Cassian’s POV
The letter shouldn’t have rattled me. But it did. He managed to take everything away from me and now? I had no idea what to expect What was wrapped beautifully behind the satin envelope. I cracked it open anyway. “I trust this reaches you well, dear brother. I intend to visit within the month. I believe it’s time we cleared the air…officially. I’ll await your reply. But I suggest you begin preparations.” Arrogant bastard. No date. No reason. No apology. No signature. He didn’t need one. “Want me to piss on it before we burn it?” I jerked at the sound of his voice Zevran had that power…to make me anxious even in his absence. I didn’t look up. “He’s coming.” “Unfortunately.” I tossed the letter toward the desk. It landed like a loaded weapon. “He wants to ‘clear the air,’” Even I didn’t understand what he meant by that, but it didn’t change that a part of me was curious. “Yeah? So did the last wildfire.” Conrad strode in and picked up the letter. “No signature. Classy.” “Always was.” He scanned the words with a smirk. “He’s baiting you.” “And it’s working,” I muttered. “So what’s the plan?” Conrad asked, dropping into the chair across from me. “Ritual combat or poisoned wine?” “I’m moving the mating ceremony forward.” His brows shot up. “So, ritual combat it is.” I didn’t answer. Conrad tilted his head. “You’re serious.” “I’ve already sent word to the council elders. I want it on the calendar before Zevran even crosses the border.” He leaned back, rubbing his jaw. “Fast-tracking a lifetime commitment to make your brother jealous. That’s new, even for you.” “It’s not about jealousy,” I corrected. “It’s about strategy.” “And the bride?” I stilled. “She doesn’t know, does she?” he added. “I’m going to tell her.” “When? Before or after she walks into a ball thinking she’s still a nanny?” “Don’t start,” “I’m not starting, I’m watching you self-sabotage in real time.” I drained the rest of my whiskey and slammed the glass down. “She’s not just….” I couldn’t even complete the words, because I knew that somewhere along the line, I had side tracked and lost track of what exactly she was. “No,” he didn’t say it like it was a challenge… if anything he looked more relaxed than ever. “She’s the woman you kissed and ghosted like a teenager.” “I didn’t ghost her.” “You kissed her. Then left her to tend to your daughter’s health. I really did want to ask a lot of questions last night… but you and I know I don’t do phone calls.” “She didn’t say anything either,” I snapped. “Because she probably thought she imagined it,” he retorted. “Gods, Cassian, you act like if you don’t say something out loud, it’ll stop being real.” I ran a hand down my face. “She’s been through too much already.” “And you think springing a mating ceremony on her will lessen the trauma?” I stood, needing to move, needing space I didn’t have. “This isn’t just about us.” “No,” Conrad said quietly. “But it starts there.” Silence fell. Only the crackle of fire filled the room. Conrad spoke first. “You think she’ll say no?” “I think she won’t say anything. She’ll just leave.” “Because you keep treating her like a threat instead of a choice.” My chest tightened. “I didn’t mean to.” “She’s not a distraction, Cass. She’s your mate. Fated or not, she’s here. She stayed. And you’re treating her like a ticking clock.” “She’s temporary,” I muttered. “Is that what you want?” “No.” “Then stop pretending she is.” I grabbed the decanter and poured another drink. Conrad eyed me. “That’s your third.” “Maybe it’ll help me find the right words.” “She doesn’t need poetry,” he said. “She needs honesty. Straight-up, eyes-on-hers, no-bullshit truth.” I sipped. “You really think she’ll stay?” “I think she already has. But every day you keep her in the dark, you pull her closer to the door.” He paused. “And Zevran? He’ll find that door. He’ll knock. And he’ll twist her right out from under you.” I stared into the fire. “She doesn’t even know Zevran and I are related.” “You’re kidding.” “I didn’t want her involved.” “She’s already involved, Cassian. She lives here. She’s raising Sisi. She’s in your damn bedroom every night.” I looked away. “It wasn’t supposed to go this far.” “Yeah?” Conrad scoffed. “What part exactly? The part where your daughter called her ‘Mummy’? Or the part where you look at her like she’s the only light you remember?” I didn’t respond. Because he was right. All of it. Every damn word. “I’m scared,” I admitted. Conrad blinked. “Not of her,” I added. “Of what this means. Of not being enough. Of becoming the person I was when I was still with them .” Conrad didn’t say anything, I watched his hands extend instead, as he poured himself another glass of the drink. “You’re no longer that person, Cass,” he didn’t spare me a glance. “But if you keep running from her… you’re sure as hell going to end up just like him.” I clenched my fists. “What if I tell her and she walks away?” “Then at least she walked away knowing the truth. That’s more than you ever got.” My throat felt tight. Too tight. I hated this. “I’m not ready.” “She doesn’t need you to be ready,” Conrad said. “She just needs you to be real.” He stood, grabbing his jacket. “And stop drinking like that,” he added. “You’re not the only one who loses if you drown.” I gave a bitter laugh. “I’m already drowning.” “Then let her pull you out.” He walked toward the door, then paused. “When Zevran arrives, this entire place becomes a war zone. You better decide whose side you’re on before that happens.” And then he was gone. I stood there, still, with the wind clawing at the windows and her name clawing at my chest. Selena. I wanted to tell her everything. But wanting and doing were different beasts. And I wasn’t sure I could tame either.Cassian’s POVThe letter shouldn’t have rattled me.But it did.He managed to take everything away from me and now? I had no idea what to expect What was wrapped beautifully behind the satin envelope.I cracked it open anyway.“I trust this reaches you well, dear brother. I intend to visit within the month. I believe it’s time we cleared the air…officially. I’ll await your reply. But I suggest you begin preparations.”Arrogant bastard.No date. No reason. No apology.No signature.He didn’t need one.“Want me to piss on it before we burn it?”I jerked at the sound of his voiceZevran had that power…to make me anxious even in his absence.I didn’t look up. “He’s coming.”“Unfortunately.”I tossed the letter toward the desk. It landed like a loaded weapon.“He wants to ‘clear the air,’” Even I didn’t understand what he meant by that, but it didn’t change that a part of me was curious.“Yeah? So did the last wildfire.” Conrad strode in and picked up the letter. “No signature. Classy.”
Selena’s POVI was ashamed. My heart drummed rapidly against my ribcages each time the memory resurfaced on the top of my mind No I didn’t want to dwell on it…i had already talked way too much about the kiss and I wasn’t going to let it define my life My fingers moved on muscle memory, stroking sisi’s back for the semblance of comfort she offered. Controlling a lot of things was something I was used to, except when it came to my mind. She just had a way of spiraling beyond what I could tame. So my feet moved before I could protest. It followed the path Cassian had left through..hoping I could find him. I owed him that…the health status of his daughter. And just as though my mind had found what she was all so desperately searching for, my legs came to an instant halt. I recognized that voice. Heck, it’s the voice that shakes the very bane of my existence I could recognize it even in the darkest part of the hallway. It always carried the same tinge. Low. Rough. Familiar. “Dr
Cassian’s POV “I trust you.”The words left my mouth before I could think. Before I could weigh them, fold them into something guarded or vague. But I didn’t take them back.Because I meant them.I wasn’t lying. I trusted her—with Sisi. Maybe more than I trusted myself.That was the terrifying part.I wasn’t used to trust. Not like this. Not the quiet kind that crept in unnoticed and settled in your chest like a fire you couldn’t put out. Not the kind that whispered she’ll take care of what you love most, and somehow, impossibly, I believed it.Selena hadn’t moved when I said it.she blinked but it wasn’t out of shock. It was not relief.No, it was subtler than that.Maybe even Deeper.Like those three words….I trust you—had landed in a place she hadn’t built walls around yet. A place so raw and unguarded it startled even her.And then, just like that, she looked away.Not out of disrespect. Not to ignore me. She turned back to Sisi with the same fluid grace she always carriedI l
Selena’s POVHis mouth on mine had been heat and hunger.Fevered. Desperate. Devastating.The kind of kiss that peeled back layers. That tore me down to something raw and wanting.And I let it.Gods, I let it.I let his hands trace invisible lines on my skinI let my fingers curl into his hair like I’d always known the shape of him.I had wrapped my legs around him without thought, without hesitation, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like he belonged there….pressed against me, between my thighs, muttering half-broken sounds into my mouth like I was the answer to some ache he’d carried too long.I had wanted to believe it. That I was wanted. Desired. Chosen.And I did believe it. For one stupid, breathless heartbeat, I believed it.Then—“Miss Selena!”The sound of the door The way it flew open like it was going to separate from the framesThe wound was enough to pull my out of the trance.I froze.Cassian stilled too, his fingers flexing where they’d gripped my waist
Cassian’s povI wanted her to speak. I wanted her to yell, to scold, to roll her eyes and say I was impossible.But she didn’t.And that silence was louder than any storm I’d ever survived.My fingers brushed the key’s cold edge. I should’ve stayed in my room. Should’ve let it go. Should’ve waited for her to come to me.But I couldn’t.The ache in my chest wasn’t the kind that time healed. It was the kind that demanded answers. Or maybejust maybe….a repeat of what I still couldn’t get out of my head: the feel of her lips on mine, soft and fiery all at once. The way she melted into the kiss like it was the only thing anchoring her to this world.She didn’t speak.She handed the key to a maid.She closed her door.And now?Now I was pacing my own room like a goddamn lunatic, my wolf restless beneath my skin, every step fueled by the memory of her lips on mine.She’d kissed me back.Gods, she’d kissed me like she meant it.Her hands in my hair, her breath tangled with mine, the way she
Selena’s POVI was still frozen.And I meant in every sense of the wordMy fingers remained on my dress as I clutched the hem tightly My lips? They still tingled frkm where his mouth had claimed them. It wasn’t gentlyIt wasn’t even possessivelyI couldn’t even olace a finger on itBut it was as though he was staking his life on it.Like he had been been waiting to kiss me for years..And I—Gods, I let him.Worse… I kissed him back.I had let my body take control and melted into himIn pubicAnd now, he would feel I wanted him as muchEverything that happened after was barely registered in my head.Everyone were clappingAnd sisi? Well she was jumping up and down like she had seen a fairytale come true..The crowd had parted just enough for me to catch my breath. But I couldn’t look at Cassian again….not yet. Not when my cheeks were still bright red and my thoughts were running everywhere in wild, dizzy circles.“You!” a voice called out, and before I could brace myself, a grou