Page 24 of Taming the Alpha's Daughter

I glance at Casen, my teeth clenching at her words. Grabbing a sandwich from the hoard Casen brought back to the car, I open it, setting it in her lap.

“Eat!” I order. I hated commanding her, but she needs to learn she doesn’t have to do anything in return for basic necessities, and until her wolves come back, I know she would have held off on eating.

Tears stream down her face as she is forced to eat, and I reach over to her, gripping her hand that has a death grip on the water bottle.

“You don’t need to fear us, we won’t hurt you, Nova or Shadow,” I tell her, and she looks at me.

“Shadow…” she breathes out.

“Your other wolf,” I tell her. But I can feel confusion once again.

“You said Nova pretended to be you?” she nods, guilt flooding to me, and it makes me angry that she feels that way when she glances at me.

“Remember, she can feel us, it will feel foreign to her, Eziah. Keep your emotions in check,” Malachi snarls at me. I bite back the urge to reply to him, instead taking a deep breath.

“Nova?” I ask her again.

“My wolf, she answers. But I suppose Shadow is my wolf too?” She looks at me like she needs me to verify that. Malachi presses forward, and I feel Casen’s eyes on us in the mirror.

“Yes, Shadow is your wolf. Did you not know?” I ask her, she shakes her head.

“No, I used to talk to her. Satish used to talk to her, I thought…” she shakes her head. “I saw her cage.”

“There was a mirror in the basement. What you could see was yourself.” My mother's words once again return to me from all those years ago, and her confusion only proves them right. She isn’t of sound mind, but I don’t care. I still want her.

“Did Satish talk to Nova too?” She chews her lip, but shakes her head, and I watch her for a second.

“Did Satish know Nova pretended to be you?” She shakes her head.

“No, I… I don’t know,” she answers.

“That explains why in all our dreams he always called her Temperance or Shadow, he didn’t realize she had two wolves,” Malachi says, and I think he is right. My mother told me her wolf’s name was Nova, and until recently, I too, believed Shadow was another girl trapped down in the dark beside her.

Deciding not to question and confuse her too much, I leave her to eat. The moment she finishes, I try to offer her more, but she refuses anything else, instead huddles under the blanket. When I reach over and grip her hand, I tug on it gently.

I pull her closer before tugging her down against me. I force her to lay back down, and she rests her head in my lap. I run my fingers through her hair gently and after a few minutes she relaxes and I exhale, relieved. Resting my eyes, knowing we still have a few hours to drive before we reach my uncle’s pack. However, I must admit it will be strange not having Casen by my side. I can never repay him for what he has done over the years, he stuck by me even when my family shunned me.

Hours pass, and I drift off to sleep, waking to her moving when the car stops. Opening my eyes I see we are parked by the long dirt driveway. Sitting up, Temperance peers out the window, and I notice we are at my uncle's pack parked alongside the highway. Glancing at Casen, I see him frozen in his seat, clutching the steering wheel.

“Casen?” I ask, and he jumps. I lean forward to grip his shoulder.

“You alright bro?” He glances at the long driveway and nods. It is evident he is petrified of coming back home after all this time.

“What if she refuses to speak with me?” he murmurs, and I exhale.

“Then you ring me and I come back and get you, or I can wait here, until we’re sure you can stay.” He shakes his head, glancing at Temperance.

“No, get her home. I will ring you tomorrow,” he tells me, opening the door. I open mine and move to the front of the car and pop the trunk. Casen goes to the trunk, grabbing his duffle bag and tossing it over his shoulder, and he stops in front of me.

“You’ll be fine,” I tell him, and he nods once.

“Eziah… I…” he runs his fingers through his hair.

“Whatever happened between you and Rose, it can be fixed.” But he exhales and shakes his head.

“I’m not so sure about that… What I did…”

“Was to protect her,” I tell him.

---