The Pursued (The Breeding Prophecy) (2 page)

“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 her 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.”

“Such as?”

“Well, where does the clan’s wealth come from? I mean, Clan Janus lives by a very different standard so I imagine there had to be some smart investments on someone’s part to help sustain the clan.”

One dark slash of an eyebrow rose incrementally. “You wish to talk finances? I assure you, Cassandra, we are well and securely funded. There is no need to worry where your next meal will come from.”

She frowned. “That’s not what I meant at all. Listen, in the normal world, people have to work for their money but as far as I can tell you, you don’t punch a clock so there must’ve been some wealth pocketed somewhere in order for you to sit on your Alpha chair all day.”

“I do not sit on a chair all day,” he said, affronted. “You imply laziness on my part.”

“No, not at all,” she said, rushing to clarify. “I’m just trying to understand and put things into place from the only perspective that I have.”

“Oh, I see,” he said, slightly mollified. He shifted in his chair and sighed. “To answer your question, yes, Clan Barrachius has always been smart with their investments. We’ve amassed a healthy sum of money over the centuries that is now handled by an investment firm. Clan Janus has been foolish in not taking a more active role in the health of their clan finances. However, according to Cristophe, Ulster has been amassing wealth through less than honorable means. He has far more than he shows.”

“I’ve seen the way they live. It’s shameful the way he treats his women.
He tried to force the women to breed by getting a witch to cast some kind of spell.”

“Did it work?” Tieran asked
, concerned
.

“No. The women always miscarried. And then he beat them for failing.”

The disgust in Tieran’s expression warmed Cassandra’s heart. The fact that he felt anything aside from hatred for the Janus clan members spoke well of the Alpha. “An Alpha’s job is to protect his clan, not rule through tyranny.”

“Yeah, well, I guess
Ulster wasn’t in class
that day when they taught that lesson in Alpha school.”

At her quip, Tieran’s lips twitched in the subtle makings of a smile. “You are very witty,” he remarked, as if surprised by this revelation. “And intelligent.”

She smiled. “Thanks. Before I was kidnapped and all that, I was actually an honor student with a full ride to college. I like to learn.”

His eyes said he approved, though he said nothing.

“Were you always so serious?” she asked, trying to picture the austere man as a carefree boy. “I mean, what was your childhood like?”

“I am as serious as I need to be. I have been training to be the Alpha since I was a pup. There wasn’t much time for foolishness.
” At her disappointment, he clarified gruffly, saying, “My brothers and I weren’t above getting into mischief now and then. We were, as my mother used to say, a
handful
.”

That’s more like it
. She smiled at his sharing something that sounded somewhat normal and relaxed a bit. “What did you do for schooling? I’m guessing you were homeschooled?”

“Tutors mostly. Then university studies. Our father wanted us to be educated. He said the world was changing more rapidly than our species but we had to be able to keep up in order to protect the clan from outside forces. He said ignorance
was never an excuse for failing in your duty.”

She wondered what it would be like to have grown up with duty and honor and tradition pounded into your head. “What do you do for fun around here?”

“Fun?” he repeated stiffly, retreating behind that damnable mask again.

“Yes, fun.
You know, all work and no play makes Tieran a dull boy?” she teased lightly.
“There has to be something you enjoy doing that’s not tied to your job as Alpha. Maybe chess or cards?”

“I do not have time for games.”

“No wonder you’re so grumpy all the time,” she grumbled, sighing when she felt they’d taken two steps backward for every tiny step forward.

“You believe I am grouchy?” he asked, mildly
bothered
by her observation.

“Well…yeah.”  No sense in sugarcoating it. “I don’t think I’ve seen you smile once.”

“
I like to hunt,” he said, surprising her. “When the moon is full, I change and
run with the night. It’s the only time I feel free.”

She remembered the feel of the ground beneath her paws and how exhilarating it
’d
felt to simply put miles between herself and everyone else. She could relate to his admission and smiled in understanding. A moment passed between them that resembled the beginnings of camaraderie and she savored the brief respite.

She grabbed an apple and bit into it, the juice dribbling down her chin before she could catch it.
Tieran was on his feet in an instant, wiping the sweet juice away with his thumb. His eyes darkened and his nostrils flared when in such close proximity to her. Her heart rate kicked up and her temperature rose. She swallowed the bite of apple and he removed the fruit from her hand. She knew what would happen now. It was always this way between them. But it hurt to know that he didn’t want to be with her, that he was driven by some biological programming and not true desire. She forced herself to look away even as he pulled her into the rough shelter of his arms. “If you leave now, we don’t have to do this,” she whispered. “I know it’s not me you want.”

He didn’t try to deny her statement and his silence stabbed her in the heart. Closing her eyes, she gathered every bit of strength she had and pushed him hard in the chest. “I’m not second prize,” she said harshly as she backed away. “I know I a
m not Serra and I never will be. You’ve done your duty —
 
I’m pregnant —
 
so feel free to send someone else to bring
my
food that way neither of us has to suffer through each other’s company.”

She expected him to stalk from the room, angry at her rejection or perhaps secretly relieved at her letting him off the hook, but he shocked her when he simply stared, his eyes burning with even brighter sexual heat. He walked to her with slow, deliberate steps until he was towering above her. “You are my mate. We are bonded in flesh and blood. No one will bring you food but me and
no one
will be between those thighs but me. Am I clear?”

Cassandra’s lip trembled but she thrilled at his harsh words, still she pushed him further. “Why?” she taunted, meeting his stare with open defiance. “You don’t want me. You’ve made that abundantly clear. I could leave right now and disappear and never burden you again with my presence.”

She jumped when he snarled. “I would find you wherever you go. And if you threaten to leave again, I will tie you to this bed naked until you disavow such insanity. Do not play games with me, Cassandra. You will lose.”

Moisture sparked behind Cassandra’s eyes and she hated that he’d managed to make her cry. She ducked her head, not wanting him to see her tears. “You’ve made your point. Please go.
”