Chapter 90 - The Weight of Longing

Chapter 90 - The Weight of Longing
The dining room was buzzing with the aroma of wild herbs Matt had foraged that morning and the scent of freshly baked bread.

Cassie had light but firm steps, and a calm glow in her eyes that betrayed a transformation.

The simple dress she wore revealed part of her shoulder, and the fresh bite on her neck, the alpha's mark, seemed to gleam, as if Hendrick's own wolf had left a fragment of its essence there.

Hendrick sat at the head of the table, his posture relaxed, his expression calm... but there was something satisfied, almost wild, in the way his dark eyes followed Cassie until she settled beside him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help in the kitchen today..." Cassie began, adjusting in her chair while Uriel served the plates. "I ended up losing track of time."

Bart looked up, but seemed distant, as if the conversation with his father still echoed in his mind. He blinked, returning to the present and forcing a smile.

"It's all good, Cassie." Uriel answered for him, with a soft nod. "We handled it today."

Bart remained quiet. Too quiet. His elbows rested on the table, staring into the void as if something had deeply unsettled his soul. Amos, beside him, ate as if he were alone in the forest, oblivious to the social turmoil.

Cassie noticed... but didn't judge. Bart had his serious moments. Amos had his eccentricities.

She imagined Kallias must have told him the truth; it was the only thing that came to her mind, as the brunette had commented that it wouldn't be prudent to continue hiding something so big from his sons.

One day, everything would come to light. After all, one could deceive almost everyone all the time, everyone almost all the time, but not everyone all the time.

Lies had an expiration date, and Bart would surely be hurt if he didn't hear it from his father's mouth.

How upset was he? What must he be thinking? Cassie wanted to look for him after lunch to talk, knowing he would need a shoulder even in silence.

Kallias, on the other hand, made no effort to hide his fixation. His eyes went back and forth to the mark on her neck with a silent, painful, almost animal intensity.

He swallowed the words he wanted to release, as if afraid to break the air. Cassie felt his tension like an invisible thread pulling at her own chest. But Hendrick, next to her, also felt it and maintained calm through pure internal dominance.

Mason, across the table, chewed slowly, his jaw locked, his pride wounded but not destroyed. The mark he had left... erased. Canceled. As if it had never existed.

He knew why he had been reckless; he knew he deserved the reprimand. And yet, part of him burned with anger at himself and the limit imposed on him. He looked at Cassie as if trying to balance pain and acceptance.

It was Matt who broke the silence no one dared to touch.

"So..." he cleared his throat, putting down his fork and pointing with his chin, "...want to explain that mark there?"

Cassie offered a small but confident smile.

"I asked Hendrick to mark me," she said, without hesitation, without dropping her gaze.

Silence. Dense. Surprised, but not shocked; after all, everyone had felt it through the pack connection.

Still, there was an impact. They didn't expect a mark so soon; Cassie was forming a connection with the others and didn't want something permanent that could interfere with those fragile, recent bonds.

Taylor leaned forward, his eyes shining.

"So... you've decided to stay for good as the pack's mate? No leaving later?"

Cassie placed her hand on the table, her fingertips brushing Hendrick's, who smiled slightly.

"Yes," she confirmed, serene. "I don't plan to leave you. This is my home now."

Amos lifted his face for the first time, showing genuine interest in the matter. Without filter, he dared to inquire about what no one was verbalizing.

"And does this change anything between you and us, now that you're the alpha's mate?" he asked, genuinely intrigued.

The blonde might not be the best at showing affection, but he liked her, he liked her very much. The feminine scent, the soft touch, the velvety voice, and the thousands of questions she asked him... Cassie was special, and he didn't want to lose that closeness.

Amos liked to kiss her, to hold her in his arms, and the simple idea that this would be forbidden formed a frown on his face.

Hendrick answered before Cassie needed to balance emotions.

"Nothing changes," the alpha said, firm, yet gentle. "And if it changes, it will be for the better. The focus will always be her happiness."

The entire table softened. Even Kallias, though still wounded, breathed a little deeper at the alpha's clarity.

Cassie stood up at the end of lunch, collecting the plates with the same dedication as always.

And it was the instant she disappeared into the kitchen that Hendrick leaned slightly toward the others, his voice low, private in tone.

"We need to talk."

Their gazes turned to him.

Mason kept his gaze lowered. Kallias finally lifted his face.

"Cassie misses the city," Hendrick began. "The career, the stage, the movement. She is happy here... but she is isolated. And that can hurt her over time."

That had been bothering him; he could perceive it through her emotions when they talked earlier. Although the brunette tried to hide it, it hurt.

Uriel frowned.

"What can we do about that?" he asked.

Nick crossed his arms, thoughtful.

"We always leave the dome to get supplies. She can go with us."

Matt shook his head, worried.

"But wouldn't that be dangerous? The dome is precisely protecting us, what if something happens to her?"

It was Yohan who spoke up.

"What if we took her to Los Angeles?"

A silence... almost offended... took over the table.

Kallias's eyes widened. Mason lifted his head, surprised. The twins exchanged glances, unsure if Yohan was joking.

But he continued:

"She misses the stage. The music. And all that... it's part of her. You can't tear that out and expect it not to hurt."

Hendrick opened his mouth to reply... but stopped when, from the kitchen, they heard Cassie humming softly while washing the dishes.

A soft melody. Vibrant. Coming from the soul. She was always singing, dancing; it was part of her.

Everyone realized the same thing at the same time. She loved them. She gave up a dream for them. She wouldn't leave them.

Not after the mark. Not after the promise. But she also didn't deserve to live stifled.

Yohan continued, his voice lower:

"I can escort her. Always. I won't let anyone near her. She sings... kills a bit of the longing... and comes back home."

Mason stared at Hendrick seriously.

"I don't like the sound of that. That place is full of humans, and there's that idiot who worked at the bar..."

Of course, the beta wouldn't forget Peter so easily; he also remembered all the men drooling in the audience.

"This would be good for her," Matt argued, thinking about how many things were on Cassie's shoulders now.

She was dealing with a lot. There were eleven shifters wanting her attention, her body, her heart, her soul; they were intense and bestial. The brunette was trying to get pregnant while still adapting to a life in the forest, isolated from everything she knew.

The doctor knew it was possible to live a double life between the city and the pack; he himself did it during university. Although he was afraid of Cassie getting hurt, he needed to think about her.

Kallias took a deep breath, as if swallowing his own ego to go along with what was best for Cassie, not for him.

"Hm," he grunted low, a sign of agreement.

Hendrick finally made the decision, the alpha weighing everything with wisdom.

"We will do this for her," he said, firm. "She deserves it."