Chapter 195
Elowen's POV
As we reached the top landing and turned toward the corridor that would lead to the guest wing—and away from the Alpha's quarters—I felt the first real stirrings of relief. Maybe we were really doing this. Maybe we were really—
"Wait."
Cassian's voice cut through my thoughts, and I felt him stop abruptly, his body going tense beside me. Through the bond, confusion and... was that suspicion?
"What?" I turned to look at him, concerned.
His ice-blue eyes were fixed on my face, and there was something in his expression I couldn't quite read. "You said you understand why they did it."
It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. "I understand the impulse to protect your children at any cost—"
"Do you think they were right?" The words came out harder than I think he intended, and I felt Casper stiffen on my other side.
"What? No, I—"
"Because it sounded like you were defending them." Cassian's hand dropped from my waist, and the sudden loss of contact made me feel cold. "Like you were saying we should just... what? Forgive them? Move on?"
The fuck? Juno bristled. We didn't say that at all!
"I wasn't defending them," I said, trying to keep my voice level even as frustration bubbled up. "I was trying to understand them. There's a difference, Cassian."
"Is there?" His eyes had gone colder, more distant, and it felt like a knife to my chest. "Because from where I'm standing, it sounds like you're making excuses for people who sold you out. Who lied to my brother for his entire life. Who—"
"Don't."
The single word came from Casper, quiet but firm. He'd moved to stand slightly in front of me, not quite blocking me from Cassian but making his position clear. "Don't do this, Cass. She's not defending them."
"Then what is she doing?" Cassian's voice had taken on that dangerous edge, the one that meant Zero was close to the surface. "Enlighten me, brother."
The tension crackling between them made my skin prickle with unease. This wasn't right. We were supposed to be united, supposed to be—
Stop them, Juno commanded. Now. Before this gets worse.
"Both of you, stop it," I snapped, stepping around Casper to face Cassian directly. "I'm not defending anyone. I'm trying to process what just happened, same as you. I'm trying to understand how two people I thought I knew—people who raised me, however poorly—could do something so monumentally fucked up."
I saw the moment some of the anger drained from Cassian's expression, replaced by something that looked almost like shame.
"Understanding doesn't mean forgiving," I continued, my voice softer now. "It doesn't mean I think they were right. It just means I'm trying to make sense of it so I don't fucking drown in it."
Cassian's jaw worked for a moment before he reached out, his hand cupping my cheek with surprising gentleness. "I'm sorry. I just... I thought you were going to tell us we were wrong to be angry. Wrong to cut them off."
"Never," I breathed, leaning into his touch. "You have every right to your anger. So do I. We all do."
That's our girl, Juno approved. Putting these boys in their place.
Through the bond, I felt the tension ease between us, the connection settling back into something warm and right. Casper's hand found the small of my back again, and Cassian's thumb traced my cheekbone as his eyes searched mine.
"I love you," he said suddenly, the words raw and unguarded. "Both of us. We love you so fucking much, babe."
My throat tightened with emotion. "I know. I love you too. Both of you."
The moment stretched between us, intimate despite Ronan's presence a few feet away. Then Cassian's expression shifted, his eyes darkening with something that made heat pool low in my belly.
"We should get you back to the room," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "You need rest. And we need to... talk about what happens next."
The way he said "talk" made it very clear talking wasn't the only thing on his mind. I felt my cheeks heat, felt Juno's smug satisfaction at the way both of them were looking at me now.
Mine, she purred. Both of them, all ours.
"Okay," I managed, my voice coming out breathier than I intended.
But as we started moving again, Cassian suddenly stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop. His hands came up to grip my wrists, and before I could process what was happening, he'd backed me up against the wall.
"Cassian—" I started, but the word died as he pressed closer, his body caging mine against the painted surface.
"I don't think you understand," he said softly, his ice-blue eyes boring into mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "I don't think you understand just how important this is. How important you are."
His hands slid from my wrists up my arms, leaving trails of fire in their wake, until he had my hands pinned above my head. The position was dominant, possessive, and it sent a thrill of mixed fear and arousal through me.
Oh fuck yes, Juno moaned. This is more like it.
"Cassian," I tried again, but it came out as barely more than a whisper.
Through the bond, I could feel Casper's reaction—a mix of jealousy and arousal that made the situation even more charged. He was watching us with amber eyes gone dark with desire, his hands clenched at his sides like he was fighting the urge to join in.
Cassian's face was so close to mine now I could feel his breath on my lips. "They hurt you," he said, his voice rough. "They used you. And I stood by and let it happen because I was too caught up in my own shit to see it."
"That's not—"
"Let me finish." His grip on my wrists tightened just slightly—not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me he was in control. "I'm never letting that happen again. Do you understand me? Never. You're mine. Ours. And anyone who tries to hurt you, anyone who tries to use you..." His eyes flashed, Zero's influence clear in the predatory gleam. "They'll have to go through me first."
The raw possessiveness in his voice should have scared me. Should have triggered every self-preservation instinct I had. But instead, all I felt was a wave of desire so strong it nearly buckled my knees.
Fuck, Juno whimpered. I can't... we can't...
She was right. We were in a hallway. Anyone could walk by. This was neither the time nor the place for—
"Am I interrupting something?"
The feminine voice cut through the tension like a knife, and I felt Cassian's body go rigid against mine. Slowly, deliberately, he released my wrists and stepped back, though his hand immediately found my hip in a gesture that was pure territorial male.
I turned my head to find Sarah standing a few feet away, her red waves perfectly styled, her green eyes calculating as they moved between the three of us.
Oh, for fuck's sake, Juno groaned. Not this bitch again.