Cassandra is twenty years old when she loses everything—her pack, her mate, her future. She had been warned, of course. She had visited the magician since she was a child, asking him to grant her wish. He had always tried to change her mind, and for years, he had succeeded.
But three days ago, she went back to that small, dark shop, desperate and determined. This time, she didn’t change her mind. She made her wish, knowing full well what the price would be. She just hadn’t expected it to hurt so much afterward.
The pain is everywhere. It hurts to leave home, to say goodbye to her brother, to her packmates. She had grown up expecting to be their Alpha, their leader. She had been someone who mattered.
Now, because of her wish, because of Sebastian, she is nothing at all. Cassandra’s story with Sebastian began when she was eight years old. Their packs shared a border deep within the woods. Once, their two clans had been united, but they split decades ago when two wolves in line to become Alpha fought over the same mate.
What had once been a powerful, thriving pack became two resentful halves. Cassandra and her twin brother, Ronan, often ran into children from the rival pack in the woods and naturally ended up playing with them. Her parents discouraged her from engaging with them, especially Sebastian, the Alpha’s son. But Cass liked Sebastian.
He showed her how to make better skips with her stones and could build the best huts she had ever seen. Since her father swore his daughter should be making better friends, Cass took a new approach—besting the other pack. What started as innocent fun quickly escalated into aggressive competitions. On the day Sebastian put his gum in Cass’s hair, the game was tree climbing.
Cass went first, reaching the top in record time, but Sebastian proved himself even more efficient. So naturally, she threw a small pebble at his back, making him miss a step, fall, and lose the race. “That’s cheating,” Sebastian protested. “If it isn’t in the rule book, it’s not cheating.
We don’t have a rule book,” Cass argued. “Exactly. Now don’t be a sore loser and proclaim us the winners,” Cass commanded, earning triumphant screams from her packmates. She knelt down beside him, waiting for him to place a crown of twigs and flowers on her head.
Instead, Sebastian spat his gum right on top of her head. Cass began to scream, trying to get it out, only entangling the gum further in her curls. Tears welled up in her eyes. For all of ten seconds, he was suddenly sorry, until Cass threw herself at him, smacking him in the jaw.
Then all hell broke loose. Cassandra met the magician for the first time a month later, right after her ninth birthday. When Cass was eleven, she finally got her proper revenge. For two years, back-and-forth schemes had gone between her and Sebastian, each one more elaborate than the last.
Her eleventh birthday marked Sebastian’s thirteenth, and like every thirteen-year-old wolf in the region, he was set to compete in a full-day hunt in the woods. Everyone expected Sebastian to bring back the biggest bounty. But Cass was determined to win. She visited the magician once more, asking for strength.
“You’re willing to risk losing your darling twin brother over this? ” The magician tsked. “I didn’t take you for being this lazy. ”
“I’m not lazy,” Cass protested.
“Then why come to me with this request when you could very well win this hunt by honing your skills the traditional way? ”
“I can’t,” Cass said. She was younger, not good enough. But she didn’t say that.
She clenched her fists, and the magician agreed to help her, in his own way, by pointing out that magic wouldn’t be winning at all. Weeks before the hunt, Cass secretly obtained the plans for the event. She memorized every detail, mapped the terrain, tracked the deer, and noted the denser trails where bears might roam. She trained herself to turn quickly, to move quietly, to blend into the shadows.
One morning, she stumbled upon a bear, observing it from a distance, learning its habits and patterns. On the day of the hunt, Cass rose before dawn. She entered the woods separately, following the trail she had memorized. With the sun just peaking over the horizon, the bear appeared.
The battle took longer than she anticipated. The burning in her muscles and the fear racing her heart nearly overwhelmed her. But the thought of Sebastian winning kept her going. As she emerged into the clearing, dragging the massive body behind her, the crowd’s reaction was stunned silence—then applause.
The elders exchanged shocked glances before the head elder stepped forward, placing the garland traditionally meant for Sebastian around her neck. “We crown Cassandra as this year’s Victor,” he announced. Cass didn’t care much for the glory. The only real reward was the look of pure shock on Sebastian’s face, and something else—something dangerously close to admiration.
When Cass turned thirteen, she won her first fight against an older beta wolf. She wore her hair tightly back in a severe braid, hating to take it down even in the shower, for it still hurt that her hair hadn’t grown back to its full length. Her father started pitting her and Ronan against each other, testing their abilities. Cass knew he was trying to determine which of them would be best suited to become Alpha.
She had no doubt she would be the victor. For Sebastian, it was already looking like he would become the next Alpha. And if Sebastian was to be an Alpha, then so was Cass. She’d rather die than be less than him.
The two of them had taken to sneaking into the woods at night to hunt and fight since Cass’s triumph. Their competitions had outgrown the need to bring others into it. But Sebastian was a teenager now—taller, broader, his muscles growing fuller with each passing day. It was getting easier for him to pin her down, his hazel eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
Cass feared that soon, he’d grow bored of her. “You’re the one holding back your punches,” Cass retorted. She hated him for holding back. She hated him for being so much bigger.
One night, she managed to flip him, straddling him and pinning him to the ground in a move she wasn’t quite sure how she managed. Sebastian blinked up at her in confusion, a faint blush spreading across his cheekbones. His gaze darkened with something she couldn’t name. His scent spiked, thickening around her.
Cass couldn’t help but sway forward. At the slightest movement, Sebastian flipped her, pinning her to the ground with his greater body mass. “Stop moving,” he groaned against her neck. “You stop moving,” Cass replied lamely.
And then she felt the graze of Sebastian’s teeth against her neck. Cass’s eyes widened in disbelief. She grabbed his hair and pushed him away. “Get off me,” she growled, genuine fear clawing at her senses.
Sebastian complied, moving as if burned. “Were you about to—” Cass couldn’t say the words. He couldn’t have been about to bite her. She knew what a bite meant—a claiming, a mating.
“Of course not,” Sebastian protested, looking appalled. “But I scared you. ”
Humiliation burned bright inside her. “Shut up,” she snapped, wiping away tears she hadn’t noticed.
She got to her feet and ran off. The next night, Sebastian didn’t show up. They didn’t see much of each other for a while. When Cass turned fifteen, she saw Sebastian again—in passing, with no words properly exchanged.
A couple of insults here and there, but nothing compared to their physical fights. His absence and growing indifference were slowly driving her insane. She started dreaming of him—dreams of meeting him in the forest, of fighting him and besting him, of finding admiration in his gaze once more. And in almost every dream, Sebastian bit her on the neck, prompting her to wake up breathless and panting.
She wanted to be rid of these dreams. She couldn’t think of any solution besides magic. She went to the magician and asked if he could take her dreams away. “Unconscious feelings or thoughts—the best way to get rid of them is to confront them,” the magician said.
Cass snapped, crossing her arms. “What do you dream about? ” he then asked the magician’s young assistant, who replied honestly, “My father mostly. He died recently.
I dream of seeing him again, of him being alive. ”
Cass softened slightly as she processed the words, nodded curtly, and left. Unknown to her, those words had struck a sensitive chord. They made Cass realize that confronting Sebastian for what he’d almost done that night was something she desired, perhaps even needed.
And it terrified her. A few weeks later, Cass attended a gathering at a lake with her brother and friends. Ronan was hoping to meet up with a girl he thought was his mate. What they hadn’t expected was that the other pack was good friends with Sebastian’s pack.
Sebastian was there, almost eighteen now, taller and broader and apparently attractive, judging by the looks he was receiving. Cass didn’t know what they saw in him. His eyes were average, his hair messy. Maybe it was his smile, a lopsided grin he flashed at people he liked—not so much at Cass.
Or maybe his freckles. That night, Cass dreamed she was back by the lake, but this time everyone stared at her. Sebastian was among the crowd, subjected to her authority like everyone else. It made her wolf purr with such pride that she woke up feeling powerful and in control.
She knew what she needed to do. She’d matched his strategic skills as a child. Now she needed to match his social skills as a teen. Maybe then he’d stop treating her like a youngling and see her as the rival she was—a rival he’d never dare put his teeth upon again.
When Cass was about to turn sixteen, she enacted her plan. She went to a club, wearing enough makeup to pass for a young adult. She was tall, with long, well-shaped legs. She knew she was pretty enough, and she was satisfied with the lingering looks she received.
She saw Sebastian at the bar, and his eyes widened slightly before his mouth pursed into a grim line. He looked like he was going to walk over to her, but then one of his friends diverted his attention, and they walked off to join a group in a booth. Cass’s heart sank. That was it?
Barely a glance? If Sebastian thought he was better than her now, she had to remind him who he was dealing with. She observed him discreetly. When his friend walked toward the bar again, she made her way over, settling her body close to the target.
Soon, the boy was asking if he could get her a drink. Cass didn’t want a beer, or a cocktail, or a glass of wine. “How about we go somewhere quiet instead? ” she murmured against his ear.
Peter wasn’t Cass’s first kiss, and he wasn’t her worst. She carefully angled their bodies right in front of Sebastian’s booth. Not even a minute later, there was no mistaking the powerful surge of anger that cloyed Sebastian’s familiar scent. He was walking over.
“Get off her,” Sebastian snapped, pulling Peter away so abruptly that his friend lost his balance. His face was twisted in a sneer. “She’s sixteen years old. You think it’s fine taking advantage of a minor?
”
“I didn’t know she was sixteen,” Peter winced. “I mean, she doesn’t look like she—”
“Don’t you fucking look at her,” Sebastian growled. “Enough,” Cass told him, lacing her words with enough command to secure his attention. “I wanted him to kiss me.
Leave him alone. ”
Sebastian’s jaw clenched, but this time, his focus was solely on her. For the first time in three years, his gaze was dark and brooding, his posture aggressive, and his scent went right to her head. She’d missed this.
“I’d be happy to let him fuck me,” she smiled, purposely crude. Sebastian’s grip on her arm tightened to the point of pain. His eyes descended upon her bare neck with a fixated intent, and the insane thought that he was about to bite her bloomed inside Cass. Then he let go of her abruptly, walking off.
She was left standing there breathless. Then he turned back around, walked back to her, and barked, “Our place in the woods tomorrow night. ”
Triumph washed over Cass. When Cass was seventeen, their meetings in the woods took a different turn.
They barely spoke before they came to blows. Sebastian was furious with her for diverting yet another one of his friends’ attention. Their fight was closely tied, seeming to go on forever. “I think we’re finished here,” Sebastian said earlier than expected, a sort of tired resignation in his eyes.
The thought of them being finished had her going nearly blind with anger. She screamed in rage, throwing herself at him, toppling them to the ground. They struggled briefly, their eyes met, and Cass wasn’t sure how the kiss began—just that she was grabbing at his short hair to deepen it. It was a kiss unlike any other she’d ever shared—forceful and angry.
Neither of them worried about its reception. Sharp teeth were nipping at her lower lip. His touch became bruising, as if hoping to let her know that if he wasn’t her first, he was to be her best. She brought her legs up around his waist.
He sucked burning kisses on her neck, his hands gripping her thighs. His scent mingled with hers, enveloping her in desire—thick, syrupy, and so, so good. She didn’t protest when he tore away her top. She didn’t protest when his eyes met hers, searching for permission.
She didn’t protest when a sharp pain coursed through her shortly after. She encouraged it, fueling him on. For how could she bring herself to do otherwise when he was looking at her like she was everything? Once she was back inside the confines of her room, only then did regret begin to tighten her throat.
They shouldn’t have done that. What they’d done was something that should be kept between mates—or at least people who weren’t natural enemies. Will Sebastian even respect her as a rival now that he’s had her like that? He did come back, and they did fight.
But it didn’t last very long—not with their bodies pressed so closely together, her scent still present on his skin, not with the way his eyes fluttered shut for a moment when he detected his own scent imprinted onto her. The following night, their pretense of a fight was even shorter. The one after that, they didn’t even pretend. Their lips collided instantly into a demanding kiss.
There was no pain anymore, only pleasure and new emotions just as intense and all-consuming as anger. Every night, Cass came home telling herself this was the last time. But the following day, as soon as the sun set, she found herself running to the woods, to Sebastian, eager for his hands to be on her again. One night, she went to the magician’s shop, but he wasn’t there.
His assistant was alone, going through books distractedly. “When will he be back? ” Cass muttered, closing her eyes in resignation. “I need him to free me of this insanity,” she seemed distressed, pacing around the shop.
“I want to be rid of my—” Cass couldn’t bring herself to say the words and fell quiet, heat grazing her features. “Never mind,” she said eventually. When Cass turned eighteen, fights broke out between members of her pack and Sebastian’s. She couldn’t even remember what started it.
She’d been with her brother and other packmates at a bar. One of her closest friends, Finn, touched her shoulder as he passed. A familiar, harmless gesture. Then she heard a loud crash.
Finn had Sebastian backed up against a wall, his scent furious and menacing. Cass was on her feet, getting between the two. “What are you doing? ” she barked at Finn.
“He smells like you,” her packmate replied. “Why does he smell like you? ”
Cass’s eyes briefly met Sebastian’s. “We met briefly behind the bar.
We had a little squabble, that’s all. ”
Ronan frowned, suddenly looking aggressive. “You attacked her alone? Are you insane?
You’re an Alpha now. You could have heard her. ”
“No, he couldn’t,” Cass protested. “We didn’t fight.
”
“Yes, we did,” she snapped without thinking. Ronan screamed in rage, throwing himself at Sebastian. One of his friends intercepted. Cass found herself having to parry a hit from one of the girls hanging out with Sebastian.
“Enough,” Sebastian exclaimed, using his Alpha command to pull his pack away. When they met later that night, Sebastian was furious. “What were you thinking, telling your pack we’d gotten into a fight? What if he’d realized what we really do?
”
“What else was I supposed to say? Finn smelled me on you. It wouldn’t have been worse than them thinking an Alpha had attacked you alone. ”
“Why not?
I could take you, you know I could. ”
Sebastian’s eyes were furious. “It doesn’t matter. I’m the leader now.
I can’t just be picking fights with random wolves. ”
“I’m not a random wolf,” Cass screeched, pushing his shoulders. Sebastian’s gaze softened briefly before he pursed his lips. “Cass, you’re the one who panicked at the idea of everyone finding out about us.
Not me. What am I supposed to think, especially when you let all these other wolves touch you right in front of me? ”
“There is no us. You and I aren’t together,” Cass protested, panic clenching her gut.
“I can do what I want with whoever I—”
Sebastian gripped her jaw forcefully, forcing her eyes to meet his. They’d turned gold. “You’re mine,” he growled. “I’m not,” Cass snapped, batting his hand away.
He caught her hand, pulling her toward him more carefully. “You could be,” he said, sagging his forehead against hers softly. “I want you to be. ”
Cass’s heart did something complicated.
Was this a trick? He just called her a random wolf. She was going to be an Alpha too—didn’t that count for something? Her father would never accept it.
“Don’t,” she snapped, pulling away. “We’re nothing. You’re nothing to me. ”
Sebastian paled, searched her face, and looked like he wanted to pull her back.
Cass found herself kind of wishing he would. “Fine,” he spit, turning around abruptly and walking away. The next day, Sebastian answered her father’s call to discuss the altercation at the bar and apologized for approaching Cass, swearing it wouldn’t happen again. It didn’t.
When Cass turned twenty, her father let her and her brother know he’d decided to make her Alpha. It was everything she’d ever wanted, worked for her entire life. She’d pictured this moment many times, imagining the pride and joy she’d feel. She hadn’t expected to feel nothing at all.
She’d felt numb and empty ever since that night Sebastian walked away. She’d managed to keep her head above water, convincing herself it would all be worth it when she finally became Alpha. But that very morning, she’d learned of his engagement. He was to be mated to a girl from another pack soon.
The girl was the daughter of an Alpha from an influential pack. She was somewhat pretty. Could she fight with Sebastian like Cass could? Could she beat him in a hunt?
Could she make love to him as well as Cass? “Cassandra? ” her father asked tentatively. “Are you alright?
”
“Thank you, Father,” she mumbled, lowering her head. “I’m honored. I won’t let you down. ”
She wanted to cry.
She should be happy. Why wasn’t she happy? Her father continued, “Sebastian will be taking the daughter of a powerful Alpha as his mate. Which he claims won’t affect his judgment when it comes to making alliances, but which we all know most definitely will.
You’ll have a lot of work on your hands to make sure our pack thrives. ”
Cass barely paid attention as he gave Ronan a protective dagger, a powerful weapon laced with poison that could kill any wolf with a single prick. All she cared about was figuring out if Sebastian loved his mate-to-be or not. They were all invited to the engagement party, which took place in his home two days later.
Cass wore her most beautiful dress and arranged her hair in an updo that left her neck bare. But she stared at him across the reception hall all night. He danced with his fiancée, made speeches, had everyone’s attention. He didn’t look at her once.
Cass felt something die inside her. When it got late enough that she couldn’t delay greeting the happy couple any longer, she forced her body to move. “Hello,” she greeted. “On behalf of all my pack, I would like to congratulate you on your engagement.
”
The fiancée smiled brightly, offering warm thanks. Sebastian’s posture was relaxed, his face stern in perfect, cool indifference as he politely inclined his head. “Thank you,” he said curtly, before moving his fiancée away for a dance. Cass stood there, mouth nearly gaping at the normality of this exchange.
How dare he act like they were strangers? She bore the humiliation with a strength she’d been well taught until she could bear it no longer, and ran into a nearby library. There, she exhaled a long, painful breath. The noise of a door closing snapped her eyes open.
Sebastian’s silhouette entered the library, eyes searching. Alone. “What are you doing here? ” she asked before she could think of something better to say.
“What am I doing here at my house? ” Sebastian replied curtly. “I should be asking you that,” he taunted, humor and something darker lacing his words. “It isn’t like you to hide away from a crowd.
”
“My father chose me to be our next Alpha,” she replied, wielding the title like a shield. “Well, congratulations then,” he said, shrugging. “It’s everything you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? ”
“Don’t act like this hasn’t been your goal either,” she said.
“You can’t blame me for—”
“I don’t blame you,” Sebastian interrupted. “Then what is this? ” she forced herself to say. “Why did you follow me here?
Have you come to gloat? ”
Sebastian’s expression did something complicated. He shook his head, turning away. “Have a good evening, Cassandra.
I’ll see you at the next Alpha meeting. ”
He turned back to the door. “Do you love her? ” she heard herself ask, desperation making her barely recognize her own voice.
Sebastian’s shoulders visibly tensed. “Do I love her? ” he asked, turning back around, a sneer twisting his features. “Isn’t that obvious?
I’m marrying her, aren’t I? ”
Cass felt like she’d been slapped. “All right, well then. I’m happy for you.
”
“Are you? ” Sebastian scoffed. “What’s it to you how I feel anyway? We were never anything to each other.
You’ve made that abundantly clear. ”
“So now you’re going to act like there was never anything between us? ” She shook her head, hurt lacing her words. “If that’s how it’s going to be, then go.
I have nothing to say. ”
“You’re the one that always acted like it was nothing,” Sebastian barked, and he was inches from her now. “Like it embarrassed you to be with me. ”
“I don’t remember you pouring out your feelings at every chance either.
I was the one that always had to earn your attention some way or another. ”
“Earn my attention? You didn’t earn anything. You always had it.
I’ve always looked at you, always, ever since we were young. ”
“You’d look, but you wouldn’t see me,” Cass argued, desperate. “I’ve watched, seen, and thought only of you for as long as I can remember,” Sebastian growled, disgust lacing his words like he couldn’t stand them. “But I’m done now.
It’s over. ”
His voice was mean and scathing. Cass raised her hand to wipe her eyes, because she was crying. She didn’t remember when it started.
“It’ll never be over,” she told him darkly. “You know it, and I know it. ”
And before Sebastian could reply, she grabbed his face, and their mouths collided in a bruising kiss. Sebastian’s teeth and tongue laid claim to her immediately.
She sighed into it, giving ground. His scent flared with hunger. One of his hands glided to the small of her back; the other twisted into her hair, pulling out the pins. Long, heavy blonde curls fell onto her shoulders, which Sebastian grabbed and stared at in awe before burying his nose in them.
“I want nothing to do with you,” he sighed, eyes closing as he breathed her in. “I love you,” she replied, choking on her next words when she saw him flinch like she’d just hurt him. “No,” he said, stepping away, refusing to meet her gaze. “Enough.
”
He fled the room without looking back. Later, she went to the magician’s shop, but it was closed. She didn’t know it, but she’d be making her wish the very next day. Cassandra was still twenty when she woke up in her bed in the early hours of the morning, surprised and confused at the feel of wet lips sucking bruises on her neck.
She was rather certain she’d fallen asleep alone. But she felt nothing but warmth and hazy pleasure. A familiar scent enveloped her, mixing with hers in a way she hadn’t experienced in years. “Sebastian?
” she asked breathlessly, feeling him smile against her neck. His eyes were blown wide with dark desire. “What are you doing here? ” she asked hesitantly.
“Shouldn’t you be with your fiancée instead of here? ”
“I said I don’t have a fiancée,” he replied, looking very much like he was about to kiss her again. “I broke off our engagement. ”
“Why?
” she asked, searching his gaze. “Didn’t want her,” he replied, grinding down against her, making her gasp. “Sebastian,” she protested. “You said you loved me.
How could I mate another when you love me? ”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me. ”
“Say that you love me again,” Sebastian replied, eyes crazed with pent-up desire.
“Say it again, Cass, please. ”
She cradled his face between her hands. “I love you. ”
His teeth grazed her skin dangerously.
Cass’s scent spiked up in response. “I can’t do this anymore,” he said, pulling her back for a kiss. “I love you. I need you.
”
She nodded against his shoulder. “Then you shall have me. Just maybe not right now, in my parents’ house, while you’re drunk. ”
But he only started pulling at her nightgown more urgently.
“I’ve been going wild thinking of you tonight. Every night. All the time. ”
When she felt his teeth against her neck, she pushed his head down harder, urging him on.
She wanted him to claim her. She wanted to be his mate. But she thought to herself, a little belatedly, not like this. Not when he’s not himself.
“Sebastian,” she gasped, her toes curling in pleasure at the increasing pressure on her neck. “Don’t—please stop. ”
But she said this only while bearing her neck to him further. Her mind said no, but her body was already giving in.
His teeth sank into her skin, and Cass screamed. The next thing she knew, her own brother’s scream joined hers. Suddenly Sebastian was gasping above her, features contorting in pain. “Get off her!
” Ronan yelled. “How did he get here? ” Cass wondered. “What did he see?
” She tried to get Sebastian upright, and realized something was wrong when her fingers felt something wet and warm dripping down his back. Blood. “Cass, are you okay? ” Ronan asked, fear twisting his features.
“Did he force himself on you? ”
The fear and shock stunned Cass silent. She carefully moved Sebastian to his side. He looked stunned, his jaw clenching from the pain of his wound.
“What did you do? ” she screeched toward her brother. Then she recognized the dagger in his hand. “Is that Father’s?
”
“He was hurting you. I heard you tell him no. ”
“No, he wasn’t. I love him.
Ronan, Sebastian and I have been lovers for years. ”
Her brother’s eyes widened, but Sebastian gasped out her name, grabbing onto her wrist weakly before losing consciousness. “Stay with me. Don’t fall asleep,” she begged him.
She looked at her brother. “I’m going to get Father,” he said, jumping to his feet. Cassandra would make her wish in exactly two hours. But before that, one last conversation would take place.
“How could you be so foolish, both of you? ” her father was unsurprisingly furious. “How could you let him come here? And you—using this weapon on him when you could have just thrown him off your sister?
”
“I thought he—” Ronan couldn’t bring himself to say the words. “This is catastrophic. One of you, if not both, are going to have to face consequences. Our pack’s reputation is going to take a serious hit.
”
“Are you really talking about money and reputation while he’s laying here dying? ” Cassandra snapped. “Is there nothing that can heal him? ”
“None,” her father said.
“I’m sorry, Cass. ”
“Why would you even keep such a dangerous weapon at home? ” she growled. “Why not bury it?
”
“I keep it to protect my family,” her father snarled. “Sebastian is like family,” she said. “He’s my mate now. ”
Her father’s eyes widened in anger.
“Your mate? ”
Then a plan seemingly formed in his mind. “We can work with that,” he muttered under his breath. “Sebastian’s an Alpha.
He forced his way into your room at night, forced himself on you, and claimed you. Your brother defended you. ”
“I wanted him to claim me,” Cass protested furiously. “Well, you’ll keep that to yourself if you want you and your brother to live,” her father barked, lacing his words with all the Alpha command he could muster.
Cass felt the order freeze her body all the way down her spine. Cass banged on the magician’s front door as the sun barely rose in the sky. His assistant let her in. Soon, the magician appeared, greeted by Cass’s terrified but determined gaze.
“This time, there’ll be no changing my mind,” she declared, standing up from her chair. “You’re going to grant me a wish. I don’t care what it costs. ”
The magician’s eyes grew somber.
“I’ve told you the rules before. If I grant your wish, I’ll have to take what matters most to you. ”
Cass frowned. “Sebastian is what matters most to me.
Does that mean if you save him, you’ll only—”
“If he’s what matters most to you, then what will happen is that you’ll probably have to be apart. He’ll be alive, but not with you. ”
Cass’s shoulders sagged. If the choice were to let Sebastian die or resign herself to be apart from him, she’d take the second option.
“Do it. Save him. It’s what I wish for. ”
The magician reached for her hand, closing his eyes.
Then he let go abruptly. “You’re with child,” he said, looking conflicted. Cass looked taken aback, full of frightened disbelief. “I can’t be.
It hasn’t been even 24 hours since we last—” She interrupted herself. “What does it mean? Is there a risk the wish could harm the child? ”
The magician’s eyes looked conflicted.
“I’ll tell you what it is I’ll be taking before you make the wish. ”
His assistant gasped in shock, because the magician had always sworn that knowing in advance what you’d be losing was against the rules. “It’s fine,” Cass said, too preoccupied to be deterred. “We don’t have much time.
”
The magician grasped her hand again. “What matters most to you is being Sebastian’s mate. So I’ll be making sure you’ll never be able to be mates, by taking away the very thing that makes it possible. ”
Cass froze as understanding dawned.
“You mean my wolf. You’re going to make me human. ”
“Yes,” the magician said. Cass put her hand on her stomach, looking very much heartbroken.
“But my baby—he’ll have a wolf, surely? ” she whispered. “There’s a good chance, yes. But you probably won’t be able to raise him.
”
Cass closed her eyes, taking a deep, shaking breath. “Do it,” she said in a toneless voice. “Grant my wish. ”
Cass didn’t feel her wolf leave her body.
One minute she could feel it howling painfully against her broken mind. The next, it was gone, like it had never been there. It hadn’t hurt exactly, but the abrupt dulling of her senses made her gasp. Mostly, it was the absence, the nothingness in her mind that made her sway on her feet and scream.
When she returned to the pack, she felt like she’d become an old woman. Her body was sore and slow. Colors, smells, and sounds all seemed different now—dulled, like she’d entered a watered-down dimension. She felt cold quickly.
But mostly, she felt empty and alone. Her brother erupted from their home, waving at her excitedly. “Sebastian’s awake! He’s fine.
They’re discussing what happened with Father and the other Alphas. ”
“I’m not his mate,” Cass replied, staring down at her bare feet. Their mother exited the house, running toward them. “Cassandra!
Where have you been? What’s this I hear about you and Sebastian being mates? ”
“We’re not,” Cass replied, her tone flat. “What’s wrong?
” her mother said, taking her face between her hands. “What happened, baby? ”
The words were stuck in her throat. She thought that if she didn’t say them, it wouldn’t be true.
Then her mother’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh my God. Cassandra, where is your wolf? ”
Cass couldn’t bear to meet her eyes.
Her mother began to scream in horror. Sebastian suddenly entered her field of vision. At first, there was a bright, hopeful smile on his face at the sight of her. But it fell immediately when he met her gaze.
“What’s wrong? ” he asked quickly, making his way to them. “Did this magician do this to you? Take your wolf?
” Ronan asked, looking pale and shocked. “I asked him to,” she explained, before her brother or father could get it in their head to attack him. “Why would you do that? ” her brother lamented.
Sebastian reached her, taking her face between his hands. “Look at me,” he asked her. But she didn’t. It hurt to look at him, knowing he’d never be hers now.
“That’s how he healed you,” her father said, sending Sebastian a somber gaze. “I’d like to be alone now,” she told them. She fled before anybody could retort. When Cass was twenty-one, Sebastian insisted on seeing her.
It had been a week since the incident. She sat by the window, still hugging her knees, her hair a loose mess against her back. “Cass,” Sebastian said, dropping to his knees beside her, pulling her into his arms. “Do I smell strange?
” she couldn’t help but ask. Sebastian buried his face in her hair. “You smell like you always do. But fainter.
”
“It’s good that you came,” she told him. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you. ”
“I’m sorry I disrupted your engagement,” she said, looking outside the window because she couldn’t bear to look at him. “I’m sure if you try hard enough, your mate-to-be will reconsider.
And if not, there are plenty of others who—”
“What are you talking about? ” Sebastian asked, sounding sincerely confused. “You’re my mate. ”
“I’m no such thing,” Cass snapped, feeling like she was choking.
“I’m a human now. Mating bonds don’t exist with humans. ”
He remained quiet for a moment, but didn’t let go of her. “Does this bother you?
” he finally asked. “That we can’t be bonded? ”
“When I told you I loved you, I meant it,” she said, feeling tears welling up in her eyes for the first time in days. “Or did you think I was just saying that to aggravate you?
”
Sebastian looked startled and pained. “I meant it too,” he quickly intervened. “You never actually said it,” she muttered. He put his arms around her once more, his forehead resting against her arm.
“I love you too, Cass. I thought it was rather obvious. Pretty much the entire world but you has noticed it. ”
“Hardly matters now,” Cass cut in.
“Why would you say that? It’s all that matters to me, at least. ”
“Are you stupid? I’m a human.
I can’t be your mate. You’ll need one if you want to remain the leader of your pack. I won’t even be able to live amongst you, let alone be your mate. ”
Sebastian rolled his eyes, putting his hand against her mouth to shut her up.
“I already told my pack I renounced my title. ”
Cass’s eyes widened. “You really think I’d let my mate live somewhere dangerous? I’m not your mate,” Cassandra said despite the foolish hope blooming in her chest.
“You are. Though if you’re against that appellation, I hope you’ll at least do me the honor of being my wife. I hear humans are perfectly satisfied being husbands and wives instead of mates. ”
“Sebastian, you can’t.
You’ve worked your entire life to be Alpha. I can’t let you give it all up for me. ”
“Me? I’m barely giving anything up.
You, on the other hand, gave your wolf for me. A major part of yourself. If you think for one second I wouldn’t make a sacrifice infinitely smaller than the one you’ve made—”
“I’m pregnant,” Cass interrupted, watching his face intently. She’d expected it to crumble, but Sebastian merely looked surprised for a second before pure joy crossed his features.
“You are? ” he asked breathlessly. “I may not survive the birth. I won’t be able to look after him.
”
“Is it mine? ” Sebastian asked, eyes wide with disbelief and hope. Cass groaned. “Who else’s would it be, you fool?
There’s never been any others. ”
When Cass was twenty-two, the magician’s assistant saw her next. The magician had asked him to deliver a baby gift to her, which he refused to deliver in person. The assistant suspected he felt guilty for what he’d done to her, even though it was hardly his fault.
Cassandra was holding a four-month-old baby when the assistant arrived at her home. She was thinner than he remembered, looking more frail, but her baby was healthy, and so was her husband. “This is a gift from Adrien,” the assistant told her, handing her a small box. “A promise.
Should you or someone from your family need help, tell them to come to the shop with this ring. Adrien will do whatever he can to help. ”
“Could we go now and have him make Cass a wolf again? ” Sebastian asked.
“We’re days away from giving up our son to her brother for safety. She may not show it, but it’s keeping her awake at night. ”
“We already decided we wouldn’t risk going back,” Cass said, looking at her child resolutely. “Unfortunately, this type of request would require you to make a wish anyway,” the assistant explained.
“But if there’s ever anything else we can do—”
“You’ve done enough,” Sebastian snapped, showing him out. “Thank you. Tell him thank you,” Cassandra told him over her shoulder. Her gaze met his.
Despite everything, she did seem grateful.
