The Winter Solstice: A Cassandra Blake Mystery

Chapter 4.2

Cassie was just out of sight of her family when a man stepped in front of her and blocked her way. She could see a second man leering at her over the first’s shoulder. Something was wrong with the situation and what happened at the festival this year.

“Excuse me, please,” Cassie politely said as she stepped to move around the first man.

The man blocked her course and replied, “Hey, Cassandra. You’re looking good.”

“Thanks, Justin,” Cassie calmly spoke. “Sorry, but I’m meeting someone. I have to go.”

“Of course,” the second man spat. “The big city detective doesn’t have time for some of her old friends.”

Cassie answered, “We were never friends, Kyle. From what I remember, you were one of the people who made sure I knew leaving here was the wrong thing to do.” Cassie addressed both of them, “Now, excuse me. I need to meet with the Mayor to ensure there are no safety issues.”

Cassie pushed past the two pack members and began running through what had happened in her mind as she listened carefully to ensure they were not following her. She didn’t want to do it, but he knew she had to interrupt Freya’s time with Sebastian for the night.

“Freya, I’m sorry, but I need you back,” Cassie said to her wolf, who was at the back of her mind communing with Malekai’s wolf, Sebastian.

“What’s wrong?” Freya replied instantly.

“I just had another run-in with some guys from high school. Am I giving off some weird pheromone because I am fighting against being in heat? I never had this happen back in Seattle, but I wasn’t around other werewolves either.”

“Perhaps, but I have not detected anything about your scent that should attract any males to you.”

“Great, that means it is just people who want to harass me when all I want to do is visit my family and relax,” Cassie sighed. “Can you please help me keep watch? It is hard to do it alone in this crowd.”

“Of course, Cassie. Go meet Malekai, and I will keep watch,” Freya assured her.

“Thank you,” Cassie said before breaking the link.

Cassie continued on her way to the arch to meet Malekai. She was regretting that she had come home. Cassie should have listened to her gut and stayed in Seattle, covering shifts for her co-workers so they could have a happy holiday. Instead, she was in her hometown, having people spew hate at her or being overly friendly. Her birthday, having been ignored or forgotten by all but three people, did not help how Cassie felt. By the time she reached Malekai and Aaron, her mood had soured. All she wanted to do was go back to her parents’ home, put on a movie, and crawl under the covers of her bed.

“What’s wrong,” Malekai asked as soon as he laid eyes on her.

Cassie sighed, “Same old, same old.”

“Who was it, and what did they say,” Malekai demanded.

Cassie watched as Aaron took a step back from Malekai. His Alpha aura was blazing, trying to force her to answer him. Cassie c****d her head to the side and looked at him.

“Really? You are going to Alpha order me to tell you? You know good and well that will not work on me, so knock it off,” Cassie scoffed, utterly unphased by the force of his command. She could feel the aura withdrawing as Malekai regained his composure.

“I’m sorry,” Malekai apologized. “I didn’t mean to do that to you. After what happened this morning, it pisses me off that it is still happening tonight at the festival. I thought they would have a little bit of class and leave things alone tonight. After you told me what was happening, I told the residents to stop entirely.”

“Yeah, well, they were just being jerks, so don’t worry about it,” Cassie told him, trying to calm him.

“I don’t care. I will not stand for the citizens of this town, especially those like us, to disrespect you the way they are,” Malekai told her as he embraced her.

“I know,” Cassie said as she felt his tension begin to dissipate. “And neither will I. As of this moment, I am done with them. I will not spend my time here being tormented by people who believe the false rumors that have been spread about me since high school. I might have to knock a few of them out, but I am done.”

“Good. Do whatever you have to do. I will support you, not them,” Malekai said as he kissed her on the head, released his embrace, and took her hand. “We have to get to the stage and make my little speech about how important the moon is and why we celebrate the solstice.”

“You mean the same speech you make every year?” Cassie giggled as they walked toward the stage.

“Yes. I figure, why mess with perfection?” Malekai laughed.

When they arrived at the stage, Malekai and Aaron mounted the stairs in preparation to give the annual speech and the voicing of appreciation to the Moon Goddess Selene for all the moon does. It covered everything, from the movement of the tides to the assistance in producing bountiful crops. It was all covered in Malekai’s speech. The festival occurred during the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, to show respect to Selene. The humans who came to Bloodstone did not know that the celebration took place to thank Selene for her care and guidance of all werewolves considered her children.

Cassie listened to the speech that she had memorized by heart. She had helped Malekai write it years earlier, and when he spoke it, it could be felt that it came from his heart. She smiled as she watched him. He had done so much for their community after he became the Alpha and Mayor. She was so proud of him for doing everything in his power he could to take care of all those who lived there.

“Now that the praise of Selene has concluded, I feel we should give praise to a few others this year,” Malekai announced to the crowd.

Cassie stiffened at this part. He had never done this before, which set her on edge for some reason. She hated surprises, and Malekai knew that. There had to be a reason for doing this.

“First, I would like to thank my city manager, Aaron James. He has been instrumental in making this year’s festival a success,” Malekai said as he motioned to Aaron, standing beside him.

Cassie closed her eyes and silently begged for him to stop without mind linking him. She did not want to make anyone think anything was out of the ordinary.

“Next, I would like to thank you, lovely ladies, who are supplying everyone with the best food and drinks you will ever taste. They are Sam Cook, owner of The Wolf Pack Diner, and Angela Blake, owner of the Crescent Moon Bakery. If you haven’t noticed, they are identical twins. Thankfully, they don’t take great offense if you get them confused. They are also the aunt and mother, respectively, of the last person I need to thank.”

“NOOOO!” Cassie screamed into Malekai’s head, making his eyes jerk to glance at her.

“We need to give the most thanks to my beautiful best friend. She comes here every year to help us celebrate Selene and the winter solstice while ignoring that it is her own birthday. Detective Cassandra Blake is instrumental in coordinating the emergency plans we must have in place to ensure everyone is safe and protected as they enjoy the night. Cassie, would you please join me on stage?” Malekai asked as he extended his hand to where she stood in front of the stage.

Cassie took a deep breath and stood tall as she strode up the stairs smiling at Malekai. She had no idea what was up his sleeve, but she had a sinking feeling that there was more to come. Cassie reached out and took his hand as he pulled her close and kissed her cheek. She could hear the whispers in the crowd and even a few subtle growls that she hoped the humans in attendance would not notice.

“Cassie, this year I decided that your birthday would not be overshadowed by the festival,” Malekai told her instead of the audience. “I want all of us to wish you a happy birthday and share a cake. Your birthday falling on the winter solstice is a special thing. I hope we can add that to the festival in upcoming years.”

Cassie was speechless when she saw an enormous birthday cake being brought out on a table and placed in front of the stage. She glanced at her mother and saw the joy on her face. Cassie couldn’t help but wonder if her mother’s joy was for her having a birthday celebration or because she was the one who had made the beautiful cake that was on display.

Malekai continued, “Happy birthday Cassie. Now, let’s enjoy the cake and continue the celebration.” He flipped off the microphone he had been using and smiled at her.

Cassie stood fixed on the stage, staring at Malekai as everyone returned to what they were doing. She glanced to see where Aaron had gone and saw that he was already at the cake, cutting it and placing slices on plates for people already lined up in anticipation. Cassie turned back to Malekai without saying anything.

“I know you are mad at me, but I could not stand the thought of you not having a birthday party this year. This way, everyone has to celebrate whether they want to or not,” Malekai chuckled. “Call it payback for all the times they chose not to celebrate your birthday.”

“I can’t believe you did this,” Cassie said, barely audible. “Thank you, but you know this will come back on me tenfold, right?”

“No, it won’t,” Malekai said as he led her down the stage steps and to where her birthday cake was. “In the morning, I am sending out another email telling everyone it ends now. You are not the reason I am alone, and they need to accept that once and for all. If they can’t, they need to find a new place to live.”

“Happy birthday Cass,” Aaron told her as he handed her a piece of cake and kissed her cheek. Cassie was almost certain that she heard Malekai growl at him.

“Thank you, Aaron,” Cassie told him with a smile. “Has Aunt Sam told you that you are to join Kai and me at the diner at two o’clock tomorrow for hot wing testing?”

“Yeah, she did,” Aaron replied as he handed a plate of cake to Malekai.

“Did my mom tell you that she is sweetening that deal? Literally. She is making a peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake and wants us to try it too.”

“Oh! Remind me to tell your mom I love her,” Aaron beamed.

“I will,” Cassie said as she and Malekai walked away.

The pair settled on a bench away from the square and all the activity that was taking place. Cassie had not noticed what kind of cake it was until she had sat down. It was a red velvet cake with fudge frosting. Her favorite. Malekai had gone all out, and it was impossible to stay angry at him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I was doing,” Malekai said softly. “I wanted you to have a good birthday for a change.”

“Thank you, but you didn’t have to do any of it. I had a good birthday even without this,” Cassie told him. “I got to spend it with you and enjoy some time where it was only the two of us.”

“You’re getting tired, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I hope Miss Maggie can come up with something to help me.”

“She will,” Maleki said as he put his arm around her shoulders. “And even if she doesn’t, my offer stands. I would take you as my mate, and I would not expect you to change your life. This medication might take away the heat, but it is hurting you, and I can’t let you keep doing that.”

“I know,” Cassie sighed. “Would you mind walking me home?”

“Of course, I don’t mind. Let me link Aaron and have him pass the word to your mom and aunt,” Malekai said as he stood, offering his hand to help her to her feet. “If you let me stop by my house first, I will spend the night. We can watch bad sci-fi movies and make fun of the special effects.”

“I like that idea,” Cassie said as she took his plate from him and then stood with his help.

Cassie dropped their plates in the trash can beside the bench. Malekai put his arm around her waist, supporting her as they walked. The fatigue was getting the best of her after the run they had early as wolves. They walked in silence, listening as the sounds of the celebration drifted into the distance behind them. They arrived at Malekai’s house and quickly went to his room. She sat on the bed as he grabbed a few items of clothing and toiletries he would need for the night. In a matter of minutes, he had already finished, and they were at her parent’s house, only two doors away. They went to her room, where she collapsed on the bed, needing to rest before she got ready for bed.

“Cassie, sweetheart,” Malekai said as he helped her sit and remove her coat and boots. “You absolutely cannot keep doing this. We have to find a solution.”

“I know,” Cassie admitted. The realization was finally hitting her, and she was fighting tears. Cassie hated to feel weak. She had always had to prove herself because she was a woman, and now she was weak because she was one. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You rest and recover while you are here, and we wait for Miss Maggie to work her magic on you,” Malekai told her as he held her. “For now, I will help you get changed and into bed. There is nothing we can do about it tonight except make sure you rest.”

She felt tears slide down her face as Malekai helped her undress and put on her pajamas. He carefully tucked her into bed before changing into his pajama pants and crawled into bed beside her. She didn’t argue with him as he pulled her into his chest and kissed the top of her head. He grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and began to wipe her tears.

“You are not weak, Cassie. You have never been weak. You are sick,” he soothed her. “We will figure this out. I promise.”

Cassie looked at him with creased eyebrows.

“Freya told me,” Malekai chuckled.

“Snitch,” Cassie muttered as she wiped the tears from her face.

“Only when I need to be,” Freya said in her head.

Malekai kissed her on the head again and told her, “I’m glad your wolf is a snitch. She knows you and knows there are times when you need help or support and won’t ask for it because you think you have to prove something. You are also stubborn, which doesn’t help.”

“And yet, you still put up with me.”

“Always. Now get some sleep.”

Cassie giggled, “Yes, Alpha.”