Chapter 451
Chapter 451
Third Person’s POV
Finished
A flicker of primal, predatory possession flashed in Isaiah’s eyes. “In my entire life, I’ve never seen anyone like her. She has that high–born Luna nobility baked into her bones, but her soul is the purest thing I’ve ever encountered. If she didn’t insist on treating me like some cub she needs to protect–if she’d give me. even an inch of an opening–I would have dragged her back to my territory, marked her as mine, and made her my only mate a long time ago p>
He paused, his voice turning dead serious. “I’d hide her in the deepest, safest part of my den and guard her with my life. A she–wolf like that… she’s worth worshipping. I’d spend the rest of my life just standing guard over her if that’s all she’d let me do p>
Once Isaiah left, the booth fell back into a tomb–like silence. Fred stepped inside.
Trista was direct and open; it was a trait written into the Silverlight pack bloodline.
Those wolves didn’t do mind games. They were straight shooters, even Attwater–none of them had a devious bone in their bodies.
Fred looked at Cassian. The man was ghost–white, his deep eyes looking like hollowed–out craters.
Fred’s brow furrowed in concern. “Where are your suppressants? I’ll go get them p>
Cassian gripped his empty glass so hard his knuckles turned a sickly blue.
He forced the words out of a throat that sounded like it was full of broken glass. “It’s no use p>
The moment he had forced himself to sever every tie with Trista on that island–the moment he watched their mate bond shatter into a million pieces–the man he used to be died.
There was no medicine on earth that could heal an Alpha who had lost his Luna.
Cassian closed his eyes in agony. “Just leave me alone p>
Fred stared at him but didn’t push. He silently poured a glass of plain water and set it down.
“Cassian, you’re the backbone of the Ironthorns,” Fred said firmly. “If you cave, the whole foundation of the pack starts to shake, Pull yourself together. Don’t let your people see you like this p>
Cassian didn’t even seem to hear the advice. His voice was as cold as a mountain winter. “Let my mom and Wynn stay at the Icepeak estate for a while. It’s quiet there. I don’t want them at Ironthorn breathing down my neck p>
Fred frowned. “You’re really okay with those two elders being left alone? You trust that p>
Cassian didn’t answer. He sat with his head down, his thin lips pressed into a hard, white line.
Fred let out a heavy sigh of frustration. “Cassian, she’s good to Isaiah, she’s good to Alistair… she’s good to everyone. That’s just the Silverlight blood in her. It’s pure, raw devotion. And she gave that to you first. You’re the one who shoved her away. You’re the one who let it slip through your fingers p>
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Chapter 451
Finished
Cassian slumped back, his suit jacket sliding off his knees onto the floor.
He leaned forward, digging his elbows into his knees and burying his hands in his messy hair as if he were trying to crush his own skull.
Fred knew he was in pain, but he had to twist the knife to wake him up. “Cassian, some mistakes can’t be fixed. Once a bond is cut, it stays cut. Get it through your head and stop being so damn stubborn p>
Cassian looked like the life had been drained out of him. He fell back into the shadows of the sofa, clutching his chest right where the mate–mark used to be.
Now, there was nothing there but a hollow ache.
“I want to let go,” he rasped, his voice thick with despair. “But I can’t p>
Every night, when the world went quiet, he’d go back to the nest they used to share. He’d lie on the bed that still smelled like her, and he’d be too terrified to close his eyes.
Because the second he closed them, he’d see her.
He’d see the bright, beautiful she–wolf who had loved him with everything she had, and he’d remember exactly how he’d spent three years freezing her out.
Now, she was using that same coldness to block every road back to her.
She wasn’t giving him an inch of a chance to make it right; she was just standing back, coolly watching him get executed by his own regret.
Cassian was losing his mind.
With a trembling hand, he reached into his robe and pulled out a crystal pendant he always kept on him.
The moment his fingertips touched it, it was like touching the yellowed old photo Trista had sealed inside it herself.
Cassian’s eyes went bloodshot, his voice shaking violently. “I’m such a piece of shit p>
Fred stared at the pendant, his jaw tightening. “Throw that thing away, Cassian. Keeping it is just going to finish you off p>
Fred reached out to grab it, but Cassian protected it with a frantic, desperate strength, clutching it so hard it probably bit into his palm.
“Cassian, dammit!” Fred growled. “She left you that thing even after everything you put her through, but it’s not a memento–it’s a torture device! It’s going to kill you p>
Cassian pressed the pendant against his heart, shaking his head as tears welled in his eyes. “This is the only thing I have left of her… I can’t lose it. If I lose this, I’ve truly lost her forever p>
Fred realized he couldn’t win this fight and backed off.
He watched Cassian shivering, looking more dead than alive. After a long silence, Fred finally asked the
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Chapter 451
most brutal question of all. “Cassian… did you… did you ever actually love her p>
Cassian’s hand froze on the pendant. He looked up at Fred, his eyes wide and vacant.
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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.