The pain was everywhere. At twenty, Cassandra had lost everything—her pack, her mate, her future. She had made her wish to the magician with her eyes wide open, knowing the price. She just hadn’t expected it to hurt this much afterward.
She had grown up expecting to be their alpha. She had been someone who mattered. Now, because of her wish, because of Sebastian, she was nothing at all. —
Cass was eight when she decided she’d dedicate her life to making Sebastian Sax’s existence a living nightmare.
Her hair was the color of wheat, long and thick and beautiful, and he had stuck a piece of gum into it. Their packs shared a border in the woods, two halves of a clan that had split decades ago when two wolves fought over the same mate. Cass and the other children played together anyway, until her parents warned her off the rival pack. Especially Sebastian, the Alpha’s son.
From then on, their innocent games became competitive battles. Nights were spent planning strategies, and everyone became fiercely determined to win. On the day Sebastian put his gum in her hair, they had been racing to the top of trees. Cass won by throwing a pebble at his back, making him fall.
“That’s cheating,” Sebastian protested. “If it isn’t in the rule book, it’s not cheating,” Cass said, sticking out her tongue. “We don’t have a rule book,” he argued. “Exactly.
Don’t be a sore loser and proclaim us the winners. ”
Instead of crowning her, Sebastian spat his gum on top of her head. “Sorry, it slipped,” he smirked. Cass screamed, only tangling the gum further in her curls.
When tears welled up in her eyes, Sebastian looked genuinely sorry for ten seconds. Then Cass threw herself at him, smacking him in the jaw, and all hell broke loose. —
Cass was nine when she met the magician for the first time. The shop was enchanted to repulse passersby, but she marched in anyway.
“Are you the magician that grants wishes? ” the girl asked, unimpressed. Adrien, the magician, tried to scare her away. She was a wolf shifter, overly confident and, in his opinion, astoundingly stupid.
He asked what she wanted to wish for. “I need you to make someone bald,” Cass said, her eyes shining with righteous indignation. Adrien raised an eyebrow. He told her that wishes cost what mattered most to her—maybe her PlayStation, maybe a parent, maybe a sibling.
Cass whispered, “I have a twin brother. ”
Adrien let her believe her wish would cost her brother his life. He didn’t actually take lives, but he knew the loved one would be separated from her either way, and he hoped the fear would deter her. “Well, there you go,” he said.
“Do you really want to risk losing your brother just so some guy might lose his hair? ”
“Sebastian isn’t just some guy,” Cass replied. “He’s the lowest, most awful person who’s ever walked this earth. A real nuisance.
A life ruiner. ”
Adrien suggested she could just ruin his life herself. Cass considered it, then marched out, telling him he seemed rather useless. —
For two years, Cass and Sebastian played an endless game of revenge.
She staged a fake kidnapping of her own hedgehog, framing Sebastian. He retaliated with a forged apology letter listing all her supposed crimes, which his parents believed, sparking a shouting match between their packs. Then Cass turned eleven, and Sebastian turned thirteen. Every thirteen-year-old wolf competed in a full-day hunt, and everyone expected Sebastian to win.
Cass was too young to participate, but she was determined to beat him. She went to the magician and asked to be made strong enough to win. “Would it really be winning if you bested Sebastian because of magic? ” Adrien asked.
Cass gritted her teeth and got to work. She secretly obtained the plans for the hunt, memorizing every detail. By day, she shifted into her wolf form and mapped the terrain. She found a bear, tracked its habits, and on the day of the hunt, she rose before dawn.
The battle was brutal. She nearly gave up, her muscles burning, fear racing her heart. Only the thought of Sebastian winning kept her going. She dragged the massive bear into the clearing, and the crowd erupted in shock and applause.
The elders crowned her this year’s victor. Cass didn’t care about the glory. She cared about the look of pure shock on Sebastian’s face. His eyes were wide with surprise and resentment, but there was something new, dangerously close to admiration, that went straight to her head.
Her heart beat wildly. And little did she know, she’d grow addicted to that feeling. —
Cass was thirteen when she won her first fight against an older beta wolf. She wore her hair in a tight braid now, still bitter it hadn’t grown back to full length after the gum incident.
Her father had started pitting her against her twin brother Ronin, testing which of them would become alpha. Cass knew she would win. Sebastian was set to become alpha of his pack, and if he was an alpha, she would be too. She’d never be less than him.
They had taken to sneaking into the woods at night to fight, just the two of them. But Sebastian was getting taller, broader, stronger. It was getting easier for him to pin her down, and she feared he’d soon grow bored of her. “You’re the one holding back your punches,” she accused.
She hated him for holding back. But one night, she managed to roll him over, straddling him and pinning him to the ground. His eyes darkened with something she couldn’t name, his scent spiking up thick and dizzying. She saw a faint blush spread across his cheeks.
Then Sebastian flipped her over, pinning her down. “Stop moving,” he groaned against her neck. “You stop moving,” she whined. She felt the graze of his teeth against her skin.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. She grabbed his hair and shoved him away. “Get off me! ” she growled, genuine fear clawing at her.
Sebastian complied quickly. “Of course not,” he said when she couldn’t bring herself to ask if he’d been about to bite her. “That’s ridiculous. ”
But he looked regretful, humiliating her further.
She ran off, and they didn’t see much of each other after that. —
Cass was fifteen when she saw Sebastian again. They hadn’t exchanged words in two years, just a few insults, but his absence and growing indifference were driving her insane. She started dreaming of him at night—dreams of fighting him, besting him, finding that admiration in his gaze.
And then, in almost every dream, Sebastian bit her neck. She went to the magician, hoping he could take her dreams away. He told her dreams reflected unconscious feelings, and the best way to get rid of them was to confront them. “What do you dream about?
” Cass asked the human girl who worked with the magician. “My father, mostly,” the girl, Iris, said. “He died recently. I dream of seeing him again.
”
Cass paled and left quickly. Iris’s words struck a sensitive chord. She realized confronting Sebastian about that night in the woods was something she needed, and it terrified her. She saw him at a gathering by a lake.
Sebastian was even taller now, almost eighteen, and apparently attractive, if the looks from other girls were any indication. Cass decided it wasn’t his looks. It was the confidence he exuded, the quiet dominance of a future alpha. That night, she dreamed that everyone stared at her with admiration instead.
She woke feeling powerful, knowing what she needed to do. She’d matched his strategic skills as a child. Now she needed to match his social skills. —
Cass was about to turn sixteen when she enacted her plan.
She dressed up, dolled up, and walked into a club, easily passing for a young adult. She attracted attention, dancing between two boys, and then she caught Sebastian’s eyes across the bar. He barely glanced at her, just a flicker of irritation. That was it.
That wasn’t enough. She approached one of his friends, a boy named Peter, and flirted shamelessly. “How about we go somewhere quiet instead? ” she murmured against his ear.
Peter kissed her, and Cass carefully angled their bodies right in front of Sebastian’s booth. The surge of anger that clogged Sebastian’s scent was unmistakable. “Get off her,” Sebastian snapped, pulling Peter away so abruptly he almost fell. His face was twisted in a sneer, but he wasn’t looking at Cass.
“She’s sixteen years old,” Sebastian snarled. “You think it’s fine taking advantage of a minor? ”
“I didn’t know she was sixteen,” Peter stammered. Cass rolled her eyes.
“I wanted him to kiss me. Leave him alone. ”
Sebastian’s jaw clenched. His gaze was dark and aggressive, his scent going right to her head.
She’d missed this—being the focus of his hatred. “He wanted more than to kiss you,” Sebastian muttered, his fingers circling her arm possessively. “I’d be happy to let him,” Cass smirked. Sebastian’s grip tightened.
His eyes descended on her bare neck with a fixated intent, and the insane thought that he was about to bite her bloomed in her mind. Then he let go and walked off. Cass was left breathless, feeling like the age of eight again, about to cry. But then Sebastian turned around, walked back, and barked, “Our place in the woods tomorrow night.
”
Triumph washed over her. —
Cass was seventeen when their meetings took a different turn. They fought, and Sebastian called it finished too early. “I think we’re finished here,” he said.
“Finished! ” she screamed, throwing herself at him. She was done being treated like a cub. She matched him blow for blow.
Couldn’t he see they were equals? Their eyes met. Cass wasn’t sure how the kiss began, just that she was grabbing his hair to deepen it, drinking every moan from his lips. This was nothing like her other kisses.
It was forceful and angry, a reclaiming. Sharp teeth nipped at her lip. His touch became bruising, as if he wanted to be her best. She was old enough now to identify the desire in his scent, thick and syrupy and so, so good.
She didn’t protest when he tore away her clothes, or when he searched her eyes for permission, or when sharp pain coursed through her. She encouraged it, because he was looking at her like she was everything. Later, alone in her room, regret clawed at her throat. They shouldn’t have done that.
If her father learned of this, she’d lose any chance of becoming alpha, and it could start a war. Worst of all, would Sebastian even respect her as a rival now? He did come back. They did fight, but the fights grew shorter.
Soon, they didn’t pretend at all, their lips colliding immediately, their hands roaming desperately. There was no pain anymore, only pleasure and new emotions just as consuming as anger. Every night, Cass told herself this was the last time. It was bound to ruin everything.
But neither of them could ask their elders for permission. It would never be given. For them, it was either be enemies at best or strangers at worst. Anything else could never be, at least not in the open.
Cass went to the magician’s shop, hoping to be rid of her desire, her guilt, her shame. But when Iris asked what she wanted, Cass couldn’t bring herself to say the words. She left, knowing the only thing she should be wishing to be rid of was her love. —
Cass was eighteen when a real fight erupted between her pack and Sebastian’s.
She was in a bar with her brother and friends. Finn, a packmate she’d grown up with, had his arm around her shoulders, a familiar gesture. Then Cass heard a crash and saw Finn gripping Sebastian’s shirt, backing him against a wall. “What are you doing?
” she barked at Finn. “He smells like you,” Finn snarled. “Why does he smell like you? ”
Cass’s entire world stopped.
This was the moment it all ended. She was going to lose her father’s respect, her pack, and most importantly, Sebastian. If they were found out, his parents might banish him, or make him take a mate to quiet the rumors. Would he even fight for her?
“We met briefly behind the bar,” Cass said quickly. “We had a little squabble, that’s all. ”
But Ronin’s eyes turned aggressive, his protective instincts flaring. “You attacked her alone?
You could have hurt her. ”
“No, he couldn’t,” Cass protested. “We didn’t fight,” Sebastian began, and Cass’s heart froze. “Yes, we did,” she snapped.
Ronin threw himself at Sebastian, and a brawl erupted. Sebastian commanded his pack to stop, and to Cass’s displeasure, it worked on some of her packmates too. “Stay the hell away from my sister,” Ronin growled, pulling Cass away. Later that night, Sebastian confronted her.
“Telling your pack we’d gotten into a fight? Seriously, Cass. ”
“What else was I supposed to say? Finn smelled me on you.
What if he’d realized? ”
“It wouldn’t have been worse than them thinking an alpha attacked you alone,” Sebastian growled. “You’re not alpha yet,” Cass snapped. “And I could take you.
”
“My father is going to make me alpha in just a few days. I can’t be picking fights with random wolves. ”
“I’m not a random wolf,” Cass screeched. “Cass, you’re the one that panicked at the idea of everyone finding out about us.
Not me. What am I supposed to think? Especially when you let all these other wolves touch you right in front of me. ”
“There is no us,” Cass snapped, her heart and throat tight.
“You and I aren’t together. I can do what I want with whoever I want. ”
Sebastian gripped her jaw, forcing her eyes to his. They had turned gold.
“You’re mine,” he growled. “I’m not. ”
“You could be,” he said, softening. “I want you to be, Cass.
I love you. ”
Cass’s heart did something complicated. But her father was counting on her. Her pack had lost something to his, and she wouldn’t be the one making them lose again.
Why would he say this only now, and not the day before, when he’d held her in his arms? “Don’t,” she snapped, pulling away. “We’re nothing. You’re nothing to me.
”
Sebastian paled. “Fine,” he spat, turning around and walking away. Cass thought of calling after him, but nothing came past her lips. The next day, Sebastian answered her father’s call and apologized for approaching Cass, swearing it wouldn’t happen again.
It didn’t. —
Cass was twenty when her father told her he’d decided to make her alpha. It was everything she’d ever wanted, and she’d pictured this moment her whole life. She hadn’t expected to feel nothing at all.
She’d been numb ever since the night Sebastian walked away from her. His absence was unbearable. And that very morning, she’d learned of his engagement. He was to be mated to a girl from another pack.
They were all invited to the engagement party. Cass wore her most beautiful dress and arranged her hair in an elegant updo, leaving her neck bare. She hoped Sebastian would at least think back on their time together. But he danced with his fiancée all night, made speeches and jokes, and never looked at her once.
Cass felt something die inside of her. When she finally forced herself to greet them, Sebastian inclined his head politely. “Thank you,” he said curtly before moving his fiancée away for a dance. He acted like they were strangers.
Cass ran into a nearby library to escape the pain. Then Sebastian followed her. “What are you doing here? ” she asked.
“What am I doing here? You’re in my house. ”
“My father chose me to be our next alpha,” she said, wielding the title like a shield. “Well, congratulations then,” he said.
“It’s everything you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? ”
“Then what is this? ” she forced herself to say. “Why did you follow me here?
”
“Have a good evening, Cassandra,” he said, turning away. “Do you love her? ” Cass blurted out, desperation making her voice unrecognizable. “Isn’t that obvious?
” Sebastian sneered. “I’m marrying her, aren’t I? ”
“All right,” Cass murmured. “Well then, I’m happy for you.
”
“Are you? ” he scoffed. “What’s it to you how I feel anyway? We were never anything to each other.
You’ve made that abundantly clear. ”
“So now you’re going to act like there was never anything between us? ” Hurt laced her words. “You’re the one that always acted like it was nothing, like it embarrassed you to be with me,” he barked, suddenly inches from her.
“I was the one that always had to earn your attention,” she argued. “Earn my attention? You didn’t earn anything. You always had it.
I’ve always looked at you. Always. Ever since we were young. ”
“You’d look, but you wouldn’t see me.
”
“I’ve watched, seen, and thought only of you for as long as I can remember,” Sebastian growled. “But I’m done now. It’s over. ”
Cass was crying.
“It’ll never be over,” she told him darkly. “Never. You know it and I know it. ”
Before he could reply, she grabbed his face and kissed him.
It was even harsher than before, and Sebastian’s teeth and tongue laid claim to her immediately. His hands pulled the pins from her hair, and he buried his nose in her curls. “I want nothing to do with you,” he sighed, his eyes closing. “I love you,” she replied, choking when he flinched like she’d hurt him.
“No,” he said, stepping away. “Enough. ” He fled the room without looking back. Later, she went to the magician’s shop.
It was closed, near midnight. She didn’t know it, but she’d be making her wish the very next day. —
Cass was still twenty when she woke to wet lips sucking bruises on her neck. She should have felt fear.
Instead, she felt only warmth and hazy pleasure. The familiar scent enveloped her, and she knew it was Sebastian. “Sebastian,” she gasped breathlessly. “What are you doing here?
”
“I was celebrating my engagement, remember? ” he chuckled, snuggling her neck. “Shouldn’t you be with your fiancée? ” she asked, building up the courage to push him off.
“I broke off our engagement,” he said, looking like he was about to kiss her again. “Why? ”
“Didn’t want her,” he replied. “How could I mate with another when you love me?
”
“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me,” she protested weakly. “Say that you love me again,” Sebastian insisted. “Say it again, Cass. Please.
”
She cradled his face. “I love you. ”
His teeth grazed her skin dangerously. The pressure grew, and Cass pushed his head down harder, urging him on.
She wanted him to claim her. She wanted to be his mate. But he was drunk, and she thought belatedly, “Not like this. ”
“Sebastian,” she gasped.
“Don’t, please stop. ”
But her body was already giving in. His teeth sank into her skin, and Cass screamed. The next thing she knew, her brother’s scream joined hers.
Sebastian was gasping above her, his features contorting in pain. Ronin stood there, holding their father’s dagger. “Get off her! ” Ronin yelled.
“Did he force himself? I heard you tell him no. ”
Cass’s hand found something wet and warm on Sebastian’s back. Blood.
“What did you do? ” she screeched. “He wasn’t forcing himself. I love him, Ronin.
Sebastian and I have been lovers for years. ”
Ronin’s eyes widened, but Cass forgot about him when Sebastian gasped her name, grabbing her wrist weakly. “Stay with me,” she begged, running her hand through his hair. “Don’t fall asleep.
”
She met her brother’s eyes. They weren’t twins for nothing. He knew now wasn’t the time for questions. “I’m going to go get father,” he exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
—
Their father was furious when presented with the alpha from their rival pack, unconscious and half-naked in his daughter’s bed. “How could you be so foolish, both of you? ” he snarled. “And you, using this weapon on him when you could have just thrown him off your sister?
”
“I thought he was—” Ronin couldn’t bring himself to say the words. “This is catastrophic,” their father said, rubbing his tired face. “One of you, if not both, will have to face consequences. ”
“Are you really talking about money and reputation while he’s laying here dying?
” Cass snapped. Sebastian’s face was pale, his breathing labored. “Is there nothing that can heal him? ” she asked.
“None,” her father said. “I’m sorry, Cass. ”
“Why would you even keep such a dangerous weapon at home? ” she growled.
“I keep it to protect my family,” her father replied. “Sebastian is family,” Cass said. “He’s my mate now. ”
Her father’s eyes widened in anger, then a plan seemed to form.
“We can work with that,” he muttered. “Sebastian’s an alpha. He forced his way into your room, forced himself on you, and claimed you. Your brother defended you.
”
“I wanted him to claim me,” Cass protested, furious. “Well, you’ll keep that to yourself if you want you and your brother to live,” her father barked, lacing his words with all the alpha command he could muster. Cass felt the command freeze her body. The choice was clear: she could save Sebastian, or she could save herself and her brother.
Cass banged on the magician’s front door as the sun barely rose. Iris let her in. “This time, there will be no changing my mind,” Cass declared. “You’re going to grant me a wish.
I don’t care what it costs. ”
—
Cass hadn’t aged a day when she came back to the pack, but she felt like an old woman. Everything was dulled, like she’d entered a watered-down dimension. Ronin rushed out of the house, waving excitedly.
“Sebastian’s awake. He’s fine. Since he isn’t sick anymore, it’s all going to be okay. ”
Cass just looked at him.
“He isn’t my mate,” she said. “But I thought you said that was before—”
“We’re not,” Cass said flatly. Her mother ran out, asking what was wrong, what happened. Cass couldn’t say the words.
She thought maybe if she didn’t say them, it wouldn’t be true. “Your wish is for your mate to recover? ” the magician had asked, his eyes growing somber. “Yes,” Cass had nodded, tears welling up.
“He’s dying. ”
“I’ve told you the rules before. If I grant your wish, I’ll have to take what matters most to you. ”
“Sebastian is what matters most to me.
”
“No, I don’t take people’s lives,” Adrienne had explained. “But if he’s what matters most to you, you’ll probably have to be apart. He’ll be alive. But not with you.
”
Cass had taken the second option. She’d had hope they could find their way back to one another. She was done letting fear control her. “Do it,” she insisted.
“Save him. It’s what I wish for. ”
Adrienne had taken her hand, closing his eyes. Then he let go abruptly.
“You’re with child. ”
Cass had frozen. She felt it now, her wolf stirring protectively. “What matters most to you is being Sebastian’s mate,” Adrienne had said.
“So, I’ll be making sure you’ll never be able to be mates by taking away the very thing that makes it possible. ”
“You mean my wolf? ”
“You’re going to make her human? ” Iris had surmised.
“Yes. But my baby—he’ll have a wolf. Surely. ” Cass had whispered, eyes brimming with tears.
“There’s a good chance, yes. You probably won’t be able to raise him. ”
Cass had closed her eyes. “Do it.
Grant my wish. ”
She hadn’t felt her wolf leave. One minute it was howling against her broken mind, the next it was gone. The abrupt dulling of her senses made her gasp, but mostly it was the absence, the nothingness, that made her sway and scream.
Now she was back, surrounded by her pack, but she couldn’t sense them, couldn’t guess their emotions. She felt so alone, like she’d lost an entire part of herself. Sebastian pushed his way to her, taking her face between his hands. “What’s wrong?
” he asked. “Look at me. ”
She pulled away. “I’d like to be alone now.
” She fled before anyone could stop her. It probably meant something that none of them did. —
A week later, Cass was twenty-one, and Sebastian insisted on seeing her. He burst into her room and dropped to his knees beside her, pulling her into his arms.
“What are you doing here? ” she asked in a dead, blank voice. “What do you think? ” Sebastian sighed, breathing her in.
Cass had to tell him. “I’m sorry I disrupted your engagement,” she said. “I’m sure if you try hard enough, your mate-to-be will reconsider. ”
“What are you talking about?
You’re my mate. ”
“I’m no such thing. I’m a human now. ”
“So what?
”
“You know as well as I do mating bonds can’t exist with humans. ”
“Does this bother you? ” he asked. “That we can’t be bonded?
”
“When I told you I loved you,” she said, tears welling up for the first time in days, “I meant it. Or did you think I was just saying this to aggravate you? ”
“I know you meant it,” Sebastian said quickly. “I meant it too.
”
“You never actually said it,” she muttered. “I love you too, Cass. I thought it was rather obvious. ”
“It hardly matters now.
”
“Why would you say that? It’s all that matters. ”
“Sebastian, you’re a wolf and an alpha at that. I can’t be your mate.
You’ll need one if you want to remain leader of your pack. ”
“I already told my pack I renounced my title because we couldn’t possibly live near them or yours,” Sebastian replied. “You really think I’d let my mate live somewhere dangerous? ”
“I’m not your mate,” Cass said, despite the foolish hope blooming in her chest.
“You are. Though, if you’re against that appellation, I hope you’ll at least do me the honor of being my wife. I hear humans are perfectly satisfied being husband and wives instead of mates. ”
“Sebastian, you can’t.
You’ve worked your entire life to be alpha. I can’t let you give it all up for me. ”
“You gave your wolf for me, Cass. If you think for one second I wouldn’t make a sacrifice infinitely smaller in return—”
“I’m pregnant,” Cass interrupted, watching his face intently.
Sebastian merely looked surprised for a second before pure joy crossed his features. “You are? ”
“I may not survive the birth. I won’t be able to look after our baby.
”
“Is it mine? ” he asked, eyes wide with disbelief and hope. Cass groaned. “Who else’s would it be, you fool?
”
Sebastian met her eyes and smiled. “We’ll be okay. As long as we’re together, we’ll be okay. ”
—
The silver ring sat at the center of the pentagram as Adrien weaved his fingers through the air above it.
He was sweating, his hands trembling from the exertion and the illness that had plagued him since he broke the rules for Cassandra. “Didn’t think you were actually listening? ” Iris muttered. He ignored her, focusing on the ring.
He murmured the final incantation, and the ring flared brightly before settling back into an innocuous silver band. “There,” he said, reaching for it. The room tilted. Iris was at his side instantly, steadying him.
“Go give this to Cassandra,” he instructed, pressing the ring into her palm. “What is it? ”
“What she gave up. The magic it contains is sealed.
You’ll give it to her in promise that should she or any of her successors down the line need anything, they should come to me presenting this ring. ”
“So, it’s like a promise ring? ”
“Sure, you can call it that. ”
“I thought you couldn’t give it back.
”
“I can’t. I’d have to die for her to be able to reclaim her power. But I’d like her to have the possibility should it happen. ”
“You’re immortal.
Cassandra is not. She’ll die before you do. ”
“As do most people,” Adrien snapped, draining his glass of wine. “Why don’t you give it to her yourself?
”
“Her mate won’t let her see me,” Adrien said instead. He was a coward. He couldn’t bear to see the sadness in her eyes. “All right,” Iris said softly after a while.
“I’ll make dinner when I come back. I will come back afterward, okay? ”
Adrien sighed. Part of him hoped to be unconscious before she returned.
Another part strained to listen for her footsteps, dreading the possibility that this time she might not come back at all. —
Cass was twenty-two when Iris saw her next. Adrienne had asked her to deliver a baby gift, which for some reason he refused to deliver in person. Cassandra was holding a four-month-old baby, thinner than Iris remembered, more frail.
But her baby was healthy, and so was her husband. “What’s his name? ” Iris asked politely. “Harry,” Cass said, her eyes shining.
“It’s short for Harrison. Sebastian’s a big fan of those human films. ”
“This is a gift from Adrien,” Iris told her, handing her a small box. “What is it?
”
“A promise from him. Should you or someone from your family need help, tell them to come to the shop with this ring. Adrienne will do whatever he can to help. ”
“Could we go now and have him make Cass a wolf again?
” Sebastian asked. “We’re days away from giving up our son to her brother for safety. It’s keeping her awake at night. ”
“We already decided we wouldn’t risk going back,” Cass said, looking at her child resolutely.
“Giving her a wolf back is impossible,” Iris explained. “This would mean canceling her wish, and that can’t be done. But if there’s anything else we can do—”
“You’ve done enough,” Sebastian snapped, showing her out. “Thank you,” Cassandra told Iris over her shoulder.
“Tell him thank you. ”
Iris wondered if she could ever love someone that much. To the point where she’d sacrifice so much for them. “Have you ever been in love?
” Iris asked Adrien curiously a couple of hours later while closing the shop. He didn’t reply.
