Reborn As Cursed Alpha's Mate
Chapter 149: Locating Cassandra

Chapter 149: Locating Cassandra

Lotus snatched it from Siroos’s hand and inspected it from all sides with creased brows and upturned lips, showing her annoyance. It pulsed in her hand with the magic she had imbued in it. The gem hadn’t cracked and still held her protection spell.

"She left it behind? I don’t understand how someone abducted her while she was wearing it." Confusion made Lotus’s brows crinkle some more.

"She gave it to my dragon when I got injured, it was her way of protecting me," Siroos explained rather reluctantly.

Lotus sadly smiled, feeling the smooth surface of the gemstone under her fingertips.

"Of course she did. She always has the biggest of hearts, no wonder she is the goddess of love."

Silence fell between them, the meaningful silence where their minds whirled with beautiful memories of Cassandra.

Each one of them held so many different versions of her.

Razial remembered her as a shy naive girl, the one he betrayed and couldn’t protect. The guilt borrowed in its heart and left a permanent hole.

For Lotus, she was forever her baby sister, the one she adored and protected at every cost. The one who grew up right beside her but never received the love she deserved.

For Faris, she was like the elder sister he never had, sweet and caring, the one filled with love.

She reminded him of flowering orchards, colourful and soothing.

And for Siroos, she was everything. His mate, his lover in present and from the past, the woman who kept him going through the worst times, a balm for his wounded heart, a beacon in the darkness of this curse.

She was his and he was hers.

"So it’s safe to say it’s someone with influence and power who took my sister. Any enemies you might have, Alpha Siroos?" Lotus asked, finally breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

She raked her mind and was suddenly reminded of the arena and what had taken place there.

"Oh! Goddess, the arena. It could be Kamyn’s brother. That sadistic prick." Lotus’s heart skipped many beats at the thought of Cassandra under the clutches of a vampire.

Vampires were tricky and sadistic creatures, thriving on the grief and miseries of others.

Feeding on their blood and sorrows.

"Kanyon?" Razial tried to affirm, drumming his fingers on the wooden table. A forlorn look descended in his light-shaded blue eyes.

Siroos’s expressions hardened, and their irises completely crimsoned in rage.

"Yes, he is the most feared vampire in the West. Much more powerful than his brother, Kamyn," Lotus answered, slumping on the chair beside Razial. This day kept getting worse and worse.

"I second you. I met him personally when we visited their kingdom, Volsra. Something is unnerving about that man. His eyes had the same shade as you do in this instant but lacked any emotions. There was a constant fear that clutched at my heart while I was in his presence. The man is unhinged," Razial confirmed, making Faris pass an uneasy glance towards his brother who had gone very still.

Siroos’s jaw twitched as his hands fisted and blue inked veins stood out. He blurted out.

"It would make sense, too, since I incinerated that excuse of a brother he had, and now he wants revenge and has kidnapped my mate. He killed an innocent member of my pack."

Everyone exchanged worried glances at this. A reality they couldn’t deny.

"Yes, his father, the Vampire Monarch, had shouted for anyone who would hear how his son was unfairly killed. And they will exact their revenge on you," Razial said as he had been present along with Faris in the stands to witness it firsthand.

"Yeah! He went all ballistic about how his son was not even given a chance to yield. Meh!" Faris clicked his tongue in distaste, remembering the time when he acted as Alpha in place of his brother. He had found the Vampire Monarch egoistic and conceited. Someone who thought too highly of himself and his kind.

Siroos had placed his fist under his chin and rested it while he contemplated all the angles and analysed all the points.

Razial cleared his throat, gathering everyone’s attention.

"As the general, I always keep track of everyone’s movements, that includes Princess Stephanie. I didn’t think of it much at the time, thinking she was just mourning her loss by meeting with his brother. But now that I think about that incident, it could have a deeper meaning."

"What? Who?" Lotus demanded. Siroos’s head whipped towards Razial as well and his eyes blazed dangerously.

"Stephanie, one of my men, reported that she went to meet Kanyon in a not-very-nice establishment. I thought maybe they were hooking up, but it could be..." Razial didn’t even finish when Faris quipped.

"Planning, they could have been planning on how to carry out their revenge plan. He lost his brother while she lost her lover. This would make sense."

Lotus facepalmed herself.

"Oh! Stephanie. I saw her sneak out but didn’t know she was going to meet him. How low she has fallen. Kamyn’s death has blinded her, and I wish I could say she wouldn’t go this far, but she would. She came for Cassandra and I had to help you take her away," Lotus addressed the Alpha. The heaviness of the situation settled in her heart.

Siroos got up and began to abruptly pace hearing all these new pieces of information. His hands behind his back. After the silence of many minutes in which his mind formulated several plans, Siroos finally halted and faced a heartbroken Lotus.

"Will your father lend us his support if I were to attack Volsra? We are allies, after all, but does he care enough for Cassandra to wage war with the Vampire Kingdom? I don’t trust him, though, and I am capable of rescuing my mate on my own; I just want to know."

His words were said with utter calmness, but there was a maelstrom brewing inside him as his mind was putting together tens of plans at the same time.

"Probably not, but first, we need to be sure that Cassandra is indeed taken by Kanyon. We can’t wage war on an assumption."

Razial answered instead of Lotus, knowing High Mage would prefer to remain on good terms with the vampire kingdom more than the shifters. They always thought of shifters as a race below them. With relationships already spread thin between them, Razial knew Tholarian would never go to war against Volsra.

"Then I will go and spy on the vampires. I would confirm and once it is done, I am going to burn him just like I did his brother. Not only that, I am going to burn his palace as well. I won’t sit quietly," Siroos fumed, a vein ticked in his temple from the pressure he was under.

The ache in his heart kept intensifying.

"Calm down, Alpha Siroos. We need to think this through and not act irrationally. You barging in as a dragon will be seen as a threat and they will retaliate. It will be a full-blown war." Razial tried to reason but Siroos was raging by that point.

"So be it. He can’t just abduct my mate and not expect consequences. I don’t believe in taking innocent lives but I don’t spare those who wrong me or the people I love. I will sneak in Volsra and find my mate, no matter where he is hiding her. If there is going to be blood then let it be. It’s War."

"I am with my brother. He killed my girl. I wish to tear him apart with the help of my wolf. There will be no mercy," Faris stood by his brother, and the determination shone in his eyes too.

Shifters lost it when their mates were involved.

"I understand what both of you are going through but we are talking about infiltrating a vampire kingdom. They will scent you from a distance. You people will need to learn how to blend in," Razial added.

"Every aspect needs to be thought through and carefully inspected before we can proceed with this plan. It has to be a rescue mission because Cassandra is our top priority right now. I recommend we first carry out a locator spell. If Kanyon hadn’t used a cloaking spell on her, we would be able to locate her," Lotus explained, but she didn’t have high hopes.

Vampires and mages had a symbiotic relationship. They lived off one another, benefitting from what each brought to the table.

"I can perform it, I just need something belonging to Luna Cassandra and the blood of her relative," Razial explained.

"Do it," Siroos said, pausing and turning his attention towards him.

Lotus nodded her approval as well while placing Cassandra’s pendant on the centre of the table. The pointer finger of her right hand sprouted a sharp branch and she swiftly cut the palm of her left hand with it.

The thick red blood trickled out, and she fisted her hand, letting the droplets drop on the pendant.

Razial’s heart clenched seeing her bleed but he kept himself composed. Sitting straight he closed his eyes and placed both his hands, palm down over Lotus’s.

Faris and Siroos intently watched as he began to chant in another language. He focused all his energy, trying to find Cassandra’s presence and voice but all he found was quiet and darkness.

She had been placed under a cloaking spell. He opened his eyes and disappointment flashed in them as he revealed his findings making everyone’s mood dampen further.