Keith was about to call out Cassandra's bluff. Did she really expect him to believe that the Moon Goddess sent a message to Keith? But then he saw that four healers were not on the chairs around the table anymore. They were on their knees, facing Cassandra, with their heads lowered. Were they part of this show?
Calla glanced at Keith nervously. "It's an honor to receive a divine message from the Oracle.", Calla said with an urgent whisper. "You should get on your knees and thank her, and not…"
"It's OK", Cassandra interrupted Calla, and then she turned to Keith. "Do you want to hear it or not? Your life will depend on it."
Keith was not used to this theatrical behavior. Wasn't the kneeling too much?
"A message from the Moon Goddess, for me?" Keith asked suspiciously. "Just a minute ago, you asked me if I'm Alpha Talia's guard. You don't even know my name."
"I don't need to know your name in order to know you are the one.", Cassandra said with confidence. "This is not only about your life but about Alpha Talia's as well."
Keith considered his options. He didn't care about insulting Oracle, but if he refused, it might appear that he was afraid. As Talia's guard, he shouldn't be afraid. The biggest thing was that she mentioned how this was related to Talia's safety, and he needed to hear her out even if it was a trap.
Keith stood up. "Lead the way."
Cassandra and Keith entered a room that was much smaller than the one he got as a guest. There was one bed, one table, a chair, and a dresser. The way Cassandra searched through the pile of papers told him that this was her bedroom.
"What is this about?" He asked.
"Take a seat", she responded without looking at him.
"I will rather stand."
"This might take a while."
Between the chair and the bed, Keith opted to sit on the chair.
"Here it is", Cassandra said victoriously while straightening one sheet of yellowish paper before giving it to Keith.
Keith took the paper, and his eyebrows shot up when he saw a rough sketch of a male. It was not perfect, but that was definitely Keith.
"What is this? Did you see me before?" Keith asked.
"That is the image I got in my vision.", Cassandra responded. "When I saw you enter the lab today, I thought you looked familiar, and then I remembered from where."
Keith shifted uncomfortably. This was getting weird. Was that why she was glancing at him while healers were asking her questions?
The Dark Howlers pack didn't have an Oracle, but Keith heard stories about Oracles, people blessed with Gods talking to them in riddles. Cassandra said that she had a message from the Moon Goddess for Keith. That might be nonsense to get him to walk into a trap, but how could he explain the sketch?
"Tell me about it.", Keith said while gesturing at the sketch.
Cassandra smirked victoriously, knowing that she got his attention. She sat on the bed and looked at him seriously.
"Your fortune is tied to Alpha Talia's.", Cassandra said. "By protecting her, you are protecting yourself."
Keith was not blinking nor breathing while waiting for more, but there was nothing.
"What else?" He asked.
"That's it.", Cassandra said. "I can convey to you the message meant for you. Anything beyond it is my interpretation, and it can impact your path negatively."
Keith couldn't believe this. Sure, by protecting Talia, Keith was protecting himself because if he failed, Damon would slice Keith into a million pieces and then glue him together only to slice him again. But what was that about tied fortunes?
"What does that mean?"
Cassandra shrugged. "It's not my job to interpret prophecies. I only tell them to the people involved."
Cassandra was about to stand up, but Keith lifted his arms, indicating to her not to move.
"There must be more.", Keith insisted. "You can't tell me this much and leave me hanging. Is she in danger?" It was a stupid question. He knew very well that Talia was in danger. "Who wants to harm her? When?"
Cassandra exhaled through her nose in annoyance. "I am not the person with answers to those questions."
"But you must know something."
"If you want to know more, ask your wolf."
Now Keith was confident that Cassandra was missing a few screws. "My wolf? Will he give me a letter or learn how to talk?"
"You are attracted to Alpha Talia.", Cassandra deadpanned, and Keith froze.
How the hell did she know that?
Cassandra smirked. "Your wolf knows that your fate is tied to Alpha Talia's. If anything happens to her, you will never be happy. Your wolf can't talk, but he is telling you things. You just need to listen."
Cassandra stood up and walked to the dresser, where she rummaged through the top drawer.
"Here…"
Keith turned to see that Cassandra was giving him a necklace. It had a pendant made out of white crystal.
"Wear this", she said. "It will come in handy in your time of need."
Keith accepted the necklace robotically, still in shock from Cassandra knowing about his crush on Talia. He would assume that Cassandra saw Keith gaping at Talia, but the thing was that Cassandra didn't see him before at all, so… how did she know?
"You can stay here as long as you want.", Cassandra said, and Keith saw that she was at the door, ready to leave, but then she turned to him with, "I will send someone to fetch you when it's mealtime. Until then, witches won't know you are here, so they won't harass you."
Keith wanted to thank her, but he was still skeptical. "This necklace is not my style. Why would I wear it?"
"Think of it as a charm. It will protect you from bad things."
"Like?" Keith persisted.
Cassandra released a long breath, obviously irritated by Keith's distrust. "It will repel magic attack directed at you. Once."
Keith cocked an eyebrow. "If this is so handy to have, as Alpha Talia's guard, I should give it to her."
"This one is for you. Trust me", Cassandra said with finality.
For a reason he couldn't explain, Keith believed her, but he still had to ask, "Why are you doing this?"
"Because my fate is tied to Alpha Talia's", Cassandra said. "I need you to protect her well."
Keith realized that Cassandra had some expectations of Talia. "Do you think that Alpha Talia will do anything for you after what you did to her mate?"
"What was done can't be fixed. I am paying for my decisions. Don't worry about me and focus on protecting your Alpha. And don't forget to wear…" She pointed at the necklace Keith was holding, and then she left the room.
Keith stared at the closed door while processing Cassandra's words.
He finally got a clue about why he was attracted to a woman that was not his mate. Their fortunes were tied together, and his wolf knew more about it.
But how was Keith supposed to communicate with his wolf?
Wolves are creatures driven by instincts. Did that mean Keith should allow his instincts to take over when he was with Talia? Even in his head, that sounded suicidal because he could see himself getting too close, only for Damon to give him a magnificent death.
Cassandra also said that Keith needed to protect Talia, and that was something he would do anyway.
As for the necklace… It can't hurt to carry it around, can it?
