And Then There Were Four
Chapter 202

Cassie.

Left in the kitchen, I stood there with everybody trying to figure out exactly what it was I was going to do, and that was the moment I felt the air in the room shift. Lo and behold, Sam, my brother's best friend, came walking around the corner towards me with a

solemn expression upon his face. One that told me I wasn't going to like what he had to say.

I should have known that after all these years, Sam would have ended up becoming my brother's beta, but I had never really taken it into consideration as my life from here had ended long ago. Asgard was the Only realm I was meant to focus on, and while there, it never occurred to me I would forget the importance of family... among other things.

"Sam, I see that you've taken up your position next to my brother, as I had always expected you to." He chuckled before his laughter quickly died. His eyes softened on me as if he had so many things to say, but wasn't exactly sure how to say them.

"I'm sorry that all of this is going on. Things have been a little strained lately, but on a positive note, I have gotten your brother to agree to at least let you stay near the pack house. He said that the cottage outback is where you can stay, and of course, you can still have your meals and everything here in the main house. That way you can spend time with your family."

"Are you serious, Sam?" I gasped, not believing my warm welcome home was completely gone and I was left to live with this.

"I'm sorry, Cassie. He hasn't been himself lately." That was an understatement.

I knew exactly what cottage they were talking about. It was the one that my mother used to live in a very long time ago, and since then it had stayed abandoned for the most part, except for the occasional guest that came to visit-I knew there wasn't going to be much there.

Not that I would complain. I wanted more time with my family, and if I had to stay out there then so be it. All I wanted was to make him see I wasn't a danger to anyone. I was his sister no matter the changes that had happened with me.

"That's fine. I've noticed that my brother isn't himself. I thought maybe it had something to do with the altercation he and I got into this morning. I hadn't meant to upset him the way I did, but for him to act the way he is—"

My words cut off as I cast my glance around the room, trying to understand exactly what it was that it had happened. Even though I had acted the way I did, nothing that I had did showed any real kind of violence. I had only pinned my brother against the wall out of anger and frustration that he had kept something from me.

It wasn't like I had viciously attacked him or that he had gotten seriously injured, or that anybody else did for that matter. Yet I could see why he would be upset, considering his wife and his child were in the same room when this had happened. Shrugging his shoulders, Sam looked at me giving me a weak smile as if trying to reassure me, but it did nothing but cause the void inside me to grow just a little bit more. "Come on, let's go ahead and take you down there so you can get settled in." "What about Silas and Finn? Will they be allowed to stay in the house?" I was concerned for the guys, but as Finn went to protest Sam chuckled again shaking his head.

"Oh, no. The two guys are supposed to stay with you as well."

My eyes widened with shock, there was no way that he was serious. The cottage only had one bedroom, which meant the two guys were gonna have to sleep in the living room, if anything, and that was a little unnerving, knowing I was going to have them sleeping so close to me.

I mean, yeah, I had s*x with Silas and what not... but still that was on my own terms.

Groaning internally, I stopped my childish thoughts and went to reply with understanding but was quickly cut off by my mother, who was pissed beyond belief.

"This is ridiculous. I'm going to go talk to my son," my mother exclaimed as she let out a heavy breath and stormed off down the same direction my brother had gone. Even my fathers looked between each other, a little concerned for what had happened. "Cassie, just stay out there tonight. We'll have things fixed and in the morning, it'll go back to normal. I'm sorry the three of you are having to go through this," Hale replied as he stepped towards me, placing a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Hale was always the more composed one out of the four of my dads. He had, from what I understood, taken over the position of alpha of the pack under uncertain circumstances regarding Damian. I had heard various stories growing up about what happened, but from the distant look in Damian's eyes, I could see he didn't like what was happening.

He sensed what was wrong, and even though he had his own internal battles at one point in time, he managed to be a man everyone respected.

I decided not to waste anymore time feeling completely embarrassed of the situation that had occurred. Silas and Finn looked at each other with uncomfortable expressions. I'm sure this wasn't what they were expecting when they thought coming here was a good idea. However, as their gazes met mine, I felt a wave of comfort flow from them into me giving me the reassurance I needed.

"Goodnight everyone, I'm going to get settled in." Bidding everyone goodnight, I turned quickly and made my way back through the kitchen door I had come through earlier. The sound of the guys coming through the door behind me echoed in my ears. "Cassie, wait. Don't act like this. Don't let your brother get to you," Finn replied as he came down the trail, following me towards the cottage. I didn't have words for him. He had no clue what my family dynamic was, and the only thing he knew were the small bits of information that were public knowledge, or things that I had also told him.

"I'm not going to let my brother get to me, but I will tell you that this is not his normal behavior. Something is wrong, and perhaps coming back wasn't just beneficial for me, but also beneficial to figure out what issues are lurking beneath the surface of my brother's skin."

Silence consumed us as the sounds of Finn and Silas' footsteps echoed on the path behind me, and the moment I approached the cottage, I stopped in my tracks, staring in disbelief that this was going to be where I was staying. Not just by myself, but with two men who did nothing but confuse me at every turn I made.

How was I supposed to continue staying here under pretenses that were more hostile than inviting and be able to realize what I needed to do to be the person I needed to be?

The cottage sat ahead of me as it once had when I was a child. The white walls, brown roof, and black trimmed windows were familiar, but the greenery that grew around it and up the walls wrapping it tight within its grasps was new. Pushing forward, I opened the door to the cottage and stepped inside, taking in the very minimalistic aspects of it that were within it. Which was anything but inviting.

Not bothering to look around, I made my way straight towards the bedroom where a queen size bed was. White comforters with a white headboard sat next to a window, overlooking the thick grassy area where the moon was high in the sky. Sleep, that was what I needed. A long day of spending time with both my mother and Finn was wonderful. But the arguments with my brother were absolutely draining, and it seemed nothing I could do would change the way that he saw me. At least not right now.

He may have seen me as a monster, but I was not the monster he thought I was. I was an asset to him. I was his sister, his twin. His blood. Though something was clouding his mind, I knew that over time, I would possibly be able to fix that. That is if time was actually on my side. Lately fate seemed to have other plans for me.

Odin may have given me quite some time to be here, but already I was itching to go home. As if an invisible tether called at me telling me my time on earth was coming to an end. That it was my time to take my place where I belonged.

"So, how do we want to manage these sleeping accommodations?" Finn chuckled from the living room, causing me to turn at the doorway to glance over my shoulder at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I think that's something that you and Silas need to figure out. I'm claiming the bedroom. The two of you can figure something out here, I suppose. Perhaps the sofa is a pull out couch. You guys can each share it."

Silas, ever brooding, stared at me with his arms crossed over his chest and a huff leaving his lips over his distaste for what I had said. But Finn on the other hand stared at me wide eyed, glancing over at Silas before glancing back at me in utter disgust. "There's no way that I'm sharing anything with him. You, on the other hand, I wouldn't mind accompanying you to bed..."

"Of course you would," Silas snorted, rolling his eyes.

Finn sneered at Silas' outburst before continuing, "As I was saying, we don't have to do anything but sleep. Unless, of course, you ask nicely."

There he went, straight back to being the cocky f*g a*****e I knew he could be. And though his offer was appetizing, because part of me really wanted to make Silas feel slightly jealous for the way that he had been acting lately, I made sure to stand my ground. There was no way I was going to allow something to happen between us. I seriously just wanted to sleep and sometimes being around these guys was just too much to handle.

"As inviting as that sounds, Finn. I'm going to have to decline. I'm tired, and I don't know what this all is with you two and me and then Lucas back home. I don't want anything s****l or whatever right now... I just want to sleep and try to replace out what the hell is going on in my pack."

Both men seemed slightly taken back by what I said, and I wasn't surprised. It wasn't like me to turn this kind of offer down, but s*x was the least important thing right now. What was important was for me to get rest so I had a clear mind, and then of course, meet with my mother to ask what the hell had happened to my twin.

Something was going on and as I shut the bedroom door, disappearing from both Silas and Finn's view, I stood there thinking over what could have happened while I was away. Whatever it was, I was going to get to the bottom of it. My family deserved peace and if that was all I could give my brother and Trixie, then you better believe I was going to.