Chapter-21-


    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, cing 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 shed 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 n’s wealthe from? I mean, n 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 n.”


    One dark sh 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 wille 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 implyziness on my part.”


    “No, not at all,” she said, rushing to rify. “I’m just trying to understand and put things into ce 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,


    n 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. n Janus has been foolish in


    not taking a more active role in the health of their n finances. However, ording 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 n members spoke well of the Alpha. “An Alpha’s job is to protect his n, not


    rule through tyranny.”


    “Yeah, well, I guess Ulster wasn’t in ss 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 revtion. “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 rified 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 rxed 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 n


    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 y 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 exhrating it’d felt to simply put


    miles between herself and everyone else.


    “I think I would like that, too,” she admitted, smiling in understanding. A moment passed between them


    that resembled the beginnings of camaraderie and she savored the brief respite.


    “It is unusual for a female to turn,” he said. “I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that you are so


    different, in so many ways.”


    “That’s me, different,” she agreed. “I think the world my mother always used to describe me was,


    peculiar.”


    “A human raising a werewolf, it’s a travesty,” he said with disgust.


    “Well, it sounds like my parents had good reason to hide me.”


    Tieran grunted with reluctant understanding. Maybe they were making some headway.


    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 red 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 am 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’spany.”


    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 y 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.”


    “I cannot,” he said in a low, gruff tone. She risked a nce at him and gasped when she saw the lust


    had not cleared his gaze. Just knowing that he grew hard as his stare roamed her body was enough to


    slick her channel with readiness.


    She hated that she was primed for his cock at a second’s notice and yet, she eagerly anticipated the


    moment when he would push himself deep inside her.


    “I need you,” he admitted in a tone she’d never heard him use with her. God, she hoped he wasn’t


    speaking to Serra and using her as a poor substitute.


    “Me?” she dared, almost hating herself for needing to know.


    “Yes, Cassandra,” he groaned, ripping his shirt from his body and shedding his jeans. He palmed the


    long, thick length that seemed to pulse as it grew before her eyes and she quickly divested herself of


    her own clothing.


    She knew by heart the feel of his hard, hot shaft as it passed between herher lips, knew his


    particr scent as if it’d been branded on her soul and she didn’t believe she’d ever tire of the feeling


    or the smell.


    His stare centered on her rounding belly and he dropped to his knees before her. He pulled her closer


    and rested his head on the soft skin of her stomach.


    Nuzzling the flesh, he whispered something in anguage she didn’t recognize but it caused a flood of


    emotion to ripple through her and steal her breath.


    But as quickly as the sweet moment hade, it passed and soon, Tieran had pushed her down to her


    back and hooked her legs over his shoulders. She shuddered with delicious delight at the first strong


    swipe of his tongue across the sensitive, swollen nub of her clitoris.


    She arched and groaned, losing herself to the skill her Alpha wielded with his tongue as he swirled and


    plundered her most private ce until she was gasping and groaning loud enough to alert the entire


    house to their activities.


    “Tieran!” she cried as every muscle clenched in wonderful unison, creating a tidal wave of pleasure that


    washed over her in pink and amber waves of delight. She was still reeling from her orgasm when he


    pushed himself inside her, going deep enough to pop a satisfied groan from his lips as he seated


    himself to the hilt with her legs still thrown over his shoulders.


    He met her gaze and thrust against her, his hips flexing with masculine strength against her feminine


    core. She cried out as another wave of pleasure rocked her body, sensation crashing down around her,


    ramping up the crescendo that never failed to sweep her away.


    Tieran’s body swelled, growingrger and fiercer as he rode the razor’s edge of passion. A growl


    rumbled in his chest that thrilled her beyond measure and intensified her pleasure. An answering growl


    sounded in her chest and she squeezed her eyes shut, losing herself to the blinding carnal sweetness


    of their joining.


    The mattress soundlessly absorbed every savage thrust but the frame shuddered as it knocked the


    wall, creating a tell-tale rhythm that told the entirepound what they were doing to each other.


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    On the heels of that dark, sinful knowledge, Cassandra tumbled over the ledge and hurtled into muscle-


    clenching pleasure as her orgasm rattled through her body, erasing all rational thought and sending her


    drifting through a pleasure-induced haze.


    Tieran shouted his release secondster and flooded her channel with his thick cream, bathing her


    womb with the essence that further bonded them with each spurt.


    Rolling from her body with a groan, Tieran copsed beside her, his breathing as harsh as her own as


    rivulets of sweat dripped from his temple. He smelled of man and sex — a headybination.


    She could smell their joining in the air and the scent was sweeter than the most sought-after essential


    oil. She wanted to bury her nose in his groin and inhale the scent that was quickly bing the scent


    that she craved as much as she craved a steak, dripping red with blood.


    Tieran…her Alpha.