Alpha King’s Lost Luna

CASSANDRA

When Ms. Benn arrived at my room to pick up Lila, she handed me a small, folded—up piece of paper.

“It's an updated list of guests,” she explained when | frowned at her in confusion. “Many of the guests originally listed didn’t come and some new names have been added.”

When | nodded my head, she released a reluctant sigh.

“| also did as you requested and arranged most of the Southern guests in this building,” she revealed, a pained expression in her voice.

Though | wasn’t proud of my actions, | knew they'd been necessary. Just before Ms. Benn had left my chamber earlier that day, I'd demanded that she move the Southerners to the same building | resided in. She’d been reluctant to oblige my request, but | hadn't taken no for an answer.

| was pleased to know that at the very least, she’d followed through. | hadn't liked my actions, but this was too important of an opportunity to waste.

“Thank you, Ms. Benn,” | said.

“| don’t need your thanks,” the head housekeeper sniffed and her ice—blue eyes glared at me for a moment before they softened slightly. Still, her irritated expression remained. “I want you to keep your promise, Cassandra, and bring no harm to my daughter. Lila is a good girl, and even though she has some constrained thoughts, she’s still my daughter. Nothing could take her away from me. | would do anything for her.”

| nodded my head. “I know. | understand the feeling of being a mother. e-”

“You know nothing,” Ms. Benn rudely cut me off as her eyes shot daggers in my direction. | noticed the dark circles beneath them, as well as the redness. Something had happened, though | knew she would not tell me what. Ms. Benn seemed to have a million secrets, and while | was curious, | knew they didn’t matter. | had too many other things occupying my mind to bother.

Just as | was about to turn around and close the door, Ms. Benn’s lips parted and then trembled, as if she wanted to say something else. | stood there patiently for the briefest of moments, arms awkwardly hovering on the doorknob as | waited for her to speak, but instead, she let out a soft exhale and then turned and left.

That night, after Erika and Finnick had fallen asleep, | carefully dressed myself in the blackest clothes | owned and pulled my hair back into a braid so it wouldn't get in my face. | pulled on a comfortable and quiet pair of shoes, and once they were secure, | put on the tiny necklace weapon Helene had gifted me so long ago. | tucked it beneath the neck of my shirt and then walked over to the small dresser beside my bed and retrieved my medical kit. | grabbed a few syringes of

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anesthesia and carefully tucked them into my pocket, ensuring that they wouldn’t slip.

| had decided to go on my way to visit the Pack leaders staying in the side building and wanted to make sure that | was armed in case things got out of hand.

Once all was secure, | checked the new list Ms. Benn had given me. The head housekeeper had been very thorough and noted both the names and the room numbers of all of the Southern wedding guests. | was very grateful for this attention to detail. It would save me a lot of time, surely.

| had memorized a good chunk of the names and numbers, but | studied it again anyway to make sure | hadn’t gotten anything wrong.

| took a moment to gather myself, and after | took a few deep breaths, | touched my golden eagle necklace. | could do this. | had to do this,

Once | was feeling calm, | carefully crossed the room and then opened the door. | waited to make sure Finnick and Erika hadn’t heard me, and once | was sure, | closed the door quietly behind me.

The corridor was darker than I'd expected, and | hadn’t thought to bring lights with me. | supposed | didn’t need them really. Something about the darkness weirdly made me feel safe. | had once feared the shadows, back when | was alone in Rosepetal, waiting for Asher to return every night. Back then, darkness had meant endless waiting. And after the inferno, when | was severely burned, all | could sense was darkness.

| had been blind for a time after that dreaded fire. It had been absolutely terrifying to not be able to see at first, but after a while, | felt safer in the darkness. | had been afraid of any brightness and fire for years.

Thinking of my blindness reminded me of Emmett, the man | had once believed was a hero. Everything was so different now. | had no idea who Emmett was. | didn’t even know who | was.

Was | Cassandra? Cassandra was a fake identity, of course... so was | really Cora? I shook

away.

head at the notion. Cora had died, her family had vanished, and her wolf had gone My world had been crushed and rebuilt and then crushed again.

| felt lonely, weak. Yet, | had to move on, by instinct. Even though my wolf was gone, her instinct remained in my blood, the instinct to win and survive.

Before | could get too lost in my thoughts, | heard a slight noise from upstairs. A crack of the wooden staircase beyond me. | was on the landing, and my heart stopped beating for a moment.

| looked up and saw nothing. Whoever was there walked in the darkness as | did.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Was someone sneaking around like | was? Who was it? An assassin?

| didn’t dare to move anymore and tried to hold my breath as my eyes darted around, but my heart bumped drastically fast in my chest. It was so noisy that | was afraid the stranger in the darkness

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could hear it.

| wanted to run and go back to my room. | had been prepared to kill someone if need be, but as | stood here on the landing, | felt complicated about the idea.

Could | truly take someone’s life even if | was in danger? Could | allow that on my conscience?

| knew it was wise to run and go back to your nest when you couldn’t identify your enemy in the darkness. | supposed | could sneak back out later and try again once the stranger had concluded whatever business they were up to.

So, | took a short breath, made up my mind, and then turned to leave. | tried to creep slowly and placed my feet gently on the staircase, but the wooden floor had other ideas.

The stair beneath me creaked loudly and panic flooded through me.

Just as | decided to run, someone cupped my mouth from behind. | wasn’t able to scream, nor was | able to run. | knew that | was done for, but before | could lose myself in fear, | heard a familiar voice and froze completely.

“Cassandra, it's me.” | nearly fainted from surprise.

It was Asher.