The Awakening by Alexx Andria Page A

but the fact
remains…her body knows what it needs. Her temperature is elevated,
her skin is beaded with sweat, and her tits are enlarged. The time
is now.”
    Cassidy struggled to regain consciousness and
opened her eyes blearily to find two men — no, check that, two very large men — standing over her. They wore all black
and seemed almost indistinguishable from one another. Their muscles
bulged from beneath tight T-shirts and narrowed to lean hips. Hanks
of black hair, almost too long to be fashionable, dusted strong
shoulders and impossibly dark eyes stared into her soul.
    Oh, and she was lying on her bed, naked.
    “Oh my God,” she managed to squeak as she
attempted to cover her breasts but she felt weak as a kitten. “Help
me, please! I need to go to the hospital,” she implored the
handsome strangers, hoping for some shred of decency in either of
them. “Please, I’m very sick…I think I might be dying…”
    They ignored her plea but the one named Koris
shot the other a knowing look, saying, “Prop her up. She will need
sustenance,” before leaving the room.
    “Hush, Cassandra,” the other said, coming to
sit beside her. “My name is Jandin. We are here to help you.”
    Her body had begun to shake. “H-how? What’s
wrong with me?”
    He smoothed her damp hair from her brow with
a surprisingly gentle hand. “What do you remember of your
childhood?” he asked.
    “What? Why are you asking me about my
childhood? Didn’t you hear me? I’m very sick. I think I have food
poisoning or something. I could die if I don’t get to a
hospital!”
    “You’re right. You could die. But there is
nothing that humans can do for you.”
    Humans?
    “Are you crazy?” she asked fearfully,
tightening her grip across her breasts. “Why am I naked?”
    “Because you tore your clothes off,” he
answered.
    “I would never do that,” she whispered but a
foggy part of her memory recalled doing exactly that. She’d been
burning up. The clothes had felt as if they were scratching against
her tender, sensitized skin.
    “You have entered your Breeding Time,” he
said as if it were the perfect explanation when in fact, it was
total lunacy. “The females of our species…if not bred properly,
become inflamed with an internal fever that can consume them if not
cared for. Normally, a female would be guarded and under
protection, but we did not find out about your existence until your
body started sending out signals. Then we followed your scent.”
    “You’re the one who has been watching me,”
she surmised fearfully.
    “Yes. Koris and myself. We had to ensure that
no one from the rival clan claimed you first. Breeding females are
rare. Especially ones from your bloodline. Claiming you would be a
coup for either clan.”
    “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Cassidy exclaimed, scooting away from him. “I was raised in rural
New Jersey in a subdivision with normal parents. I was high school
valedictorian and editor of the school newspaper. I dated the
quarterback and came to college on a full-ride scholarship. Nothing
about my childhood is remotely close to anything that you’re
talking about because you’re crazy !”
    “You were adopted,” Jandin stated flatly. She
stared. How did he know that? She swallowed a lump of fear. “And
you may have lived a normal, human life but you are not, in
fact, human. You are the most revered in our species because your
kind are so rare these days. You are also still a virgin. I can
smell it on you. It’s intoxicating.”
    She startled, frightened that he knew such
private details about her, but even more terrified because
somewhere deep inside, his words rang with truth.
    “I wanted to wait until marriage,” she
whispered.
    “No, your body knew to wait until the
Breeding Time and simply convinced your brain to go along.”
    Koris reappeared with something bloody on a
plate. A wave of nausea followed as she fought with the urge to
swallow it whole.
    “Do not fight