expected to see some hostility; after all, she was why so many were wounded, why Ethan was dead - and yet, she saw none. Some awe, some fear, even, but mostly reverence at her presence… as though, as Annette had said, they had, indeed, all been waiting for h
Cassia’s POV As they walked into the long room where all the women were being looked after, Cassia’s breath hitched in her throat, and she reached back and grabbed Cole’s hand. She felt Garrett lean close on her other side, his breath tickling her ear. “Don’t worry, love. They’re going to be very happy to see you.” The room was long, with several beds on three sides, thin curtains hung around them to create a small amount of privacy when needed. Several couches and plush chairs stood out oddly in the center of the room, having been brought in to make the women feel more at home. Dr. Blake had told them that they’d been put in here together because they felt safer, even though there were plenty of private rooms available. This room was only used in times of war, as an overflow. Only the woman who was in critical condition was kept separate. Their group only stood at the door for a moment before one of the women looked over at them, fear in her eyes turning quite suddenly int
Hey Readers! If you’ve made it this far, first off, thank you!! Secondly, I wanted to let you know that going forward, I will be switching to first person present tense narration, something I’ve been wishing I’d done since the beginning for a few chapters now. Eventually, I will update the first 28 chapters to all be first person as well (except for the prologue/first chapter), but for now, I’m just flipping part way through. Hopefully it won’t be off putting but will make reading far more enjoyable. I’m loving discovering and telling this story so far and hope you enjoy it, too! May the Moon shine brightly upon you! Anna Marie
Garrett’s POV My heart swells with pride as my little mate promises our support to the women she’d been held captive with. I squeeze her shoulder and notice Cole doing the same. She must be feeling safe here, beginning to trust us. And already stepping into her natural role. Thank the goddess she was only there for three days.“Three days too long,” my wolf grumbles. “I know,” I respond. “But look at these women… every single one of them was there longer than her. Brianna is terrified of her mate. Doesn’t even want him in the same room - and they didn’t even mark her or -”My wolf’s internal snarl stops me from going any further. I clench my jaw, looking back down at Cassia. She’s so much more at ease than she was when I left, and I wonder if it’s the time she’s spent with Cole - my wolf grumbles about my needing to play hero, and I chuckle inwardly - or just that she’s starting to feel safe or being around these women… But they seem more at ease, too, now that she’s with them,
Cassia’s POV All three of us ate at the kitchen table, no one around except the kitchen staff checking in to be sure we had everything we wanted or needed - so long as it was on our “allowed” list. Garrett made several joking threats about being an Alpha and how dare they deny him, but each of them ignored him and laughed in turn, making me feel even safer. The entire pack, including the omegas, seems to truly love my mates, to respect them and trust them - I haven’t seen one yet who appears to fear them, even though I know they must have the ability to be terrifying if they were able to kill Albius. Cole left Garrett and me in the same bedroom I’d stayed in the previous night. He said he needed to check in on Markus, Brianna’s mate - who is apparently distraught that she won’t see him - and also visit the prisoner they’d captured when they were attacked. I look up at my more clean cut mate from my spot beside him on the couch. Even with his injuries he’s freshly shaven - he insi