Chapter 135
ATASHA’S POV
He found his mate.
And somehow, that mate was me.
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The words echoed in my head long after he said them. For a moment, I thought I’d misheard. My breath caught, my pulse thudded in my ears, and my mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“You….” I managed to say. “You mean… me?”
Cassian’s eyes met mine. “I do.”
The simplicity of it made it worse. There was no hesitation or doubt in the way he said it. Just certainty.
“The only thing that can calm what’s inside us,” he said. “Is our mate.”
He reached for my hand and guided it to his. When his palm turned upward, I saw the deep cut he’d made before. The wound that had been bleeding only moments ago closed without my healing, knitting together until there was nothing left but smooth, unbroken flesh.
I blinked, my breath catching. “Cassian… your hand-”
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“It’s healed,” he said quietly, still holding my fingers against his skin. “To a beast like me… finding my mate changes everything. Being near you makes me stronger, steadier. My wounds close faster, my body moves differently. Even my control…” He drew a breath, his thumb brushing the back of my hand. “It’s sharper now. You make it easier to fight the madness. But that might be different for you.”
‘I blinked, trying to steady my breathing. “Cassian, what are you saying?”
He looked down for a moment, his thumb tracing a line across my knuckles, then lifted his gaze back to mine. “I’m saying I’m giving you a choice.”
My stomach turned. “A choice?”
“Yes.” He took a step closer. His voice wasn’t cold, but it carried a kind of weight that made my heart clench. “If you want, I can take you back to the northern outpost tonight. And tomorrow, I’ll go back to the mansion. We can live as we first agreed. You as my wife, and I as your husband–by name, by duty, nothing more. If you wish for a child, I’ll give you that. You’ll be the only woman I’ll ever take as my wife. And when the time comes that you wish to leave, I won’t stop you.”
He paused, his grip tightening just slightly around my hand. “Or…”
I held my breath as he let the word hang between us.
“Or,” he continued. “You can complete the mating ceremony. You can drink from the cup. Let me mark you.” His gaze dropped to the goblets, then back at me. “But if you do, our lives will never separate again. Our souls will turn as one. You’ll feel everything I do, my rage, my sorrow, my pain, my hunger. And I’ll feel yours. Every thought that cuts you, every burden that weighs you down, every piece of joy that makes you breathe
11:37 Wed, Oct 8
Chapter 133
Then, slowly, he pulled back.
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My chest rose and fell hard. The air between us felt like it cracked from the sudden space. I blinked, dazed, confused, still trembling from everything that almost happened. I thought he was going to kiss me again, he should have, but instead, he reached for something behind me.
The next thing I knew, a cloak was around my shoulders. The heavy fabric brushed against my bare skin, the warmth of it still holding his scent. I looked up at him, breathless, my voice catching. “Cassian…?”
His eyes flicked down, still red at the edges, his jaw tight enough to crack. “Not like this,” he said.
I frowned, gripping the cloak closer. “What do you mean, not like this?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached for me. Before I could react, he scooped me up effortlessly, one arm under my knees, the other supporting my back. My pulse spiked as the world tilted.
“Cassian, what are you-”
“Hold on.”
That was all he said before he turned toward the open window. My mouth went dry as I realized what he intended, but before I could protest, he jumped.
The wind hit me first, stealing my breath as we dropped from the second floor. He landed like it was nothing -barely a sound, his grip steady and sure. My arms instinctively tightened around his neck. He didn’t stop moving.
We passed the courtyard, the watchtowers, the frozen archway. The gates loomed ahead, half–lit by torchlight, and still, he didn’t slow down.
“Cassian,” I managed, my voice faint over the rush of wind. “Where are we going?”
His jaw flexed, his eyes forward. “Away.”
“From what?”
