Breaking the Bond: My Alpha Chose a Vampire, So I Took My Pack

Chapter 4

I knew Cassian wasn't under a vampire's spell. That was merely a convenient excuse people used to avoid facing their own choices.

After my mother died in a war against vampires, I learned everything I could about them.

They had no magical power to control anyone's mind. They had beautiful faces and the allure that came with centuries of experience. Any human or werewolf who became obsessed with them did so knowingly.

Anyone who chose a vampire did so with their eyes open.

So did Cassian—just as clearheaded as anyone else.

Sometimes, devotion in the face of everything could look tragically romantic.

This wasn't one of those times.

The healers and the rest of the pack had worked through the night to clean up after the attack. The hall looked orderly again. Everyone gathered for breakfast while several omegas packed supplies in the kitchen. We had to leave for the airport early the next morning.

We would fly first, then take a train.

By the following night, we would be back where we had always belonged.

"You called me 20 times." Cassian frowned at me with the weary patience of someone indulging a difficult child. "What was so urgent?"

I didn't answer at once.

My gaze moved past him to the bandage wrapped around Beta Walter's shoulder. A dark stain had already spread across the white gauze.

Cassian didn't even glance at his own Beta. He walked straight to me and pulled me into his arms.

The scent that hit me was no longer his.

The sour, metallic reek of a vampire clung to him and made my stomach turn.

Even his own scent had faded. This was the final day before my request took effect. The next night would bring the full moon. Unless I returned to the temple and withdrew my request, the bond would be severed, and Cassian would no longer be my mate.

Nearby, Beta Walter's nostrils flared, and his face twisted with disgust.

I met Cassian's eyes with a bitter smile.

"It was nothing," I said. "I just missed you."

"I knew it." He gave a quiet laugh. "I haven't paid much attention to the pack lately, so thank you for taking care of everything. You're not jealous because Lucille and I have been spending so much time together, are you?" He paused, his casual tone almost cruel. "Don't be upset. You haven't forgotten our human wedding ceremony tomorrow, have you?"

Several healers and omegas looked up. They had smelled the vampire stench too, and their eyes filled with open contempt.

Cassian released me, his expression turning solemn.

"Lucille is too kind to live among other vampires. I think we should bring her into the pack. Then you won't have to worry whenever I'm away with her."

The entire hall went deathly still.

A low, strangled growl erupted from the crowd.

One werewolf jerked his head up, his lips peeling back from his fangs as instinctive hostility sharpened his slit pupils. Beta Walter clutched his injured shoulder, his face pale but his jaw set. Every other pack member tensed and stared at Cassian in disbelief.

They had protected this territory and held the pack together while their Alpha was absent.

Yet the first thing Cassian did after returning was announce that he wanted to bring a vampire into their home.

His expression hardened.

The force of his Alpha command slammed into everyone in the hall, an invisible weight driving them to their knees.

Knees struck the floor one after another.

No matter how fiercely they fought it, the wolves were forced to kneel. Sweat beaded at some temples. Others clenched their fists until their knuckles turned white, but no one could defy the command.

My chest ached as I watched my pack bow against their will.

Cassian swept his gaze over them, his voice hard and leaving no room for argument.

"Hunters entered our territory, but vampires weren't responsible for that. Stop treating every vampire like an enemy. Lucille is decent and kind. Her presence will bring greater diversity to our pack. From today onward, garlic and vervain are forbidden in this territory. Anyone who disobeys will be expelled from the pack."

Several wolves jerked their heads up in shock. Garlic and vervain were common vampire deterrents, and nearly every household kept them. For Lucille's sake, Cassian was ordering everyone to abandon their defenses and threatening exile if they refused.

He either failed to see the disappointment in their eyes or simply didn't care.

Cassian turned and walked away, his coat stirring a cold gust behind him. He moved quickly, already eager to return to the woman who supposedly needed him.

I looked away and extended a hand to the kneeling wolves.

"Get up."

At dusk, everyone packed the last of their belongings, and we left.

After several hours in the air, we landed at an airport near the northern forest. My phone rang as we entered the terminal. It was Cassian.

The other end was unusually quiet. Bells rang faintly in the background, followed by the hollow acoustics of a wedding chapel. He sounded hesitant.

"Iris, we'll have to postpone our wedding plans. I'll come pick you up later. Lucille suddenly said she wanted to try it too. We're already at a wedding chapel, so we're going in first."

An airport announcement sounded overhead. I looked through the glass at the snow-covered mountains, then down at the children asleep in their mothers' arms.

Without answering, I ended the call.

Then I removed my SIM card and dropped it into a trash can.

End of Iris's POV