Chapter 12 A Guest and The realization

Chapter 12 A Guest and The realization

Cassian's POV

I was not a deep sleeper. Centuries of being hunted and doing the hunting had trained that weakness out of me. So when the knock came at my door, I was already awake.

I knew who it was before I even opened my eyes. Her scent was all over the hallway. Jasmine and something sharp, like citrus left out in the sun too long.

Lisa.

I groaned and threw an arm over my face. Maybe if I stayed quiet, she would think I was not here and leave.

The knocking came again. Louder this time.

"I know you are in there, Cassian. Open the door." She yelled making me wonder why she had come all the way here.

Of course she knew. She always knew.

I dragged myself out of bed and crossed the room. My shirt was somewhere on the floor but I did not bother looking for it. If Lisa was going to barge in at whatever ungodly hour this was, she could deal with seeing me half-dressed.

I yanked the door open. "What do you want?"

She stood there in a red dress that probably cost more than most people made in a year. Her dark hair was pulled back tight, showing off the sharp angles of her face. But it was her eyes that caught my attention. They were burning with something I had seen too many times before.

Rage which made her vampire features immediately visible.

"I heard about the challenge," she said, her voice cold enough to freeze blood.

I leaned against the doorframe. "And?"

"And I did not believe it at first. I thought surely there was some mistake. Cassian would never do something so idiotic. Not for a girl." She stepped closer, her heels clicking on the floor. "But here you are. Shamelessly trying to compete for some random human. A human, Cassian."

The way she said 'human' made it sound like a disease.

I felt my jaw tighten. "Are you done?"

"No, I am not done." She pushed past me into my room without waiting for an invitation. "Do you have any idea how this looks? A vampire of your status fighting over a girl like she is some kind of prize?"

"I did not ask for your opinion."

"Well, you are getting it anyway." She spun around to face me, her dress swirling around her legs. "I have done everything to win your heart. Everything. And you throw it all away for what? A scared little human who does not even want to be here?"

I closed the door and crossed my arms. This conversation was going exactly where I knew it would go. Where it always went with Lisa.

"I warned you," I said quietly. "I told you from the beginning that it would never work between us."

"Because of what? Some ridiculous notion of love?" She laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You and I both know love is just a chemical reaction. A fairy tale humans tell themselves to make their short lives mean something."

"If that is what you believe, then why are you here?"

That shut her up for a second. Her mouth opened and closed like she was trying to find the right words.

"She is human," Lisa said finally. "She will grow old. Her skin will wrinkle, her hair will turn gray, and she will die. But you will stay exactly the same. Forever young. Forever alone. And when she is gone, I will still be here. Waiting."

I had heard this speech before. Different words, same meaning.

"You should let the werewolf have her," she continued. "At least he can give her things you cannot. Like children. She is human, Cassian. Having a family is probably her biggest dream. And what can you offer her? You are dead. You cannot give her a child. You cannot give her a normal life."

She was not wrong. Everything she said was technically true.

But I did not care.

There was something about Serena that I could not explain. Something that pulled at me in ways I had not felt in centuries. Maybe it was the fear in her eyes that night at the auction. Or maybe it was the way she looked at me like I was just another monster in a world full of them.

Or maybe I was just tired of being alone.

"If you are finished," I said, moving toward the door, "you can leave now."

"I am not finished. I—"

That was when I felt it.

Her scent. Serena's scent. It was gone.

I froze. My hand was on the door handle but I did not move. I just stood there, trying to make sense of what I was feeling.

Her room was on this floor. Same hallway. I should have been able to smell her even from here. The sweet scent of her blood, the warmth of her skin. It was always there, lingering in the background like a constant reminder.

But now there was nothing.

"Cassian? What is wrong?"

I did not answer. I was already moving.

I threw open my door and strode down the hallway. My feet were bare but I did not feel the cold stone beneath them. All I could think about was that empty space where her scent should have been.

"Cassian!" Lisa's voice echoed behind me. "Where are you going? I am still talking to you!"

I ignored her. She could stand there and talk to the walls for all I cared.

Serena's door was at the end of the hall. I did not bother knocking. I just grabbed the handle and pushed it open.

Empty.

The bed was made. Her things were still scattered around the room. But she was not here.

My hands curled into fists. Where the hell was she?

"You are going to see another woman?" Lisa appeared in the doorway, her face twisted with disbelief. "While I am standing right here?"

I pushed past her without a word.

There was only one other place she could be. One other person who would have any reason to take her.

Kael.

I moved faster now, practically running down the corridor. My mind was racing through a dozen different possibilities. Had he taken her? Hurt her? Or was she there willingly?

That last thought made something dark and ugly twist in my chest.

I reached his door and did not hesitate. I grabbed the handle and shoved it open so hard it slammed against the wall.

The sight that greeted me made me stop dead in my tracks.

Kael was on his bed. But he was not alone. There was a woman beneath him, her red hair spilling across the pillows. They were tangled together, completely oblivious to the fact that I had just barged in.

They were both naked with sweats all over their body. The both of them had been moaning so hard and had failed to notice me when I first entered.

The woman screamed. Kael's head snapped up, his eyes flashing with that golden wolf light.

"What the hell, Cassian?" He groan as the woman moved away from him, that was when I noticed her pointed breast and the bite marks around all her body.

I just stood there. My brain was trying to process what I was seeing. If Kael was here, with someone else, then where was Serena?

"Get out!" The woman grabbed the sheets and tried to cover herself.

Kael climbed off the bed, not bothering to hide anything as he was still rock hard on his dick and a nonchalant attitude across his face. "Do you have a death wish? Because breaking into my room is a good way to—"

"Where is she?" My voice came out low. Dangerous.

He froze. "Who?"

"Serena. Where is she?"

Something flickered across his face. Confusion, maybe. Or concern.

"I thought she was in her room," he said slowly.

"She is not."

We stared at each other. I could see him putting the pieces together. See the moment he realized what this meant.

"How long?" he asked.

"I do not know. Her scent is completely gone from the floor."

Kael cursed and started grabbing his clothes from the floor. The woman on the bed was saying something but neither of us were listening anymore.

"The witches," Kael said, pulling on his pants. "It has to be them."

"Where would they take her?"

"I do not know. But if they have her..." He did not finish the sentence. He did not need to.

We both knew what witches did to people they wanted to control.

I turned and headed for the door.

"Cassian, wait."

I looked back at him. He was only half-dressed but his face was serious. Deadly serious.

"We find her together," he said. "No more games. No more competition. We find her first. Then we can go back to trying to kill each other."

I wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him that I could handle this alone. But he was right. If the witches had taken Serena, we were going to need all the help we could get.

"Fine," I said. "But if you slow me down, I am leaving you behind."

He grinned, but there was no humor in it. "Try to keep up, bloodsucker."

We moved together down the hallway. Behind us, Lisa was still calling my name. Still demanding answers.

But I did not care.

All that mattered was finding Serena before the witches did something we could not undo.