Chapter 148

Cecilia’s pov

Cassian Locke.

With those pecs alone, he could probably make an entire pack of lonely omegas weak at the knees.

I was still lost in that inappropriate mental image when Alpha Sebastian’s voice cut through my reverie.

“Cecilia? What fascinating thoughts are keeping you so preoccupied p>

I blinked up at him with practiced innocence. “Nothing worth sharing p>

Alpha Sebastian tapped my forehead lightly with his knuckle, a gesture somewhere between affectionate and condescending, and walked away with a sigh.

Once we got in the car, I pulled up the navigation app. “Which restaurant shall I set as our destination, Alpha p>

“Cirrus,” Alpha Sebastian replied from the backseat, his voice neutral but watchful.

“I know that place,” I started, then abruptly stopped as memories ambushed me.

After a beat of silence that felt eternal, I managed to continue, “I’ve been there before. The food and atmosphere are quite nice p>

I started the engine, feeling the air inside the car grow heavy with unspoken tension.

“Seems like old memories still linger,” Alpha Sebastian’s voice drifted from behind, cool and measured.

“I just have a good memory,” I replied defensively, my knuckles whitening slightly on the steering wheel.

Alpha Sebastian’s eyes lowered, a hint of frost misting through them.

Through my rearview mirror, I caught the subtle shift in his posture – the almost imperceptible stiffening of shoulders that betrayed his displeasure.

The drive continued in the kind of silence that makes you acutely aware of every breath you take.

When we arrived at the restaurant, the manager greeted us with the enthusiastic deference reserved for high-ranking wolves.

As he asked about our reservation, his eyes brightened upon seeing me behind Alpha Sebastian.

“Ms. Moore! It’s been so long since you’ve dined here with Alpha Xavier p>

My expression stiffened as I felt Alpha Sebastian’s energy shift beside me.

Alpha Sebastian turned, his handsome face revealing nothing, but his scent carried notes of something sharp and cold. “Since you’re clearly part of the regular pack here, perhaps you’d like to lead the way p>

“It’s been a while,” I said quickly. “I don’t remember the layout anymore p>

Alpha Sebastian narrowed his eyes, his gaze penetrating. “Is that so p>

I nodded firmly, meeting his challenge. “Absolutely. Complete memory lapse p>

“Understandable. It’s hardly territory worth marking.” Alpha Sebastian’s voice was winter itself as he walked ahead.

The restaurant manager apologized profusely and personally escorted us to our private dining room.

As we crossed a small ornamental bridge, Alpha Sebastian asked with deceptive casualness, “Cecilia, what’s behind that building p>

“It’s a – ” I caught myself just in time, remembering the private room where Xavier had once promised me.

I furrowed my brows in manufactured confusion. “Hmm, what is it again p>

“Forgotten already?” Alpha Sebastian asked, his tone suggesting he knew exactly what lay behind my hesitation.

“I genuinely don’t remember,” I insisted, my heart betraying me with its quickened pace.

Alpha Sebastian’s face finally softened into something resembling a smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Nothing worth remembering anyway. Clearly not an impressive hunting ground p>

When we reached the private room, the manager opened the door for us.

Inside, my eyes immediately found Cassian sitting by the windo.

He was smoking with the window open, talking loudly on his phone, his posture commanding and unapologetically dominant.

Cassian and Alpha Sebastian were truly… opposite sides of the same predatory coin.

Alpha Sebastian took two steps in and stopped.

He turned to the manager who hadn’t yet left. “We’ll need a different room p>

“Of course, Alpha,” the manager replied quickly, not using the title directly but acknowledging it in his tone.

Alpha Sebastian turned to leave, his hand pressing against the small of my back with a possessiveness.

Cassian finished his angry phone call, put out his cigarette, and approached us with the casual confidence of someone who’d never had his dominance questioned.

His demeanor completely transformed from raging Alpha to charming rogue.

“Had I known my favorite Cecilia was joining us,” he grinned, those canines looking just a touch too sharp, “I wouldn’t have smoked. I can’t have Alpha Sebastian’s little luna-to-be breathing in secondhand smoke p>

My cheeks burned at his presumption, but Alpha Sebastian’s hand tensed against my back, silently warning me not to correct the assumption.

After relocating to another private room, the three of us sat down and ordered.

After brief pleasantries, Cassian quickly turned the conversation to Cici White.

Alpha Sebastian gave him a condensed version of recent events, then asked, “Did you come all the way to Denver just to feed on gossip? “

Cassian’s smile was cryptic, revealing just a hint of fang. “Half right. I’m not just here to consume gossip – I’m here to deliver some news p>

Alpha Sebastian sighed. “Planning to join the she-wolfs’ gossip circle next p>

“Such a cold-hearted pup Cassian chuckled softly.

“Alright, alright, down to serious news p>

“Did you know my aunt arrived in Boulder yesterday afternoon p>

Alpha Sebastian nodded.

My heart tightened. So yesterday’s reinforcement for the White family was the aunt they kept mentioning from the Locke family?

Cassian picked up his teacup and took a sip. “Ever heard of the Moonveil Ascendancy p>

Alpha Sebastian’s brow furrowed, a low growl escaping before he could stop it. “Of course. A business association that operates like a cult p>

“Maggie Locke is a member,” Cassian revealed, his usual playfulness completely gone. “I only discovered this recently. When Mrs. White came begging to Maggie, her condition was to have Alpha Gavin accept Maggie’s invitation to join this cult, and to persuade Alpha Xavier to join as well p>

Alpha Sebastian’s expression darkened, his pupils narrowing to wolf-like slits for just a moment. “This woman has bigger ambitions than I thought p>

Cassian laughed coldly. “But Gavin isn’t a mindless werewolf – he refused immediately. Then Cici’s situation happened, and suddenly Maggie is going out of her way to help. Don’t you think Alpha Gavin might have desperately agreed to her demands to save his mother and sister p>

Alpha Sebastian considered this for a moment, “No one can save Cici from what’s coming. Not even the Lockes with all their human connections p>

Cassian gave a tight nod, his tone all business.”Make it wolfproof, Sebastian. If that feral lunatic gets out, she’ll come straight for your… maybe-mate p>

He flicked his eyes toward me like I was a particularly fragile Fabergé egg someone had left on a battlefield.

“Don’t worry,” Alpha Sebastian replied, “Cici won’t escape justice. Besides, I don’t think Gavin would surrender his Alpha status to a female who isn’t even his mate. He’s intelligent – even if he’s forced to play along… who ends up as predator and who as prey remains to be seen p>

“Let’s hope so,” Cassian replied, looking far from optimistic.

He’d personally witnessed that woman’s various tactics.

I’d been quietly listening to their conversation.

But somehow, the more I heard, the more inexplicably uneasy I felt.

“Excuse me, I need to use the restroom,” I said, standing up and leaving.

I stepped outside into the courtyard, walking around to clear my head of both men’s overwhelming presence.

When I reached a spot near an artificial rock formation, I stopped to take out my phone and call Harper.

She needed to know that the White family had enlisted the Locke Family help to bail out Cici.

I was just standing there, minding my own business and probably looking one awkward exhale away from a full-blown identity crisis, when a sharply dressed man brushed past me.

Mid-forties, maybe.

Square jaw, designer glasses, annoyingly perfect hair.