Fated

Chapter XV

Adira

The next hour passed in a blur. Adira had no idea what happened or who cleared or spoke to the remaining wolves. She lay frozen on the ground still staring at the spot Cassie had vanished from. Her mind was numb, no thoughts occupied it. Cassie was her best friend. Cassie wanted her dead. Adira couldn't reconcile the Cassie she had known, the Cassie she had loved, with the Cassie who had taken the Lycan's hand. Was everything a lie? Betrayal stung like a red hot iron, branding her soul. 

Someone wrapped a blanket around Adira, lifting her in their arms. Yet Adira, couldn't move her eyes away from that spot, staring at it even as the person started walking. Cassie's spot. Cassie. Her first friend in the new world. Who had fought beside her. Who had taught her to fight. Cassie. Adira trembled and shook. She snuggled closer into the wolf carrying her - Adrian, she noticed - and forced herself to not cry. She was not weak. She would withstand this. She would win. How and when that would happen, Adira wasn't sure. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing was the same without Cassie.

Then, Adira was lowered into softness - her bed, she absentmindely noted - and covered with a blanket. She stared at the fan rotating on the ceiling. She tried to rid her mind of Cassie, but silent tears rolled down her face. Eden and Amor came into the room sitting on either side of Adira. Sebastian checked the corridor to see if they were alone, before he shut the door. Few beats of silence passed. Adira's breathing was strained, the only sound in the tense room.

Adira stuttered, "I-I can't b-believe that Cassie..." She trailed off. She opened her mouth to try again, but no words came out. Amor rubbed Adira's back gently. Eden squeezed her arm.

Adrian sat in front of her, taking her hands in his own. "Cassie is not a traitor."

Adira looked up at him in wide-eyed confusion, her jaw gaping. "B-but..."

"Look, we're sorry we couldn't tell you earlier. But the pack was around and that meant the snitch was too. But Cassie didn't betray us. Against all of my wishes, she left to spy on Lyracus."

Adira stared, her hope rising. "What do you mean?"

Adrian frowned slightly, "When the Lycan, Lyracus I mean, started sprouting out pack business, all of us realised there was a traitor in the pack. And well, Cassie is the best military strategist I know. Two seconds before she took his hand, she mind-linked me her plan. She would use the fight we all had as an excuse to betray us. Then, she'd gather more information on the enemy's side, and once she was through, we would have to make Amricus go and get her."

He ran his hand through his hair. "I balked at that. No amount of information made it worth it to put Cassie in this danger. I told her, I ordered her, but you know. Cassie is Cassie. She did it anyway and there was no way I could stop her. If I had said something then, she would have gone anyway, but we would have made everyone suspicious."

Sebastian chimed in, "Adrian told none of us until she actually vanished, so that none of us looked like we were acting. I never want to feel that amount of terror again. When Cassie gets back, I'm going to murder her."

The numbness vanished. Adira felt like she could breathe again. Her chest eased. She smiled even as her previous tears dried. The heaviness in her head reduced. 

"Well before we get to murder Cassie, unfortunately Drystan is going to murder us. So, well, we're fucked." Amor said quietly, though her eyes were happy. Adira noticed dried tear tracks on her skin which were lined with the black of her mascara. 

Adrian gently massaged his head with his hand. "Cassie told me to tell him that she was sorry. And that she would love to give them a chance once she got back. She also told me to say sorry to the rest of us, especially Adira. And to hug Adira and some other sentimental stuff. I told her to stay so that she could say it herself. But she said that she'd say it when she got back, and for my words to be substitute till then." Adira took his hand, pulling him towards her gently, and massaging his head for him. 

Eden fell face-first into a pillow. "Is it weird that I'm more stressed out than I was before?"

Adira nodded. "If that girl gets even a single wound on herself, I swear to god..." She trailed off, suddenly thoughtful. Amor grunted in agreement, her hands scrunching the sheets.

"Wait, so you guys can speak to her, right now, right? So lets see if she is alright and give her a piece of our mind?" Adira spoke suddenly, breaking the worried silence.

Adrian shook his head. "I told her to keep her walls up at all times. She will contact us when she is alone. The last thing we want is for her eyes to get hazy and distant, and for everyone else to realise that she is mind-linking us."

Amor nodded looking up at the ceiling. "Who gets the honor of telling Drystan? Not it!"

"Not it!" Three voices chorused back. 

Everyone turned to look at a defeated and resigned Sebastian. "You guys are going to get me killed. Hate you." He grinned a little, even though it seemed fake. None of them would be able to smile until Cassie was home.

"Well then," Adira turned to Amor. "Call your parents, ask for an audience with Drystan. We should break it to him before he hears about it from somewhere else." 

"Why?" A voice enquired from the other end of the room. Adira yelped, startled. 

Drystan stood there, haggard and pale. His hands trembled. "Tell me its not true." He ran his hand through his hair, looking as if he had aged overnight. "Tell me my mate doesn't stand with my biggest enemy."

Adrian elbowed Sebastian, who gave him a dirty look.

"Welll..." Sebastian began nervously. "I've got good news and bad news for you." He laughed hysterically.

Drystan looked at him, unreadable emotion in his eyes.

"So, the good news is that Cassie isn't a traitor." Sebastian stated. "Yay, am I right? How wonderful that our lovely Cassie is as good and ethical as she had always been - ah!." He yelped as Adira poked him from behind. 

 "Okay, everyone can stop hitting me now." Sebastian gave Adira a dirty look. 

Then he turned to Drystan who looked confused. "ThebadnewsisthatCassieisaspy." Sebastian mumbled rapidly, looking steadfastly at the ground. 

"What?"

Adira mentally facepalmed. She spoke up, "Cassie, that god damn idiot, thought it would be great to except Lyracus's offer so that she could spy on him and get us information." 

Drystan's eyes froze, his hands shaking. His claws lengthened into sharp talons. He snarled menacingly. The ground itself began to shake, tremors running through the floor. The frame on the wall fell to the ground. For the first time since she had known Drystan, Adira was truly frightened of him. 

She continued hastily, "It wasn't our plan. Cassie came up with it last minute when we realised there was a traitor within the pack. Literally, none of us had a choice. You think I'd let my best friend do something like this?"

Drystan ground out, still angry, "So explain this to me. My mate is with my greatest enemy, acting as a spy. Do you even realise the danger she is in. Do you understand what would happen if they realised she is my mate?" The water kept on the table started to swirl angrily. It sloshed out of its cup, wetting the carpet. 

Adrian spoke up, his voice calm. "Don't we? Do you think we would have let her go if we had known? It was too late, Drystan. Cassie is as stubborn as she is foolish."

Drystan snarled, "You should have gone with her. You should have stopped her. What kind of an Alpha are you?"

His voice still calm, Adrian stated quietly. "I think you need to realise that Cassie is her own person. She is strong and the best military strategist I know. She is also stubborn as hell, and loyal to the ones she knows. I did my best to convince her against it, in the two minutes that I had. After that, I gave her tips to not die. I've known her since I was two, Lycan. Cassie's safety is as much my priority as it is yours."

All of a sudden, the shaking stopped. Water settled into the glass. The ground became stable again. Drystan's claws preceded, and he sank into the ground. The fight left him, leaving him only tired. "So, now what?"

Amor sighed, pulling Eden to her, hugging him. "So, now we wait. We learn some more information. And then we wait some more."