Cassius POV
The moon hung high above the treetops, casting a silver glow over the forest that surrounded the estate. It had been nearly three weeks since I’d seen her-April. Almost a month in trying to silence the gnawing ache that had lodged itself deep in my chest since the night I walked away from her.
I’d told myself it was for the best. Staying away was the right thing to do. For her, for me, for the pack.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Her defiant eyes, the way her lips tasted of whiskey and rebellion, the stubborn strength she carried like armor. April wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met. She was a storm-wild, untamed, and utterly unshaken by the weight of the world around her.
She’d invaded my thoughts, my dreams, my very soul.
I gripped the balcony railing until my knuckles turned white. My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, its agitation mirroring my own.
“You left her,” he growled in the back of my mind.
I clenched my jaw. She’s human. She doesn’t belong in my world.
Doesn’t she?
I hated that voice, the one that whispered doubts and truths I wasn’t ready to face. April was human-or so I believed. She wasn’t supposed to mean anything to me. She wasn’t supposed to make me question everything I thought I knew about myself.
And yet, she did.
The pack had felt my absence these past weeks, though I hadn’t gone far. I kept myself busy, burying myself in work, patrols, and strategy meetings. Gabriel had noticed, of course. He always did.
“You’ve been avoiding something,” he said one evening, his tone casual but his eyes sharp.
“Someone,” I corrected, not bothering to deny it. Gabriel didn’t need me to.
He leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. “The bartender?”
I tensed at the mention of her. Gabriel didn’t say her name, but he didn’t have to.
I remained silent.
“You haven’t been back to see her,” he continued. “Why?”
“Because it’s better this way.”
“For who?”
“For everyone.”
Gabriel’s gaze hardened. “You think staying away will solve anything? You kissed her, Cassius. Do you really think that’s something either of you can just walk away from?”
Yes, I had told him everything that went down. After all, he was my best friend, and all this time that I had not seen her, I would rant to Gabriel weekly, if not daily, about her. I am pretty sure he was getting sick of me.
“I had no choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” he said quietly. “You just made the wrong one.”
I didn’t respond, and he didn’t press. But his words lingered, settling heavily in the back of my mind.
What if he was right?
The following night, I ventured out alone, needing space from the pack and from myself. The forest was silent, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and the soft hoot of an owl.
I found myself drawn to the edge of the territory, where the trees gave way to the human town beyond. I didn’t intend to go there-at least, that’s what I told myself.
But my feet carried me to the bar anyway, and I did not stop them.
It was late, and the place was quiet, save for a handful of patrons nursing their drinks. I stayed in the shadows, my wolf sharp and alert as my eyes scanned the room.
She wasn’t there.
Disappointment curled in my chest, sharper than I’d expected. I told myself it was a good thing. I wasn’t ready to see her.
And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
I waited for a few hours, but there was still no sign of her, and that made me agitated.
Where the fuck was she?
The next few days passed in a blur of pack responsibilities and restless nights. I threw myself into my role, determined to distract myself, but it didn’t work.
Every patrol I led, every meeting I sat through, every border I reinforced-she was there, lingering in the back of my mind.
I relived that kiss a hundred times, a thousand, the memory as vivid as if it had just happened. The way she’d looked at me afterward, her eyes searching mine as if trying to see past the walls I’d built around myself.
She didn’t know the truth. She didn’t know who I was-what I was. And she couldn’t.
“You don’t know me or what lies beneath.” I had warned her, hadn’t I? I’d given her the chance to walk away, to leave me behind.
But the truth was, I wasn’t sure I wanted her to.
What if I fucked up so bad that she decides she does not want me?
Wait… Did I care if she did not want me?
“Clearly you do,” My wolf whispered.
Fuck! Maybe he was right.
One evening, as I sat alone in my study, Gabriel entered without knocking.
“You’re wasting time,” he said bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m doing my job,” I replied, not looking up from the papers spread out before me.
“Bullshit,” he shot back. “You’re running.”
I finally met his gaze, my wolf rising to the surface. “Careful, Gabriel.”
He didn’t flinch. “You can intimidate me all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re avoiding her. Why? Because she’s human? Or because you’re afraid of what she makes you feel?”
I didn’t answer.
“You’re the Alpha, Cassius,” he continued. “You don’t get to hide. Not from your responsibilities, and not from this.”
“This isn’t your concern,” I said tightly.
“Maybe not,” he conceded. “But it’s yours. And the longer you pretend otherwise, the worse it’s going to get.”
He said and left me to my thoughts again.
Why couldn’t he just mind his own business?
Plus, was it so visible that everybody could tell?
Perhaps not everyone, just my best friend. At least, that is what I told myself to give me some sort of consolation.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. Gabriel’s words had struck a nerve, one I couldn’t ignore.
April’s face haunted me, her voice constantly echoing in my mind. I thought of the fire in her eyes, the way she’d stood her ground even when I’d tried to push her away.
I thought of the way my wolf reacted to her, the way it stirred whenever I was near her as if recognizing something I couldn’t.
And I thought of the pain in her eyes the last time I saw her, the way it mirrored my own.
Damn.
She deserved more than this-more than me. But the selfish part of me, the part that craved her more than anything, didn’t care.
I didn’t know what I would do, but one thing was sure.
I couldn’t stay away much longer.