The Pursued (The Breeding Prophecy) Read online

  Cassandra and Tieran have settled into a turbulent relationship fueled by lust and desire yet they remain distinctly at odds. Tieran is struggling with the memory of his previous love, Serra, and fighting the growing emotion he feels for Cassandra. In the midst of their personal test-of-wills, Cassandra is carrying mystical twins — of which only one was supposed to be born — but hell hath no fury like a werewolf defending her pups and Cassandra will defend her babies to the death; even against Tieran, if need be.

  Caught in the ever-tightening web foretold by The Breeding Prophecy, Cassandra and Tieran must become as one to protect all they hold dear. 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 PURSUED

  (The Breeding Prophecy 5)

  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. 8,300 words is an original work of fiction and part of an ongoing 6-part series.

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  ***

  “How can there be two?”

  The question, delivered in Tieran’s quiet, deliberate tone was edged with uncertainty and echoed throughout the closed room.

  Cassandra remained rigidly silent as the seer removed her weathered palms from Cassandra’s slightly rounded belly and looked as bewildered as the rest of the Barrachius clan inside the room.

  Tieran, the Alpha of Clan Barrachius glared at Cassandra as if she were to blame for this upset in his plans. Cassandra glared back. It wasn’t her fault she had an overactive womb. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she snapped, moving away from the seer and straightening her shirt. It was bad enough she already felt like some kind of lab experiment gone awry, now she had to deal with this? “Maybe the prophesy is wrong.”

  “Impossible,” Tieran retorted, though his eyes told a different story. He turned to the grizzled woman looking pensively at Cassandra’s belly. “What does this mean?”

  “I do not know,” she answered truthfully. “But it cannot bode well. The prophesy clearly stated there was one child. I must consult the Mother Goddess for answers.”

  “Great, get her on the phone and get some answers so everyone can stop staring at me like I’m the devil,” Cassandra grumbled.

  Jandin bowed low to whisper in her ear, “The Mother Goddess is the moon.”

  Oh. She cast a thankful smile Jandin’s way for his explanation but she felt like an idiot. Of course, the Mother Goddess was the moon. How obvious. Not. Why couldn’t she have been part of a kooky religious cult instead of some paranormal underground species that just so happens to be caught up in this cataclysmic prophecy? “Are we done here?” she asked, ready to leave this room and all the pairs of eyes staring at her for answers she couldn’t give. “I’m hungry.” Again.

  “Go to your room and I will bring food,” Tieran said and immediately Cassandra bristled. She hated when he bossed her around like she was an underling of some sort, or worse, a bathroom attendant at a Walmart. She rose stiffly and stalked from the room, not because Tieran told her to, but because she couldn’t stand another minute being scrutinized for circumstances that were out of her control.

  She took the stairs to her bedroom two at a time. Since discovering she was the Prophesied One, all manner of unpleasant things had been forced upon her — including losing her virginity and being kidnapped by two separate people on two different times — and now she was pregnant with not one super human but two. And God damn, she was hungry enough to eat a horse. Literally. Cassandra prowled her expansive bedroom as she waited. Tieran, the Alpha, and consequently, one of her baby daddys, insisted on feeding her himself. It was some weird custom that the clan adhered to and they were very attached to their customs and traditions. If Tieran and Cassandra actually liked each other, it wouldn’t be a big deal that Tieran felt obligated to feed her, but as it was, neither wanted the roles that had been handed to them and chose to take it out on each other.

  If it weren’t for the bone-melting sex between them, Cassandra might’ve tried to find a way to rip his throat out.

  Okay, maybe not exactly rip his throat out, that was a bit over the top, but lately, her hormones had been kicking into overdrive and sometimes she couldn’t quite help the thoughts in her head or the words that popped from her mouth. The fact was, Tieran was gorgeous — the picture of male perfection — and it was no small tragedy to be in his arms or beneath him, but when he looked at her, there was nothing but pure lust glazed over the veneer of anger and resentment and that just killed whatever might’ve been possible between them.

  And was she ten times the amount of stupid that it mattered to her? Yes.

  She’d passed out of the dangerous Phasing period of her Breeding Time and now that she was pregnant, she simply ate and grew rounder. She was always hungry and she always wanted sex. And considering that the one person who would oblige couldn’t actually stand to be around her unless he was forced, didn’t make for a happy Cassandra.

  If it weren’t for the biological blueprint etched on their DNA, Cassandra didn’t think Tieran would have sex with her ever again but as it was, he couldn’t help himself just as she couldn’t help herself when she’d been Phasing. Each time they had sex, an invisible thread wound itself tighter around them, drawing them ever closer to one another. Which was why Tieran tried to avoid her. Except, he was programmed to want her now that she’d conceived his child. Cristophe had told her that it was an evolutionary protection for the species. The Alpha would always protect his mate when they were bound.

  “So how is it you know so much about werewolves?” Cassandra had groused after Cristophe had educated her in the finer points of being a werewolf. She’d been shocked to learn Cristophe was with the werewolves when previously he’d disdained their presence like a man who disliked dogs and was suddenly asked to clean out the dog kennels at an animal shelter. Somehow they’d entered into an uneasy truce and were working together to prevent Ulster from kidnapping her again. She wished she could feel all warm and fuzzy about everyone pitching in to protect her but instead she felt intensely scrutinized for her every breath.

  Cristophe sighed. “It was my duty to manage the breeding female stock, remember?”

  She grimaced in distaste. “Oh yes. I remember now. So, speaking of…why were you affected by my Phase? Got some werewolf DNA somewhere in that cold body of yours?” she asked, half-joking, but mostly serious. She was still trying to forget how much of a slut she’d become while Phasing. Even dead guys weren’t off limits apparently. “I thought vampires were immune to werewolf mojo.”

  Cristophe shifted, his expression pensive. “I don’t know. But I think it has something to do with the prophecy. Everything that has happened to this point has been carefully orchestrated by the gods to fulfill the prophecy. Even now, I feel strangely protective toward you and I can’t seem to leave your side. I’ve never suffered from such an affliction before.”

  “I wondered why you were hanging out with the werewolves when you’re not exactly BFFs.”

  “When Ulster took you…I can’t explain it.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t just let the situation work itself out on its own. I came h
ere to Tieran to enlist his help in finding you. We were mobilizing when you appeared on your own.”

  “That’s me. Impatient to the core. I couldn’t even wait to be rescued,” she quipped. “But to be fair, you guys were taking your sweet time.”

  “We were moving as swiftly as possible,” Cristophe said. “But there were…complications.”

  “Such as?”

  “Well, Tieran wasn’t all that eager to find you.”

  Ouch. That hurt. But she forced a smile as if Cristophe’s statement hadn’t punctured her deep inside. “Well, that’s not very Prince Charming of him to not want to rescue the damsel in distress.”

  “Yes, well, Jandin and Koris were quite vocal in their opposition of his slow to act position.”

  She smiled warmly at the twins’ loyalty but even as they were hot as hell and built like semi trucks, she felt nothing more than brotherly affection for them, which was a tragedy because she had a feeling a life with those two would’ve been decidedly easier than one with the hard-hearted Alpha Tieran. And yet…when she thought of Tieran, her palms began to sweat and little flutters heated up her insides, which told her she had a snowball’s chance in hell of forcing her heart to want anyone else.

  Particularly now that she was growing his bambino in her belly.

  And apparently, the little bundle growing beneath her heart, was one helluva binding force for them both. There were times when Tieran simply couldn’t deny himself any longer and he would burst into her room, eyes blazing and muscles taut, and Cassandra knew he was going to fuck her raw. Just thinking about being with Tieran was enough to send her heart racing and her core to heat. They were epic together. Until it was all over. Then, Tieran would retreat and leave her coldly behind.

  “Do werewolves get more than one mate?” she asked, unable to help herself.

  “The werewolves mate for life with one true mate.”

  Cassandra swallowed, accepting Cristophe’s answer. Was she Tieran’s true mate or was Serra? To see how torn up he was over losing Serra, Cassandra would have to say that yes, Serra had been The One. But then, it was hard to imagine that he’d shared the kind of epic sex he and Cassandra had together with anyone other than his mate. Too many questions made her head spin. She suspected Tieran was faced with the same questions, which was probably why he was being such a royal jerk all the time. Cristophe had left her with that final thought and Cassandra had obsessed on it since.

  To be honest, Cassandra was getting tired of Tieran’s routine. Yeah, so he had to give up his girlfriend, Serra. Well, she’d had to give up her damn life for this prophecy. And now she was likely going to get stretch marks, too. In Cassandra’s estimation, they were equal in the misery department.

  The door opened and Cassandra expected to see Tieran but was surprised to see the seer, Iona, walk in. The petite nature of the woman belied the power that rippled from her aura. No one knew how old Iona was — Cassandra had asked around after meeting the grizzled woman for the first time when she’d fainted after experiencing a vision of her two babies in the womb — but Cassandra was fairly certain, she was at least one hundred years old if she was a day.

  Cassandra tried to hide her disappointment but it must’ve been plainly written across her face as Iona laughed and said, “Not the person you were hoping for? Has your heart softened toward Tieran?”

  Cassandra’s gaze narrowed. Had she softened toward the biggest prick she’d ever met since Rory McAdams, the same guy who pointed out to the entire cafeteria that a bird had crapped on her head? Um, no. “He was supposed to bring me food. I’m starving. I wouldn’t care if it were the devil walking through that door as long as he held a sandwich in his hands.”

  “Be careful with your words. Words have power,” Iona warned, not finding the humor in Cassandra’s sharp quip. “Once word spreads that you carry two pups, Ulster will stop at nothing to find you.”

  “And why should he care?” Cassandra said, hoping to sound flippant when in fact, her heart was stuttering painfully with fear. Her biggest fear had come to fruition. She was not only carrying Tieran’s child, but Ulster’s as well. She would’ve been happy to keep that information to herself but Iona had broken the news to Tieran, who then shared the news with his clan. To say she was a bit irritated with Iona was an understatement. “I hardly think Ulster is interested in being a father.”

  “The urge to keep one’s progeny close is part of our make up. He will come.”

  Cassandra’s shoulders shook with a slight shudder but she tried to keep it light. “Well, maybe I should go after him for child support then. However, I’ve seen his digs. I don’t think he has much to spare.”

  “Stop.” Iona’s commanding voice cut through Cassandra’s sarcasm like a blade. “You cannot hide your fears from me, child. I can see them as plainly as I see those pups in your belly. I see their hearts beating fast and true, same as yours. You must be strong in the coming months, not only for this clan but for your pups. They will need a strong mother to protect them from whoever would seek to harm them.”

  “Who would want to hurt my babies?” Cassandra asked. “They’re just babies. It’s not their fault how they came to be in existence.”

  “This is not the world you grew up in,” Iona said. “You cling to a memory of who you were and what you knew. None of that is applicable for the present or the future. Tieran will protect his pup just as Ulster will protect his. But either would kill the other pup without reservation.”

  Cassandra gasped. “Tieran would kill a baby?”

  “Do not seem so shocked,” Iona said sharply. “Clan Barrachius has remained the top clan among scores of others because our Alphas do not shy from responsibility no matter how distasteful it may seem. Tieran would do whatever was necessary to secure Clan Barrachius’s future.” At that Cassandra stilled as the import of Iona’s words began to sink in. She didn’t care who had fathered the babies — they were hers — and she wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt them. Before she realized it, she’d bared her teeth in a subtle growl. Iona surprised her with an approving chuckle. “Yes, girl. Fight for their lives. I believe the Mother Goddess would not have allowed such a deviation to the prophesy if there hadn’t been a purpose. Alas, not everyone shares my faith. It will be up to you to make them see differently. And that includes Tieran.”

  “He hates me. I doubt he’ll listen to a word I have to say about anything,” Cassandra said unhappily. “Perhaps I should just leave and take my chances on my own.”

  “Tieran would not allow it.”

  “I didn’t say I would ask his permission first,” Cassandra retorted coolly. “Besides, perhaps he would be relieved that I was gone. Then his beloved Serra could return.”

  “Serra’s path is not with Tieran and it never was. I tried to warn him but he is a stubborn mule of a man. He made his choice even though I told him it would end in heartache. Serra was equally stubborn. She and Tieran were not a good match, no matter the prophecy. Theirs was a union destined for pain.”

  Curious, Cassandra asked, “Why?”

  “Serra’s ambitions are her true heart’s desire whereas Tieran’s desire was pure. Serra loved him only because he was the Alpha.”

  Cassandra digested the information Iona had shared and felt a pang of sorrow for Tieran even though she probably shouldn’t. “Have you ever shared this with Tieran?”

  “There are some things that a person is unwilling to hear and must feel with their heart in order to listen.”

  Iona left Cassandra with that final thought. So much had changed in such a short time frame that it was little wonder she hadn’t lost her mind yet. She didn’t understand a lot about what was happening but she could no longer deny that her birth heritage was tied to a mystical prophecy. She’d conceived two separate times by two separate men, yet the gestation was within days of another. She knew that her pregnancy was moving at an accelerated rate, something that would’ve freaked her out in her normal life, but seemed par for the course in he
r new reality. She had no way of knowing when she might give birth but she did know that she would defend her babies to the death if need be. She thought of Ulster and his ragtag clan of thieves, criminals and frightened, cowed women and she knew she had to do something to put an end to his reign. If the Mother Goddess had seen fit to allow two pregnancies, then Cassandra believed Iona — there had to be a reason.

  Tieran appeared at her doorway, interrupting her thoughts. He carried a tray of food that might feed a room of people but he barely noted the strain. She couldn’t help but appreciate the way his muscles bunched and bulged from the weight of the heavy load. Each time they were alone, her hormones reacted like unruly teenagers, heedless of caution or reason. His eyes darkened as her scent washed over him, her pheromones melding with perfect precision into a heady aphrodisiac. “Your food,” he announced unnecessarily, placing the tray at the small table and turning to leave.

  “Tieran…” she called out to him. “Can we talk?”

  “I haven’t the time for idle chit-chat,” he answered curtly. “Is there anything else you require?”

  “I require the father of my child to speak to me,” she said. “You treat me like a prisoner and a whore, neither of which I appreciate. If we are supposed to be parents together, shouldn’t we try to get along?”

  He cast her a short look but gruffly acknowledged the logic in her request. “Your request is valid,” he said, taking a seat furthest from her in the oversized chair opposite the bed. She withheld a sigh and tried not to feel bruised by his subtle rejection. He didn’t want to want her but like her, their hormones were causing them to dance to a different tune. She secretly admired how strong he was to deny his own feelings. As much as she wanted to ignore the pull, she couldn’t help the drift she felt toward him. She craved his touch, his scent, the feel of him inside her. She slid her tongue lightly along the seam of her lip and he caught the subtle movement. His eyes flashed and he growled low in his throat. “You wished to talk?”

  “I…I don’t know anything about you,” she stammered, trying desperately to stay focused when all she really wanted to do was drop to her knees and take that lovely length of cock hiding behind his jeans into her hot and greedy mouth. “I have so many questions that I don’t know where to start.”