Chapter 125
Elowen's POV
We were already moving through the empty corridors, Cassian's hand gripping mine so tightly it almost hurt. His fingers were ice cold, trembling slightly despite his attempts to appear controlled.
The mate bond pulsed between us—warm, electric, like tiny fires dancing across my skin. But beneath that warmth, I could feel his terror. Raw and unfiltered.
"Do you think Leo will let us near him?" Cassian's voice cracked, breaking the heavy silence.
I thought about what Selene had told me. About Raven. About the false memories planted in Casper's mind like poison seeds.
"Should I tell him?" I asked Juno silently. "About Raven's true nature? About what's really happening to Casper?"
"Be careful," Juno warned, her voice measured and cautious. "The truth is a weapon, and they're already wounded. Choose your moment wisely. The wrong words at the wrong time could shatter what little control Casper has left."
Her warning echoed through my mind like a funeral bell. One misstep could destroy everything.
I reached out through the bond again, desperate for any sign of Casper.
His pain hit me like a physical blow—sharp, overwhelming, suffocating.
"I'm coming!" I sent to him. "Stay there, okay? Please, just stay there."
Nothing came back. Just terrible, hollow silence.
But I could feel him. The agony radiating through our connection. The fear eating him alive from the inside out.
My chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. Guilt twisted in my gut like a serrated knife.
"He won't hurt you," I said to Cassian, squeezing his hand. "He loves you. You're his brother. His twin. Nothing will change that."
Cassian's ice-blue eyes searched mine, looking for something—truth, hope, absolution.
"Do you really believe that?"
"Yes." And I did. I had to.
We reached the staircase. I looked up at the seemingly endless steps and groaned internally.
"So many fucking stairs," I muttered under my breath. "When this is over, I'm kicking Casper's ass for making us climb these."
Cassian's lips twitched. Almost a smile. "Get in line."
We climbed together, our footsteps echoing in the empty space.
The Pack House felt like a tomb. Everyone was either helping the injured or staying hidden, afraid of what else might happen tonight.
"What if he doesn't want to see me?" Cassian's voice was barely a whisper. "What if he blames me for not stopping Leo?"
I stopped on the stairs, turning to face him fully. My hand reached up to cup his cheek, feeling the tension in his jaw.
"Listen to me," I said firmly. "You couldn't have stopped Leo. None of us could. Leo took control because Casper was drowning in pain and rage. That's not your fault."
A muscle pulsed beneath my palm. "I should have been faster. Stronger. I should have—"
"Stop." I pressed my forehead against his. "You're doing exactly what you need to do right now. You're here. You're coming with me to bring him back."
Cassian exhaled shakily, his breath warm against my face.
We continued climbing.
Near the top, I felt it again—that unmistakable wrongness in the air. Like reality itself was slightly off-kilter.
"There's someone else here," Cassian said quietly, his entire body going tense. "Can you smell it?"
I inhaled deeply. Beneath the lingering scents of blood and fear, there was something else. Something that didn't belong.
Metal. Incense. Blood.
The demon.
"Raven," Juno growled low in my mind. "He's still here. Still poisoning Casper's thoughts."
Ice flooded my veins.
"We have to get Casper out," I said urgently. "Now. Before Raven does any more damage."
We reached the ballroom doors. They loomed before us—dark, ominous, like the entrance to hell itself.
Cassian reached for the handle, but I grabbed his wrist.
"Wait. Let me go first."
"Elowen—"
"Please." I looked up at him, my pulse hammering against my ribs. "I have to believe Leo won't hurt me. Deep down, he's still Casper, and our bond... our bond has to be stronger than his rage. Let me be the one to reach him first."
Cassian stared at me for a long moment, his expression torn between protective instinct and desperate hope.
Then he nodded slowly.
"But I'm right behind you. One wrong move and I'm intervening."
"Deal."
I pushed open the door.
The ballroom was destroyed. Shattered glass carpeted the floor like deadly snow. Overturned tables lay scattered like fallen giants. And blood—so much blood—stained the elegant hardwood in dark, spreading pools.
In the center of it all, kneeling on the floor, was Casper.
He was on his knees, hands pressed flat against the ground. Right where Austin had fallen. Right where his father had died.
A sharp pain lanced through my chest at the sight.
"Casper," I whispered.
He didn't move. Didn't acknowledge us at all.
I took a careful step forward. Glass crunched under my shoes, the sound unnaturally loud in the oppressive silence.
"Baby," I tried again, keeping my voice soft. Gentle. "It's me. It's Elowen."
Still nothing.
Cassian moved beside me, his presence solid and grounding. His hand found mine again.
That wrongness in the air intensified. My skin crawled with it.
"He was here recently," Juno said. "Raven. His scent is everywhere."
A chill ran down my spine like ice water.
"We have to get Casper out," I repeated to Cassian. "Before Raven comes back."
But before we could move, Casper finally looked up.
His eyes were bloodshot and swollen. Tears carved clean tracks through the dirt and blood on his face. When he saw me, something flickered in his gaze—recognition, relief, desperation.
"Elowen." My name broke coming out of his mouth, shattered into pieces by his grief. "I... I did it. I killed him."
Pain exploded in my chest so sharp I almost gasped.
"No." I shook my head firmly, starting to walk toward him despite the glass. "No, you didn't."
"You don't understand. Leo... he showed me. I remember now. I remember everything." His voice was hollow, haunted. "The rage. The moment I lost control. My claws in his chest. His blood on my hands."
"Those aren't real memories!" I dropped to my knees in front of him, ignoring the glass biting into my skin. My hands cupped his face, forcing him to look at me. "Casper, listen to me. You didn't kill your father."
His amber eyes went wide, confusion cutting through the despair.
"What?"
"Someone's messing with your head. Planting false memories. Making you see things that didn't happen." I searched his face desperately. "The man who was here earlier—the one who showed you those memories—where is he?"
Casper blinked, his expression lost and broken.
"I... he was just here. Gray eyes. Dark clothes." He looked around the destroyed ballroom as if seeing it for the first time. "He said... he said he was trying to help me remember the truth."
"He lied." My voice was hard now, angry. "His name is Raven, and he's a demon. He's been manipulating you, Casper. Everything he showed you was a lie designed to destroy you from the inside out."
Casper stared at me, his mind clearly struggling to process what I was saying.