Masuk~ CASSANDRA ~Oh, by the Moon Goddess. My throat feels parched, as though I’ve wandered through the wilderness for months without a single drop of water. Even swallowing hurts.Slowly, I pry my eyes open, my vision struggling to adjust to my surroundings. Everything looks blurry at first, and I blink once, twice, then a third time, waiting for the haze to clear.Eventually, the ceiling comes into focus. Its intricate patterns stare back at me, unfamiliar and completely out of place.Where am I? The question is the first thing that registers in my sluggish mind.Turning my head to the left, I notice an IV drip connected to my hand. My brows furrow as I stare at it, trying to piece together what happened and why I’m in a hospital bed.“She's awake!”The familiar voice makes my eyes snap toward the doorway. Cassian.“Water!” The word escapes my parched throat in a strained whisper, and even that little effort feels like torture.Cassian moves immediately, barking an order for water befor
~ CASSIAN ~I can't count the number of times I've paced the hospital corridor, my nerves stretched so fucking tight that one wrong word could send me over the edge. Beau is with his mate, and I'm glad Ronnie has woken up, but I'm also fucking terrified about what's happening to Cassandra.Worse, Dr. Julian isn't telling me a damn thing, and the uncertainty is driving me insane. It's like an unbearable itch under my skin, that makes me want to tear through the entire hospital just to find an answer.And the way Dr. Julian looked at me when he declared an urgent emergency hasn't done a damn thing to ease my fears. If anything, it's made them worse.What if she doesn't make it? The thought hits me so hard that my steps falter.No. Fuck no.Cassandra isn't dying. She can't fucking die.I love that woman. I love her stubbornness, her fire, the way she challenges me without a second thought, and the way she somehow manages to make my world feel right just by being in it. She's become so mu
~ CASSIAN ~The moment Dr. Julian tells me I can see her, relief washes through me. Ariel, who has been pacing restlessly in my head, finally settles, his furious growls fading into a quiet rumble.She's lying motionless on the bed, her eyes fully closed, an IV drip connected to her hand. The steady beeping of the heart monitor fills the room, and my heart sinks at the sight."Tell me she's going to be fine," I demand, turning to Dr. Julian, who stands beside her bed.Taking the seat beside her, I reach for her hand and gently wrap my fingers around hers. Her skin feels cold, and the stiffness in her fingers sends another wave of fear through me.But the Moon Goddess, she's supposed to be okay. She has to be."Cassandra," I whisper, brushing my thumb over her knuckles. "Baby, please open your eyes."Those eyes remains shut. Ariel whimpers inside my head, and the sound tears through me more painfully than any wound I've ever suffered.'She's going to wake up, right?' he asks, his voice
CHAPTER 75CASSIAN “Cassandra!” Her name rips out of me, but she doesn’t move.I drop to my knees beside her, barely registering the blood smeared across the tiles or the shattered glass scattered around. My hands go over her body, and I'm afraid to touch her in the wrong place.“Babe, come on.” I brush the hair away off her forehead. “Open your eyes for me.”She's too pale, and her lips have gone gray. I press my fingers to her cheek, searching for any sign that she’s still with me.Her chest lifts, she’s breathing. Thank the Moon Goddess.But it’s shallow, and the faint connection between us through the mate bond feels wrong. I can barely sense her emotions, as though something is smothering the thread that connects us.Ariel whines inside my head. "She’s not responding."“I can fucking see that!”"Then do something, you useless bastard!"My jaw locks. I don’t have time to argue with him. Not when Cassandra is barely conscious, with her clothes torn and bruises forming on her skin.
~ CASSIAN ~We track her scent straight to Veloir and Vine. Ariel lets out a vicious growl as he slams through the glass door, shattering it across the floor as we burst inside.The stench of blood and fear hits me instantly. She's still in here. I can feel it through the bond, faint but enough to keep me from losing my fucking mind.The shop assistant lies motionless on the floor, barely conscious, while the foul stench of the men who dared touch my mate fills the air. Their scent reeks of cowardice and desperation, and fucking hell, they have no idea what they've just done.Those bloodsucking bastards thought they could lay a hand on what's mine and walk away unscathed? They're about to learn just how wrong they are.Following Cassandra's scent, I storm toward the restroom. Ariel lets out a deafening growl as we slam the door open, the force rattling it against the wall.Two fuckers stand inside, their attention snapping toward us. One has blood smeared across his face, while the o
~ CASSIAN ~You know that unsettling feeling you get when something is about to go wrong, but you can't quite put your finger on what it is? That's exactly what I've been dealing with all morning.Ariel has been on edge, his heightened sense of smell picking up on things I can't quite identify.No matter how hard I try to pinpoint the source of our unease, nothing makes sense. Everything appears normal, yet that nagging feeling refuses to leave me alone.I've already called Chief Guard Marcus and ordered him to tighten security throughout the pack. I also instructed the guards watching the captured Noctari to keep them secured until I finish my work and can personally oversee the interrogation.Everything should be under control, yet something still feels wrong.Ariel paces restlessly inside my head, his claws scraping against the walls of my mind as he searches for a threat he can't identify.'Something is wrong,' he growls.I know. Then why the fuck are we still standing here?A mus







