Cassandra had only stepped into the Divine Bloodlust pack after driving for hours, so she didn't expect the alpha to ask her to spar and train first. 

While she understood his intentions because that was exactly why she was here, the straightforwardness was a little hard for her to digest. 

Then again, what could she expect from the beast of the werewolf world? 

The weight of his cold and calculating gaze as it raked over her unsettled her as it lingered long enough to make her feel stripped beneath it. 

“You're late,” His cold voice snapped her attention to his cold, hazel-amber eyes. 

His expression was unyielding, but if he thought he could intimidate her easily, he was in the wrong. She wasn't here to let another alpha walk over her. 

“I wasn't aware there was a time,” Cassandra said coolly, her chin lifted as she stared into his eyes, despite the dangerous vibes oozing from his body.

The man smirked.

He stepped forward, invading her personal space once again, making her heart skip a beat as he leaned. 

Cassandra’s body froze. She wondered if he would do something obscene, but the man barely took the backpack from her shoulders and gave it to his beta. 

“There's always a time when you are under me,” he said, looking at her intensely. 

Cassandra's body stiffened. Was it just her, or did the phrasing indirectly indicate something she didn't want to say out loud? 

She followed the man to the training grounds, observing his muscular back and ripped muscles. 

The man hadn't smiled genuinely since they met her, nor did she expect him to. However, his words always held a tint of edginess and provocation that she couldn't pinpoint. 

This reminded her…

“When handing your card to me, you said I would need it. What did that mean?” Cassandra asked. 

She didn't know why, but after their meeting, she couldn't remove that thought from her head. The way he looked at her as if he knew, he was sure she would accept the offer.

“I have eyes, Miss Cassandra. I see things pretty well,” He said, looking at her from the corner of his eye. 

Cassandra blushed in embarrassment. For some reason, it felt like he was mocking her for not seeing the deceit in her husband's actions. 

It was normal to think so, too. Everything was happening before her, yet she let love and prejudice against her good and caring husband blind her. 

Without another word, Alpha Joaquin walked to the centre of the training ground before barking an order. 

“Circle,” 

His voice was domineering, like that of a leader, and within seconds, seven trained she-wolves, a part of his internal security, circled them. 

“Strip the extravagant clothing, Miss Cassandra. You are not here as a guest but a warrior,” The man said, and Cassandra nodded in understanding.

She took off her leather jacket. 

“As strong as you are and are here to train my Gamma females, this session would also be a training for you. Your first lesson,–” Joaquin said, stepping outside the circle. 

“Pain is the only truth, and I will teach you how to survive it,” he said before raising his hand and bringing it down to signal the start of the training. 

What followed next was hours of gruelling sparring without any breaks. Cassandra’s legs trembled as every time she defeated the former groups of Gamma females, a new set of females would arrive to spar with her. 

Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her vision blurred when a drop got into her eyes, earning her a hard blow in the abdomen that sent her a few metres away, her body falling to the ground as she barely suppressed her groans. 

Joaquin watched her like a hawk watching its prey. His gaze was cold, yet unidentified emotions swirled in it, like a recognition, a call beyond expression. 

Every time she stumbled, his body twitched, trying to catch her, help her, and fix the mess he had orchestrated, but he knew he shouldn’t. 

After the seventh round, Cassandra’s body collapsed, her ribs aching terribly as her limbs trembled from the constant workout. 

“Enough,” She groaned, chest heaving as she panted heavily. 

Joaquin’s gaze softened for a split second before it hardened again.

“It’s not enough until I say it is.” He walked to her before crouching in front of her.

Cassandra raised her eyes, her gaze locking with his as she clenched her jaws, suppressing her urge to curse at him. 

If she didn't know any better, she would've almost thought that he was punishing her for a sin that she didn't know. 

“You are hurt,” Alpha Callisto said, touching the bluish mark on her shoulder. 

‘No shit sherlock,’ Cassandra barely bit the snarky reply that was at the edge of the tongue while Kianna chuckled at her condition, making her anger worse. 

Alpha Callisto’s touch lingered on her shoulder, a little too warm for someone who appeared so cold and calculative. 

And then, his hand reached for the mark on her neck. 

“You don't belong to him anymore,” his voice was barely above a whisper, enough to catch his attention. 

He didn't specify who he was talking about. He didn't need to. 

She knew he was talking about Caleb, the man who humiliated her, replaced her when she was at the epitome of her happiness, and discarded her and her dreams like she was nothing. 

Cassandra was about to open her mouth and say she didn't need that bastard either when Joaquin interrupted her. 

“You belong to yourself now. And if you want to survive in this world, for your dream, you'll have to become stronger than everyone who tried to break you,” He said before standing. 

Cassandra understood the meaning behind his words. 

She didn't aspire to throw Caleb away, only. Her dream was to rule the pack like a luna, which wouldn't be possible with her current abilities. After all, she won't have an Alpha by her side at that time anymore. 

All her complaints about earlier dissolved into nothing, and she looked at the alpha in a new light. 

His way of doing things was different, but it had a purpose. 

___________

That evening, Cassandra's body ached like it was on fire. Her limbs felt overused, and she sat in the doctor's cabin, treating her wounds for quick recovery so she could spar the next day with the same ability. 

Because of the wolf's absence, her healing had been lowered, and she had to rely on medicinal herbs to speed up the process. 

Though her body was in pain, her heart had a sense of satisfaction. Despite the number of rounds, she hadn't broken, she hadn't begged for mercy. 

Cassandra walked to the room allotted to her, which was strangely one of the two rooms on the third floor, and didn't waste time stripping. 

She had been craving a bath from the moment she exited the training grounds. 

She walked inside the bathroom, noticing the strange placement of the door right beside the bed, but that was the least of her concerns. 

Standing under the warm stream of the water, she closed her eyes. 

“In my pack, you smell like one of us or nothing at all.” 

“You don't belong to him anymore.” 

Alpha Callisto's deep voice echoed in her mind, and her cheeks turned red. 

What the hell was wrong with her? Why was she thinking about that? 

As she washed the dirt off her body, a gasp left her mouth when she suddenly felt an intense ache in her neck. 

Her mark was hurting. And it only meant one thing. 

Caleb was engaging in sexual activities with Harmony. 

Tears welled in Cassandra's eyes, but before she could relent, a weird sound caught her attention. 

It wasn't just any weird sound. It was the sound of the bathroom door opening from the other side, a door she had failed to notice. 

She quickly grabbed the towel just in time to hide her private parts and walked behind the curtain of the shower, her pupils dilating when she saw Alpha Joaquin walking inside the bathroom. 

She saw how his brows furrowed when he saw the water on the floor. 

“These people can't do one thing right,” He grumbled under his breath and took off his shirt before taking off his pants. 

However, just as his fingers hooked with the elastic of his shorts, he paused. 

He lifted his head and sniffed the air. 

“Ah,” a wince left Cassandra's mouth simultaneously, and Alpha Callisto's suspicion strengthened. 

Without wasting a second, he walked to the shower area and removed the curtain that Cassandra held on to for dear life. 

Due to the sudden jerk, her body fell forward, making her fall directly on Alpha Callisto, whose eyes widened as he lost his footing and fell on his butt, taking Cassandra with him. 

"What were you trying to do, Miss Cassandra?" Joaquin's voice was a shade deeper than normal as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm his wolf, which suddenly became a little uneasy. 

Cassandra closed her eyes in embarrassment, very well aware that her hand was on top of Alpha Callisto's chest, and if not for the towel between them, their naked bodies would touch. 

The situation was inappropriate in all ways. 

"I'm sorry, Alpha Callisto. I was using the washroom when you opened the door," Cassandra paused. 

"Wait. Why am I the one apologizing? You are the one who walked in on me taking a shower," she said, lifting her head and glaring at the alpha. 

Alpha Joaquin looked into her daring hazel eyes and clenched his jaws. 

"This is my bathroom, Miss Cassandra." He leaned back, looked at the ceiling, and took a deep breath.

"What are you doing? Wait. Are you feeling me up?" Cassandra asked, forgetting about her pain. 

Alpha Joaquin raised his head and glared at the girl. 

"Seriously? I am trying to calm my wolf so that I will not take up the opportunity that you have clearly presented under that towel." Joaquin didn't put a filter on his mouth, and Cassandra blushed. 

She was well aware of how instinctive the alpha wolves were. 

"I am talking about attacking you, not having–" Alpha Joaquin was about to clear when he thought it was useless to explain it to her. 

He got up, helping her while keeping his gaze trained on her eyes.

The respect for him increased in her eyes, and she apologised quickly. 

Alpha Callisto followed her to her room before showing her the bathroom designed for her room. 

Cassandra blushed at the obvious mistake and was about to apologise when another wave of pain shot across her neck and she fell to the ground. 

Joaquin quickly kneeled before her and lifted her in his arms, bridal style, taking her to the bed. 

"My neck, it's hurting." Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes. 

"I know," Joaquin said, covering her with the blanket before looking at her. 

He tucked her hair behind her ears before taking the dagger from the drawer. 

"Are you open to drinking blood?" He asked casually. 

"Hmm?" Cassandra asked in pain. 

Without another word, Joaquin sliced his palm and placed it on her mouth, making her drink his blood. 

"I could've licked and sucked your mark to help you, but I am not sure if you would like that kind of intimacy... yet..." He let the sentence trail off. 

Cassandra stared into his eyes, drinking his blood softly. 

Kissing the neck was intimate? Could it be more intimate than what he was already doing? Sharing his blood with her? 

She wanted to remove his hand, not wanting to take advantage of his hospitality as the pain was much bearable now. 

However, his grip was firm like a silent vow, a ruthless promise that he was here to help her. 

After some time, he removed his hand from her mouth and licked his wound to heal it. 

"Have some rest," He whispered and stood from the bed. 

Cassandra held his hand to stop him. 

"Thank you," She whispered. 

The man looked at her intensely, his gaze holding thousands of unspoken words, before he smiled. 

"Sure," he said. 

Cassandra didn't understand the meaning behind his gaze or the word he said.

It sounded like a silent sentence about something he knew but she didn't. 

She didn't dwell on it for long, and once she was sufficiently rested, she walked out of the room to the training grounds just for a walk. 

Alpha Callisto's pack was significantly peaceful. Even though she was a guest, someone from another pack, no one bothered her. Everyone was busy with their work and life, and she liked this about them. 

As she walked further, she saw Alpha Joaquin standing at the edge of the trading grounds, exactly where she had found him in the morning. Her heart skipped a beat at what transpired between them in the room. 

He stood there, watching the moonlit fields, his shirt off, his taut muscles moving with each movement. 

She didn't know what possessed her to speak, but she did. 

"Is that what you do? Breaking every person who walks through your borders?" Her tone held a hint of amusement and silent frustration. 

His gaze didn't move from the horizon, and he looked at her briefly. 

"Only the ones who desire to become unbreakable," his words left no room for discussion. 

It wasn't only a silent compliment for her abilities and a promise that it was just starting. 

"I am not like others," Cassandra spoke, unsure if he had misunderstood her earlier. 

This time, Joaquin turned, moonlight making his skin glow a little. 

"No. You are not. And that's why I haven't gone easy on you," Joaquin covered the distance between them, almost invading her personal space. 

"That's why you are still alive," he whispered, his gaze not leaving hers. 

Cassandra didn't know what to say to that. 

She was tongue-tied, not retorting. She wasn't like this. Usually, she always had something to say, to give back to people, but before him, she had been left to his mercy a couple of times, which irked her. 

"I am not easy to break," She said, her proud glare making Alpha Joaquin smirk. 

"I don't intend to break you, Miss Cassandra," He whispered, stepping closer. 

Their chests almost touched, making her take a shaky breath. 

His gaze landed on her bruised collar bones before he shifted it to her. His eyes glowing a little in the moonlight made him look mesmerizing. 

"And if you think this was hard..." he leaned towards her ear, his lips almost touching her earlobe. 

"...wait until you learn what I do to women who catch my attention," He whispered, taking her earlobe between his teeth before sucking it a bit. 

He stood straight, looking at her provocatively before he left. 

Cassandra didn't move. She couldn't. 

She was frozen on the spot. His words bothered her more than his actions. And what surprised her more was that despite the threat, her pulse raced, not in anxiousness, but in excitement.

And it didn't mean anything good. 

Why? For once, Kianna, her wolf, who hated men touching her, was calm in someone's presence, and her peace was a silent agreement, something she didn't like.