Adolphus’s POV
I didn’t mask my fury as I locked eyes with her across the throne room.
“Where is Katrina?”
The words cut through the air, harsh and immediate. I didn’t have the patience for Cassandra’s posturing. Not tonight. Not after everything.
For a moment, just a beat, her smile faltered. The corners of her lips twitched, her eyes narrowing slightly as though the question struck a nerve she hadn’t prepared for. But she recovered quickly, letting her chin lift in practiced poise.
“Straight to the point, aren’t you?” she said smoothly, her heels echoing across the marble floor as she stepped closer. “I knew you’d ask about her first.”
The venom in her voice was subtle, but it was there, bitter, and resentful.
“Then you knew I wouldn’t play this game without her,” I snapped, voice sharp with controlled rage.
Cassandra’s expression hardened. The amusement faded from her eyes. “You’re in no position to negotiate,” she said, flat and cold.
I took a step forward, the urge to rip through every lie and mask in the room pulsing under my skin.
Immediately, the guards on either side of me closed in. Their grips tightened around my arms, holding me in place like I was some beast that might lose control at any second.
And maybe I would.
My blood was boiling, adrenaline surging just beneath the surface. Every muscle in my body was coiled tight, ready to strike.
“I know you took her,” I growled. My voice dropped low, deadly. “Tell me where she is.”
Cassandra didn’t flinch. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, studying me as if trying to decide how far she could push. “And why,” she asked, drawing out the words, “would I do that?”
“Because if you don’t,” I said, my tone icy, “I’ll make sure this entire room burns before the night is over.”
The air shifted.
For the first time, something passed over her face, uncertainty. Brief and fleeting, but unmistakable. Her posture didn’t break, but her eyes flickered.
She wasn’t afraid.
But she was wary.
Good.
“You don’t have that kind of power,” she said, but her voice held an edge now. No longer absolute. She was testing me.
I smirked, slow and cold. “Try me.”
The tension in the room spiked. The guards exchanged a glance. Servants froze along the walls, their eyes flicking between us.
Before Cassandra could open her mouth to respond, the doors at the back of the chamber groaned open.
A hush fell instantly.
The Alpha entered.
He strode into the throne room with the slow, deliberate gait of a man who never questioned whether people would obey him. His presence was suffocating, as always, tall, broad-shouldered, wrapped in ceremonial black robes threaded with crimson. The air around him seemed to grow heavier with every step.
He didn’t look at anyone else. His eyes were fixed on me.
The moment his gaze landed, I knew this wasn’t going to end in reason.
“Adolphus,” he said, his voice deep, rich, and cold. It reverberated off the chamber walls like thunder. “You have been summoned for an important matter.”
I stood straighter. Didn’t flinch. “I’m listening.”
The Alpha moved to his throne and sat, the sound of his robes settling against the carved stone the only noise in the room. His fingers drummed rhythmically against the armrest, calm, calculated. Behind him, the flickering chandelier cast jagged shadows across the floor.
“Cassandra has proven herself,” he said, “to be the true bearer of the Lunar Flame.”
The words struck like a slow, creeping poison.
He kept going. “It is only right that we secure the bond between her and a powerful mate.”
I knew where this was going, but still, hearing it out loud—
He leaned forward slightly. “Tonight, you will be mated to Cassandra.”
A heavy silence followed. The weight of his words hit like a hammer to the chest.
And somewhere beneath the surface of my skin, my wolf began to snarl.