The Taking (erotic paranormal) (The Breeding Prophecy) Read online

  Cassandra escapes the evil Ulster and believes she’s running for the safety promised with Clan Barrachius but she is shocked when she receives a less than warm welcome by the Barrachius Alpha, Tieran. Caught in the ever-tightening web foretold by The Breeding Prophecy, Cassandra and Tieran must succumb to their desires, even if they can’t stand one another. As all out impending war between the clans hovers on the horizon, Cassandra must give herself to the power of The Prophecy if any are to survive the bloodbath that will ensue.

  THE TAKING

  (The Breeding Prophecy 4)

  By Alexx Andria

  Copyright 2012 by Alexx Andria

  *This erotic story is intended for mature readers only. If you’re not 18 years or older, find something else to read.

  The following short story of approx. 7,500 words is an original work of fiction and part of an ongoing series.

  Want a FREE read from Alexx Andria? New subscribers to her newsletter will receive their choice of one of three erotic short stories guaranteed to set your Kindle or Nook on fire!

  Interested?

  Just click on the link and you will be whisked away to the sign up form. Easy-peasy!

  http://eepurl.com/klhFH

  ***

  Cassandra’s padded feet put miles between herself and the vile clan Janus’ Alpha, Ulster, but she couldn’t escape the waves of shuddering revulsion that rolled beneath her pale white fur. The crisp night air invigorated and cleansed even as her heart wept over what she’d done. Oh, how she hated the Phase! What demented higher power had put together their species and thought it would be great fun if the female of their kind fucked anything that walked when they were in the Phasing period of their cycle? Cassandra wanted to howl the song in her heart that cried of shame and loathing and grief, but she had to keep moving. If Ulster managed to catch her, she’d find no mercy — not that she’d ask for any — his rotten heart was incapable of compassion, only sadistic lust.

  And she might’ve just conceived his child. She stumbled as the horrifying thought nearly sent her tumbling to the frost-bitten ground but she recovered and regained her speed. She wouldn’t think of that. Not right now. Safety first. Everything else came second.

  Ulster was likely gaining his forces, hot on her heels. Now that he’d tasted her, he’d never give up. Cassandra had caught a glimpse of his mind, felt his insanity and he was obsessed with her. More specifically, he’d been obsessed with her birth mother. The fact that Cassandra was some mystical being according to their legends was simply a bonus. Ulster had been enraged that Cassandra’s mother had run off and left her pack to join with the enemy, a man from clan Barrachius.

  Somehow she had to find Jandin and Koris — hell, even that cold-hearted, achingly beautiful vampire Cristophe would be a welcome sight — but the bitter night gave no clue as to where she was, only her fear that Ulster wasn’t far behind pushed her to continue.

  She didn’t know how long she’d been running but suddenly, her nose picked up a familiar scent and her heart thrilled with wild, almost hysterical hope.

  Jandin and Koris! Her twins! Pushing herself beyond her exhaustion, she ran straight toward the scent, following the trail as if it were a physical thing, drifting on the cold night air as a light blue ribbon that twisted and curled through the heavy forest. Her light sensitive eyes picked up the illumination from the moon, bathing the landscape in a ghostly watery glow that mesmerized her savage heart. She was of two minds: human and beast while her body was wholly beast. The sharp chill barely permeated her thick coat and the rough terrain was no match for the tough calluses of her paws. Seventy-two hours ago she hadn’t even known of her unique heritage; tonight she’d become the stuff of nightmares.

  The irony that she’d never owned a pet in her life and yet now someone might mistake her for one if they saw her running past would’ve made her laugh if she hadn’t been close to dissolving into bone-racking sobs.

  She broke the clearing and a large modern home of steel and thick glass rose before her, casting deep imposing shadows and causing her to skid to a stop. Her tongue lolled as she panted hard, her ribs heaving from the exertion of the flat-out run of her escape. She thought of Arja, the injured woman who’d been kind to her within Clan Barriachius, and she made a vow to try and help her, no matter what happened. She couldn’t leave Arja at the mercy of Ulster. The older woman might not survive his rage and disappointment at losing Cassandra. She shuddered as the realization hit her that it might already be too late for Arja. Cassandra bolted for the house but didn’t account for the guards that sprang into her path, snarling and threatening to rip her throat out.

  She bared her teeth and backed off slowly, watching the wolves that advanced, pushing her away from the house. Her canine mouth couldn’t form words and she didn’t know how to change back into her human form — hell, she didn’t know how she’d changed into a wolf in the first place — but she knew she had to get into that house. Cassandra lifted her nose and sniffed the air, reaffirming that Jandin and Koris were near. She let out a mournful howl, expressing her fear and frustration in that piercing sound. The wolves froze and suddenly, their ears swiveled as they took off running in the opposite direction, leaving Cassandra baffled but gratefully alone.

  But she soon realized, she wasn’t alone.

  A figure emerged from the house that immediately set her ears back in warning. Her hackles rose and she moved into a defensive posture without thought. Who was this man? Enemy or friend? She couldn’t tell. After the night she’d had, she wasn’t about to take any chances.

  He broke free from the shadows and stood watching her with hard blue eyes that glittered in the night air like azure diamonds. Like Ulster, he radiated power but unlike the sickly red that ebbed and flowed from Ulster like a fever, this man shone with a bright energy that crackled like a live wire and was just as dangerous. He was the Alpha of Clan Barrachius. She could sense the truth of her sudden knowledge and there was no need to question what she knew.

  He regarded her with open consternation, as if her arrival was neither a surprise nor welcome, yet he didn’t try to chase her away. She bared her teeth in a subtle warning, refusing to cow before him. She didn’t care who he was. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst, the last few days had wavered at the tipping point of fucking awful and he was the final straw. A low growl erupted from her throat and he lifted his brow in surprise at her audacity, even as he continued to watch her every move. “My brothers tell me that you are the Prophesied One. I didn’t want to believe them. But here you are in all your glory, white pelt and all, and I have to believe they were right. You are female and yet you changed into a wolf form. My brothers tell me it’s our job to shelter you, to put our pups into your belly to cement our claim to the Prophecy but if they have that thought then it’s fair to surmise that every clan from here to creation will want to do the same.” His lip curled ever so slightly. “And you already smell of sex and blood, which means you have taken the enemy into your body. How do I know you are not carrying the poisoned seed of Clan Barrachius in your womb?” His mouth pursed as a tense moment passed before announcing with grim finality. “The risk is too great. Logic tells me to kill you and be done with it — fuck The Prophecy. If there is no Prophesied One, there is no Prophecy to fear.”

  Cassandra’s vision narrowed as his energy rippled around him, momentarily causing him to frown as if taken aback by a sudden surge of unpleasant sensation. He bowed against the onslaught and grunted as if he’d just been jabbed in the gut by an unseen force. Even with her superior senses, she could see nothing aside from the man arrogantly deciding h
er fate but something beyond her understanding had just happened and it was significant enough to cause him to stiffen with open agitation as he barked, “It seems your power extends farther than you realize. The Gods will see their game played out, it appears. Come and wash the stench from your fur before I puke.”

  Cassandra glared at the man, hating him intensely. It wasn’t her fucking fault that she stank of the seed of her captor! Since she’d become aware that she was some freak show with a magical womb, all she’d done is get captured and screwed because of the damn Phase. If she had her druthers, she’d rather be simultaneously studying calculus while getting a root canal!

  She followed the man, who still hadn’t shared his name so Cassandra had decided to dub him, “The Prick,” into the house and in spite of her less than welcome admittance, she was relieved when the doors closed behind her. This elegant house was a fortress, built to withstand an army. The house was dimly lit by recessed lighting strategically placed in the ceiling, but she could tell immediately that Clan Barrachius lived by a different standard than Janus. For one, nothing smelled of rot and death. The furnishing gleamed as if polished by a studious hand each day. Not one mote of dust drifted on the air. The hardwood floors were waxed to a fine sheen. She could smell the beeswax and lemon as it lingered within the grain of the wood. A great shudder coursed through her and her vision shimmered and blurred. She had a heartbeat to realize that she was changing again as her bones went through the painful transformation from beast to human. The damp crunch of bone and snap of sinewy made her nauseous but within moments, she was lying dazed and sweaty on the hardwood floor, nearly unconscious as her body struggled to reorient its physiology.

  Two sets of strong, yet gentle hands lifted her from the floor and she found herself between the two men she trusted the most: Jandin and Koris.

  However, the voice of another surprised her most.

  “We must talk.”

  “Cristophe?” she said weakly, focusing her blurred vision on the tall, lean figure of the vampire who’d alternately captured her from the twins, yet lost her to Ulster. She didn’t know why she was happy to know he was here — his original intent had been to let her Phase out and die until somehow her magic had leaked onto him and they’d made love like rabid bunnies in a dank cave — but somehow she knew he was needed in this coming battle against Ulster. Somehow she knew that they all had to work together to prevent Ulster from taking control of the world through her.

  But Cristophe’s curt statement wasn’t directed at her. He was looking at The Prick, who simply nodded and gestured for Jandin and Koris to take me away while he dealt with other matters.

  Feeling summarily dismissed but too groggy and weak to do much more than glare impotently at his retreating backside, she sank into the arms of the twin wolves who had taken her virginity only seventy-two hours ago.

  Well, they said you never forget your first, she thought muzzily.

  Particularly when your first is with two massive werewolves who not only broke through your hymen but breached your ass as well. Talk about overkill. In a very short amount of time, she’d become a raging werewolf slut.

  On the heels of that vaguely hysterical thought, Cassandra finally blacked out.

  ***

  Memories from her childhood floated through her mental theater, plucked from the past and pasted together in a jumble of thoughts, sounds and feelings as she sank under a black blanket of total lethargy.

  The sharp bite of pain as the skin split beneath the rusty saw blade. Blood welling from a small finger. Crimson spilling in a beautiful trickle from a nasty wound. Her adoptive mother’s fretting and worrying as the wound streamed red.

  “I told you not to play by that dirty old thing,” her mother had admonished, rushing to put Cassandra’s wounded finger under the faucet. The cool water soothed the angry cut, washing away the blood, staining in the porcelain sink a light pink before swirling down the drain. “You could’ve cut your finger clean off!”

  Cassandra had remained silent, more fascinated by the blood than the pain of her cut or her mother’s muttering about tetanus and blood poisoning. Without thinking, Cassandra popped her finger into her mouth just as her mother went to grab a bandage.

  “Cassi!” her mother had cried, appalled. “What are you doing?”

  “I wanted to know what blood tasted like,” Cassandra had answered.

  Her mother’s mouth tightened in a disgusted moue. “Well, that’s disturbing. Don’t do that. Little girls don’t need to be wondering about such things. Do you hear me?” she chastised as she quickly bandaged Cassandra’s finger.

  Cassandra had nodded, sufficiently convinced that she ought to never do such a thing again but deep down…Cassandra had been afraid to admit that she’d liked the taste of the blood. The copper tang had thrilled her senses, as if lighting her insides and creating a pervasive hunger for more.

  From that point forward, Cassandra had always preferred her meat rare and slightly bloody. Her friends had always shuddered and called her a carnivore. If only they knew…

  Of course, now it made sense. If anything about her new life could make sense, that is.

  How would her life have been different if she’d been raised with full knowledge of her heritage? What if her biological parents had been able to raise her within Clan Barrachius? What would that have meant for her life? Would she have gone to college? Would she have been as driven to push herself academically? To be fair, her high IQ wasn’t exactly helping her out at the moment but she supposed being as dumb as a rock wouldn’t have helped much either. Too many questions without any answers.

  “You are awake.”

  Cassandra’s eyes opened reluctantly to find Jandin watching her with a warm, relieved smile.

  She sighed and struggled to sit up. Jandin rushed to her side to help. She graced him with a brief grateful smile and took a good look around her surroundings before asking, “How long was I out?”

  “Two days.”

  Her eyes bugged. “Two days? I’ve never slept that long in my life. Am I…okay?”

  Jandin came to sit beside her. Her heightened senses picked up his unique body odor and it smelled delicious, like chocolate and steak; rain and green grass all wrapped in one unique scent. And yet, now that she wasn’t Phasing, she wasn’t wildly attracted to him. It was as if he were simply…her brother. She frowned. That can’t be normal, right? She didn’t have much experience with these sorts of things but wasn’t she supposed to feel something deeper for the man who’d taken her virginity? “I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear you’d found your way to our compound,” Jandin said, breaking into her thoughts. “We took some losses that night. As much as I hate that blood-sucker Cristophe, taking you away from the heat of battle may have been the best course of action.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” she said, though she wasn’t sure about anything these days. “I wasn’t safe for long. Ulster and his clan found us just as we were leaving the cave,” she admitted with open distaste. “And then I Phased again.”

  Jandin didn’t have to ask; he knew what happened next. “There is no shame in what happened. The Phase is a powerful force in a female’s body, not to mention there are forces at work that go beyond the simple biology of our species. You are unlike any female we’ve ever known.”

  “Yeah, so I hear,” she grumbled, rocking her head to the side to crack her neck. The crackle of bones felt good but only briefly so as her stomach growled like a beast trapped under her skin. She clutched her belly with embarrassment but Jandin simply chuckled as he rose from her bedside.

  “The Prophesied One requires sustenance,” he said, smiling when she grimaced at his word choices. “Too much?” he asked and she nodded. “Okay, Cassandra it is. Any preference?”

  “Just food and lots of it.”

  “Red meat and wine; food of the Gods. Only the best for you, I promise.”

  “Or a sandwich would work, too,” she suggested with a weary smile. “Be
sides, I don’t think your Alpha shares your feelings about my worth. No sense in making it worse with fancy meal requests. I think I’m just a problem that’s been thrust in his lap to solve. Doesn’t really make for the warm and fuzzies, you know?” On either side.

  Jandin’s expression lost some of its warmth and he shook his head in apparent frustration at his brother. “Tieran has always been stubborn. Hardest head of all the pups, our mother used to say. He will come around. He’s trying to do what’s best for the clan, much less the world.”

  So his name was Tieran? She supposed she didn’t need to call him The Prick any longer, though at this point it was a perfect fit. Cassandra weighed her words carefully, not interested in pitting the brothers against one another when she needed all of their help to get through this epically screwed up Prophecy in one piece. “It seems that everyone I come into contact with wants to kill me, fuck me, or own me. Including Tieran.”

  Jandin looked away, his mouth tightening. “I cannot speak for my brother but as long as I breathe, you will not be harmed in this house by anyone in Clan Barrachius. I make this vow to you.”

  His sweet declaration warmed her heart, even if she knew he shouldn’t make promises he might not be able to keep. If it hadn’t been for something that held Tieran in check, she might’ve been reduced to a bloody pulp at the Alpha’s hands. Still, she appreciated the gesture. After everything that had gone down as of late, she’d take any kindness. “Thank you, Jandin.”

  He bowed ever so slightly and then left the room to get her food. She sighed and leaned against the giant fluffy pillow at her back. The bed was luxuriantly soft and her poor bones appreciated the fine quality. It wasn’t every day that a girl turned into a wolf and then back to human again within a few hours. If only she had a clue as to how it’d even happened. Probably something to do with that damn Phase. It was seriously mucking up her life. Would she ever make it back to college? She ground the grit from her eyes and groaned. She’d give anything to go back to her normal, mundane life where the most complicated event involved juggling her meager budget so that she could both afford food and electricity at the same time. If there had to be some big, dark secret in her family tree, why couldn’t have been something like a rich, senile relative who suddenly died and left her his entire fortune? Yeah, like that happens in real life. Oh wait, none of this shit actually happens in real life, so whatever: dream big, Cassandra.