Who Will Cassidy Belong To Ch. 01

"Why did you kiss me this morning if you are engaged to someone else?" I ask him bluntly. He drops his gaze thoughtfully and rubs his chin, growling softly to himself in frustration.

"I felt a connection to you that I have never felt for another before." He answers simply.

"Then why are you engaged to her if you don't feel that for her?" My curiosity gets the better of me. Griffin chuckles at me when I blush yet again.

"I am not engaged to Porscha." He explains with a sigh. "I have been discussing the possibility with her father for political reasons. I had given up the thought that my true mate was out there somewhere."

"True mate, like soulmate?" I persist.

"Yes Cassidy." He leans forward and lowers his lips to mine possessively. I shiver at the zap of electricity I feel from his touch and open to his tongue with a happy sigh. He pulls me onto his lap and deepens the kiss even further. I cling to him as I respond eagerly and feel my nipples harden almost painfully causing me to moan. He raises his head and strokes his thumb across my face softly.

"I will let you know what is going on after the council meeting." He tells me encouragingly.

Aunt Ivy is anxiously pacing the hallway when we exit the office and after dipping her head submissively to Griffin looks at us questioningly.

"She is going back to the diner now and I will make my decision after the council meeting, which you will be sitting in on Ivy." Griffin tells her.

"Thank you Lord Regnier." Aunt Ivy replies softly before he walks away down the hallway.

I follow her outside to my Suburban where she pulls me into a tight hug. I cling to her, terrified that I will not be allowed to be with her and be forced to run from Lucius for the rest of my life.

"I will come to you as soon as Lord Regnier allows me to." Aunt Ivy reassures me tenderly. I get into my truck and grudgingly drive back towards town. Once in my apartment I am restless so I spend several hours cleaning from top to bottom. I scrub all of the walls, windows and wood floors, even wiping down all the furniture and cupboards. It is dark by the time I hop in the shower and instead of flopping down in front of the television I decide to go for a run.

I peek out one of the back windows and see two werewolves from the compound guarding the diner. How am I going to go for a run with them down there?

I am not a prisoner; I can go where I please. If they decide to follow along then that is there business, but I am not going to stay in because of them.

I skip down the stairs and out the back door grinning at them sarcastically before I run for the trees behind the diner. They gaze at each other quizzically before rushing after me.

I shift into my leopard as soon as I am within the safety of forest and I can growls behind me as they change too. I race towards the safety of the national park my feline exultant in her long overdue freedom. I have no problems staying ahead of the wolves, one of the benefits of being a big cat. Even though a clouded leopard is considered a big cat they are only about thirty-five pounds fully grown. I, on the other hand, am twice that size at around seventy pounds and am still only half the size of the werewolves.

Clouded leopards also have extremely long fangs which are used for severing the juggler instead of suffocating their prey, another strength over the wolf. Their back feet can also hang onto a branch enabling the cat to hang upside down should the need arise.

I have been running for almost an hour when a strange smell causes to stop in my tracks. Instantly the two wolves surround me and howl as they stare out into the trees alertly.

I roar, which sounds more like a moan, warning whatever it is to stay away. Suddenly the three of us are approached by a huge clouded leopard, easily twice the size of the wolves. Before I can react the leopard has ripped out the throat of one of the wolves and turns to the other confidently.

I run off into the trees, hoping to draw the leopard away from the wolf so he can make it back to the compound for help. Unfortunately I hear them struggle then a loud thump before one of them enters the trees following me. Not stopping to see who won the fight I circle back towards the diner and run for my life. I am nearing the parking lot to the diner when the leopard tackles me easily from behind. I am pinned under him helplessly while I growl and snap at him. Before my eyes the leopard shifts back into a person who incredibly looks just like me with silvery blonde hair and violet eyes.

I try to run away after he backs up but I am unable to move a muscle. He smiles at me knowingly and I can see his fangs lengthen menacingly. Against my will I feel myself changing back into my human form and no matter how hard I try to hold onto my feline I am powerless to stop it.

I lie on the ground, totally naked, while he leers at me heatedly. He doesn't look like he quite reaches six feet and has a slim build. Slowly he reaches out and cups my chin firmly, turning my face to the side as he lowers his head to my throat. Unable to even squirm away from him I scream when I feel him sink his fangs into my neck hungrily. The pain quickly turns sexual and has me panting with my growing desire. My brain fights this reaction but I can do nothing about it. He drains me until I feel like I will pass out and then scratches his chest.

I growl upon seeing a thin line of blood trickle down his chest and an intense hunger I have never felt surges through me. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and cradles me close to him then guides my unwilling lips to the bleeding gash. As soon as a drop of the blood touches my tongue I am totally lost as sensations course through me intensely.

I hear myself purr as I greedily swallow and clutch his chest submissively. I can vaguely feel him stroking my hair and murmuring to me in a language I do not recognize.

He pulls me away from his chest and I growl threateningly but he just chuckles at me in amusement. I lie on the ground with my head spinning feeling like I am going to be sick. A surge of strength courses through me and I feel his hold on me slip away. I am on my feet instantly and up the stairs to my apartment within seconds.

I grab the UV light that I packed from home and sit on a kitchen chair in the far corner so I can see the whole apartment safely. I sit in that position until the sun starts to peek over the horizon hours later before I finally get up to take a shower.

I see numerous bruises all over my body from Lucius as well as the nasty bite mark on the curve of my neck. I clean the bite with alcohol and tape a gauze pad on it to keep it clean before dressing for work.

Flo is immediately concerned when she sees all of my bruises as well as the bandage on my neck. I assure her that I am fine and lose myself in my work so I don't have think about it.

Within an hour of opening the diner Griffin comes in and I can tell from glancing at his face that he is very upset. When his eyes find mine I can see his face pale as he takes me in. He pulls me into a corner booth and gestures to a girl who followed him inside. She immediately takes over all of my tables.

"Lucius." Griffin states the obvious.

"Yes." I state shamefully. "I went for a run last night. The two men you posted here followed me to their deaths. I am sorry."

"It is not your fault." He reassures me gently. "You could not have known that he would find you so quickly."

"Have you come to send me away so no more of your pack is killed?" I drop my gaze to the table, fighting tears.

"No Cassidy. I have come to take you home to your Aunt Ivy." He strokes my cheek affectionately.

"After what I caused?" I ask him in complete shock.

"I protect my own Cassidy and you were born part of the pack. You have not betrayed us, you are the victim." He explains softly. "Let me go talk to Flo and then we will go up to pack your things."

I watch he and Flo talk anxiously, but she seems to understand. I allow him to walk me up to the apartment quickly. Luckily I didn't really unpack so we gather up my things in just a few minutes. He hands the keys to my SUV to a guy from the pack and insists I ride with him.

At the compound Griffin insists that I share his floor of the main building. It is set up like a plush hotel suite with one living room, two bedrooms and a small kitchenette. As I follow him through the main living area where the were's hang out I see anger and shock when I get into Griffin's elevator.

"This isn't going to help me make friends with everyone." I state softly, wondering why, except for the kisses we shared, he wants me in his rooms. I am a freak!

Once I have my things in my bedroom he hands me a key.

"Cassidy, when you first saw me in the diner what did you feel?" He asks me vaguely.

"I felt really drawn to you; it was strange because I have never felt that way for anyone before." I confess with a blush.

"I felt the same way Cassidy and I have never felt that before either." He tells me honestly. "With werewolves that is how we can tell if we have found our True Mate."

"I thought Porscha was going to be your mate?" I ask anxiously.

"I am very old Cassidy, well over a hundred and was starting to give up finding my True Mate. I was considering Porscha because politically it would have been a good idea by joining two very powerful packs." He explains to me logically.

"Why did everyone glare when I got into your elevator?" I ask bluntly.

"I have never brought anyone up to my floor. I have relieved myself sexually with many of the women in my pack but always somewhere else." He chuckles. "They were jealous and angry because they now realize your place in the pack."

"What place would that be?"

"Together we are the Alpha Pair, so that makes you an Alpha as well as me." He explains with a smile. "After the mating ceremony they will have show submission to you too."

"What about the council?" I persist stubbornly. "They said I was tainted yesterday and treated me like I was the enemy? Now they are just supposed to accept me as their Alpha?"

"We are having a council meeting in just a few minutes and will be talking about this then." He strokes my back softly before pulling me into his arms. He claims my lips possessively and I again marvel at the electric current that flows between the two of us. Clinging to the front of his shirt I respond eagerly and hear my inner feline start to purr loudly. He growls in response and deepens the kiss even further. I am lost in all the sensations coursing through my tiny frame and am breathing heavily when he breaks the kiss.

"We have to get downstairs before this goes any further." He whispers huskily. I color a light pink and reluctantly follow back to the main floor. We are holding hands when we exit the elevator and I hear several angry growls which Griffin completely ignores.

In the council room I am the one who sits next to him instead of Porscha. She glares at me with hatred burning in her icy blue eyes.

"I realize that most of you still view Cassidy as a threat to the safety of our pack, but there is something none of you have taken into consideration." Griffin speaks authoritatively. "She was born a part of our pack as Reyna Jacqueme's daughter. She has done nothing warranting her removal from her home, she is the victim of everything that has happened to her. She can benefit the pack in the future by giving our offspring her psychic gifts and extra strength. This will make those children stronger than our enemies."

"Why is she staying in your rooms and sitting in my place at the council table?" Porscha growls furiously.

"I have already contacted your father to cancel any further talks of a Mating between our packs." Griffin states gently. "Cassidy is my True Mate and I will not live my life without her by my side."

"You can't do that!" Porscha screeches in a rage. "You are the only one my father wants to leave the pack to!"

"Then he will have to figure out a different way for it to happen because I will not be mating with you." Griffin explains calmly while Porscha looks like she will explode soon. I am sitting there wishing I could just disappear into the floor. When I sneak a glance around the table I see my Aunt Ivy is totally thrilled wearing a joyous smile on her face. Everyone else is either in shock or furious.

"When do you propose to have the ceremony?" Aunt Ivy asks happily.

"There is a full moon on Saturday night; I think that would be appropriate." Griffin states as he gazes around the table challengingly.

No one speaks and Griffin closes the meeting with a shrug. Aunt Ivy immediately comes over and pulls me into her arms lovingly.

"Welcome home Cassidy." She whispers into my ear.

"Why don't you give her a tour and see if she is hungry." Griffin suggests with a warm smile. "I have some arrangements to see to for Saturday night."

Aunt Ivy takes me around the other three stories of the main building, showing me the kitchen, dining room, living room, rec room, weight room and the wings with the bedrooms.

She brings me back into the kitchen and asks me if I would be interested in some eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. My stomach growls loudly answering her before I can open my mouth. She laughs and sits me at the table with a cup of coffee while she begins preparing breakfast.

She chats while she cooks, filling me in on pack dynamics so I understand my place here. She explains how as an Alpha I have to answer to no one save Griffin. There are also Beta's that are considered immediately under Alpha's in rank and then at the bottom are the Omega's who basically serve everyone above them.

She then explains to me that anyone can challenge another for their rank. There are different levels of Beta's, those closest in rank to Griffin and those further away. Whoever wins the fight takes over or keeps the desired rank.

After Aunt Ivy and I have eaten and cleaned up the kitchen Porscha walks in with a large group of women. Porscha approaches me haughtily while the women block the doorway not allowing Aunt Ivy and me to leave the room.

"I challenge you Cassidy." Porscha growls at me menacingly.

"You can't do that Porscha; you aren't a part of this pack." Aunt Ivy steps in front of me protectively.

"If I hide behind you now Aunt Ivy no one will ever respect me." I point out logically.

Aunt Ivy reluctantly moves aside just as Porscha charges me. Accustomed to being a leopard I am much more nimble than she is and I easily move aside. She growls as she can't stop her momentum and slams into the wall. I may be a good seven inches shorter than her but I believe I am stronger. When she charges me again I allow her to grab me by the throat. I take her wrist in my hand, pivot slightly and flip her onto her back, slamming her into the floor roughly winding her completely. I have just placed my foot on her windpipe, effectively blocking her breathing when Griffin and several other men step into the room.

"What is going on here?" Griffin asks tightly.

"Porscha challenged Cassidy." Aunt Ivy states nonchalantly.

"Porscha is not part of this pack." Griffin points out furiously.

"I brought that to her attention, but Cassidy said if she didn't fight her no one would respect her." Aunt Ivy explains with a smile.

I step back allowing Porscha to get to her feet as she gasps for breathe. Porscha turns to Griffin with fake tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Don't!" Griffin roars at her angrily. "You have ten minutes to gather your things and leave the compound. You have overstepped yourself for the last time Porscha! You are no longer welcome here."

"Are you alright?" Griffin rushes across the room to me anxiously.

"Yes, I'm fine." I reply with a sad expression. "This is one reason why I prefer my leopard to my wolf. Leopards are content to live a solitary existence and don't have to contend with jealousy or competition."

"They also miss out on the love of a mate that stays with them all year as well as the support of a family that loves and supports them." Griffin points out reasonably.

"I may have you as my mate and be technically part of the pack but no one here except Aunt Ivy loves and supports me." I state bluntly.

"Give it some time Cassidy." Griffin encourages me. "We are not accustomed to accepting a stranger into our midst. Once everyone gets to know you it will be better."

"I suppose you are right." I concede softly. "I am going to go up and take a nap, I'm exhausted."

"Alright. I will be up to check on you in a little while." Griffin says and leans down to kiss me gently.