Seeing Cassian brought a wave of anger to rush through me.

I might’ve thought that Cassian might’ve been a better choice to show up tonight other than Rowan, but it didn’t mean that I wanted to see him right now, after trying to scrub Rowan’s bite mark from my skin. What good was it for him to show up now, spewing such a nonsensical sentence? His timing was impeccably bad!

My mood took an even greater nosedive when I glanced at his face. If he had shown up earlier, maybe Willow would be right inside with me now, and Ronan wouldn’t have left this infernal mark on my neck.

"Where else would I be?" I snapped with a cold snort, raising a hand to gesture to the new enclosure that he and his brothers so kindly created for me. "You locked me in here, remember? Is that brain you have just for show?"

"Don’t act smart with me!" He yelled, his face reddening at my words.

"Well, I certainly can’t act dumber than you. That’s far beyond my capabilities, I’m afraid," I pointed out acidly.

I felt a lot more daring than I ever did before. Part of it was fueled by rage, and the other by frustration. The fact that this man standing here had the exact same face as Rowan did make me fume. He was a walking reminder of the fact that now I was chained to one of these three idiots for the rest of our miserable lives.

The thought of it made me absolutely livid.

However, I wasn’t the only one who had their feathers riled up. Cassian’s fingers wrapped around my throat, pinning me down against the mattress. His eyes had started to glow, the gold of his irises pulsing with hatred.

The air in my lungs was knocked out by his simple movement, but I tried my hardest to maintain an expression of calm. "So what brings you to my new humble abode?" I squeezed the words out of my throat.

"You tried to escape," Cassian said, growling.

"I merely reported an observation," I said, wheezing. I could already feel my face slowly starting to turn red. Cassian certainly didn’t bother with mercy.

"Cassian!" Rowan roared. He barged into the room, Soren right behind him. While Rowan shoved Cassian off of me, Soren quickly gathered me in his arms.

I coughed, desperately gulping down mouthfuls of air as though I had been pushed underwater all this time, finally finding the chance to resurface.

"Are you alright?" Soren asked tenderly. My eyes slowly raised to meet his before a shiver shot down my spine. I jerked away, flinching as though he was made of silver. No matter how much they looked alike, Soren wasn’t Lucien, and I’d be a fool if I trusted him, or any of these three again, after all they did.

I cleared my throat, refusing to answer him. Behind him, I could see Rowan’s eyes darkening as he stared at Soren’s hands where he held me.

Deciding not to care about their petty rivalry, I turned to Cassian instead. "There was a wolf near this building, and I simply reported it. Or would you rather I run out to meet with the mysterious wolf instead?" I asked. "Or did you really think that Lucien wouldn’t find this place?"

"You said it was Willow," Cassian seethed. "To think you would dare to lie about her―"

"I wasn’t lying!" I cried out, "I knew what I saw! And if Rowan here had just taken a look at the window when I asked him to, she’d be here with us!"

I shot Rowan a blistering expression, conveying the extent of my hatred for him. I was gratified to see him flinch just the slightest.

"Oh, please, you were just trying to fool Rowan―" Cassian roared.

"To do what? Would I be able to escape just because Rowan was looking out the window?" I snorted, shooting him a dismissive glance while I massaged my neck, careful to avoid my new mating mark.

The longer I stared at Cassian’s face, the more I felt the anger within me bubble up like a volcano ready to erupt. It was one thing to be hated, but another thing to be hated by someone without any rational thinking.

"Did you think I could overpower Rowan while he was distracted and make an escape attempt while both of you were still inside the building, and while being surrounded by guards?" I pointed out acerbically. "You must think very highly of me, or very lowly of yourselves. So what is it?"

Cassian was so enraged that he lunged towards me again, possibly to repeat his earlier strangling attempt. This time, Soren and Rowan held him back by his arms.

"You bitch! I know you did something to Rowan―" He turned to Rowan and shoved him away. "He’s siding with you over me, his own blood brother!"

His words may have been meant for me, but his eyes were glued entirely on his brother. I snorted, feeling a small streak of satisfaction watching them tear each other apart.

"You didn’t side with your own blood brother either," I shrugged. "I don’t know why you’re offended or surprised."

"You―"

"And why can’t I bring up Willow? I have more right to do so than anyone here! I am her sister!" I demanded, standing up at my full height as I glowered at the three of them.

My eyes went to Cassian, whose veins on his neck were practically twitching with anger; to Soren, who was staring at me with a faintly guilty look in his eyes; to Rowan, who was still staring at me as though he didn’t know what to make of me.

His expression was twisted with anger and disappointment, but it seemed to be directed more at himself than at me.

Whatever. I didn’t want to spend any energy parsing his emotions. All of them disappointed me enough to the point where if I died, I should have them carry my coffin so that they could let me down one last time.

Although knowing Cassian’s attitude, he might just flip the casket over to prove a point.

"You killed her―" Cassian spat out, and I narrowly avoided his spittle falling on my face.

"I did no such thing," I scoffed. "Unlike you, I don’t attempt to kill my siblings, no matter what you guys think!"

"It’s not called an attempt if you actually succeeded―"

"Quiet!" Rowan ordered, his voice loud as it reverberated through the room. His eyebrows were furrowed together. "I sense someone is approaching."