Chapter 424
Chapter 424
Third Person’s POV
+5 Pearls
Cassian stood his ground, his eyes as dark and bottomless as the night. “Just give me your word. Tell me you’ll cut Elias out of your life for good, that you’ll never take another thing from him, and I’ll take you off his island right now p>
Their eyes met.
Trista didn’t hesitate for a single second. She snatched the pillow from behind her and hurled it at his face with everything she had.
‘Who the hell do you think you are, Cassian? Since when do you get a vote in my private life? You think you’re still the Alpha who can just bark orders at me p>
Her chest heaved, her voice raspy but unbreakable. “I would rather be alone for the rest of my life–I would rather starve to death on this rock–than ever go back to you. You are never marking me again p>
Cassian sat on the edge of the bed, letting the pillow hit him.
He leaned down and picked it up. Those eyes, which used to command an entire pack with a single glance, were now clouded with the grey film of a dying soul.
‘Is there really no forgiveness left?” he whispered, as if asking his own shattered reflection.
Trista leaned against the headboard, her gaze as sharp as a scalpel. “Forgive you? Cassian, if you had shown me a shred of respect back then, I wouldn’t find you so repulsive today. You’ve already kidnapped me, so fine–I’ve only got one life to give. I’d rather rot here than give in to you p>
Cassian’s grip tightened on the pillow until his knuckles went white. Inside, his wolf was tearing itself apart, caught between a feral rage and a crushing depression.
He wanted to roar, to pin her down and reclaim his territory, but looking into her dead, hollow eyes, all that impulse turned into a bitter metallic tang in the back of his throat.
The air in the room felt like it had been sucked out.
After a long silence, Cassian set the pillow down. He gave her one last, lingering look and walked out of the bedroom.
Trista kept her back rigid until she heard the heavy thud of the door closing. Only then did she collapse back onto the mattress, her strength failing.
This was Cassian’s private kingdom. Without his say–so, no one was getting in, and she was never getting
out.
If she couldn’t escape, she had one weapon left: she would bleed his patience dry until he finally gave up
on her.
A short while later, the door opened again. Cassian was back, carrying a bowl of hot soup.
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0:31 am PD
Chapter 424
The steam rising from the bowl felt invasive in the cold, silent room.
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+5 Pearls
He didn’t say much. He just set the tray on the nightstand, his eyes–usually so full of a need for control- now rimmed with exhaustion. “Drink this. Your body can’t take much more of this p>
When Trista didn’t move, he leaned over to help her sit up.
She flinched, pulling away by reflex. She turned her back to him, curling into a defensive ball, using her cold shoulder to shut him out of her world completely.
Cassian dropped to one knee by the bedside, looking like a defeated stray kicked out of the pack. He braced one hand behind her, effectively boxing her in.
“Your blood sugar is low,” he said, his voice shimmering with a desperate, dark light. “If you don’t eat, you’re going to crash. Are you trying to drive my wolf insane with guilt p>
When she remained as still as a statue, Cassian’s fragile grip on his sanity finally broke.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to turn around and face him.
His pheromones were completely haywire, a muddy mess of anxiety and heat.
He tried to soften his voice, but it came out sounding like a plea. “Trista, be mad at me all you want, but don’t take it out on your body. Eat something. You need your strength if you want to keep fighting me p>
Trista looked up at him, her eyes so full of detachment it was blinding. She had erased him from her map. “Cassian, don’t flatter yourself. I’m not ‘fighting‘ you. I just can’t stomach anything you make. It makes me sick p>
They stared at each other from inches away. Cassian’s fingers trembled as he slowly let her go.
Trista turned away again, the distance between them feeling like a canyon.
He was losing it, he was breaking down, but she knew why–it was because his precious Alpha ego had been bruised.
He still didn’t get what he’d actually done wrong.
He was just used to her being there, the loyal she–wolf who would always wait for him. His possessiveness had fermented into a sick obsession with keeping her caged.
Cassian sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her rigid back. The bloodshot veins in his eyes were spreading.
“Trista,” he rasped. “I’m asking you one last time. Are you going to eat, or not p>
Silence. She was as still as a graveyard.
Cassian’s breathing grew heavy, his chest heaving.
He finally snapped. He lunged forward, ignoring her sharp struggle as he hauled her into his arms, forcing
her to straddle his lap. He trapped her against him, his arm around her waist like a steel band.
10:31 am PDX.
Chapter 424
With a shaking hand, he brought the ceramic bowl to her lips.
In that moment, Trista felt a violation unlike anything else.
++5 Pearls
She fought with every scrap of strength, locking her jaw and letting out a low, guttural sound of revolt.
In the chaos, there was a loud “CRACK.” The bowl was knocked out of his hand, shattering against the floor. Thick, hot soup splashed over both of them as the porcelain exploded, the sharp sound echoing through the room like a gunshot.
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Sara Lili
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.