Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Cassian
The drive home was silent. The kind of silence that scraped down my spine. I kept my eyes on the road, jaw locked, trying not to say something I would regret. Carolyn sat beside me, pretending to be small and injured, but she knew damn well why I wasn’t speaking to her.
She didn’t ask. She didn’t breathe too loudly. She just waited, like she always did, trying to gauge how far she could push me this time.
When we pulled into the driveway, the lights brightened and one of the servants hurried forward.
“Welcome home, Your Majesty. Miss Carolyn p>
I didn’t bother responding. I just opened her door and motioned for her to adjust herself in the wheelchair. She hissed softly, exaggerated, hoping I would feel a shred of sympathy.
I didn’t. I pushed the chair ahead, straight through the entrance. The thought of her being a liar didn’t sit well with me. As if I didn’t know when she was telling the truth or lying with smooth tongue.
The house was too quiet. The servants were either having lunch or taking break.
It made her breathing sound louder than it was. When we reached the lift platform for the staircase, she glanced back like she wanted me to read something in her eyes. I ignored it and pressed the control.
Upstairs, I pushed her to her room. The servant opened the door and stepped out right after we entered.
I bent down to lift her from the chair. “Let’s get you into bed p>
She nodded, too quickly. She tried to say something but stayed quiet. Good. Because I wasn’t in mood for some stupid conversations.
“I will tell the servants to bring the first aid box to treat you. Don’t need to leave until your legs healed!” I said coldly,
I tried to scoop her into my arms to place her on the bed. The moment my arms slid under her, she wrapped hers around my neck. Tight, Almost desperate.
I froze, feeling the intentional cling. Her breathing was hitting my neck, her lips barely touched the skin, “What are you doing?” I asked, my eyes sharpening with darkness
She flinched but didn’t answer. Instead, she leaned in and kissed my cheek. Her fingers wrapped my neck with a desperate clutch as if she wouldn’t let me go easily.
Her scent followed immediately. Warm, floral and a thickness that only comes when a werewolf invites its
partner to mate.
My blood ran cold when I realized what she was doing. Certainly she wasn’t doing it unintentionally. Her intention was unmistakable.
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“What are you doing?” I almost threw her in bed and snarled, but I didn’t go that far. All I wanted was to get the hell out of here. I was confused about the Carolyn I knew. She had changed.
I placed her onto the bed, but she didn’t let go. She kept her arms around my neck, her face close to mine, her breath brushing my skin.
“Cassian,” she whispered. “You don’t have to act like you’re made of stone all the time. Let someone help you. Let someone stay with you.” Her scent intensified, blooming around me like a trap.
I growled low. “Carolyn. Stop p>
She froze for a second, then shook her head as if hurt. “I’m not doing anything wrong. I just want to be close to you. I want to be the one who would be by your side forever.” She declared, her fingers trailing the sharp jawlines of mine.
“No. You want something else entirely.” I pushed her away, my blood boiling, “What are you doing? Carolyn. This kind of topic is off limited. So stop it and take some rest. I will ask Servant to prepare your lunch!” I said with an attempt to leave.
“Have you forgotten about us in last fifteen years? Cassian. The only person who you cared more than anything was me. I even gave you my sister. But now you are forgetting our existence for her?
She looked away, jaw tightening. “I stayed with you. I supported you. I did everything your outsider never did. Even more, I was there when nobody was there for you p>
I narrowed my eyes. “Outsider p>
She took a shaky breath, preparing her next line like she had practiced it.
“Since you can accept an outsider,” she said slowly, “you can accept me too. At least temporarily. Until my sister returns p>
My eyes widened in shock and disbelief. She wanted to be a temporary replacement for her sister? Carolyn? The woman who hated to be tied down to someone else? Even me?
I straightened, pulling her arms off my neck. “So that’s what this is about,” I said. “You think you can fill a role p>
She didn’t deny it. That told me everything.
“You tried to seduce me for a position,” I said. “Not because you cared. Not because you wanted me. But because
you wanted a title p>
Her lips parted, and panic flickered across her eyes. “I only wanted to be useful to you,” she whispered. “To be someone you could rely on p>
“By using scent manipulation?” I snapped. “By kissing me without permission? By clinging to me the moment
we’re alone p>
She swallowed hard. “You accepted her. She’s not even your love of life. She wasn’t even from here. And still, you let her in. Why can’t you do the same for me until Elle comes back? Why am I the one who gets pushed
aside p>
your
“Because you didn’t accept me when I told you that I preferred you to be my Luna instead of anyone… Even sister.” I snarled, my voice shaking at this point. ” Now what’s the point with all of this stupid things? It’s you who pushed me away, Carolyn. It’s you who pushed me to accept and love your sister when it was you who I loved for years and you knew it!” My voice grew louder. I said finally something that I had been holding
up
inside me.
“And now you are trying to play a role in this? This is not a role. I married that woman legally. She is my wife and my responsibilities for her is much more important than handling yours p>
Carolyn’s breathing hitched. Her fingers curled on the blanket. “I only did what I had to. You don’t respond to hints. You don’t respond to kindness. I had to try p>
“You crossed a line,” I cut in. “And you knew exactly what you were doing. And crossing the boundaries that I put ten years ago, you crossed it p>
Her eyes widened, finally realizing I wasn’t softening this time.
“You think staying close to me gives you a right to me,” I continued. “It doesn’t. And it never will. You lost the chance ten years ago p>
She opened her mouth to argue, but I stepped back, letting the distance between us grow cold and sharp.
“This ends now. You are my family who I won’t abandon but certainly I won’t let you hurt my wife, my Luna for your insanity p>
Her face crumpled…not with heartbreak, but with the bitter frustration of someone whose plan had just fallen apart in her hands.
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