47- The Tamer
Iris POV.
I opened my arms, and he practically flew into my embrace. It was a struggle to stay upright, but I held the position as my brother held me tight.
“How are you, darling?” I asked. “Hope you did not miss me too much?”
Abel flashed a sweet smile. “1-1-1 mi–missed y–you sooo much!” he gushed.
I returned his sweet expression as lone approached us. “You are alright?” she asked, her face etched with worry.
“Yes, a bit weak but I will live.” I replied.
Ione let out a breath of relief, clutching her chest. “That’s great news. I was so scared for you.” She pulled me in for a hug without warning. Abel joined too. I felt warm and loved, but each time they embraced me, it was bittersweet. I loved it, but it hurt. I fought not to grimace in pain
But Cassian noticed all the same. “That’s enough. Don’t suffocate her by squeezing her to death.”
But lone did not let go. “You are only jealous because you cannot join in this amazing hug.”
I watched in shock as she stuck her tongue out at Cassian. I had never seen them interact that way since I got here. They treated each other cordially, but they had always acted more like a pair of acquaintances than siblings.
And judging by the shock that took over Cassian’s face, he was as stunned as I was by her attitude.
“Sorry…” Ione seemed to finally realize the change in the atmosphere. “I did not mean…” She began to once again recede into herself.
But amusement made its way into Cassian’s eyes. “Rubbing it in my face, are we? You do know that if I joined that hug, I would be the only one left, and no one but me would get to hug my wife.” There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes that made him appear roguishly handsome.
My heart skipped a beat when I finally registered the fact that he had called me his wife. Not in a defensive way, but in a sweet, light–hearted way. Heat rushed to my face at the speed of light.
I tried to hide my blush, but I did not try hard enough because Abel burst into laughter.
“Bi–big sis–sis–ter is bl–bl–blushing!” he announced for everyone to hear.
There was a stunned silence before Ione and Abel both burst into laughter, cackling at my expense. But Cassian did not join them; he seemed to
turn away from us. I was seized with fear that I had insulted him in a way that I had not intended.
Ione paused in her amusement to assess her brother. “Cassian!” she exclaimed. “Am I seeing things, or are you as red as a tomato?”
My eyes widened, and I finally summoned the courage to look at him. It was neither a fallacy nor a lie. Alpha Cassian was indeed as red as a tomato. Was he embarrassed about how I had reacted to him calling me ‘wife,‘ or did he feel something that was not embarrassment? Something akin to what I was feeling? Was it possible that my growing affection was not as one–sided as I thought?
Ione and Abel continued to laugh until Abel began to cough.
I tried to get his aid. “What’s wrong, Abel?” I asked, suddenly worried again.
“It’s fine, I will take care of him. Let me give you two some spa… I mean, let me let you rest.” She winked at me before carrying Abel and making her way out of the room, leaving us two alone.
The awkward silence was heavy. I could not meet his eye and continued to stare down at the quilts.
“We lycans are healed Cravens. Our ancestors were Cravens who fought through the haze of depravity the fever curse brings. Now, we live as a variation of werewolves. But for the Lycan Alpha, it’s a different case.”
He successfully diffused the tension, and my curiosity was piqued. “How so?”
“Our wolves are still part Craven. They are unpredictable, wild, and dangerous.”
“Like the Cravens in the Deadlands,” I said. The Deadlands were where the majority of the Craven population were driven to. It was the most dangerous part of the continent. The longer a Craven lived, the more powerful and undefeatable it was. Vorax acted like a Craven that had managed
to live for decades.”
“My great–great–grandfather was the first to have Vorax.”
“And after that, his descendants inherited both Vorax and the Alpha curse. With each generation that it was passed down to….”
“The more powerful, unpredictable, and dangerous it had grown.”
It was all making sense now. “So no one has been able to tame it?”
He shook his head regretfully. “It has never been done,” then his gaze turned unreadable. “Until now.”
It took a minute for what he said to fully sink in. “What do you mean ‘until now?”
“You… what you did, it disarmed Vorax. For a moment, but it was the first time that it happened. It was like it retreated by itself. Like it was scared.”
“It was scared of me?” I asked incredulously. It was utterly outlandish. It was not possible. That beast had almost mauled Ione to death. What would he fear in a wolfless werewolf?
“It is a reaction akin to how a puppy reacts to a bee sting. It is first shocked and disoriented, then it retreats.”
“And it did that because of something that I did?”
Setting
21.03
3
47 The Tamer
Cassian nodded, his eyes fixed on mine. “Yes. Whatever you did, you managed to reach Vorax in a way no one else ever has. It’s unprecedented.”
I sat back, trying to process this revelation. “What does this mean?”
“It incans,” he said slowly, “that you might be the key to taming Vorax finally.”
I pointed at myself, unconvinced. “You must be mistaken,” I told him, shaking my head. “I can’t do anything. It was just a spur of the moment. We are not sure what happened?”
Cassian’s expression hardened, not out of anger but out of frustration. “You have a habit of disparaging yourself, Iris. It is not a woman who can’t do anything that displays your type of bravery. I see it, but you refuse to see it. I don’t know how the people in your old pack treated you, but I will not deceive you. You have strength that is rare, and the fact that you disarmed Vorax for even a second proves that beyond a reasonable doubt.”
My face heated up again as he showered me with kind words. “So what do we do now?”
“The time will come again, but for now, you will have to concentrate on recuperating,” he said. “So for the next few days, you will get breakfast in bed, and you will receive lessons from Ione in bed as well. The Deltas recommended rest, and that is all you will get.” He sounded like a worried, paranoid family member.
And I could not help but laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, oblivious.
“It’s-”
The door suddenly burst open, and in stomped Rolan. He glared at us before his gaze finally settled on me, filled to the brim with all types of malicious intent but most importantly rage.
“You fucking maggot touched my wife!” he barked.
