The Other Part of Me
Chapter 18

Cassie

After Cassie completed the shopping, she asked the clerk in the final shop she visited how to get to Lake Reva. As soon as she was pointed in the right direction, Cassie loaded her Jeep with the purchases and was off.

Although Bridgette had warned her about Elsbeth telling all the pack members about her human-half, Cassie wasn't convinced it was meant to be malicious - and Braden had told her he expected her to act with grace, so off she went in an effort to show she would be an exemplary Luna with the best interest of any and all pack members in mind.

"I don't trust that Elsbeth," Eva told her. "And I tried to get a sense of her wolf, but I was completely denied."

Cassie hadn't heard from Eva after the first dose of wolfsbane. Although, her wolf slept through the entirety of their heat, she was relieved she was now awake and alert.

"We'll just have to give them the benefit of the doubt, Eva," she quickly fell in stride with the topic of conversation between the two. "Innocent until proven guilty."

The wolf snickered. "In that case, the jury deliberation is over, the verdict is in, and she's guilty on all charges. Didn't you notice pack members giving us the cold shoulder after breakfast?"

Yes, she noticed, but chose to stay silent.

"My gut tells me Elsbeth had something to with that." Eva shared.

Cassie couldn't bring herself to think this way and she didn't want Eva to, either. "Well, we're half-human, the pack knows, and they probably need to acclimate to us just as we need to acclimate to them." Cassie reasoned. "But we're on their turf so it's up to us to prove ourselves and not vice-versa."

She honestly wanted to focus of the positive and not think of the uphill battle with getting these people to like them. She managed to steer clear of humans in the human-world but she didn't have much of a role to play in that environment. As a Luna, she would have to be more social.

"I'll remind you this was your condition, Eva. We replace our mate, we live the proper 'wolf way of life', you can't change the rules just because of a feeling." For good measure, she added, "I was happy with our life in Los Angeles but that's a thing of the past now." She thought about the resignation letter she had e-mailed her employer the day after arriving to Braden's home as a security measure that would keep her from reneging on her promise to Eva. "I'm not saying I regret the decision to come here!" Eva defended.

"Well nothing monumental is easy! Let's just roll with the punches until we can get most, if not all, of the pack to accept us."

"But Elsbeth-" Eva tried to argue.

"Enough, Evangeline! We don't have to be friends with Elsbeth or her wolf, but at the very least, we can be civil towards them for Braden's sake."

Cassie felt Eva retreat. They had never disagreed to that extreme, this was new territory for them. There wasn't much space they could give each other as they were very much aware of each other's emotions. Cassie drove in silence.

She really had wanted to appreciate nature's sights en route to Lake Reva, and although she could agree in the heights of its beauty, she wasn't in the mood to take in the sights right now. She was fuming, her anger was only letting her see red.

Cassie could tell Eva had also retreated to herself.

Cassie stepped on the gas pedal. She drove in anger. All she wanted now was to get the stupid mud and return to Braden's side to work off some of this energy.

"Don't drive like a maniac! I don't want to die!" Eva yelled in her head.

Cassie was going to ease her foot off the pedal but saw a long, glistening reflection rippling ahead. Although, it was still a bit of a drive away, it was nice to visually see the end of her destination.

She drove straight through the manmade road amid the forest and parked atop the embankment when she finally reached the lake. Cassie grabbed the mason jar, which had rolled under the passenger seat and climbed out of her Jeep. She removed the strappy stilettos from her feet and dropped them next to her Jeep's tires. She began walking on the warm flat stone surface to where it was met with dirt. Cassie cautiously stepped into the lake so as to not step on an unexpected dip.

She had to admit, feeling the cold water crash against her skin simmered her foul mood while the gentle sounds of the moving water fed calm into her soul.

Cassie closed her eyes and stood still, basking under the sun's gentle beams, letting them gently kiss her skin with their warmth. She began inhaling the peace this place offered, letting it nurture her where she needed it the most. She was so lost in the serenity that she missed telltale scents in the air that should have warned her of impending danger.

Thankfully, what she missed, Eva did not.

"Cassie! Turn around, now!" She ordered.

When she did, she saw two large wolves standing at the edge of the lake. They were snarling, and it looked as though they were about to lunge at her.

She took a small step backwards trying her hardest to remain standing, not making it easy for the wolves to attack. She wanted to get a full picture of the situation to assess whether she could set Eva free and have her run to the safety of the Jeep, since she was easily the quickest of the two.

"You'll never make it." A male voice came from the woods.

Cassie flinched at the sound.

There stood a tall, menacingly muscular man with messy red hair and an unkempt beard. "If you're thinking of running, my wolves will have by the neck before you step out of the water." He went to stand between the wolves. They bared their teeth at her.

Her heart felt as if it was going to beat out of her chest.

"Yield control to me," Eva demanded. "I'm our only chance. I'll have to fight them. They'll tear your human body in half, easily!"

Cassie raised her arms; she was holding the mason jar in one-hand. "I mean no harm," she said to the human form. "I just came to the lake for some healing sediment."

The man laughed. "Oh, we know you mean no harm! We could snap you like a wishbone in the blink of an eye and swallow your existence before anyone even realizes you're missing." He took angry strides towards Cassie. When he reached her, he took the empty mason jar away from her. "These are our resources, and we don't to share." He looked at her up and down, "We only share within ourselves and our kind."

She heard him growl.

Cassie kept her hands up but kept her eyes locked on his rare, onyx colored ones. "I am your kind." She responded.

He brought his face close to her neck and smelled her. "No, you're not, babe. We are rogue and you still have the stink of community on you." He narrowed his eyes on her. "Which pack of assholes do you belong to? Maybe we can ransom your body parts."

Great. She hadn't been with the pack for very long and she was already going to cause them problems.

"Cassie, we have to turn now!" Eva demanded. "They plan to kill us."

"I don't belong to a pack," she lied to the man. She couldn't give in to Eva right now. Neither had fighting experience. Even if Eva couldn't understand this, their only hope was to talk their way out of this. "I'm from Los Angeles. I've been living a human existence my whole life there, as I only found out recently the wolf-world is real and I'm a part of it and it isn't at all werewolves and full moons like in the movies."

"Bullshit!" He was quick to say. "I can smell another wolf's scent on you!"

Cassie's eyes widened, fucking sense of smell was literally going to be the death of her! "Casual sex. I can assure you I met him by chance," she motioned her hand towards her Jeep. "My driver's license is in the car. That can confirm my address."

The wolves growled louder.

"Quiet!" The man ordered them. He turned his attention back to Cassie. "Let's hope you come from a rich family, babe. My wolves need to eat." He stared at her up and down again. "You don't have much meat on your bones. My wolves will chew you and shit you out in ten minutes. I'd like to keep them all fed longer than that."

He grabbed her by the wrist and began pulling her towards the other wolves.

"I have no family!" She blurted out.

He frowned. "Stop lying to me, girl. You're wolf," he stated matter-of-factly, "and you don't smell rogue. That means you are not alone."

"I'm not lying!" She insisted. "My mother died when I was two and my father died before I was born. My mother's one-hundred percent human sister raised me not knowing I was half-wolf. All she knew about my father was that his name was Thaddeus Lykos!"

She heard the black-eyed man gasp. He turned to her and grabbed her by the top of her arm with one hand. He studied her face slowly with a main focus on her eyes. "What did you say your father's name was, babe?" He asked in a whisper. "Thaddeus Lykos,” she repeated immediately. She felt the grip on her arms relax until he released her completely. He made an arm motion to his wolves. They transformed back to human form. It was one male and one female, they walked back into the cover of the forest, fully naked.

Cassie stared back at the angry man -- who didn't seem as angry anymore. He looked more like he had seen a ghost.

Her father's ghost to be exact.

"My name is Caspian Maximus," he opened the mason jar and bent down to fill it with mud and water from the lake's floor. He sealed the jar with the lid. "Your father was a good man," he handed her the jar. "The best man I ever knew." Too startled to say anything, too dizzy with confusion at the sudden turn of events, Cassie accepted the jar from this rogue and stared at him.

He gave her a weak smile before walking away with a slumped posture and slow steps.

Cassie stared at him until he was completely concealed by the trees.