November 21, 2015. Grimstone Manor, Northern Pack Lands.Fallon Morrow

The hair on my arms stood up. It wasn't chilly, but I felt a chill regardless.

He crouched down near Dr. Crow, looking right into his eyes and seeing nothing. "Whenever you came, I could differentiate between realities. Your face didn't change. I believe it has to do with the mate bond—something like that. It was a tiny light amidst all that darkness, among the maddening voices that were saying things I didn't want to hear and haunting me. I don't know how to describe that."

That explained why his face didn't look like those creatures that I saw that day.

I let out a deep breath, trying to process it. Process everything. How traumatic that must have been. Every single day. For a decade. I couldn't even begin to understand the extent of that horror.

Every time you wake up, he'd have to relive it over and over and over. It was... horrifying.

"But why would he need to do that—to you?"

"Because he kept improving the drug and whenever he tried it on other patients of the asylum, they'd die or they would kill themselves from the fear. He knew I wouldn't die because of my enhanced abilities, so he'd always try the next batch on me. And since my father and Gideon wanted me gone, they allowed him to do whatever he desired as long as I wouldn't escape," he explained to me.

I furrowed my brows, "But what would have happened if he died? You would've escaped eventually?"

"That's right. But they probably thought my mind would've been too fried to even think straight, let alone take claim over the pack. So, it wouldn't have mattered even if I did by that time."

My eyes went back and forth—from Cassius to Dr. Crow and then back to him. This was the first time he told me all these things.

I didn't know why he was telling me. Maybe he wanted to take the burden off his own shoulders, maybe, I don't know, but it made me think deeply about all of this.

About him.

It made sense why he wanted me down there all the time. He wasn't only gaining his strength, but he was also gaining his consciousness too—his reality.

When Dr. Crow mumbled something under his breath, I snapped out of my head and looked at him. There were no clear words he said, just ramblings. But the way Cassius watched him said it all.

His eyes were growing by each passing second, growing with interest and fascination. That wasn't something I witnessed from him often.

It wasn't reassuring at all.

I quickly stepped beside him and said, "You should let him be. It's already getting late and you should sleep."

"I don't sleep." He continued to watch Dr. Crow.

My feet took a step back, away from him in surprise. "What?" I didn't want to sound as baffled as I really did. "What do you mean?"

He looked at me this time and got away from Dr. Crow finally. "I haven't slept in a while."

"Since?"

"Since a while," he neared me and said, "I just can't sleep. But you should probably head upstairs. You look tired and I don't want to keep you awake for long."

I didn't know what to say. There were no words in my head that could fit this situation. I was just frozen in spot. And then more realization hit me.

I hadn't seen Cassius ever sleep. The one time that I was in the tunnels, he wasn't really sleeping then either. And there wasn't a single time I had seen him sleeping once he got out or when we came here. I just thought he was.

"Oh, no, you have to come with me and get some rest," I said without hesitation.

He stepped closer to me and shook his head while lowering his voice. "I really can't. If I could, I would, but I cannot."

"Why?" I grabbed his hand as the strange situation settled inside me even more. "Is it because you think you might wake up thinking you're in the nightmare?"

Maybe it was nothing like this. But that thought was the first thing that crossed my mind. If he can't sleep, then he's thinking a thousand times worse than I am.

His eyes sharpened and he gave me a short nod.

I swallowed the knot in my throat. "Well, then you should sleep with me—"

"There's no need."

"Oh, please. I cannot let you stay here for the entire night, watching him," I glanced at Dr. Crow and his white eyes. "Give him whatever you have to give and come with me. And I swear nothing will be different when you open your eyes tomorrow."

His chin lowered, shifting his gaze from me to his feet, as he remained silent.

What was there to mull over?

But to break him out of that silence, I intertwined my fingers with his and said, "Just come with me. Please."

He met my eyes, which made something stir within me. There was a look in his eyes that I'd never seen before, something softer, warmer. My heart raced.

"But, if I hurt you, I won't be able to forgive myself."

"You won't." I assured him. I knew he didn't trust the words he just said, and I wasn't sure if he'd hurt me, but I still thought that he should try.

He had to.

"Alright."

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