Chapter Fifty- Three
Cassandra stood still, her head held high and proud as she was subjected to the scrutiny and anger of the occupants of Alpha Zane’s office. She watched as Annabelle cried profusely on her father’s shoulder, telling him exaggerated tales of everything that had transpired before his arrival, and she had to stand there, still, tall, proud, bleeding from the gashes on her body as she waited for a response.
“Alpha Zane, I would like to begin by—“
“Be quiet,” he replied, his eyes burning in anger. “You will speak only when spoken to.”
Cassandra nodded and lowered her gaze. She bit down on her lip and balled her hands into fists. She felt insulted, she felt dumb, stupid for allowing a child…a spoilt brat to bait her into doing something stupid. She raised her head to see a faint smirk on Annabelle’s face, right before she resumed bawling her eyes out on her father’s shoulders. To the side, Fiona sat, her eyes roving the length and breadth of Cassandra, her eyes peeking through layers of clothing and skin, uncovering who she was, what she was. She was calm, much calmer than her husband and daughter, but she was cold and more calculated.
Cassandra drew in a shaky breath as her clothes hung on to her in threads, and her injuries burned. She badly wanted to sit, to tend to her injuries, to take off her shoes and her torn clothes, but she had lost enough of her dignity before these people, and she would lose no more.
Alpha Zane sighed heavily as he took in the scene before him. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. In his arms, his daughter cried endlessly, so much so that he began to think her eyes might fall out from all the crying she was doing. And standing across from him, a few feet from the door, was this strange woman that he had never seen before, who had dared to drive into his pack and begin a brawl right on his front door.
The disrespect.
He sighed and whispered in Annabelle’s ears to go to her mother, who had been seated silently in his office, he eyes blank. Fiona had always been some sort of mystery to him; he had always felt like he never truly understood her.
“You,” he said, calling her attention to him. “Let us begin with who the fuck you are.”
Cassandra took a deep breath as she thought carefully about her next words. He was angry, that much she could tell. His eyes pierced hers and threatened to burn a hole in her soul. She had always known that he was powerful, after all, a man who was able to make the mighty Khalil take another woman as wife after the demise of his mate was not a man to be trifled with.
“I’m really sorry for—“ Cassandra began, only to be rudely interrupted by Alpha Zane.
“That wasn’t what I asked you, lady. Who the fuck are you?”
Cassandra bristled at his tone and swallowed as she shifted on her aching feet. “My apologies. My name is Cassandra…”
Silence reigned after her introduction. For the first time in her life, she was at a loss for words. For the first time in her life, she was the one being made to stand and be humiliated. For the first time in her life, she had to stand still and endure the pain and humiliation.
She hated it. She hated it with every fiber of her being. She despised it…and she despised the brat that had made this happen even more.
If it weren’t for her stupidity, she would never have been provoked to hit his child. Cassandra simply refused to take responsibility for this. If Annabelle hadn’t stood there with that smug look on her face and told her how much she wanted to fuck Khalil, if she hadn’t stood there and looked down at her from her high and mighty horse, if she hadn’t stood there and assumed that she was a better fit for the man that she had tailored her life around for, none of this would have happened.
She squared her shoulders. None of this was her fault. It was Annabelle’s…and also Alpha Zane’s. If he had raised his child better, she would have learned a thing or two about manners and diplomatic relations. After all, it wasn’t wise to put hands on the next Luna of one of the most powerful packs. She would make them pay. She would make them pay for the humiliation…dearly.
“Well,” Alpha Zane urged after an uncomfortable silence that followed the declaration of her name. “And who are you?”
Cassandra sighed. Fresh resolve and boldness swelled inside her. “I am the personal assistant to Alpha Khalil,” she replied. “Your son-in-law.”
Alpha Zane sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, working out the kinks that had knotted there. “Well, I figured that you were from him,” he said. “So, why did he send an ill-mannered brat to my pack to fight my daughter? Is he tired of our peaceful relations?”
Cassandra’s eyes opened wide at the implication of his questions. Her heart raced, her eyes opened wide in shock and fear as she envisioned war and bloodshed. She opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her. She had come here as an extension of him because he had trusted her to handle it. And now, here she was…about to start a war over some brat.
“No…no…sir…I assure you that that wasn’t his intention!” She pleaded. “It was just a misunderstanding.”
Annabelle scoffed from her position next to her mother. “A misunderstanding?! You almost killed me!”
Cassandra turned to glare at Annabelle, her annoyance rising as she saw that famed glint in her eyes that she had become quite familiar with. The same one she had when she had tainted her, belittled her, and insulted her. The same one that had made Cassandra strike her across the face. And it was there yet again, taunting her.
She sighed heavily and turned to face the alpha, refusing to let affliction rise a second time. Now was the time for her to prove to one and all that she knew what she was doing, that she was strong, and better, and smarter…and every other thing in between.
She clasped her hands together and met Alpha Zane’s piercing gaze, deciding that cowering wasn’t for the best.
“I am really sorry about what happened,” she began. “Whatever had transpired between us was all my fault. It was never my intention to belittle you and your pack. Things just got a bit out of control.”
Her apology seemed to work on him as the anger in his eyes seemed to slowly fade away. He sighed heavily and ushered her into a seat. Cassandra sighed in relief as she used the last bit of her strength and dignity to walk to the sofa and sit down, wincing as her aching body came in contact with the sofa.
Annabelle looked from her to her father. Clearly, she opposed her father’s judgment, but the look he shot her warned her that he was not in the mood for tantrums. And she sat there, next to her mother, who was still silently watching her, sulking and staring daggers at her.
“So, Cassandra…” Alpha Zane. “What business do you have here? What did Khalil send you for?”
“Isabelle…”
Cassandra swallowed as her name left her mouth. No matter how hard she tried, that name always left a bitter taste in her mouth. She clenched her jaw and ensured her polite smile remained on her lips. It wouldn’t do to add fuel to the fire by frowning at the bitter taste in her mouth at the mention of his daughter’s name.
“What happened to that brat?” Fiona asked.
Cassandra was somewhat shocked at the disdain in the woman’s voice. She then realized that she wasn’t the only one who hated Isabelle, and if the mirrored expression on Annabelle’s face was anything to go by, she did too. They hated her, were disgusted by her presence, by her very existence. And then she looked at Alpha Zane, who was looking at her with a blank expression on his face. He wasn’t hate or anger or disdain.
She had always known that Isabelle wasn’t favored at home. After all, Khalil had spent an unreasonable amount of time telling her how insignificant she was, and how no one liked her at home, and how she would never replace her or take her place in her life, and how she would always be the one for him. He had also told her that the only reason he was marrying her was to increase relations with Alpha Zane. It had made sense to her, after all, the man before her was one of the most formidable alphas on the continent. So, she had believed him. She had believed his words, all the sweet nothings that he had sung to her as they made love.
But now…now she had been brushed aside, pushed to the side for someone who wasn’t even loved at home.
Now, her lover was confessing love for the woman he had sworn meant nothing to him. An idea went through her head. She could win them over; she could make them love her more than Isabelle. She could show Khalil that she was indeed and truly the better choice.
“Are you deaf?” Fiona asked, her sharp voice cutting through the air as her eyes threatened to pierce a hole into her soul. “What did that brat do?”
Cassandra swallowed and cast a glance at the beautiful woman who lounged on the couch, stroking her daughter’s hair like she was an exotic pet. Annabelle was the spitting image of her mother.
“She…she didn’t do anything necessarily…” Cassandra began. “After she left here, she never got home.”
Cassandra looked at Alpha Zane as she spoke, and if she had blinked in that moment, she would have missed the flash of concern in his eyes. Just for a second, and then it was gone…like it was never even there. She found herself wondering if his lack of concern was just a front for his wife and daughter.
“How is that possible?” Alpha Zane asked, his hands gripping the ends of his table as he spoke.
“Khalil…” Cassandra began and then stopped. “Alpha Khalil was on the phone with her, and then it seemed there had been some sort of accident or attack. And he has been unable to reach her since.”
“And what does that have to do with us?” Fiona asked, a small, sinister smile playing at her lips as her eyes bored into hers.
Cassandra hated to admit that she was somewhat scared of the other woman. And not many people she had encountered in her life had been able to unsettle her the way that this woman did. She held her hands together in her lap, regretting her decision to lead the search party for Isabelle. Why did she have to volunteer? After all, she could be doing much better things at the moment…like seducing Khalil.
Her lips turned up in disgust as she remembered how he had professed love for Isabelle. But that didn’t matter, after all, he had also professed love for his first mate and had no qualms fucking her senseless and parading her on his arm.
Isabelle was nothing but a walk in the park…and she would walk all over her.
“For starters, I was sent here to lead a search party into the woods surrounding the pack; maybe we would be able to find something that might lead us to her,” Cassandra replied, proud of herself that she had somehow managed to keep her voice steady. “Also…you’re her family…”
Fiona scoffed, her face twisting in disgust at Cassandra’s statement. “The goddess forbids that I be family to that hopeless, useless brat!” She spat, and Annabelle giggled beside her.
“I mean…she’s probably dead already…” Annabelle chipped in as she held her hand over her mouth, laughing into her palm.
Alpha Zane shot them a cold look and then returned his attention to Cassandra. “So, what did you come here for?” He asked.
“There’s a search party outside,” she said. “I came to seek your permission to begin our search from the outskirts of your pack into—“
“You have it.”
Alpha Zane replied without hesitation, shocking everyone in the room. Fiona stared at him in anger and disgust. Anger because, after all these years, she thought that they had reached an understanding. As soon as that spawn of Lucifer was of age, they would ship her off to be married to the first person they could think of. She had spent an unreasonable amount of time researching the worst of alphas to marry Isabelle to. Something she began to regret, because it seemed that her own daughter would have been a better choice.
“What?!” She said, sitting upright in her chair as she stared at her husband in disbelief. “You’re framing her permission?!”
Zane sighed heavily. He knew that she would hate that decision, but try as he might, he simply could not leave Isabelle alone. At the very least, she needed to be found.
“Fiona, please…”
She rose angrily to her feet, almost throwing her daughter off of her, and stormed out of his office, not before her husband caught a glimpse of the single tear that rolled down her cheek.