Chapter 35

Cassian’s POV

I told myself I was doing the right thing.

That giving her space was the right to do for myself

Backing off amd being patient till whenever she felt comfortable telling me what was wrong.

But patience was starting to feel like punishment.

Selena hadn’t said more than five full sentences to me since that day in the corridor.

Not angry words. Not icy ones. Just… nothing. And somehow that silence had more weight than any scream ever could.

It was driving me insane.

She moved like a ghost through the halls—always with Sisi, always kind, always polite—but never with me. Her voice stayed soft.

I was opportune to see her smile on the day of the picnic

But now it seemed hidden

And every time our eyes accidentally met during breakfast, she looked away

I wasn’t wS to assume that I was reading too much into it

But it was the fifth time now

And now? I couldn’t help but feel that it physically hurt to see me.

And maybe it did.

Maybe she finally realized I wasn’t worth the softness she had started to show.

Maybe she’d figured out that no matter how many picnics we planned or crowns we made, I’d still be the man she couldn’t trust.

. A man with too many shadows. Too many ghosts.

I clenched my jaw and leaned against the window frame of my study,

I could see the garden from here and definitely see sisi run through it

Selena was with her

Walking slowly with her hands clasped behind her back.

Her hair was down tiday, and her curls were wild

Just the way I liked them

But I never told her

Never got the opportunity to

My heart did it again

Tye thing where it missed few beats

She was beautiful

But more than that she was unreachable and I hated it.

“Still brooding?”

The voice came from the door, dry and annoyingly familiar.

I didn’t turn around. “Go away, Conrad.”

And deep down?

I wished he would actually stay this time

Because I needed the company

Needed it before I’d loose my mind.

“No can do,” he chuckled , stepping inside anyway. “We’ve got a problem.”

I sighed. “If it’s about the border scouts, send a response. If it’s about the healer’s reports—”

“It’s not about that.”

I finally turned.

And that was when I noticed

He wasn’t wearing his usual smirk and his eyes didn’t seem as bright as they usually looked.

His arms were folded

And his jaw was clenched so hard. The combo alongside his narrowed eyes was something I couldn’t place

And I knew that whatever happened

This time it was serious

It wasn’t his usual sarcasm.

It was tension.

My brows furrowed and I stroked my chin befire I could stop myself

“What kind of problem?”

He stared at me for a beat. Then another.

“What?” I asked, impatience creeping in. “What is it?”

Conrad’s mouth twitched. “It’s a woman.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“Conrad—”

He stepped closer. “She’s downstairs.”

“Who?”

He rolled his eyes. “For the love of the moon—Julia, Cassian. Julia’s here.”

The name hit like ice down my spine.

My body stiffened. “Julia…?”

He nodded grimly. “She showed up at the gate asking for you. Won’t say why she’s here. Won’t say how she knew where to find us. But she looks serious.”

I stared at him, the weight of the past crawling up my throat like smoke.

Julia.

The last person I ever expected to see again.

And the worst person to show up now.

Conrad watched my face closely. “I told you, man. You think your biggest problem is Selena giving you attitude? Wake up.”

I didn’t move.

Couldn’t speak.

He exhaled and said it again. “She’s here, Cassian. Julia. The ex who knew the old you.”

Then he left the room.

And I stood there

Frozen to the spot

It’s been years since I lost my composure

Since I was confused on what my next step was

But here I was, still as stone, watching the garden through the window.

Selena and Sisi were sitting on a bench now, laughing over something that I couldn’t quite make out from where I stood.

Her face was tilted to the sun, her eyes half-closed, her lips finally curved upward again.

And I realized something.

Whatever Julia wanted—it couldn’t be good.

And it couldn’t come now.

Not when I was finally starting to feel like maybe I could be someone else. Someone better. Someone Selena could one day look at without flinching.

The past was here.

And it wore red lipstick and a memory I didn’t want back.

I didn’t move right away.

I couldn’t

So I stood there, locked in place.

My thoughts swarmed like hornets inside my skull

. The name alone had pulled me halfway back to a version of myself I thought I’d buried.

The one with quick hands and cold eyes. The one who made promises he didn’t keep. The one who—

“Daddy!”

Sisi’s voice pierced through my thoughts .

I looked down from the window. She was waving up at me, her tiny face beaming with sunshine and innocence.

Selena glanced up too, it was brief, but just enough for our eyes to meet

I held her gaze.

Just for a second.

But it was enough to remind me what was at stake.

Enough to make me turn from the window and face the door.

**

Julia was waiting in the east reception hall—an open, quiet space rarely used except for high-ranking guests.

She didn’t belong here.

Didn’t belong in my heart.

Not anymore.

But damn if she didn’t look like she thought she still did.

She stood near the long windows

She sat upright

Her chest was open, that way anyone could get a glimpse f my cleavage.

Her dark brown hair was brushed together in a twist and she wore a rich red silk gown that hugged her like a second skin.

She looked expensive.

She looked untouchable.

She looked exactly the same.

The same way she was years ago

And now? Every time I looked at her …I couldn’t help but seee the girl who had thrown herself at my brother during the duration of our relationship.

And when she turned at the sound of my steps, her smile was just as sharp as I remembered.

“Cassian,” she called out sweetly. “Still brooding in the shadows, I see.”

I stopped a few feet away, arms folded. “Julia.”

Her smile didn’t waver. “You look good.”

Ofcourse this is what she was good at

Sweet talking her way into peoples beds.

I didn’t respond.

She sighed. “Still no small talk. Some things never change.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I missed you too.”

I clenched my jaw. “Don’t play games.”

“Who says I’m playing?” she asked, stepping closer. “Maybe I just wanted to see how the infamous Alpha Storm was doing these days. Imagine my surprise when I find out you’ve gone domestic.”

I didn’t flinch. “Why are you here?”

She studied me,

Amd then my house

Like she was weighing the amount I had spent on each furniture woth her eyes.

her gaze flicking to the side—probably taking in the polished floors, the carved wooden doors, the distant sound of Sisi’s laugh echoing down the corridor.

“That sound,” she murmured. “That’s hers, isn’t it? Your daughter .”

I didn’t answer.

She arched a brow. “Yours?”

I kept my voice flat. “Why are you here, Julia?”

Her smile dropped.

Finally.

“I need your help,” she said.

I stared at her. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I wouldn’t come here if it wasn’t serious.”

“You and I haven’t spoken in years.”

“Exactly,” she snapped, stepping closer. “And I wouldn’t have broken that silence unless I had to. But things have changed, Cassian. You don’t know what’s happening outside your little bubble here.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s a power shift happening in the northern packs. And it’s not good. Rogues are being gathered again—by someone new.”

I stilled. “Someone new?”

“Someone dangerous.”

I didn’t like the way she said that.

I didn’t like that she was here at all.

I didn’t like that I could still read her eyes like an old book—and right now they weren’t filled with lies. They were filled with fear.

“You think I care about your politics?” I asked slowly. “After everything?”

She flinched—just slightly. “This isn’t about me. Or us. This is bigger.”

I shook my head. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“You owe me nothing,” she said quickly. “I know that. But you care about the packs. And if I’m right… this threat isn’t stopping in the north. It’s moving down. Fast.”

I didn’t respond.

She exhaled. “Just listen to me. That’s all I ask.”

I turned to leave.

“Cassian,” she called softly. “Whoever she is—this girl I keep hearing about—don’t let her blind you. You used to be sharp. Cold. Calculated.”

I stopped in my tracks.

“But now?” she went on. “You’re wearing sweaters and braiding flowers with a child. Don’t let softness get you killed.”

I turned back slowly. “You never understood softness, Julia. That’s why we didn’t work.”

She didn’t smile this time.

She just looked… tired.

And that was the most honest thing I’d seen on her face in years.

I took a breath. “You’ll stay in the east wing. One night. Then you’re gone.”

“That’s all I need.”

I didn’t wait to hear more.

I turned and walked away—fast.

The moment I stepped out of the hall, I exhaled like I’d been underwater.

Julia was here.

And whether I liked it or not… the past had just walked through my front door.

And it was wearing heels.

I found Conrad in the west hallway, standing near a window with a half-bitten apple in one hand and his eyes already narrowed like he’d been waiting to say something.

“I let her stay one night,” I reported before he could open his mouth.

He didn’t blink. “Well, that’s one more night than she deserves.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “She says it’s about rogue movements in the north.”

Conrad scoffed. “Of course she does. And I’m sure she just happened to choose your palace to report it. Not the High Council. Not the guard posts. Not the military camps. No—she shows up here. Convenient.”

“I know how it looks.”

“No, Cassian. You really don’t. Because from the outside? It looks like your ex just walked back into your life while your hired mate is giving you the cold shoulder and your kid is planning tea parties with both of you.”

I gritted my teeth. “She doesn’t know anything.”

“Who? Julia?”

“Selena.”

Conrad fell silent.

Then he took another loud bite of his apple, chewed, and said, “Well… f*ck.”

“Exactly.”

We both stood there for a moment, letting the silence stretch too long.

“I thought she was gone,” I admitted quietly. “Out of the country. I never expected to see her again.”

“She’s not just here for the rogue stuff,” Conrad said, wiping his thumb against the apple’s edge. “She’s here for you. You know that.”

“I don’t care.”

“She does.”

I looked out the window. Sisi was running across the grass now, arms flapping like little wings. Selena sat on a blanket, eyes distant, smile faint and forced.

“I gave her space,” I said. “Just like you told me to.”

“And how’s that working out?”

I didn’t answer.

“Cass,” he said after a beat, “you don’t do well with space. You never have.”

“I’m not trying to push her.”

“I know.”

“She looked at me like I’d ripped something out of her chest.”

“She’s not ready.”

“She deserves the truth.”

Conrad nodded slowly. “Then give it. But be ready for the fallout.”

“I don’t even know how to begin.”

“Maybe with: ‘Hey, the woman I used to sleep with is in the palace. Please don’t kill me.’”

I let out a humorless laugh. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m trying not to slap you.”

I leaned back against the wall and shut my eyes for a moment. “I can’t mess this up.”

“Then don’t.”

“She’s already pulling away.”

“So pull her back. Gently. Carefully. Don’t let that storm inside you scare her off.”

“I don’t want to be the reason she leaves,” I whispered.

“Then be the reason she stays.”

Conrad clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Now go deal with your ex before she starts redecorating your palace in blood red and false smiles.”

I groaned. “Gods, help me.”

“Don’t bring the gods into this. You’re the one who dated Julia.”

I pushed off the wall, already heading back toward the east wing.

One night. That’s all I gave her.

But something told me this wasn’t going to end in one night.

And deep down, I already knew—

Storms were coming.

From the past.

From the north.

And maybe… from inside me too.