Chapter 79 - The First Morning of the Year

Chapter 79 - The First Morning of the Year
The first sun of the year rose shyly. It didn’t bring the heat of summer, but a soft, golden clarity that seemed to caress the leaves still damp from the previous night’s rain. The village, for the first time in many days, did not wake up under the weight of the cold. Cassie opened the window and let the air in — light, fresh, and smelling of living earth.

The sun appeared timidly between the clouds, as if wanting to peer into the new cycle that was beginning. After weeks, that soft glow felt like a gift from the Moon Lady — a small miracle of warmth and light.

Cassie took advantage of it. She decided that this day deserved to be celebrated.

In the kitchen, she cut slices of fruit tart, arranged still-warm bread and some apples in a wicker basket.

She rolled up a blanket and added a handful of fresh strawberries that Nick had saved from his stock, then called the twins for a picnic near the waterfall.

Tyler and Taylor didn’t think twice; any excuse to escape morning patrol duties was good enough — especially if it involved Cassie.

The White brothers appeared shortly after, still disheveled from their run, one with his shirt open on his chest and the other running his fingers through his hair.

“Good morning, Miss Shifter Hope,” said Taylor, with that lazy smile that always concealed intentions.

“Are you going to invite us to another wonderful meal?” completed Tyler, leaning against the counter.

Cassie raised an eyebrow, amused. “You have a nose for food, it’s impossible.”

“For food... and for good company,” replied Taylor, stealing an apple from the basket.

The walk there was full of laughter. The twins competed over who would carry the basket, who would make Cassie smile more, who would arrive first. Their presence had that gift of making everything light.

They walked along the trail to the waterfall. The sound of the water grew louder as they approached, mixing with the sound of birds. The ground was damp and covered with leaves, and Cassie felt the wind play with the light fabric of her dress.

When they arrived, the sunlight cut through the treetops and transformed the place into a golden refuge. The water, though cold, seemed inviting. Cassie spread the blanket over the grass and sat down, taking off her boots. The murmur of the waterfall was almost hypnotic.

The twins didn’t take long to take off their shirts. Two identical, strong, sculpted bodies that seemed like a double reflection of the same desire for freedom. Cassie looked away, trying to maintain her composure, but the laughter that escaped them showed they had noticed her attempt.

“Aren’t you going to get in?” Tyler provoked, already with his feet in the water.

“I prefer to keep feeling my toes, thank you,” Cassie replied, crossing her arms.

“Coward,” laughed Taylor, diving in with a jump that sent a shower of cold drops over her.

Cassie shouted and laughed at the same time, shielding herself with her hands. The wolves’ body temperature was high, so they didn’t feel the shock as much. But sometimes, she forgot.

“You’re going to freeze in there!” she yelled, laughing.

“It’s a great way to start the year,” Tyler replied, shaking his wet hair. “It renews the body and soul.”

“And serves to impress the maiden on the bank!” Taylor completed, swimming to the center and showing off.

Cassie just rolled her eyes, but the smile wouldn’t leave her face. The sun reflected on the surface of the water, and the twins’ muscles glistened in the golden light. They were different — Tyler, with his expansive humor and intense gaze; Taylor, more playful and a natural seducer. But together, they formed a magnetic presence, impossible to ignore.

The air was cold, but the sun touched her skin delicately, and there was something liberating about that scene.

While they swam, Cassie served herself a piece of tart and watched. The two played, pushing each other, exchanging provocations, but there was tenderness between them — a silent loyalty, as if they were two inseparable halves of the same spirit.

When they emerged from the water, steam rose from their bodies. Tyler threw himself onto the blanket, laughing, his hair dripping. Taylor sat on the other side of Cassie, approaching slowly until their shoulders touched.

Tyler took a strawberry from the basket, offering another to Cassie, who accepted, laughing.

“It’s the first day of the year,” Taylor said, his voice low, almost a whisper. “And you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in it.”

Cassie turned her face, surprised. She looked at him, and something in the way he spoke, in the calmness of his gaze, made the air between them shift.

Their eyes were fixed on her, as if they didn’t want to miss the moment. None of the three said anything. Time seemed suspended — only their mixed breaths, the distant sound of the falling water, and the smell of earth and fresh fruit.

The distance vanished when Tyler leaned in.

A touch. A kiss that started light, curious — and turned into desire, warmth, skin, and breath. Taylor held her by the waist, Tyler by the chin, and for an instant Cassie felt herself float.

The kiss happened naturally.

First with Tyler, a soft, slow, yet intense touch. Then with Taylor, who held her firm but gently. She felt the cold water on their lips, the warmth of their skin, the mixture of laughter and desire. For a moment, all that existed was the now — the laughter, the touch, the warmth of the sun.

When the sun was reaching its zenith to mark noon, Cassie adjusted her dress and gathered the basket.

The twins were still playing in the water, but she already felt her body light and her heart racing. It had been a peaceful and delightful morning. A start to the year full of life.

“I’ll see you at lunch? I need to sort things out with Uriel.”

They agreed and let out some flirtatious remarks as she took the trail through the forest. Cassie laughed easily, remembering the kisses.

But then, on the way back to the village, the air changed.

She felt him before she saw him.

The wind brought a familiar, wild, unmistakable scent.

Cassie stopped, her fingers tightening on the basket handle. Silence fell around her, as if the forest had also held its breath.

And then she saw him.

Kallias’s large white wolf stood between the trees, imposing, his fur glistening under the rays of sunlight. His eyes — that sharp, ancient, dominating blue — met hers.

Cassie felt her whole body tremble.

It wasn’t fear.

It was something deeper, more dangerous.

As if the bond between them, the one she tried to control, was pulling her.

Her heart pounded, her senses alert. There was no anger, no apprehension. Only a silent, profound connection that drew her closer.

Her chest tightened, her throat dried, and for a moment she had the impression that he was calling her without sound — only with his gaze.

“Cassie.” It was as if she heard the name inside her own mind.

She took a step forward.

And stopped, breathless, her heart at war with instinct. Cassie couldn’t, not now. Hendrick flashed into her mind like lightning.

The negative test result, the tension on his shoulders. She had to resist, at least for now.

Kallias gave a slight movement with his head, and that was enough. It was as if he understood the reason for her hesitation, and Cassie grasped the command in the blue irises.

She turned and began to run.

She ran without looking back, her lungs burning, the cold wind hitting her face, the sensation that something invisible was following her. She only stopped when she reached Hendrick’s house.

When she entered, she locked the door and leaned her forehead against it, breathing deeply, trying to push away that burning sensation inside.

She could still feel his eyes. Even from a distance.

As much as she tried to convince herself that that silent conversation between them was all in her head... the memory of those eyes would not leave her.

Nor the feeling that, somehow, it was destiny trying to unite them.