The Destined (erotic paranormal) (The Breeding Prophecy) (2 page)

“I fear Serra brings trouble with her,” Iona said, combing the snarls from Cassandra’s hair. “She arrived without notice, bursting into the house, claiming she’d seen Ulster’s band closing in on our territory. She claimed that’d she’d barely escaped with her life as she came to warn us.”

“Do you believe her? Seems coincidental, don’t you think?”

“It is not for me to say,” Iona said, shaking her head. “But I would caution you to be wary around her. She has a vicious heart and you are a threat to her. It is in our nature to challenge our rivals. She will try to find a way to put a wedge between you and Tieran.”

Iona’s warning only served to intensify Cassandra’s own fears of having Serra back.

“You have what she desperately wants,” Iona said, pointing to Cassandra’s growing belly. “Take care that she does not put her own needs before yours and your pups.”

Cassandra crossed her arms protectively around her stomach,
furrowing her brow at the implication in Iona’s words. Serra was more than a threat to her and Tieran —
 
she was a threat to the babies.

Geesh, w
hy did everyone want to hurt her babies?

***

The minute Tieran burst through the front door, his mind centered on Cassandra and her blatant disregard for his commands as Alpha, skidded to a stuttering halt as a familiar scent washed over him. The minute the recognition hit, Serra was in his arms, sobbing her relief that he was unharmed. Her arms wound around his neck as she buried her nose against his chest and for a blinding second he was _ iad I was elated beyond measure to feel Serra against him again.

But there was a false note to the joy that he might never have
recognized
if he hadn’
t met Cassandra and it was this realization that caused him to gently pluck Serra’s arms from his neck.
“Serra,” he said, plucking her arms gently from his neck. “
What are you doing here?”
Serra’s wounded expression cut at him but his first thought was of
Cassandra. It was then he realized Serra was wounded. Blood seeped from an angry laceration on her forearm. He gently lifted Serra’s arm. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing. All that matters is that you’re unharmed,” Serra said, attempting to pull her arm free but Tieran wouldn’t let go until she’d
explained. She shrugged with a subtle motion though she winced as she answered, “I must’ve cut it when I was running to get here. I found Ulster’s band encroaching on our land and knew if I didn’t come to warn you, the clan would be in danger. I couldn’t ignore the threat to my clan. Or to you,” she added quietly.

“You are so loyal,” he said warmly, approving of her actions. “Without your warning, Cassandra and I might’ve easily been overrun by Clan Janus. Ulster brought all of his warriors and they were out for blood. Where is Cassandra?”

At the mention of his woman’s name, Serra visibly bristled and her eyes flashed with open resentment though she knew well enough to tamp it down before answering, “She mentioned needing a bath.
She was covered in filth.
”

“Thank you,” Tieran said, giving Serra’s hand a soft squeeze. “Have Iona look at your wound before it festers. I will return after I’ve checked on Cassandra.
We will talk then.
”

Tieran took the stairs two at a time
and strode into Cassandra’s room, dismissing the women tending to her needs and closing the door behind him.

“You are unharmed?” in the ongoing series.

“Of course.”

His gaze skimmed the rounded curves barely concealed in the gauzy outfit meant to be forgiving of her expanding waistline and his gut tightened at the full, lush roundness of her
body
. It was as if the babies grew exponentially each day, shortening the gestational period by half of a regular pregnancy. He longed to put his hands on her belly to feel them squirm beneath the smooth silk of her skin but there was something in her eyes that kept him at a distance, which served to remind him that he needed to address her actions. “
You disobeyed me,” he said.

“You will find that I will often
disobey
you if you insist on giving out ridiculous orders,” she retorted, not the least bit apologetic. “
It made more sense for me to go for help in case Ulster’s stragglers attempted to double back. I was better at running and you were better at fighting. Seemed the most logical solution.”

Tieran paused. Put in that light, Cassandra was right but he could not abide Cassandra undermining his authority as Alpha. Yet, Cassandra also had the strength of an Alpha and she was unlike any female their species has ever seen. Under normal circumstances, he’d have to punish anyone who disobeyed a direct command from the Alpha. But his instincts warned him not to go there with Cassandra. “Your disobedience cannot be tolerated,” he bit out, growing frustration at his predicament sharpening his words. “Without a firm grasp on the hierarchy of the clan, chaos will destroy everything we’ve built over the centuries with Clan Barrachius. You are new to our ways but you must learn them if you are to teach our pups the right way.”

“Why is Serra here?” Cassandra asked, ignoring his firm reprimand and going straight for the jugular. “Did you bring her here?”

Anger at her dismissal and her sudden subject change made h
im growl low in his chest. “Cas
sandra do not test me
,” he warned. “Serra is not the issue here. Your blatant disregard for everything we value is the bigger issue.”

At that Cassandra popped from the chair and went toe-to-toe with him, surprising him with the fire in her eyes. “I
heartily
disagree. Your former flame is suddenly here —
 
someone you’re still carrying a torch for, by the way —
 
and you think me using logic over your silly command is the bigger issue? Forgive me, if I call bullshit.
Why is she here?”

Tieran’s nostrils flared as he attempted to control his temper but the urge to throw her onto the bed and across his knee so that he could paddle her soft ass until she cried was a struggle. If he hadn’t been so pulse-pounding angry, he would’ve been fighting an erection at the thought of smacking those beautiful, full buttocks. “She came to warn the clan that Ulster was closing in. It is because of Serra that we are both alive. We owe her our gratitude, not our suspicion.”

Cassandra backed down subtly but there was still an edge to her as she said, “She seemed disappointed that I managed to return. While I’m grateful for her help, I don’t trust her motives and you’d be stupid to ignore what is staring at you right in the face.
I think she should be asked to leave.”

“I will attend to the needs of the clan,” he said coolly. “This is Serra’s home. I will not toss her out. She left voluntarily. She was not forced out. If she chooses to stay, it is her choice.”

“Oh that’s great,” Cassandra remarked bitterly, stepping away from Tieran, her eye
s welling with angry tears. “So we get to pass each other in the halls, exchanging nasty looks
with
one another. The wife and the mistress. That works out perfectly for you, doesn’t it?”

“I have no interest in Serra sexually any longer,” he said but there was the tiniest question in his heart that must’ve made itself known in the depth of his stare because Cassandra’s breath hitched in her throat and she turned away with orders for him to leave.
Instead of arguing
the point, Tieran was happy to take his leave. Seeing Serra again, raised uncomfortable questions and feelings that he didn’t understand. He didn’t want Serra. In fact, even as angry as he was with Cassandra, he longed to bury himself deep inside her heat and fill her with his seed. Yet, he had so many memories with Serra. Scorching memories.

“I’m tired,” Cassandra murmured, plucking at his conscience
against ad I was for her delicate condition.

“Do you require anything?”

At her short bubble of sad laughter, he realized his question was ill-timed.
“I will bring you food at the dinner hour. Until then, rest.”

Cassandra remained silent as she climbed into her bed and turned on her
side
with her back
to
him.

Tieran was seized with the irrational desire to climb into that bed beside her and simply remind her with the feel of his cock that she belonged to him and him to her. But, in truth, he feared she might snap his cock off if he tried. In the interest of preserving his most precious appendage, he let himself out silently.

#

Serra startled at the sudden appearance of the old crone, Iona, disappointed that it wasn’t Tieran who’d found her in the garden. It’d been their favorite spot together and she’d hoped that Tieran would remember and find himself there.

“Child you waste your anger and your tears. The situation is beyond you,” Iona said, her wrinkled face neither sympathetic nor warm as she delivered her counsel. Serra hated the old woman. If it hadn’t been for her constant screeching about that damn prophecy, then perhaps she and Tieran would be hand-fasted by now and she’d be the one carrying his pup and not that cursed witch-whore Cassandra. “Your bitterness oozes from every pore. It will destroy you if you don’t take care.”

“Shut up, old woman. I neither asked for, nor care for, your advice. Leave me.”

“Cassandra is the Prophesied One. Not you,” Iona continued, undeterred. “You risk your soul threatening the Gods’ will.”

“You and your silly prophecy! Who knows if it’s even real? All I see is a woman who managed to pull the wool over all your eyes, pretending to be something that doesn’t exist. Tieran was my Alpha. Mine! And she took him from me. She doesn’t deserve him. She doesn’t understand our ways. I was raised to be his woman. Me! And now where am I supposed to go? Thrust from the only home I’ve ever known…why? I think Tieran has been tricked into thinking he must forsake me for her. Deep>

“What you feel is an illusion. I warned you that your path was not with Tieran. It is your own folly that you ignored my counsel. Now you must lie in the bed you’ve made.
A good match will be found for you when the Mother Goddess deems it. Perhaps when you are worthy of such a match, it will happen.”

“You mean old bitch,” Serra spit at Iona, hating the ancient woman almost as much as she hated Cassandra. “Get out of my sight. Let me grieve in peace.”

“Yes, tend to your grief, Serra; before it spurs you to madness.”

Madness? Ha. Too late. Already she felt torn in two by feelings she couldn’t quell. She’d been so happy with Tieran. Before Cassandra they’d been madly, deeply in love. And then…that dirty whore
had appeared out of nowhere to threaten everything that Serra held dear.

She didn’t care what Iona said, Tieran’s heart belonged to her. The only reason he felt conflicted was because of Cassandra’s pregnancy. Their species were bound to feel protective over their progeny. Remove the pup; remove the threat. Pregnancies were delicate. Especially for their kind. Why should Cassandra’s pregnancy be any different? Serra suffered a minor twinge at the pain Tieran would feel at the loss of his pup but Serra would soothe his broken heart by giving it something new to love.

Serra allowed her hand to drift to her own belly.
It’s true she didn’t know if she was a Breeder but t
his had to work. She wasn’t willing to lose Tieran without a fight —
 
a fight to the death, if need be.

***

The next few days passed with uncomfortable strain as Serra’s hatred and resentment settled on Cassandra’s shoulders like a heavy blanket and Tieran hadn’t visited since Serra had arrived, which only served to intensify her insecurity about having the woman in the house.

Cassandra rubbed her distended belly and muttered, “I’m living in a daytime soap opera.” In a normal world, there’s no way in hell Cassandra would’ve been living under the same roof as Tieran’s former love but then in a normal world she wouldn’t be carrying mystical twins who were growing like extraterrestrial weeds soaked i
n Miracle-Grow either.

Her back twinged and she groaned as she rolled to her side to ease the pressure. Iona had rubbed some kind of salve on her back that had helped but she couldn’t reach the spot on her back and Iona was gone for the day. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to ask Tieran to rub it on her. Though, she thought unhappily, she missed his touch so badly she was nearly shaking with need.

As if summoned by her unspoken thoughts, Tieran appeared in her doorway. The sight of him always took her breath away —
 
damn the man —
 
but who wouldn’t be struck dumb by a tall, muscular man who looked cut from marble with eyes that blazed with unrestrained hunger?

She took comfort in the fact that he was suffering from their
sexual drought as much as she but the moment she was tempted to simply forget all that crap between them and just open her arms to him, she remembered they were not living in a fairytale and he was not Prince Charming.

More like Prince Not So Charming, she wanted to grumble.

“I’ve brought you breakfast,” Tieran said, walking in with a tray laden with lots of protein. Her nose twitched at thick slabs of pepper bacon and she actually smiled a little. “Ah, the first sign of happiness in days. I must remember to always bring bacon if I hope to coax a smile from your lips.”