LOGINCASSIUS VALE POV
“If you really want me to get comfortable with you, flaring up when I tell you what I honestly feel won’t help.” Her calm feminine voice said, I could already feel her presence before hearing her speak.
Of course I knew that she wouldn’t love me, her first sight of me was in my very monstrous state so I would be delusional to think that she would end up loving me.
But hearing her admit it was a bee sting to my soul, it hurt me in ways that I hate to admit.
“But I don’t love you enough to be with you forever…”
The sound of that reverberated in my ears as my hands tightened on the balcony railings, my veins sprouting out so thick like it was about to burst out my skin. I was so agitated that I could feel my wolf fighting to be released, and if I let it, Annelise wouldn’t be handled softly.
My eyes were burning in rage, I could feel my claws trying to sprout out. I couldn’t let Annelise see that side of me again.
“You have a tattoo on your back, can I see?” She asked, walking closer to me, her scent filling my nose and making it harder for me to control myself.
If only she knew the effect she has on me…
She gently started rolling my white singlet up, I didn’t stop her… I couldn’t stop her. My eyes were still fiery, I didn’t want to scare her away.
“And scars…” She whispered this time, more to herself. Her soft fingers gently traced through my back as I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.
Her gentleness with my skin was one I didn’t deserve, the way she slowly ran her finger through my scars like I was some innocent little child that needed protection.
“Why do you have so many scars?” She questioned softly as I hissed and lit my cigarette again, my wolf was calm now, my eyes were back to normal, but I avoided turning to her because of the things running through my mind.
The strong bulge down there was as a result of her gentle touch, I craved her now than ever.
I needed to feel her skin, her soft delicate body, I craved to hear her moan. The idea of being her first made my bulge almost tear through my shorts.
I dragged a healthy amount of smoke and blew the rest to the air as I felt her hand leave my back and she gently pulled my singlet down.
“Why do you have so much scars on your back, Cassius.” She asked again, but this time she mentioned my name for the first time and without my title.
“It is Alpha Cassius to you…” I corrected as I turned to face her, her dark curly hair was now pulled up in a messy bun which added to her innocent look. “Don’t ever make the mistake of addressing me without my title, not even as a joke.” I warned as she moved away from me, her head dropping low.
“I’m sorry, Alpha Cassius. It will never happen again, I was just concerned.” She muttered lowly, tucking some strands of hair behind her ear and made to walk back into the room.
“Come with me, Sweetness. Let’s go have breakfast, you have had a long morning.” I said calmly and walked over to her, her head was still low as she fiddled with her fingers like a child. “I’m sorry if I sounded harsh.” I added and stretched my hand to her, she was hesitant but also didn’t want to get me angry so she slid her little fragile hand into mine.
I had claimed her as mine, but I couldn’t wait for her to accept that she was owned by me, I couldn’t wait for her to stop seeing herself as my captive… Well, it made sense that she saw herself that way because I took her in unwillingly. But I wanted her to know how much she already meant to me, I wanted her to know the length I could go to protect her.
Our walk to the dining room was a quiet awkward one, the whispers from the werewolves around made her uncomfortable, and I badly wished I could silence them forever.
I led her into the dining room, our breakfast was already served, and as ordered, we had varieties of food on the table.
The dining room was more like a hall as it was built for banquets, so the dining table was a long one with ten chairs on each sides and one on each end which was for the Alpha and his Luna.
“Sit next to me, Sweetness.” I requested, as I pulled out the chair directly next to mine for her. I couldn’t stand her sitting that far away from me, I might be the first Alpha to twist that sick rule.
“Why are there so much food for just both of us, or do you have people coming to join us? I see that this is a large table.” She pointed as I smiled.
“No, Sweetness. This is our first meal together, so I tried to make it special by ordering different options for you.” I replied, she let out a small smile and nodded. “Take it as a first date?” I added, more like a question. I wasn’t used to things like this, trying to impress a woman and all that sick activity, but I was willing to switch a little for her.
“A date? nicey…” she laughed. “Well, we would need a waitress, I can’t serve on our first date right?”
“Oh, that’s right, Sweetness.” I muttered, surprisingly nervous for the first time in my life. I quickly picked a wine glass and a spoon as I clicked them together, and immediately two maids hurried in.
I was indeed anxious for some strange reason, I couldn’t point out the reason why my hands were sweaty or why I was constantly looking through the meals, but I simply wanted to show her that I was more than what she thought I was.
“These are all my favorite dishes, what a lovely coincidence.” She uttered with a wide grin while one of the maids served waffles sprinkled with butter into her plate.
I had asked her mom a couple of things about Anne, the kind of food she liked for each time of the day and sent them to the chefs instructing that they change the meal plan to suit Anne’s taste.
The cheque remained untouched for days. It stayed on Anne’s bedside table beneath the folded letter, both of them resting there like a quiet disturbance no one in the room wanted to acknowledge too loudly. Jasmine had dusted around it twice already without moving it an inch. Even she seemed to understand that touching those papers felt too personal, too invasive, as though shifting them carelessly might send Anne into another spiral.Anne had refused to cash it immediately.“No amount of money changes what he did,” she had said the first night after receiving it, her voice dry from crying. “If he wanted to be my father, he should have been one twenty years ago.”No one argued with her.Teri had returned to the gallery two days later and one look at Anne’s face had been enough to make him stop asking questions. She had requested a leave with calm politeness, and he approved it without hesitation, even insisting she take more time if needed.Now her days blurred together inside the host
Anne’s fingers trembled around the envelope as Kelsey and Jasmine guided her toward the chair behind the front desk of the gallery. The room suddenly felt too stuffy, the air too heavy for her lungs. Her heartbeat pounded against her ribs so violently she could hear it in her ears.John Moore…The name would not stop echoing in her head.She stared at the cream colored envelope in her hand like it carried poison.The girls remained quiet around her, watching carefully without forcing questions out of her. Even Kelsey, who usually spoke before thinking, stayed still for once in her life.Yvette quickly grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge beside the counter and crouched in front of Anne.“Drink some water first,” Yvette said softly.Anne blinked at her before taking the bottle with shaky hands. Her throat burned painfully after crying, but even swallowing felt difficult.“He remembered me,” Anne whispered after a long silence.Her voice sounded hollow even to herself. “He act
Saturday arrived wrapped in cool wind and pale sunlight pouring through the large glass windows of the art gallery. Outside, the streets buzzed lazily with weekend movement, but inside the gallery everything felt calmer, quieter, softened by instrumental music drifting from hidden speakers and the faint scent of varnish and fresh flowers.Anne stood behind the front desk flipping through inventory records while Teri adjusted the collar of his coat near the entrance.“You sure you’ll manage two days without me?” he asked dramatically.Anne looked up with amusement. “I already do most of the work.”Teri pointed at her immediately. “That attitude is exactly why I trust you.”She laughed softly.“I’ll answer calls if anything comes up,” he continued, grabbing his car keys. “And don’t let anybody bully you on pricing. Last week some woman almost convinced you a Monet replica should cost forty dollars.”“She was persuasive.” Anne defended with a fake sad pout.“She was cheap.” Teri argued b
The hallway outside the department office buzzed with voices, footsteps, and the sound of students arguing over grades they clearly believed they deserved better on. Anne pushed through the glass doors clutching her phone tightly in her hand, the sunlight hitting her face immediately, but nothing compared to the grin she was trying and failing to contain.Kelsey noticed first. “Oh, she passed!” she announced dramatically from where she leaned against the railing.Yvette looked up from the iced coffee in her hand. “Not just passed. That is the smile of somebody who’s about to become academically insufferable.”Anne laughed as she walked toward them. “I got an A.”Kelsey grabbed both her shoulders at once. “I knew it. I literally knew it.”“I’m serious, Anne,” Yvette said. “If you start acting intellectually superior now, I will humble you publicly.”Anne rolled her eyes through her laughter. “You people are exhausting.”“No,” Kelsey corrected, running a hand through her hair. “You’re w
The soft scrape of brushes against canvas mixed with low music and clinking glasses filled the studio, yet the table Anne and Derek sat at seemed trapped inside its own strange silence.Warm amber lights glowed above them, casting gold over the unfinished paintings arranged across the room. Couples laughed quietly at nearby tables, some painting each other badly on purpose and laughing harder afterward. The scent of acrylic paint, wine, and vanilla candles hung heavily in the air.Anne stared at her canvas with narrowed concentration, dragging her brush through pale blue paint even though she had already used too much of it. The small lake she had attempted to paint now looked more like spilled ink spreading through paper.“You’re murdering that water,” Derek uttered.Anne looked up immediately. “It’s abstract.”“It’s a crime scene.”She almost smiled.Derek noticed the hesitation in her smile. He leaned back in his chair, watching her closely over the rim of his wine glass. He had be
Anne could still feel the kiss on her lips by the time she reached the hostel hallway.The sensation lingered in a way that irritated her because it kept replaying without permission. The warmth of Derek’s hand against her waist, the calm confidence in the way he had leaned toward her, the softness that somehow existed beneath all his teasing.It had not been a bad kiss… That was the problem.If it had been awkward or disappointing, she could have dismissed it immediately and moved on without thinking twice. Instead, she had spent the entire walk down the hallway replaying it against her will.The hallway was unusually quiet when she reached her room.Anne pushed the door open slowly before stepping inside, her room was empty, Jasmine’s bed was untouched, her blanket still messy from earlier that morning.Anne exhaled quietly in relief.At least she wouldn’t have to explain the oversized male clothes immediately.She dropped her bag on the bed and stared at the room for a second longe
ANNELISE POVA wave of sad feeling settled on my chest as I stood by the microwave waiting for my Mac and cheese to bake, it had been over three months since our arrival to Paris, three months of beautiful moments I could never trade anything to exchange, three months of my life making a total shif
CASSIUS VALE POVAnne winced at the feel of my palm on her wrist, I wanted to shoot myself in the skull, I overreacted, I was harsh on her, I was mad and lost control of myself, my rough grip caused this bruise on her wrist, it looked so pink I could even feel the pain.
ANNELISE POVI lowered my head in embarrassment as Cassius forcefully dragged me to the car, he showed no softness, no mercy this time, I knew that he was enraged by seeing me with Sloan, but I never thought he could be this rough with me.The searing pain of his finger nails piercing into my wrist
Cassius’ hand rested at Annelise’ lower back as they walked through the crowded red carpet, camera flashes flying around. Annelise let out a small smile with her head lowered from the lights, she clung tightly to her bag as they walked into the event hall.“Can I get your name please?” A valet on b







