Chapter 217: Blood & Deception
Sebastian~
"I’m listening," I muttered, forcing the words past my lips while keeping my eyes on Cassandra’s face—no, Jacob’s face. Stars, it was so unnerving. My mate’s eyes stared back at me, full of mischief that didn’t entirely belong to her. Her voice was the one I’d memorized, dreamed of, and would willingly bleed for—but the soul behind it was all Jacob. That smug, eternal wolf-spirit soul.
"Can you, uh... stop being her?" I added quickly, rubbing the back of my neck. "It’s weird. I feel like I’m committing a crime just talking to you."
Jacob-as-Cassandra grinned. "Dramatic as always." But thankfully, he shimmered—like air folding inward—and the illusion melted away. The midnight hair turned tousled and wild again, the feminine grace shifted back to that easy, quiet confidence of a predator who didn’t need to roar to be feared.
Jacob. Back to normal. Thank the gods.
"Better?" he asked, smirking.
"Much," I breathed out, feeling tension I didn’t even realize I had bleed from my shoulders. "Now talk. Please. Tell me what the hell is going on before I lose my mind."
Jacob smirked, tilting his head like I was some kind of curiosity, then strolled over to the window and gazed out at the sunlight dancing across the glass.
"I’m going to swap myself with Cassandra at the trial," he said casually. "Illusion, full-body shift, energy signature—everything. They’ll never know it’s not her."
My heart skipped. "Wait, what?"
"You heard me," Jacob said calmly. "When the council calls her in, it won’t be her they get. It’ll be me—posing as her. The real Cassandra will be safely teleported back to your house, Sebastian, where Zane will be waiting to explain everything. And you..." He pointed at me with that eternal smirk that made my fists itch. "You’re going to kill me."