THE AWAKENING

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.

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 him.

“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. “I know you didn’t know me before the whole Phase thing started but I was a totally different person. I was happy, funny, studious, basically, a regular college student with dreams and aspirations. Now I’m just a magical womb and that’s not sitting so well on my heart.”

“You are so much more than that,” he disagreed.

“Yeah? Tell that to the stupid Prophesy everyone seems to be so wrapped up in. What if it’s all a bunch of hooey? What if everything you guys are basing your actions on is nothing but a bunch of old wives’ tales meant to keep control of a wild pack? I mean, myths and legends of every culture are grounded in some simple desire for order and control, to explain the mysteries of life so that confusion and chaos don’t rule. Mythology A, freshman year,” she quipped with a snort. “It’s basic human nature.”

“We aren’t human and neither are you,” he reminded her.

“Right. I guess that’s an important distinction,” she said with a sullen frown. “Still trying to wrap my head around that.”

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. 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 with a plaintive whine. “Either of you would’ve been fabulous. At least you guys like me. He looks at me like I’m an inherited disease that he has to tolerate.”

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.”

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

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. “Don’t give up on him. The

a normal household where I had chores and homework, not tales of legends and prophesies.

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

“Why?”

the tiny bench with a slight grunt, causing her to allow a small 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

Koris was trying to help; there

didn’t feel better.

if she didn’t have maternal instincts? What if

murmured, looking away. “I appreciate your kindness. It’s more than Tieran has

it time. He is grieving,

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

as if worried

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.

she’d glimpsed flashed in her mind and she fought a growl

added with dismay, “He

sharply, glancing to see if they were still alone. “Yes. Of sorts. It was ill-fated from the start but Tieran would

difficult to reconcile the hard-hearted bastard she knew Tieran to be with the image of a man

not feel that way about her.

news spread that you had been found, she couldn’t face being

the reluctant other woman,” Cassandra said softly, still reeling from the information.

weren’t meant to be and they knew it,” Koris said in a hard tone, surprising her. “It is what it is. As I said before, it is unhealthy to dwell in the

in sharing this information with her. Koris dipped his head in a subtle bow and left the garden, leaving Cassandra

to him for the sake of

him a pass on his craptastic attitude toward her, but it did help her to understand his animosity. So they both had reasons to hate their roles in this little

that leave them now? Her hand drifted to her stomach. What if she had conceived his