Chapter 12 - A slip of the mask

“Your brother is an asshole.”

“True, but why today?” Alex laid on her bed, already dressed for the ball, wearing a slick black bodycon dress that hugged every muscle she had carved through her training.

“He just is.” Cassy grumbled under her breath. “He wants me to rat on Katie so he can disqualify her.”

“Why don’t you?”

She snorted. “Apparently, I already have a target on my back. I don’t need to draw it any bigger.” 

As she spoke, Cassy swapped the plastic medical gloves her mum had given her for silk elbow length gloves that matched her dress, her eyes flickering to Alex in the mirror to make sure her friend didn’t see how healed her hands were. She had been forcing herself to move slow and wince occasionally, so Alex didn’t notice any change, but the warrior would definitely have questions if the burns from the branches were completely gone from her palms. No amount of hot springs exposure would heal wounds like that in half a day. No, she’d have to keep her hands hidden for a couple of days at least.

“Maybe you should drop out.” 

“What?” Cassy spun on her friend, who already had her hands up in defence.

“I’m just saying, Cass. Do you really think Katie is going to stop at one thing? That one thing being pushing you off a fucking cliff by the way. I get why you don’t want to snitch, but Goddess, have some self-preservation, will you.” She sighed at Cassy’s glare. “I know you’re doing this for Zac, but something feels off with you two. Did something happen?”

“What do you mean?” Though she asked, Cassy felt a prickle on her skin.

“I don’t know. Just Off.” Alex sighed. “He’s been acting differently recently, haven’t you noticed? Hanging out with us less, being around the lads.” The sneered words carried the weight of all the rants and lectures she’d given Cassy about the men and traditions of Ash Mount. “I mean, yes, he helped out earlier, but he didn’t stick around to see you wake up nor has he been back to check you're okay. Our Zac, your Zac, would’ve stayed, duties be damned.” Cassy stayed quiet and let her friend continue. To hear her out, but also because no part of her could deny it. “Coming of age changes things, Cass, and I don’t like what I’m seeing. I haven’t liked it for a while. Is this new Zac really worth competing for?”

“Of course he is. And he isn’t a new Zac. He’s just... Zac.”

“The Zac I know would’ve claimed you before the Trials to force the pack’s hand.”

“He just wanted to wait and see if we were fated.” 

“Which I’m guessing you’re not.” Alex crooked an eyebrow. “So, what, he told you to compete to become his chosen mate, rather than just claim you? I don’t know, Cass, it sounds...”

“Like a smart thing to do to get the pack’s acceptance?” She snapped.

“No. It sounds fishy. Like all kinds of fishy.”

Cassy didn’t know what to say. She had noticed a change in him, had done for a few months, but chalked it up to him stepping up in the pack. Every wolf gets more responsibilities when they reach 25. It’s just the way it is. That didn’t mean he wasn’t her Zac anymore. Did it? How different could becoming the Beta make someone?

A twisting gnaw pulled at her stomach, and Cassy turned away from her friend as she blinked back watering eyes. It had just been a long day, and she was looking forward to a long rest before the next Trial.

As if Alex could read her weary expression, she added. “The strength Trial is tomorrow, Cass. It’s going to be announced at the ball.”

Nausea added to her twisting gut. “So soon? Why?”

Alex shrugged, finally getting off the bed to stand behind her. Cassy lifted her hair while her friend zipped up the back of her dress. “No idea. I think Jace wants the Trials over with as soon as possible.”

A week of rest just turned into one night, a late night at that, with the performance of the ball to get through. Thankfully, Alex had agreed to let her stay in her room in the packhouse, so she wouldn’t have to wobble her way down the mountain after a few glasses of wine. Still, how was she supposed to feign injury tomorrow while staying in the running? Almost 50 women successfully completed the first Trial, earning their spot in the next, all of which had some sort of training to be able to conquer the mountain race. They wouldn’t be so easy to beat in a fight, let alone one she’d have to fight with a feigned handicap. Cassy just hoped her hard-won advantage would help her. Whatever it was.

Arms wrapped around her as Alex settled her chin on Cassy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there, making sure Katie behaves. Just make sure to keep your dagger on you.”

Cassy winked and flashed her thigh through the slit of her dress. Tucked as high up as she could fit it, the quartz-handled dagger sat in a holster strapped to her leg. 

Alex whistled. “Just when I thought this dress couldn’t get any sexier.”

“My mum does have good taste.” Cassy laughed, running her hands over the emerald silken fabric to smooth out any bumps. 

It fit her perfectly, bunched at her waist and slipping around her curves as if daring the gaze of any onlooker to follow its fall. It was far from the usual hoodies and jeans she wore, but it was her birthday, and she had had a shit day. She deserved to feel good for once. The only small lace of bitterness to the moment was a quiet, deep part of her mourning her copper locks. They’d really pop against the green.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked.

Recovering her smile, Cassy met her friend’s gaze in the mirror. “Oh nothing, I just wish I had dark eyes like you to really complete my Ash Mount look.” 

Alex smiled, mouth open, about to speak, when a darkness spread through Cassy’s irises. Like a drop of ink in water, the colour spread until her eyes were pure black. They both flinched. The colour was a stark difference to her usual green and Cassy half expected black blood to drip from her tear ducts like she had been possessed or something.

A feeling that was rapidly becoming familiar simmered in the air. Cassy looked to Alex, who was frozen, mid gape at the mirror. Time had slowed again with the sharp spike of Cassy’s heartrate, giving her mind time to catch up to what the hell was happening. For the second time that day she floundered through the possibilities, but that was her clue. She had two bloodline abilities to manifest, and she thought she just saw the second one.

Meeting strange eyes in the mirror, Cassy went over the last few minutes, trying to pinpoint what had happened.

I wished it. She thought. I wished something and it happened.

Not only were her eyes dark, they were Ash Mount dark. Like Alex’s, like Zac’s, like Jace’s. Just like she had pretended to want moments ago. 

Her attention flickered to her hair. What she wouldn’t give to see her copper locks again, to crack her mask a little and see herself as she truly was. The girl hidden beneath forced behaviours and enhanced hair dye. The girl she hadn’t seen since she was a pup.

Cassy stopped herself. Alex was right there, and she didn’t understand the ability enough to try and use it again. Not yet. She didn’t even know what exactly caused it. Was it just a wish? Did that mean she could wish for anything? Or was it specific? Maybe it was just her eyes changing colour, for some reason? But what use was that? The abilities manifested was there to protect the wolf, to protect the bloodline. How did changing her eye colour, something she could achieve with a tinted contact lens, help her?

Cassy didn’t have time to follow her thought spiral about her second, and final, ability. Well, she did, actually. Alex was mid-blink, making the milliseconds pass like minutes, but the more important problem was etched into her friend’s frozen horror. Alex had seen. Cassy scrambled to think of an excuse, a reason to explain the sudden dark eyes, and then decided to take a gamble. Imagining what she wanted to see in the mirror, she thought to herself;

I wish for my green eyes back. 

At once, the darkness faded from her irises until not a trace of shadow played amongst the green. Then, she prayed to the Moon Goddess that Alex hadn’t been paying attention and willed time to pass normally again.

Cassy started blinking fast. “Ouch,” she covered her eye. “A bug just flew into my eye.”

As if Alex hadn’t heard a thing, her friend spun her on the spot, wide-eyed and panicked. She cupped Cassy’s face, angling her head one way then the other.

“What the fuck was that? A side effect of the treatment? Should I call your mum?”

“What do you mean? It was just a bug.” Cassy gentle pushed Alex’s hand away and smiled. “See, it’s gone now.” She batted her eyelashes.

“The hell are you talking about, Cass? Your eyes just turned black. Black! That’s not normal.”

As much as she hated it, Cassy forced herself to frown. “What do you mean? Like a shadow?”

“No, Cass. Actually black.” Alex growled. “Why the fuck am I explaining this, you saw it too. You reacted, I know you saw it.”

Cassy breath faltered for a moment, and she swallowed the lump building in her throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Alex. It was just a bug.”

The hurt that flashed across her friend’s face stung, but Cassy held her forced smile. She braced herself for a lash of anger, for more denials, but Alex searched her expression instead. 

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Is this it, Cass? The thing you won’t tell me. The thing that makes you hide yourself, even after all these years?” She stepped closer. “You can trust me, Cass. Whatever it is, I’m your friend.”

There was an ache in Alex’s voice that resonated deep in Cassy’s bones. A few simple words or a brief release of her pheromones would explain everything her friend wanted to know, but Cassy had kept her secret locked away all her life. Keeping it was survival. Even from Alex. Though the warrior looked at her as if she was a breath away from finding out the truth.

Once again, the truth coated Cassy’s tongue, but tension seized her, reminding her of that night, of how much her mother had lost to protect them. It washed the truth away with lies that were inherent to her nature after all those years, even if she hated every single one.

“I don’t hide, silly. See, I’m right here.” Cassy stepped away, grin in place, but a cold chill swept over her as Alex’s expression hardened.

Her friend stared at her, truly stared, her expression flipping from hurt to anger so quick, it seemed like the pain had never been there at all. “20 years of friendship and you still don’t trust me.”

Without another word, Alex left, leaving a shaken Cassy behind to curse the bloodline that trapped her and her mum in lies.