THE AWAKENING

“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.

kooky religious cult instead of some paranormal underground species that just so happens to be caught up

all the pairs of eyes staring at her

bristled. She hated when he bossed her around like she was an underling of some sort, or

to, but because she couldn’t stand another minute being scrutinized for circumstances

of unpleasant things had been forced upon her —

damn, she was hungry enough to eat a horse.

she waited. Tieran, the Alpha, and consequently, one

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

might’ve tried to find a way to rip

had been kicking into

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

of stupid that it mattered to

Phasing period of her Breeding Time and now

sex. And considering that the one person who would oblige couldn’t actually stand to be around her unless he was forced,

their DNA, Cassandra didn’t think Tieran would have sex with her ever again but as it was, he couldn’t help

wound itself tighter around them, drawing them

want her now that she’d conceived his child. Cristophe had told her that it was an evolutionary protection for the species.

Alpha would always protect his mate when

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