POV Cassidy
I couldn't stop thinking about Tessa's performance at the pack meeting.
The way she'd positioned herself as the voice of reason, suggesting diplomatic contact with Marcus Blackwood while making herself indispensable to the decision-making process. Every word, every gesture designed to make her seem mature and thoughtful.
What if the Moon Goddess really did favor her? What if Tessa's sophistication and pack breeding made her the better choice for Luna? The thought twisted in my stomach like poison as I walked to Ruth's cottage for morning training.
"You're troubled," Ruth observed the moment I entered her small, herb-scented home.
"It's Tessa." I sank into the chair across from her kitchen table, exhaustion weighing down my bones. "She's using charm like a weapon, making me feel like an outsider in my own life. And Theo can't see it."
"Tell me what you're thinking."
"She's positioning herself perfectly. Being helpful, reasonable, supportive. Making herself seem like the obvious choice for pack leadership while I struggle with basic werewolf abilities."
I rubbed my temples where a headache was building.
"What if I don't belong here?"
Ruth poured tea with deliberate precision, her ancient eyes studying my face. "The Moon Goddess tests every potential Luna through betrayal and doubt, child. This is your test."
"What if I fail it?"
"Then you were never meant to be Luna." She said. "But I don't believe that's the case. Tessa's true nature will eventually be revealed. The question is whether you'll trust the Goddess or let fear decide your fate."
She set the steaming mug before me. "Today's training focuses on the Mind Link. It's about testing trust, both in yourself and in your potential mates."
"What's a Mind Link?"
"The deepest connection possible between wolves. It allows you to hear thoughts, share emotions, understand another's heart completely." Ruth's expression grew serious. "But it requires absolute vulnerability. No walls, no pretense, no fear."
"That sounds terrifying."
"It should. True intimacy always is." She handed me my phone. "Call both brothers. This training requires partners."
I dialed Theo first, my heart hammering as I waited for him to answer.
"Hey," his voice carried distraction. "What's up?"
"I need you for Mind Link training. Can you come over to Ruth’s house?"
"I'm swamped with pack business right now. That Marcus situation has everyone on edge, and Dad wants contingency plans for every possible scenario." Papers rustled in the background. "I'll come as soon as I finish, okay? Maybe an hour or two."
Disappointment crashed over me. "Sure. I understand."
I knew it was petty, almost childlike, but the thought still burned: How could he put pack business ahead of teaching me the skills that could shape our future together?
I called Xander next, expecting similar excuses about tactical planning or border patrols.
"I'll be right there," he said immediately. "Give me ten minutes."
The contrast stung with painful clarity. Theo made me feel like an obligation squeezed between more important responsibilities. Xander made me feel like a priority.
True to his word, Xander appeared at Ruth's cottage within ten minutes, concern etched across his features.
"What do you need?" he asked without preamble.
"Mind Link training," Ruth explained. "Cassidy needs to learn to open her consciousness to supernatural connection."
We settled in Ruth's living room, where crystals and herbs created an atmosphere thick with otherworldly energy.
But despite Ruth's patient guidance through meditation techniques, I couldn't concentrate. My mind kept circling back to Tessa's manipulation, Theo's absence, the impossible choice looming over everything.
"I can't do this," I said after the third failed attempt. "Nothing's working."
Xander watched me struggle with an expression I couldn't read. Finally, he spoke.
"Let me help."
"She has to learn." Ruth said.
"Right, she needs to learn this. But I can guide her through the connection." His gray eyes found mine. "If you trust me."
Ruth hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Very well. But carefully."
Xander moved to sit directly in front of me, close enough that our knees touched. The air between us seemed to crackle with electricity.
"Look at me," he said quietly. "Just at me. Nothing else exists right now."
His hands came up to frame my face, thumbs brushing across my cheekbones with gentle precision. The touch sent fire racing through my nervous system.
"Feel my touch," he murmured, his voice dropping to that rough honey tone that made my pulse hammer. "Look into my eyes. Listen to my voice. Let everything else disappear."
I stared into his gray eyes that held secrets I'd never imagined. His forehead pressed against mine, and suddenly I could hear whispers at the edge of my consciousness.
She's beautiful like this. Vulnerable. Perfect. I want to protect her from everything that could hurt her, including myself.
The thought wasn't mine. It was his, going through whatever barrier had been keeping our minds separate. The intimacy of it felt like invasion and invitation combined.
I should step away. Should let Theo have her completely. But I can't. She pulls at something in me that feels vital.
"Xander," I whispered, overwhelmed by the dangerous intimacy of hearing his unguarded thoughts.
Say my name again. Let me pretend for just a moment that you’re mine.
The connection deepened, our consciousness bleeding together until I couldn't tell where I ended and he began. His emotions crashed through me—longing, guilt, protective fury, and love so fierce it stole my breath.
The front door opened silently.
Theo stood in the doorway, his eyes taking in our intimate position with an expression that shifted from concern to understanding to jealous rage in heartbeats.
"What the hell is this?" His voice carried a lethal quiet.
Xander jerked back, severing the Mind Link so abruptly that I gasped from the psychic whiplash. But the damage was done.
"It's training," Xander said carefully, rising to his feet.
"Training?" Theo's laugh was bitte. "It looks like you're doing exactly what you did with Tessa. Taking what belongs to someone else."
"That's not what this was."
"Isn't it?" Theo stepped into the room. "I find my brother with his hands on my girl, their foreheads touching, looking like they're about to kiss. What am I supposed to think?"
"You're supposed to trust me," I said desperately. "Theo, this isn't what you think."
"Then explain it to me. Explain why every time I turn around, Xander's touching you, helping you, being everything I'm apparently not."
Frustration exploded through my chest. "You want to know why? Because he shows up. Because when I need help, he doesn't tell me he's too busy with pack business."
"I have responsibilities—"
"So does he! But he makes time for what matters." The words poured out before I could stop them. "And speaking of people who can't be trusted, you want to know who's really manipulating everyone? Tessa. She's playing you like a violin, making you think she's reformed while she positions herself to take over pack leadership."
Theo's face went stone-cold. "You're really going to attack Tessa while you're sitting here with my brother?"
"I'm telling you the truth! She's using your good nature against you, making herself seem indispensable while undermining everyone else. But you can't see it because you want to believe people can change."
"Maybe people can change. Maybe you're the one who's changed." His voice carried devastating quiet.
"Theo, don't—"
But he was already turning toward the door, his shoulders rigid with hurt pride and betrayal.
"When you figure out what you really want, let me know."
The door closed behind him with finality that made my heart shatter.