“How do I decide? I bonded to both of them. Does that technically mean I’m should be with both of them?”
“A very wise guy once told me that there’s more to being compatible than just being someone’s mate. He’s completely right. At one point I could have chosen anyone as my mate, but when I looked at it, I finally saw what Devin always did. I wanted to be with Andrew. You’re going to have to figure out what you want. And please don’t tell Turner I called him wise. He’ll never let me live that one down.” Arianna chuckled to herself.
More than just being compatible? Cassie hadn’t seen it that way, but wasn’t that exactly what the bond meant since she was never the one to choose it? The bond meant she was compatible with Nate and Jared, but that didn’t mean she had chosen it.
“This would be so much easier if someone would just tell me what the right choice is,” Cassie added, rubbing her head. School had taught her to find the right answer. There was always a correct answer.
“Right choice? There isn’t always a right choice, and love is one of those things that I don’t think you can choose wrong. I’ll always love Devin, but he’s more like the older brother I never had now. That love is different than what I feel with Andrew. You have to find out what you feel with each guy and figure this one out for yourself.”
Andrew stood, and Arianna automatically rose as well. She closed her eyes and nodded like she was having a silent conversation with him. Cassie saw what people saw when she talked to Jared or Nate. It was annoying and cute at the same time.
“I have to head back inside. Always more people to greet,” Arianna complained.
Cassie sighed. She now had more questions than answers. What did it mean that Arianna wouldn’t tell her who her father was? Would her unnamed friend tell her? Would they be able to tell her if she wasn’t what she thought? And how was she supposed to live life with two mates? She really didn’t like the answer that she couldn’t choose wrong. Her whole life was full of right and wrong answers. Choosing Nate or Jared was a right or wrong choice, and either way she was going to hurt someone she had great memories of her childhood with.
Arianna shrugged as Andrew came near. “There really is no right or wrong. Sorry for listening in again. But if you really want to know, why don’t you look into the future and see? Turner said you are a seer. Just see what future you would have with each. Maybe then you’ll understand it better.”
Andrew offered Arianna his hand. She took it. On contact, it was like a spark lit and the world around them dimmed away. Cassie watched them leave the gardens. As they neared the end of the walkway before turning, large wings swooped overhead. Something landed beside Arianna and Andrew. Cassie couldn’t hide her shock a second time as the black wings folded back and a man stood there.
“That’s a tengu,” Jared explained from beside her. Cassie hadn’t noticed he was near; there was a full-grown man with large black wings taking up all of her attention.
Cassie shut her mouth. There was much she still didn’t know about, and she wasn’t going to get used to it. The night human world was getting more and more confusing. She wanted to be strong and take control like Arianna said, but she felt barely afloat.
Jared reached down and took her hand, sending tingles up her arm.
‘I’ll help you stay afloat,’ he said to her, smiling down at her.
Cassie would have loved to have someone hold her up. However, she now knew that she wanted to be in control of her own life and fate more than anything else. Arianna was correct about her needing to see the future, but not just for seeing which guy she would be best to choose. She needed to see the future to grow stronger. The coven had already made it known that they wanted to strip her of her powers. Cassie was going to need to grow stronger to fight back. She wanted to take control of her life, and learning how to see the future would be the first step. Now she had one more reason to see the seer in town and was excited for tomorrow to come.
CHAPTER 4
Cassie walked back to her room with Jared and was surprised to find Owen standing outside the doorway waiting for her. She didn’t feel like talking to him at all, but it didn’t look like he planned to move. Cassie could feel the anger burning beneath the surface from Jared and knew it was best to get Owen away. She didn’t blame Jared, though. Owen basically moved in and took over his life without Cassie ever knowing the difference due to a spell.
“Go away, Owen,” Cassie told him as they stopped before him.
“Not until you talk to me,” Owen replied, standing his ground as Jared stared daggers at him.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Yes, there is.” Owen still didn’t move.
Cassie could feel the tension building between Owen and Jared, and she didn’t need to see what the consequences of what Jared signed were if he attacked his own cousin.
“Fine, but only for a minute. I want to get some sleep before tonight,” Cassie replied, which was enough to get Owen to move.
Jared reached forward and opened the door to the room. Cassie moved to go in the room, but Owen’s hand shot up and grabbed her arm. Jared growled, and he dropped it immediately.
“Not in there; come over to my room with Whitney. We can talk without the stupid wendigo listening,” Owen explained.
Cassie sighed. She didn’t want to go anywhere with Owen. She was rightfully angry at him, but she couldn’t be mad forever. He was still her friend. At least she kind of thought he was.
“Fine,” Cassie replied.
It didn’t make much of a difference in regards to hearing. Jared could see her thoughts if he wanted to. Nothing was ever private now, even though she was learning a little bit how to shut off the bond and keep things quiet in her head. She still had a long ways to go, and thus Jared could know exactly what was said if he wanted to.
Owen marched over to his room, which was only steps away, and opened the door. He waited for Cassie to go in first like she was going to back out and go to her room instead.
Reaching over, Cassie touched Jared’s arm. “I’ll be right back,” she told him.
Jared nodded, still a bit tense from Owen and his demands.
Cassie walked into Owen and Whitney’s room. There was the same sitting room as in Cassie’s room, just a bit smaller and fewer windows on the far wall. Whitney wasn’t in the room as they entered. Cassie looked around for her friend.
“She’s sleeping right now,” Owen explained, pointing to a side door. “This isn’t right.”
“What?” Cassie asked, confused.
“You shouldn’t be sharing a room with him. You should have a room with Whitney, and I’ll keep track of him. That’s why Nate sent me with you. Whitney can keep you safe, and I can keep him away.”
Cassie rolled her eyes.
“Whether you want him to be or not, Jared is my mate, and I’m pretty sure he has a much higher stake in keeping me protected since we are bonded.”
Owen gritted his teeth. “You don’t need to remind me of that. It sucks enough that you bonded to Nate, but Jared? Come on, Cas, you’re smarter than that. I mean, I get your whole liking a hairy beast, but really. Jared? He’s a beast that can’t be tamed.”
Cassie glared at him. Owen was acting like they were best buddies again, but Cassie was nowhere close to forgiving him. He must have noticed as he toned down his anger and gave her a small smile.
“Let’s go over to my room,” he suggested.
Cassie hesitated. If this were Old Owen she would not have blinked an eye, but this Owen wasn’t someone she wanted to be alone with. She didn’t want to stay any longer than she needed to.
“That way we don’t accidentally wake up Whitney,” he explained, pointing to the doorway on the other side of the room, the wall that was shared with her own suite.
“Fine,” Cassie replied and followed Owen through the sitting room, but only for Whitney’s sake.
Cassie stopped just inside the doorway to the bedroom, leaving enough space for O
wen to close the door. She crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t thrilled to be with him. Yes, he was her friend, and yes, Whitney explained that he didn’t have a choice in all that happened when they were kids, but it still hurt.
Owen walked over to the bed and sat down. He looked up at Cassie, and she knew that expression well. He was crushed. He patted the bed beside him, indicating for Cassie to sit by him, but she stood in her spot. She didn’t want to be any closer to him. Owen’s frown deepened.
“Cas,” he said, a bit hurt.
“You were going to let them strip me of my powers,” Cassie finally spat out what hurt the most.
Owen had helped subdue both Cassie and Nate the night she broke into the school with her cousin. She knew that the coven planned to bind her to Nate and take her witch powers at the same time. He had helped them. Owen was an accessory to that.
Owen scrunched up his face.
“They would’ve never done that. It was just a threat,” Owen replied like he’d rehearsed his answer.
“They would have,” Cassie replied, still not moving from her spot. “They did it to my mother.”
Owen’s face went from sadness to shock.
“No. My mother told me they can’t do that unless someone commits a crime. They don’t just go around taking away other people’s powers,” Owen defended the coven.
Cassie gave a dry laugh. “I suppose they don’t go around taking away people’s lives either, like the one Jared lost. You know, the one they conveniently inserted you into in his place?”
Owen jumped up from the bed and approached Cassie.
“I was ten years old and didn’t have a say in that. I was just as much played by them as you.”
Cassie gave a second laugh. “Only difference is that I was never let in on it. You were. At any time you could have told me the truth. You were lying to me the whole time. How do I know if you were really my friend or just lying about that, too?”
“What was I supposed to say? Um, Cas, the coven changed all your memories and put me in them instead … You would have never believed me.”
Okay, he had her there. She wouldn’t have believed him. Her memories of the coven were all good until Nate, when she found out their real plans.
Owen got up and slowly walked closer.
“Cas, yes the memories they gave you of us as kids were a lie, but everything else was real. I really was your friend all these years.” Owen was closer now and looking hopefully at Cassie. “All the memories from junior high and high school are real. That was really us.”
That much Cassie had to give him. She could be mad at the past that he had no control of, or she could just move on. She was leaning more and more toward moving on. The Owen in front of her was the guy she knew. He was the same guy that took her and Whitney to the lake every Thursday over the summer even though he hated the sun. He sat through endless romance movies with them at the theaters because they always overruled him, voting two against one. He put up with a lot over the years from them and still hung around. As much as it hurt that he did what the coven wanted, he truly believed they weren’t going to hurt her.
“Cas. I’m sorry for everything. I really never wanted to lie to you. You’re my best friend.” Owen opened his arms for a hug.
She gave a small smile. That was exactly what she had been waiting to hear from him. He was her best friend, too. Cassie threw her arms around him and hugged him back. Owen held on tight. She tried to back up, but he continued to hold on like he was relieved she finally was forgiving him. Cassie pulled her head back to look up at him.
“Squished here,” she complained.
Owen looked down and loosened his grip, but didn’t let go of her.
“Cassie, why’d you have to go and bond to Nate? I had this great big plan. After the bonfire, I was going to take you out and explain everything to you and tell you how much I loved you. I had the perfect place and flowers waiting for us.”
Owen gave her a sad smile, and Cassie stared back in shock. This was all news to her. She’d had a crush on him once back in middle school when he joined the cool crowd yet still kept being her friend, but then she figured out they worked best as friends. She never once suspected he might actually like her back.
He leaned down, and Cassie knew exactly what he was planning as his lips came closer. Cassie stepped on his toe and ducked out of his arms.
“Hey,” Owen complained, shaking his foot.
“Seriously?” Cassie asked, her anger back completely.
“You bonded to Nate and Jared. I figured it would work with me also,” Owen defended his attempt at a kiss.
Cassie turned and walked out of his room. Owen caught her arm before she made it to the main doorway. She turned back to him and let the momentum carry her open hand across his face. Stunned, Owen dropped her arm.
“Seriously?” she repeated again, still in shock.
Nate was his best friend and her mate. Jared, her other mate, was his cousin; even if Owen didn’t like him much, he was still family. Besides, she didn’t want another mate, and he should have known better than to kiss her and complicate everything further.
“Stay away from me,” Cassie snapped, leaving the room before he had a chance to say anything else.
She paused in the hallway before her room door. Inside, she could feel Jared inside moving around. He wasn’t mad anymore, but curious. He had stayed out of her head to give her privacy. He didn’t come to the doorway, but waited for her to enter. Cassie took a couple deep breaths to calm the anger flowing through her. If Owen was really her friend he would have been there to help, not complicate things further. Maybe the past years were more of an act than she thought.
Slowly she opened the door, taking a few more breaths for good measure.
“Didn’t go well?” Jared was sitting on the couch in the room, looking relaxed, but not really hiding his interest in the situation.
“Nope. Owen’s a jerk,” Cassie replied, walking past Jared and over to the sink to get a glass of water. She needed to cool down, and a cold glass of water was going to have to do it for her.
“Come on, Cas. Owen was your friend for close to eight years, and every memory you’ve shown me of the past included him in them. Yeah, it sucks they replaced me with him, but it wasn’t him that did it. He was just doing what he was told.” Jared was being really nice by defending his cousin.
“I get that part, and I can forgive that,” Cassie replied, opening the mini fridge to grab some ice cubes.
“And the taking you at the school was probably ordered. A skinwalker can’t refuse the order of the alpha. He was just following orders,” Jared added, still defending Owen.
“But I doubt his alpha would order him to try to kiss me.” The anger slipped through before she could filter her words and thoughts.
Jared was off the couch and standing only inches from her instantly.
“What was that?” Jared asked slowly, calculating, like the deadly cat he once was that would stalk through the woods.
Cassie bit her lip. She shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t fair to Jared. He was rightfully pissed, but he couldn’t afford to be. Reaching out, she grabbed his arms before he could pull away from the images in her mind. Jared was already flickering between his normal day human form and his night human form. It was hard for Cassie to keep her grip.
‘You can’t,’ she told him mentally, unsure if he was going to listen to her words out loud. She could already see in his mind he was calculating what would cause Owen the most pain as he ripped him to pieces. ‘You signed a peace agreement.’
Jared’s form stopped flickering, and he remained a day human. She had said the right thing. While she didn’t read it, she was sure that tearing Owen limb from limb wasn’t exactly allowed.
‘He tried to kiss you,’ Jared said, still mad, but completely under control.
‘And I dealt with that. Everything is fine. I promise you. I can take care of myself,’ Cassie told him. ‘Now, if
I could please get some rest. I’m not sure what our plans are for tonight, but I need more sleep than you people. And you’re tired.’
She could sense it through the bond, and she was right. Jared didn’t complain or disagree even though his anger was still simmering.
Moving her hands down to his, she pulled him along with her to the bedroom. She was pretty sure he wasn’t going to do anything rash, but she still needed to be sure. Jared joined her as she laid down in bed. She didn’t let go of his hands just to be safe.
‘I promise to behave,’ he told her. She closed her eyes and drifted instantly off to sleep, knowing that she was safe, and he was telling the truth.
The beeping beside the bed woke Cassie in the dark of the night. Rolling over, she hit the snooze button. Who in the world wanted to wake at eleven forty-five p.m.? She wanted to get a full night’s sleep for once. Cassie closed her eyes with the intention to go back to sleep.
‘Rise and shine, Cas,’ Jared said in her mind.
She touched the bed next to her. The spot he had been lying in was cold. He had been gone a while. Cassie shot up in bed. He was angry when he went to sleep, and she didn’t want to see where that led.
‘I didn’t do anything. I’ve been sitting here on the balcony since I woke over an hour ago,’ he explained.
‘We have a balcony?’ Cassie was still a bit disorientated since she really wanted more sleep. Slowly, things began to come back to her. She was at Triclan city in Turner’s house. There was a dinner to go to.
‘You’ll get used to it,’ Jared commented on her lack of sleep and fogginess.
Rising, Cassie walked back into the main room. She glanced around to find the doorway that led out of the room. Jared stood up from his seat, and the movement made it obvious which window was actually a door. Cassie walked over to him and paused. It was an almost full moon, and the sky was clear. The moon was bright and enough to see him by. Jared gazed out over the mountains with his back to her. Cassie opened the door, but he didn’t turn around. It was cooler outside than she expected.