And Then There Were Four by Lilith Carrie

Cassie.

The last thing I wanted to do was see Odin, my supposed grandfather, when I had more important things to worry about, like what was wrong with Lucas. However, here I stood before him, watching as he took me in from head to toe, running his hand over his beard as if he had something on his mind. "You called for me?" Nodding, a smile crossed his wrinkled face. "I did... I know our last meeting didn't go as I had planned and I wanted to clear things up."

Stunned this was why he called me, I opened and closed my mouth, trying to find the words needed to make sense of why I was here. Of course, I wanted to talk to him, or at least I thought I did, but right now wasn't the time to do it.

"I'm not sure what you want to talk about..." It was true, I didn't know what he wanted to talk about considering there wasn't really much to say, but by the look on his face, he wasn't pleased with my remark.

His brows narrowed at my words as he sat a little straighter. I had no doubt he wasn't expecting me to respond the way I did, but it was irrelevant. Pollux and Trixie were waiting for me and being here wasn't going to help the mass of mysteries we were trying to figure out. "Castor," the sound of Odin saying my first name was a distraction. No one called me Castor but my mother, and that was usually when I was in trouble.

"Odin..." I replied, holding my chin high. "I'd say that we can do this all day long, but I honestly have something else to tend to." I refused to backdoor or show any weakness. If he had something to say, he could get on with it.

Chuckling, he shook his head with a smile that made my brows furrow in confusion. "You have such a strong will to survive, Castor. So much confidence and yet it is perfectly balanced by the soft, sweet side of you that you hide away."

"Showing weakness gets you killed," I replied quickly. That was a lesson my father taught me long ago, and something I made sure I didn't do.

"There's more to life than simply hiding behind what you fear. We really do need to have this conversation, but I can see by the way you are moving from foot to foot you would rather be elsewhere than actually having a conversation with me. Am I correct?"

"You would be correct," I quickly said with an eyebrow raised in his direction. Gesturing with his hand, he showed me towards the door, not saying another word. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or if I possibly made a huge mistake in disregarding whatever conversation he wanted to have with me.

Turning towards the door, a heavy

breath escaped me as I thought over what I was possibly doing. Was this going to be a negative mark against me, refusing to have words with Odin? Or would it be a positive thing to where he maybe wouldn't look at me again, and therefore, I could go undercover or do whatever it was I needed to do without his watchful gaze upon every move I made?

Regardless of all of it, my mind went back to my brother and friend, who currently watched over my unbonded mate, who lay in a bed full of darkness, and I had absolutely no idea what had happened to him. Was I angry at him for the way that he had acted? Yes.

Then again, deep down, I knew I was not the easiest person to live with.

Making my way down hallway after

hallway, taking turn after turn, I found myself closer and closer to Lucas's door, and as I opened it upon my arrival, I was shocked. I see the sight before me. Lucas upright in bed, was snarling at Pollux, his eyes completely black as if the Onyx depth of despair had

filled him and not a single bit of light

was left.

I didn't have the slightest clue what was going on, and the last thing I wanted was for the gods to figure out what it was. It was bad enough that Freya was obviously well aware of the situation if she said anything to Odin. There was a chance Lucas could be imprisoned here.

Which, no matter how much you pissed me off, wasn't something I wanted for him.

Gazing around the room, my eyes fell on Sansa, and with a wide, shocked expression, she shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea what happened."

"What happened while I was away? I was literally gone for fifteen minutes," I exclaimed in anger. How was it we calmed the chaos for a moment, and I came back to a shit storm brewing in his room? Lucas's eyes darted directly toward me as I spoke. "You," he growled in anger.

I wasn't sure what his problem was, besides the obvious, of course, but slowly he slid off the bed, and as he did, I made sure not to freeze in front of him again. I wasn't going to be a victim this time.

Letting the power that flowed

through my body come alive, he

stopped in his tracks and growled at

me again, the problem was my

had

stupid ass brother didn't know everything under control, and as he tried to rush Lucas, he got blasted back by something I hadn't expected to see.