THE AWAKENING

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 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 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.”
“She fought like a warrior,” Tieran said, proud of Cassandra. “She’s a mate worthy of an Alpha.”
Serra sniffed with disdain but withheld further comment. Tieran took her silence as a good sign that she was accepting their new
fates and that eased the worry in his heart.

“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.”
Serra started to say something but he was impatient to check on Cassandra and left Serra behind. Whatever else Serra had to
say could wait. His mate needed him.
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?”
“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 him growl low in his chest. “Cassandra 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 eyes 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 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.