LOGINCassian and I were quiet as he led me out of the house. We walked through one of the paths that led into the pack, but this time, we went through more woods with houses and cottages interspersed through.
Cassian walked to one of these cottages and knocked on the door. "Come in," a faint, female voice said from inside. He stepped aside, and gestured for me to go in, holding the door open for me. I wanted to ask if he wouldn't come in with me, but decided it didn't matter. I wanted answers too much. I stepped into the house. An old lady was sitting in an armchair that looked full to bursting, and a half crocheted blanket was in her lap. Balls of yarn sat on the floor beside her. She gave me a smile as I walked in, and I tried and failed to return it. "Good morning," I said. "What can I do fCassian and I were quiet as he led me out of the house. We walked through one of the paths that led into the pack, but this time, we went through more woods with houses and cottages interspersed through. Cassian walked to one of these cottages and knocked on the door. "Come in," a faint, female voice said from inside. He stepped aside, and gestured for me to go in, holding the door open for me. I wanted to ask if he wouldn't come in with me, but decided it didn't matter. I wanted answers too much. I stepped into the house. An old lady was sitting in an armchair that looked full to bursting, and a half crocheted blanket was in her lap. Balls of yarn sat on the floor beside her. She gave me a smile as I walked in, and I tried and failed to return it. "Good morning," I said. "What can I do f
"Hugo isn't your father." I stared at the other three occupants of the room, wondering if this was their idea of a practical joke. It wasn't funny at all. "You really didn't know?" Max asked. Cassian looked serious. He was staring at me as if he also couldn't believe that I didn't know. "Okay, okay," I said, making a timeout gesture with my hands. "You can cut it out now. Seriously. It's not funny anymore. And really, how can you even make a joke like that? In what situation is it funny?" "It's not—" Lily started to say. I cut her off. "No. Max, I don't know what you may have heard about my parents, but it wasn't true. They weren't assholes who hurt me or anything. And whatever their faults may have been, they were still my parents. You don't get to say something like that to me just because you don't like them!" "Iris, we're not lying," Max insisted. "Everyone knows about this. You can go out there and ask
The next morning, Max and Lily came over. Iris was still asleep, and I'd just started preparing breakfast when I heard the front door open. Max appeared a second later, laughing at something Lily had said. I glared at them both. "What do you want?" Lily rolled her eyes at my tone. "Hello, Cassian. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed, as usual?" My glare intensified at her preppy tone. Lily was Sage's best friend, so she was used to seeing me angry. Which meant like Max, they never took me seriously until Wrath took control. "What are you two doing here?" I demanded. "We came to hang out," Max announced. "Hang out," I repeated. "Since when do you "hang out" here?" "Since Iris arrived," he replied. "She's our friend now." "Get out," I ordered, pointing a stiff finger in the direction of the door. "Who's going out?" Iris mumbled, stepping into the kitchen and rubbing her eyes
"What?" "You're going into heat," Cassian repeated. I frowned, my brows furrowing. "What are you talking about? Why do you think that?" "I don't just think it. I know it," he said. "I can smell it on you." Whoa. I took a step back, then tried to surreptitiously sniff myself. I couldn't smell anything. "You don't know what you're talking about. There's no way I could be going into heat." No way. Not right now. I just discovered Cassian was my mate when? A few days ago? And now, heat? Right. Cassian's nose must not be working right. "There is," he insisted. "I know the scent of pheromones." "You don't know the scent of my pheromones," I mumbled, glancing down. No one does, because I haven't been in heat before. "I do now," he said. "And I can feel their effect on me." My eyes widened, and I glanced down at his crotch, unable to stop myself. It looked normal to me. N
I felt a bit horrible at the silence that followed us home. The day had been going just fine till I went and ruined it. I hadn't even realized that I'd somehow begun to refer to Cassian's house as "home." "So... What are you doing after now?" I asked in an effort to rekindle the conversation. Cassian shrugged. "I might go to the office. I have a few documents that need looking into. Also, I'll drop by the hospital to see how Barry's doing." I flushed at the mention of Barry. "I'll go with you, if you don't mind," I said quietly. "I have to apologize to Barry for knocking him out." Cassian smiled a bit, and nodded. He held the front door open and I walked in. My stomach rumbled. "Jeez. I'm hungry again," I mumbled. "Want me to whip you up something?" Cassian asked. I shook my head. "You've been doing all the cooking since I came. Toda
"Our tour is almost coming to an end," Cassian said. "Really? Have we really seen everything?" "Well, no. But apart from taking you to see the fields, people's homes, and our resident oracle, I'm afraid there's not much else." My eyebrows almost shot into my hairline. "You guys have an oracle?" Cassian smiled a bit. "Something like that. She's not a witch or anything. She just says she's psychic. She's a weird old lady." I playfully bumped into him with my shoulder. "That's a mean thing to say, Cassian." He laughed. "No, it's not. It's just the truth. There's nothing wrong in being a weird old lady. I bet you'll be a weird old lady." "I will not!" I said indignantly. "Mm. Sure," he teased. Without realizing what I was doing, I reached out and pinched his arm as tightly as I could. Cassian flexed his muscles but didn't







