Darius is not looking for Cassandra.
That's the lie he tells himself for the first three hours of the day.
In reality, he's stalking every hallway, prowling through the training fields, sniffing around the pup dens like some love-sick, testosterone-fuelled bloodhound. And he hates it. Hates how pathetic he must look. Hates how desperate his wolf feels. Hates how she's suddenly not where she always is, looming just around a corner, laughing too loudly, glaring at him like he insulted her breakfast.
She's just...gone.
And the worst part? No one's acting like anything is strange. Everyone's going about their day with suspiciously straight faces, like Cassandra never existed in the first place. Grace is humming in the herb garden. Aidan is playing fetch with the pups. Michael is lounging by the weapon shed, sharpening knives with the calm of a man who clearly knows something and refuses to say a damn word.
By lunchtime, Darius is vibrating with frustration. His wolf is pacing under his skin, snarling, snapping, demanding and no amount of training drills or extra laps around the northern boundary is helping.
He's checked every corner of the territory.
Twice.
She's not here.
She's nowhere.
He tries to play it cool when he finally corners Lexie near the kitchen.
"Have you seen Cassandra?" he asks casually.
Lexie blinks, too innocent by half. "Cassandra? Huh. That name sounds familiar... brunette? Little snarky? Kinda hot?"
His growl is low and immediate.
Lexie grins and makes finger-guns at him before sauntering off.
Everyone is enjoying this way too much.
Finally, Darius snaps.
He storms down the hallway to his parents' living quarters, knocking once before throwing open the door like a man on a mission. Grace looks up from her seat by the fire, calm as ever. His father, Luke, raises one amused brow over the rim of his coffee mug.
"Where is Cassandra?" Darius asks, voice barely leashed.
Grace's smile vanishes.
"She's safe," she says carefully. "She's been taken to a protected location."
That's not the answer he wants. "Protected from what?" he growls. "Why wasn't I told?"
"You might be the Alpha," Grace replies, arching a brow, "but in this case, what she needed wasn't an Alpha...it is her mate."
That hits like a punch to the gut. He stiffens, glaring at her. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It means," she says, tone flat now, "that Cassandra's heat has started."
Darius goes still. Completely still. Like a statue that just had its soul yanked out through its ears.
"She...what?" he breathes.
Grace gives him a pointed look. "You heard me."
His jaw works. His brain fumbles. His wolf howls.
Her heat.
He knows what that means. Every part of him does. If she had been claimed, if she were mated, this wouldn't be a problem. But because she isn't, because he hasn't stepped up, she's vulnerable.
To unmated males.
To him.
A deep, dangerous growl rumbles from his chest. He starts pacing, hands dragging through his hair, chest rising and falling with barely restrained panic.
His mother watches with clinical amusement. His father just takes another sip of coffee.
"You knew this was coming," Grace says calmly. "And yet, here we are."
"I didn't think it would hit this fast," Darius mutters.
"You didn't think," Grace repeats, arching a brow. "Period."
"I want to see her," he says suddenly, turning on his heel.
"You can't," Luke says, finally speaking up. His voice is calm but firm. "Not unless you plan to fully claim her. Your presence right now would do more harm than good."
"And who says I don't want her?" Darius snaps.
His parents exchange a long look. Grace's expression turns a shade more sarcastic.
"Oh, I don't know," she drawls. "Maybe the part where you've spent every waking moment acting like she's a contagious disease?"
Darius flushes. "That's not..."
"Or the part where you avoid her like she's about to explode?" Grace presses. "Or the way you scowl every time someone brings her name up?"
"I was protecting her..."
"No," Grace cuts in. "You were protecting yourself."
That hits harder than he wants to admit.
He looks away, throat tight, jaw clenched.
"She doesn't need another wolf making her feel like she's a problem," his mother continues, voice softer now. "So either be her mate, or let her go. But don't keep hovering like a thundercloud unless you plan to rain."
Darius sighs, running both hands down his face. The silence stretches.
Finally, he growls, "Just tell me where she is."
Luke leans back in his chair. "She's in the lower wing. Grace converted it. Warded it."
"She's locked in?" Darius repeats, startled.
"She's protected," Grace corrects, eyes sharp. "From you. From any unmated male who might lose control."
Darius nods slowly, the truth landing like a stone in his gut.
He's the danger.
And yet, all he wants is to be with her.
"Thank you," he mutters, turning to leave.
Before he reaches the door, Grace calls after him. "Darius."
He pauses.
"If you're going down there, make sure you know what you want. Don't play games with her heart. She's strong, but she's not invincible."
He nods once, sharply.
Then he leaves.
The hallway to the lower wing is cold and quiet.
Darius walks it like a man approaching a sacred temple or a war zone. His wolf is snarling under his skin, muscles taut, claws pricking at the edges of his control. But as he rounds the final corner to the basement chamber, he comes to an abrupt stop.
Both Michael and Aidan are stationed outside the door.
They're not lounging. They're not chatting. They're standing at full attention, arms crossed, expressions neutral but alert. Bodyguard mode. Pack warrior mode. And they're blocking his path like two immovable statues carved from moonstone and testosterone.
Darius narrows his eyes. "Stand aside."
He doesn't shout it, but the weight in his voice drops with full Alpha command. The air itself seems to tense. Both warriors flinch, instinctively...but neither moves.
Michael avoids meeting his Alpha's gaze, instead staring past his shoulder. "With respect, Alpha...we have our orders. Directly from Luna Grace. No one is allowed past this door."
Darius's fists clench. "How the hell do you think I knew she was here? My parents told me."
That gets a reaction. Michael casts a sideways glance at Aidan. Their mental link buzzes in the silence, wordless communication passing between them. Darius doesn't bother trying to listen in. If he wanted to, he could force them. But he doesn't.
They're not disobeying him to be insubordinate.
They're doing it because they care about her.
Michael turns back, voice lower now. "We don't want you to hurt her."
Darius growls. "Dammit, how many times must I say this? That is not my intention! I didn't come here to fight or claim or...whatever the hell you think I'm about to do."
His voice cracks slightly, but he keeps his shoulders square.
"I just want to talk to her," he says, more quietly now. "I need to. Or so help me, I will knock you both down right here."
Michael sighs. "You don't make things easy, you know that?"
Aidan finally speaks, voice as calm and dry as ever. "You always were a bit dramatic."
Darius glares. "I'm two seconds away from kicking this door in."
Michael and Aidan exchange another look, and with synchronized shrugs, one of the rare moments their friendship instincts override protocol, they both step aside.
"But if she throws something at you," Michael warns, "I'm not stopping her."
"Neither am I," Aidan adds. "Frankly, I'll cheer."
Darius doesn't answer.
His eyes are already on the door.
And his heart is already behind it.
He places a hand on the wood. The warmth from inside is immediate, tangible.
He hears movement.
A soft sigh.
Then her voice, muffled, but unmistakable.
"Is someone lurking out there?"
Of course she knows.
He chuckles, voice low. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Because you stomp like a man having an existential crisis," she replies dryly. "I figured it was either you or a troll. Possibly both."
He winces. "Can I come in?"
"No."
That's immediate.
He blinks. "No?"
"You heard me."
Darius frowns. "Cassandra..."
"Don't Cassandra me," she cuts in. "You can't waltz in here with your storm-cloud eyes and your Alpha growl and expect me to just...swoon. Not after you've made it painfully clear you want nothing to do with me."
He exhales, leaning against the door. "That's not true."
"Really?" Her tone is sharp. "Because from where I'm standing, it's very true. You run from me. You snap at me. You glare like I'm the reason your cereal went soggy."
He sighs again. "I'm trying to protect you."
"No, you're trying to protect yourself from having to feel something."
Oof. Grace's words, reincarnated.
"I'm a woman," Cassandra continues. "A rejected mate, sure...but I'm not broken. I don't need your pity or your noble sacrifice act. If you don't want me, just say so."
"I do want you!" he blurts.
Silence.
Dead silence.
Then, from behind the door: "...Is that your wolf talking, or you?"
Darius presses his forehead to the wood, eyes closed. "Both."
Another pause.
Then, more softly, "So what now?"
"I don't know," he admits. "But I'm tired of pretending I don't care. I do. I think I have since the second you opened your smart mouth in my kitchen."
He hears her laugh...just a little.
"So that's it?" she says. "You just show up, confess your undying affection, and what? I throw open the door and we ride into the sunset?"
"Gods, no," he mutters. "You'd murder me before we reached the gate."
Another laugh. Louder this time.
He smiles.
"I'm not perfect," he says. "I'm still figuring it out. But if you'll have me, even just as someone trying to be worthy, I'll fight for that chance."
A long, long pause.
Then:
"You're going to have to grovel. Like...full dramatic gestures. Maybe poetry. Flowers. Definitely chocolate."
He chuckles. "Noted."
"And you're not allowed to look at me like I'm a ticking time bomb."
"I'll look at you like a goddess," he murmurs.
"Better," she says. "Still cheesy. But better."
He waits.
Then, slowly, the runes fade.
The door unlocks with a soft click.
It opens.
She's there, standing in the warm light, wrapped in a blanket, eyes wary but alive with something electric.
"Hi," he says.
"Hi," she replies.
Then she slams the door in his face.
"Come back when you've got the chocolate."
Darius laughs...full-bodied, real and for the first time in days, his wolf finally relaxes.