CASSIUS’ POVI had a dream. It had become a recurring dream since I saw the horrible scars on Persephone’s wrists. In that dream, she was begging me. Her voice reached me from a vast darkness and every time, all I heard were her sobs without seeing her. ‘Cass, no, please, no!’ She continued to cry out my name in a desperate and mournful tone. Every time, I tried to help her, to find her and pull her out of the darkness but the darkness was thick. It was thick and I could not see anything through it. No matter how much she cried, I did not help her until her voice faded away. As usual, I woke up in a pool of my sweat. My back was stuck to the bedsheet from how much sweat was pouring from my body. My limbs were stiff with fear and it took a few minutes for me to realize I was awake now. ‘This dream again,’ my wolf muttered, his tone thick. ‘I don’t understand. Every time I hear that voice, it feels like I know what is happening but still, I am in the dark. What is happening, Ca
Would it not be funny if April got pregnant? In my previous life, despite Cassius spending every night with her, including the night of our engagement and mating, there was never any talk of her being pregnant. Of course, that somehow became my fault. Apparently, I had done some evil, heinous act and cursed her to never bear fruit out of jealousy. Those words had hurt me but now, I could only think of them and laugh. “You’re in a good mood,” Hannah said as she cleaned my nails. “What do you think of April, Hannah?” I asked and the girl gritted her teeth as her face contorted. One would think I had asked her what she thought of a filthy rogue. “She’s nothing but a shameless woman!” Hannah declared. “All she does is hang around the Alpha and even though he has said several times that he isn’t interested in her, she still carries herself as if she is the Luna. There are even people in the mansion that defer to her because they think she’ll somehow become the Luna.” She scoffed. I
“Perse, the Alpha wants to see you.” Sylvia came to summon me when Cassius arrived. Without wasting time, I left what I was doing and went to see him. The moment I pushed his door open, I knew to expect good news. He had stars in his eyes and a spring in his steps as he rushed to embrace me. “I take it things went well?” I caught myself smiling as he hugged me with all his might. Cassius was not very open with his emotions. I was the one constantly harassing him into hugs and trying to get as close to him as possible but as he held me then, with my hands bound to my sides, I knew that things may have gone better than expected. He left earlier in the day to see the Alpha King and although he did not mention it, his face had been fraught with anxiety. Now that he was all hugs and smiles, I knew he had impressed the Alpha King and managed to get a second invite out of him. It was as I expected. He was smart enough to capture the King’s interest. “More than well, in fact,” he sa
‘Calm down, he cannot achieve that,’ Ana said to me when I continued to hyperventilate hours after my conversation with Cassius. ‘Did the goddess create the position of the Alpha King for nothing?’ She continued. ‘And does it make any sense for him to help Randal become the Alpha King and then ask to secede? What kind of fool would grant such a favour?’ Yes, no matter how foolish a king may be, he would know better than to leave packs to become independent. If he granted one the right to secede, many more would follow and war would break out. Even a child would know better than to let such a thing happen. So why did I feel uneasy? I knew that Randal would never become the Alpha King. That position was Koa’s by right and he would take it by force. Cassius was merely wasting his time but still, his ambitions surprised me. How could he think of making Blood Crescent pack stand independent of the Deimos kingdom that the goddess herself had established? I knew his pride and I knew
I could not see the oracle before the event but thankfully, a last-minute invite came to Cassius to attend the Alpha’s Hunt. His eyes brimmed with excitement as he showed me the letter with the royal seal on it. “Call Emma. We have to make you a fabulous dress as the Lady of the Hunt.” Lady of which stupid hunt? A hunt that also involved Alpha Koa? Even if he carried a squad of a hundred warriors, Cassius would not come out victorious over Koa and he could not even use others to hunt. Yet, how could I say no to a new dress? “You are attending the hunt?” Emma could not hide the excitement in her eyes. “Yes, I am sorry to have called you with such little time to prepare but I would like a dress befitting the ceremony.” It was, after all, my first time meeting the Alpha King in both of my lives. Cassius said he was not very impressive but still, he was the Alpha King so I anticipated meeting him. “Yes, I will make you shine the brightest. You may even become the Lady of the
Even I was surprised. Did I have a relationship with Alpha Randal that permitted him to wink at me? The gesture was off-putting and obviously out of place for him since he immediately went red in the face. If it had come from Koa, I would have understood since that man was the type to do anything to get a reaction out of others but it did not fit the image of Randal I had – we all had – of him in our heads. Except he was trying to copy his brother. “I am not certain,” I answered Cassius. “Did he wink at me?” “What is that brat up to?” Cassius growled under his breath. “What kind of mutt does he…” “We are at an event organized by the Alpha King,” I reminded him. If he wanted to sabotage himself, he could do it without involving me. “Please, do not growl or insult his son.” “But he…” He started but he must have seen reason with me, reason to comport himself. Nothing good would come out of him upsetting the Alpha King now that they were starting to get along. “He has a lot of
“It was you,” the woman who joined us said. Her eyes were white and unfocused. She moved with a guide yet when her unseeing eyes settled in my direction, it felt as if she could see deep into my soul. “Your- Your Holiness.” Jennifer was the one who got her wits about her first. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I am…” Though her words were polite, the expression on her face was not. “Jennifer Slater, you can be on your way.” The oracle spoke with her twittery voice that resonated with power. “Take your little friends with you.” “Your Holiness…” Jennifer started to protest but the oracle whose unfocused eyes had been in my direction, turned to her. “Yes, yes! We will be on our way!” She grabbed the hand of the friend closest to her and they rushed out of the garden. The oracle turned to me. I patted my chest from how frightened I had gotten. There was no reason to be frightened. In the kingdom, the oracle barely had any power. Oracles were called friends of the goddess and her s
I was not the only one surprised by Alpha Koa’s declaration. The Luna Queen’s lips curled up in a way that showed utmost disdain but Koa’s expression remained the same – with a languid, almost mocking smile. “It is your first time attending the hunt so you may be unaware of the rules.” It was obvious that she took great care to restrain herself as she spoke. “The beauty of this contest is that at the end, a Lady of the Hunt is selected. With this much kill, you may just be the winner of the hunt. You cannot keep the glory all for yourself.” “Ah, yes, I have not been able to attend any Hunts. Being the April Prince comes with a lot of responsibilities so I had no time to participate in social activities,” he murmured. “As my mother, you understand my situation quite well but still, I will keep my glory and honour for myself.” “You…” The Luna Queen caught herself before she cursed at him but I could not help myself. I cursed at him under my breath. This was not what we agreed on