The Taking (erotic paranormal) (The Breeding Prophecy) (3 page)

He flipped her onto her belly, pausing to grip the twin halves of her behind in both hands and squeezing with a grunt of approval. “On your knees,” he demanded, his voice tight. “I want to see your beautiful ass in the air.”

She didn’t hesitate. In fact, it felt completely natural to offer herself to Tieran like this when in fact, if she were completely lucid, she would’ve told him to
go
fuck himself.
But there was nothing but eager compliance in her head at the moment and she simply spread her knees and lifted her backside, ready an
d quivering
.
He didn’t wait a moment. There was no teasing, no readying either. No, it was a brutal assault from the start but there was something about
Tieran that made her heart sing even as she would’ve been happy to deny it. He was a cold, ruthless jerk and she wanted nothing to do with him,
under most circumstances
.
But right n
ow, she was infected with the insatiable need to feel him inside her, thrusting into her with the same reckless abandon as they tumbled down the rabbit’s
hole
of insanity together.

His cock pressed at her entrance, thick and blunt and she shuddered as he rammed himself deep into her core. She groaned as the pain of being entered without warning faded into delicious fullness, the head of his cock banging against that elusive spot that she’d only read about in books. She writhed, impaled; gasping with pleasure. “
Yesss! Tieran! Yess! Make me yours! Fill me with your seed!”

The words flowed from her lips as if she’d suddenly been possessed and she
was helpless to stop the torrent.
“The superior male will claim the womb of the pale bitch and the resulting pup will rule the world!”

Cassandra’s breasts bounced with each hard thrust, rubbing against the linens as she clutched the comforter tightly. She was spiraling quickly, her channel gripping his cock, milking him with feral intent.
They were helpless to stop what was happening. They were both caught in a maelstrom set in motion at the beginning of time as they fulfilled an ancient creed.
It didn’t matter that neither particularly wanted the responsibility that the Gods had given them; the Gods would have their Prophecy fulfilled.

In a blinding moment, Cassandra felt melded with Tieran. She glimpsed a female face that was not her own. A wave of sorrow washed over Cassandra that clashed with the wild lust riding her hard. Momentarily disoriented, she realized she’d slipped behind the curtain of Tieran’s thoughts, similar to what had happened with Ulster.

“No!” Tieran growled savagely and suddenly Cassandra was shoved from his mind and back into her own. He withdrew and flipped her onto her back so that he hovered above her. Everything happened so fast Cassandra could only blink in stunned silence as Tieran regarded her with angry lust-hazed eyes. “Off limits,” he bit out a warning before shoving himself back into her molten core.
She gasped at the savagery and agony in his tone but quickly lost herself in the building pleasure between them.

Tieran groaned, his movements becoming frantic as his grip on her hips tightened almost painfully.
She knew what was coming. She could feel it in her bones as her own body reacted in kind. Pleasure spiraled, taking no prisoners as they both hurtled into their own black hole of pleasure where nothing existed but the sizzle of sensation obliterating their nerve endings and sending both collapsing to the bed, panting hard.

It was several moments before either realized where they were or what had happened. Cassandra’s thighs were wet with sticky fluid and her cheeks heated with the knowledge that it was Tieran’s seed dribbling from her core.
She wanted to move away but she was as weak as a newborn kitten. Tieran seemed the same, which was shocking given the man was one solid wall of muscle.

“What just happe
ned?” she asked in raspy voice, still stunned. This had been different than the other Phasing.
Vastly
different.
“What. The. Fuck. Just. Happened?”

Tieran remained silent for a long moment but she could feel the tension in the air between them as they lay sprawled naked and spent. He turned slowly to regard her, his expression resigned, and perhaps a bit angry, as he
gave her the answer she feared the most.

“The Prophecy has been set in motion.”

Tears pricked Cassandra’s eyes and her hand strayed to her flat belly. She swallowed as the import of his statement hit her hard.

“Am I pregnant?” she whispered.

Tieran rose on shaky limbs to grab his shirt and jerk it on. She
trembled as she wavered on full-
blown hysteria.
She wasn’t ready to be a mother, much less the mother of some Prophesied child! “Tieran…” she pleaded, not knowing what she was asking exactly but he heard the fear and uncertainty in her voice. He softened, albeit minutely, and his eyes returned to their striking shade of blue. “Tieran…I’m not ready for any of this…”

He buttoned his jeans slowly, almost methodically before meeting her gaze. “
That makes two of us. But we weren’t given a choice. I will send someone to help you bathe. I will bring food soon.”

“I’m not hungry,” she lied, fighting tears. “Just leave me alone. I need time to figure things out.”

“You will need food. The Phase raises your metabolism. And if you are carrying my child…you will eat, whether you want to or not. There are other things to consider now that the Prophecy has begun.”

“I don’t want this!” she shouted, her voice shaking as she struggled to her feet, mindless of her nudity. What did it matter now?
There was nothing to hide from Tieran at this point.
“I want to leave. I want to go back to college. I want to forget that I
ever met any of you people!
I had a life. I had goals and dreams. I wasn’t some mindless freakish slut who spoke in tongues and wanted to fuck anything with a dick!
”

His eyes blazed, turning dark as he advanced, scooping her into the hard shelter of his arms before she could squeak a protest. “Do you think that I wanted this?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he sneered softly. “
You are not the only one being asked to sacrifice something. You may have stumbled onto your heritage but I’ve been shouldering the weight of this clan since I turned sixteen. It’s been ground into my head that I must sire the Prophesied child to save the world
from the
hands of Clan
Janus
! So hear me when I say that just because I do not weep and wail, wringing my hands at the circumstance that I am not, in fact, grieving
for
what has been taken from me in the name of some fucking Prophecy!” He gave her a hard shake and then when she thought he might thrust her away from him as if she were diseased, he ground his mouth against hers in a short, brutal kiss that spoke of anger, pain and
burning
desire. He released her abruptly, his breath coming in short rasps as he glared.
He held her stare for a long moment then as he regained some semblance of control, he said in an icy tone, “Never presume again, Cassandra.
Ever
.
Now, stay put. I will return.”

Her breath hitched in her throat on a cry as he closed the door and as soon as he was gone, she fell back onto the bed with a sob.

Why? Why was this happening? Cassandra curled into a fe
tal ball
and cried for a good five minutes, soaking her pillow
.
When the tears finally stopped, s
he wiped her nose and rinsed her face, still confused and angry but one question rose to the surface with startling speed.

Who was the woman in Tieran’s thoughts?
Cassandra shifted with discomfort, embarrassed at her own inadvertent trespass. She hadn’t meant to pry. It wasn’t as if she had a handle on the things that she could do. Like she
’d
wanted to know that Tieran had been thinking of someone else while he was inside of her?

She could be flippant and say, who cares? But deep down, she did care. She cared a lot.

Which made zero sense but then, nothing had made sense since she’d been thrust into this nightmare of a new life so why should she expect anything would start sliding into place now?

Her eyes welled again with more tears. She supposed she’
d earned the right to bawl, right?

Hell yes.

So that’s what she did.

***

Koris found Cassandra hours later, wandering the wild, walled garden behind the house. The grounds were immense, giving the semblance of freedom, but in fact, she felt just as caged as when she was trapped in the cave with Cristophe or under lock and key with Ulster. She plucked wild lavender and brought it to her nose, inhaling deeply when Koris startled her with his presence.

She dropped the lavender and immediately went to embrace him but Koris reluctantly took a step away from her. She stared reproachfully at Koris with wounded feelings. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It is not my place to touch you any longer,” he answered wretchedly. “Even only in comfort. You are the Alpha’s woman and the Prophesied One. If you seek comfort you must find it with Tieran.”

At the mention of Tieran’s name, Cassandra turned away in irritation. “He’s the last person I would seek comfort from and the last person who would offer it,” she snapped.
The Prophecy was ruining her life. And now she couldn’t have friends? She returned to Koris, softening when she saw how lashing out had hurt Koris. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not quite myself. Well, that’s an understatement actually.” She walked to the small cement bench and sat down with an unhappy sigh. Koris followed at a respectable distance until Cassandra patted the seat beside her with a pleading expression. “Certainly there are no rules about friends sitting beside each other, right? No touching, I promise.”

He seemed uncertain but couldn’t refuse her. He sat gingerly beside her. Even though he wasn’t as large as Tieran, his body still ate up most of the bench and caused
Cassandra to smile with genuine warmth at his obvious discomfort yet desire to make her happy. “Why couldn’t it have been you or Jandin?” she asked.

She didn’t need to clarify. Koris knew what she was referring to. “It would’ve been our honor to be your champion,” Koris murmured. “I would that things were different for you from the start. But we cannot live in the past, only in the present. Tieran is a good Alpha. He will protect you with his life as he would anyone in his clan.”

“He hates me,” she whispered. Koris struggled to refute her claim without being dishonest but she saved him the trouble, saying, “Please don’t bother. The Phase, as lousy as it is, has given me certain insights. He is with me because he’s expected to be, not because he wanted to be. It seems no one wants me for me,” she added with a dose of self-pity.

“Tieran is a difficult man to understand. He is very private. I would not presume to know his feelings, however,” Koris began cautiously
, trying to find the right words.
“
D
on’t give up on him.
The Gods would not have put you in his path if it were not meant to be.”

“Koris, I don’t have your faith. I was raised in a normal household where I had chores and homework, not tales of legends and prophesies. I don’t know if I believe in fate or destiny. I’m overwhelmed with everything that has happened and frankly, I just want to go home.”

“You are home,” Koris
reminded her gently. She shook her head vehemently and Koris sighed. “You may not believe in fate or destiny but it believes in you. We all believe in you.”

“Why?”

Koris smiled and unfolded himself from the tiny bench with a slight grunt, causing her to allow a tiny smile. “Because you are special. When you stop fighting it, you will understand. Right now, the Prophesied Child is likely growing in your womb. When your maternal instincts kick in, you will know what it’s like to believe in something you’ve never known.”

She held back the caustic remark that hovered on her tongue. Koris was trying to help; there was no sense in being rude. But she didn’t feel better. In fact, she felt worse. What if she didn’t have maternal instincts? What if she was a terrible mother? “Thanks,” she murmured, looking away. “I appreciate your kindness. It’s more than Tieran has shown me.”

“Give it time. He is grieving, too,” he said.

“For what?” she asked, looking up sharply. He must’ve realized he’d revealed too much and tightened his lips. “Don’t leave me in the dark, Koris,” she begged, needing a little insight or she’d go insane. “He mentioned something similar but I didn’t understand.”

Koris looked anxiously around the garden as if worried about being overheard. Cassandra held her breath, desperate to know more about the man who would father her child, whether she liked it or not. Finally, he leaned down to share in a low voice, “It is not for me to say but Tieran was forced to give up something dear to him when it became
apparent that the Prophesied One had come into her Breeding Time. When we discovered you…Tieran had to forsake the woman he loved.”

Cassandra gasped and drew back, shocked to her toes.
The image of the woman she’d glimpsed flashed in her mind and she fought a growl of possession that came from nowhere. She recovered without Koris noticing, yet added with dismay,
“He had a
girlfriend
?”