The Breed Casstiel's Vow by Alice K. Wayne Read Free Book Online Page A

“Not that you would.”
    Tessa was about the last
person on the planet who would throw herself at a man.
    “It sounds so romantic,”
she sighed, thinking that it sounded similar to the ‘high school sweethearts’
romance her parents shared, “with humans even if you’re married, men and women
still cheat and leave each other all the time. My parents are one of the very
lucky couples who never fell out of love.”
    “Yeah mating is different
for the Breed, from what I’ve heard it’s more of an instinctual thing. It’s
like when you meet the person you’re supposed to be with something clicks into
place in your brain and you don’t want anyone else but that person. You would
never cheat on your mate because you don’t even look at other men or woman
anymore. It’s like everyone else is in black and white and they are in color,” she
explained.
    “Wow so it’s like fate or
something?” Tessa sighed, “It sounds powerful.”
    “I guess you could call it
fate. Who knows though? Some of the more spiritual members of the Breed say it
is, but the more cynical people think it’s just another gift like our strength
and speed. We can sense when we’ve found the person that our genetics would mix
best with to have strong offspring.
    “When Billy attacked me he
said it was because he was in love with me. So later after it was all over and
they took me back to the pack leader, I asked him if that’s how all werewolves
were… if that’s how I would be one day. He told me what happened was the opposite
of what a bonded person would do. He explained what being mated meant, that you
share some kind of a mental link, so that if one of you are in pain, you’re
both in pain. It would be like ripping into your own soul to hurt them.”
    Tessa had never heard
anything so poetic in all of her life. She thought about Memphis and Sebastian
and suddenly had a new appreciation for the softness that they must have
somewhere deep inside.
    “It’s so beautiful, I never
knew Memphis or Sebastian could be like that,” she gushed.
    “ That’s
because they aren’t like that,” Nora shook her head, “don’t go getting
the wrong idea ok? Most men, in fact I’d say all of them, try to avoid being
mated, they like being wild and free. Actually I don’t think the women really
like being tied down either. That’s probably why we bond the way we do, if we
didn’t we would have died out.”
    “Well romantic vibe
ruined,” Tessa laughed, zipping her dark blue hoodie up farther as the chill of
the autumn night crept into the car.
    “Oh I think that’s it!”
Nora pointed at a massive building just off the freeway exit.
    “Holy shit this place is
huge!” she exclaimed as they pulled into the drive way.
    Before them stood four
tower-like buildings placed on the same spot of land and connected together
with bridges and walk ways.  It looked like four large hospitals connected
as one.
    As they drove further down
the driveway they came to a closed gate that ran the length of the buildings
and grounds. They had to be on at least ten acres of land.
    Nora pulled up to an
intercom system stationed in front of the closed gate.
    “Welcome to Lee Com Biological
Studies, how may I assist you?” A crisp female voice came from the other side
of the intercom.
    Nora turned to her with
wide eyes and shrugged her shoulders.
    “Umm… I have an appointment
to speak with someone today, but maybe we came to the wrong place,” she piped
up from the passenger seat. Sebastian had never mentioned anything about
biological studies.
    “Name?” The voice asked.
    “My name is Tessa… Tessa
Roberts. I’m here to talk to someone named Casstiel.”
    “Please pull your car
forward to the main lobby doors, an agent will be out to greet you shortly,” came
a cheery reply.
    As soon as the voice
finished her sentence the thick fifteen foot gates in front of them began to
open.
    “This is weird,” Nora
mumbled while putting the car into