CHAPTER 5

"Well?" Cassian asked. "Are you just going to stand there staring at me?"

What else could I do? I was still in shock from everything that had happened.

Cassian gave me a look that somehow said I was lesser than him and beneath his notice, then he turned to walk away.

Without thinking, I took a step after him.

He paused, then turned to glare at me. His eyes which had been a clear blue before, were now a bewitching amber.

I stopped in my tracks.

He turned away again, and began to walk away.

I took another step after him. Weren't we supposed to talk? Was he just going to leave me here too? Why did everyone abandon me, including this stranger?

Before I could finish that thought, an unbelievable weight slammed into me and shoved me against a wall.

My head rang as it hit the concrete, and I felt sharp claws slightly digging into my neck.

My eyes were wide as I stared at Cassian in fear. His canines were extended and so we're his claws. He towered over me, and I realized that since he was holding me by my neck, my feet were dangling a few inches off the floor.

His grip was tight, choking me.

He snarled in my face, and when he spoke this time, his voice was imposed on another voice. His wolf was out.

"Stay away from me" he growled, shaking me slightly. "Or you'll lose your neck. Understand?"

His grip tightened even more painfully, crushing my windpipe. Blood trailed eon my neck from where his claws pierced my skin.

I was running out of breath, and my fingers tried to loosen his grip futilely. I nodded frantically, terror coursing through my veins.

"Wrath!" A sharp voice said.

We both turned, to see Alpha William standing in the door way. Mom and Dad were behind him.

"Set her down!" Alpha William said.

Cassian — Wrath — growled one last time, then his grip loosened, and I fell to the floor, clutching my neck and gasping.

I guessed Wrath was the name of Cassian's wolf. It was fitting. I was terrified.

He stormed away, and Alpha William hurried to my side and helped me back up to my feet. He examined the wound on my neck.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly. "Did he hurt you more than this?"

I shook my head, still gasping for breath. I was crying again, but this time it was out of fear, not despair.

Alpha William looked skeptical as he stared at me. "Are you sure you want to go ahead with this, Iris? You don't have to do this if—"

"Of course she wants to," Mom cut him off, coming to stand at my side. She took my hand and gave it a small squeeze, a fake smile on her face. "Iris understands that the sacrifice she's making is for the good of the pack. She's happy with it."

Alpha William stepped back. "Okay. As long as she isn't being forced into it."

Mom squeezed my hand so tight I felt my bones grind together. The message was clear. One word from me, and I would regret it.

Dad stepped forward and shook Alpha William's hand.

"Well, we'll be going now. See you in a few weeks."

Alpha William nodded, and watched as Mom and Dad led me back to the car.

I didn't understand. I thought they were going to leave me in the pack, but I was going back with them? Was the alliance canceled?

"What happened?" I asked when Dad began to drive away.

"There was a change in plans," Mom answered for him. "The alliance contract has already been prepared, but we decided to sign it in the day of your wedding to Cassian."

"What?"

"You heard me," she said. "Cassian and Alpha William will be coming to our pack within the week. That's where the wedding will happen, and when the papers will be signed."

"Even after you saw what Cassian did to me, you still want me to marry him?" I asked, incredulous.

"You're so selfish, Iris," Mom reprimanded. "Stop thinking of yourself for once, and think of the hundreds of people who will benefit from this alliance. People are dying at the borders every day. Silver Creek warriors and Red Moon warriors fight at every chance they get. Our economy is suffering. Do you want that to continue? Why can't you understand that you're doing this for the good of both packs?"

Maybe I would be more sympathetic to their cause if it wouldn't result in my death, I thought snidely.

"I don't see you making your precious Julietta marry a monster," I said.

Dad sped around a sharp curve in the road.

"Don't bring this up again," Mom snapped. "Julietta is going to be the alpha of the pack when your father steps down. She can't risk her life and the future of the pack by marrying that man!"

"Then why me!" I shouted. "Why me? And don't you give me that crap about not having a wolf or not being the heir! I had a wolf! I was strong! I could have been the heir, and if you truly didn't see anything wrong with marrying Cassian Stone, then you would have let Julietta do it instead of stealing my wolf from me and giving it to her! Why do you hate me so much?!"

The car swerved, and tires screeched. Mom and I turned to Dad, who was wrestling with the wheel, a bead of sweat on his forehead.

"What's happening?" Mom asked in a panicked voice. "Hugo, slow down!" 

"I'm trying!" Dad shouted. "I don't know what's happening!"

We were approaching another bend in the road, and the car seemed to be speeding up instead of slowing down.

"Slow down!" Mom yelled again.

We hit the bend fast, and Dad overcompensated, trying to stay in the middle of the road. The car spun out of control and somersaulted.

I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I heard the sound of glass shattering and I was thrown forward through the windshield. Someone was screaming.

I tumbled across the road, hot pain shooting up my body as bones broke.

When I finally stopped falling, I was in so much pain it was excruciating. There was silence. The smell of smoke tickled my nostrils. With difficultly, I turned myself, looking for my parents.

The car was lying on its side a short distance away from me.

Smoke was leaking from the undercarriage, and as I watched, flames appeared, and began to lick its way up, engulfing the vehicle.

"No!" I cried. Mom and Dad were still in there. "No!"

I couldn't stand up. My leg was twisted at an unnatural angle. I kept watching, waiting for them to climb out of the car. They didn't.

The explosion came next, flinging parts of the car in all directions with a loud boom.

A heavy piece of metal flew towards me and slammed into my head, knocking me unconscious.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that I was chained, and in a cell of some kind.

My leg, arm, and ribs were throbbing, but bandaged.

Two guards were standing at the entrance to my cell. I recognized them. Which meant I was back in my pack.

"What... What happened?" I croaked. "What am I doing here? Where...my parents...."

It all came rushing back to me, and I choked back a sob.

One of the guards sneered. "Save your tears for someone who would actually believe it," he said. "We know you're behind what happened. Because of you, the Alpha and Luna are dead, and Silver Creek has pulled out of the alliance, saying they've been betrayed."

"W-what? What are you saying?"

"We always knew you were bitter," the other guard said. "But doing something like this? You deserve what's coming to you. I'd say my last prayers if I were you, but the Moon Goddess won't hear you."

"What are you talking about?" I begged. "I didn't do anything, please."

"The new Alpha and Luna have set the date for your execution," they said. "You're guilty of murder and treason."