Chapter 131 What happened five years ago. ASHER “Asher,” Cas sandra breathed, and her lower lip trembled as she broke eye contact with me. “We can talk about this after we get the disease sorted out-” “What if we can’t figure it out?” I argued. “What if we can’t find out what’s going on or how to cure the disease.” “That’s not an option,” she countered fiercely. “I’m going to do everything I can to find a cure.” I knew she meant it. Cas sandra was passionate and dedicated, not to mention an excellent healer. But deep down, we both understood that there was a possibility we might not be able to find a cure, at least not in time. I also knew that she was using the disease as an excuse to avoid this topic. Though we’d healed most of our problems, I knew she was still afraid. Moon Goddess only knew that I was as well. But now, I felt the need to talk, not only because of Kane and Kaleb’s sudden advances but also because what Cas sandra had said about mates and protection reminded me of our past. She was strong and clever. She didn’t need to be shielded and protected like a delicate flower. She needed the truth. I wouldn’t hold things back in an attempt to protect her. I would tell her the truth. I released my hold on her chin and instead took her hand in mine. “Will you sit with me?” I asked gently. “Please, Cas sandra?”

She hesitated for a moment and looked as if she were going to refuse. I couldn’t blame her. This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, but it couldn’t be avoided 1/4 any longer. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Cas sandra nodded. “Let me set this stuff down,” she whispered.

I let go of her hand and let her stash her equipment back into her pack. Once she was finished, I scooted a little further down and gave her some room to sit on the couch beside me. It was a sp ac ious piece of furniture, and I wanted us to have some closeness while still giving our conversation literal room to breathe. She sat down beside me and nervously tugged at a lock of her hair. I cleared my throat and then began. “Do you want to know what happened to me five years ago?” I asked gently. She stared at me, visibly nervous, but after a second of hesitation, she nodded. “Yes,” she whispered. I nodded and then gathered my thoughts before taking a long, deep breath. What happened all those years ago was the source of Cas sandra’s nightmares, but also mine. “As you already know, I reason I had to take the crown so hastily was because of my father’s sudden death,” I explained. “Normally, the coronation ceremony would have taken months, if not an entire year to plan. Every detail would have been a whole team of people. It would have been a happy day for the entire Pack. But things didn’t work out that way.” planned precisely b Cas sandra nodded. “Since Father’s death was so untimely, my coronation was a surprise to everyone,” I continued. “So the ceremony was hastened. With everything going on… my attention was elsewhere. It’s no excuse, but if I’d only known that the accident would happen that day… I’d wouldn’t have left you alone. I would have brought you to a safer place.” “Asher,” she breathed. ||| 2/4 I sighed and ran my hands through my hair.

“Back then, being the king was just an abstract idea,” I said. “Until Father was gone. Suddenly, I was to be the ruler of an entire empire. I had so much to do, but I didn’t know how to do it.” Cas sandra nodded again. “For example, I didn’t know how to clear the name of your family,” I admitted. “I wanted to set the Felix family free, but I didn’t know what to do. And that’s when Adalyn turned up. She told me that she could help. She proposed that if I married her, her father would ease up enough to want to forgive your father. She said she wanted to help us-” “And you just believed her?” Cas sandra gasped and then she shook her head. I gave her a bitter smile and nodded. “I was st upid.” “Yes, you were,” she mumbled, and her eyes fell to the floor. I wished I could read her mind, but I feared what she could be thinking about. I certainly wasn’t painting myself in the best light, but I had to be honest about it all. I owed her that. “I can’t rewrite the past,” I said. “All I can do is explain myself. I innocently thought that Adalyn’s intentions were good. I thought we could use our marriage to fre: your family. It wasn’t the most perfect of plans but given the circumstances of your father’s imprisonment and your brother’s exile to the borderlands… I don’t know. I could see what she was saying. I was desperate to save you and give you your life back.” “I know what you’re trying to say,” Cas sandra whispered. “But it was still-” “S tupid,” I finished for her. “Yes, it was.” ။ O 3/4 “I was saved by Emmell Keller, she foru and brought me to Wild Crawler.” Emmett Keller. The healer. And Cas sandra’s ex-husband. It all made sense now.

Back in Wild Crawler, I’d questioned Cas sandra’s origins and how she’d met Emmett Keller in the first place. Her story hadn’t lined up with what Lancel and Kane had uncovered in their reports. But now that she explained a little of what had happened… it all made sense. I thought back to the day of my coronation ceremony. The day of the fire. Every Pack in Wegalla had brought their elite members to Anemond and attended the coronation ceremony to greet and congratulate their new Alpha. The elites, namely the Alpha and Luna of Wild Crawler, had said their outstanding healer had important business, so he had to return to his Pack before he could greet his new king. Back then, I hadn’t paid much attention to it. I had no reason to think otherwise about some healer from a Pack on the border of the country. I had too much on my mind that day to care. If only I’d known that insignificant healer was going to be the one to save Cora. 4/4

Chapter 1 32 Secret of her husband CAS SANDRA I suddenly felt as if it were hard to breathe. The air felt heavy, and a strong wave of emotion engulfed me as I thought about the fact that Asher had ventured into the inferno to find me. The burn marks that covered his back made sense and answered the questions that hid in the back of my mind for so much time. He’d plunged right into the blaze and searched for me. As my thoughts swirled around my mind like a hurricane, I felt almost sick. I couldn’t help but think about what life could have been like had he found me after all. What if he’d arrived in time to save me? Would I have retained my old face, my old form? We wouldn’t have been separated all of these years. But as tempting as it was to consider what could have been, there was no room for regret. Had Asher saved me in time, I wouldn’t have become a healer. Finnick’s life would have been in immediate danger since he was Asher’s son, and I was nothing more than an exiled, foolish girl in love. Everything happened for a reason. What mattered now was that Asher and I were together again. “Cas sandra, I need to ask you something,” Asher brought me back into reality with a simple question, and his expression softened. “I need to know… why do you look different now? Why is your face no longer the same as it was, and what happened to your wolf? I couldn’t recognize you when you first got here because. you were so different. What happened?” “My appearance had been significantly altered by the burns from the inferno,” I explained. “My entire body sustained major injuries. It was so bad that Emmett had to perform multiple surgeries to treat the burns. Once my body healed… I wasn’t the 1/5 more beautiful now.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t self-conscious. It’s hard to go through a transformation like that. Sometimes I find myself staring at my reflection, especially when I wake up in the morning. I still look like a stranger.” “That has to be hard,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” “It’s okay,” I replied. “I’m alive, at least. Besides, my change in appearance was necessary. Once I recovered from the burns, I knew I needed to seek out a new life. I couldn’t be Cora Felix anymore. She died in the inferno.” Asher nodded thoughtfully. I wasn’t sure how to word my next statement, but since we were being honest with one another, I had to just say it. “After the inferno, I never thought about turning back or returning to Anemond,” I revealed. “In fact, if it weren’t for the accident Marco had suffered in Wild Crawler, we probably wouldn’t have crossed paths again.” Asher remained silent. The pain on his face was unmistakable, though he tried to hide it. “I know it’s hard to hear,” I admitted. “But Anemond was too dangerous to come back to. After everything I’d been through, all I had wanted was a stable life with Finnick” The Alpha King nodded, and his serious gray eyes fell to the ground as he considered my words. I hadn’t said them to wound him in any way. I just wanted to provide clarity as he had with me. O 2/5 “As for my wolf, I don’t know why it’s gone,” I continued. “Even Emmett couldn’t figure out why my wolf soul had disappeared. I suppose it could be due to the poison I had ingested.” “Poison?” Asher repeated back, and his eyebrows knitted together as his eyes met mine. When I nodded, his lips parted in surprise, and he leaned forward. “One of the soldiers had forced a liquid down my throat,” I explained as Asher’s hands formed into fists at his side. “It burned at once, so I knew it was some kind of poison. It was probably meant to kill me, but for some reason, it didn’t. I’d tried to beg them not to do it, but it was no use. He grabbed me and