Chapter 25

Cass didn’t let me build a pillow wall, pulling me so my back was pressed against him. Before, I struggled to fall asleep, but now, I almost instantly drifted off despite the buzzing filling my body at being in contact with him.

None of my previous nightmares found me in my dreams—I couldn’t even remember what I dreamed about. As I slept, I turned to face Cass and was pressed against his chest, listening to his even breaths. His arms were wrapped around me, caging me to his chest, not that I minded. When I looked up at his face, I found him still asleep. He looked peaceful in a way he hadn’t when he was awake. In this moment, he reminded me of the boy I once knew.

I couldn’t say how long I stared at him, but eventually—without opening his eyes or giving any indication he was awake—he asked, “Are you planning your escape?” His voice was husky from sleep.

I jumped ever so slightly, but since he was holding me against his chest, he felt it. His lips pulled into a grin as he finally opened his eyes. “One time, I did that one time,” I said with a sigh as I rolled my eyes.

“One time is enough for me.” His hands flexed on my back as he pulled me even closer so I could feel his hard length pressed against me. I gasped and whimpered at the feel of him as desire coursed its way through my body.

His heated gaze held mine as the silence between us became charged. One moment, I was staring at him, considering closing the distance between our lips, and the next, I was on my back, staring up at him. He didn’t waste any time and kissed me. His body hovered over mine, keeping the weight on his forearms so that his body was inches from me, which frustrated me to no end. I clawed at his back, hating the distance and wanting to feel his body against mine.

He trailed kisses down my neck, stopping when he reached the neckline of my shirt. His movements were slow as he pushed up my shirt, his fingers lightly trailing over my stomach and inciting goosebumps. When he reached my sports bra, he hooked his fingers into the bottom and pulled it off along with my shirt. I adjusted so he could easily pull it over my head, desperate for him to pick up the pace. He tossed my shirt and bra to the side, and unlike my panties, I wouldn’t be able to leave without them.

The warmth and feeling of his hand engulfing my breast had me moaning and arching into his touch as he gave a tight squeeze. He dipped his head to trail torturously slow kisses down my chest to my free breast, sucking my nipple into his mouth.

Before I could lose myself to the pleasure, a loud series of knocks banged on the door, ripping me from the moment. “Sorry if I’m interrupting anything, but the Alpha wants to see you,” Finn’s voice came through the door, not sounding the least bit sorry.

Cass groaned as he dropped his face against my neck, taking a deep breath. “And just so we’re clear, this isn’t a request but an order,” Finn called out again before either of us could move or say anything. Part of me was afraid he’d barge into the room if we didn’t respond soon, and I pushed on Cass’ chest.

Cass groaned as he rolled off the bed and headed toward the door, only opening it a crack, but even so, I pulled the comforter up to cover my chest. “We’ll be out in a minute, you impatient bastard,” Cassius said with a slight growl.

“I feel bad for Rhea if it only takes you a minute.” Finn sounded way too amused by this, and I wondered if he had a death wish. To prove my point, he chuckled as Cassius let out a rumbling growl—which I weirdly found hot, but I’d worry about that later—and slammed the door in his face.

A smirk lifted Cass’ sensuous lips as his gaze scanned over where I still clutched the blanket to my chest, even though he literally just had my breasts in his hands and mouth. As I dressed, he changed out of his sweatpants and tank top into jeans and a dark t-shirt.

Once we were both fully clothed, he opened the door, revealing Finn leaning back against the wall across from the door. His grin was sly as he glanced between us, and all I wanted to do was smack the look off his face. Why couldn’t the fucker have waited a couple of minutes, possibly even ten?

I awkwardly hung back, not knowing if I should stay here or join Cass. What were the rules for humans in werewolf territory?

Cass noticed my hesitation and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against his side. “I’m not letting you out of my sight any time soon,” he murmured. Rather than chafe at his statement like I would’ve last week, I was comforted by it.

“The Alpha wants to see her anyways,” Finn said with a shrug and turned to lead us down the hallway. We went up another set of stairs, different from the ones we’d taken to get up here. Based on the size of the mansion from the outside, I was pretty sure we were on the sixth and top floor.

After walking down another hallway with rich green carpet and black and white wallpaper, we came across a carved wooden door. It didn’t come as a surprise that wolves and a full moon were carved into the dark surface.

Finn knocked on the intricate door, careful where to knock, and a couple of seconds later, Sebastian’s deep voice came through the door, telling us to come in. Even as a human, I could feel the power behind the command and in his voice.

The carpeting in his office was the same as the hall, but the wallpaper here was less busy. He had a desk made from the same dark wood as the door, although the desk didn’t have designs carved into the surface. The office held personal touches and mementos, but I barely spared the decor a second glance.

Sebastian leaned back in his chair, his boot-clad feet propped up on the desk as he watched us enter. Sunlight streamed in through the spacious window behind him. From my vantage point, all I could see out of the window was the bright leaves of the trees. I took a seat in one of the chairs before the desk, purposely choosing the one that was out of the sunlight. I let out a relieved sigh as I sank into the cushioned surface, my body feeling the effects of being manhandled last night.

Cass stood behind me instead of sitting, grabbing the back of my chair, his fingers brushing my back.

“How are you feeling today?” Sebastian asked as he dropped his feet and sat upright. He was fully dressed today, but his clothes were casual, with a pair of ripped jeans and a long-sleeved ribbed shirt. His fingers tapped out a rhythm as he carefully watched me. “That was some introduction to the supernatural world.”

Cass’ grip on the back of the chair tightened at the mention of the attack.

“You can say that again,” I muttered until I remembered they were all werewolves and probably heard me. I adjusted in my seat and cleared my throat. “I’m still adjusting. It’s hard to find out my best friends have been keeping secrets from me for the past two years because someone told them not to.” I tilted my head back and glanced up at Cass, giving him a look to remind him I was still pissed. “But at least I now know I’m not going crazy.”

Cass remained unruffled by my glare, but at the mention of the mind games Ezra pulled, his jaw clenched, and his eyes flashed yellow for a brief moment until he squeezed them shut. When they reopened, they were once again, the fathomless blue I always associated with him.

“We can fill in the blanks to any questions you might have,” Sebastian said, pulling my attention back to him. His hands were steepled on his desk as he gauged my reactions. “I would suggest you remain close to Cassius or your friend Adalind. It’s not that it isn’t safe here for humans, but we don’t often have humans visiting, especially not the day after a full moon. Fair warning, having you here today will draw attention and curiosity, so be careful.”

My stomach plummeted at the thought of drawing the attention of a bunch of werewolves while in their territory.

“Rhea, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a word with Cassius.” Sebastian directed his words at me, but his gaze was on Cass, his expression impossible to read. I hoped Cass wasn’t in trouble because of me and my presence here.

The last thing I wanted to do was piss off an Alpha werewolf, but even so, I still hesitated and glanced back at Cass. His body was loose, without an ounce of the tension that had been holding his body earlier.

“It’ll only take a couple of minutes,” Sebastian added.

“Of course,” I murmured, reluctantly pushing myself to my feet. I paused at the door, glancing back at Cass before I forced myself to look away and leave the office. I wasn’t surprised to find Finn waiting outside the door, as if he knew Sebastian had wanted to speak with Cass alone.

He was leaning back against the wall beside the door and shot me a grin. “Sorry about interrupting you guys earlier.”

“Mhm, sure you are; I’ll bet you did so on purpose.” My body went cold at the realization that countless others could’ve heard me. Finn chuckled at my panicked expression and how my body locked up.

“Don’t worry, the rooms are warded with witch magic. They’re all soundproof so that once the doors and windows are closed, no sound can come out of the room. The magic in the Alpha’s study is different. It’s warded so the only sound Sebastian can hear from outside the study is when someone is knocking on the door. It’s a specific and powerful spell Sebastian’s father had placed on it years ago.”

“So you’re saying your interruption earlier was just bad timing?”

Finn held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, I was just doing what I was told.”

“Right.” I had a feeling that he would’ve still interrupted even if he had been able to hear us, just to screw with Cass.

My gaze returned to the door, and I couldn’t help but feel frustrated that I had no chance of hearing the conversation. Now I was wishing they didn’t have wardings on the door. It wasn’t difficult to figure out the conversation was about me, and hopefully, the discussion wasn’t anything bad.