**Where Soft Light Shines, Darkness Fades From Tired Hearts**
**Chapter 5**
**Trista’s POV**
Randolph approached me, a small dessert in hand, a thoughtful gesture from a friend of his. The delicate confection looked inviting, but my heart felt heavy. His voice, though gentle, carried an unmistakable weight. “Cassian has done so much for us over these three years. If you two are having issues, you need to talk it out. Enough with the tantrums. You’re aware of the state of the Silverlight Pack,” he said, his eyes searching mine for understanding.
Ulva, standing nearby, regarded me with a blend of pity and expectation. “Yes, Trista. You’re a mature she-wolf now. It’s time to stop acting like a child. You are the Alpha and Luna of Ironthorn. You should be thinking about getting pregnant soon. A pack heir will help stabilize your mating bond.” Her words hung in the air, heavy with implication.
I fell silent, my mind racing. It wasn’t that I didn’t yearn for a child; the truth was Cassian didn’t want one.
I remembered a time when he was out patrolling the borders, driving away rogues. In a moment of defiance, I had emptied all the silver-threaded herbal contraceptives from my nightstand, determined to change our fate.
When he returned a week later, it was a Full Moon, and the heat in the air made everything feel more intense. He approached me, his breath warm against my skin as he inhaled the scent of my neck and chest. He could smell that the herbs were gone, yet he didn’t stop us.
In that moment, I thought I had read his silence as consent.
But the next morning, reality crashed down on me. He held a vial of Moon-shadow Blocker to my lips, his demeanor patient yet resolute. He made me swallow it, and in that instant, my hopes crumbled.
After that, I ceased my attempts to conceive. The word “child” became buried deep within me, locked away where I thought it could no longer hurt.
Only now did I grasp the truth: he didn’t refuse fatherhood; he simply refused to see me as the mother of his child.
The sound of footsteps outside my thoughts broke the silence, and just as I turned, the door swung open.
It wasn’t Cassian who entered; it was my younger brother, Attwater.
“What are you doing here?” I quickly rearranged my expression, forcing a smile.
“I got permission from my Shifting instructor,” he replied, the night wind clinging to him like a familiar embrace. He enveloped me in a hug that felt like a warm blanket against the chill of my heart.
His grin was infectious. “Trista, I just passed the Evening Primrose Ward and saw Alpha Cassian!”
My smile faltered for a heartbeat, a momentary freeze of joy and dread.
Ulva turned her gaze towards me, her expression probing. “Did he come with you?”
“No,” I replied, keeping my voice steady. “He’s visiting a friend. I just stopped by.”
Without waiting for further questions, I guided Attwater to my chair, trying to distract him as I hurried out of the healing room.
The Evening Primrose Ward at the Healing Center was unnervingly quiet. The delicate evening primroses lined the hallway, their faint fragrance mingling with the earthy scent of herbs.
I didn’t dare inquire about Cassian’s whereabouts; I simply had to check each door, one by one.
My fingers grazed the cold railing, and the chill seemed to seep into my bones, tightening around my throat. With each step, the weight in my chest grew heavier, a reminder that I wasn’t the one at fault.
Soon, I halted outside a door that was partially ajar.
Cassian’s scent wafted through the crack, and instinctively, my wolf’s fangs elongated, the sharp tips grazing my lips.
But alongside his scent was another—sweet and warm, with a hint of mist, reminiscent of melting ice.
The moment that scent reached me, our mating bond flickered, a delicate string plucked by an unseen hand.
My wolf surged to the forefront, claws digging into my ribs, igniting a fire of fury that spread from the tips of my fur. The urge to shift surged within me, igniting every joint, as if my bones were whispering for release. The heat beneath my skin felt like it might tear me apart.
I pressed my palm flat against the hallway wall, the cold metal pulling the heat from my hand, grounding me.
The barrier wards were sensitive here; any scent leak would alert the patrolling shifter healers and enforcers. This was a sacred space, and I couldn’t allow my loss of control to be recorded in such a place.
I moved closer, peering through the thin crack in the door.
What I saw was a moment frozen in time. Cassian stood by the bed, his broad shoulders seeming to hold the room together. The woman nestled against him buried her face in his chest, her long hair cascading down his arm like a gentle waterfall.
Even from this angle, I recognized her instantly—Samantha Fernandez. She was breathtakingly beautiful.
That name had haunted our narrative for years, and now it had taken on a tangible warmth.
She rose, her arms wrapping around his neck, her voice soft yet choked with emotion. “Cassian, can you stay with me tonight?”
So they had reached this level of intimacy.
I felt the mating bond flicker again, a vibration that pierced through the thinnest part of my heart, sharp yet dull enough to leave me breathless.
My aura began to push back, my wolf thrashing within me, desperate to assert its dominance, to drive her scent from our territory.
I closed my eyes, counting to ten, squeezing that explosive force tight, inch by inch, forcing it back into the depths of my being.
Not here, I reassured myself.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Cassian gently brushing her hands away, a gesture that seemed to speak volumes.
Then I noticed the light glinting off her wrist—a circle of diamonds casting a cold fire under the lamp’s glow.
My heart seized, and instinctively, I raised my own left hand.
The two bracelets were identical.
The “It’s beautiful” he had complimented earlier wasn’t about her hand; it was about the bracelet. It was about the woman he loved.
I felt the mating bond shiver a third time, like a gust of wind rushing through a narrow tunnel.
Inside the room, Cassian’s shoulders suddenly stiffened, as if he sensed something.
I could almost see the invisible thread stretching taut between us. His senses were reaching out, searching along that line.
Then, without warning, he lifted his head and looked directly in my direction.
My heart raced, pounding against my ribs like a wild animal seeking escape.
