Chapter 2: As Much as I Do

Cassian POV

I slammed the document the Council had just sent onto the desk.

The Council’s seal was stamped across the first page.

Contingency Heir Plan.

The Council wanted me to name a contingency heir from one of Blackthorn’s collateral bloodlines.

They hadn’t even confirmed whether Iris was pregnant yet.

I left the line blank.

“Prepare a report.”

The attendant standing beside the desk looked up at once.

“On every decision the Council has made in the past five years.”

“Every decision that affected Blackthorn’s internal affairs.” I looked at the document on the desk. “Find the ones that exceeded their authority.”

“Yes, Lord Cassian.”

“Send it to the Council.”

I paused.

“Tell them I expect their answer in two days.”

The attendant bowed his head in acknowledgment.

On the surface, they had shown me enough respect.

They had not touched Rowan’s Alpha title, and they had even placed the power to choose the backup heir in my hands.

But I would not write down a single name.

The name itself did not matter.

The act of making the “choice” was what mattered.

It would become the most useful tool in the Council’s hands.

The anger in my chest did not ease.

Not only because the Council had begun testing Blackthorn’s limits.

But because a full month had passed and there was still no word from Rowan.

Even I could not find him.

“Tell Gideon to widen the search. Send another team north to help him.”

“Yes, Lord Cassian.”

He turned toward the door.

A knock sounded before he reached it.

“Lord Cassian, Luna Iris is here.”

“Let her in.”

Iris walked in.

A few minutes later, she had already finished laying out an entire set of insane proposals in my study.

First she had lied about being pregnant.Then she had asked me to help preserve that lie. And now she had set her sights on my bloodline itself.

I had thought my answer was clear enough.

“Go back to your room, Iris.”

She did not move.

“I said no.”

“I know.”

She remained where she was.

“I haven’t finished.”

I almost laughed.

She actually seemed to believe she still had something left to put on the table that would be enough to change my mind.

“Then finish and go.”

Iris stopped circling the point.

“Do you remember how many Blackthorn wolves you sent to protect Ashborne’s mines?”

“Careful.”

“Was I wrong? How many of them never came back?”

My fingers slowly tightened against the desktop.

Of course I remembered.

I had not forgotten a single one of the wolves who never made it back to Blackthorn.

Iris did not wait for me to answer.

“They died securing an alliance that gave Blackthorn access to our iron.”

“If my marriage ends with Rowan, what they died to secure starts falling apart with it.”

She took a step forward.

“You can find another Pack with iron.”

“But the Packs rich enough to replace Ashborne are strong enough to protect themselves.”

“They have no reason to give you the same terms we did.”

“Some of them already see Blackthorn as a rival.”

“How many more wolves are you willing to lose securing the next agreement?”

The last trace of amusement disappeared from my face.

Iris continued.

“And if Rowan never comes back, Blackthorn will still need an heir.”

“The child wouldn’t be Rowan’s.”

“But he would still be a Blackthorn.”

“Your blood.”

I raised my eyes.

“A child can inherit a title. He cannot rule a Pack.”

“You can.”

“If Rowan is ever confirmed dead, the child becomes the heir.”

“Until he’s old enough to lead, Blackthorn stays in your hands.”

She clearly thought that was something I wanted.

I did not correct her.

“And I’m not asking you to do this for nothing.”

“If this child keeps Ashborne under Blackthorn’s protection, my father will increase Blackthorn’s share of our iron.”

“He can call it a gift for his grandchild.”

“You keep Ashborne.”

“The succession stays in your bloodline.”

“If Rowan never comes back, the Pack stays in your hands.”

“And I need this child tonight.”

“You need it as much as I do.”

The chair scraped sharply against the floor as I stood.

Iris did not move.

I came around the desk and stopped in front of her.

Up close, her eyes were lighter than I remembered, a clear gray-green. There was tension in them, but she held my gaze.

“Do I?”

She said nothing.

“Do you know what you are asking for?”

“You came to your husband’s uncle and asked him to fuck you.”

At last, something shifted in Iris’s face.

“I know.”

The room went quiet.

For several seconds, neither of us moved.

She did not look away.

That should have made it easier to send her away.

But everything she had said was still sitting there between us.

I looked back at the document on the desk.

The Contingency Heir Plan.

There was no need even to wait for Rowan to return.

One child would be enough to change the entire situation.

The people who thought Rowan’s disappearance would corner me probably would not like that child very much.

“You really did think of everything.”

“For my family, I have to.”

I looked at her.

“Then did you think about what happens if I agree and your husband comes back?”

For the first time, a crack appeared in her certainty.

Iris lowered her head.

Her hand at her side slowly curled into a fist.

“Of course I have.”

She paused for several seconds.

“I still want him to come back.”

I watched her for a few seconds.

One corner of my mouth barely moved.

“Did you think about what happens if anyone finds out?”

Iris raised her head again.

The brief hesitation had already vanished from her eyes.

“I can put it in writing.”

“That this was my request. That you never forced me.”

“If it’s discovered, I’ll take responsibility.”

“But I need you to protect two things.”

“Ashborne.”

“And the child.”

“If you protect them, whatever this costs me won’t be wasted.”

I did not answer immediately.

Several seconds later, I repeated the word she had just used.

“Wasted?”

I let out a low, cold laugh.

“You really don’t like wasting anything, do you?”

Iris did not deny it.

I looked her over again.

She calculated more carefully than I had expected, and she was more willing to pay the price.

At least she was not like certain people.

They had already been given everything, and still managed to waste it all.

I said nothing more.

The study remained silent for a long time.

At last, I walked back to the desk.

I closed the Contingency Heir Plan and pushed it aside.

“If this happens, it happens under my rules.”

Hope flared in Iris’s eyes.

“The iron stays under the original agreement.”

“As for what you asked, you have my word.”

Iris’s eyes widened slightly.

She looked at me for another second.

“No one knows.”

“If Rowan comes back, the child remains his.”

She looked at me.

“On every record. To everyone else.”

She did not argue.

“I agreed to give you a child.”

I waited until her eyes met mine.

“That’s all.”

“I won’t ask for anything else. You don’t owe me anything else.”

“You can stop at any point.”

“Once you’re pregnant, this ends.”

“Don’t expect more from me.”

I let the silence sit between us for several seconds.

“Those are my rules.”

“You can still leave.”

Iris did not hesitate.

“I’ll stay.”

She remained where she was, her gaze steady.

I remained standing behind the desk.

I kept my eyes on her.

“Then take off your dress.”