Who Will Cassidy Belong To

Who will Cassidy belong to; Alpha Wolf or Ancient Vampire?

Chapter 1

I have just graduated from high school and am totally excited to start college in the fall. I am going for a PH.D in history; although I am not sure what career I am going to choose once I am finished.

It is just my dad and I, Mom died shortly after I was born. I love my dad very much, but I feel like I don't belong because we are so different. He is just a normal human while me on the other hand is some weird hybrid freak of nature that I have had to keep a secret from everyone I have ever known.

Dad told me all about how my mom was a werewolf; honest to God, because when I hit puberty I started changing with the full moon. Only, a wolf isn't the only animal I can change into. I can also change into a clouded leopard, which my mother couldn't do.

It seems that when my mom was pregnant with me she was bitten by a vampire who also forced her to drink his blood and that changed my DNA even more. My poor Mom was sick for the rest of the pregnancy and died shortly thereafter. As a result of my vampire donor I can move objects and people with my mind, which I have been able to do my whole life. Dad had a lot of fun teaching me not to do it in public.

My guess is that my psychic abilities as well as the clouded leopard thing come from the vampire blood. As if I am not enough of a freak I look nothing like my parent's. Mom had red hair and green eyes while Dad has brown hair and green eyes. I on the other hand have this unnatural shade of silvery blonde hair and violet eyes with extremely pale skin. I look like I belong in a Lord of the Rings movie. I am very short, barely five feet and have dainty facial features with a petite build.

Because of being so different from everyone else I have not dated and never even been kissed. I have dreamed of meeting my mother's family, like forever, but Dad begs me to not leave him. Now that I have graduated from high school I am hoping he won't mind if I just take a small vacation to Montana to at least meet my Aunt Ivy.

Unfortunately for me the decision to go to Montana was drastically taken out of my dad's hands and suddenly dropped into mine.

I come home early one night from doing some shopping to find the house unusually quiet. Dad had the guys over for a poker game and it should still be going strong when I walk through the house to the den.

I scream when I open the door to find all four of the men, Dad included, lying on the floor. It looks like something has ripped out the throats of all of them as I tentatively approach my dad hopefully. I grab his wrist to check for a pulse but he is already cold.

I back away slowly, tears flooding down my cheeks as I suddenly notice a note on the table.

Dearest Cassidy, I thought it was time for you to be with your real family; after all you carry more of my genes than this pitiful human. You cannot run from me, I will find you no matter where you go. Meet me at 1289 Park Street at midnight. Lucius.

Lucius is the name of the vampire that attacked my mother and ultimately caused her death. Dad always told me if something like this were to happen I was to run to Montana immediately. I leave the note on the table for the police to find and quickly pack my things. Throwing only necessities in the back of my Suburban I hurry out of Illinois towards Montana.

It is about eight o'clock and still light out as I catch the freeway west. I only stop to get gas, use the bathroom or stretch and manage to make pretty good time. According to my GPS unit the drive should take about twenty-six hours but I pull into the small town by Glacier National Park about three hours ahead of schedule.

My stomach is starting to growl after the long drive, even though I think I may be too stressed to keep anything down. I pull into the parking lot of a large diner right off the freeway and park in the back.

There is a sign in the window that a waitress is needed and I smile at my good fortune as I stroll in the door confidently. With a weary sigh I slide into a booth and try not to worry about where I will sleep tonight.

A middle aged woman finally comes over to my table, she is the only one here and totally swamped, to take my order. I tell her what I want and watch her hurry away, waiting to ask about the job when she slows down a little bit.

I have eaten and am working on my fifth cup of coffee when the place finally empties out and I am the only one left.

"I see you could use some help around here." I state when she comes to refill my coffee.

"You looking for a job Honey?" She asks with a friendly smile.

"As a matter of fact I am." I smile back at her. "I just moved into the area."

"So what brings you here?" She asks curiously.

"Oh, just wanted a fresh start after high school." I lie as best I can.

"Most people leave here for a fresh start Honey." She sees through me instantly. I tear up as I picture my dad in the den last night. Was that only twenty-four hours ago?

"I could really use the job." I tell her sincerely as tears trickle down my face. "I don't suppose you know of a place I could stay?"

"Do you have experience waitressing cuz this place gets really busy?" She asks as she sits down across from me.

"Yeah, I waitressed all through high school. I saw how busy you were and that is what I am used to." I confess as I try to stop crying.

"Alright." She agrees with a motherly smile. "I have an efficiency apartment upstairs that you can use. It's just sitting empty right now anyways. Can you start tomorrow morning?"

"Sure." I answer with a happy grin. She hands me a key to the apartment, telling me that it is completely furnished and all the utilities work. She instructs me to go around back and take the door leading to the staircase.

The apartment, although small, is very cozy. It is one big room with a full size bed on one side, a sofa and television in the middle of the room and the kitchenette on the other side. The bathroom is off the kitchen and has a claw foot tub with a handheld shower.

Along one wall by the bed is large closet with built in drawers. The kitchenette has adequate cupboard space as well. Satisfied, I make several trips down to the Suburban to bring my stuff upstairs.

There is a knock at the door and the woman from the diner is standing there with my uniform. She welcomes me, tells me that her name is Flo and then begs off coming in since she is so tired.

My uniform is a one piece orange and white dress that looks like will barely reach my knees. How backward is this place? I wonder as I cringe at the ugly polyester uniform.

Thankfully, I noticed on the door to the diner that they open at six o'clock so I know what time to be downstairs. I run a bath and soak away all the aches from the long drive before I fall exhausted into bed.

I am waiting by the door to the diner when Flo drives up.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here at open Honey." She greets me with a hug. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Things will get better with time." I reply vaguely.

"So what made you pick this small hole in the wall to run away to?" Flo asks me pointedly.

"I have always been drawn to Glacier National Park and Montana as a whole." I confess sincerely.

"I am a good listener whenever you want to give me the real reason or you need a shoulder to cry on." Flo tells me with a warm smile.

"I may take you up on that, thanks Flo." I reply, biting back fresh tears. She hands me a menu and points to the counter.

"While I get things ready I want you to look that over and memorize as much of it as you can. It's a pretty simple menu and breakfast is always easier."

Flo walks into the kitchen and I can hear her moving around while I look over the menu. She was right it is a pretty simple menu and I pretty much have it memorized by the time she opens the door.

For a small town the place is completely packed within a half hour of open and I am so busy all of my problems just slip away.

Close to ten o'clock a man comes in alone and sits in my section that for some reason draws me to him like I have never felt before. He must be around six foot four with huge muscles and has black hair, a goatee and golden amber eyes.

When I walk up to his table to take his order this strange smell comes off of him that I have never experienced before. It makes me pause as I stand there curious. When I look down at him he has the same confused expression in his beautiful eyes that I must have in mine.

"Good morning, can I get you something to drink?" I blurt, still staring at him boldly.

"Good morning." He says in a husky voice that makes me melt. "You are new here aren't you?"

"Yes. First day." I smile at him nervously.

"I'll have a cup of coffee." He replies and smiles back at me almost heatedly. I rush away quickly before I embarrass myself. I set his cup down on the table and then jot down his order before rushing away bashfully.

Shortly after I bring him his food I take a minute to use the bathroom since it has slowed down. No sooner have I closed the door behind me than someone slams me up against the wall. He is pressing me so hard against the wall that I cannot see who it is. Before I can react he lifts my skirt above my waist and I can hear his zipper. I open my mouth to scream but he slaps his hand over my face. Since I cannot see him or anything in the bathroom I cannot use my power to either move him away from me or slam something into him. I feel him pressing himself between my legs trying to enter me when suddenly he is thrown against the bathroom. I turn around, lower my skirt down modestly and see my sexy customer punching my attacker in the face until he falls to the floor.

"Are you alright?" He asks, obviously extremely concerned as he gently grabs me by the shoulders.

"I am now. Thank you." I say in a trembling voice. "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"I noticed him watching you and cracking jokes with his other biker friends. When you were walking towards the bathroom he got up and followed you." He tells me tenderly. An electric current started coursing through me when he grabbed my shoulders and now I am caught in his seductive gaze, trapped.

He looks down at my lips and seems to be entranced as well which causes me to stare at his mouth. Lowering his head he gently moves his lips against mine. The wolf inside me growls at him, wanting him. I am surprised when I hear him growl in response before deepening the kiss. Someone tries to open the bathroom door, breaking us apart and I color a bright pink, gazing at my feet. I move away from the door as he opens the door to Flo.

"Are you alright Cassidy?" Flo asks when she sees the biker on the floor. "What happened?"

"He decided to get too friendly with your new waitress." My mystery man says to Flo angrily.

"Thank you Griffin." Flo strokes his cheek affectionately. "Will you pick him up and give him back to his friends?" She leads me out of the bathroom and tells me to go up to my apartment for the rest of the day. As I pass the biker table I can hear Flo angrily telling them to leave and to not come back.

Griffin throws my attacker at his friends before following me to my door to make sure I am safe. When he sees that I am safe upstairs he walks away back to the front of the diner.

I instantly get in the shower and try desperately to wash away the biker's touch. When I get out I turn on my laptop and do a quick search to find my aunt Ivy I have no success. I remember my grandmother's maiden name and do an address search and am rewarded with one result. I scribble down the address and then look it up on a map before dressing quickly.

I put my photo album of Mom as well as my birth certificate in the suburban as well before heading out of town. A half hour out of town the address leads me to a strange place. Part of it is surrounded by a tall fence and appears to be a huge property; the other part is some sort of a guide service for Glacier National Park.

I drive up to the guide service and turn off the truck anxiously. I leave my pictures and birth certificate behind as enter the small cabin. There is a very tall guy sitting at a desk busy on a computer. He smiles at me when he notices my presence.

"Can I help you?" He asks politely as he rises to his feet and I am suddenly surrounded by that same strange smell, like Griffin.

"I'm looking for Ivy Jacqueme and this address is supposed to belong to someone with her mother's maiden name." I tell him uncertainly.

"Why are you looking for her?" He asks guardedly as he gets that same confused look on his face that Griffin did.

"She's my aunt." I whisper, hoping I am confessing this to the right person.

"That's not possible Miss, her only sibling is dead." He states tightly.

"Her sister Reyna Jacqueme was my mother!" I screech at him, completely losing it. His face pales and he gets on the phone. I can hear my name, my mother's name and Aunt Ivy's name before he hangs up.

"If you will wait out by your vehicle someone will come and get you momentarily." He tells me uncomfortably. I leave the cabin and feel tears rushing down my face as I begin to sob uncontrollably. Within a couple minutes a black SUV drives out of the compound and into the parking lot.

A tiny woman gets out and when she turns towards me I gasp as fresh pain rips through me.

"Mom?" I whisper. The woman sheds a single tear and I can see great pain in her green eyes.

"No Cassidy I'm your aunt Ivy." She softly tells me.

"You know my name?" I ask incredulously.

"Reyna told me what she was going to name you. I have kept track of you over the years." She confesses with an expression of shame. "I am sorry about your father. If I had known you or your father were in danger from Lucius I would have brought you here a long time ago."

She rushes up to me after her confession and pulls me into her arms sobbing as hard as I am. After our tears finally trickle to a stop I back away a little and sniff her strangely.

"What is that smell?" I ask bluntly. "The man from the diner this morning and the guy in the cabin smell the same as you."

"We are werewolves Cassidy. You don't smell the same because of your father and Lucius." Aunt Ivy tells me with a chuckle. "If you ride with me one of the men can drive your Suburban into the compound." I gratefully hand my keys over to another hugely muscled guy that is standing nearby.

Nervously I get into the SUV with Aunt Ivy and gaze out the window wondering what will happen when we get inside the compound. It is a short ride until we stop in front of a huge four story mansion. I meekly follow along behind my aunt as she leads me inside to an office where several people are gathered around a large table.

"Lord Regnier, may I present my niece Cassidy Lacroix." Aunt Ivy states in a submissive tone after bowing slightly. When I look across the room to see who she is addressing like that I get caught in the golden amber eyes from the diner.

"Griffin." I blurt without thinking. Everyone in the room gasps in shock and I drop my eyes to the floor in confusion. I hear a chair scraping across the floor and then my chin is being lifted, forcing me to look into Griffins eyes.

"Cassidy, what a surprise." He murmurs with a chuckle. "Welcome."

"Did I say something wrong?" I ask him wishing we were alone.

"No one calls me by my first name." He explains patiently.

"Why not?" I ask still confused.

"I am the Alpha and calling me Lord Regnier is a title of respect." He explains further.

"Oh." I feel stupid and blush.

"It's alright Cassidy." Griffin reassures me. "You were raised away from the pack so no one should expect you to know how things work."

Aunt Ivy leads me to an empty chair after Griffin walks back to his seat. Everyone at the table gazes at me curiously except for one woman. She is sitting right next to Griffin. She has long black curly hair with icy blue eyes and looks like a model. She is glaring at me like she hates me, but how can that be possible when she just met me?

"Ivy, since you saw fit to keep Cassidy a secret from me you can fill us in on how she came to be and why she is here now." Griffin orders in a chilly voice.

Ivy begins with how my mother met my father and ends the story with why I showed up in Montana yesterday. Griffin is quiet for several minutes while he takes all of this in and everyone else around the table seems to be in shock.

"She is tainted and should not be allowed to remain here at the compound because she will put all of us in danger." Porscha states in an icy tone. "Not only is she half human but we do not know what that vampire blood has done to her."

"She is all I have left of my sister Reyna and I have watched her all these years and can personally vouch for her." Aunt Ivy argues heatedly.

"If she was in league with Lucius, after he killed her father, she wouldn't have run to us right away." A tall blonde man states that rode in the SUV with Aunt Ivy. "I did a little digging after Ivy and I found out about her father. Our contact inside Lucius's coven tells us that he killed her father in order to free her for breeding purposes. He seems to think that Cassidy is capable of giving birth to his children."

"Do we want to lure Lucius here to the compound because she is here and put all of us in danger for someone who isn't part of the pack?" An older man states logically.

"The council can discuss this with me privately after Cassidy has returned to town, for now." Griffin declares firmly. "You are all excused until later this evening." Everyone rises from the table except for Porscha. Aunt Ivy and the blonde man who spoke hover by the door.

"I will let you know when I am finished speaking with her Ivy if you would just like to wait out in the living room." Griffin tells Ivy softly. Left alone with Griffin and Porscha I stare down at the table nervously.

"You were also excused from the room Porscha." Griffin states coolly.

"I have every right to be here as your future mate Griffin." She informs him haughtily. I cringe because I already know him enough to know he will be furious with her behavior.

"This is a discussion I will not have in front of Cassidy." Griffin growls at her tightly. "Your insolent behavior will be dealt with later, Miss Martineau."

Furiously she rises from the chair and sweeps from the room regal as any queen.

"You have never had contact with Lucius before Friday night?" Griffin asks.

"No. My mom knew his name and told my dad." I reply softly. "That was how I knew who the note was from."

"Do you crave blood?" He continues questioning me.

"No. I do like my meat on the rare side and I am sensitive to the sun though. I think my psychic abilities come from him." I fill him in honestly.

"What psychic abilities?" He asks curiously. I smile at him eagerly and look at the stack of papers he has in front of him on the table. I concentrate on them and move them through the air to the other side of the table, setting them down gently.

"I can also do the same to people." I blush a bright pink at impressed look. "Can you change into any other animals besides a wolf?"

"No." He answers hesitantly and gives me a curious stare. "You can change into other animals as well?"

"Just one." I hedge uncomfortably. "I suppose I get that from Lucius too?"

"I would have to say yes because I have never heard of a werewolf with that ability." He tells me slowly. "What else can you shift into?"

"My dad says, I mean said, that I look like a clouded leopard, only larger." I share honestly. "What will happen to me? Aunt Ivy is the only family I have left."

"For now you will have to return to the diner until I can discuss this with the council. I will send guards so you will be safe at all times of the day and night." He tells me tenderly. "I make the final decision regarding you, but I cannot ignore their concerns."