Chapter 231 Chapter 0231

Chapter 231 Chapter 0231
•CASSANDRA•

"Wake up, little bird," someone whispered in my ear. "We have a surprise for you. So open those beautiful eyes of yours."

I slowly opened my eyes and saw Arsela sitting in front of me. I was back in the same dark room, and behind her was Kael.

I frowned the moment I saw him because I trusted him. I thought he meant everything he said when he told Dante and me that he wanted to help us.

And when I looked at him now, I realized that he was okay. He looked as if Dante had never bitten his arm.

"Your mother healed you..."

I suddenly realized that Arsela wasn't joking when she told me that my father and Kael's father were cousins. Neither of us knew because no one knew we were dating when they were staying in Goldenmane Court.

Everyone thought we were friends. And not even Kael knew that we were related. They all kept it a secret from us because they didn't want people to know that they were hybrids.

"What?" he chuckled. "Moon goddess, no," he laughed. "Dante can't inflict anything on me, Cass. I am a hybrid, mixed with lycan blood."

It was stupid of me not to ask then where Kael and his parents were from. Perhaps I would've known that he was family.

But what a sick joke.

I looked at him and was at a loss for words.

"My mother tells me that you have lycan blood in your veins as well, which explains why you were able to kill so many of my men easily," he muttered. "It's a shame that a lycan bite wouldn't work on you."

"Did you know that our fathers were cousins?"

He looked at his mother and then at me. "Oh, my mother has told you that as well. She didn't tell me anything until recently. I was as surprised as you are. I didn't expect to be told that a lycan bite wouldn't work on you. I never expected that I would be related to you of all people."

"Of all people?" I scoffed. "You should've seen my face when she told me that I almost fell in love with my cousin when I was thirteen. Such an embarrassment."

"Oh, Cass, just because you're like me doesn't mean that I can't hurt you. I will make you feel every ounce of pain that I felt when I lost my father for choosing to side with my enemy."

I frowned. "You should let me go before Dante finds me. He's my mate, and he will follow my scent here."

"Oh no, love." He crouched in front of me and caressed my cheek. "This is only the beginning. We are about to have fun together, and I don't want either of us to miss that."

"Do you call keeping me hostage here fun?" I scoffed, wincing as my lower stomach contracted with cramps. "If you want to kill me, then you should untie me so I can defend my life. But if you're afraid of what I would do to you, then you can continue keeping me here."

"Did you hear that, Mom?" he chuckled as he tilted his head and looked at his mother. "She thinks she stands a chance against me just because she's a special werewolf. She doesn't know that if I wanted her dead, she would be long dead by now."

"You can never kill me, Kael," I murmured as I looked at him.

"I wonder what makes you think that when you're right under my domain," he replied, huffing. "But your brother will get the job done for me. He asked me to give him the honor of severing your head from your body. Since he was one of the first faces you saw after your birth, his face will also be the last face you see."

"And I am not scared of either of you," I snarled. "You should kill me before I get myself out of these ropes." I clenched my teeth as the pain intensified.

My chest tightened because it could mean many things, and one of them was that I was losing the baby.

I closed my eyes and bit my lower lip as I tried to follow Lyra's advice to heal quickly. All I needed to do was to find my baby inside me and ensure that they were fine.

But right in the middle of my concentration, Kael stood up and slapped me. My head jerked to the side, and I swallowed hard before I looked up at him.

"This whole place has been smeared with herbs to prevent you from reaching your wolf and your mate," he snarled. "So, whatever you're trying to do won't work, princess."

I huffed as I looked at him, feeling like a fool for trusting him and leaving the house without telling Dante. And now my unborn child's life was at risk.

"Leave her, Kael. She won't escape this room." His mother walked out of the door and turned to him. "Let's go. We have a war to prepare for. It won't be long before Dante finds her."

"Fine." He leaned back, his eyes still locked on mine. "This isn't over. I am coming back for you, Cass. Who knows? I might call your brother to get the job done soon so Dante would find your head hanging on top of our iron gates outside." He laughed as he turned around and followed his mother down the hallway.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the cramps in my lower stomach. The contractions were a bit stronger and made my eyes watery.

When I had finally located the baby and could feel the heartbeat, Lyra responded. The herbs in the room were no longer limiting me as they were when Arsela was in the room.

'Our baby boy is fine, Cassandra,' she murmured. 'You need to focus on getting out of this place. You must find—'

"Cassandra?" Dante's voice came through before Lyra could finish her sentence. "Baby, where are you? I am coming for you."