Chapter 13 Bloom

When classes ended the next day, Ivy approached me with a hesitant smile.

"Want to go shopping?" she asked. "It feels like we haven't spent any real time together lately."

I didn't say no. I wanted to break through the strange wall of secrets that had formed between us. More than that, I needed something normal. One afternoon where we could just be two girls hanging out instead of me constantly obsessing over Cassian and every confusing thing he'd done over the last two days.

We had barely reached the school entrance when we ran into the last people I wanted to see.

Cassian and Fiona stood near the front doors, both of them surrounded by that same untouchable air they always carried. The second Fiona noticed us, she slowed down. Her eyes swept over me with open contempt before that famous fake smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, Bloom," she said in a high, sugary voice. "Cassian and I were just heading out shopping." Her gaze moved over my clothes. "You look like you might be going into town too." She smiled wider. "Just be careful. Places like that can be a little overwhelming for someone so... ordinary."

The version of myself I'd promised to become yesterday immediately straightened her shoulders. I met her eyes without flinching. "Ordinary can be the safest place to be, Fiona." I gave her a pleasant smile. "And my plans have nothing to do with you."

My gaze sharpened. "You seem unusually interested in me even though you said it's ordinary."

Her smile cracked. The muscles in her face tightened as she prepared to snap back. Before she could, Cassian turned toward her. His icy blue eyes carried the force of a winter storm. Fiona faltered.

"Whatever," she muttered. "Let's just go somewhere else, babe." She reached for his arm. Cassian didn't move an inch. Instead, he calmly pulled his arm from her grasp.

"You should go." His voice was smooth, cold, and completely final. "I have other things to take care of."

Fiona stared at him. "Are you serious?"

Cassian didn't even look at her. His attention had already settled on me. Fiona spun on her heel and stormed away, her steps sharp with anger.

A second later, Kai appeared from around the corner of the building and headed toward us. "Shopping?" he asked, grinning. "I'm coming too. No way I'm missing this."

His easy tone managed to loosen some of the tension hanging in the air. Cassian said nothing. He simply began walking behind us. The moment his scent reached me -fresh blueberries and juniper- my heartbeat picked up in that familiar, humiliating way.

But I kept the promise I'd made to myself. I didn't turn around. Not even once.

***

We entered one of the larger boutiques downtown, and Ivy immediately dragged me toward the clothing racks.

Kai collapsed onto one of the couches near the fitting rooms and disappeared into his phone like the rest of the world no longer existed.

Cassian stayed near the entrance. He leaned against a column with his arms folded over his chest, watching us like a stone statue assigned to guard the store.

Ivy pulled an emerald-green dress from the rack and shoved it into my hands. The fabric was tight and elegant, with an entirely open back. "Bloom, you have to try this on."

I stared at it. "Have to?"

"Absolutely." She pushed me toward the fitting room before I could protest.

I slipped into the dress. The fabric clung to me like a second skin. When I stepped out, Ivy gasped dramatically. "Oh my God, Bloom." Her eyes widened. "You look incredible. That color makes your eyes stand out so much."

"I don't know."

I turned toward the mirror. "Is the open back a bit too daring?"

As I studied my reflection, my gaze shifted to the image behind me. Cassian had straightened from the column. His eyes were fixed on me. More specifically...

On the bare skin of my back. Even through the mirror, I could see the raw intensity in his expression. It was wild. Dark. Completely unrestrained.

I could almost feel the wolf inside him pulling against its chains. I pretended not to notice. I smoothed my hands over the dress and smiled at Ivy. But I was the only one who knew how hot my skin had become beneath his stare.

Ivy tried on a soft lilac dress next. The fabric was light and flowing, moving around her legs when she turned in front of the mirror. "What do you think?"

"You look beautiful." I smiled. "Sweet and elegant. It's completely you."

She laughed and tossed her hair over one shoulder. Kai didn't even bother looking up from his phone. "Looks great," he mumbled. "Can we eat now? I'm starving."

Ivy rolled her eyes at him. I returned to the fitting room and changed, but I could still feel the weight of Cassian's dark, claiming gaze against my bare skin.

***

After shopping, we stopped at a busy café a short distance from the boutique. We were in the middle of a conversation when I glanced toward the entrance. The moment I recognized the person walking inside, a genuine smile spread across my face. John.

An old friend from high school. "John!"

He turned at the sound of my voice. His expression lit up immediately when he saw me. "Bloom?" He hurried over to our table. "I can't believe it. It's so good to see you." He dropped into the empty chair beside me.

Within seconds, we were caught up in an easy conversation, laughing over old memories, former teachers, and everything that had happened back in high school. It felt familiar. Simple. Normal. John laughed and placed a hand on my arm, giving it a light squeeze.

"I've really missed you, Bloom." He smiled. "We never see each other anymore. We should change that."

The exact second his hand touched me... The atmosphere at the table changed. It became so heavy it felt like lead pressing against my chest. Beneath all the noise in the café, a sound rose low enough that no normal human should have been able to hear it.

A deep, predatory growl. The sound vibrated through my bones. I slowly looked up. Cassian's fists were clenched beneath the table. His knuckles had turned white. His jaw was locked so tightly that the muscle along it looked ready to snap. The growl rumbling from his chest seemed to strike directly against my senses.

His blue eyes were fixed on John's hand where it rested on my arm. The look on his face suggested he wanted to tear it off. Kai and Ivy noticed at the same time. Their eyes met in a quick flash of panic.

Kai kicked Cassian hard under the table. The relaxed expression he usually wore disappeared for one brief second. Cassian's Alpha aura intensified until the glass of water in front of him began to tremble.

That primitive, barely controlled reaction breathed life into the small flame of hope I'd been trying to extinguish. He was jealous. Not slightly annoyed. Not uncomfortable. Jealous enough to lose control in the middle of a crowded cafe.

I smiled at John and continued the conversation as though I hadn't noticed anything. But my heart was pounding hard enough to hurt. A few minutes later, Cassian pushed his chair back without saying a word.

He stood, gave the table a brief nod, and strode out of the café with the sharp, predatory movements of a wolf barely holding itself together. The suffocating pressure eased the moment he left. Not long after, Ivy glanced toward the windows.

"It's getting late," she said. "We should probably head home before it gets any darker." We said goodbye to John and left.

***

By the time I turned onto the isolated dirt road leading toward my cabin, night had completely settled over the woods. Without warning, the hair on the back of my neck rose. Just like it had that day in the forest. Someone was watching me. There were no footsteps. No movement I could identify. And strangely...

No fear.

Every one of my senses whispered that I wasn't alone, but nothing inside me believed I was in immediate danger. I didn't slow down. Instead, I focused on everything around me. Every rustling leaf. Every shifting branch. Every shadow between the trees.

I continued toward home while part of my mind tried to determine whether someone was following me.

The rest kept drifting back to Cassian. His fierce protectiveness last night. The dark way he'd watched me in the boutique. The primal jealousy he'd shown in the cafe. Why was he so inconsistent?

If he was truly with Fiona, why had John -a harmless high school friend- nearly driven him out of his mind? There was something much larger hiding behind that possessive stare. Something I didn't understand. He'd told me my life wasn't ordinary.

Was it possible that my life had collided with his world in some dangerous way I hadn't discovered yet? When I finally stepped inside my cabin and locked the door, I released a long breath and dropped my bags to the floor. Cassian Blade was hiding something enormous beneath the surface of his world. And somehow...

I was standing directly at the center of it. But I didn't have the strength to keep digging on my own. Not anymore. Until he came to me and told me the truth himself, I wasn't taking another step toward him.

I showered and changed into comfortable clothes. When I finally climbed into bed, the faint memory of blueberries still lingered in my nose. Surrounded by unanswered questions, I slowly fell asleep.