Chapter 236
Cassie
It took me another week to muster up the courage to sign back in and by that point I had forced myself to believe that the whole situation had been my wild imagination. It hadn’t been Julian at all.
There was no way it could be. Hundreds if not thousands of other shifters were going through heartbreak, just like I was.
And anyway, what would be the chances of Julian finding me through that channel? Even if he was looking for me , which I knew he wasn’t. The odds of him finding me online were slim to none.
Maybe that was the reason I hadn’t told Ian about it. Because I was just being stupid and I didn’t want him to worry for no reason.
The only strange thing that waited for me was the extra money in my account waiting to be withdrawn. One payment I recognised but not the other one. Clearly the man who I had been talking to when I had ended the meeting abruptly had still paid me. He didn’t have to do that but there was no way for me to send the money back to him.
I threw myself into the consultations and each one was more mundane than the one before. My mystery heartbroken man didn’t make an appearance. So by the time I signed off I felt so much better.
It was all just one big misunderstanding on my part.
“Mama.”
I snapped the laptop shut as the boys ran through the front door, their bags dropped haphazardly on the floor for Ian to pick up with a sigh.
A few months and he was already wearing the tired dad expression on his face. Not that I could blame him for that. He hadn’t signed up to be the insta dad to boisterous twin boys but goddess, had he stepped up to the plate.
“Mama we are going on a run. We can shift.” Noah leapt up into my lap, his older more reserved brother climbed up much more slowly. Wrapping my arms around them both , I kissed two curly heads and lifted my eyes to Ian.
“We are?”
“Yanna invited us. She said we could run if we want. That she will teach us to shift properly and-“ Noah was rambling.
“You talk too much.” Niall snapped. “You not let anyone else talk.”
They rounded on each other. Round eyes glaring at each other.
“I think-“ Ian scooped up one twin in each arm. “You both talk too much. Go and get changed and let me speak to your mama.” He deposited them on the floor and his eyes flashed as Noah opened his mouth to speak. Waggling his eyebrows they scampered off still laughing.
“They are settling in so well.” He said with a sigh as he fell onto the sofa next to me.
“More than that they are thriving. They love it here because they can just be young boys and not princes.”
“They are princes though Cassie. We have to remember that so that’s why I went to Yanna.”
My head jerked upwards. “You went to Yanna?”
He gave a small shrug. “Not in the way you’re thinking Cassie. The boys need training to control their animals and we can’t do that here so Yannas father has opened us their lands for us to use. It’s a great honour really.” He met my eyes and I fought back the urge to grin knowingly. “We will be the first wolves to run with their people in years.”
“Yeah.” I wanted to tease him about him and Yanna but now wasn’t the time. He was right. The boys had shifted earlier than most wolf shifters and they needed to learn to control it. Especially when they went to a mainly human school and had a mainly human friendship group. “They do need to learn some control.”
Only yesterday Niall had shifted in the garden. Noah had done the same the week before. They were getting harder and harder to control.
“And you as well-“ Ian muttered.
My head snapped up and my eyes flashed. “What do you mean and me? I don’t have a wolf to control anymore.” The loss of my wolf weighed on me but it didn’t make me as sad as it should have. In a way being a wolf less shifter made my life easier.
I’d never really been a good shifter anyway.
“My wolf is gone.”
“No it’s not.” Ian chuckled. “Of course she’s not gone, you wouldn’t be able to reject Julian if she was really gone.”
I continued to stare at him.
“So she’s in there somewhere and I’m going to help her come back out.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to come back out?” I countered. “Maybe I don’t want her back?”
His eyes flashed. “You don’t mean that Cassie.”
That was the problem, I did mean it. I wanted to leave the life of a shifter behind me. With all the politics and bowing and scraping. I wanted to meet people’s eyes without having to worry about it.
Only I didn’t have to worry about it , not here because there was no alpha to submit to and not when I had been with Julian because the only person who outranked me was Julian himself.
Although now I was guessing Megan would be higher up than me now.
“Stop thinking about him and start thinking with your brian and not your heart.” Ian snapped.
I blinked up at him with a shocked look on my face.
“The boys need you to lead and teach them Cassie.” His voice softened.
“I know and I will try and bring her forward for their sakes but I don’t want to go on any run.” Defiantly I met his eyes. Almost daring him to argue with me. But of course he didn’t. “I’ll be what they need me to be.” I continued. “But I need to be who I need to be as well.” Without meaning to I glanced at the laptop. Ian’s gaze followed mine and he frowned.
“Has something happened Cassie?” He asked evenly,
Quickly I shook my head. Nothing had actually happened. Not really.
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
Ian looked at me like he didn’t believe me. “So you were saying?”
Shaking myself I stood up and stretched. “I need to be me, mum, doctor, woman. I’m going for a shower and to check on the boys.”
“You forgot one thing Cassie,” Ian called after me and I paused to glance over my shoulder at him with my eyebrows raised.
“You missed out Queen.”
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