Chapter 19 Chapter 0019
•MASON•
One moment I was asleep beside Nadia, the warmth of her body pressed against mine, and the next I stood in the courtyard of Silvercrest again.
The sky had dark clouds and lightning. The pack was gathered outside the courtyard. Cassandra knelt before me with silver chains around her neck, her eyes wide with pain and betrayal.
I watched myself speak the words that had ended everything. “Cassandra of Silvercrest, you are banished. Leave these grounds before sundown.”
Her voice cracked when she begged. “Mason, please. Not in front of our son.”
But I didn't listen. Rowan ran past her and into Nadia’s arms, calling her “Mom” while Cassandra reached out with trembling hands.
The warriors dragged her away, her cries echoing across the courtyard until the gates closed behind her.
After rejecting her and watching her being dragged outside the pack, my heart broke in a way I had never imagined.
It felt like a part of me died when I rejected her. And even in the dream, the pain was still raw and cutting.
This time the dream shifted. The moon rose above the trees, full and bright, but as Cassandra crossed the border, it bled.
Crimson streaks ran across its surface like tears. The light turned red, staining the snow and the pack members who stood watching.
I tried to move, to stop it, but my feet were rooted to the ground.
Cassandra vanished into the darkness beyond the border. The moment she was gone, the pack members fell.
One by one they dropped, lifeless. The elders collapsed first, their bodies crumpling like paper.
Then the warriors, then the mothers and children. Rowan lay at Nadia’s feet, small and still, his chest no longer rising.
Blood pooled beneath them all, spreading until it reached my boots.
I screamed, and the dream disappeared into nothing.
I woke up with a gasp, my heart pounding against my ribs. The room was dark except for the faint glow of the bedside lamp Nadia always left on.
She turned to me and placed her hand on mine.
“Mason?” she muttered with her eyes still closed. “What is it?”
I sat up and rubbed my face. “Just a nightmare. You can go back to sleep, love."
She sat up too, rubbing her eyes. “What was the dream? What happened?"
I hesitated. I didn’t want to worry her, especially after I promised that Cassandra would never get between us again.
But I also didn't want to hide things from Nadia.
“I was banishing Cassandra again. The moon bled when she cried. Then everyone died. You, Rowan, the elders… all of them.”
Nadia slid closer and wrapped her arms around me. Her skin was warm against mine. “It was just a dream. You did what you had to do. She betrayed you, and the pack is safe now because of you.”
Her fingers traced slow circles on my back. The touch grounded me, and I pulled her into my lap, needing to feel her closer.
She hopped onto my lap without hesitation. I grabbed her thighs and squeezed as my hand moved slowly to her wet area. She kissed me softly at first, then deeper, her tongue sliding against mine.
Her body arched at my touch. I tugged the nightgown up and over her head, tossing it aside. She was naked, and her nipples were hard.
She groaned softly when I slid my fingers into her wet vagina. She was dripping wet, and I liked the sound it made when I thrust in and out of her.
"Ahh..." she moaned. "Fuck me, Mason... Please fuck me..."
I flipped us so she lay beneath me, her legs wrapping around my waist. I kissed her neck, her collarbone, and her breasts.
She gasped when I sucked her breasts, her fingers tangling in my hair. I moved slowly at first, savoring the way she responded, the soft sounds she made.
When I entered her, it was slow and deep. She moaned my name, her nails digging into my back.
We moved together in a rhythm that pushed the nightmare further away.
Her breath quickened, her body tightening around me. I thrust harder, chasing the release that would drown out the echoes of the dream.
She was so wet and warm that I couldn't think of anything else.
She came first, crying out as her body shuddered beneath mine. I followed moments later, burying my face in her neck as the pleasure crashed over me.
I collapsed onto the bed next to her and tried to catch my breath.
"Are you feeling better now?" She asked, giggling.
I nodded with a soft chuckle. “Much better. How could I not? You always know how to exhaust me."
She kissed me once again, then cuddled up to me. I held her close, listening to her steady breathing as she drifted back to sleep.
But I still couldn't sleep. The nightmare lingered in the corners of my mind.
I stared at the ceiling, thinking about Cassandra. The texts they had shown me, and her plans to kill me.
My phone vibrated on the nightstand. I glanced at the screen. It was Chris, my Gamma.
The time read 2:47 a.m. I slipped out of bed carefully so I wouldn't wake Nadia and stepped into the hallway.
I answered quietly. “Chris?”
“Alpha,” he replied. “I know it’s late, but you asked me to keep you updated on anything I find on Cassandra’s cell phone."
My stomach tightened. “What is it?”
“We finally cracked her phone. Nothing is incriminating except the texts about killing you on the full moon.”
I leaned against the wall. “Didn't you find anything else? I need proof that she truly planned to kill me. There has to be something to support the claims against her."
“There’s nothing, Alpha. No other messages, no calls to outsiders, and there's no evidence she was working with anyone else. Just those texts.”
I closed my eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. The tech team went through everything twice. The rest of her phone is clean. Photos of Rowan, messages to pack members about meetings, nothing suspicious.”
I ended the call and stood in the dark hallway.
I thought about the texts.
They talked about poisoning me on a full moon, about taking over the pack, about revenge for old wars. I believed them because her brother, Damon, confirmed that she texted him.
But now, doubt crept in.