The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter-Chapter 97: A Vessel

Cassandra~

Gaining back consciousness, I heard a distant voice.

Muffled but familiar.

"I’m at Starview Hotel. I’m here with Brielle. Come. Now."

My head throbbed as I forced my eyes open, the world around me shifting in and out of focus.

Griffin? He’s alive?

I blinked.

No.

It wasn’t Griffin.

It was Kalmia.

She was holding his phone, her lips curled into a cruel smile as she spoke into the receiver.

My stomach twisted.

My heart pounded painfully against my ribs.

"Kalmia..." My voice was only a breath, my throat raw from the choking.

She turned to me, her expression eerily soft as she crouched beside me. Cold fingers traced my cheek, sending a shiver down my spine.

"You were asleep for quite some time," she murmured. "But don’t worry—I’ve been busy setting the stage."

Dread coiled in my stomach.

"What...?" My voice cracked. "What did you do?"

She chuckled, tilting her head in amusement. "Oh, nothing much," she purred. "I simply ensured that Sebastian will be here in a few minutes."

Ice ran through my veins.

No. No.

She was luring him here.

Sebastian was walking straight into a death trap.

Kalmia saw the horror in my eyes and laughed. "Oh, Cassandra, save your breath. No one is going to save him."

Panic surged through me.

Desperate, I reached out, clutching the hem of her dress. "Please," I whispered. "Don’t do this."

She sighed, almost as if she were bored. "You’re really making this difficult for me, child."

I clenched my teeth. "I won’t do it," I said, my voice gaining strength. "I don’t care what you say—I’m not going to kill my mate." My grip tightened. "If you want blood, then take mine. Just kill me instead."

Kalmia stared at me, her expression amused.

Then she laughed.

A cold, hollow laugh that made my skin crawl.

"You foolish child," she crooned, running her fingers through my hair in a mockingly affectionate gesture. "Killing you would be such a waste."

She gripped my chin, forcing me to look into her eyes.

"You are my vessel, Cassandra. My perfectly selected, carefully crafted vessel. You will do what I command."

My breath shuddered out of me.

"And whether you like it or not," Kalmia whispered, her lips brushing against my ear, "you will kill Sebastian."

The world around me spun, my heartbeat a deafening drum in my ears. My breath was shaky as I forced my words out, my voice a whisper.

"Why does it have to be me?" My throat burned as I swallowed back the panic rising inside me. "If you want Sebastian dead, why don’t you do it yourself? You killed Griffin without hesitation. Why do I have to kill my mate with my own hands? Why do you want me to do something so cruel?"

Kalmia’s lips curled into a slow, knowing smile. She crouched down in front of me, her eerie dark eyes gleaming in the light.

"Oh, Cassandra," she murmured, dragging my name out like a lullaby. "That’s the whole point. It has to be you. That’s the only way the sacrifice will be worth it, dear."

The whole point?

My heart pounded against my ribs as I stared at her, confusion clouding my thoughts. "What do you mean?"

Kalmia sighed as if she were speaking to a child struggling with the simplest lesson. She reached out, twirling a loose strand of my hair around her long, elegant fingers. "For me to acquire the power I need," she mused, "and the perfect body to wield it... I need a vessel."

My stomach twisted violently. "A vessel...?"

Kalmia’s fingers trailed down my face, her touch deceptively gentle. "Yes. And that vessel is you, Cassandra."

My entire body turned cold. My head shook automatically, as if the simple act of denial could change the truth.

"No," I whispered.

"Yes," she said, amusement flickering in her eyes.

My stomach twisted violently. "You—" I swallowed hard. "You’re saying that this whole time...the only reason you kept me around, was to take my body?"

Kalmia’s smile deepened, slow and cruel. "Ah, there it is," she whispered, stroking my cheek. "The realization. The heartbreak. It’s delicious."

Bile rose in my throat.

Kalmia shook her head, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Oh, Cassandra, how else did you think you ended up with me?"

Dread coiled around my ribs. My hands trembled. "This isn’t... you don’t mean..."

Kalmia leaned in closer, her lips brushing against my ear , her voice a gentle, venomous whisper. "Did you really think everything that happened to you was just... fate?"

I couldn’t breathe.

"No," I rasped.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

The word pounded in my skull.

Kalmia pulled back and tilted her head, studying me like I was an insect beneath a magnifying glass. "Do you want to know a secret, Cassandra?"

I didn’t.

I really, really didn’t. freēnovelkiss.com

But I couldn’t stop her.

"I was the one who killed your family."

A sound tore from my throat—part gasp, part strangled sob.

Kalmia grinned. "And, I was the one who turned your pack against you. Who made them despise you, call you names and tried to kill you. I was the one who stripped you of everything you had."

The ground beneath me crumbled.

I wanted to run. I wanted to scream to the high heavens. I wanted to rip my own skin off because something inside me knew—deep down, I had always known—that there was something unnatural about my suffering.

I shook my head frantically, more bile rising in my throat. "No," I gasped, "no, you’re lying!"

Kalmia let out a slow, delighted chuckle. "Oh, darling. Why would I lie?"

I couldn’t breathe.

"You see, Cassandra," she continued, "I needed a body. But not just anyone would do. I needed someone... pure."

My hands clenched into fists.

"Someone I could mold," she murmured, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "Someone I could taint... slowly."

My stomach lurched violently.

"I made you this way, Cassandra. You had to be perfect."

My breathing was shallow, rapid. My mind raced, struggling to process the weight of her words.

"You... you did all of this?" My voice was barely audible.

"Yes."

My vision blurred with rage.

A guttural scream ripped from my throat as I lunged at her, my hands curling into claws, aiming for her throat—

But before I could even touch her, my entire body seized up. A sharp, unnatural force locked my muscles in place.

I couldn’t move.

My limbs wouldn’t respond.

Kalmia’s laughter rang out like a cruel melody.

"That’s enough of that," she murmured, brushing nonexistent dust from her sleeve. "We wouldn’t want you getting any foolish ideas, would we?"

I gritted my teeth, willing my body to move, to break free, to do something.

Nothing.

My heart slammed against my ribcage.

Kalmia smirked. "Sebastian is here."

My blood ran cold.

No.

Footsteps.

Sebastian.

I could hear him.

The way his boots clicked against the floor with effortless confidence.

But he wasn’t alone.

Someone else was with him.

A second pair of footsteps—calmer, heavier.

A strangled scream lodged in my throat.

No.

Kalmia’s lips curled.

I fought, struggled, every nerve in my body screaming in protest. But I was trapped.

My limbs weren’t my own anymore.

I was nothing but a passenger in my own body.

And I could do nothing—nothing—as Kalmia made me rise to my feet.

Every step toward the door was agony.

I wanted to dig my heels into the ground, to stop, but my body obeyed her will, not mine.

My hand reached for the doorknob.

No.

No, no.

The door swung open.

And there he was.

Sebastian stood in the doorway, his dark eyes flickering with excitement.

I wanted to scream. To warn him. To do anything.

Instead, I smiled.

Kalmia made me smile.

"Sebastian, Cole. Come in," I heard my own voice say.

Sebastian stepped forward, Cole at his side.

No.

No, please, run.

Run.

Once Sebastian entered, he started off with questions. "Why did you run from me?" He demanded, his voice rough with frustration.

I wanted to tell him.

I wanted to tell him so badly.

But I wasn’t in control anymore.

"Brielle," he continued, stepping closer, "I know you felt it. When we saw each other. I know you felt what I felt—"

A wooden stake appeared in my hand.

Terror gripped me so fiercely I thought I might shatter.

Sebastian’s expression darkened, his eyes narrowing. He took another step towards me, "Talk to me. Please. You don’t have to run. I—"

"Sebastian, watch out!"

His friend’s voice ripped through the air.

I couldn’t stop it.

My arm moved—not my arm, not my choice—but it moved.

The stake rose above my head.

I felt the weight of it, the sharp point angled toward his heart.

Sebastian’s eyes widened, realization dawning too late.

And as my body betrayed me, as my own hands prepared to drive the stake into the man I just met but automatically cared about, I knew—

In that split second—

My life was over.