44. Adrianna

44

ADRIANNA

I choke on a gasp as I watch Cassian fall to his knees. The world shifts in slow motion, playing out like a movie scene. I can't breathe. My feet are carrying me before I even realize it as I drop to the dirt beside my wolf.

Pressing my palm against the wound at his neck, I scream out for Brody to help, but he's already at my side, planting his hand over mine as he chants under his breath.

It does nothing.

Nothing.

Chaos continues to erupt around us, but my sole focus is on Cassian.

He just killed his father, and now he's not healing.

I frown, looking at Brody for an answer as his gaze narrows in thought. Retracting his touch on Cassian, he reaches for my hand, placing it back over the wound once more.

"The only thing that can heal a wound received during a duel is the person the duel was for," Brody breathes, and realization washes over me. My hold is firmer, my need to heal him raw. This was a duel, just like the rest, but because it was his father, I hadn't acknowledged it in the same way.

My eyes fall to Cassian's face. "Come on, Cassian," I breathe, reliving the entire scene in my mind as I will his wound to heal.

The second Kenner launched himself at Cassian, I tried to interject, but Janie had held firm that I couldn't. Nestled between Kryll and Raiden, I stood my ground, hating every second of the distance between us, until an idea had come to mind.

Before I could think better of it or be talked off the ledge, I lifted the mental blockers in my mind and gushed toward Cassian.

I felt everything he felt.

I ached over everything that pained him.

I choked when he garbled as Dalton sliced through his flesh with his bare teeth.

It was too much, threatening to bring me to my knees more than once. But as much as it hurt, I couldn't stop. I wouldn't. He couldn't experience this without someone to understand. If standing beside him in his most suffering moment is all I can offer him, I will do so gladly because he deserves someone to pain themselves for him.

He's been through enough. The overwhelming emotions that catapulted themselves at me didn't make sense, but to him they would, and that made me ache even more.

Brody gently squeezes my fingers, bringing me back to the present as the sound of wolves howling fills the air. I meet Brody's gaze and he offers me a small nod, silently conveying for me to look, and I slowly turn to look at where my hand is still pressed against Cassian's throat.

His head is slumped, his chin resting against his chest like it's too heavy for him to lift his head, so I do it for him. He may not be ready to face the world, and I'll have to apologize for it later, but I need to see him.

"Cassian," I breathe, cupping his chin as I tilt his head back. His fiery eyes find mine and guilt washes over him.

"I'm sorry about your mom," his words are so soft they could have been stolen by the wind, but I can feel them through our connection too, solidifying how fated we are.

Blinking at him, I shake my head. "That's not your fault." Prying my eyes from his, I spy Janie's wolf standing protectively over my mother's lifeless body while a jet black wolf with piercing green eyes pins another in place.

I knew it was my mother immediately. The moment she launched through the air, a striking resemblance to my own wolf, I knew. My heart had leapt in my chest as she rushed into the fray when Cassian was attacked by the wolf I now know is Dalton, but it was short lived before the latter got his revenge.

Looking at my mother now sends a numbness over me. I don't know how to feel, so my mind chooses to feel nothing. There will forever be words unspoken between us, no finality worth documenting, and that's what weighs heaviest on my heart.

Otherwise, how am I supposed to mourn someone twice? She hasn't been a part of my life for so long, it leaves me confused. Clinging to the numbness, I turn back to Cassian at the same time Janie's voice snaps through the air.

"You're the alpha now, Cass."

The man in question freezes beside me, shaking his head as he takes my hand and rises to his feet, taking me with him.

"No."

"Cass—" Janie appears at my side, eyebrows drawn tight as he shakes his head.

"I said no. He can have it," he grunts, pointing toward Dalton, which earns a scoff from the woman standing shoulder to shoulder with me.

It's like there's a sense of solidarity between us, especially when we do this, but panic creeps up my throat. Cassian as their alpha? That's not for me to state.

"Nobody here wants that man to be our alpha, Cassian," Janie insists, not even bothering to look in Dalton's direction. It's clear Cassian doesn't believe her, so she takes a step back, gaining support from the wolves that have lurked in the shadows the entire time. One by one, they step forward, silently confirming Janie's words. "That man doesn't deserve the power that comes with being our alpha and you know it. This is your time, your compound, your pack. Take it ."

Cassian shakes his head, blood staining his clothes as he tries to take a step back, but he's quickly blocked off by the wolves circling around him. If I didn't have the context for this moment, I would think he was in danger, but the air is filled with silent pleas and unanswered promises of a better future.

"Over. My. Dead. Body." The words are called out on a snarl, garnering everyone's attention and swinging the focus to Dalton, who is still pinned beneath the black wolf. His gaze is locked on Cassian's, the darkened edges of his pupils replicating the sinister promise, just like Kenner's always did.

"With pleasure," Janie snarls, knocking me back into waiting arms as she charges toward the man in question.

I barely have time to register that it's Raiden who prevents me from falling over before she's pummeling the man with her bare fists while the wolf holding him in place doesn't move.

"Fuck. Janie!" Cassian yells, trying to interject, but he doesn't manage a single step with the wolves surrounding us holding him captive.

I gape, wide eyed, completely out of place as the pounding of flesh on flesh echoes through the night air. Janie finally stands after what feels like an eternity, blood coating her knuckles and splattering across her t-shirt to match. The second she's out of the way, the black wolf finishes off the job, ripping and tearing at Dalton's flesh with his teeth until there's little to recognize the man by.

A satisfactory smile spreads wickedly over Janie's face as she turns to look at Cassian. "What? Don't give me that look. He said over my dead body and I was happy to oblige." Her smile grows from ear to ear as she shrugs like the badass bitch she is.

"Janie," Cassian says with a sigh, swiping a hand down his face as he looks at her helplessly.

Her shoulders slump as she takes a tentative step toward him. Like magic, the crowd of wolves create a path for her, solidifying what we all know.

They want Cassian as their alpha.

"It has to be you, Cass," she breathes when she's right in front of him, the truth empowering her words as he shakes his head, but his defiance is growing weaker. He knows it as much as she does, he's just not willing to admit it.

"I can't deal with this right now," he murmurs, groaning into his hands before his eyes find mine.

My body is moving of its own accord. My hands are at his neck, slipping through the hair at his nape as he instinctively rests his forehead on mine.

"It's okay." I don't entirely know what is okay, I just know he needs to hear it from me. I can feel it in my veins.

He sighs, his muscles easing a fraction as I inch closer, standing flush against him so we're chest to chest.

"We should go," Raiden states from behind me, reminding me we're not alone; far from it.

"He can't. Not yet," Janie answers, and I look deep into Cassian's eyes seeing the resolution clearly for the first time.

A soft smile curves my lips. "I swear, if you think I'm going to start calling you Alpha, you're in for a rude awakening," I muse, trying my best to lighten the situation, and he scoffs.

"You'll always be my alpha, Addi." His lips ghost over mine in the next breath, leaving me light on my feet as I sway in his grasp. "Are you sure about this?" he whispers against my lips, and I shrug.

"It's not for me to be sure of, Cassian. This is for you. If you want this, then take it. If you don't, then I'll stand shoulder to shoulder with you against everyone who tries to say otherwise. It's as simple as that."

"As simple as that," he repeats, eyes searching mine. For what? I'm not entirely sure, but he seems to find it a moment later.

"I want it. They deserve it."

I nod. "So do you."

His fingers squeeze at my waist, clinging to me for a moment longer before he steps back. "You should head back. I won't be far behind you."

I don't want to leave him, I don't want a moment apart, not after this, but there's a sense within me that vibrates from him, confirming that it's what he needs, and I meant it when I said this isn't about me. It's about him.

"My mother?"

"She'll be laid to rest as a respected member of the pack," he answers without missing a beat, and I smile, not really sure how to respond. He must sense the uncertainty warring inside of me because he places a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth before he steps back. "Go. The pack needs me, but the kingdom needs you more."