LOGINThree days later, they were still trying to figure out raising and caring for a newborn. Cassie would have loved to stay in the hospital until their son was a year old if that were an option. She would have preferred to be in a place where she could be told what to do and when to do it, but unfortunately, they had to go home and figure it out themselves.Aser stood in the middle of the nursery, holding Silas, who was currently wrapped in a swaddle that looked tight enough to restrain a rogue. Aser looked at his son with so much adoration it would melt the coldest heart. It didn't help that Silas was such a beautiful baby boy."He’s vibrating," Aser whispered to Cassie. who was sitting in the nursing chair, trying to figure out a breast pump that looked like a milking machine from a milk farm."He’s purring, Aser," Cassie said; the exhaustion was obvious in her voice. "It means he’s happy.""It sounds like a growl," Aser frowned, bringing the baby closer to his ear. "Is that normal? D
No one could say no to Aser in that state, so it wasn't long before they got Cassie in a private ward and set up all the equipment to ensure a smooth delivery.The delivery room was a battlefield of beeping monitors and sterile blue light headed by Dr. Evans.Cassie was gripping the side rails of her bed so hard her knuckles were white. Her hair was matted with sweat and her face was flushed from exertion."I can't!" Cassie screamed, throwing her head back against the pillow. "I can't do it anymore! It hurts too much!""You can," Dr. Evans said calmly from the foot of the bed. "You are fully dilated, Cassie. The head is crowning. I need you to focus. On the next contraction, I need a big push."Aser stood by the head of the bed. He was wearing blue scrubs, as was normal for visitors. His eyes were wide as if he were the one in labor. Every time Cassie screamed, a low rumble vibrated in Aser’s chest out of empathy. He could feel how much pain she was in from how tightly she clutched h
Two Months LaterAser had never been this bored in his life. Not for lack of anything to do, but because there was no challenge he could look forward to. Ordinarily, he lived for the next challenge. Now, they were at peace, and it wasn't even the type of fragile peace where they had to look out for the other shoe to drop. They had defeated their greatest enemy; now everyone was wary of crossing them.A month after they moved into their beach house, they got married quietly with only Mathew, Miriam, Rayna, and their daughter as witnesses. Currently, he was on the patio handling some work for the company while Cassie sat on a sofa built specifically for her, surrounded by pillows.Her belly was now so big that she currently had a tub of ice cream balanced on it."I am a whale," Cassie announced for the tenth time that day. "A beached whale with heartburn."Aser was quickly by her side. "You are not a whale," Aser said, kissing the top of her head. "You are the most beautiful woman in
Seeing as they couldn't leave in the middle of the night and with the fact that they were all exhausted from the ritual to chase the rot out of Aser, they all slept in the witch's shop. When they woke up one by one the next morning, the sun was fully up. They could also see how badly in shape the sun was in the wake of Aser's wreckage. The splintered floorboards where Aser had ripped the bolts free, the shattered glass of potion jars, and the drying black matter that stained the wood. Aser himself sat on the edge of the cot in the back room. He was conscious, but barely. He looked like a man who had survived a plane crash, which might be the equivalent of what he went through. He was so tired that he could barely hold a glass of water from how badly his hands were shaking. Matthew knelt in front of him, carefully wiping the blood from his chest with a warm cloth. "The transport is outside, Alpha," Matthew said softly. "Alpha Kael has the perimeter secured, so we have privacy."
The back of the armored van was a cage for Aser, yet he didn't stop testing the limit. Aser was strapped to the floor with heavy cargo straps, but he was testing the rip strength with every strength in his body. "Hold him!" Kael grunted, putting his full weight on Aser’s legs. "He's shifting! The bone structure is changing!" Aser let out a sound that tore at Cassie’s heart, a high-pitched whine that morphed into a deep, guttural snarl. His body was burning so hot that steam was rising from his skin in the cool morning air. The black veins were no longer just on his chest, they had reached his face, turning his eyes into dark pools. "Aser, look at me," Cassie pleaded, kneeling just out of reach of his snapping teeth. "It’s Cassie. It’s me." Aser’s head snapped toward her. For a second, there was recognition as his eyes flickered with his original golden flecks. "Run," Aser managed to choke out. The word was mangled, his jaw reshaping itself. "Cassie... run." "I’m not running," Ca
The haze had almost taken over Aser's body before he could discover that the lab they were in wasn't really a lab. It just looked like that at first glance. They were in an altar that Varkov controlled. It was Matthew that took a step back from all the fighting and realized it, but it was already too late to do anything with the information because one of the creatures headed straight for him. Aser ducked under the snapping jaws of one of the abominations. Up close, he realized these weren't wraiths, as he first thought. They were corpses. "They aren't robots!" Aser roared, slashing his knife across the creature’s throat. No blood sprayed—just dust and black matter. "They're thralls! Undead!" Varkov stood on the catwalk above, laughing. He wasn't wearing a lab coat anymore. He had thrown it off to reveal leather robes covered in magical symbols. "Science is just magic explained!" Varkov shouted. "I stitched them together with steel, but I woke them up with the rot! Just like you







