-CASSIAN-"EXCUSE ME, I will go talk with him," Ryan said urgently as everyone watched Cassian stalk out of the room. He hurried out of the room. "Wait up," he called.When he caught up with Cassian, he asked, "What was that all about?""I said what I felt," Cassian said. "And I don't want the gift, I rejected it. Easy as that. In fact, I was wrong about this pack," He looked around. "We are going to invade and take over. Gather the men, we're going home.""Cassian," Ryan said with a frown. "You know I am all with you, whatever your decision. I will fight beside you no matter the war, but I think this pack has gone out of their way to make you feel welcome for peace. You should give them the benefit of the doubt. Accept the gift, take her back to the pack, fuck her when you wish until you find your mate -"Cassian tuned out after that. His mate...He knew how mates were found. They were usually drawn to each other by an irresistible scent, just like the floral vanilla from the girl.C
CASSIAN"AS YOU CAN see, we are not a small pack by any means," Beta Sylvester said, chuckling with pride. "And we have some of the best warriors."Cassian chuffed, unimpressed."Try to smile," Ryan urged through the mindlink, but Cassian ignored. His brain reminded him of the scent that wafted into his nose a few minutes ago, and he sighed in contentment."Welcome to the pack hall," Sylvester said. "And you are our honored guest."Cassian looked around the hall. It was decorated with round tables, each with 4 chairs. There were a lot of people present, eating and drinking."Come, I will introduce you to our alpha, the future alpha and Luna," Sylvester said.Cassian reluctantly followed."The hall is impressive, though," Ryan muttered."More impressive than their defense," Cassian agreed. "I would cut through all of them without even breaking a sweat.""Ah, look. Our guests are here," Alpha Robert said loudly. "Let us welcome Cassian Lancaster." He paused for dramatic effect, then add
-CASSIAN LANCASTER- "YOU LOOK LIKE you are being sent to a death sentence." Cassian Lancaster, the famous warrior alpha, snorted. "Shut up, Ryan." He said, adjusting his sleeves. "I am your Beta and best friend, Cassian," The blonde man called Ryan said with a lopsided smile. "I have seen you through many things, I have seen the look on your face before every war we have fought together... and I must say, your face today is worse than any of those days." "Maybe because I am literally being forced to go attend some stupid ceremony," Cassian snarled. "You are not being forced," Ryan replied. "But it would be wise to accept the peace that the pack of Blackspire is offering." "We are not scared of them," Cassian said. "We are good with or without the peace treaty." "Yes, we are," Ryan said, coming up behind Cassian with a jacket. "But we will be better with peace with them. Besides, you might find a wife there. That won't be a bad thing, we need a Luna here." "My mother is there t
LIORA BROOKSTHE PAST FEW weeks could be a fairytale for me as I lived in the pack house. I was still ostracized by most of my peers as they believed what Natalie said to them, but I was not bothered by any of those. My life had gotten considerably better. I remained in the pack house, I didn’t even leave the small assigned to me. My meals were brought to me, the only face I saw almost every evening was Robert Jr.He came to my room and kept me company. I hated to admit it but I was starting to fall for him. It was more than a crush. It was how I would imagine love to feel. I always had a nagging thought at the back of my head that he was betrothed to my cousin, and they would be mated. There was no space for him, but I could not help myself.Every day, I looked forward to the evening when he would come to chat or teach me how to play his video games. But even though we were friends, I still could not tell him the truth about how my uncle treated me and what he planned to do to me. I
LIORA BROOKSI WAS PULLED roughly back to the pack. I could hear my uncle prowling angrily behind me, but he could not do anything to me because of the guards. The pack members had come out of their houses and were actively trying to put out the burning house.The fire was so hot and large that I almost felt proud until I remembered that I had not set it. I saw another guard wrapping Natalie in a blanket. She was weeping and stained with soot like she had been in the burning house. The guard patted her back gently, then she looked up at me and her face suddenly changed from the sad tears, into a maniacal grin, and the realization hit me – she was responsible for the fire and she was trying to frame me while playing the victim to garner attention. “You bitch!” I snarled.“Hey, move it!” The guard behind me pushed me forward. “You are going to answer to the alpha on why you tried to kill your cousin.”“I did not -”“Walk!” the guard snapped. I swallowed my words and walked on silently,
LIORA BROOKSDUSK CAME QUICKLY and I found my opportunity. Neither Natalie nor my uncle Sylvester was back, so it was easy for me to sneak out without any issue. I grabbed some snacks from the fridge before I slipped out the door.The hard part was trying to avoid the people of the pack and the patrol guards, they would definitely seize me and take me back to my uncle to be punished, which I knew he would do with glee. Avoiding being noticed in a werewolf pack was harder than it sounds because you don’t only have to remain visually hidden, you also have to make sure that you remain on the opposite side of the wind to prevent your scent from being carried to the people – and they would investigate and find you. That was the hardest part as I crept through the woods. I kept my head down, occasionally crawling on all fours. I went on for long minutes, but I knew that I was not even close to getting to the border. The Blackspire pack had a very large land size, but I was determined even