Behind The Alpha Book 4 CASS

Chapter 24

(Chapter song ‘Unconditionally’ by Katy Perry)
CASS

“What’s next, Puck?”  Ember asks as we enter the kitchen. 
He’s flipping through an old book.  “You’ll be happy to know there’s only two more things we need.”
Ember leans on the counter.  “That’s it?”  She glances at me as I slide onto a stool.
Puck flips his head between us.  “Yep, but…”
“But?”  I arch a brow.
“It’s going to take some time to locate them.  They’re extremely special and they need to be done exactly right so until I do that, you two…just entertain yourselves.”  He grins as he stands straight.
“What?  Why?  What are they?”  Ember turns to him, leaning a hand on the counter edge.”
“I’ll let you know when I find them.”  He says.  “Now, go.  I have work to do.”  He closes his book and tucks it under his arm. 
“Puck!”  Ember says as he pushes by her.
“Sorry, sis.  Busy, busy, busy.”  He raises a finger in the air as he walks to his room. 
Ember turns back to me. 
I lean on the counter.  “So, what do we do?”
“I think I can find something.”
I jump and turn to the voice that just appeared in my house.
Valentino is standing in the middle of my floor with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.
I stand and flop my hands at my sides.  “What’s the point of having security if you people are just going to pop in whenever you want.”  I grit.
“Security is messy.  I don’t have time for that.”  He strides across the room.  “Ember, we need you to come in.” 
“You couldn’t have just called me?  I’m also in the middle of something important here.”  She walks around the island, joins my side and crosses her arms. 
“We have a pretty bad backlog.  It’s no surprise that your skills are missing while you run around with…I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name.”  He scratches his temple and stuffs his pocket again.
“Cass.”  I grumble.
“Right, Cass.  No offense to you, but we really need Ember before the hearts end up like yours.”  He eyes us.
I scrunch my brow and tick my head.  “Like mine?”
“He just means unmatched.  That’s all.  We’ll get it sorted.”  Ember smiles and taps my arm.
“I took the liberty of sending you the files.  I need them completed in a heart beat.”  He instructs.
She checks her phone, looks  at me then walks to him.  “Val.  I can’t do all this in a heart beat.”
“You have to.”  Valentino says.
“No.  This is a job for at least two of us.  I can’t take care of this many.”  Ember protests.
Valentino presses his lips together.  “Ok.”  He walks to me and raises a finger.  He thumps it into my heart and I grit as my heart skips a beat.  “Ah…What the hell?”  I rub my chest from the shock of it.  I furrow my brow and meet his eyes.
He smiles.  “There.  Now you have help.”  He turns to Ember.
“Excuse me?  What?”  I walk around to his side.
“You didn’t.”  Ember shakes her head.
“Didn’t…do what…exactly?”  I flip my head between them. 
“He made you a love bug.”  Ember supplies.
“I’m a what now?”  I glare at Valentino.
He holds up a hand.  “It’s only temporary.  Once these hearts are matched, you’ll change back to the wolf you are.  It should only take a month or two.”  He smiles. 
“A month!  Val!”  Ember yells.
“Hey.”  I stop her.  “We’re waiting for Puck anyway, right?  Why not keep ourselves occupied.  I’m OK with it.  I actually think it would be kind of fun being Cupid for a while.”  I fold my arms and grin.
“I’m not Cupid!”  Ember flares her eyes.
“Sorry, Sexy love bug.”   I smile even more.
“Fine.  I’ll work, but if any matches get screwed up, it’s not my fault, it’s his.”  She points to me.
“That’s not nice.”  I scowl. 
“Don’t worry.  None of this will be on your evaluation.”  Val confirms.
“Good “
“It’ll be on his.”  He smirks.
“Wait, what?”  My brows go up and he disappears.  I face Ember.  “What’s he mean by that?”
“He’s just being funny.  Come on.”  She puts her hand on my arm.  “Let’s create some love.”  She smirks and blinks us out.

****

The park was gorgeous. 
The sky was clear and the street lights mark the walking path.  The grass had a light sparkle of dew on the blades making it almost shine with the moon.
“A park?”  I ask.
Ember looks at her phone.  “Yep.  They should be walking down the path…now.”  She looks up.
A man and woman crested a small hill.  They were walking side by side and talking.  They looked like friends, but they way they held themselves, it didn’t look like they were lovers. 
“These two have been dancing around each other for the last year.  He’s a high class Beta and she’s an Omega.  These little outings are the only chance they get to talk.  His family is very proud and he doesn’t have the balls to stand up to them to tell them how he feels.  We're going to give him that strength.”  She glances at me. 
“So, he won’t admit that he loves her.”  I state.
“No.  He pretends they’re friends, but inside he’s suffering.”  She confirms. 
“Huh."  I think, this sounds familiar.
“Let’s give him the courage he needs.”  She smiles.
“Ok.  Show me how to love bug.”  I chuckle.
“The key to being a love bug, is your heart.  You need to feel the love you’re about to send out.  This shouldn’t be a problem for you, you got a lot of it.”  She smirks with a slight chuckle.
“I think that’s an understatement.”  I rub my nape with a grin.
The couple stops under a street light.  She leans on the post and he stands at her side, facing us.  Ember has her shield up so we can’t be seen. 
“All you do is pucker up, kiss and blow it at him.”  She instructs.
“Ember, I’m all for helping, but I don’t think I feel comfortable blowing kisses at people.”  I arch a brow.
She twists her lips and paces as she thinks.  “Ok.  You can use arrows.”  She holds out a hand and produces a bow without a string.  “Have you ever shot an arrow?” 
“Yeah.  I’ve had training.”  With Hartlyn, Wren and Lucius as part of the Alliance, crossbow and compound bow training has been made part of the training. 
She produces her quiver on her back and pulls out a gold arrow.  She holds it up between us.  “Love Bug arrows.  These babies pack a punch so you have to be careful.  Too far either way and it’s a psychological nightmare.  Directly into the heart.” 
I take the arrow from her and rest the arrowhead on the bow.  A shimmering gold string appears and lights up my eyes.  A smile creeps across my lips.  “Cool.”  I breathe as my eyes travel up and down the string.
She giggles.  “Ok.  One more thing.”  She grabs the back of my head and cheek in her hands and kisses me.  I feel her power coat my lips and enter me.  She breaks the kiss and steps back.
“That will activate your love bug powers.  Just blow on the arrow to power it.”  She instructs.
I put the feathered end on the string and pull back.  I blow on the arrow.  I feel the love in my heart join the power on my lips.  A stream of gold sparkles flow from my lips and hit the arrow.  It infuses with the arrow to the tip. 
She stands beside me and adjusts my arm, looking down the shaft.  I take in her scent and the warmth of her touch as I get ready to help someone else find love.  “Breathe.  Confidence…”  I pull back more as she whispers her instructions.  “Fire.”
I let the arrow go and it’s gold lighted trail lights up the park.  It spins as it flies like a rocket to my target. 
It hits the man in the chest and he gets this look on his face like he just got smacked in the face.  I drop the bow and watch.
The arrow dissolves into his heart and a colorful glow rises out all over him.  “What is that?”  I say quietly.
“His aura.  A call to his match.”  She answers.
The girl he’s with starts to glow too.  He turns to her and stares for what felt like a minute.  He then grabs her head and kisses her hard.  She wraps her arms around him and the two stand under the light recognizing their love.
“A perfect match.  Good job.  You make a good love bug.”  She smiles. 
I hold out a hand.  “They already had it.  I only made it go faster.” 
“No.  You stopped him from leaving.”  She turns to me.
“What?” 
“He was saying goodbye.  He wasn’t able to stand up to his family so he was telling her that he’s letting her go.  He would have missed everything.  You stopped that.”  She put her hands in her back pockets. 
I hand her the bow and she makes it disappear.  “Answer me this then.  Why them?”
Ember turns and watched them leave the park.  “I don’t know.  They’re significant.  A part of destiny’s plan.  The people we help are special to themselves and to the future.  We're just love bugs.  We don’t ask questions.” 
I cross my arms.  “Shouldn’t everyone get a chance at this kind of love?”
“They do.  For a lot, it’s natural and comes quick, but there’s some who get lost.  Sometimes for years.  They get broken and need help.  Eros does what he can for the exceptionally special, but for us below him, we get his mistakes and damages.  He doesn’t see what we see.  The amount of broken hearts, sad and lonely hearts.  Hearts confused and overflowing with love that get ignored.”  She stares down the path as she talks.
“Wait.  Hold up.  Lonely for years, overflowing love…”  She turns to me as I furrow my brow and tilt my head.  “Ember…Was I…a Eros mistake?”
She sighs and scratches the back of her hair.  She locks with my eyes as tilts her head.  “Technically, yes.  You were supposed to be matched a long time ago, but Eros…forgot.” 
My heart stops then races as I bite my top lip, processing what she just said.  “Forgot.”  I nod as I stare at her.  “He forgot!”  I yell and throw my hands in the air. 
“Cass, I’m sorry…”
I scrub my face and spin around.  I take a few steps and then turn back.  “20 years.  Two decades!  I’ve been crushed, stomped on, rejected in some of the worst ways possible.”  I count my fingers as I walk toward her.  “I have been going out of my damn mind wondering why the hell they get to love someone and I don’t.  Spent years wondering what the hell was wrong with me and come to find out the love expert…Forgot!!” 
“I know…Cass…That’s why I was given your case.  I was supposed to fix it.”  She defends.
“Un-fucking-believable.”  I turn around again. “I can’t even get fixed right!  You stick yourself to me and now you have to wreck me too!  What the hell am I suppose to do?!”
“Cass.”  She walks up to me and places her hands on my arms.  “As soon as I nullify us, I’m blowing you another kiss.  The proper way.  Your aura will show you who you belong to.  This isn’t the end, ok?” 
“It’s just…”  I shake my head and place my hands on my hips.  I rub my forehead as I figure out what this means.  “I’ve waited so long for this.  So damn long.  Now I have it and I have to lose it…again.  It’s not fair, Ember.  Why?  Why can’t I just have you?”  I motion to her.
“Baby.  I know it hurts, ok.  And you’re right, it’s not fair.  You got shafted.  Eros should have his ass handed to him for what he did, but we can’t take it back.  All we can do is fix it.  You’ll be happy at the end of this.  I promise.”  She cups my cheek and tries to soothe my nerves.
“I am happy, Ember!  You make me so damn happy, you have no idea.  I love you so much and it’s not fake.  None of this has ever been fake.  I feel it.  Right here.”  I thump my heart with my fingers.  “Please.  Please try to see it too.” 
She looks down and looks back up at me.  “I can’t deny that you’re great.  These past months have been just…Cass, my kiss.  I just don’t know.  You say it’s real and I do have feelings too, but how can I trust it?”
“I don’t know how to prove it to except to love you.  Em…if you want me, you have to trust me.”  I close the gap between us  and rest my forehead on hers. 
“I…I want to…”  She says softly.
“But you can’t.”  I mumble.
“I don’t know what to think.  I can’t tell where the magic ends and my heart begins.  Add that to what I’ve gone through.”  She squeaks.
“I know Victor hurt you.  I’m not like that…”  I start.
She pushes away.  “Until we realize all this is just the magic talking and you find your real love.”  She wipes her eyes.   “No.  The Heart Smasher is the only thing that will make this right again.”
I nod.  “Ok, but I’m telling you, I don’t feel like I’m under a spell, Em.  All I feel is you in my heart.  That’s it.” 
She pulls out her phone and scrolls through it.  “We should get to the next job.” 
I hold out my arm.  “Lead the way.” 
Her face seems to fall as she takes it and we blink to the next location.