Chapter 204
Cassian's POV
The silence in Elowen's bedroom felt suffocating. I watched Raven's gray eyes flicker with something that looked almost like excitement, and every protective instinct I had screamed at me to grab Elowen and run.
But I couldn't. Not if I wanted to save her.
"So you need Elowen to temporarily hate us," I said, my voice flat. I stood up, needing to move, to think. The pressure behind my eyes was building again—that familiar tension that came before Zero tried to take control.
Raven's smile widened. "Not just hate, Cassian. She needs to genuinely reject you both. Publicly. Convincingly."
I paced to the window, staring out at the moonlit grounds. Through our twin bond, I felt Casper's immediate rejection of the idea. His wolf Leo was already growling, a low rumble that vibrated through our connection.
No. Absolutely fucking not.
Listen to him first, I sent back, keeping my mental voice steady even though my stomach was churning. We need all the information.
"And this will protect the babies?" I turned back to face Raven, forcing myself to meet those unsettling eyes. "You're certain?"
"As certain as one can be when dealing with the Moon Goddess." Raven leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. His casual posture only made him more threatening. "Selene's looking for a bond to break. If Elowen appears to reject you—truly, completely, with enough heartbreak to make it believable—then the Goddess might accept that as fulfillment of her demand."
"Might?" Casper's voice was dangerous. He still held Elowen's sleeping form, but his golden amber eyes had shifted to that predatory gleam. "You're asking us to break our mate's heart on a might?"
"I'm offering you a chance to keep everything that matters," Raven countered. "Your mate, your children, even your precious Alpha father. But yes, it requires sacrifice."
I resumed pacing, my mind racing through scenarios, weighing risks. This was what I did—calculate, strategize, find the optimal path forward. But every calculation led back to the same conclusion: Elowen would have to suffer.
"She'd have to leave the pack," I said slowly. The words tasted like ash. "If she publicly rejects us, she can't stay here. Drake would make a move immediately."
"Correct." Raven's approval felt like poison. "Which is why I'm suggesting she doesn't do this alone."
Ronan straightened from his position against the wall. "What exactly are you proposing?"
"Elowen would need protection. Powerful protection." Raven's gaze swept over Ronan. "Perhaps it's time she learned about her heritage. Met her brothers. The three Alphas who've been so conveniently interested in Thornwood affairs."
My jaw clenched. The thought of Elowen with Ronan, Kade, and Alaric—away from me, from Casper—made Zero snarl in my head. But tactically, it made sense. They were powerful, unconnected to Drake, and already invested in her safety.
"So you're saying—" I stopped pacing, turning to face Raven fully. "Elowen rejects us publicly, leaves with her brothers to 'discover' her royal lineage, and we... what? Pretend we don't care?"
"Not just pretend, Cassian." Raven pushed off from the doorframe. "You need to make everyone believe your bond is truly broken. That means Elowen needs to believe it too, at least on some level. The Goddess will be watching. If there's any hint of deception..."
"This is insane." Casper's voice cracked. "You're asking us to gaslight our own mate."
"I'm asking you to save her life and your children's lives," Raven corrected. "And yes, it's not just the relationship you're faking. You're deceiving a Goddess."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. I met Casper's eyes across the room, saw my own horror reflected there. But beneath the horror, I felt the cold logic taking hold. This could work. It was risky, potentially devastating, but it could work.
No, Casper sent through our bond, his mental voice sharp with panic. I can feel what you're thinking, and no. We're not doing this.
It might be our only option,
I replied carefully. If we don't—
Then we find another way!
"So you two need to not only deceive the Moon Goddess," Raven said, his voice lilting with that disturbing excitement, "but also deceive your mate!"
"If it keeps her safe," I said, and the words came out harder than I intended. "If it protects our children, then yes. We do whatever it takes."
Casper made a sound like I'd physically struck him.
"Cassian, you can't be serious—"
"I need your word, demon." I cut across Casper's protest, focusing on Raven. "If we do this—if we break Elowen's heart, if we let her leave—you guarantee her safety. You guarantee she'll be protected while she's away from us."
"Protected from everything except her own pain," Raven said softly. "That, I cannot prevent. The heartbreak must be real, or the Goddess will see through it."
"Jesus Christ." Ronan's voice was rough. "You're actually considering this."
I was. God help me, I was. Because in my head, I was already running through scenarios. Elowen with Drake still threatening her. Elowen forced to choose between us and the babies. Elowen losing everything because I wasn't smart enough to find a solution.
This was a solution. A terrible, devastating solution, but a solution nonetheless.
"How long?" I asked. "How long would she have to stay away?"
"Until Drake's influence is neutralized. Until your father is fully restored. Until the Goddess loses interest in your little pack drama." Raven shrugged. "Weeks. Maybe months."
"Months?" Casper exploded. "Months of her thinking we've abandoned her? Months of her hating us? Are you out of your fucking mind?"
"Better than a lifetime of her being dead," I snapped back.
The room went silent. Even Elowen stirred slightly in Casper's arms, responding to the tension in the air. Casper immediately gentled his hold, but his eyes—when they met mine—were full of betrayal.
You're supposed to be on my side, he sent.
I am on your side. I'm on her side. I'm trying to keep everyone alive.
"This isn't just your relationship, Raven!" Casper's voice rose, trembling with fury. "You can't control everything!"
"I'm not trying to control everything," Raven said, and for the first time, I heard something almost genuine in his voice. "I'm trying to give you a way to keep what matters most. But I can't do it without your cooperation."
"There has to be another way," Casper insisted. His arms tightened protectively around Elowen. "Something that doesn't involve breaking her."
I wanted to agree. Every cell in my body wanted to tell Raven to go to hell, to find another solution. But I'd spent hours—days—turning this problem over in my head. And I kept coming back to the same truth: the Goddess wanted sacrifice. She wanted to see us broken.
The only question was whether we broke for real, or whether we played the game.
"I agree with the plan," I said quietly.
Casper's head snapped toward me. "What?"
"I think Elowen should go with Ronan, Kade, and Alaric. Away from here. Away from Ethan, away from Mother and Father, definitely away from Drake." I forced the words out, each one feeling like I was carving out my own heart. "She needs to learn about her family. About who she really is. And she needs to be somewhere safe while Drake's still breathing."
"You're putting her from the frying pan into the fire," Ronan said sharply. "My brothers and I—we're not exactly safe either, Cassian."
"You said she was strong," I reminded him. "You said she could handle anything."
"I did. But this is suicide."
"This is survival." I turned back to Casper, bracing myself for his reaction. "Brother, I know how you feel. Trust me, I know. But think about what happens if we don't do this. Selene takes the babies. Or worse, she takes Elowen. At least this way, we have some control."
"Control?" Casper's laugh was bitter. "You call breaking our mate's heart control?"
"I call keeping her alive control."