Chapter 32 Cassian

For the first time in my life, the monster inside me was strangling me with his claws.

I stood in the pack house garden, staring after Bloom’s retreating figure as she stormed away into the darkness. A crushing weight settled in the center of my chest.

Her words still echoed in my head.

In your own words, you let me believe I was free while you had already locked me inside this place. You lied to me.

“Fuck!” I roared. I was furious. Devastated. And for the first time in my life, completely helpless because I had no idea how to fix what we had done.

A growl rose from the darkness deep inside my mind. Axel was beyond enraged. He clawed at the walls of my chest as if he could tear through them and take control by force. His anger wasn’t directed at Bloom.

It was directed at me.

"Follow her!" Axel shouted, his voice crashing through my head like a savage command.

"We have to follow her, Cassian. We have to fix this." His claws dug deeper.

"She’s ours. I’ve been telling you that. For once in your miserable life, listen to me! She’s hurting. She’s heartbroken."

“I know, Axel. I know.”

I tried to force him back, but he refused to retreat. His pain was somehow even greater than mine.

"I want to kill whoever made her cry" he snarled, but for the first time, the ancient wolf inside me sounded broken. "I want to tear apart anyone who hurts her."

His voice cracked with fury. "But we’re the ones who did it."

A violent growl tore through my mind. "Our lies. Your idiotic silence."

His words pierced straight through my chest. I ran toward the trail leading to Bloom’s cabin beneath the cold moonlight. I stayed in human form, but every one of my senses was fully alert.

I followed her silently from a distance, keeping enough space between us that she wouldn’t feel cornered. I moved through the shadows, placing each step carefully enough not to disturb a single leaf.

I only wanted to protect her. To make sure she reached the cabin safely. When we entered the small clearing around it, Bloom suddenly stopped. She didn’t turn around. She didn’t even look in my direction.

Her smooth, steady voice cut through the whispering wind.

“I know you’re following me, Cassian.”

My entire body went still.

“I can smell you.”

She paused.

“Go home.”

My throat tightened. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I had no defense. No explanation that would erase what we had hidden from her. So I said nothing.

At my silence, Bloom straightened her shoulders, walked into the cabin, and slammed the door behind her. The mechanical click of the lock sliding into place felt like a seal closing around my heart. I didn’t leave.

I took shelter beneath the shadow of an old sycamore a short distance from the cabin.

The freezing midnight air brushed against my bare skin as I stood guard, watching from afar.

Inside my mind, the battle with Axel only grew worse.

"Go inside" he demanded, pressing his enormous paws against my consciousness.

"Break down the door. We need to be with her."

“She doesn’t want us, Axel.”

The words left me in a low, pained whisper.

“Can’t you see that? She doesn’t even want to look at us.”

Then the wind shifted. And through the thin wooden walls of the cabin came the most painful sound a wolf could ever hear. Bloom was crying. Not silently. She was sobbing.

The woman who had survived years of pain and loneliness...

The woman who stood in front of the entire pack like an unmovable mountain...

Was breaking apart inside that cabin. The instant the sound reached us, Axel lost control.

His presence crashed into me with so much force that my vision darkened completely.

My fingers curled until my nails dug into my palms. Then Axel threw himself forward. He wasn’t listening anymore. I had no idea how we crossed the distance so quickly.

One moment, I was beneath the tree. The next, we were standing directly in front of her door. Using my body like a weapon, Axel raised my hand and struck the wood hard enough to make the entire frame shake.

“Bloom!”

The voice came from my throat. But it belonged to him. Rough. Ancient. Heavy with the crushing authority of an Alpha. Yet beneath that power was a pain so deep it made the command sound almost desperate.

“Bloom, let me in.”

The sobbing stopped immediately. Silence followed. Then her voice came through the other side of the door, exhausted and raw from crying.

“Axel, please...”

The desperation in her voice tore through both of us.

“Maybe Cassian doesn’t understand. Maybe he can’t hear me.”

She drew in a shaky breath.

“But you can.”

Her voice broke.

“I’m begging you. I want to be alone.”

Axel clenched my jaw and pressed my body closer to the door. He had no intention of leaving. Neither do I.

“It’s time you and I had a conversation, Bloom,” Axel said, determination rumbling beneath every word. “I’ve stayed in the background long enough. I’ve watched the two of you drag out this ridiculous situation from a distance.”

His voice hardened. “But it ends tonight.” A pause. “Open the door.”

“Axel, I said go away!” Bloom shouted. Her voice trembled with anger now.

“If you don’t open this door right now, I swear I’ll tear this place apart and break my way inside.”

Axel poured his full Alpha authority into the threat. A long breath came from inside. Then the lock slowly turned. The door opened only a few inches. Through the narrow gap, I saw Bloom’s swollen red eyes and the final tear slipping down her cheek.

Axel didn’t wait.

He pushed the door open with the back of my hand and stepped into the small, dimly lit cabin. Bloom tried to retreat. He didn’t let her. We closed the distance in one long step.

Axel raised my hand and cupped her delicate cheek. The touch was so careful, so protective, that my fingers barely seemed to brush her skin. He slowly wiped away the wet trail of tears with his thumb.

Bloom stared into our eyes in stunned silence. Then, without seeming to realize it, she leaned into our touch. Axel swelled with pride. And for the first time since she left the garden, something inside me finally eased.

Axel released our full Alpha aura into the room. The scent of blueberries and juniper surrounded every corner of the cabin as his absolute authority filled my voice.

“Sit down, little fox.”

He held her gaze.

“We’re going to talk.”

His thumb brushed once more across her cheek.

“And you’re going to listen to every word.”