Cassia didn't immediately move to do as Ivan had said but his serious brown stare stayed on her until at last she gave in. She stood, stretching like a cat, before walking around him towards the bushes. She took her time, not eager for what ever was to come. Again, she felt her anger at Huck flare up. This was all his fault.
A grey fox with purple eyes sat in the bushes and a moment later was replaced by a crouching violet eyed woman with long silver hair. Cassia pulled on her dark grey breeches and light grey tunic. Running her fingers through her silver locks to break up tangles, she braided it over her shoulder. Not having any more reasons to put it off, she sighed and returned to the little clearing to find Ivan sitting cross-legged on the ground waiting for her. She hesitated, wondering what would happen if she refused to talk to him. Looking at his face she knew he would never accept that.
"The two of you have been quite a lot of trouble you know," Ivan started as Cassia sat down across from him.
"I know," she twisted the end of her braid between her fingers, "I really am sorry."
"It's just as much his fault as it is yours," Ivan sighed, "And I do think my son has enjoyed annoying Huck. They're both behaving foolishly but young men usually do when a lovely girl is involved."
Cassia looked up in surprise hearing Ivan call her lovely. Her own father had once referred to her as "unappealing" and her mother called her "boyish".
"I know it's none of my business or Aggie's or really anyone's but yours and Huck's.... but Cassia you need to decide what he is to you and make that very clear to him. He is a full-grown wolf, not a puppy you can just have following you around forever. If you're not interested in a life with him as your mate you need to stop this with him before he gets hurt because he will. I hope you see that. I have known him this short amount of time but I can see he loves you and is fiercely loyal and protective of you. He is behaving like a good mate should. But while he's doing that you're off in the woods alone with a man you just met. I don't blame him for acting stupid."
Cassia stared at the ground, so suddenly feeling embarrassed and somewhat sad. Her own parents had never talked to her about finding a mate or what to expect or how to behave. When Ivan said it so bluntly though she wondered if he was right. Had she been foolishly missing things right in front of her? Ivan had known them such a short time but he seemed so certain. Agatha and Nico had also been sure they were mates and were shocked to learn they were not. "He said I insulted him," she said quietly, thinking of their fight, "I had no idea what he meant."
"Yes well you did insult him. I imagine it was quite a blow for a more dominant man like him to be stuck in bed injured and the woman he loves leaves him as soon as she's well to go off exploring with another man. I'm going to bet Nico had some idea of it too. Huck wasn't well enough to go with you and keep you safe himself and I'm sure that was making him crazy. If I had seen it happening I would've put a stop to it but I wasn't there during the day when you two would run off. I imagine that's probably why Nico never took you to see the gardens." Ivan was frowning at this and Cassia got the sense that Nico would probably get a talking to from his father later. She stared at the ground and for the first time imagined what it must have been like for Huck to be stuck too injured to go with her and to injured to shift and even talk to her. If Ivan was right, it was her fault he had shifted back before Agatha told him he was ready. That thought made her stomach knot.
"What you decide with Huck is your business but its important so I hope you give it some good thought," Ivan sighed, "Now. I believe there's some important things you haven't been forthcoming about... I was pretty mad when you ran off so I told Huck he needed to tell me or the two of you wouldn't have anywhere to sleep tonight. I'll have you know he still didn't tell me but told me I could ask you about your family and it was your choice to tell me or not."
"He knows that isn't true," Cassia said bitterly, not quite over her anger with Huck no matter if Ivan was right or wrong, "He knew as soon as he said that in the gardens that there was no way you wouldn't ask me about it and I would have to tell you because I like you, Agatha, Nico, and the girls and I don't want to leave. He knew that was my secret and as soon as he brought it up I would have to tell it."
A smile hooked the side of Ivan's mouth and pulled it up, "I'll admit that's most likely true...but at least he left it for you to tell."
Cassia stared at her hands in her lap and wondered what exactly she would have to tell Ivan. She looked up at him sitting there in just his brown breeches, not worrying about a tunic after shifting. His brown eyes were watching her seriously but she noticed then that they were never actually cold. He was just protective of his family and didn't like a lot of fuss. His skin was tanned from years in the sun and there were grey hairs starting to mix with the brown she could only see now that she was sitting this close. He seemed so much more like a father than her own did. "What would you like to know?"
Ivan considered this a minute, leaning back against the tree behind him. "Well, Nico told Aggie a bit of the story about how Huck ended up in jail for you. It sounds like you have some trouble with your family and that's what Huck said your secret was all about. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but I think I need to know more than I do now."
Cassia bit her lip and looked down again, feeling her pulse speed up as it did any time she told someone about her family from the time she was little. After Huck, she had done her best to not have to bring it up to anyone again although by then, many people already knew. She reached up and twisted the end of her silver braid between her fingers. Ivan and his family were good, she just knew it. Huck may not be ready to trust them but she did. If the two of them were going to continue to be with their family she would have to tell them the truth and hope they still wanted her around afterwards. Taking a deep breath, Cassia met Ivan's gaze and told him the most important thing he needed to know about her.
"King Ferdinand and his wife, Queen Terra... are my parents."