Chapter 21
Chapter 21
ATASHA’S POV
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“My lord, this poison …” Mendez said as he slowly placed the vial in front of Cassian. It looked almost innocent resting there, fragile and gleaming under the candlelight. This was the same Vial that Genevieve herself had given me. “It originates from the Western Plateaus. A very rare substance.”
Cassian didn’t respond, his fingers steepled beneath his chin, eyes cold and unreadable. Yet the smile on his face was unmistakable. He looked amused, entertained. I wondered if this was because of the substance or because the night had already ended. I heard that his men didn’t suffer any great losses and his lieutenants have all recovered.
That was something to celebrate, right?
Mendez continued, “It’s often used by those seeking a painless end. It has no scent, no taste, and once ingested, death comes swiftly, often in sleep, without pain or struggle.” He paused. “There is no known antidote. That’s what makes it so dangerous. Even a small dose is fatal.”
I didn’t move. I watched Cassian’s face, searching for a crack, a flicker of something human. But his expression remained infuriatingly unreadable. Like a stone.
What was he thinking?
Finally, he turned to me. “Has your family always been this ruthless?”
I said nothing.
He didn’t need an answer. He already knew.
Cassian’s mouth curled. “They won’t stop, will they?” he asked, almost conversationally. “Not until you’re dead. And once you are, they’ll dress it up as grief. A tragic accident. A noble sacrifice. They’ll cry their crocodile tears, deliver some practiced speeches about how much they loved you… and then they’ll move their little plan into the space you were meant to fill.”
Still, I stayed silent.
Because what could I say?
I didn’t know what the plan was either. I didn’t understand why they would risk so much. What were they really trying to do? They could kill me, and I would simply become Cassian’s fifth dead bride. The King would once again try to find a wife for his brother, and then the story would never end.
Cassian studied me for another long moment, then exhaled a short, humorless breath. “It
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Chapter 21
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doesn’t matter,” he said finally, gesturing for Mendez to leave. “Their plan will fail. As all weak- willed plots do.”
When Mendez was gone, the tent felt too quiet. Cassian didn’t go back to his chair. Instead, he crossed the room slowly, stopping just a few feet from where I stood. His shadow stretched long and dark across the floor, merging with mine.
“Do you want to retaliate?” he asked me softly.
I looked up, startled. “What…?”
“Do you want revenge?” he repeated, tone sharper now. “Your so–called family wants you dead. Do you want to make them bleed for it? Do you want to burn this place to the ground? Watch them choke on the ashes of their own lies?”
I swallowed. My throat felt tight, dry.
Revenge?
That word didn’t feel like mine. It wasn’t something I had ever used to define myself.
Since I failed to awaken, I had been overlooked, the piece no one cared to protect. I was never seen as valuable, just a placeholder, something that could be easily removed when no longer convenient. After all, I was just a wolfless omega, the lowest rank, someone burdened with a dangerous gift that could turn on me at any moment and end my life.
Retaliation… I’d never even considered it.
Cassian’s eyes darkened as he looked down at me. “So you truly are as passive as they believe. I thought you were different. I thought there was more to you than this quiet obedience. But you’ve disappointed me, Consort.”
His words weren’t loud, but they struck harder than any shout. He stepped closer, voice turning to ice. “Do you think your weakness is a virtue? Do you think kindness will save you? No, all it does is make you bleed slower.”
“What- What can I do?” I asked. Even if I want revenge, what can I do? I don’t have a wolf. I am nothing but a sacrifice. While it was true that I had shown him my ability and healed a few of his men, I am still as powerless as ever. I only did it to live, to survive.
I waited for him to answer yet instead, he walked back to his chair and gestured for me to approach him. I complied without asking questions.
“Your father is hiding something he didn’t want the King to see,” he said. This was the second time that he mentioned this. “And I want you to find it out.”
“But-”
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Chapter 21
“I am not done talking,” he said. I immediately closed my mouth.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-,”
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“You are mine, Atasha,” he interrupted. “My wife, the consort of the north. You do not need to apologize from now on.”
“P- Pardon?”
“I said, apologies are for the weak. And we, the North, are never weak.”
“I-“The word barely left my mouth before fading into silence. I didn’t know how to respond, not really. And yet, strangely, the fact that he already regarded me as one of them, brought a flicker of warmth to a place inside me that had long grown cold.
“You are now someone of royal standing… the wife of a prince,” he said, without missing a beat. “Once we arrive in the north, your position will be formally recognized. You’ll be canonized in front of the court. After that, you won’t just be my consort, you’ll be the Princess of the North.”
He paused, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Apologizing,” he said with quiet disdain. “Isn’t something we royals make a habit of. It is beneath us. Do you understand that?”
I nodded slowly. “I do.”
Yes, I understood. This was the life I’d signed up for, contract or not. And whether it was a cage or a crown, I was already wearing it. The least.I could do was to meet his expectations and follow through with what was asked of me.
“Good,” he said. “Now, I need you to obtain something for me.”
I looked up at him, uncertain. “What is it?”
“A map,” he said simply, as if it were no more difficult to retrieve than a scrap of parchment from a desk drawer. “A very specific one. And I believe it is in your father’s study.”
My brows furrowed in confusion. The thought of sneaking into my father’s private quarters, into that room, made my stomach knot. How was someone like me supposed to steal something from an Alpha?
“Tonight,” Cassian added. “Another attack will happen. It will serve as the perfect distraction. Your father will be preoccupied, and the guards will be scattered. You will be inside the mansion. That’s when you’ll go into the study… and take the map.”
I swallowed hard.
My father’s study wasn’t just some ordinary room. It was a fortress cloaked in the illusion of
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Chapter 21
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civility. It was guarded not just by warriors, but by mechanisms that had been designed specifically to kill an Alpha foolish enough to trespass. The walls were said to have hidden triggers. There were hidden weapons, silent weapons that didn’t offer second chances.
I’d only been inside four times since my failure to awaken, and each visit had been brief, supervised, and tense. I had never dared to explore or even look too closely. The space was a mystery to me. It always felt cold, unwelcoming, and hostile in every sense.
How could someone like me, someone with no wolf, no strength, no right to challenge an Alpha’s authority, steal something from a room even my pack feared?
As if sensing my thoughts, he said. “I could ask my men to do it but… only you can steal it without leaving any scent behind.”
“What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it a bit too obvious?” he asked. “It is because you.. my dearest consort… don’t have one. You do not have a scent.”
AD
