And Then There Were Four novel Chapter 211

Chapter 211: Ashley’s Magic

“Cassie, I never got to say how lovely it is to see you again. It's been years and you still look exactly the same as you did in high school." The taunting jab Ashley had thrown my way, I suppose, was to upset me. However, this woman was far stupider than she looked if she thought that was going to work.

Ashley, with her perfectly styled blond hair and glittering gold dress, had sauntered her way towards Finn, Silas, and me after our little stare down in the room. Pollux and Carlos had been laughing and discussing god knows what when she left their side. Something I was grateful for considering what was about to unfold.

“I suppose you could say that looks are everything after all. As for you though…" I let my comment slowly slide off and linger as I glanced at her from head to toe, taking in her appearance. “It's clear age didn't choose to settle well with you… you know they make anti-wrinkle creams to hide that kind of stuff."

Touching the corner of my eyes, I let her register that I was talking about the crow's feet she had sported. Perhaps if she stopped giving people dirty looks all the time, she would have aged better and people would have liked her more.

Silence filled the room at my comment, though. I had just insulted Alpha Carlos' supposed mate in front of a room full of people, some who weren't paying attention, but some who were. I absolutely gave zero f***s about what she had to say on that matter, and I could see with her mouth open and her eyes wide with shock, she had not expected me to speak to her that way.

“Excuse me, I am a guest of your brothers." She gasped, feigning shock and disgust over what I said as she placed her hand upon her chest like the poor, pitiful little victim she was.

“Your point?" I question with a smirk on my lips as Silas tensed beside me.

“What is the meaning of this?" Alpha Carlos bellowed as he stormed next to his supposed mate. My brother and Trixie, not far beyond. “Did you just disrespect my mate?"

“No, I gave her a piece of advice. The same that she gave to me."

“You little b***h!" he snapped as he took a step forward only for Silas to let out a low growl that stopped the man in his tracks. His eyes looked past me to Silas, who I knew would tear the Alpha apart without a second thought.

Glancing to Trixie, I gestured towards the door. There weren't words that needed to pass between us for her to understand I was telling her to leave the room with her child. My mother followed Trixie as she, too, left quite quickly.

My fathers remained to ensure my brother and I didn't end up killing each other. Not that I'd ever let myself lose control again like I had before. Their eyes remained on us as they sipped upon their whiskey glasses and seemed to be having internal conversations within their mind link.

“I'm sorry. Did I not speak clearly? Your mate decided she was going to insult the fact I look so young, considering how much time has gone by since she had seen me last. So, I simply repaid the favor by explaining to her that while yes, I may be young and beautiful because time works differently, where I come from, it didn't do her well."

The snickering snort from Sam and one of my fathers caused Pollux's face to turn red with anger. He was not pleased with the fact I had verbally insulted a woman he thought so highly of, but only because she was using her magic to affect him.

“Cassie, that's enough," Pollux snapped. “I've had enough of you, and enough of this bullshit. You will not insult my guests."

His deadly remark was laced with venom and made me internally laugh. There was no way in hell I was intimidated by him, but I found it cute he thought I was. “You know, brother. You're right. I shouldn't insult your guests. However, there are some truths I think that you and alpha Carlos would love to hear. Some things that might be enlightening."

“This is ridiculous," Ashley quickly piped up, looking to her fake mate for a resolution to all of this. “There doesn't need to be arguing, Carlos. Perhaps we should just go. I can't blame Cassie for acting the way she is. She's always been jealous of me. Even in high school, she was always jealous of me."

Laughter erupted from my throat as she lied to Carlos about me being jealous of her. I had never been jealous of her. In fact, she was jealous of me. I had more attention than she did, and the only attention she got was because she was with my brother.

“I'm sorry. I think you have me confused with someone else. I had no reason to be jealous of you in high school, Ashley. I am the princess of this pack. You were only popular by association, or did you forget that little bit?"

Again, Ashley's eyes slid to mine, and I saw the burning fire of hatred within them as her lip curled into a sneer. She was trying to control herself, trying to keep her magic at bay, but she was failing miserably. And the angrier she got, the angrier Carlos and my brother got.

Which was exactly what I needed to know… how deep was their connection.

Stop toying with them, girl. Handle the problem and get rid of the witch.

Anna's voice echoed through my mind, clearly annoyed I was enjoying this instead of taking care of business. Could she really blame me though? Ashley had always been a nightmare and for the first time in a long time, I was enjoying toying with this woman as I watched her squirm.

“Very well," I muttered to myself, knowing that Anna was right. I needed to take care of business and quickly before the coven leader got here to stop what I was about to do.

“What was that? What did you say?" my brother snapped his teeth bared as he and Carlos looked ready to rip me apart.

“Brother, I think it'd be wise that you calm yourself, and that goes for you as well, Alpha Carlos," I said very clearly, letting my eyes slide between the two men. “As you can see, if you look around this room, we are not the only ones here. In fact, we are far from being alone, and the force behind the men in this room aren't going to let you do anything."

Alpha Carlos and my brother slowly looked around, realizing that what I was saying was true. The two of them were the only people in the room who were overreacting. “What is going on? Somebody better start talking because this is my pack and I am the Alpha—"

“Whoa, whoa, whoa with the power trip, Brother. We know you're the Alpha. Just like we know Alpha Carlos is an Alpha. The problem is, the woman in between the two of you is not the woman you think she is. In fact, she's a witch, and the only reason that she feels compelled to be here is because you denied her the throne and title of Luna, brother, and Alpha Carlos was the next best choice."

The angry roar that came from both my brother and Alpha Carlos over what I said was expected, from me at least. However, the two men that stood behind me were ready to rip them both apart if they even laid a finger on me. Call them overprotective bodyguards if you want, but I did feel safer with them around.

Although, I had a feeling that they would both punish me later, and if the testosterone floating off of them kept swirling around me like the wind on a warm summer breeze, well, let's just say I'd probably be naked before we even got back to the cottage.

Not that s*x should be on my mind at a time like this.

“How dare you throw that insult at my mate, you little b***h!" Alpha Carlos roared, but only before Finn had him pinned against a nearby wall, held up by the grip he had on the man's throat. Finn may have been Fae, but he was far stronger than most probably realized.

“Alpha Carlos, I'd be careful what you say about my woman. She is here for a reason, to help you. And though you may feel that you are far more superior than she is, I want to remind you that you're not. You're in the presence of something far more powerful than your world has ever seen, and if you disrespect her again, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Something about Finn asserting his dominance was rather sexy. It made me want to play out this little scene after all this was done. The sight of his muscles flexing beneath the suit he was wearing while he dominated this man was a huge turn on.