Chapter 51: 51: I Hate Him
The loud ringing of the slap reverberated through the quiet night.
Cassian’s face was veered to one side, and he stayed in that position, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Don’t group me in with the likes of you," I hissed. "I have enough self-respect not to drop my pants for just about any other wolf of the opposite sex."
To be very fair to Cassian, he never had any rumors of sleeping around. However, it was difficult to forget his sexual encounters with Violet when they made me watch them so many times. The image of them fucking like rabbits was practically seared into the back of my mind, whether I liked it or not.
"Did you just slap me?" Cassian slowly turned back to face me. His cheek was starting to bloom red with the imprint of my palm and fingers, though it could hardly be seen due to the way his entire face was turning crimson in anger.
"And you deserved it!" I yelled, my emotions getting the better of me. It was probably not the smartest choice, but I was tired of keeping everything bottled up. "Even if it was another man’s child, you, of all people, have no right to say anything about it!"
"I am your fated mate!" Cassian growled. "If anyone has any right to say anything about it, it’s me!"
His voice was so loud that it sent several birds soaring out of their nests and into the night sky. The world seemed so much quieter right after, as if stunned into silence that he would admit it out loud.
Hell, even I was stunned into silence. I stared at him with my eyes wide and my lips slightly parted and breathless.
When Cassian realized what he had just said, even his eyes widened into the size of saucers. He stared at me unblinkingly before he quickly gathered himself. He let go of me instantly, acting as though my skin was made of silver.
Cassian practically scrambled onto his feet. Without him hovering over me, I slowly sat up as well. My eyes were glued to him, and I watched him with caution. He was acting out of the ordinary, and if I squinted, I could even see that the tips of his ears were red.
Suddenly, he turned back to look at me.
"You’re coming back with me to Shadowclaw," he announced.
"What?!" I shrieked. "No! I am not going back with you."
"You are our prisoner!" he roared. "Just because you somehow made it past the border does not change this fact!"
With one tug, he yanked me to my feet, his vice-like grip preventing me from tugging free and escaping into the night. His eyes then roamed to my stomach before rising to meet my eyes again.
"And now that you’re carrying that bastard of yours, we cannot allow you to leave," he hissed. "Maybe you will serve as bait, and we will be able to catch that rogue you slept with."
"I didn’t sleep with any rogue!" I argued.
However, Cassian was no longer listening. He shifted, the crack of his bones breaking and reshaping into that of his wolf echoed through the air. With one harsh glare, he gestured for me to climb onto his back.
I raised an eyebrow.
Cassian? Asking me to climb on him? What was the world turning to?
However, the twitch of his nose clearly displayed his impatience. For a second, I debated whether it was worth sprinting into the woods. Perhaps the other black wolf was still there, watching us. With Cassian around, I couldn’t make out the other wolf’s scent. My senses were completely dominated by Cassian, which made it impossible to smell anything else.
Finally, I sighed and climbed on. Even if I were to make a run for it, Cassian would catch me immediately. My two human legs were no match for four. If and when Cassian caught me, he might just drag me back by his jaws, which would just make the journey more dreadful.
I climbed on, and we began to journey through the forest back in the direction of the Shadowclaw Pack.
My fingers sank into Cassian’s soft, midnight black fur. Even just the slightest touch made my skin fizzle with electricity.
I hated how he could make my body dance and my heart skip a beat with such a simple touch. I hated the way I would forever and always react to him this way just because he was my fated mate.
I hated him. Period.
In no time, I could see the familiar buildings of the Shadowclaw Pack in the distance. We crossed the border, where a few warriors seemed to be waiting for us. However, Cassian paid them no mind. Even when they cast him curious glances or called out to greet him, Cassian completely ignored them.
He continued to march straight towards the pack house, leaving the others staring at us as we passed them.
Once we reached the entrance of the pack house, Cassian shrugged me off. I fell to the ground with a thud, grunting in pain. He shifted back immediately, not caring that he was parading around in his birthday suit.
"Are you going to just sit there all day?" he snapped, glaring at me.
I climbed to my feet and followed him back into the pack house, trying my best not to look at his naked body, as tempting as it might be.
As we walked down the corridor, I could hear voices coming from the dining room. It was late, way past the standard meal times, but it sounded distinctively like Violet was talking to someone in there.
True enough, Cassian headed straight into the dining room without another word, pushing the door open.
"Cassian!" Violet exclaimed excitedly when her eyes landed on Cassian. She was originally seated on Rowan’s lap, but climbed off to greet Cassian. "I was wondering where you went― oh!"
I walked into the room behind Cassian, and Violet’s gaze landed on me almost immediately. The expert actress that she was, she couldn’t stop the drop of her smile when she realized I was still in Shadowclaw.
That made two of us.
"Briar is here too," Violet stiffly said.
But it took her only a second to regain her bubbly personality. She plastered on a pristine smile and practically glided to Cassian’s side, naturally placing herself in Cassian’s arms.
"Good. Everyone’s present now," Rowan said.
Cassian’s hand loosely draped around Violet’s waist. He wore a confused expression as he looked between his two brothers.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Violet has something to announce," Soren said. His gaze brushed past me, refusing to look at me properly.
Violet grinned, beaming brightly as she took hold of Cassian’s hand. Then, slowly, she pressed his palm against her lower belly.
"Alpha Cassian," she said demurely with a shy smile, "I’m pregnant!"
