Cassia's POV
I didn't remember walking back to my chambers.
One moment, I was on the balcony with Kael's. The next, I was behind the thick wooden doors of my room, my hands trembling as I bolted them shut.
I stood there, breathing hard, my heart pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears. The world spun, or maybe it was just me, reeling from everything that had happened.
Selene?
Darius?
The whispers?
The humiliation?
I was nothing here. No one.
My stomach twisted violently, and before I could stop myself, I ripped the heavy golden necklace from my throat, throwing it across the room. It hit the vanity mirror with a sharp crack, the impact splitting the glass into jagged lines that distorted my reflection.
"Good."
I didn't want to see myself anyway.
I stumbled toward the table where a decanter of wine sat untouched. My fingers curled around the bottle's neck, and for the first time in my life, I drank without thinking.
The liquid burned down my throat, but I welcomed it. I wanted it.
I wanted something to dull the ache, the sharp pain that clawed at my insides.
Another sip.
Then another.
Soon the room felt warmer, the coldness of the palace numbed by the haze that slowly wrapped itself around me, but even though my world felt foggy, one thought remained crystal clear.
My father abandoned me.
My kingdom threw me out.
Darius had abandoned me.
They let them mock me. Let them decide my place without so much as a word in my defense.
I was given to Darius like an offering, a sacrifice for peace, and he had taken me with the same care one might have for a discarded scrap.
I hated him.
I hated all of them and yet, the hatred didn't make the ache go away.
It didn't stop the single silent tear that slipped down my cheek as I slumped into the chair, staring at the shattered mirror across the room.
I was breaking, and no one cared.
It was supposed to be for me. Me!
Knock, Knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
I ignored it. Another knock. This time, firmer.
I let out a humorless laugh. "Go away."
There was silence but then the door creaked open.
My head snapped up.
I had locked it.
I was sure I had locked it.
And yet, Kael stood in the doorway, his golden eyes dark as he took in the scene before him.
The broken mirror.
The discarded jewelry.
The half-empty bottle of wine clenched in my hand.
"Did no one teach you how to knock?" I glared at him.
Kael leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossing over his chest. "I did knock. You just ignored it."
"Then you should have left," I snapped.
He didn't say anything. Instead he stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.
"You're drunk," he observed.
"Astute," I muttered, raising the bottle to my lips again.
Kael moved faster than I expected. One second, I was drinking. The next, he had swiped the bottle from my grasp, holding it just out of reach.
"Give it back." I scowled.
"No."
I pushed up from my chair, swaying slightly. "You have no right to…"
Kael caught my wrist before I could stumble. His grip was firm but not harsh, steadying me effortlessly.
I hated how easily he made me feel small.
"I have every right," he murmured. "You're in no condition to be drinking yourself into oblivion."
I wrenched my arm free, glaring at him. "Why do you care?"
"Because you shouldn't waste your energy crying over a man who doesn't deserve it." Kael's expression didn't change but something flickered in his gaze. My throat tightened.
"Darius was supposed to protect me," I whispered.
"And yet, he didn't." Kael exhaled slowly.
A fresh wave of anger surged through me, pushing away the sadness. "You think I don't know that?" I took a shaky step back, my nails digging into my palms. "You think I don't feel it with every single breath?"
Kael didn't respond right away. He just watched me.
"You deserve better," he said simply.
The words hit harder than they should have. I let out a hollow laugh. "Better? And what exactly does better look like for me Lord Kael? Because from where I'm standing, I have nothing."
His jaw tightened.
"You have me," he said.
The room went silent for a while.
"I don't need your pity." I swallowed hard.
"Good. Because I don't give it." Kael took a step closer.
I opened my mouth to yell, to curse, to tell him to leave but before I could, a loud crash echoed through the halls and both our heads snapped toward the door.
"I will be back." He said and immediately disappeared.
Kael's words still clung to the air , it kept ringing in my ears… "You have me."
Did he really care?
I should have pushed him away. Should have told him to leave, to stop looking at me like he could see the pieces of me I was trying to hold together.
But I didn't.
Instead, I stood there, staring at him, my breath uneven, my heart hammering against my ribs.
After a while there were raised voices, then a growl.
I stood up and staggered to and yanked the door open without hesitation.
My heart was hammering as we stepped into the corridor.
And I saw them.
Kael's POV
Just as I got out of her chamber I saw Darius.
I had expected this.
Darius had been brooding all night, and now? Now he had finally decided to act, but he was too late, but because he knew I hated what he was doing.
"Move," Darius growled, his amber eyes locked onto Cassia's door behind me. "This isn't your concern."
I didn't move.
"Funny," I mused. "You didn't seem too concerned when she needed you earlier."
"Stay out of this, Kael." Darius's expression darkened.
"Or what?" I tilted my head.
Darius lunged.
I caught his arm mid-swing, twisting it just enough to make him stumble. He recovered quickly, his eyes burning with fury.
"She's mine," he snapped.
A low chuckle escaped me. "Is she? Because from where I'm standing, you've done nothing but throw her to the wolves."
Darius swung again.
This time, I let him land the hit.
Pain exploded across my jaw, but I didn't care.
She wasn't his.
She never had been.
She was mine! My mate!
I wiped the blood from my lip and smirked. "You're a coward."
"And you're a disgrace." Darius's nostrils flared.
I laughed. Actually I laughed. "Maybe," I admitted. "But at least I know what I want."
"Enough." Darius took a step forward, but before he could say another word we heard her voice.
"Cassia."
We both turned.
She stood there, shoulders squared, chin lifted, "You can fight over me all you want," she said coldly. "But I am not a prize to be won."
"You both probably have your issues so leave it at that and don't bring me in." She said, I could not believe that I was being scolded by a human as the saying goes 'there is a first time for everything.'
"You rejected me for your lover and you.. .I don't even know why you care." She pointed to Darius and shifted her gaze to me as she continued, "one moment you are a fairytale lover and the next you are dick. What do you both want from me?"
Then, without another word, she turned and walked away.
Even I was surprised by my actions… I would never fight for a woman and even though she turned out to be my mate I did not expect myself to react this way… besides, I do not want her so why, what was I doing?
And for the first time, I realized… she was changing me and I wasn't sure I liked it.
I should have let her go.
But I couldn't.
Not when the bond inside me screamed for me to go after her.
Not when my wolf, the beast I had spent years keeping caged was now clawing at the walls of my restraint.
"Mine."
The word vibrated through my very bones, primal and undeniable.
Darius was still standing there, breathing hard, his fists clenched, blood staining his knuckles from where he had hit me.
He had no idea. No idea what Cassia was to me.
No idea that the moment she walked into this cursed palace, my world had shifted.
That I had tried to fight it.
I turned to Darius, my lips curling into a smirk.
"She was never yours."