by Haven Handel
Andrew’s astonished eyes focused on me. His face was pale, and he looked as if he might pass out.
“Sit, Andrew,” I said, quickly, not wanting him to do anything rash while in shock over the supernatural display we had just witnessed.
A bewildered Andrew looked at each of us in turn, then quietly walked over beside Baal, taking a seat.
“Juice?” Alekos asked with a wide grin. At Andrew's slight nod, Alekos reached over Baal, and filled an empty crystal cup.
Returning to his place at the table, Draco made a plate and passed it to Alekos, who placed it in front of Andrew.
Deo sighed. “Well, it looks like you are up to at least two, now, Alekos.”
“Got to earn my keep,” Alekos replied, taking a huge bite of an apple.
“There will be more, in time,” Deo said. “I am certain of it.”
“More what?” Cynthia asked.
Taking my seat, I answered, “Mankind.” The pieces were starting to fall together, though I still had so few clues. Looking at my husband, I demanded, “Explain, Deo. Everything. Now.”
Draco fired me a look of approval.
Deo placed his napkin on his plate. “For many years, we have been preparing for a war. The time for battle is nearing. We must prepare. We have only weeks, months at most.”
“Who are we fighting?” I asked.
The look Deo gave me sent chills down my spine as he said, “The darkness. Pure evil, itself. It is coming here to try and destroy us.”
“What does that even mean? How on Earth do you fight darkness?”
The table was silent. Deo stood from his chair, removing his napkin from his lap and placing it on the table beside his plate. Smoothing his shirt, his paced behind his chair.
Deo’s deep voice broke the silence of the room. “There will be a battle. It will be only the beginning of our journey. Dark spirits will seek us out, here at the castle, to destroy us. We will defend ourselves by using… powers, if you will.”
“What kind of powers?” I asked, feeling my brow furrowing. “Like the trick Xander just pulled?”
“Yes. That and more. We have a few tricks up our sleeves for you and our guests.” Deo gestured at the wide eyes of Cassandra and Andrew as they sat, gaping at my husband. “Disappearing daggers, deadly crystals, things of this nature.”
“Cool,” Cy murmured, a sparkle coming into her eyes.
“I know taekwondo,” Andrew offered, helpfully, shooting me a proud look.
I was glad he was out of his shocked state and adjusting to the sudden news that we’d be fighting evil spirts so well.
“Good, good,” Deo said, a grin momentarily dancing on his lips. “As for my brothers and I, things will be a little different.” Deo stopped his pacing. Placing his hands on the back of his chair, his dark eyes locked onto mine.
“We will turn to wolves,” he answered, simply.
“Wolves?” I repeated, dumbly.
“Yes, wolves. With the exception of Alekos who will remain human to direct you all in the battle. And Draco, of course”—My husband swallowed hard—“he will remain with you, Cassandra. Let us hope we will not need his powers, this time.”
Deo moved to my side. Lifting my hair, he bent down, placing a gentle kiss on my cheek.
“Welcome to the pack, princess.”
Part Two
Deo
Chapter Five
I’ve always said Cassandra had the heart of a warrior princess. Today, she proved me right.
It’s not easy finding out that your husband of ten years is a wolf. More accurately, transforms into a wolf, along with the rest of his family. My pack, if you will. Fighting the dark spirits that threaten the peaceful existence of the Northeastern American states. But Cassandra took the revelation with class and dignity. And she believed me, which was more than you could say for most wives.
My mind argues with itself when it comes to my headstrong bride. You should have told her sooner, my wolf says. But why put her on high alert for the past decade; would it have done any good, my husband brain retorts back.
Ultimately, I'd chosen to wait. In not training my wife sooner, I was now having to take her in hand, quickly, changing our marriage overnight. The discipline Cassandra lacks was my pleasure to administer. You may think me a monster, but in this life, disobedience can equal death. I just wish I had known sooner how gratifying it was to tap into Cassandra’s submissive side.
And so, I will train her to obey me. Though with Cassandra Ambrosia, it may be a hopeless venture.
***
Standing in the hallway off the dining room, my eyes roved over my precious wife. She stood before me, cheeks flushed with excitement. I had told her as little as I could at the table since we were in mixed company. Now that Andrew and Cynthia were involved, I knew information had to be shared, but I kept it to a minimum. I would need to speak to Cassandra alone to tell her more about the curse of the Ambrosia family and the human wolves she now lived amongst.
I focused on my wife as she spoke. Her hands moved, agitated as she said, “I had no idea Andrew followed us here, Deo. Believe me.” The hall lights flickered in Cassandra’s bright eyes and against her high cheekbones, accentuating her beauty.
My eyes cut to the boy, still seated at the table with the others.
“I just wish he hadn’t become so attached to you in the first place.” Grasping Cassandra’s arms, I pulled her further into the shadows of the hall. “He shouldn’t be here.”
She shrugged, helplessly. “I don’t want him in harm’s way any more than you do.”
“I don’t mind that. If it were my call alone, I would have torn his head off right then, in Hibernia. Or even better in my family’s castle when he showed up brandishing that ridiculous stick. I just don’t want him getting anyone else hurt with his harebrained schemes, as we saw this morning.”
Cassandra rolled her eyes at me, placing her hands sassily on her hips.
“Keep it up,” I growled. At this rate, I would have no choice but to chastise my wife publicly.
After considering my severe expression, my wife opted to take her hands from her hips. Crossing her arms over her chest, Cassandra protested, “He was trying to be a good friend. He was worried about me.”
“Just another complication. Another human to protect.” I sighed, running a frustrated hand through my hair. “I guess that’s what we have Alekos for.”
Her eyes cutting to mine, Cassandra replied hotly, “Well, just don’t spank me for it.”
My wife, just finding out she has married a man with supernatural powers, who transforms to a wolf, her life is in imminent danger, and her temper flairs to protect her bottom from a spanking. I leaned in close, watching as my nearness brought a flush to her candlelit face. “Listen to me, little girl. You do not decide the parameters of your discipline.” Placing my hand above her, I flattened it to the wall, my arm inches from her face. “I do.”
The angry look displayed on her face made a memory replay in my mind. Cassandra’s beautiful mouth spitting out words, ‘I’m leaving’. It made me want to thrash her. I would never punish in anger, though Cassandra would seem to test the limits of that. But those words—it must never happen again.
Grabbing Cassandra’s ass, hard, in my hand, I growled into her ear, “Are. We. Clear.”
On tippy toe, Cassandra melted against me. “Yes, sir,” she whispered, her tone submissive.
“Go to your room, we will finish this conversation there.” Cassandra’s eyes flitted to her friends in the dining hall, then to mine. What she saw there must have stifled her argument, because she meekly obeyed, receiving a sharp swat from me as she departed.
I watched as she walked up the stairs, the material of her beautiful dress clinging to her backside as she moved. One silver lining to this storm cloud was choosing every stitch of fabric that touched my wife’s body. I do so love control, but even more I love the way my fierce woman looks, dressed like a little lady. Black was never
her best color.
As Cassandra rounded the top stair, disappearing into the hall, Draco made his appearance. I could sense him before I saw him. The only pack member more stoic than I, Draco gave me a nod as he stealthily went up the stairs to do his job. Thank God he preferred a man’s company to that of a woman. Otherwise this infuriating dance between the two of us might have to end.
Returning to the dining hall, I signaled to Baal. He quickly met me at the doorway.
“Deo,” he greeted me, sweeping his hair from his jade eyes, “How may I serve you?”
“I must have a word with my wife.”
“Of course.” The corners of his mouth turned upwards; a hint of amusement glimmered in his jeweled eyes. Baal had been watching my wife from afar for years as part of his duties. He had seen her destroy men brighter than ourselves, leaving them sniveling in the courtroom. He found her current supervision, amusing.
“Can you take them out back to start the exercises?” I asked. His green eyes lit up in response. I knew Baal was ready for battle, and he wanted everyone else as ready as he.
“Of course,” Baal answered quickly, turning back to the group to carry out my orders. Always my right-hand man, Baal was as cunning as he was intelligent. And he knew how to follow a command, which made him irreplaceable.
Taking a deep breath to still my emotions, I turned to climb the grand marble staircase. As he should be, Draco was posted outside Cassandra’s door.
“Leave us,” I sneered, as I placed my hand on the doorknob. Draco slinked down the hall. Though out of sight, like always, I knew he wasn’t far.
The door opened, revealing my beautiful princess safe in her tower. Just how I liked her. How I wished I could keep her from harm’s way. Cassandra was seated on cushions in the window, her floral skirts gathered around her legs, her delicate ankles and soft pink ballet slippers peering out from under the lace petticoat.
“It’s snowing,” she murmured quietly, admiring the tiny white flakes as they swirled to the ground.
“So, it is,” I said, taking a seat beside my bride and watching the snow. “How are you dealing with all—” Not sure how to put what had occurred in the past two days into words, I waved my hand and said, “—this?”
Her face turned to me, her cheeks flushed. “Oh, you mean, my husband is a werewolf, chose not to tell me before the wedding, and now I’ve been forced to leave my home and live in a castle, putting my friends in imminent danger? Is that what you mean by”—she copied my gesture, her hand waving frantically in the air—“this?”
Chuckling, I said, “Wolf. Not werewolf, and it is only a momentary transformation.” Tucking a stray lock of her beautiful dark hair behind her ear, I said, “And I only found out the night we were wed. Had I known, I would not have allowed you to marry me.” My wife’s eyes softened. “I promise you that,” I added quietly.
Cassandra’s eyes returned to the swirling white flakes. “I assumed you always knew,” she said, sadly. Turning back to me, she asked, “When did you first find out?”
“I was told soon after our wedding day. When you and I exchanged vows. When one makes a solemn vow, without their consent, they are initiated into the pack.” I was not yet ready to share the initiation process with Cassandra; some things are best left unknown. “You begin to see things you couldn’t before—the darkness. People you thought maybe were good people; you can see that they are controlled by a dark spirit.”
“And Alekos?” Cassandra asked.
My heart felt pained for my baby brother, to find out before I had. Those were lonely years for Alekos, hiding such a secret from me. “Alekos found out after he was confirmed into the Greek Orthodox church.” I had skipped that whole stage of life, not being one to have patience for religion.
Cassandra’s brows furrowed, her mind working over the timeline. “That was a few years before you and I married. How did he keep it a secret?”
“It is a great… responsibility,” I said, choosing my word carefully. “Alekos did not want to burden me before it was time. At least he had my Uncle Artem and our cousins.”
“Baal, Draco, and Xander are Ambrosias?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “You never knew them because they feared revealing themselves to you, to me, before it was time. We played together as children, but then one by one, they moved farther from me, became distant in my life. Then I met you. I was over the moon, calling everyone, telling them of this angel who had, by some act of God, fallen for me.” My throat burned at the memory of my young bride, swathed in white lace, walking down the aisle towards me. “They told me after I was inducted that they chose to keep their distance until we were wed, allowing me to have as many happy moments with you as I could, before being burdened with this. And after that, they were back in my life, but not in yours. We all agreed it was the safer way.”
“And you chose to keep me in the dark,” she concluded. Her dark eyes left mine as she gazed out the window.
I shrugged. “Why have you living in fear for a decade, when I could wait to tell you? It may have been another hundred years before they came. Who knows? Why worry you?”
“We could have just stayed together—not married, never made a vow.”
“That would be allowing the darkness to win. And if we ever bore children, that is the same as making a vow, the curse would have come then.”
“What made them come, now?”
There was no longer time to hide the truth. I dreaded the guilt my young wife would bear. But it must be done. I ran my hand over Cassandra’s soft hair. “You, baby girl.”
Her wide eyes turned up to me. “Me,” she whispered, astonished.
“You became an Ambrosia the day you married me. And you broke a vow.” Taking my hand from her, I looked away as my voice broke. I didn’t want Cassandra to see the emotion in my face. Her pain would be great enough as it was.
“When I said I was leaving?” she asked.
My hands clasped in my lap, I stared down, twisting at the gold wedding band on my finger. The memory of the church doors opening, Cassandra waltzing through, dressed in white. Her hair had tumbled over her shoulders, covered by a gauzy veil. Her face had been luminous, her smile bright, her eyes focused on me and me alone. Hand in hand we’d whispered our vows to one another. It was as if we were the only two people in the world. Now, as they did then, tears stung at my eyes. Unable to look at my wife, I simply shook my head.
A moment later, I could hear the sudden understanding in her voice. “It was a mistake,” Cassandra whispered.
Mistakes are made. Some are small, like dropping a pebble into a pond and watching as the ripples multiply, slowly reaching out, eventually reaching the shore. Other mistakes are like a grenade. Exploding in an instant, destroying everything in its radius.
“It was a terrible mistake, Deo. I knew it the minute he…” Cassandra buried her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook as she gently sobbed.
I wanted to comfort her, but I was unable to reach out and touch her. My pain and memories kept my hands locked where they were.
“Oh, Deo. I’ve regretted it every single day of my life for ten months, now. I’m so sorry.” Cassandra’s devastated gaze lay over me.
“You broke my heart, Cassandra,” I whispered, my throat tight.
It was only once.
I had never told Cassandra that I knew. Instead, I closed up, removing myself from her. I was only trying to protect her. I had so much to prepare for. Saving her life took precedence over confronting her infidelity. And as she said, it was a mistake. I knew she lived with regret.
True forgiveness is not fickle. My hands rested in my lap. It was time to fully forgive my wife for her mistakes, no matter my heart, no matter the consequences. I had failed my wife once before when I did not confront her unfaithfulness. I would not fail her again. It was time to clear our lives of this incident. I looked at my wife.
“Come,” I said, holding my hands out towards Cassandra. Quickly, she le
ft her seat, throwing herself into my arms. Holding her tightly, I carried her to the bed. Lifting her up, I settled her in amongst the many pillows that she was so fond of. I lay down beside her, patting my chest. Cassandra rested her head over my heart, curling her body around me.
“Tell me what happened, Cassandra. Free yourself of this.” Never seeming to able to keep my hands from her hair, I stroked it as she spoke.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” she whispered. “It was a client. I met him at his hotel bar and had one too many drinks. We… kissed.”
I remembered that night well. Cassandra hadn’t answered her phone until well after midnight, sounding drunk and as if she’d been crying, riding in a taxi cab back to the house. I had pretended to sleep, but lay awake till dawn, wondering how we had gotten to this place.
“I went up to his room with him. As soon as the door shut, I knew it was a mistake. I told him ‘no’.” Her words trailed off.
The helplessness I heard in my wife’s voice blinded me with anger, disappointment, sadness. I’d had no way of knowing, no way of protecting her. It was maddening.
“I knew this whole time,” I said softly.
“How?” Cassandra looked up at me, her surprised eyes glistening.
“Alekos came in the morning, after you had made your way to work. ‘It has begun’ were the words he told me. There was no smile on his face. Then he told me of the happenings the evening before.”
Sitting up, pushing her dark hair from her eyes, Cassandra grew upset. “How did he know? Why did you never confront me?”
I shifted my back, sitting, facing Cassandra. “Things in the spiritual realm show themselves to us. Infidelity is a dark beast. The vow was broken with the intentions behind the… kiss.” The word was hard for me to say. “The curse unleased.”
“Was the man a dark spirit?” she asked, breathlessly. Her eyes were rimmed red from crying; a feral look crossed her face.
