Chapter 14: Breaking Point

KADE

I stood at the compound gates at dawn, watching Cassandra load her things onto her horse.

Good riddance.

She'd given us valuable information about Clearwater, but that didn't erase what she'd done to Sera. The sooner she was gone, the better.

"Ready?" Marcus asked her.

Cassandra nodded, reaching for the reins. Then she stumbled, catching herself against the horse, her face went pale.

"Cassandra?" I moved forward instinctively.

She pressed a hand to her side, breathing hard. "I'm fine just…" She stumbled again, and this time she didn't catch herself, she hit the ground hard.

"Get Elena," I told Marcus, kneeling beside her.

Cassandra's eyes were shut, her jaw clenched. "My ribs," she gasped. "I think something's wrong."

Elena arrived quickly, her healer's bag in hand. She examined Cassandra with efficient, gentle movements while I stood back, torn between concern and suspicion.

"Bruised ribs," Elena finally announced. "Maybe cracked, she needs rest, she can't travel like this."

I met Cassandra's eyes, looking for the lie but her pain seemed genuine, her breathing shallow and careful.

"How long?" I asked Elena.

"A few days at least, maybe a week."

A week? Another week of Cassandra in my compound.

"I'm sorry," Cassandra said, and she actually sounded sincere. "I know you want me gone, I want to be gone but I can barely stand, much less ride for hours."

I clenched my jaw, she was right. I couldn't send her out injured, It would be a death sentence, and despite everything, I wasn't that cruel.

"Fine," I said. "You stay until you can travel safely but the same rules apply. You stay away from Sera, you don't cause trouble. Understood?"

"Understood," Cassandra said quietly.

Marcus and Elena helped her back to the barracks. I watched them go, frustration burning in my chest, my wolf didn't like this, didn't trust it.

But what choice did I have?

I went towards the training grounds, needing to work off this restless energy.

That's when I saw her.

Sera stood in the middle of the training ground, her injured arm still in a sling, attempting to run through combat forms with her good arm. Her face was tight with pain, sweat already on her forehead.

Fury and fear hit me simultaneously.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, striding toward her.

She stopped, turning to face me. Her expression was carefully blank, "Training."

"You're injured."

"I can still train with one arm."

"Elena said you need rest.."

"I've rested enough," she interrupted, her tone polite but firm. "I need to get stronger, Clearwater is coming, I can't afford to be weak."

There was that word again, weak. Like it was the worst thing she could possibly be.

"You're not weak," I said, struggling to keep my voice level. "You're injured, there's a difference."

"Is there?" She met my eyes briefly, then looked away. "Either way, I need to train, with your permission, of course."

The formal distance in her voice felt like a knife between my ribs.

"Sera…"

"If you don't want to train me today, I understand," she continued in that same flat tone. "I can work on my own."

"That's not.." I stopped, taking a breath. My wolf was pacing, agitated by her coldness. "I'm concerned about you making your injury worse."

"I'll be careful." She moved back into her stance, clearly dismissing me.

I watched her attempt a strike with her good arm, saw the way she winced when the movement pulled at her injured shoulder. Everything in me wanted to stop her, to make her rest, to…

To what? Force her to care about her own wellbeing? Force her to talk to me like she used to?

"At least let me spot you," I said. "Make sure you're not damaging anything."

She hesitated, then nodded. "Thank you."

Thank you? Like I was a stranger doing her a favor.

We trained for an hour Or rather, she went through the motions while I watched, offering corrections she accepted with quiet nods. No arguments, no fire, no personality.

It was torture.

"Take a break," I finally said.

"I'm fine."

"It wasn't a suggestion." The words came out harsher than I intended.

She stopped immediately, moving to the water station without complaint. That obedience somehow made everything worse.

I followed her, my control fraying. "Talk to me."

"About what?" She took a drink, still not looking at me.

"About what's wrong, about why you're acting like this."

"Like what?" Her voice was genuinely confused, which made my wolf snarl in frustration.

"Like you're a soldier following orders instead of.." I stopped myself.

"Instead of what?" Now she did look at me, her expression carefully neutral.

Instead of the woman who'd argued with me, challenged me, slowly started to trust me. Instead of the person who'd made me feel something other than rage and grief for the first time in five years.

"Instead of yourself," I finished.

"This is myself," she said simply. "I'm here to train, to learn to control my power, to help fight the Council. That's what you brought me here for, isn't it?"

"It's not that simple."

"It is, though." She set down the water bottle. "You needed a weapon against the Council, I'm that weapon. Let's not complicate it with anything else."

The words hit like a physical blow. My hands clenched into fists, and I felt my eyes flash gold as my wolf surged forward, demanding I fix this, claim her, make her understand…

I forced it back down, but barely. My whole body was shaking with the effort.

"You're not a weapon," I said, my voice rougher than I intended. "You're.."

"What Kade?" She finally showed emotion, a flash of something painful in her eyes. "What am I? Because I thought maybe I was something more, but Cassandra helped me see clearly. I'm useful because of my power, that's all."

"Cassandra is.."

"Right," Sera interrupted. "She was right about everything and that's fine. I understand now. No more confusion, no more…" She stopped herself, looking away. "I should get back to training."

She walked past me, back to the training ground. My wolf was howling, throwing itself against my control. I could feel my eyes flashing, my hands shaking, every instinct screaming at me to go after her, to make her listen, to..

"Having trouble?"

I spun to find Cassandra standing near the barracks, watching. Even injured, she'd managed to drag herself out here.

"This is your fault," I said, my voice dangerously low.

"Is it?" She raised an eyebrow. "Or is it yours for not being honest with her about what she means to you?"

"Get back to the barracks," I ordered. "Now."

Cassandra left, but her words lingered.

I looked back at Sera. She was running through forms again, her face set with determination, her injured arm held carefully against her body.

She looked strong, focused, untouchable.

She looked nothing like the woman who stood close to me during water breaks, who'd challenged my teaching methods, who'd slowly started to smile at my rare jokes.

That woman was gone and I had no idea how to bring her back.

My wolf snarled, demanding action but what action? Force her to talk? Make her see what? That she mattered? That somewhere along the way, she'd become more than a weapon, more than an asset?

That I cared?

The realization hit me like lightning.

I cared about her, about what she thought, what she felt, whether she was happy or hurt or scared.

When had that happened?

Sera finished her forms and headed toward the house without looking at me. I watched her go, my chest tight, my wolf still raging.

Cassandra was still here, Sera had built walls I couldn't break through and I was standing alone in the training ground, finally understanding what I'd been too stubborn to admit.

I was falling for her, and I was losing her.