Semua Bab Alpha Daddy, Mommy Doesn't Want You Anymore : Bab 191 - Bab 198

POV: OrionI noticed the change precisely when I stopped looking for it.Cassandra no longer walked with her shoulders bunched, as if every corridor held a hidden threat. Her eyes no longer scanned the room before she sat. She stopped flinching every time a door swung open. The shift wasn't dramatic. It wasn't flashy. But to someone accustomed to reading the battlefield before a war, that kind of stillness was a clear signal.She was no longer in survival mode.That morning, I watched her from a safe distance—close enough to be present, far enough not to intrude. Cassandra was sitting on a wooden bench in the east garden, watching Iris draw on the ground with colored chalk. The girl’s laughter was light, unburdened by anxiety. Cassandra laughed with her, her head tilted slightly, her shoulders relaxed and low.There was no guardedness.And that was exactly where my conflict began.“Are you planning to stand there all morning?” Ben’s voice drifted from behind me.I didn't turn around.

POV: IrisI knew something was different, but I didn't have a name for it.It wasn't like the day the guards doubled. It wasn't like the nights when the alarms blared. This was different. Slower. Like the air wasn't so heavy anymore when I took a breath.I saw it in the little things.The way Alpha Orion always walked a bit slower when he was with Mother. The way Mother no longer stopped mid-stride to glance behind her. The way they stood close together without touching, yet without pulling away.I sat on the floor of the study, stacking my wooden blocks. One... two... three. My little tower was leaning, but I let it be. From where I sat, I could see into the kitchen. Mother was pouring tea. Alpha Orion was standing beside her, slicing fruit. There were no loud voices. No orders."Iris," Mother said without looking up. "Don't stack them too high. They’ll fall.""I know," I answered. "If they fall, I can just build them again."Alpha Orion looked over at me. "That’s a good plan."I gav

POV: CassandraThe night was still. It was so quiet that the silence felt like a mirror, forcing me to look deep inside myself.Iris was already asleep. Her breathing was rhythmic, her hands clutching the edge of the blanket—an old habit that refused to die. I sat on the edge of her bed longer than I should have, staring at that small face with a tangle of emotions. She was safe. She was whole. And that really should have been enough.But my mind wouldn't stop racing.I went back out to the NightFang balcony, where the night wind always blew soft and cool. The torchlight on the stone walls flickered gently. This place had given me sanctuary—not just a physical refuge, but the mental space to think without being chased by fear.I found myself thinking about my first marriage.The vows spoken with such absolute certainty. The conviction that love was enough to make me close my eyes to the red flags I should never have ignored. I remembered how I had slowly vanished—not because I was for

POV: CassandraThe years didn’t turn over with an explosion. They shifted slowly—through unhurried mornings, afternoons that didn't wait for disaster, and nights that were no longer consumed by escape plans.NightFang was stable. Not because threats had ceased to exist, but because everyone knew exactly where they stood. The boundaries were clear. The decisions were firm. There were no secrets lurking, waiting to detonate.I noticed the change in the smallest details.In the way I woke up without checking the window first. In the way my breathing remained steady when I heard footsteps in the hall. In the way I brewed tea without calculating the worst-case scenario.This house—I called it home now, without hesitation.Iris ran through the sitting room, her hair tied back messily, her small giggles filling the air."Mother, look!" she said, holding up a drawing she’d just finished. "I made us."I moved closer. The drawing was simple—three figures standing in front of a building with a h