Page 90 of The Fate of Eternity

Pressing my palm against the wound at his neck, I scream out for Brody to help, but he’s already at my side, planting his hand over mine as he chants under his breath.

It does nothing.

Nothing.

Chaos continues to erupt around us, but my sole focus is on Cassian.

He just killed his father, and now he’s not healing.

I frown, looking at Brody for an answer as his gaze narrows in thought. Retracting his touch on Cassian, he reaches for my hand, placing it back over the wound once more.

“The only thing that can heal a wound received during a duel is the person the duel was for,” Brody breathes, and realization washes over me. My hold is firmer, my need to heal him raw. This was a duel, just like the rest, but because it was his father, I hadn’t acknowledged it in the same way.

My eyes fall to Cassian’s face. “Come on, Cassian,” I breathe, reliving the entire scene in my mind as I will his wound to heal.

The second Kenner launched himself at Cassian, I tried to interject, but Janie had held firm that I couldn’t. Nestled between Kryll and Raiden, I stood my ground, hating every second of the distance between us, until an idea had come to mind.

Before I could think better of it or be talked off the ledge, I lifted the mental blockers in my mind and gushed toward Cassian.

I felt everything he felt.

I ached over everything that pained him.

I choked when he garbled as Dalton sliced through his flesh with his bare teeth.

It was too much, threatening to bring me to my knees more than once. But as much as it hurt, I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t. He couldn’t experience this without someone to understand. If standing beside him in his most suffering moment is all I can offer him, I will do so gladly because he deserves someone to pain themselves for him.

He’s been through enough. The overwhelming emotions that catapulted themselves at me didn’t make sense, but to him they would, and that made me ache even more.

Brody gently squeezes my fingers, bringing me back to the present as the sound of wolves howling fills the air. I meet Brody’s gaze and he offers me a small nod, silently conveying for me to look, and I slowly turn to look at where my hand is still pressed against Cassian’s throat.

His head is slumped, his chin resting against his chest like it’s too heavy for him to lift his head, so I do it for him. He may not be ready to face the world, and I’ll have to apologize for it later, but I need to see him.

“Cassian,” I breathe, cupping his chin as I tilt his head back. His fiery eyes find mine and guilt washes over him.

“I’m sorry about your mom,” his words are so soft they could have been stolen by the wind, but I can feel them through our connection too, solidifying how fated we are.

Blinking at him, I shake my head. “That’s not your fault.” Prying my eyes from his, I spy Janie’s wolf standing protectively over my mother’s lifeless body while a jet black wolf with piercing green eyes pins another in place.

I knew it was my mother immediately. The moment she launched through the air, a striking resemblance to my own wolf, I knew. My heart had leapt in my chest as she rushed into the fray when Cassian was attacked by the wolf I now know is Dalton, but it was short lived before the latter got his revenge.

Looking at my mother now sends a numbness over me. I don’t know how to feel, so my mind chooses to feel nothing. There will forever be words unspoken between us, no finality worth documenting, and that’s what weighs heaviest on my heart.

Otherwise, how am I supposed to mourn someone twice? She hasn’t been a part of my life for so long, it leaves me confused. Clinging to the numbness, I turn back to Cassian at the same time Janie’s voice snaps through the air.

“You’re the alpha now, Cass.”

The man in question freezes beside me, shaking his head as he takes my hand and rises to his feet, taking me with him.

“No.”

“Cass—” Janie appears at my side, eyebrows drawn tight as he shakes his head.

“I said no. He can have it,” he grunts, pointing toward Dalton, which earns a scoff from the woman standing shoulder to shoulder with me.

It’s like there’s a sense of solidarity between us, especially when we do this, but panic creeps up my throat. Cassian as their alpha? That’s not for me to state.

“Nobody here wants that man to be our alpha, Cassian,” Janie insists, not even bothering to look in Dalton’s direction. It’s clear Cassian doesn’t believe her, so she takes a step back, gaining support from the wolves that have lurked in the shadows the entire time. One by one, they step forward, silently confirming Janie’s words. “That man doesn’t deserve the power that comes with being our alpha and you know it. This isyourtime,yourcompound,yourpack.Take it.”

---