Shadows and New Dawns
2152 Words
Chapter Three : Shadows and New Dawns
Bosco led her through the corridor of his mansion, dark wood panels, thick carpets, the scent of leather and faint espresso lingering in the air. Men in suits stepped aside as they passed, bowing slightly to him, but looking at her with cautious curiosity.
She hugged her arms around herself.
Bosco noticed.
“No one will touch you here,” he said quietly. “They know you’re under my protection.”
His protection.
It should have comforted her, but instead it made her chest twist strangely.
They reached a small lounge, a private room with soft lighting, sofas, and a fireplace crackling low. Bosco gestured for her to sit.
But he remained standing, leaning one hand against the fireplace mantle.
Tension rippled from him like heat.
“What is it?” she asked.
Bosco inhaled slowly. “Cass… you’re with child.”
The room tilted.
She felt the words fall like stones into her chest. Heavy, too heavy to process.
“I...what?”
Bosco’s eyes softened but stayed steady. “You’re pregnant.”
Her hands flew to her abdomen, trembling. “No… no, I can’t... I didn’t even realize...”
“Your medical check after the crash revealed it,” he said gently. “You’re lucky the accident didn’t harm you both.”
Both.
Her eyes burned.
A baby.
Jason’s baby.
She whispered, “He doesn’t know.”
“I figured as much.”
Suddenly her knees felt weak. Bosco stepped forward, steadying her arm before she fell. His touch was warm, unexpectedly tender.
“It’s alright,” he murmured. “Breathe.”
She leaned against him, too stunned to protest.
Her world was collapsing and rebuilding itself all at once.
“Bosco… what do I do?” she whispered shakily. “Jason thinks I’m dead. He doesn’t even know he’s going to be a father.”
Bosco’s jaw tightened. Hard. Sharp. Controlled rage.
“He should have protected you,” Bosco said through clenched teeth. “If he truly believed you were his mate, he should have burned the world down to keep you safe.”
“He tried,” she said softly. “His parents stopped him.”
Bosco’s lips curled into a mirthless smile. “Alpha King or not… no one would stop me.”
The way he said it, cold, certain, sent a shiver along her spine.
Not fear.
Something complicated.
Cassandra pulled away gently, pacing the room, shaking.
“I’m human,” she whispered. “I’m carrying a werewolf’s child. I don’t know what that means. What if it’s dangerous? What if I’m not strong enough? I’ve seen how harsh wolf pregnancies can be even for wolf mothers...”
Bosco stepped in front of her, capturing her hands in his.
“Cass. Look at me.”
She lifted her eyes, vision blurry.
“You are strong,” he said gently. “Stronger than you know. And you won’t face this alone. Not while you’re under my roof.”
Her voice cracked. “Why are you being so kind to me?”
Bosco’s expression shifted, something raw flickered beneath the surface.
“You remind me of Cicilia,” he whispered. “But more than that...”
His voice softened, “you deserve the life she never got.”
*****
Far from Bosco’s mansion, Alpha Jason slammed his fist into the training ground wall so hard it cracked.
His wolf roared inside him, out of control, maddened with grief.
“She can’t be gone!” Jason snarled, breath ragged. “I would feel it. I would feel it if she died!”
Guards watched him warily. His parents stayed far back.
King Bon folded his arms. “Your obsession ends now.”
Jason spun, eyes glowing a fierce silver.
“This is your fault,” he growled. “You sent Harlow after her.”
Queen Anastasia stepped forward sharply. “We did what was necessary...”
“No.” Jason’s voice trembled with fury. “You murdered my mate.”
The Queen’s face paled. “Jason..!”
“Don’t,” he barked. “You don’t get to say her name. Ever.”
He turned toward the forest, rage boiling.
His father called after him, “Jason! Where are you going?”
Jason didn’t stop.
“To find her.”
Even if he had only bones to dig from the ground.
Even if he had to tear Harlow’s throat out with his teeth.
He would search until the world ended.
Because his heart refused to mourn a soul that still felt alive.
*****
The sun was soft that morning, spilling warmth through the wide glass windows of Cassandra’s apartment. The city outside buzzed faintly with cars, voices, waves from the distant coast, but inside, everything was quiet. Peaceful. Almost deceptively so.
Cassandra sat on the couch, her baby, Jay, cradled in her arms, fast asleep. His tiny fingers curled around her thumb, his breathing light and steady. She smiled down at him, her heart swelling with something she still didn’t know how to name. Love, yes, but also awe, fear, gratitude, and a quiet defiance that came from surviving the impossible.
It had been nine months since the stormy night that changed everything.
Nine months since she had delivered him under the watchful, commanding presence of a doctor whose voice still haunted her dreams.
And nine months since Bosco had shut the world out completely.
He had moved her into a seaside villa guarded like a fortress. His men rotated shifts day and night. Groceries, medicine, and baby supplies were delivered in bulk; no one left, no one entered without his permission.
He said it was for protection.
Cassandra said it felt like a gilded cage.
But she didn’t fight him, not at first. The months that followed were exhausting. Healing from childbirth, learning to be a mother, living under the watchful eye of a man she didn’t fully understand… It had taken everything she had.
Now, as Jay shifted and whimpered softly in her arms, Cassandra brushed his cheek with her fingertip and whispered, “It’s okay, little one. Mama’s here.”
The door opened behind her.
Bosco entered quietly, his presence filling the space like gravity. His suit was immaculate as always, but there were shadows beneath his eyes. He had barely slept since Jay was born. In his hand was a cup of tea, steam rising faintly.
“You should rest,” he said.
“I could say the same to you,” she replied softly, not looking up.
Bosco set the cup down beside her. “The security perimeter is stable. I had to double-check the surveillance feeds.”
Cassandra gave him a small, knowing smile. “You still don’t trust the world, do you?”
He didn’t answer. His gaze had shifted to the baby, his expression softening, barely perceptible, but real. He reached out, fingers brushing the child’s tiny hand with a tenderness that would have startled anyone who knew his reputation.
“He’s growing fast,” Bosco murmured.
Cassandra nodded. “I don't know where his stubbornness comes from.”
Bosco chuckled quietly. “But he has his mother’s fire.”
Something in her chest flickered, half gratitude, half ache.
“Bosco,” she began carefully, “you’ve done more than I ever expected. But I can’t keep living like this. Hiding. Watching the sea through bulletproof glass. I want… more.”
He looked at her, guarded. “More?”
“I want to go back to school,” she said. “You said once that I was brilliant, that I could be anything I wanted if I was free. I want to finish that promise.”
Bosco’s expression hardened for a moment, then melted into reluctant thoughtfulness. “Medical school,” he said quietly. “That’s what you always wanted.”
She nodded, her heart beating faster. “I want to help people. I want to save lives like…”
She hesitated.
“…like he did.”
Bosco’s eyes flickered. He knew exactly who she meant.
Doctor Jason.
He didn’t like the sound of that name. Not because of jealousy, but because of the danger that lingered with it. Jason was too curious. Too intuitive. And if he ever connected the dots…
But then he looked at Cassandra, her strength, her quiet longing, and he couldn’t refuse her.
“You’d be safe?” he asked.
“I’ll be careful.”
“You’ll take protection.”
She hesitated. “Bosco...”
He raised a hand. “Non-negotiable. You can go… but you won’t go alone.”
Her lips trembled into a smile. “You mean it?”
He nodded once, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. “You’ve earned it.”
Cassandra exhaled, relief flooding her chest. For the first time in years, she felt like the world might open its doors again. The walls she’d lived behind began to loosen, just a little.
As she rose to lay Jay in his crib, Bosco watched her with an expression that mixed pride with pain. She didn’t know that every time he looked at her, he saw the ghost of another woman, the one he’d loved and lost, the one who had carried Cassandra in her womb before vanishing into darkness.
He had vowed never to fail again.
And he wouldn’t.
Not this time.
*****
Meanwhile, Alpha Jason sat in his office, the hospital quiet except for the hum of monitors and the faint rain tapping the window.
It had been nine months since he had assisted that woman to deliver, but he still couldn’t shake the memory of that night. The woman’s face, her voice, the way she’d gripped his hand and whispered thank you like she’d known him before.
He turned the small pendant over in his hand, the broken necklace he had kept since Cassandra’s disappearance years ago. The chain glimmered under the desk lamp. The crack through the stone caught the light, like an open wound refusing to heal.
Jason had spent months trying to forget.
He couldn’t.
And now, this new mystery refused to leave him alone.
He had gone over every patient record from that night. No trace. No last name. No registered ID. The forms had been filled manually and sealed. Bosco’s men had paid in cash.
It was as if the woman had never existed.
But Jason wasn’t fooled.
He’d noticed the way Bosco had hovered near her bed. Protective. Possessive. The way his hand trembled slightly when the baby cried. The way he avoided looking directly at her face when Jason entered the room.
It hadn’t been business.
Jason leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowed. “Who are you…?”
The storm outside deepened, as if echoing his thoughts.
He pressed a button on his intercom. “Adeline, pull up everything we have on Don Bosco. Family, associates, business, hospital visits. Everything.”
The nurse’s voice crackled through the speaker. “Sir, that’s… dangerous. He’s not a man who likes being watched.”
Jason’s eyes darkened. “Neither am I.”
He ended the call and stared at the rain streaking the window.
He didn’t know what he was chasing. Justice, closure, or something deeper.
All he knew was that every instinct in him whispered the same truth. That the woman who gave birth in his arms that night was not a stranger.
And if she was still out there, he would find her.
*****
Two Weeks Later
Cassandra stood at the gates of the medical university, holding her admission letter in shaking hands. The morning breeze swept through her hair, carrying the scent of salt from the sea. She turned to see Bosco watching from the car, arms crossed, dark glasses hiding whatever emotion stirred behind them.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked.
Bosco nodded once. “Go. Be who you were meant to be.”
She smiled faintly. “Thank you… for everything.”
“Just keep your phone on,” he said dryly. “And don’t trust anyone who asks too many questions.”
Cassandra laughed softly, nerves easing a little. “I’ll be fine.”
Bosco’s gaze softened as she turned away, heading toward the main entrance with determination shining in her eyes. For the first time in years, she looked free.
But as the car pulled away, Bosco’s hand tightened on the steering wheel. Something inside him stirred uneasily. He didn’t know why, but the air felt heavier.
Somewhere across town, Jason stared at a computer screen as his search returned the first results linking Don Bosco’s recent financial activity to a woman named Cassandra Wells, a new medical student.
His heart skipped a beat.
He leaned closer, reading the name again.
A whisper of recognition surged through his blood.
“Cassandra…”
The storm that had been sleeping inside him finally began to wake.
- Writer
