Chapter 136
And Then There Were Four
Chapter 136: Dinner with Odin Thirty minutes later, I was freshly cleaned and out of the shower, drying my hair. I had never thought a hot shower could feel as amazing as it did, but the moment I finally turned off the water and stepped from it, a sigh of relief escaped my lips.
Yes, I had been through hell, but I couldnât allow my sorrow over losing Melissa to keep weighing on me. I cried for twenty minutes in the shower to the point I couldnât breathe, and wanted the world to destroy me. I was lost without her, and I hated myself for what I did, but I couldnât let it destroy me.
I had to get better for her. I had to.
When a soft knock came at the door, I knew my time was up. Trixie had made a point letting me know she would be back as soon as I was done getting ready so she could take me down to dinner. Odin, my so-called grandfather, wanted us all to join him-even though I had no interest.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed off from the bathroom countertop, putting a smile on my face as I made my way towards the bedroom door. This was a new place, and with it, I could be different. I would do what I needed to and in the end, I would become someone people could trust, someone they could look up to.
Or at least, thatâs what I hoped.
The moment I opened the door, Trixieâs glowing green eyes met mine, and quickly she scanned them up and down my body. âWhat are you wearing?â
âHuh?â I glanced down at my black leggings and white oversized t-shirt. âClothes?â
âWell, yeah, I see that.â She scoffed, causing me to meet her gaze once more, crossing my arms over my chest with a frown..
âWhatâs wrong with my clothes?â
âI literally got you all kinds of cute shit, and thatâs what you chose to present yourself to Odin and his table? Brave soul.â Laughter escaped her, causing me to shrug.
âI donât fucking care what they think. Iâm not wearing some fancy dress, crown, and shit. Thatâs not who I am, and if they donât like it, oh well.â
Nodding in agreement, she looped her arm through mine and closed the door behind me. âFair enough.
I love this rebellious nature of yours. Itâs definitely going to provide for an entertaining evening.â
The simple touch of her looping her arm through mine brought me once again back to Melissa, and with every ounce of energy I had left, I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind. âSo whatâs for dinner?â
A few moments later, we arrived at the grand hall. The large vaulted ceilings and arched walkways of dark wood were a contrast to the white marble of the rest of the building. I had half expected statues of gods to line the way, but instead, I found more animal skins and a roaring fire.
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In the center of the room was a grand dining table made of the same dark wood that lined the archways, and upon it were platters and platters of food from a roasted pig, and chickens to heaping piles of vegetables and bread.
âThey sure do know how to eat dinner, donât they?â I muttered to Trixie as we walked towards the table.
âYou guys donât eat like this back home?â
Meeting her curious gaze, I shook my head no with a smile. âIâ m sure my siblings would love it if we did, but no, my mother makes sure to keep them eating right, and not over indulging.â
âThatâs odd⦠Oh, look, here is your seat.â She smiled cheerfully as I took my place. âI will see you after dinner.â
She was leaving?! No way in hell. âWait, where are you going? Youâre not eating?â
âIâm not invited to eat at Odinâs table, Cassie. But Iâll see you when you get done.â
Shaking my head, I grabbed her wrist and pushed her into the chair next to me. âNo way in fucking hell are you leaving me here to deal with these people? If Iâm stuck here, so are you, âcaretakerâ.â
Trixieâs eyes widened at my actions, and looking around, she seemed to pale. âThis is your brotherâs seat. I canât. Plus, I have to have a formal invitation.â
âFuck my brother!â I exclaimed with a smirk. âI extend a formal invitation to you, Trixie. Will you eat with me?â
Her mouth opened and closed as she glanced around the room at those who entered, taking their places. A sigh escaped her before she quietly nodded in agreement. âIt would be rude to refuse royalty,â she whispered, causing me to glance at her in confusion.
âWhat royalty?â Before she could answer me, I thought my brotherâs voice sounded from behind us, and I glanced over my shoulder to look at him.
âWho is this in my seat-â Polluxâs words were cut off as Trixie turned to look at him. He became speechless and with confusion I glanced at her as she looked at me as if asking what his problem was.
âDude, go find somewhere else to sit. Trixie is joining me.â
Usually, my brother would have argued. Hell, he would have demanded she be removed from the chair, but instead he moved towards the farthest end of the table without so much as a word from his mouth, which I found completely odd considering he was usually a dick.
âWhat was that all about?â she murmured, pulling my gaze from where my brother had gone to sit. His eyes cast down, and a frown marred his lips, as if he was troubled in some way.
âI donât have the slightest fucking clue, honestly.â
âGood evening, everyone!â Odinâs voice bellowed throughout the hall as he entered with his arms open and a smile on his face. âTonight is a very special night.â
Watching the white bearded man, who proclaimed himself to be my grandfather, enter the hall like the king he was, was indeed admirable, but something about him made my inner self want to claw its way out.
I was angry, and honestly, I wasnât sure why. But the moment he took his seat, and spoke softly to two other men I wasnât familiar with, I tried to dive into conversation with Trixie.
âEveryone, as you know, my grandchildren Pollux and Castor, have made it to our realm after many years of waiting.â Cheers and calls of excitement came from the various figures around the table. They were excited by it, and just when I didnât think it could get any weirder, silence fell over the hall and, with all eyes turned towards the main entryway, I turned and caught Lucasâ gaze.
His dark cool eyes stared at me with a look I had never had anyone give me before. It was as if he was trying to look into my soul, and stepping forward, heading in my direction, he was quickly intercepted by a young woman with blonde braids.
She muttered to him and gestured towards a seat across from where Pollux had sat. Personally, I didnât think it was a good idea to have the two men sitting next to each other, but as soon as the connected gaze was broken between Lucas and I, I tried to pay attention to anything but him.
If I wasnât careful, Iâd get distracted by whatever it was he wanted with me and I couldnât allow that to happen. âCassie, tell me how youâre finding your room.â
My gaze drifted from the other up to Odin, âItâs okay. I only just got here.â
His smile fell a bit as Freya whispered something to him, to which he nodded his head. âI suppose youâre right, Cassie. No mind, there are big things coming from you-â
âHow do you know?â I asked, cutting him off mid-sentence.
It obviously wasnât something people were used to seeing because the shocked expressions on their face made me smirk as, I stared at Odin waiting for a response.
âWhat do you mean? How do I know? You have my blood in you, as does your brother-â
âYeah, about that,â I replied, watching him slightly get annoyed with my continued interruptions. âHow is it that youâ re my motherâs father? I mean, my grandmother was adamant she only slept with Zane. So it doesnât make sense.â
If looks could kill, Iâd be dead because Odin wasnât pleased with the bratty tone I took. Not that I gave two shits. He forced me to come here, and he was going to get every bit of me.
âI figured at your age that kind of talk would have been done already.â He chuckled, trying to make it seem like I was naïve. Of course, though, the soft choking from Pollux coming from the end of the table made Odinâs eyes drift for a moment, only to replace his amusement with slight concern.
Was it a concern for my brother? Who knows. However, I had a feeling he was worried if my brothers choking was a warning of sorts.
âHate to break it to you, but I havenât been a virgin for a long fucking time. So tell me how you tricked my grandmother into fucking you and then making sure she couldnât remember.â Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned back into my seat, staring down Odin as he stared at me with an irritated expression.
âThey were right when they said you had fire, Cassie.â
A scoff escaped me as I rolled my eyes. âPeople donât know shit about me.â
âSo you think.â
Laughing, I stared at him in disbelief. âSo I know, Odin. Now why are you deflecting the question? Do you not have an answer the rest of us would care to hear?â
Freya stood to her feet as her eyes looked to me with disappointment, but before she could move, Odin grabbed her wrist gently and stopped her. âShe wants to know so Iâll tell her.â
With a heavy sigh, Freya took her seat at the same time Odin snapped his fingers as a nearby servant brought a pitcher of amber liquid to which they poured into his horn. âI spent time on earth, but not long.
While I was down there, I spotted a beautiful woman with beautiful eyes. I wanted her, but I saw she was with another and so I took his form and made love to her-â
Was he being fucking serious?! He basically lied and deceived my grandmother without her consent.
What the fuck!
âAre you fucking kidding me?!â Cutting him off this time, he slammed his hand down upon the table causing it to shake.
âThatâs enough, Cassie! You will not disrespect me at my own table!â
âNo, I will because what you did was tricked and deceived my grandmother for your own pleasure. She had no idea it was you and not Zane, and because of that, she gave herself to you. Thatâs fucking horrible-âI was disgusted with this man, and I didnât care if he was the big man in charge here, that was wrong.
Pushing the chair back, I stood to my feet, throwing my napkin down on the table proceeding to leave.
However, Odin had other plans and before I knew it, he was grabbing my arm forcing me to stop in my tracks.
âYou will obey me while youâre here in my realm, Castor.â
Narrowing my gaze, I ripped my arm from his grasp. âI didnât ask to be here, and in fact, itâs your fault Iâm here at all. If it hadnât been for these stupid powers you passed down to me then I wouldnât have did what I did and there would never had been a problem.â
The entire room was silent, and as Odin stared down at me with an angry scowl he said nothing. It was, in fact, my brother who spoke up. âCassie, thatâs enough.â
Spinning around to glare at him, I laughed. âYou donât have a right to speak to me, Pollux. Itâs your fault I lost control trying to stop you and fucking Lucas from killing each other and in the end, Melissa died while I was trying to do the right thing. Some kind of Alpha youâre going to be. You canât even keep your anger in check.â
I may have gone overboard on both of them, but I had a right to be angry.
Yes, I was the one who pulled the metaphorical trigger in the end but that was only because I was trying to do the right thing, and as ironic as my life was, I should have known no good would come from the powers Odinâs wild night passed down to me.
Fuck them if they thought I was going to follow directions.
Iâd burn Asgard to the ground before that happened.