With an apologetic tone, Cassian reached out through our mind link. "Selene, it's difficult for Sienna to raise a child on her own. She doesn’t know anyone else here—she only has me."
His words hit me like a slap. It was as if he had forgotten that I, too, only had him. But of course, that never mattered to him.
"I already understand, okay? She must have been through a lot," I replied, forcing myself to sound calm.
However, the sarcasm in my voice didn’t go unnoticed. Cassian's reaction was immediate and defensive. "Selene, what’s that supposed to mean? What’s with your attitude?"
"I said I understand," I repeated, now with an unmistakable edge in my tone. "Is there a problem with that?"
"Do you have to talk to me like that?" he snapped, frustration creeping into his voice.
I let out a tired sigh. "What do you want me to say?" I countered, feeling my patience wear thin.
A heavy silence settled between us. After a moment, Cassian muttered a curt, "Fine! Do as you wish," before abruptly severing the mind link.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. If I questioned his visits to Sienna, I was the annoying one. If I asked when he planned to return, I was still the problem. Now, even trying to be understanding is met with irritation.
I shut my eyes tightly, trying to push away the frustration. There were far more important things to focus on—like rediscovering my own path, even if it meant losing the version of myself I once knew. Could I do that, now that I had sacrificed my wolf?
The night stretched on as I lingered in the inn, drowning in regrets and unanswered questions. The thought of returning to the pack house was unbearable, yet when I finally did, Cassian was already gone. I took a shower, hoping to wash away the exhaustion, and crawled into bed, seeking refuge in sleep.
Just as I began to drift off, Cassian’s urgent mind link jolted me awake.
"Selene… my stomach… it hurts."
I mumbled a barely coherent response, too exhausted to care. In my sleep, I vaguely registered him calling my name again, but it felt distant, unimportant.
Sometime later, the sound of the door opening startled me awake. Cassian stood by the bed, his face twisted in pain.
"Selene, why don’t you care anymore? You used to worry when I was sick!"
His words stirred up memories I had tried to bury. Once, when he had a stomachache, I had rushed to his office with medicine despite the pouring rain. I arrived drenched, disheveled—a sight that drew laughter from his wolf subordinates. Cassian did nothing to stop them. He simply told me not to show up at his office again because, in his words, I was an embarrassment.
If it hadn’t been for Beta Adrian and his quiet kindness—handing me my favorite chocolate tea to warm me up—I might have shivered all the way back to the pack house. Adrian had always been my silent protector. Every time Cassian belittled me or treated me like a servant, Adrian was there, offering a small act of comfort.
I suddenly realized that Adrian had transferred to the Celestial Night Pack around the same time I did. We had known each other since childhood, growing up in the same town. We spent countless hours playing together, running through the woods like normal children. We had even attended the exclusive school for wolves together. That was where I had first seen Alpha Cassian—and foolishly, I had fallen for him long before discovering he was my mate.
Lost in these thoughts, I was pulled back to the present by Cassian’s expectant gaze.
"Are you feeling better now?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. "We might be out of medicine. Maybe you can get some yourself."
Cassian stared at me, his frustration evident. Without warning, he grabbed my arm, his grip tight. "Selene, how long are you going to keep fighting with me about Sienna? I’ve told you, there’s nothing between us!"
His words hung in the air, but I met them with a calmness that surprised even me. "Oh, okay," I said evenly, my lack of emotion standing in stark contrast to his anger.
His frustration boiled over, and he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
The silence that followed was liberating.
And as I sat there in the quiet, my thoughts drifted back to Adrian—the only person who had ever truly been there for me.
