Touched by the Sun and Moon

A slap echoed through the hallway.

"You useless trash ! How dare you talk back to me ?! Clean this mess right NOW!"

Cassie looked at her feet defeated, she only tried to explain herself but Meredith's word was law here and her pregnacy only made her more irritable and difficult to deal with those past few month.

She had to obey and calm her pomptly if she didn't wish to be beaten, starved and locked in her room again.

"Yes your Highness, I deeply appologize"

Seeing her crawling on the ground to collect every last pieces of the broken vase, her step-mother seemed satisfied and without losing more time she left. Cassie sighted in relief, the fact that the Queen hated her as much as she hated seeing her played in her favor for once.

Meredith was a proud and noble woman, even as a stand-in mate for her father, she played her role perfectly all those years, remaining loyal and keeping all clans in check. And then, after a buisness trip to another pack's territory her husband came back with a pregnant woman. At first she thougt he found his real mate and was ready to step back from her throne as her arranged marriage and its conditions was known to all but he simply announced she was pregnant with his child and had to stay at the palace until she gave birth and then will return to her pack.

This woman was Cassie's mother and she died while giving birth to her. The irony or it all is that she was wolfless, she herself didn't kill her mother, her father's blood and power has.

After all those years she still didn't know who she was and why he didn't made this woman abort the child. Even if her mother's family was apparently known to birth mostly women he could have had a daughter another way.

"Is that your new favorite spot or are you lost in thoughs again ?"

She gasped and almost cut her hand with the piece of glass she was holding. She was still on the ground and had been staring in the direction the Queen left for the past minute without realizing.

"Kane ! You startled me... Need something ?"

After getting up, she put the last glass shard on the drawer and took a napking from her pocket to collect everything.

"Nothing in particular, you want help with that ?

- Really not, I was asked to clean it.

- Ow... Mother was bullying you again ?

- Not really, I tripped while avoiding her and because I was looking at my feet I didn't see the vase and it fell."

Kane rolled his eyes and sighted, while Cassie finished her task he called someone over and made sure another vase would be delivered here to replace the broken one. She herself having no autority even on maids and servants, this was something she couldn't do.

He looked at her with pity, for him she was the embodiment of "no luck" and being the only one kind to her was part of his little rebellion against his strict mother. Cassie knew this was mostly for himself and tried to avoid relying on him as much as possible. Any difficult situation would made him turn his back on her and honnestly the sole reason this womanizer hadn't tried to sleep with her was because she was his sister.

"Master Kane ! You're here !"

The butler ran straight to him almost kicking Cassie out of his way and spilling the glass on the floor once again. But she didn't protest, the next words coming out of his mouth making her livid.

"Your mother's water broke, she will be giving birth soon. Go in her room now and I beg you, contact your brother as soon as possible, your father is alredy there!"

Kane rushed out of the room visibly mindlinking Atlas as his eyes turned red from Ergo, his wolf, coming to the surface to help.

The butler then rushed back while a panic started settling in Cassie's mind. They still didn't know if it was a girl or not as the Queen couldn't bear the use of witch magic on her, she had to know as soon as possible. She knew where they went and took another corridor to go in the room next to it and pressed her ear to the wall to try and prey on what was happening.

After hours of screaming, cursing and crying all fell silent. After a minute she heard someone exiting the birthing chamber and approached to door to try and see who it was from the side. Her father the Alpha King was standing here waiting for someone.

Less than ten seconds later the Harald, the King's Beta arrived in a hurry.

"It's a girl, her name is Rose, and tonight I want her to be the only one I have. Find the other one and don't come back before scattering her ashes in the ocean. She's useless now."