“Is it alright for you too, Cassiopeia?” Tony asks the beautiful werecat.

She tilts her head and sighs. “It feels like I’m letting go of the only proof I have that something happened to my aunt, but I admit that I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with it, and technically it was Arman who found it.” She smiles regally. “You can take it to the Council.”

Silence engulfs us as we sit next to each other and ponder about what’s going on. It’s truly draining.

“Alright.” Marcel chuckles after a while. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but my head is throbbing.”

Elise smirks, her eyes glinting slightly, and I have the feeling she is only a step away from commenting on something else of his body possibly throbbing. She keeps it to herself, though, and just takes his hand. “I think we should wrap it up for today,” she says.

“I agree,” Harmony says. “Arman and I will return to Moon Blood.”

“Once I feel better, I will come to Silverlake and continue my work with Auset. Should be after the weekend,” Arman promises.

“Speaking of the weekend…” Dad frowns. “Please tell me you didn’t forget that warrior workshop for the teens. It’s that weekend.”

“That’s on Tony,” I snort. “The teens hate me.”

“They don’t hate you,” Tony points out. “They just have a healthy amount of fear of you. It’s okay, as alphas, we’ll play good cop, bad cop.”

“That’s one way to see it,” Dad chuckles. “Whatever works for you. Unless you drop the workshop on me, I’m willing to go with whatever.”

When we all get up, finally ending the meeting, my mind goes back to something Jade said… or something she didn’t say. “Princess Cassiopeia?”

She looks at me curiously. “Yes? And since we are already all talking so honestly, please drop the formalities. I don’t think this is the time and place to stick to titles.”

I nod. “I agree.”

“What do you want to know?” she asks me.

“Does Leo mean something to you?” I ask her. “I mean, the constellation.”

“Yes, the constellation is significant to us, almost sacred. We see it as a representation of what we are as it stands for a lion.”

So that’s why Jade sent us to her and her aunt once she realized the constellation Leo was one of those disappearing and appearing.

It almost seems like someone is trying to alert us. It’s like something is particularly choosing constellations that represent wolves and cats.

19

Ryker and Spartacus

*ELISE*

Wearen’treadytomove our mission along for now, as we still need to wait for Arman to be ready to dive into that aunty’s head, and Elodie and I are still waiting for the results from the Council. There is the plan to visit Cassiopeia’s pride and see if one of her people saw something that fits with what Arman discovered in her mind or if they have an inkling as to what happened to Auset.

I think Cassiopeia is scared enough to relocate her people for now, so I’d rather wait for them to change locations before jumping them out of the blue and asking uncomfortable questions.

So, for now, the best plan is to just wait. Meaning I can spend some time with my hot mate.

Alpha Jace was so kind to invite us all to his pack. The details about where we stay the next couple of nights don’t matter to me, though—I would have gone wherever Marcel decided to stay and vice versa. The first thing my hunk of a mate did was call his alpha and tell her about me. She immediately told him to take some time off and spend it with me and flourish our mate bond.

That’s what I intend to do!

Flourish it all the way!

Alpha Jace generously gave us one of his guest suites, and I’m eager to try out its bed. As the gentleman he is, Marcel lets me have the bathroom first, and I make sure to clean up properly; all areas are basically ready for his lips and tongue. Time to go tonguesploring!

When it’s Marcel’s turn in the bathroom, I hear the water of the shower being turned on. Knowing that Marcel is getting cleaned up as well, I make sure to dry myself off properly and put the towel aside. Then I sit down on the bed in all my naked glory, waiting for my chocolate heartthrob of a mate to be finished.