4. Dark Wedding (Cassius POV)

Cassius POV

I stared at my sister; she had her victory just as she predicted she would. I couldn’t believe she had done it. She had her wolf with Alpha blood and convinced him to overthrow everything he had grown up with. But she was always good at getting people to do what she wanted, still I was shocked. I stood to the side as she married the poor sucker. Venus, my sister, flashed me a smile behind her black lipstick.

My stepfather was around here somewhere, but I didn’t look. I kept my distance sticking to the tree line. In a few minutes she would have completed her first task, she really was something. I watched as she married Benjiam, or as everyone called him Ben. There would be a party following. As the couple kissed, I looked out on the crowd.

This pack months ago was more than double the size it was now. “Now some announcements.” Ben addressed his remaining pack. “This Pack now that we have rid ourselves of the spawn that the north, we shall reclaim the traditional ways”. My father would have been happy to see this, but he was long dead, but this new alpha was clearly an idiot. “The traditional ways.” I may hate the north, but I wasn’t deluded into thinking the north was anything if not traditional.

“As many of you know already my new bride here is a powerful witch.” Of course she is, I thought that fact had been obvious, but maybe these wolfs had never encountered one. “She is a big reason we were so able to take out the former Luna and Alpha. Because of her they fucking vanished from the earth without even having to be killed.” I couldn’t believe he had bought Venus’s lie.

She was not responsible for that, though she did take the credit. The whole massacre had been an elaborate spell. But even I had to admit taking credit for their deaths had to win her some new points with her husband. I wondered if the new pack here would be happy their little revolution cost them their goddess life, would they even care? Like my father I held the belief that woman shouldn’t run things.

I saw it with my mother, always so emotional. Then Venus, my stepsister. She was now somewhat in control of a pack, and she had manipulated the whole thing. It was simple really, females shouldn’t lead. They were to manipulative and never told the truth. Everything was always about what they could get and how they could achieve their goals. Or they were too emotional. It was either or, not to say they didn’t have a purpose, but leading, yeah not something I would trust a female to do. I tuned out what my new brother-in-law was saying. Why did he have to drone on as he was doing? I decided to find something or someone more amusing.

I walked back to the backhouse. There I found a girl, she had to be I would guess 13, not old enough to be found amusing in the slightest. She was one of the mixed kids. They all had been put to work, something akin to slavery if you asked me. I stepped over her bucket of water and ignored her as she kept scrubbing.

There was nothing and no one here and I was beyond bored. “Cassius, shouldn’t you be out there with the pack congratulating your sister?” My stepfather said. The man had been kind to me, for the most part, but he was anything but that with my mother when she was alive. “Sorry Sebastion, but this isn’t my pack, why would I be welcoming Venus as my Luna when she isn’t.” I said trying not to sound annoyed.

“She still is your sister.” He said and I fought to not roll my eyes. He would always say those words to get me to help her in whatever ambition she had. I knew the words he was going to say before he said them “Family is the most important thing in this life.” Of course, but you both are not family. I internally recoiled at my own thoughts. They were despite the lack of familial blood. “You should tell her you are happy for her.” he said.

Was I though? Nope, not really, I was here because she wanted me to be, not out of any kind of joy for her. I was here because of family, like Sebastion had said, obligation, that and I had nothing else to do. “Maybe you should consider getting yourself a wife, son.” I hated when Sebastion called me that. He wasn’t my father, just a stepfather. It is why I called him by his name and not dad or father.

“What do I need a wife for?” I asked. He rubbed his temples, he said this often. “You don’t want to accidently find a mate and be all goo goo over her, do you?” I responded, “You know Venus took care of that little problem for me, and all of my kind.” referring to her killing the goddess, with her gone, the mate bond would go with her. I was not at a risk of finding a mate now. “You don’t know that for sure, we never saw her fall from the sky, nor have we seen as you said, your kind unable to shift, so why should we assume she is dead based on your sisters' words.”

I glared. He had a point, but then again, we were not sure if she had succussed. “I really don’t want you to have to endure the mate bond should your sister have failed.” I didn’t want that either. My sister and stepfather were lucky in that department with being a witch and warlock, they didn’t have a ridiculous mate bond to worry about.  “Like I said take a wife, mark her and you won’t have to worry about it.” He said and went back to having a neutral face. “How about this, I will think about it.” I responded.

I was lying of course, I didn’t need a wife, nor did want one. I liked being alone. Venus's head poked into the packhouse door. “You two are supposed to be out here.” She chimed. God, I fucking hated when she used that voice. It came across as winy and full of manipulation. “Coming darling” Sebastion said, of course he did. Venus was his daughter, and he was doting. I followed because why, oh right nothing was going on.

Venus wrapped her arm in mine. “It should have been us getting married today.” She whispered in my ear, and I cringed. I saw her as a sister, though I knew we didn’t share blood. She was always like this, trying to seduce me, her stepbrother and frankly it grossed me out, though once while drunk in my early teens I had caved. Though I never actually remembered that happening, but she assured me we had, and it was apparently magical. “I wish you would stay and join the pack.” She whined. I snapped “Remember I have shit to do.”