Hi, everyone. I made a mistake and posted one chapter twice. I've contacted my editor to clarify the mistake, so that should be deleted soon. I apologize profusely for the inconvenience I've caused. I'm very sorry for making this mistake, and I assure you it will never happen again. Thank you.
LorienI didn’t expect him to come.Cassius.He showed up at the hospital just before sunset, standing in the doorway like a shadow from a past life I’d tried to bury deep.Caius had been fussing in his bed, and Lucian was playing with the hem of my shirt, but the second they saw him, everything stilled.He didn’t say anything at first. Just walked in and picked Caius up like he belonged in his arms.“Seriously?” I asked, crossing my arms. “You don’t care what people will think?”He looked at me, calm—too calm. “Don’t ruin it.”Just like that. No fire. No challenge. No anger. Just… peace.I glanced at Caius, who had settled into his father’s hold with a softness that nearly broke me. His little lips curled into a content smile, eyes half-lidded, and my heart clenched so tightly I had to look away.“Fine,” I muttered. “Let’s go.”The walk home was oddly quiet. The streets weren’t empty. In fact, people were watching—onlookers whispering behind barely-concealed hands, pretending they we
CassiusI woke up drowning in it.Need.Not just desire—need. Raw, clawing, brutal. It had me by the throat the moment my eyes opened, and it hadn't let go since.Lorien.His scent was everywhere—in my sheets, in the fabric of my clothes, under my skin like poison I’d willingly swallowed.I was starving for him.Not just his body, but his presence. His voice. His touch. The way he used to look at me, like I meant something, like I wasn’t just an Alpha but his Alpha.Before I ruined everything.There was movement in the room. A rustle of cloth. A soft clink.A maid.She placed a plate of fruit down on the table, head bowed, her presence small and careful. But she may as well have been a ghost.I didn’t even register her properly. All I could think about was him. The hollow space in my bed where he should’ve been. The echo of his voice from last night, biting and angry and right.What the hell had I been thinking?Julian’s voice rang in my head again like a bitter echo: He’s weak. He’s
LorienWhen I looked up, it felt like Cassius wanted to eat me for dinner.Not literally—though, from the way his eyes roamed, like he was starving and I was the only thing on the menu, it was hard to convince myself otherwise. That heat in his gaze… it was primal. Intense. Possessive.And it did things to me.Things I hated.Every nerve in my body was suddenly awake, tingling and tight and annoyingly aware of him. My throat went dry, my palms were clammy, and worst of all—goddess help me—I could feel myself getting hard.I cursed under my breath and shot to my feet, nearly tripping over the damn hospital chair. “I’m done,” I muttered, brushing invisible lint from my jeans, pretending I wasn’t seconds away from combusting.Cassius smirked like he knew.Of course he knew.He always knew.“If you’re going to play dangerous games, little omega,” he said, voice smooth as velvet and twice as deadly, “you should try not to run like a scaredy cat.”That—that—was enough to make the tick in my
LorienThe words were barely out of my mouth when I saw it.Cassius’s eyes bulged like someone had slapped him with reality—like the air had been sucked out of his lungs and he didn’t know how to breathe again. And for a moment, I hated the way it made me feel. Not relief. Not satisfaction.Just more damn exhaustion.I rubbed the back of my neck, swallowing the bitter taste in my mouth. I was so tired. Since I’d stepped foot in this godforsaken pack, I hadn’t had a single moment to just breathe. Everything was war. Secrets unraveling, pain resurfacing, Cassius showing up like a ghost I never asked to see again.And now this—being forced to spill truths I swore I’d carry to the grave.All while he hadn’t even said—not once—that he wanted them. Not truly. Not because they were his sons. It made me wonder… would he only want them now that they weren’t just normal kids? Now that they were rare, powerful, hunted?But I didn’t have the luxury of options anymore.Caius was dying.And I didn’
CassiusI didn’t want to leave Lucian—not yet. That moment—his faint, hesitant smile—still lingered in my chest like a fragile ember, something too delicate to hold and too sacred to crush. After everything, after the years lost and the distance carved between us like a canyon, that one look from him was the first sign of warmth I’d been given. I held onto it like a dying man clings to breath.But Caius was next.And I wasn’t ready.I reached for the doorknob to his room, hesitated for a heartbeat longer than I should’ve, then pushed it open. The scent of antiseptic stung my nose. The dim light overhead flickered slightly, and the machines around his bed let out steady, rhythmic beeps that did nothing to calm my nerves.And then I saw him.My breath caught.He was worse than Lucian.Caius looked like someone had taken a bat to him and then tossed him off a cliff. Deep bruises bloomed across his jaw, curling around his cheekbone, painting his skin with sickening shades of purple and gr
CassiusWhen I arrived at the hospital, the scent of disinfectant hit me first—sharp and sterile, clinging to the air like it was trying too hard to wash away something rotten. The doctor met me at the hallway, hands clasped behind his back, face unreadable. I hated that look. The one professionals wore when they wanted to say too much and nothing at all.“They’re okay,” he said, nodding toward the direction of their rooms. “But don’t do anything to upset them. Especially the older one. He’s… sensitive right now.”I nodded grimly, jaw tight. My mind spun with thoughts of Lucian. Of that moment in the clearing. Of how cold and empty his eyes had looked when he tried to bleed himself dry in front of me.The guilt stuck to my skin like oil. It made me sick. I clenched my fists and breathed through it.Lucian.He was the one I needed to see first. I had to know what was going on in that head of his—what he was thinking, what he was planning. I was afraid he’d try again. That maybe this ti