Where Soft Light Shines Darkness Fades From Tired Hearts by Evan Holt Crane 166

Third Person’s POV

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Finished

She was playing her part to perfection–maintaining the Luna facade in public, staying quiet and obedient at home. It was as if she had finally learned how to submit.

But the mask only slipped when it came to her family. That was the only time she showed any real emotion.

And even then, it wasn’t the hysterical sobbing of the past; it was something sharper, more lucid.

She would either snap back with a biting retort or shut down entirely, locking every door to her heart.

Fred gave him a slow, mocking round of applause, his tone bone–chillingly dry. “Isn’t this what you wanted? Communication is overrated anyway. You’ve got the leverage. Just give the orders, and she’ll follow. Perfect, right?”

Cassian yanked at his collar, looking like the very air in the room was starting to choke him.

His voice dropped to a raspy whisper. “Yeah, I used force to bring her back. But my goal was to get us back on the same path–not to turn us into enemies.”

Fred gave him a look of pure disbelief. “You’ve put her through the wringer, Cassian. If she still looked at you like one of her own, she’d have to be insane.”

The ache in Cassian’s chest intensified. He poured himself another glass and downed it in one go.

His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily, as if he were trying to swallow a surge of restless anxiety along with the liquor.

“She’s too stubborn,” he muttered, his voice barely audible. “If I didn’t use force, she never would have looked back.”

They had grown up together. Adding the three years of their mating, they’d been on the same track for over

twenty years.

He had never seriously entertained the idea of a termination, of them actually going their separate ways.

In his mind, “separate paths” was never an option.

In his head, she only felt this way because she completely misunderstood his relationship with Samantha and Algernon.

But right now, his hands were tied; he couldn’t lay everything out on the table.

The Ironthorn rules, his grandfather’s ruthless tactics, the family’s strategic layout–each one was a he couldn’t just loosen.

C

“Once she calms down and lets this go a little,” he thought, “I’ll make it up to her, I’ll compensate her for every bit of grief she’s enduring now.”

The two men sat on opposite ends of the sofa, the conversation sinking into a heavy silence.

The only sound was the rhythmic swallowing of alcohol

After a long stalemate, Fred suddenly spoke up. “So you’re still going to shield Samantha and that kid?

You’re still not going to tell Trista the truth?”

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Finished

Cassian pulled a cigarette from his pack, his fingers hovering over the lighter. His tone was calm, yet it held a suppressed, lethal edge. “The reason I publicly acknowledged Algernon as my son is because I won’t give Howard another opening to move against them.”

Fred frowned. “Why is Howard so obsessed with her?”

Cassian fell silent for a beat. He hadn’t lit the cigarette yet, but his voice was already cold, “Because she was my first love. In Howard’s eyes, she’s a ‘glitch‘ in my life. He can’t accept her existence; he wants her scrubbed out of my world entirely.”

Fred stood up so fast his chair screeched against the floor. “Even if that’s true, you don’t get to use that as an excuse to destroy Trista.”

Cassian looked down, his emotions retreating into the shadows. “I never wanted to hurt her. I just want to keep our mating together.”

Fred stared at him, finally hitting his breaking point.

His pheromones flared, nearly shredding the air in the apartment.

“You’re playing ‘Daddy‘ for Samantha’s kid,” Fred hissed, his voice low but cutting. “You’re running around town claiming that boy as yours. For the sake of her and that kid, you wrecked Trista and snapped her brother’s wrist.”

He was speaking faster now, years of pent–up fury boiling over.

“Trista tried to make it easy for you. She agreed to the termination. She agreed to leave. And what did you do? You backed the entire Silverlight pack into a corner until they had nothing left, just to drag her back to your side.”

Fred leaned in, his eyes burning. “And that’s still not enough for you? You expect her to just sit back and be okay with you keeping a breeder and a bastard on the side?”

He let out a harsh laugh. “If I were Trista, I’d be looking for a way to kill you.”

Cassian lowered his eyes, masking the storm brewing in his gaze.

He didn’t argue. He didn’t explain. He just let the silence ferment in the room.

Finally, he stood up to leave.

At the door, he paused and looked back at Fred. “I don’t want her to stay like this. I don’t want her there overthinking everything. If you have time… go talk some sense into her.”

With that, he walked out, the door clicking shut with finality.

Fred stamped his foot in a rage, cursing after him. “Talk sense into her? I’ll talk her into putting some wolfsbane in your coffee!”

When Cassian arrived home, the house was pitch black save for the sensor light at the entrance.

The darkness hit him like a bucket of cold water, making him stumble for a second.

The light in his eyes flickered out, and his already dark expression sank even deeper into the gloom.

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