Running from an abusive husband and stepfather, Agnes and Cassandra flee to Wolf Creek where Connor, the young alpha takes them in much to the elders' disapproval. Humans are not welcome in a werewolf pack. But Cassandra is Connor's fated mate. The only problem is, she doesn't know that she is a werewolf and the beta's daughter. The story revolves around four characters who face their individual challenges and emotional problems.
Lihat lebih banyakCASSANDRA
Was there such a thing as destiny? I’ve often wondered about it. Were our lives really planned out from birth to our imminent death, or was it just purely coincidence and our own actions that determined our fate?
Decide for yourself. I still can’t.
But what happened three days ago was the turning point that changed my life, not just mine, but all of ours, even the people that I didn’t even know existed. All our lives changed as the result of one minor act of defiance. Well, alright, it wasn’t all that minor.
*****
“Hurry, Cassie! Before he wakes up.” The frantic woman screaming at me was my mother, Agnes Morelli, née Browne. She hurried from the kitchen, her heels rapping a tattoo over the tile floor. Two black bags in hand, she rushed upstairs, while I marveled at the blood pooling at my feet.
I stared down at the inert body of my stepfather with mixed emotions. “Are you sure he’s not dead?” Would it be a loss for humanity if he were? Certainly not.
The brass naked woman I hit him with lay to one side, her pedestal bloodstained. She didn’t break. Lucky for her.
“No, I checked. He’s still breathing.” Agnes shouted down at me from upstairs. I heard cupboards opening and shutting as she presumably grabbed clothing and fuck knows what.
Where would we go? I guess I wasn’t thinking about it when I hit the bastard.
A few hours ago
He was late, as usual. Dinner was getting cold. She made his favorite: roast chicken and potatoes with vegetables. She was always trying to please Frank, but nothing we did ever pleased Frank. He always found something to belittle her or me.
“Let’s eat and you can go out, Cassie. You don’t have to stay until he comes home.” Mom said, dishing up for us.
“Are you sure, Mom? You know how he gets.” I voiced my concerns, positive he would come home drunk and argumentative. We’ve been through this before.
Why she stayed with him for seven years was beyond me. He was a real piece of work. I didn’t know my father who died before I was born, but I was sure that he wasn’t like Frank Morelli at all.
We were doing fine on our own until he came into our lives. Agnes had a good job, and I had the neighbors looking after me while she was at work at the restaurant. Life was perfect. Then he came and swept her off her feet.
What the hell was she thinking? Mom was pretty and kind, with chestnut brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. She had a delicate figure too for her age, even though she was pushing forty. She could have any man she wanted, but she settled for the scumbag Morelli. Ignoring the gossip going around Miami that he was into some shady business. Money was in no short supply. We didn’t want for anything. But it came at a price. He owned us.
For years I had been afraid of him, but as a teenager, that changed. I despised him. The older I got, the worse it got. Recently I began feeling antsy, like something was scratching at the surface, trying to get out. Every time I saw him, the resentment got stronger. The beast under the surface wanted to claw its way out, to tear out Frank Morelli’s throat. Maybe I should talk to Agnes about it, get some help. I would wake up in the middle of the night sure I heard someone calling my name. I thought it was because of the stress of cramming for mid-terms and Frank breathing down my neck. A night out would take the edge off.
I took my time changing into a tight-fitting black off-the-shoulder dress, did my make-up and left my wavy auburn hair loose. Slipping my stilettos on, I went downstairs to eat dinner with Agnes. I was on my way to the new club that opened in town where my girlfriends would meet up with me for a night of dancing and, hopefully, meeting someone nice.
We had just finished our dinner when he staggered into the kitchen, the smell of stale cigarettes and whiskey wafting towards us. It made my stomach churn with disgust.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, Cassandra?” His broad shoulders blocked the doorway as he scrutinized me from top to toe. “Dressed like a cheap slut!”
“I’m going out, Frank,” I told him and tried to push past him. I was no longer a child to be pushed around. His smell surrounded me, caged me in.
“Like hell you are! Get your ass back upstairs!” He shoved me, and I staggered, catching the side of the kitchen table to regain my balance. “Dressed like that, you’re going nowhere!” he sneered at me, dark eyes narrowed like that of a predator.
“The fuck Frank! You can’t tell me what to do!” I seethed with righteous anger. Fuck him, he was not my father. I pushed past him into the lounge. My car keys were on the bureau next to my clutch.
The plan was to get out of there before he could stop me. But then I heard Agnes stand up to him and I froze.
“Frank, let her go. She is seventeen years old. Stop treating her like a child,” she pleaded, her voice trembling with fear.
“Damn it…” I muttered, knowing what would come next. I couldn’t leave her alone with him. Not again.
I heard her yelp of pain and turned around to go back. He had her by the hair, pulling her along to the lounge. Her eyes teared up, but she dared not make a sound. Frank was tall, my mother’s petite frame dwarfed by him as he manhandled her.
“Don’t undermine me, Agnes!” he slurred the words. “While she’s living under my roof, she’ll do as I say, and I won’t take her disrespect!” With every word, he shook her like a dog with a toy.
The anger that welled up from the pit of my stomach was an acid of fire consuming everything in its path, seeing her helpless like that. “Hey, asshole! Leave my mother alone.” My shaking fingers curled around the nearest object, a brass statue of a naked woman. No more would I let him hurt my mother.
Dark eyes snapped to mine. He shoved Agnes away from him. She landed on the floor in a pitiful heap.
“Think you’re all grown-up now? You want to take me on, little girl?” Frank jeered; his face contorted into an ugly wolfish snarl. “Want to hit me?” He staggered towards me, goading me by beckoning to me. “C’mon then!”
Anger fueled my strength, and I lashed out. The statue caught him on the side of his head with a sickening crunch. He crashed to the marble floor like a felled redwood. I was vaguely aware of Agnes screaming. Bile threatened to rise in my throat, but by some miracle I didn’t throw up. The statue slid out of my hand, landing near his head.
****
At present
“Don’t just stand there, for God’s sake! He could wake up any moment.” Agnes shoved a bag into my hands. She grabbed the car keys and my clutch, carefully stepping over Frank’s still form. Her shoes made small red dots over the white marble floor as we made our way towards the front door.
Maybe it was shock, this out-of-body experience that I was having, like I was floating near the ceiling and staring down at this little drama. Or maybe it was just elation. I had stopped him from hurting Agnes and now we were making our escape.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I followed Agnes to my car, a bright yellow Honda E. I kept looking at the front door, expecting Frank to come charging at us. But he never did.
“As far as we can get. Do you have the pink slip for your car?” she asked as she dumped the bags into the boot before getting in behind the wheel.
“Yes, why?” I took the passenger seat as if in a trance.
“It’s too conspicuous and where we’re going, they don’t use electric cars.” I wasn’t used to this take-charge kind of behavior of hers. She was usually so timid, or maybe that was just how Frank made her appear.
She reversed the car out of the driveway, maneuvering it like a pro. I have never seen her drive, didn’t even know she had a license. Frank was always the one driving her around. He only got me the car because it was too much of a hassle driving me to and back from college.
****
Who was this woman, Agnes Morelli? She sold my car. It surprised me how easy it was to get rid of it and it surprised me even more that I didn’t even feel sad to see it go, although the car salesperson was a shark, giving us a lemon to replace my pristine Honda.
“Will this thing get us to where you’re taking us, Mom?” I had to voice my doubts.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she asked me for my cellphone. I handed it to her, and, to my utter horror, she threw it out of the window onto the freeway. I watched it bounce three times before it hit barriers and disintegrated.
“Mother! Why the fuck did you do that?!” I yelled.
“We’ll get burner phones. Wouldn’t want him to trace us, now, would we?” she gave me a Cheshire cat grin. “Oh, my God! I can’t believe we’re finally free of Frank Morelli!” she laughed.
Cassandra“What's Alpha Troy got against you, Luna Cassie?” Henna and I walked side-by-side toward my parents' house. I was so thrilled to have Henna as my beta; not even Connor's grumpy dad could ruin this. He could suck my … “Oh, I don't know. Maybe he just dislikes me because I have a human mother.” It felt far more complex than that, though.“But you have an alpha wolf! That's awesome!”I thought so too, but apparently that wasn’t enough to win my in-law’s approval. Connor told me not to care what they thought. Easy enough to say, and I tried to let it roll off my back. Some days are easier than others.“Yeah, about that…” I worried about leaving for the academy. Because of Connor and Aiden especially. The thought of leaving them made me sick. I had doubts lately, but Connor was so excited for me to go, and I knew it was best for everyone. I've always been fiercely competitive, driven to excel, and that's pushing me to be the best Luna for Connor and the pack.Okay, mostly for my
ConnorEver since we’ve completed the mate bond, it’s like I am obsessed with Cassie. Yesterday I wanted to take her over my knee for disobeying me. But I ended up fucking the daylights out of her. Or was it the other way around? I can’t focus when she’s around and I can’t breathe without her. How the hell would I cope when she’s away at Alpha Academy? I am regretting my decision to send her away. Maybe my dad was right. I was making myself vulnerable. But I couldn’t back out now. She’s looking forward to it.I guess Aiden and I’ll be doing a lot of traveling in the next year.“So, how will this work?" Cassie asked, a worried look on her face. "They won't have to, like, fight to the death, will they?”I almost burst out laughing. “You watch too many horror movies, sweetheart.” We were at the training grounds, watching the omegas prepare for the Luna's beta competition. “It's a test of speed, strength, and mental ability. They'll spar with each other and some of my best warriors.”I ha
“No, of course you have a choice!” I broke free of Connor’s grasp and went to Henna, clasping her shoulders. “We will make sure of that. You just need to trust us. Trust Connor, like you have always done.” I knew Connor would likely chew my ear off for stepping in, but I couldn’t bear the devastation on their faces.“I will notify you once they’ve arrived,” Connor spoke over my head. “Go about your normal business, but those of you who have concerns come to my office.” He turned on his heel and went back into the pack house, leaving me behind.The stiff way he carried himself told me I was in a world of trouble because he was bristling with anger. I excused myself from the omegas with reassurances that even sounded hollow to my mind and hurried to catch up with him.We scarcely entered our floor when he turned on me. “I asked you to let me handle it!” he shouted. “What the hell, Cassie?”“They needed to know the truth!” I shouted back. “You weren’t about to tell them the whole…”“I di
CassandraThe mouthwatering aroma of roast chicken and garlic made me aware of how much I missed Agnes’ cooking. We were having dinner with them when Connor filled us in on the latest trouble heading our way.“Breeders?” I asked. What century were we in even? “That can’t be legal?”Joel explained, “In the past, some packs would force the young, unmated omegas to bear them pups. Especially when their numbers dwindled because of wars or other causes.”“You mean like actual breeding machines? But that is barbaric!” Agnes exclaimed, visibly upset. “It shouldn’t be allowed.” She stroked over her pregnant belly, which had expanded considerably over the last week or so. My little sibling was growing fast.Connor nodded. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said. “But if I refuse them, it could mean another war.” His brow creased with worry. I blamed his father for this, but I couldn’t say it out loud. Actually, I should.“This is your father’s doing,” I blurted out. “I’m sorry, but he is out of his f
“Get someone to clean up this mess instead of glaring at me like that,” he said, shouldering past me to exit the basement. Ordering me around like he was still in charge. He would never change.If he thought I would just let this slide, he should think again. What was he afraid of? What did he stand to lose? He was dying anyway. No matter what he did, he was still my father, and I loved him unconditionally. Even if I didn’t always like him.I charged after him while yelling orders through the mind link for the men to burn the bodies and clean up the cells. It stank of blood and excrement.“Dad!” I caught up with him just as he was about to go upstairs. “We need to talk.” I motioned him into an empty guestroom for some privacy.“There’s nothing left to say. You should have taken care of that problem that same day they attacked.” He went into the adjoining bathroom to clean up.“Sure. That would have been convenient for you, wouldn’t it?” If he heard me, he didn’t let on. I waited for h
ConnorIt's been a long night, but the celebrations were far from over. While the pack celebrated the hunt, drinking, dancing, and enjoying the feast, I spirited Cassie away to our bedroom. I wanted to give her my gift privately.“That was insane!” she couldn’t stop talking about the run through the woods in her wolf form. “Why wouldn’t one want to be a wolf all the time? I mean, it’s amazing…”I had to stop her excited chatter by kissing her thoroughly, claiming her breath and tasting the cherry wine she had drunk. Which she probably had a little too much of, given her ecstatic state. She moaned into my mouth, and we landed on the couch with her straddling me. It was hard to stop with her grinding her sweet ass on my cock. Our wolves were sated after their mating, but it didn’t mean we were.“Cassie, love…” I cupped her face, tearing myself away from her lips. “I have something to give you, babe.”She stroked over my crotch, and she gave me a lopsided, cheeky grin. “Yeah, I bet you d
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