Chapter 168
Cassian's POV
Casper was struggling harder than me now. His whole body shook with effort. The red-brown of his hair seemed to glow in the dim light.
He was always more physical. More direct. While I calculated, he acted.
But right now, that energy was working against him. He was burning himself out trying to break free.
"Interesting!" Raven's laugh echoed in my skull. "You took long enough to figure it out!"
Figure what out?
Then it hit me.
He's in my head. Reading my thoughts. Watching me realize Casper might be stronger here.
Because Casper was. His wolf, Leo, was fire and passion. Mine—Zero—was ice and control. In this mental realm, Leo's heat gave him more resistance to Raven's twisted influence.
"That's not very friendly!" Raven said aloud, proving my theory. He could read everything.
I needed to be more careful. Guard my thoughts better.
But how do you hide your mind from someone who's already inside it?
Raven left Elowen's side. Thank god. He moved toward me instead.
The smell of metal and blood got stronger. His eyes—those fucking red eyes—studied me like I was a puzzle.
"What do you know?" His voice was silk over steel.
"About what?" I bit out.
"What did your parents tell you about Casper's wolf? About Leo?"
Why would he ask that?
Elowen rushed between us. Her small body blocked Raven's path to me. "Stop it! Stop lying and stop manipulating!"
She was so brave. So fierce.
But Raven just looked amused.
"I'm not lying, sweetheart." He tilted his head. "What do you know about Leo?"
Memories hit me. Scattered fragments.
Mom and Dad whispering when they thought we couldn't hear. Stopping mid-conversation when Casper walked in. The way they'd pull me aside for training but make excuses why Casper couldn't come.
"Your wolf needs more control," Dad would say to Casper. "You're too reckless."
But that wasn't it. Was it?
They were scared. Scared of Leo.
"Why?" I heard myself ask. My voice sounded far away. "Why does it matter?"
Raven smiled. Slow and predatory. "Because, Cassian, your brother's wolf is special. And your parents know exactly what he is."
He turned to Casper. "Don't you, Casper? What do you know about your own wolf? Besides the fact that he's impulsive and reckless?"
Casper's jaw clenched. He looked at me. I looked at him.
In that moment, through our bond, I felt everything. His confusion. His fear. His desperate need to protect Elowen.
And something else. Something buried deep that even Casper didn't fully understand.
"What is he?" I demanded.
Raven's laugh bounced off the stone walls. The stained glass saints seemed to mock us with their painted serenity.
"That's the question, isn't it?" Raven spread his arms wide. "What exactly is Leo?"
The cathedral felt colder. Darker.
Elowen grabbed my hand through the invisible force holding me. Her fingers were warm. Real.
"We're in this together," she said through our bond. "Whatever he says. Whatever we learn. Together."
"Together," Casper echoed.
Raven watched us. His expression shifted. For just a second, I saw something that might have been longing. Or envy.
Then it was gone.
"Your parents hid him away," Raven said. "Kept him secret like a shameful thing. Never let him run free with the pack. Never let him be what he truly is." He stepped closer to Casper. "Tell me. Do you even know what you are?"
Casper's face went white. "I'm a wolf. I'm—"
"Are you?" Raven's eyes glowed brighter. "Are you really?"
The question hung in the air.
My mind raced. All those times Casper was kept separate during pack runs. The way other wolves would give him a wide berth. Mom's tight smile whenever someone asked about Leo.
What had they been hiding?
"Why?" Casper's voice cracked. "Why would they hide it?"
"Because," Raven said softly, "they're afraid of what you might become."
Fear spiked through our twin bond. Not from me. From Casper.
He didn't know. Whatever this was, whatever secret our parents kept, Casper was just as lost as I was.
Elowen made a small sound. Distressed.
Through our mate bond, I felt her piecing it together faster than we were. She was smart. Strategic like me.
"That's why," she whispered. "That's why Leo went after Ethan. That's why your father—"
"No." Casper's voice was steel. "I didn't kill Dad. I wouldn't—"
"Not on purpose," Raven interrupted. "But Leo doesn't play by normal wolf rules, does he? He's something... more."
The word hung between us.
More.
What the hell did that mean?
"Enough games." My voice came out harder than I intended. "What is he?"
Raven's smile was a blade. "You really want to know?"
"Yes."
"No," Casper said at the same time.
Our eyes met. In his amber gaze, I saw my own reflection. We'd always been two halves of one whole. Complementary. Balanced.
But if Leo was something different...
"It doesn't matter," I said firmly. "Wolf, demon, or something else. He's still my brother."