-You know, Cassie, I care about you. - the man tried to keep control of the situation before the opportunity was wasted.
Cassie opened her eyes, startled looking around. Who was..?
Where was Rick? Still drowsy, she fought to ward off the uneasiness of weakness and stood up, wanting to put some distance away. She wasn't quite sure why. Suddenly she didn't feel safe at all there.
-Philip?
Kassuim was starting to get exasperated. She wanted eagerly for him to let go of her arm, just the contact now causing her intense revulsion.
-Where is...?
-Rick? Come on, I think my brother has had enough fun. You can't stay here alone in the forest. Rick asked me to come to get you.
"How?" Cassie couldn't take in the meaning of the words. How could he have had enough fun?
She tried to back away even more annoyed. She was beginning to hate Richard's brother.
- It's hurting me. I want you to release me now! - She tried to speak as coldly as possible. She is dawning and...
The claw-like hand was still firmly on her arm.
Thalagar shook his head in resignation.
-He just wants the Balthazar Stone, Cassie. The Pieces of 4. You know, a union like a sorceress like you can guarantee pack leadership." He was trying to be persuasive.
-What? Our people don't tolerate sorcerers' cubs around here. The fun was even good. Rick said...
Her anger sustained her. As well? Since when? Why hadn't he told himself?
Philip could imagine any lie to force the girl to leave her brother's improvised camp to take advantage of her departure. He needed her willing to leave. He needed more than anything to come up with something so horrible that she didn't want to go back. A smile lit up his scarred face on the left side.
-There's another woman, Cassie. - the words were so low and so felt that Kassuim stopped for a moment stunned. They bet you would melt over the nickname. Do you know he got money to have fun with you? It was enough to attract you and have fun for others to laugh at.
Philip knew that jealousy alone would make the girl inclined to cooperate and perhaps give him the Stone of Balthazar. If there was one thing that could torment a woman, it was the possibility of a rival vying for her attention with a man.
-Another woman? - she gasped. Do they bet I would melt over the nickname?
-Rick went... Where did he go? Where is he? - the question came out spontaneously.
If the girl had been more attentive she would have noticed the prominent jump on Philip's neck once when controlling the anger at her reaction.
-The woman is his lover, but after you spent almost months living among privateers on a ship... Rick had no choice but to agree to the marriage at Will's demand. She was upset when ....oh, she heard you had shown up and Richard needed to explain. She is the great love of his life.
Kassuim looked away, saying that it meant nothing to her. He didn't even remember her, only that feeling of emptiness was without any overwhelming explanation. Will had done what? How in such a short time? How many hours had she slept, Heavens?
Philip mentally exulted, knowing the marriage was in shambles. Kassuim would not tolerate the idea of an obligatory marriage. It was too much for her hot, passionate temper to consent to this.
Kassuim nodded lividly, leaning against the trunk of the nearby tree. He stumbled out of the cabin into the cold, shaky open air.
-A lover... But if it's true why was he...?
Philip cursed all wolves. He was the one who should have taken over the pack.
-Rick expected to have the marriage annulled after some time without you having given him any living heirs. After all, he's the alpha of the pack and maybe the future Duke of Scarlet...if I abdicate my right. It's just a matter of business. Profitable business.
Her astonishment was absurd.
-But if he loved this woman that much...
-Come on, Rick thought she was dead. - Philip began to improvise the details. - When they made the ambush... everyone believed him to be dead. As far as I know, she tried to kill herself. It's rumoured. It was years ago.
- When did he meet her? Before...
-Before marrying you, sweetie. - Philip began to tease her assumptions. - He was the great love of his life. She disappeared for a few years, but when she learned that Gaia was anchored in Garrone, she sent word to Rick. Come on, Cassie. If he loved you he would have left you alone in a camp like this. Even more, after having enjoyed the night a lot.
Kassuim bit her lip in despair. Her face burned with shame.
-But if he loved her so much, why didn't he get married?-She wondered.
Details. Philip is urgently improvising the details in disbelief of how easy it had been to convince the girl of the absurd story.
"She led a life Richard Morgan did not approve of and would hardly be accepted by our clan. You were just a distraction to warm his bed. But I think the rest of the story can ask your husband when you get back to camp. Everyone knows that, my dear. He's only still by your side because he needs the stone, Cassie. You were the joke of the pack, girl. there were bets on how long it took him to get your virtue out. You were nothing more than a ruse to attract the attention of the Council's good graces.
"Cassie! Need to come back! Now. It's not safe here!" Hecate's voice echoed in his mind.
Kassuim looked at Philip hurt. She couldn't believe it all. Her head was starting to ache again. Just wanted to go home and find Will. Her father seemed perhaps the only person to be trusted amid this mess. The feeling of jealousy was a new emotion. The news that Rick had a mistress shouldn't mean anything to her, but it did. Especially after that kiss. And after everything else. It had the effect of a bomb. It was an emptiness in the chest that suffocated.
-Cassie, dear, I need the Stone. Where is it? - Philip barely hid his anxiety.
-I do not know what you're talking about. - She spoke with evident dismay. She couldn't go back to the ship or the castle, not after all she'd known.
-I'll take you back to Star. Once you're back on the ship's deck, you'll feel better.
She looked at the sight of the great goddess surprised at the beautiful woman's angry expression. She wasn't sure why, but going back to Star didn't seem like a reasonable option. Where was she going then?
Perhaps the gipsy village. Chabone was an island on the sea route and it shouldn't be long before another vessel arrived for her to board.
-No.
-Are you going back to camp after everything I told you? - Philip was surprised.
She was going to protest that it wasn't in his best interest what she intended to do. She was beginning to notice the way he approached her uncomfortably and stumbled back. Not return to Armada? And go back to what? Just a matter of money? It was like something inside broke.
Another image popped into her mind. Philip was roaring as he cupped his bloodied face in his hand, but even so, he had landed a kick in her ribs that had forced her to curl into a fetal position in an attempt to ease the pain to breathe. The knife had slipped from her hand. The vision... Was it the future...?
She was lying on the floor, her clothes torn and her entire body aching, barely able to move. She should have fought harder There were no more tears in her eyes, they were dry. That was for minor pains. Kassuim felt suffocated at the thought that all that horror could never end. He started backing away in a cold sweat.
- Cassie...
He was crazy. He always showed an aggressive temper when he was thwarted. Godness, and she was there alone with him… How had Richard done that?
"Rick!"
-Don't come near me. -she warned her nervously.
Nothing. Telepathy didn't work.
-Come on, Cassie. - Richard controlled his explosive temper, cursing his brother's untimely intervention. The wretch had assured himself that the girl would not be such an easy prey within his reach, not without the spell that inhibited manifesting her ability as a wolf. Ah, that was indeed a setback.
Her eyes gleamed with anger and black as they glared at him.
She wasn't like other wolves.
A half-breed could utilize shapeshifting even away from the centre of magic. It was a satisfaction to know that and to be aware. Philip was for the first time at a disadvantage. Smiling she lifted her hand in the air, watching in delight as she could feel her hand turn into a deadly claw at the slightest command.
The man mentally grumbled as he realized her confidence as she faced him as usual petulantly and his eyes flashed.
-Kassuim? - he was perplexed. Knowing that an entire advantageous opportunity had been wasted. T
Kassuim stared at him in bewilderment. Anger was beginning to envelop her in a protective cloak.
-I'm not a wolf, well, not entirely. - She said victoriously when facing him. Revenge was indeed an unsurpassed pleasure. She was going to make him pay for all the humiliation the wretch had forced her to endure.
Philip shook his head in amazement. He was a man always prepared for any eventuality. In his coat pocket, he carried a stone impregnated with black magic. A blood curse. The girl wouldn't even go back to Richard Morgan or the Castle. She would rather see her dead instead. The spell... Ah, the spell would bring the lich after her.
"Is that what you think your precious Richard will say when he learns that his young lover didn't refuse to share my bed?" he teased mercilessly.
Her eyes darted with contempt.
Thalagar cursed his bad luck.
-And what do you expect your captain to do?
She did not answer. Her entire body seemed to vibrate with involuntary spasms that centred in her spine. It was a hard limit for her. She couldn't bear to be touched at all. Her head was exploding. All she wanted most was to get out of there. The change was as natural as walking or breathing. It was as if her body was being ripped from the inside and she screamed, pulling away from him with a sharp, violent jerk.
Her eyes were two black gems as she looked out into the woods, very aware of the noises around her. She was by no means going to be imprisoned again.
In the next instant, a huge wolf faced Philip, fur on end, snarling as it bared its fangs. The change so sudden and unexpected made her instincts prevail as she thrust her body against the man in front of her, mesmerized by the sound of his heart beating fast. She was thirsty. Her fangs were razor-sharp weapons as they gripped his arm, slashing, tearing, and the taste of blood in his mouth was enough to undermine what little consciousness she had.
-No!
Philip cried out in surprise and pain.
The animal was raging on top of him, fighting him, ready to rip out his throat. As he picked up the stone he carried and smacked the wolf on the front paw, the howl of pain was followed by a howl of wailing as the animal scrambled away, staggering and finally falling.
Philip took a deep breath, gritting his teeth against a low groan of pain. He struggled to his feet, clutching his injured arm, imagining that despite everything he had been victorious. The girl reverted to human form. Further back he saw... For the first time he saw. The image of a guardian in attack position if necessary. Did the girl have the ability to deal with Scarlet's guardians? She was unconscious.