Chapter 217
Casper's POV
The silence after Cassian's mental revelation felt like drowning in ice water.
Sarah.
That single name echoed in my skull like a fucking death sentence. My twin brother stood across from me in his room, jaw clenched so tight I could hear his teeth grinding even without our bond. The plan he'd just laid out in excruating detail through our mental link made me want to rip my own heart out.
Pretend to fuck Sarah. Make it look real enough to fool a goddess. Break Elowen's heart to save her life.
"No." The word ripped from my throat, raw and jagged. "Absolutely fucking not."
Cassian's ice-blue eyes flickered with something that might have been relief—or maybe just exhaustion. He looked like shit. Actually, worse than shit. The guy who never had a hair out of place, who always kept his cool, looked like he'd aged ten years overnight.
"He hasn't slept," Leo's voice rumbled in my mind. "Zero says he's been drowning in guilt since Raven left. He's been trying to find another way."
That stopped me cold. I stared at my brother—my twin, the other half of my soul—and saw the truth written in every line of tension in his body. He hated this plan as much as I did.
"There has to be another way," I said, but even I could hear how weak it sounded.
"You think I haven't tried?" Cassian's voice came out harsh, almost broken. "You think I want this? To touch that—" He cut himself off, fists clenching. "I spent all night trying to find any other option. There isn't one."
"Bullshit." I started pacing, my wolf prowling just beneath my skin. "We can just refuse the goddess. Tell her to fuck off. Take Elowen and run—"
"And go where, Casper?" Cassian cut me off, his voice sharp. "The ultimatum isn't limited by location. Selene is a goddess. She'll find us anywhere. And even if we could hide, what kind of life is that for our mate? For our children? Always running, always looking over our shoulders?"
I wanted to punch something. Preferably his face. "So your solution is to make Elowen think we betrayed her? With Sarah fucking Mitchell of all people?"
The name tasted like poison in my mouth. Sarah—the girl who'd spent years trying to claw her way into my bed, who'd drugged Elowen, who'd humiliated her in front of the entire pack. The thought of touching her, of pretending to want her, made my skin crawl.
"I'd rather fuck a blender," I snarled, and I meant every word.
Cassian's lips twitched—almost a smile, but too sad to count. "You think I want this any more than you do? But what's the alternative?"
"The alternative is we find another fucking way!" I was shouting now, past caring if I woke anyone up. "We're supposed to be the future Alphas of this pack. We're supposed to protect her, not destroy her!"
"And that's exactly what we're doing!" Cassian snapped back, his control finally cracking. "Don't you get it? If we don't do this—if we don't make people believe those feelings are gone—the only way to make it convincing is to paint Elowen as the villain."
That made me freeze. "What?"
Cassian ran a hand through his dark hair, and I noticed it was shaking. "Think about it. If we can't fake not caring about her, the only other way to break the bond convincingly is to make people believe she betrayed us. That she cheated with Drake. That she lied about everything."
Horror crashed over me like a wave. "No. No fucking way—"
"That's what would happen if we don't do this my way," Cassian continued, relentless. "They'd whisper about her. Question everything. Was she really forced? Or did she want Drake all along? Is she playing us? Using us?" His voice dropped to barely a whisper. "Are the twins even ours?"
My vision went red. "Who the fuck would dare—"
"Everyone," Cassian said flatly. "You know how this pack works. How all packs work. If they think she betrayed the mate bond..." He shook his head. "She'd become a pariah. They'd question every decision she makes. Every time she speaks for the pack, they'd wonder if she's lying. Every time she holds our children, they'd question if she has the right."
He took a step closer, his ice-blue eyes burning with intensity. "Our twins would grow up hearing whispers. 'Are they really the future Alphas?' 'Do they have the bloodline to rule?' 'Did their mother spread her legs for an omega and pass bastards off as heirs?'"
"Stop," I growled, but he kept going.
"They'd face challenges from every ambitious wolf who thinks they have a better claim. The pack would split. Some would support them, some would oppose them. And Elowen..." His voice cracked. "Elowen would spend the rest of her life defending herself. Proving herself. Watching our children suffer because of rumors she can't kill."
I felt sick. Actually physically sick. "There has to be—"
"There isn't." Cassian's voice was flat, defeated. "I've thought of everything, Casper. Every possible scenario. And they all end the same way—with Elowen and the twins in danger. With our family torn apart by suspicion and doubt."
"He's right," Leo said quietly in my mind. "You remember what it was like. How they looked at her. How they talked."