《The Catalyst (Preternaturals #3)》


 Page 1

    Just have to make it to the mailbox. Everything will be okay. Fiona Patrone stared out the window at the lonely box at the end of the driveway. Her house was surrounded by trees in a heavily wooded area of Golatha Falls - so far out it was amazing the mailman delivered. And yet it felt so open and unknown out there. It was safer inside.


    There probably isn''t any mail. Just check it tomorrow. Nothing important. Not worth going out. The thoughts tunneled through her mind like vicious moles. If she didn''t venture out, she''d be even more a prisoner of her own mind and fears. She couldn''t remember the last time she''d gone past the mailbox. If she got to the point where she couldn''t even get that far...Advertisement


    The birds outside screeched then, chattering warnings, screaming the same awful things they screamed at her every day. If you go out there, something bad will happen. She believed them. Birds had no reason to lie. They were excellent seers, so much so, that for centuries people had read bird entrails, not realizing you needed a live bird to get any knowledge of value.


    Something bad.


    They could at least give her a little detail, some clue as to what she should fear, but the threat remained the same - vague and foreboding as ever.


    Fiona had been able to understand the language of animals before she could understand that of humans - a rare and special gift for a witch to inherit. She''d gotten it from her grandmother. Though she''d always seen it as a curse. If not for those damned birds, she''d be outside living her life. Maybe she would have found love, a job, something.


    Well, she had a job on the Internet. Her money was direct-deposited. She ordered her clothes online and had her groceries delivered. Thanks to the web, agoraphobia had never been so easy. At least from a logistics standpoint.


    She took a slow, measured breath, her hand poised over the doorknob. You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. Fiona mentally repeated it like a subliminal message she prayed would take hold. The doorknob clicked in her hand. She moved through what felt like invisible molasses as she forced herself out the door and into the throng of screeching, angry birds.


    The wind had a new crispness. Almost Halloween. As a witch, shouldn''t she be in her element right about now? But the idea of ghosts and goblins and veils thinning served to make the whole ordeal seem more dangerous.


    Fifty-five steps. She counted them every day because counting them was the only way she could make herself get there. It wasn''t far. She could run back into her house if the birds were right.


    The mailbox held nothing of interest: an electric bill that could have waited until tomorrow. On her way back, step twenty-four, she became aware of the eerie silence. The birds had stopped their squawking, and a stillness blanketed the yard. She would have run straight for the front door except for the plaintive cry coming from the yard.


    Ignore it. It''s not your concern, she told herself. Thirty-five. But the noise happened again. So sad, scared. She''d want someone to help her if she were in distress. She tucked the electric bill into the waistband of her jeans and struggled through the wild growth of the front yard. She hadn''t worked on the garden in five years, and it showed.


    When she reached the side of the house, she found a wolf pup with wide, brown eyes, crying. He was old enough that he should have started learning the language of his kind, but he hadn''t. There were no words to pick up and decipher. She could still get emotions and basic information, especially if those emotions were strong. In some circles, this made Fiona dangerous; in others, it would make her a pawn of those who might want to capitalize on such information.


    The pup was lost, hungry, scared.


    She didn''t sense a mother wolf nearby. Had he been abandoned? Her mind screamed at her to leave him there. But he was so hungry and pathetic. She couldn''t stop herself from scooping him up and taking him in the house.


    She sat him on the kitchen counter, and he stared curiously at her, turning his little wolf head to the side. He was reddish-brown and white, the cutest thing she''d seen in forever. At least he seemed old enough to be weaned.


    She cut some meat from a leftover roast and put it on the counter. The pup''s tail wagged as he gobbled up the food. She placed a bowl of water down, and he took care of that, too.


    He stared at her from the top of the counter as if to say What next? Oh wow, yeah. She hadn''t thought through that part. If he was just lost, his mother would be coming soon. If he was all alone, she couldn''t have a wolf in her house. Even understanding what he needed, it was just insane. And probably illegal.


    He positioned himself on the edge of the counter, shifting his weight from paw to paw, negotiating the drop to the ground. His full concentration was on the jump. When he made it to the linoleum, he looked up at her, all pleased with himself, and she melted. So cute.


    "Well, maybe you can stay for a little while until I figure out what to do with you." Those words had barely tumbled past her lips when the window over the breakfast nook shattered, and a large ball of black fur leaped into her kitchen.


    It must be the mother. But no. As her confusion cleared, she saw it was a large, angry black panther.


    Fiona edged back, afraid he''d pounce if she made any sudden moves. What she wouldn''t give right now to have a few handy incantations at the ready. For spells, she needed all the proper tools: sage stick, herbs, candles, salt, etc. She could incant a little if she was very focused, but now, with her heart pounding so fast, wasn''t one of those times. Her own name was a blank - forget coming up with a snappy protection chant.


    She grabbed at stray pots and pans and emptied a whole drawer of utensils as she threw everything she had at him. He batted the objects away, prowling closer, his growl low and menacing. Within seconds, he had her backed into a corner, claws out, swiping at her.


    She screamed and grabbed her bleeding arm. Her side burned as well. All at once, her brain snapped into sharp focus. She was going to die in a matter of seconds if she didn''t figure something out right now.


    He''d stopped clawing at her for a minute and was growling, something about her taking the pup, wanting to hurt him, people after him. Oh, wait. Wait! She felt the magic crackle around the panther. Therian! That meant there was a person in there. Somewhere.


    She called on every reserve of courage she had to form words. "I wasn''t trying to hurt him. He was lost and hungry. I brought him in to feed him. That''s all. I''m not whoever you think I am."


    The panther stared at her hard and growled again.


    "Yes, I understand you."


    How is that possible? He growled.


    "Rare gift. I meant the pup no harm. I swear." She held her hands out defensively, hoping he believed her. An animal attack wasn''t how she wanted to go out. Blood dripped in a steady flow down her arm; her shirt was torn near her ribcage where more blood was pooling. Oh God. That swipe alone could have killed her.


    Breathe, Fiona. He''s calm now. Everything will be fine. Thank God he was a therian and could understand her as well as she understood him.


    She still couldn''t figure out what a panther''s concern with a wolf pup was. But really, all she wanted was to get the both of them out of her house and call a window repairman. She was trying to forget the bleeding part. She vowed she''d listen to the birds next time.


    So you can understand him? The panther''s gaze shifted to the pup who gingerly stepped around the broken glass, sniffing things.


    "Well, he doesn''t have language like you have yet, but I know what he needs. My gift runs a little deeper than just speech."


    He shifted - right in the middle of her kitchen. Her eyes didn''t know where to go. Tanned, muscular legs. And... oh dear, skip that, skip that! But her brain had already processed parts of a man she''d never seen outside of television or the Internet, due to her phobia. There weren''t a lot of opportunities to hook up with men when you never left your house.


    Farther up, were very nice abs and pecs - and those arms. Oh boy. She swiped the back of the hand that wasn''t bleeding across her face, afraid she might be drooling. She wanted to lick him, but under the circumstances that seemed a little weird. Her arm and side burned like fiery hell, but damn, he was pretty. So sleek and lithe, just like what he shifted into.


    When her gaze made it up to his face, a boyish smirk graced his lips. There was a twinkle in his brown eyes. His dark hair was longish, but somehow still masculine. Oh yes, there wasn''t an unmanly bone in his body.


    "So," he drawled, moving closer by mere centimeters, "should we just get it on now?"


    Her mouth dropped open. He couldn''t have just said that.


    A strange look crossed his face. "Sorry. Wild animal here. A little amped up. That was inappropriate." He extended a hand, attempting to move past the new awkwardness. "Let me look at you."


    The pain in her arm and side flared fully to life as she processed everything that had just happened in her kitchen. When she didn''t respond to his request, he pulled her to him and lifted her shirt to inspect her side.


    He frowned. "Not as bad as it could have been. Nothing major harmed."


    She was about to get angry and indignant about his flippant attitude, but then his eyes met hers, warm and honest.


    "I''m very sorry about your injuries. I was afraid for the pup and sensed the magic on you. I thought you were one of the ones who tried to take him. I''m all he''s got."


    The pup, as if sensing he was being talked about, clomped through the debris to sit between them, his little wolf gaze going back and forth.


    Fiona looked back at the man standing in front of her, so sincere and intense... and attractive, and then the waterworks started.


    "Oh, no, don''t cry," he said, almost in a panic.


    It wasn''t pain that had brought forth the tears; it was the fact that this was what it took to get near a hot guy for her: a near-death experience, and him breaking into her kitchen: the idea that he was going to take the pup and go on his merry way, and she''d have the memory of him emblazoned on her brain, but that would be all. Her close brush with maleness. Inches from her, but no dice.


    It wasn''t that she wanted to take him up on his carnal offer. He was a stranger. And, as he said, a wild animal. And she wished he''d cover himself with something, because judging from outward signs, he was all raring and ready to go. Like most therians, he was unaffected by his own nudity or arousal. It was something she wished humans shared in common with them, so she wouldn''t feel so freaked out by his nearness... or so much longing for something she wasn''t going to ever have since she couldn''t make it past her own mailbox.


    His smooth, deep voice interrupted her mental hysteria. "Do you have bandages?"


    "Bathroom, down the hall," she croaked, feeling stupid for going all blubbery on him. Thank God he couldn''t read her mind and know why she''d been crying. That would have been too mortifying for words. Better for him to think she was a big wimp who couldn''t take surface abrasions than to know the truth.


    Z ambled down the hallway, trying to remember how to act like a person. He wasn''t good with people. He lived alone and hunted alone. It was how he liked it. Women were a complication he tried to stay away from, except when he had a quick roll in the hay - or cave, with another of his kind who was equally allergic to relationships. Occasionally, he had sexual liaisons with human women or other therian breeds, but on principle he tried to avoid those who wouldn''t understand his solitary nature.


    A confirmed bachelor, he had everything he wanted, exactly how he wanted it. Total freedom. That is, until he''d stumbled on the pup. Panthers didn''t raise babies - their own or anybody else''s - which was obvious from the mess he was making of it.


    The little wolf had been sitting in the forest in the middle of Z''s hunting ground, staring at a spot in the dirt where there had been a struggle. There was evidence a body of some sort had been dragged off, probably the mother.


    Z had immediately known the pup was a werewolf, but there wasn''t a pack in Golatha Falls, so how the little guy could have gotten there, he didn''t know.


    He should have just walked away, but he couldn''t. After a lot of frustration, he''d managed to get the pup to drink human formula until he could start eating meat, but now instead of getting easier to raise him, it was getting harder. Every day Z was more aware of how difficult it would be for the pup when he shifted to his human form and couldn''t speak the language of his own kind. When did the ones born in their fur first shift? Age five? Six?


    The bathroom the woman had pointed out was the most organized he''d ever encountered. Her perfectly folded towels were arranged by color. Her medicine cabinet looked like a pharmacy - preparation for every potential contingency. Her first aid supply left something to be desired, though. He didn''t imagine she had a lot of accidents as cautious as she was. He could patch her up okay with what she had. At least until she could see a doctor or something. She might need some stitches.


    He felt a twinge of guilt at that. She''d been at least five kinds of terrified when he''d busted in the house. Z shut his eyes against the image of her pressed against the wall, her lower lip trembling. In truth, it was her smell that had startled him out of the mindless clawing. She smelled so good. He''d looked up and seen those golden curls cascading down her back, those light green eyes, and the dusting of freckles on her nose.


    He''d switched from violence to growls, not expecting her to understand a word of it. But she had. Now the wheels in his head were turning. If he ever wanted his bachelor cave back, he needed her. Though he felt guilty about her injuries - and her window - he had no intention of negotiating with the woman. Z operated on the law of the jungle, and she''d stumbled into his jungle. Sort of.


    The pup was cute, but the kid cramped his style. He was losing sleep, not getting laid. It was making him grumpy and unhinged. He wasn''t cut out for this parenting gig, and he was willing to do anything to fix the situation, up to and including felony.


    Basket of first aid supplies in tow, Z sauntered back into the kitchen to find the woman sitting at the table, cradling her arm, so quiet he feared she''d fallen into some kind of fugue state.


    "So I''ve decided you''re coming with me," he said without preamble.


    "W-what?"


    He chuckled when she averted her gaze from his nakedness. She should be glad he was a gentleman - more or less - because she sure was a sweet little thing. It had been a few weeks since he''d scratched that particular itch. Having the pup around all the time made prowling for women low on the priority list. He wondered for a moment if he could convince this one to have some down and dirty, no-strings-attached sex. Maybe after he found the pup''s family. Before that would be too much complication with them in such close quarters - since she was coming with him.


    Z cocked his head toward the pup who sat on the table with his nose pressed into the crook of her elbow. This was perfect. The pup even liked her. It was like a nanny had fallen out of the sky. A multilingual nanny. Praise the gods.


    "You understand what he needs. I need you to help me care for him. And I need you to stay with him at my place while I find his family. It''s more secure there. We''ll take you to a doctor first about your injuries."


    He knew she probably had a life of some sort. Maybe a job. Probably a boyfriend. But he didn''t care. He was desperate to get this kid out of his hair. The only way it was happening was if he got some help, and he couldn''t bring himself to ask another panther. They''d laugh at him for his foolishness in taking the pup in the first place.


    She sat frozen for a moment as if she were processing all of that. When she spoke, her voice came out calm and even. "I''m not going anywhere with you. I don''t know you. And I don''t need a doctor. I just need my magic books and tools. I can heal myself."


    Z had been surprised when she hadn''t started shouting spells at him and throwing balls of energy. Some witches were kind of intense. Different magic users had different skills and gifts, and he was thankful that didn''t seem to be part of her repertoire. Aside from the skill she had that he needed, she seemed to need a lot of prep work for magic, which was good. It kept the balance of power in his favor, exactly where he preferred it to be at all times.


    He pulled her to him, setting to work bandaging her arm. "I''m Zane Trent, but you can call me Z."


    "I need my books. I can heal this if you''ll just let me get my books," she said, ignoring his introduction. Poor girl probably wasn''t yet prepared to see him as anything beyond the crazy naked man in her kitchen.


    He snorted. "Sure, I''m that stupid. I get you your books, and you hex me into a sealed magic jar or turn me into a frog. No can do. Besides, don''t self-healing spells take a lot of energy out of a witch?"


    "Yes, but..."


    "I need you with full energy to help take care of this pup."


    "You''re insane."


    "Only moderately. This kid is driving me crazy. I need help."


    Her expression softened. "Still. I-I can''t go out there."


    "Out where?"


    Her gaze went to the door.


    "You went out there to bring the pup in."


    "I know but... I try not to go outside."


    Z moved on to her torso, which was just grazed, not as bad as the arm. He was beginning to think he had a nut job on his hands. "Why?"


    Her voice lowered to a whisper as if she didn''t want to be overheard. "The birds told me something bad would happen."


    Fucking great. All he needed was a mentally unstable nanny he couldn''t bring himself to leave the kid with. What good was that going to do him?


    "I''m not crazy," she said, as if reading his mind.


    She''d probably just read his facial expression. Unless she could read minds. Could she read minds? Hey, I think you''re real pretty. If you weren''t so pretty I''d eat you for dinner, he thought at her. But she didn''t react; she was still on about her birds. At least his mind was safe from her.


    "They did warn me," she said, "I heard them just like I heard you when you were in your other form. And just like I understood what the wolf needed."


    She had him there.


    "Come on, it''s only a few miles from here," he said. Despite his intention not to negotiate with her, he found himself negotiating. If he could get her to come to his cave of her own free will it would be so much simpler. Maybe her weird outside phobia was minor, just a blip on an otherwise sane human being.


    "Miles? Miles! No. Oh no. Miles are too far. Way too far. That''s just impossible for me. I''m sorry."


    He''d known it was too much to hope for.


    "Nothing will get you out there. I''ll protect you," he said, standing and offering a hand like he was about to sweep her up on his white stallion and go riding off into the sunset. Was he about to do that?


    She held her bandaged arm up and raised a brow. It was still dripping blood. "That makes me feel safe."


    He tried again, willing himself to be patient and not shift and chase her out of the house. He was betting her fear of him would dwarf her fear of the nebulous outside if push came to shove. "What''s your name?"


    She looked away. "I wish you''d put some clothing on."


    "No problem, ma''am. Let me just step outside where I keep my traveling walk-in closet." Ordinarily her shyness would entertain him, but right now it was annoying. "Stop acting like a virgin."


    The attractive flush that came to her cheeks confirmed the suspicion that had been building in the back of his mind, the suspicion he''d hoped he''d been wrong about. "A girl as pretty as you? You had no opportunities? No interest?"


    Her hands were in her lap, and she''d gone to staring at them, he guessed because clothing wasn''t about to magically appear on him.


    "I don''t ever leave my house. So, no. You''re the first adult male I''ve ever..."


    "Seen naked?" He''d softened his voice because now he just felt like an ass. He''d destroyed her kitchen, injured her, and now this. He disappeared back down the hallway to the bathroom and returned, wrapped in a towel for her comfort more than his. "Better?" he asked.


    "Yes, thank you."


    He sighed. "If you won''t come with me, I need you to watch the pup for a while. Can you do that?"


    She nodded, and he shifted back into his panther form and jumped out the window. By nightfall she''d be in his cave with him where it was safer. She just didn''t know it yet. Sometimes these things took finesse.

 Page 2

    Fiona swept the glass into a pile and put a tarp over the window. Stan, the window guy, wouldn''t be able to get there to fix it until the next day. It made her wish she''d had that security system put in last year or had another magic user come in and put up wards for her.


    She''d let the wards lapse because they required going outside and all around the house. It took too much time out there. It made her too anxious. And when she was anxious, she couldn''t do magic worth a damn, anyway.Advertisement


    Now she was left unprotected with the pup.


    The panther had only been gone half an hour, but the sun was starting to set. She almost wished she''d had the courage to go with him, with the window being how it was. Maybe she could work up the nerve to ask him to stay with her overnight, assuming she could convince him she wasn''t propositioning him. He seemed the type who knew how good-looking he was.


    The bandages were still seeping blood. He was right about the stitches, if she didn''t do a healing spell. She got up to get her supplies. The wolf jumped on the pile of glass shards making them crunch on the floor. A piece flew up and landed on her foot.


    "Oh, no puppy, don''t do that. You''ll cut your paw, and I''ll have to do two healing spells. I''m not sure I have that much energy in me."


    He twisted his head to the side like he was trying to parse her language; his tongue lolled out in a grin. She wanted to squeeze him. He was so adorable.


    Fiona was startled by a knock on the door. "W-who is it?"


    "It''s me. Z."


    He was back already? She opened the door to see him in jeans, hiking boots, and a black T-shirt that slid over his muscles like fabric sin. At least it was clothing.


    "Fiona Patrone. I believe you left your electric bill in the front yard." He passed the white rectangle to her and she ripped it from his hand. It must have fallen out of her waistband when she was picking up the pup to bring him inside.


    Great. He knew her name now. Not that it mattered. He knew where she lived. It wasn''t like knowledge of her name was a bigger security risk at this point.


    To make herself stop staring at him, she turned to scoop up the wolf pup. "He''s been very..." The words died there as a foul-smelling cloth pressed against her mouth and nose. She struggled for several seconds, but he was too strong for her. She tried not to breathe in, to little avail. Besides her pounding heartbeat, the last thing she heard was his whispered apology.


    Fiona opened her eyes to find a strange, older gentleman sitting beside her. As consciousness resumed and the fog cleared, she felt the pain. "Ow, ow, OW!"


    "Careful, you''ll rip the stitches. I''m not quite done."


    She jerked her arm away, and he released the needle and thread. It dangled from her arm as she tried to orient herself to her surroundings.


    "Where am I?"


    Another form moved into her peripheral vision, the voice low and deep. "My place." Z.


    She spun swiftly, and regretted it, feeling woozy. He was there so fast she didn''t see him move, his hand under her elbow, steadying her.


    "Careful." His warm breath was in her ear when he spoke. His nearness did weird things to her. His voice, his hand on her elbow, it was just too much.


    She pulled away and he backed off, his hands in the air as if he were the good guy and she was just some hysterical woman in the midst of her monthly. Well, we''ll see about that. "You drugged me! I can''t believe you drugged me!"


    "It was necessary. I said I needed your help." He was still wearing pants, at least, but his shirt was nowhere to be found.


    She tried to forget his pecs and focus on her anger. "That''s your rationalization for kidnapping me? Let''s find out what the authorities have to say." She turned to the older gentleman who had been stitching up her arm. "This man has brought me here against my will. You have to call the police. It''s your civic duty."


    The older gentleman held out his hand. "Please, Miss. Just one more stitch and I''ll have you all patched up. Would you like some drugs to dull the pain?"


    She goggled at him. No she didn''t want drugs. That was the last thing she needed. "Didn''t you hear me?"


    "I heard you." He guided her to sit back on the couch, took her arm, and finished the stitching while she tried not to scream. No way was she going to let the asshole who brought her here see her cry over stitches. A few moments later the older man patted her arm. "There, now. You''ll be good as new before you know it."


    She could have handled it just fine on her own with her books and tools and with much less pokey-needle pain. She didn''t need someone to come along and stitch her up. The man handed a bottle of pills to Z.


    "Make sure she takes these. One in the morning and one at night to avoid infection. Humans aren''t like us. You''ve got to be careful with them."


    "I''m a witch! I don''t need any of that. I''ve got magic." She looked around, but none of her books were there - just a small bag she recognized that looked like it had clothes in it. "Where are my books and tools?"


    "Again," Z said, "I won''t have you doing magic while you''re with me. I''m not stupid."


    She felt like she couldn''t breathe. No books or tools. She wasn''t at her house, but outside. Miles away. Was the room getting hotter?


    Z snapped a finger in front of her face before she could make a dramatic scene. The panic attack had been edging in on her senses.


    "Hey. None of that. We''re not doing that here. Do you read me?"


    His flippant attitude about her emotional state pissed her off enough that the anxiety eased. Nothing like anger to ward off an encroaching panic attack. She looked around. At least the cave looked secure. It was small, closed in. Cozy. Safe. Safer than her house right now, she reasoned. She just had to think of this as the new, safe home base.


    Easier said than done.


    The doctor continued, unfazed. "And this one..." he passed a second bottle to Z. "These are for pain if she needs them."


    "I''m not taking any of that," Fiona said, still ruffled that the doctor who wasn''t human was siding with her abductor. Only therians had this honor-among-thieves code to this extreme. No human doctor would go along with kidnapping.


    Z''s eyes narrowed at her, then he turned back to the doctor. "She''ll take them. Thanks, doc."


    "No problem. You have my number."


    When he was gone, Fiona dropped back into the chair. She was trapped. Maybe not literally. She wasn''t sure if she was locked in or not. But the fear of going outside was enough to confine her to this new prison.


    It was only now that the situation was starting to dawn on her in the way it would have dawned on someone who didn''t have her particular phobias much earlier. A dangerous panther therian had kidnapped her. He''d said he needed her help with the pup, but he''d also said he just needed her to watch the wolf for a while, during which time he''d gone to get the tools he needed to take her without a fight. His word was worthless.


    "Hey. Stop all that thinking," Z said, snapping his fingers in front of her face again. "I really did just bring you here to help me with the pup. I have no evil plan."


    "How can I trust that?"


    He held up three fingers. "Scout''s honor."


    Fiona wrinkled her nose, not trusting that for a minute.


    "Look. If I''d wanted to hurt you, I could have done it a thousand times already."


    She held up her arm again to make the point that he had, in fact, already done physical damage.


    "You know what I mean. You think I couldn''t have killed you in a couple of swipes if I''d wanted? And if I''d wanted to do other things... that would have been simple enough, too. I''m not a bad guy."


    She didn''t like the way his eyes roved over her body, sizing her up when he said other things. Or maybe she did like it. She''d never had a man look at her like she was an appetizer before. Again, that was probably because she wasn''t around men, being in her house all the time.


    "Whatever. You know I''m stuck here now, right? If you ever want to get rid of me, you''ll have to chloroform me to get me back home. Because I still can''t go out there." She knew it was ludicrous, how crazy it sounded, that she''d rather stay in the cave with some unhinged panther guy she didn''t know she could trust, than to be faced with a few miles trip back to her own home. Of course it was illogical. Phobias weren''t logical. But logic didn''t change how she felt.


    "I assumed as much. And if that''s all right with you, I''ll do that as soon as I''ve found the pup''s family. Whatever you need to make it easier. I also took care of your window. I''ve got a guy working on it right now. When you get back home everything should be secure. Just like before."


    Before you came crashing into my life, you mean?


    There was still that part of her that was sad about the prospect of going back to her house by herself. Because as screwed up as this whole situation was, when and where was she going to meet another guy? Even if she could go out and mingle like normal people, the odds of meeting another one this hot were slim.


    Therians tended to have the animal magnetism going, but they didn''t often mingle with magic users socially - not since that website with the therian blood started up. There had always been suspicion between the magic users and the therians. Neither could ever trust the motivations of the other, and now, they didn''t need to.


    How many decades would pass before another eligible man just showed up at her house and busted through her window? Men weren''t like pizza delivery. Sadly. It was the one thing she couldn''t order off the Internet.


    Even if she met a guy, how was she going to date him? The kind of man who would only be interested in coming over to her place and not going anywhere, wasn''t the kind of man she wanted. She didn''t want to be somebody''s late night booty call. Besides, it was beyond embarrassing that she''d made it to twenty-seven without losing her virginity. She wouldn''t know what to do. They''d assume something was wrong with her, or that she was freaky religious.


    Still, she wasn''t going to throw herself at the panther, especially since he looked like the kind of guy who had enough experience to write a sex manual. She didn''t want to be his poker-with-the-guys story about the clueless chick who didn''t know her way around a man''s body.


    "All right, then," Z said. "Are you hungry? I''m afraid the extent of my kitchen skills are cardboard box plus microwave. But I''ve got a stash of everything in the deep freezer."


    "Don''t panthers hunt?"


    "I do. But I''ve got a high metabolism. Hunting is great, but I like to think my whole life doesn''t revolve around it." He waved the frozen food box in her direction. "I''ve got mac and cheese, here. You interested?"


    Why not? "Sure. Mac and cheese sounds fine."


    Fiona couldn''t stop looking at his tanned upper body as he opened boxes and peeled the clear plastic cover off the food. She was a great cook, but she wasn''t about to insist he run to the store for her so she could make something proper. She bet he''d never had homemade macaroni and cheese before.


    She shook herself out of the thoughts of making him a home-cooked meal. That was not the appropriate response when someone kidnapped you to turn you into an indentured werewolf nanny. Fiona wasn''t sure there was an appropriate response to that circumstance, or that anyone else had ever had it happen to them before.


    A few minutes later he passed the first macaroni entree to her, along with a fork, then he tossed his in the microwave and pressed a couple of buttons.


    "Milk, cola, water?"


    "Water is fine," she said, standing beside the counter. She didn''t bother sitting because the kitchen table was covered in papers and random crap he''d left piled on it. He was definitely a single male. Or he was if what she''d seen of them on TV shows was in any way accurate.


    He put an antibiotic pill in her hand and she tossed it back, not bothering to argue.


    "How do you have electricity and indoor plumbing here?"


    "How do you have it in your house?"


    She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. This is a cave."


    "It''s a home just like any other. It can be wired up... a little more difficult with all the stone, but not impossible. It just took some creative thinking."


    He tossed her a plastic bottle and leaned against the fridge, his arms crossed over his chest. "For someone who has just been kidnapped, you seem calm."


    "I told you. I have a problem with outside. I''m inside now. This is the new safe place. It''s fine." This was all babbling self-talk and bluster, because there was no reality in which it was fine.


    He arched a brow and laughed. "I could be crazy, evil, or just garden-variety lecherous, and you''ve decided I''m safe now?"


    Fiona grew annoyed with the mocking. "No," she said in between bites, "I didn''t say you were safe. I said this physical location is. You, I''m still not sure about, but you haven''t done anything scary since you took me, so I''m waiting it out. Right now the forest is scarier than you are."


    The microwave dinged, and he shook his head. "You are a piece of work. I didn''t know crazy came in such a cute package. It''s a shame."


    She felt her face heat at the quasi-compliment, and also felt a tiny bit safer knowing crazy wasn''t on his list of turn-ons. That increased her safety level, right?


    "Here, let''s sit and eat like normal people." Z swept the papers off the table and onto the floor while Fiona gawked, her mind going to soap operas she''d seen where men cleared desks of papers in order to take a lover. The daydream was interrupted as the pup, sensing a game, ran up and started rolling around and chewing on the papers.


    Normal people? An agoraphobic witch and a panther guy taking care of a baby werewolf. Yeah. That was normal. Z dropped into a chair with his macaroni and a glass of milk. Fiona shrugged and sat across from him. This couldn''t get any weirder, and she had to admit, it was better than being alone all the time. She hadn''t had a real in-person conversation in longer than she wanted to admit. Crazy or not, company was company. Television playing in the background as her only sense of companionship had become less convincing as the years passed.


    Part of her hoped it took a long time to find the pup''s family so she wouldn''t have to go back to being alone. Or maybe they''d never find the family. Her gaze lingered on his bicep. If he wasn''t mentally ill or evil, she wouldn''t mind waking up to that every day. Even if they weren''t a couple and didn''t share a bed. Just sharing space might be enough. She didn''t want to think about how pathetic that sounded in her head.


    Her eyes went back to the shirtless panther chowing down on mac and cheese. Fiona swallowed around the lump in her throat. She might be a virgin, but her brain had just moved into the pornographic zone. Hormones that had long been ignored screeched at her, jumping up and down for attention. Unconsciously, she pushed her hair behind her ears and might have batted her eyelashes when he looked up at her.


    Z smirked.


    "So," she said, trying to find something to talk about that would keep her body language from begging him to mount her, "you said someone''s after the pup?"


    He''d finished the rest of his milk with one gulp. "Yeah. I''m not sure who they are. I smelled magic, so I know some of them were magic users. One was a vampire, which is odd because I haven''t seen a vampire in these parts in twenty years or more. But it seemed like they knew something about the pup to want him so much.


    "I don''t know how I outran them, pure adrenaline is my guess. But I bunked down with a friend, and the next day I had wards put on the cave. Now I can''t take the pup outside to play, but as you can see, he''s been known to wander off if my attention strays. I put him in a cage at night or when I have to shower or something, but he figured out the latch. That''s how he ended up at your place."


    Fiona looked horrified. "You keep him locked in a cage?"


    "Not all the time. And it''s big. It''s like a play pen that you put a baby in. He''s got toys and food and stuff. I''m not a monster." Z pointed over to the corner where the cage sat. "I''m going to have to figure out a better way to lock it so we don''t have a repeat of today."


    Fiona got up and went to the living area to take a better look at the cage, then turned back to Z. "You should also maybe do something about the sharp edges."


    He smiled, a brilliant, milk-commercial smile. "See? I knew you were going to be beneficial."


    Her lips curved downward at his justification for kidnapping, but she was intrigued by the fact that Z was playing the role of surrogate father. If he''d take a child not of his species in and care for it, he couldn''t be too bad a guy. Could he?


    "I need to go back out, though. Into town. I''m sure they''ll have something at the hardware store I can use to secure him. Can you watch him while I''m gone?" He pulled the black T-shirt over his head.


    "Are you going to drug me again when you get back?"


    Z rolled his eyes. "Don''t be goofy. I know you aren''t going anywhere." He gestured toward the door. "That''s the big bad outside out there. I don''t need a lock to keep you in."


    Fiona shot him a glare. What he said was true, but it still pissed her off that he was so smug about it. There were legitimate things to fear out there, especially with her gift. Inside was safer. The panther could think she was crazy all he wanted, but he didn''t have to live her life or avoid the dangers that she did. And since he could defend himself without spell books and fifteen minutes of prep time, he had no right to judge her.


    "So, now that you''re here, will you help me?" he asked.


    Despite his semi-evil behavior, his warm brown eyes sort of made her brain go all fuzzy. He could ask her for almost anything, and it would be hard to say no - especially given that she was already here, and it was easier just to stay at this point.


    "Okay."


    He smiled and patted her arm. "Okay. I''ll be back in a bit. Is there anything you need from town?"


    Fiona shook her head, not being able to think of anything at the moment. She watched him slip through the opening in the cave and out into the big bad outside.


    She followed his path as he disappeared from view. He''d obviously done work on the stone, as the opening wasn''t a natural one. From the main den, there was a narrow hallway that opened to the outside. The opening was covered by some large, natural plant life that grew in the hard earth next to it. Climbing down looked treacherous, but it was no more than a couple of stories to the ground. She imagined someone walking by would never guess there was a cave in the rock. Well, except for the fireplace, but Fiona guessed the chimney had been made to blend as well.


    She watched Z maneuver himself down to the ground and shuddered to think how he''d gotten her up there while she was unconscious. Perhaps he''d had help from the doctor. Once he reached the ground, he pushed back a large stone to reveal another hewn-out piece of rock large enough to house his motorcycle. He replaced the stone and pushed the bike through the trees.


    The pup''s cold, wet nose pressed under her elbow. He looked in the direction Z had gone, his tail flapping fifty times a second.


    "Oh, no you don''t. You get out the door, and I can''t chase you." Saying it out loud sounded and felt ridiculous, and once again she was reminded of what a silly and debilitating phobia she had. Would she leave the pup to get hurt or be taken because she couldn''t face going out into the forest? She hoped she never had to find out.


    Once Z cleared the trees, he put on speed. He wanted to get Fiona out of his mind, and there was nothing like the wind in his hair from a fast ride to clear his head. If he were being really honest, and he''d need to get pretty drunk to get that honest, he''d admit that kidnapping her was twenty-five percent about needing help with the pup. The other seventy-five percent was his raging hormones and the desperation to mount something.


    But why had he brought her to his home, knowing she might be there for awhile? He was not a domesticated breed. Panthers didn''t settle down. They liked their privacy, their tucked-away caves. They weren''t a breed that mated for life or cared for young. The females of his kind often raised young alone without the assistance of a male.


    Their jaded nature made it easier to walk away after a quick coupling. But Fiona, she was different. She was dangerous. She was a true innocent, and though Z told himself he wasn''t going to sleep with her, he feared if he did, he wouldn''t be able to get rid of her after the fact. He might not be able to get rid of her anyway, given her peculiar phobia. And a virgin? Out of the question. He wasn''t gallant enough to keep her, and he wasn''t brute enough to use her innocence and throw her away. Or at least he didn''t want to think he was.


    When he reached town, he parked his bike next to the Java Junkie and went inside to feed his caffeine addiction. The hardware store would be open for another hour still, and the longer he could stay away from the tantalizing scent and sweet presence of the witch in his cave, the better.


    His darker side kicked to the surface, tempting him to stay out all night just to get rid of any charming notions she might have in her head about him. He''d seen the way the witch looked at him. If he started their association off by behaving like a jackass, he might have some success in pushing her away before he did something stupid. Because kidnapping her hadn''t been enough to get the glazed admiration out of her eyes. He sighed and went into the coffee shop.


    "Hey doll, double shot of espresso," he said when he reached the counter. He shoved a three-dimensional paper jack-o-lantern out of the way and grabbed a handful of candy corn out of the dish.


    The busty blonde smiled at him and winked. "Hey, Z."


    Her name was Cherry, but Z was almost certain that wasn''t her real name. He imagined with that name and those tits that her job at the Java Junkie making fancy coffee beverages was a brief hiatus from a more lucrative position at a strip joint in Atlanta.


    He knew she had a thing for him, and he''d been tempted more than once. But she was human, and explaining why he lived in a cave like a mountain man wasn''t on his agenda for the evening. Not that he could take a woman to the cave right now with Fiona there. Either way, it would only make his visits to the coffee shop awkward after the inevitable end of their fling. And he needed his double espresso. In small towns, you couldn''t afford to piss off the keepers of the coffee beans.


    He nodded, acknowledging the flirtation, but not inviting more. He was perplexed by how lack of attention attracted women more than overt and cloying interest. He sat at the counter while she bustled about making his drink. A moment later she put the espresso in front of him along with a slice of pumpkin pie with a thick layer of whipped cream. She leaned close, her scantily covered breast pressing against his arm for the smallest moment. It was meant to appear accidental, but Z knew better.


    "We make the pies fresh daily, and we''re about to close up. We''d have to throw it away, anyway," she said. "Don''t tell my boss."


    "Thanks."


    As always when he was in town, a few folks turned away, others whispered and stared. They knew there was something other about him; they just couldn''t figure out what it was. Women like the one who''d served his drink and pastry were drawn to it like magnets. Others had better self-preservation instincts. Never in a million years would they suspect that what sent their spider senses tingling was the fact that he wasn''t human.


    He tuned in his sensitive hearing to one of the conversations nearby. A couple of tables over, two women were talking, not having noticed his presence yet.


    "I heard Mayor Walsh wanted to find someone willing to rebuild that house on Cranberry Lane. They still have the original plans in a vault. It was on the registry of historical homes," one of them said.


    "Elizabeth, you know, it''s funny, but I don''t think I recall what the house looked like. I know I must have driven by it a hundred times at least," the other replied.


    Elizabeth twisted her auburn hair up and put a clip in it. "That''s strange. You know you''re right. It burned down, but I can''t recall if it was arson or an accident. It was only a few months ago. I should be able to remember."


    "Didn''t Anna Worthington live there for a bit? I''d heard she did, but maybe I''m wrong. I mean, I haven''t seen her in years since she ran off with that..."


    Z let their conversation trail off. Boring, like so much of the idle chitchat in this town. But then his senses picked up on something much less boring from the opposite direction. He stiffened, the hairs on the back of his neck rising at the new presence.


    Vampire.


    Z didn''t turn, instead waiting for the vamp to come to him, as he knew he would. What else would a bloodsucker be doing in Golatha Falls? The night-walking breed preferred cities with nightlife. Soccer moms just weren''t their flavor of choice. Any vampire in this town had a purpose in being here, and Z didn''t like that the vamp''s purpose might have to do with the pup.


    As expected, the vampire sat on the barstool next to him. He looked like a bodyguard. Before whatever ominous message he''d come to deliver got said, Cherry sidled up to the bar, using her flirtatious routine on the vampire. It wounded Z''s male pride a bit, but his larger concern was the look in the vamp''s eyes as he sized up the voluptuous snack in front of him.


    "What can I get you to drink?" she asked. Her voice was laced with innuendo, as if some small corner of her mind knew the truth about the being she was now faced with.


    "You," the vampire said.


    Z groaned at the cheesy line. Vamps were all about production value. Cherry was caught off guard, more used to the even less suave pick-up lines of the average small-town male. She made the mistake of making eye contact.


    "Good girl," he said. "Now give me your wrist."


    "Are you kidding me?" Z hissed. "Here? Now? Someone will see you."


    The vampire didn''t take his eyes off Cherry, holding her in his thrall as she offered her wrist. "There aren''t many witnesses here. It shouldn''t be a hard clean-up job. But I''m sure you''ll help block the view for me while I feed."


    The panther suppressed a growl. "And I''ll do this because I''m such a good Samaritan?"


    "No, because the one thing we have in common, besides that pup you''ve got hidden away, is a desire for maintaining secrecy from the humans."


    That cleared up any doubt about the vamp''s knowledge of the pup. Z shifted his body to block the view, not believing he was going along with this. But he knew the bloodsucker wouldn''t drain her, and if a scene could be avoided, that might be for the best.


    The stranger brought the woman''s wrist to his lips, his fangs descending into her flesh. Although Z hated vampires and lived here primarily because the fanged crowd didn''t, he found himself fascinated by the display. The fascination was short lived. Within moments, Cherry was crying.


    Z lowered his voice. "All right, you asshole. You''ve got two seconds to let her go."


    The vampire raised his mouth from the woman''s arm, blood trickling from the corner of his lips. The expression on his face was mild. "I''m not hurting her."


    "Like hell you''re not." It was just Z''s luck to run into one of the more sadistic vamps that preferred feeding from pain.


    "Her tears aren''t what you assume. It''s release. Absolution. I found her guiltiest secret, and I forgave her." He licked the drops of blood that ran down her arm and healed the puncture marks. He turned to the barista; his eyes flicked to her name tag. "Cherry, you will never speak of this."


    She nodded, looking drugged and hypnotized, then her vision cleared and she stared at him for a long time before going back to work.


    When she was out of earshot, Z turned to the vampire. He didn''t buy the blood drinker''s forgiveness story for a second. "And what was her guilty secret?"


    "That''s privileged information. I am bound to never share the sins that are confessed to me."


    "What are you? A priest?"


    "Once upon a time, yes."


    Z wasn''t sure whether the vampire was joking or lying. The idea that he might be telling the truth wasn''t on his radar. "Didn''t you get the memo? God no longer wants you, so you can stop doing his work."


    A bemused smirk played across the vampire''s lips. "You think I haven''t heard that one before? It''s not about God. It''s about what I need and what those I feed from need. It''s a symbiotic relationship that more should respect. They give me a bit of the life flowing through them, and I give them the one thing they most need to find happiness."


    Z shook his head and dug into the pie that had sat untouched on his plate. He couldn''t believe he still had the appetite for it after what he''d just witnessed and allowed. But sometimes being the gallant hero just got more people killed.


    "Now," the vampire said, turning toward him, "let''s talk about the pup."


    "I''m sure I don''t know what you''re talking about," Z said between bites. This particular vampire hadn''t been with the raiding party that had tried to take the pup the last time. Confessing to nothing seemed the wisest course.


    The vampire chuckled. "Play stupid if you like. I need that pup. He will not be harmed, but it''s important. We will get him one way or the other. Your cooperation will save everyone trouble, and might buy you your life. Think about it." He slid a business card with a number on it across the counter. "I''ll be in touch."


    "This your number?" Z asked.


    A nod.


    "Doesn''t have a name on it." Not that Z planned to call for a friendly chat. He just found the whole exchange strange.


    "You may call me Father."


    Z laughed. "It''s sad how vampires can never let go of the past." His voice lowered. "You get near that pup and you''ll get a chance to go learn firsthand how much God doesn''t want you."


    "I love being the courier. Think of all the male posturing and the lovely snack I would have missed had I stayed at home. Be wise, Z. The pup isn''t yours. His fate doesn''t concern you."


    Though he hadn''t ordered anything off the official menu, the vampire placed a couple of bucks on the counter and receded into the night.


    The adrenaline and blood pumped beneath the surface of Z''s skin. He''d been primed for a fight, and the vampire had played it civilized. No fighting, only moderate threats. He waited a few minutes before getting up to leave.


    "I''m out, Cherry," he said.


    "Later, Z." She seemed distracted still, but not in any distress. Her features held none of the tension he''d come to take for granted since he''d met her. That bloodsucking fiend had absolved her.


    He shook his head and made his way down the street to the hardware store. His eyes cut from side to side, searching for evidence of the vampire. He didn''t sense or see anything, but he decided to stay away from the cave until morning. There was no chance he''d be followed in daylight.

 Page 3

    Fiona had lain awake on the couch for the past two hours. Though it was comfortable and doubled great as a bed, she''d slept fitfully and woken angry. Sure, Z didn''t owe her anything, and she couldn''t expect much civilized behavior from a panther therian that had kidnapped her, anyway. But it still stung and riled her that he''d stayed out all night. The least he could do was show a little basic respect. He''d enlisted her to be a nanny without offering her payment or the choice to refuse. The least he could do was not run off to scratch whatever itches he''d been scratching ''til dawn.


    Did it take all night to go to the hardware store?Advertisement


    She wouldn''t admit she was worried for him. Anger was easier. Though both emotions were inappropriate. She didn''t know him. He was good-looking and was sane enough part of the time, but just because she''d been locked away in her house in the woods separated from people didn''t mean she needed to start yearning for the first hot guy to break through her kitchen window.


    Since Z hadn''t returned with a way to fix the cage, at midnight, Fiona had dutifully locked the pup up. She felt guilty about it, but it was for his own safety. Since the latch on the door was broken, she''d shoved the couch against the cage. The pup was pretty strong for his size. Therians born in their fur often were.


    She''d been tempted to sleep in the bedroom. If Z wasn''t going to make use of the bed, someone should. But the realization that the pup might still be able to get out, with just the couch as a barrier to the outside, had her adding her own weight.


    Even if he could move both the couch and her, at least she''d wake up during the attempt. Fiona glanced at her watch. Seven in the morning. The sun must already be up, and here she was still stranded alone with the pup. Z didn''t even have a TV so she could keep up with her soaps.


    At least the wolf was asleep. After about twenty minutes of whining and banging against the door with his small body, he''d given up and curled up in the far back corner.


    Fiona jumped when Z entered the cave. The ranting and nagging she''d had planned like some surly fishwife died in her throat as he dropped the bag from the hardware store on the table. He looked wiped.


    "Where were you?" She tried to make it sound as non-accusatory as possible.


    He gave her an irritated look. "I had to stay out. I went to the coffee shop last night on my way to the hardware store and ran into a vampire, one of the ones who wants the pup. He must have been waiting for me to show up in town. I couldn''t risk coming back here again until morning. I have wards on the cave, but there''s no reason to let them know where we are if we don''t have to. It''s safer if our location stays secret."


    Fiona turned all that over in her head, trying to determine if it was the truth. "Did he say what he wanted with the wolf?"


    Z shook his head and peeled the T-shirt off, draping it over the chair. She wished he''d stop doing that. Did he have to show her all that sleek muscle at every opportunity? Was he teasing her? Tempting her? He kicked his shoes off and emptied his pockets.


    "What''s that?" A cream-colored rectangle of paper with a phone number and nothing else on it glared out from the pile of loose change on the table.


    Z crumpled the card and tossed it in the fire. "It''s nothing."


    Sure it was nothing. It was some girl he''d been out with all night.


    "You don''t have to lie to me about where you go. Why should I care who you sleep with?" Fiona managed to get the words out without much emotion. The truth was that she was jealous of whoever he''d shared his bed with, but she had no claim on him. Aside from his one remark in her kitchen about getting down to business, he hadn''t made any passes at her. It probably was just that he''d been keyed up the day before from the adrenaline and, as he said, being a wild animal.


    Z stalked closer. She would never forget what he was - not with the sinewy, perfect way he moved. It looked like he''d practiced for hours in front of a mirror to move with that lethal, graceful precision, but she knew it was just his natural movement. If you paid attention to your surroundings, a therian - even in human form - had a tell. This was Z''s.


    His eyes raked over her, and she felt her flesh heat. Anytime he looked at her, X-rated images filled her mind. She needed to stop that.


    "You don''t care who I fuck? I don''t believe that''s true. You''re jealous. You''ve kept yourself cloistered from the rest of the world your whole adult life, and now that you''ve spent five minutes near a man, you want to keep tabs on me and keep me locked away. Don''t you? I''m sure you have a lot of time to make up for, a lot of needs that haven''t been attended to?"


    She shivered as his fingertips trailed over her cheek. His voice was low, deep, dark, rich like chocolate. Hypnotic. If she hadn''t known what he was, she might have mistaken him for a vampire or incubus from the effect he was having on her. She backed away, working hard to reclaim her feigned nonchalance at his closeness, pretending a worldliness they both knew was far from the truth.


    "I''m not stupid. You were out all night; you have a phone number on a card. Just don''t lie, okay? It''s not my business what you do."


    "You''re right. It isn''t. And what I told you is the truth. The number belongs to the vampire."


    Even if it wasn''t her business, she still didn''t believe him. Why would the vampire give him a phone number? Unless it had been a female vampire. Fiona had assumed a male. The idea that he might sleep with the enemy just for the hell of it repulsed her.


    She would have argued the point further, but she''d forgotten how to think in complete sentences, since he kept refusing to wear a shirt. She could smell the wildness on him and wondered if he''d been hunting. She wished she''d developed her witchcraft more. Another witch might have known if he''d had a woman, or if the essence of blood and death still clung to him from a recent hunt.


    Fiona turned away and went to the cage. "The pup needs to be let out. He''s been in there all night."


    Electricity shot up her arm as Z grabbed her wrist and spun her around. "Oh no, you''re not getting away that easy. We were having a conversation I find interesting."


    Fiona shook her head. "No, it was just a misunderstanding. I just ... didn''t want you to feel weird or awkward living your life as you usually do. I''m not going to judge you."


    She froze as he pressed his face against her neck, breathing in her scent.


    "With the pup around, I don''t get much action. Do you know how crazy that will drive a man?"


    She couldn''t imagine him much crazier than he''d already proven to be, but she chose not to verbalize that thought.


    "Z..."


    "Fiona..." he mocked.


    He held her cradled in his arms for several minutes, breathing in her scent, sniffing her like he might eat her. She stood stiff for a second, then tried to pull away. But he held on tighter.


    She sighed and relented to his embrace, trying not to feel awkward... or aroused. But she knew he could smell it on her. Damned therians and their super senses.


    "You don''t know how much I wish you weren''t a virgin right now."


    "What?" She tried to pull away again, and this time his grip loosened, allowing her to put several feet between them. "What difference does that make?" Not that she''d sleep with him either way.


    She felt like a child standing there with him sizing her up the way he was. Z moved back a few paces to lean against the counter.


    "Don''t be stupid, Fiona. You''re not a quick fuck. You''re complicated."


    "Just because I have some anxiety issues doesn''t mean - "


    "You know that''s not what I''m talking about. I can''t sleep with you and forget you. And I sure as hell can''t commit to you, so as hot as you are and as much as I just want to bury myself inside you, it can''t happen. I''m leaving town tomorrow to search for the pup''s family, so at least the temptation to do something stupid will be gone."


    Fiona stood there a minute, her mouth hanging open, her flesh rising to an impossibly high temperature. She couldn''t decide which emotion to settle on. Several were battling it out in her brain for dominance. First there was the anger at his general attitude toward women, then there was the sudden shyness and shock over his pronouncement of her supposed hotness and what he wanted to do with her, then there was the used feeling that he could somehow create without ever penetrating her body.


    What if something happened to Z? She couldn''t care for a pup. She had no access to her money from here. And what about her job? They''d run out of food and starve to death if she couldn''t bring herself to go outside. But had he once thought about that? Whether it was her body or her babysitting and animal understanding skills, either way he was using her.


    Tears slid down her cheeks.


    "Please don''t do that," Z said. "I''m trying to not be an asshole here."


    Fiona laughed bitterly. "This is you holding back? Wow. Just wow." She turned and left the room, not wanting him to see any more tears.


    Z stared after her, wondering what the hell had just happened. After a moment, he shrugged and took the new lock from the hardware store and tried it on the cage. He tested it with his own strength. It would hold. He unlocked it and swung the door back to let the pup out to play. The wolf raced around the cave at warp speed, his tongue lolling out.


    After a couple of laps, he went back into the open cage to get a bit of water, then he looked around and started to whimper. Z followed as the wolf sniffed like a bloodhound until he got to the bathroom. He laid outside the door with his nose between his paws, occasionally rising up and scratching at the door.


    Z''s jaw clenched at hearing Fiona crying on the other side. This had been so stupid. He could have found someone else to watch the pup while he went searching for the family. This had been a dumb plan. Surely it didn''t take her particular gift to figure out how to care for the thing. There was too much attraction with completely wrong circumstances.


    Z knocked.


    "Go away."


    "Fiona, come on. This is my home, and I need to take a shower."


    "Then I''m never coming out," she said petulantly from the other side.


    Z rolled his eyes. He could break it down, but fitting a door into a cave like this was no small feat. He''d be damned if he was going to mess up so many hours of labor only to have to redo it. He''d built this place with his own hands. There was no way he was going to destroy it in a rage just because a witch was getting under his skin.


    "Tell me what I did wrong. Do you think it would be right to take advantage of you?"


    "I''m not a child!"


    Z growled, almost shifting. He needed to hunt something. His nerves were already on edge. He''d come straight home when the sun had risen, and this was the thanks he got.


    A few minutes passed when she said, "I want to go home."


    "You said you''d help me. For God''s sake, Fiona. I''ll be out of your hair tomorrow morning. You won''t have to deal with me. And when I find the pup''s family, you can go home."


    "What if something happens to you? I''ll be trapped here. You won''t let me have my books and tools. What about access to a computer so I can get to my money? What about my job? If I don''t log in tomorrow, they might fire me. You''ve made me helpless while you run out to who knows where."


    This was why he wasn''t good with women, why he only had one-night stands. He didn''t think things all the way through sometimes. Any woman who spent more than a single night with him would figure that out and run screaming in the other direction.


    And who was he kidding? Fiona wasn''t a bad witch. She didn''t have a mean bone in her body. She wasn''t going to hex him. So why had he acted like he had? As if she were some kind of magical terrorist. He''d known from the moment he''d met her that she wasn''t a danger to him. He could smell the sweetness on her. And that was part of the problem.


    "I''m sorry. I''ll go to your house and get your stuff. Just make me a list of what you need."


    She opened the door and poked her head out. His heart clenched at her tear-stained face. All in all, she was taking all the shit he''d put her through pretty well.


    "You''d do that?"


    Z nodded. "I should have let you have the stuff you needed to feel protected. It was wrong and selfish for me not to." He was just going to skim right past the chloroform and kidnapping bit.


    "Okay."


    "Now can I have a shower and breakfast first?"


    She nodded, wiping her face with the back of her hand, a sudden embarrassment seeming to come over her. The alien notion that he should reach out and comfort her in some way popped into his mind. But he couldn''t bring himself to touch her again. Still, her arm bumped him as she passed, and he felt the physical chemistry that crackled between them. Could she not feel that?


    But she left him standing there. The pup followed behind her like a guard dog and growled back at him.


    In the shower, Z scrubbed himself raw, the self-recriminations pounding through his head. He was right not to sleep with her. She was far too innocent. And he couldn''t take care of her the way she needed. Not that he thought she was helpless. Despite her peculiar issues, she wasn''t a weakling. She''d shown surprising courage and calm in the face of her circumstances. Z thought she was much stronger than she knew. It mystified him that she couldn''t see that and leave the self-created prison her house had become.


    No, he couldn''t take care of her in the way any man would want to take care of the right woman. There was no right woman for Z. Any woman he met, he spoiled and screwed up for whoever her right man was, and all in the space of a single night. He always did have impressive talents.


    After he finished beating himself up, he indulged in a morning wank. Generally, any random image of any random woman would do. Today it was Fiona in his head. He switched between lust and guilt, but lust won out. When he finished, he scrubbed some more and went for round two of self-recriminating mental talk.


    He leaned his head against the tile. Women made him too broody. If she knew the things he thought and mentally whined about, it would kill her interest in a hot second. He wasn''t cut out for a woman, and he wasn''t cut out for kids. He should have left that pup where he found him. It would have been a hell of a lot simpler.


    When he got out of the shower, he was surprised to find Fiona in the kitchen, making eggs. He''d bought eggs and bacon at the store the previous week thinking he might fry or scramble something up one morning. The bacon was frying in a second pan.


    The pup wove in and out of her legs, but she was ignoring him. When she noticed Z''s presence, she blushed and looked away. "The list of my stuff and where it can all be found is on the table." She pointed the spatula at the list, then went back to the eggs in front of her.


    Z put the list in his pocket and looked around the kitchen. Something was different. Very different. "You organized my kitchen?"


    "Um... I couldn''t sleep last night. I organize when I can''t sleep."


    All the papers and junk that had been piled on the table were in neat stacks and trays - trays he''d bought for that purpose, but hadn''t gotten around to using. He opened the cabinets to find all his coffee cups lined up in perfectly straight rows from largest to smallest. Quirky. Should he say thank you or be annoyed? Being annoyed wouldn''t be appropriate given that she wasn''t here of her own free will. He should be grateful she''d organized his stuff instead of broken or burned it.


    "I made you some breakfast."


    When he''d said he needed some breakfast first, he''d meant hunting. He needed to kill something in the worst possible way. But he couldn''t stand to make her cry again, so he sat down and ate eggs and bacon in his newly organized kitchen.


    Several minutes passed in blissful eating silence when she put down her fork. "This is a screwed up situation, but I know you need help with the pup, and I said I''d help. I think deep down, aside from the bad judgment in kidnapping me... I think you''re a good man."


    He couldn''t help the groan that slipped out. What the hell did he need to do for this woman to see he wasn''t a hero? Her perceptions were all about her sexual peak approaching without ever having had a horse in the barn. It wasn''t reality.


    He realized he''d made the sound when she went silent again. He felt the frost come off her: a subzero gust moving across the table, headed straight for him.


    "Fine. I''m sorry you think I''m such an idiot," she said.


    Z couldn''t deal with this. He knew she wasn''t doing it on purpose, but there were two ways to shut her the hell up, and killing her didn''t sound like the fun option. He scraped his chair back and moved faster probably than she could process. He jerked her up out of her chair, and before she could protest, he planted one on her.


    The kiss was slow and sensual, his lips caressing hers, devouring, tasting, exploring. His tongue slipped into her mouth even though he knew, given her phobic history, that this was new territory for her.


    After a small eternity, he released her. "Now, please... shut up. I''ll be back in an hour or so with your things."


    She looked up at him, an odd cross between angry and dazed. But dazed won out as she sank back into her chair and picked up the fork to finish her eggs, a smile edging out her anger.


    Fiona sat for a good thirty minutes after Z had left her, the pup yapping at her heels, trying to play, wanting some scraps.


    "Oh yes, sorry puppy." She didn''t glance down as she put her plate on the floor to let the pup eat the leftovers. She got up from her chair still dazed, a goofy grin painting her mouth. She started humming as she put the dishes and frying pans into the sudsy water to do the dishes like she was Cinderella or something.


    She was never going to tell him that had been her first kiss. Granted, being told to please shut up afterward wasn''t how it had played out in her fantasies. Still, it was... electric. Fiona touched her fingertips to her lips. If Z had known she''d never been kissed, he wouldn''t have done it.


    He was already freaked by her virgin status. She wished she''d never told him. If she could rewind time to when she''d acted like a prude about the nudity, she would have kept her feelings to herself. If she had, they might be doing more than kissing right now. Surely he felt the same visceral thing she did.


    It sounded stupid to admit it, but he created a somewhat scary physical reaction in her. It was hard to stand near him - much easier to sit. He did something funky to her legs so they didn''t want to hold her up right, which was a whole other level of embarrassing. She didn''t want to act like a schoolgirl around him.


    To her knowledge, no witches could rewind time. Of course, she''d always been rather lax with her studies. Being a witch had been another thing that was just too scary. Aside from her natural affinity with animal language, she hadn''t done much to try to develop her power or her spell repertoire. She was woefully amateur, for all the spell books and supplies she had stashed away. She was little better than regular humans who didn''t have powers but still said spells on occasion with varying but weak results. The only thing she excelled at were minor healing spells.


    If ever there was a slogan for her it would be: Fiona Patrone: results may vary.


    She always told herself she''d get to it. She''d learn her craft and develop her natural powers. Eventually it wouldn''t be so scary. She''d be able to handle it. But that time hadn''t yet come. Every time she went to the basement to peruse the books, the cold fingers of panic would squeeze her chest. What if she got in too deep? What if she learned to do things, but couldn''t control those new powers and hurt herself? What if she crossed some irreversible line where she couldn''t go back to the way she was?


    Sure, it was all great in TV and movies where there weren''t real consequences and all problems were neatly tied up, all danger averted in an hour''s worth of programming. But real life was scarier... and real.


    She wondered why Z had taken her. It couldn''t be to care for the pup. It was hard to imagine how he couldn''t tell the difference between hungry and tired or playful and anxious. Was it a guy thing or a panther thing that made him so clueless? Even without the extra information that filtered through her senses, she''d know what to do. Wouldn''t she?


    Fiona jumped as the pup nosed the plate across the floor, bumping it against the cabinets to get the last stubborn bits of food still clinging to the ceramic.


    "I think you''ve just about done all the damage you can do there. It''s all gone."


    He looked up at her with sad, brown eyes, and she laughed. "Would you like me to scramble you your own egg?"


    The way he beamed gave her the answer she sought. It was fascinating how much he seemed to grasp bits of human language. She''d heard therians learned faster than humans. He might still have to go through the trial and error of learning to speak when he shifted, but he had at least a basic concept of what she was saying.


    She wondered if he had any of his own thoughts in human language yet. It must be so frustrating to be stuck with growing understanding, but no way to communicate your needs with anyone outside your race. A therian born in his fur was a rare phenomenon. His pack must be missing him.


    After the pup had barreled through a couple of scrambled eggs of his own, he sprawled in front of the fireplace to play with a ball. Fiona finished the dishes, wiped down the table, and sat on the overstuffed, brown leather couch, fishing through her bag for a distraction to keep her from fantasizing about the panther.


    Z hadn''t given her any spell books, but at least he''d packed a couple of mystery novels for her. She''d already read both of them, but it was the thought that mattered. He''d also tossed a few bottles of nail polish into the bag. She didn''t think she could get into a book right now, so she opted for a bottle of lavender polish.


    She was halfway through painting her toes when Z came back with a large satchel filled with the items she''d asked for. Since he caught her in mid-paint, she was glad she''d thought to put paper towels down. She didn''t imagine a guy like Z wanted to have to worry about nail polish getting on his furniture.


    "So, uh, I got your stuff." He shifted his weight, looking more awkward than she''d ever seen him. Instead of being disarming, it unnerved her more. It was strange how someone so powerful and threatening could also appear awkward and endearing.


    Fiona screwed the cap back on the polish and dropped it into the bag with her clothes. "Thanks."


    They avoided each other''s eyes, and the pup couldn''t act as a buffer. That''s what he was - a buffer to prevent anything beyond PG-13 from happening. He''d nodded off for a nap in front of the fireplace. Drool slipped from the side of his mouth, coating the red rubber ball he''d been playing with not long before.


    Fiona looked back at Z. He''d been watching the pup as well but seemed to know when her focus shifted back to him. His predatory gaze swept from the pup to her, and he smiled, all signs of awkwardness gone.


    She took a step back, her legs hitting the couch, then she scrambled to one side of it.


    "What''s got you so skittish?" But he knew. It wasn''t a question. They both knew it. He was every ounce the predator right now. "I haven''t had a chance to hunt," he continued, by way of explanation of the sudden animal possession.


    "D-don''t let me stop you. Go. Go hunt." Fiona pointed to the mouth of the cave so there would be no confusion to her meaning. She wanted him to go far from here. Or did she?


    Bright white teeth flashed. "All the good hunting is in here." He cocked his head to the side. "Actually, the best hunting is in my room."


    Her stomach fluttered in response to the caveman routine. And then she got mad, first at him, then at herself for responding to it. "Have you lost your mind?"


    "I can smell you, Fiona. I know you want to and you know you want to. And I know I want to. Can''t you just do something without analyzing all the ways it can go wrong?"


    He didn''t know her like he thought he did. He was judging based on her reaction to outside. But wasn''t that enough? How much more did someone need to see to know she''d crossed into neurotic years ago?


    Still. Just because both of their hormones were going crazy in such close proximity, it didn''t mean they had to just act on their animal urges and to hell with the consequences. "What about the part where we''re a bad match and you''re not looking for anything?"


    He shrugged, inching closer. "We still are, but I still want you, and you can''t go on smelling like you smell, Fiona. It''s not fair."


    Fiona picked up the sleeping pup and planted herself on the sofa. The wolf opened his eyes for just a moment, looked around, then yawned and snuggled into her lap, falling back asleep. "See? He''s comfortable. I can''t move him. Maybe you should go hunt."


    She wished more than anything that she could get over her fears and go outside. She needed air, breathing room. Either she needed to leave or he did.


    He laughed and moved toward the opening of the cave. "Tonight, Fiona. It''s happening tonight. I can''t promise you a life, but you''re inside my skin and I want to be inside yours. Even if it can''t be forever, there''s chemistry, so let''s just have tonight."


    "I - "


    "I''ll be gone in the morning before you wake up. There won''t be any morning-after awkwardness. I promise. When I come back with his family, I''ll take you home. Think about it."


    She stared at his ass as he left, trying not to think about it.


    Z stood outside the cave just after sunset, debating whether he should go inside. This was a bad idea, being alone with her. He should just leave her a note when she went to sleep and get the hell away from her. She was bad news. He''d known it from the moment he''d busted into her kitchen. When his instincts had gone on high alert upon first seeing her, it had been for a different reason than he''d originally thought.


    Fiona equaled entanglement.


    He''d spent the whole day out, away from the tempting witch. Hunting had taken the edge off after the first couple of hours. He''d killed and eaten several rabbits while in his shifted form. He''d seen a deer, but wasn''t in the mood for something that large. Lucky for the deer. It wasn''t hunger that drove Z so much as the killing urge.


    Killing or fucking. Those were his instincts. He imagined Fiona wanted to make him more complex than that, attributing all sorts of arcane motivations to his behaviors. He could almost see her trying to take it all apart in her pretty little head, uncovering the mystery that is the male brain. But he wasn''t all that complicated. At the end of the day, his needs were pretty basic. Something to kill and something to roll around with in bed. Preferably something that would quietly get up and leave when he was finished with her.


    He''d spent the day in a schizophrenic state. Half the time he was convinced he had no true desire for Fiona Patrone. He was just antsy and worried and not getting laid for awhile. Sure, he loved ''em and left ''em, and his bedpost was so riddled with notches it looked like a termite infestation, but he picked the women who knew the score and could handle it. Not the ones who couldn''t. Fiona couldn''t. She wasn''t that way. Her first time should be with someone who could at least give her a second date - or any pretense of a date at all.


    Z had convinced himself his pseudo-desire for the witch was a killing urge being transmuted into a desire for sex somehow. The wires were just crossing. That was all. The other half of the day he spent thinking about how he''d hunted and it had taken the edge off, but her fair hair and freckles still floated through his brain undeterred.


    Fair hair and freckles? He shook the image out of his head. That was not how Z operated. He didn''t fantasize about hair and freckles. He fantasized about what normal men fantasized about. Legs draped over shoulders, pert asses raised in the air at just the right angle, cleavage, and a fine sheen of sweat. If he wanted her for her freckles, there was something seriously wrong with him.


    And that wasn''t the only problem.


    Though he''d been an asshole in many respects about her phobias, he liked her vulnerability. It was something he wanted to protect. Having protective urges toward her was no good. He''d seen men go down that road. It was nothing but drama and heartache and a nagging woman with a boatload of obligation at the end of it. Fuck no. He would not be domesticated and led around on a leash like so many males before him. She could cry ''til the apocalypse, and it wouldn''t change his stance on the matter.


    He let out a short growl and stalked into the cave. He wasn''t about to start thinking such soft feelings toward her. Playing the temporary role of Mr. Mom was enough. He needed to get his sensitive side out of his system before it undid him. Z wasn''t about to drop one commitment for another. The goal was to be free again. If he got too attached to the witch, he''d just trade one prison cell for another.


    He found her in the kitchen talking to the pup, her back to him.


    "I''m not sure if wolves are supposed to eat tuna melts, but it''s what I''m having, so I''ll let you try some if you want."


    The pup gave a yip and darted between her feet while she worked. It was a wonder she didn''t trip over the wolf as she went back and forth from the pan to the counter where she assembled the sandwich.


    Z''s gaze shifted to the living area in front of the couch where he''d left her the bag with her books and tools. The bag had been emptied, and herbs and tools and crystals were lined in rows, the crystals in color and height order.


    His gaze raked over the books. One book sat on top of the others, opened with a bookmark lying flat in the middle. Fiona still hadn''t noticed him, so he slipped over to find out what she''d been looking at, and he saw red.


    "Fiona!" He spun toward her, catching the jump and the way she cringed at his tone and the volume of it. Served the scheming witch right. "You cast a love spell on me?!"


    Her nose wrinkled in a kind of adorable way. "W-what? No I didn''t! Why on earth would I do that?"


    Well, she didn''t have to be offensive about it. Was he not love-spell-worthy? He was beneath the notice of a woman who was never around real, live men? He''d seen the way she looked at him.


    Z picked up the book and slammed it down on the kitchen table, leaving it open on the page it had landed on. The pup ran behind the couch in the living area to hide.


    "Then what the hell is this? And why do I feel all mushy about you? Why am I thinking about your fucking freckles instead of your..." he trailed off as a flush crept up her neck. She was much too innocent to be in his easy reach. She initiated his predatory response.


    He liked to believe he was a decent guy, but he was barely holding onto that title. Why did I bring her here again? Some darker voice inside his head responded: You know why, and it has nothing to do with babysitting the pup. You knew that when you took her.


    It soon became clear that the redness in her face, while at least part embarrassment was also part anger. Make that over seventy percent anger. She took the spatula she''d been using to turn the tuna melt in the pan. Z ducked, thinking she was aiming for him, but she pointed at the facing page in the magic book. "In the first place, I haven''t cast any spells since I got here. In the second, what I was looking at was that."


    His gaze shifted to the spell on the opposite page. A protection spell. That would be more logical than the woman who''d been running from his advances putting the love whammy on him. Like she''d need to. He was already ready to pounce on her like a rare steak. He felt like such a fool.


    Her voice turned softer, though the accusation remained in her tone. "I thought it would be a good idea to look at the spells I might need if it came down to it. If you''re going to be away, I might need to protect myself and the pup. I mean, I know there''s a ward on the cave, but I worry he''ll get out again."


    "Fiona, I..." God, he was an ass.


    She turned back to the stove and put her sandwich on a plate. She paused, every muscle held in tension as if she''d been frozen in place by some unseen force. Her head tilted to the side. "You feel mushy?" There was a catch in her voice when she said it, and a naked kind of hope he felt guilty for putting there.


    Great. Could this evening get any more awkward or confusing? He''d be glad when the morning came and he was out searching for the pup''s family.


    He moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her, his lips pressing against the side of her throat. She melted against him, then squirmed away. It might have been the kiss, but it was more likely the raging hard-on pressed into her.


    "Fiona..."


    She stilled as his breath puffed out over her neck.


    "Hmm?"


    He chuckled. Somehow she''d managed to make a hmmm sound breathy. She really was magic.


    "Let''s put the pup in his pen and go to my room."


    She pulled more forcefully out of his arms this time, and Z let go. Fiona rounded on him. "Are you kidding me? You just spazzed out over the horrors of me putting a love spell on you, and now you want in my pants?"


    "Well... yeah." He wasn''t sure what was contradictory or hard to believe about any of that. Had she ever looked in the mirror?


    "I know what kind of guy you are."


    He arched a brow. "You do? Because you''re just so worldly? You''ve had so much opportunity to experience life and the world, inside that little cottage of yours." As soon as he said it, he regretted it - even before he saw the light go out of her eyes and her expression crumple.


    She recovered as her eyes appeared to flash with liquid green fire. If he didn''t know she needed books and tools and prep time to cast a spell, he''d be scared right about now.


    "I''m just another conquest for you," she said. "I didn''t ask you to marry me or have some big epic love with me. I didn''t ask for any of this, but it''s pretty low for you to attack my phobias when yours are just as irrational. I get that you''re a wild animal, and these are close living quarters. And it''s hard to live your fabulous bachelor existence with a pup here intruding on your lifestyle. But you chose to take him and you chose to take me. So if you want to remain unfettered, stop picking up strays!" Fiona left her sandwich on the counter and stormed down the hall, slamming Z''s bedroom door behind her.


    That wasn''t how he''d pictured her ending up in his room. He picked up the plate and followed, knocking softly when he got there.


    "Go away! Go scratch your itches with some slut who doesn''t care she''s a sexual Kleenex. I''m not your blow-up doll."


    He resisted the urge to break down the door. "Fiona, I''m sorry. I brought your sandwich. You went to all that trouble to make it. I don''t want your dinner spoiled because of me."


    "Too late."


    Why did she have to be so stubborn about everything? He took a deep breath, trying to reign in his temper. "I''m going to leave your food out here by the door. But, if I were you, I''d get it quick before the pup does. I won''t be back tonight. I''m just going to go stay someplace in town and get started on the search when the sun comes up. I should have gone today. You''re right. I shouldn''t bring others into my life if I''ll resent it once they''re here. Goodbye, Fiona."


    He waited for a reply, but the only reply were the tears she probably thought he couldn''t hear from the other side of the door. He moved out of sight and watched for another couple of minutes, long enough to see her hand slip out and take the sandwich into his room.


    After he locked the pup up in the pen, he left his cell phone on the kitchen counter with a note attached that he''d be in touch to keep her updated, then he hightailed it out of there. He''d grab another phone before setting out in the morning. With Fiona in his room, he couldn''t pack a bag, but he had his wallet on him, and he traveled light anyway. Anything he needed, he''d just have to buy on the way.


    He had no idea how long he''d be gone or how far he''d have to travel to find the pup''s family. It couldn''t be too far, though the fear clawed in the back of his mind that he wouldn''t find the family no matter how far afield of Golatha Falls he traveled. And what if the pup had been abandoned?


    A sick thought entered his mind as he considered that perhaps a werewolf had gotten a human pregnant. It wasn''t common, but it wasn''t unheard of either. It would have to be a very strong wolf to have a human mother and still be born in his fur. Maybe the pup had been the product of a one-night stand, and she''d been out somewhere, had the baby, and freaked out. Maybe she''d just abandoned it.


    If the father had been near her at all within a couple of weeks of conception, he would have sensed his offspring inside her, and wolves tended to be pretty possessive about that sort of thing. But if it had been a one-night stand and they never crossed paths again, he might not know about it. Could the girl have been a local, and the wolf just been passing through? Maybe he was a lone wolf without a pack or family and no interest in one. Z could identify with that.


    Maybe Z''s hunt was a wild goose chase. As cute as the pup was and as much as he liked the little fella, he couldn''t imagine being saddled with the kid until he was old enough to leave. Plus, he could be stuck isolated with no pack, too. A wolf that hadn''t been socialized with other wolves as a pup stood zero chance of being taken into a pack as an adult. If he couldn''t find the family, maybe he should look for a pack to adopt him.


    Z looked up and realized he''d been on auto-pilot the whole trip to the Java Junkie. He glanced over at the courthouse''s big, brick clock tower. Almost nine o''clock. It was Monday, so the coffee shop was about to close.


    The bell over the door went off as he stepped inside. Cherry was behind the counter, just where he knew she''d be. The place was deserted.


    She looked up and gave him her sly, porn star smile. "I''m sorry, I just closed down the register. I was about to lock up. I could give you a coffee on the house, though, if you like. Just don''t tell my boss."


    "I''m not here for that." Z, you stupid son of a bitch. Don''t do it. You can''t afford to piss off the keeper of the coffee, and you know her. She likes you too much. She might not be on the same fuck and flee page you''re on. But Z ignored the inner voice and flashed a dark smile, tossing in a wink to garnish the flirtation.


    Cherry''s eyes lit up and she returned a one thousand-watt smile of her own.


    "Lock up and let''s go. Yeah?"


    It took her a couple of seconds to make her head move in a nod, then another few seconds and a throat clearing to manage a breathless yeah in return.


    The barista tossed the washrag on the counter, ignoring the biscotti crumbs trailing down the length of it, and looped her arm in his, shutting off the lights and locking the door behind them.


    Z continued to ignore the inner voice''s ranting. If ever there was a time he needed to get laid, it was now. Fiona was right. He could do nothing but use her and toss her out. And she deserved better than that. No woman''s first time should be with a playboy. It should mean something. The guy should be there the next day. There should at least be the hope of a relationship after, or at least some type of friends-with-benefits package. Z could offer none of the above.


    He gave Cherry his helmet as she hopped on the back of the motorcycle. "Won''t you need this?" she asked, as if she would refuse the gallant gesture.


    "You need it more than me. I''m durable."


    She laughed. It was the laugh that had amused him, maybe even turned him on a little, but now it set his teeth on edge. Still, he revved the engine and took them to the motel five blocks down the street.


    Twenty minutes later they were in a room. It was clean and nice enough, but still appropriate for a single night with a glorified waitress. It wasn''t where you took your girlfriend, which was good. He didn''t want to send any inappropriate signals. Z peeled his shirt off and reclined on the bed. He couldn''t seem to work up a chuckle or smirk at the way she practically fainted over his physique.


    The female reaction to him had never gotten old. Until now. He stood and paced, feeling like he''d been locked up at the zoo with some stranger gawking and staring and admiring. If this was how he defined freedom, why did he feel so caged?


    Cherry was in the process of unbuttoning her top, and the oppressive, trapped feeling came on stronger, making the room shrink to half its size. He wanted to crawl out of his skin. He wanted to shift and... he didn''t know what. He just had to break free of whatever this was.


    "Stop," he said, to try to calm the chaos in his mind.


    "What? Is something wrong?" Cherry looked at him with a mixture of concern and apprehension.


    "I can''t do this."


    Her eyes flashed. It was time for the anger portion of the evening. He was batting a thousand tonight. Maybe he could try to piss off a nun next.


    "You know I''ve been sending you signals for months. You take me up on it, and now you''re rejecting me? Is this some kind of game to you?"


    Z suppressed a growl and pulled his shirt back on. "No. No game. I just can''t do this. Whatever you think, it''s not personal."


    "Like hell it''s not personal. You get your fucking coffee elsewhere from here on. If you come into the Java Junkie again, I''ll tell my boss you''ve been starting trouble. Half of our patrons would back me. You give them the willies. There''s something not right about you."


    Z just shrugged. "For what it''s worth, I''m sorry, Cherry. It would have just been tonight, anyway."


    "It''s worth shit, is what it''s worth, you son of a bitch." Her hands were shaking, part in anger and part due to embarrassment, as she was probably wondering if there was something wrong with her and her desirability that had caused his inability to bring himself to sleep with her. She buttoned the last few buttons, sent him an evil glare that he wasn''t sure didn''t come with a curse attached, and slammed the door behind her.


    He followed her outside, his shoes abandoned in the room. "Do you want a ride back? It''s dark out."


    "Screw you!" she shouted over her shoulder, disappearing down the street and into the night. As angry as she was, any thug would steer clear.


    Z shut the door and flopped back on the bed to fall into a fitful sleep.

 Page 4

    Jane stood motionless in a white room, her eyes glued to several video monitors. She jumped and turned at the voice of her adjustment angel. For a heavenly being, he was short, bald, and quite surly.


    "You should go enjoy heaven, it''s not healthy to stay in this room," Rodolfo said. He looked nothing like a Rodolfo.Advertisement


    But it was her room, the room that let her see what she knew she should let go of and close the door to. There were two monitors in particular that her eyes had been riveted to for months. On one, the image rarely changed, and at times she wondered if it was up-to-date - if it was working.


    Cole sat with his head in his hands, a bottle next to him. She''d watched him lose himself so many times inside that bottle. The den was littered with dozens of paintings, all of her bleeding to death. He''d gotten a vision too late, and thought the pup had died, too. He''d searched for her body, but it had already been taken by a wild animal.


    When he''d returned, he''d painted the vision over and over, as if it were penance, as if painting it just one more time would bring her back to him. After that, while he''d been strong enough to shift into his wolf form, he''d huddled in the bed and whimpered for days. As he stopped eating enough to shift, he''d turned to alcohol as his last option to mute the pain.


    He was useless to the pack like this. The only remaining sign of his alpha status was the black tribal tattoo around his arm. The beta had all but taken over while her mate mourned. Their baby was still out there, and Jane was the only one who knew about it.


    Her eyes flicked to the other screen: her baby wolf with the panther therian and now the witch. Jane''s life had been a strange one: born human with vampire blood, tormented by the bloodsuckers, rescued by a werewolf, and made into his mate. The magical blood that had damned her had later set her free in Cole''s arms. And now here she was, in the land of the dull. Her former incarnations were something she couldn''t process or think about at the moment. She was too attached to this most recent lifetime. All she cared about right now was getting back to the man she loved and their pup.


    "Please, I have to go back. You have to send me back." She''d had this conversation with the angel daily, sometimes multiple times a day.


    "I''ve told you a thousand times," Rodolfo said, "You can reincarnate, but your memories won''t hold together. It''s a gamble if you''ll remember anything worth knowing. And the time line is off. Being reborn now won''t help your pup and your mate."


    Jane''s hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. He was such a wanker. She wanted nothing more than to punch him in the mouth, but violence wasn''t allowed here. "Why give us a room like this?"


    "We let people say goodbye in their own time. I shouldn''t have indulged you so long. Sometimes we just have to take the room away."


    The idea of losing the window into her old life put her in a full panic. Jane''s face was tear-stained by the time she found her voice again. "Please. Please send me back."


    He ignored her plea, instead staring at the monitors, a thoughtful expression on his face. Such a smug bastard. As her adjustment angel, he was there to help her get her bearings in heaven and to act as her tour guide.


    Except for the official tour, she''d only spent a little time outside her mansion. It was what she''d always been told Christian heaven was like. The reality of it made her shudder. There were streets of gold and lots of worshiping and prayerful meditation. Everyone wore glistening white gowns, and the birds would never shut the hell up with their happy songs. Her surroundings were perfect, idyllic. But it was so... boring and empty.


    A couple of times when she''d been walking beside the ridiculously clear river, she''d caught the gaze of someone who she could have sworn shared her misgivings. But nobody questioned. She knew why. If heaven was as it had been described down to details like golden streets, was hell''s description equally accurate? And what would happen to them if they asked questions? Would they be sent there?


    She''d managed to pry the knowledge out of Rodolfo. Hell was where she''d been. Jane supposed it was all about perspective, because heaven was inside the warmth of Cole''s arms. This was hell.


    In heaven, everybody had their own mansion. It was frivolous and pointless. Husbands and wives lived next door to each other and waved and said hello on occasion, but the intimacy they''d shared in their human lifetime was gone. It never got dark. There was no weather. No one slept. No one had sex. They ate sometimes, but that was the only genuine pleasure. Still, it felt muted against the backdrop of too much agonizing perfection.


    And some dark part of her longed for the struggle.


    She scrubbed the tears off her face with her arm. "They need me."


    The angel turned, as if perhaps she''d suffered enough to satisfy some quota only he was aware of. "There is a way." His voice was beguiling, going up a register on the last word.


    A devil''s bargain was something struck in a seedy motel or in some murky corner behind a dumpster. If the devil didn''t have literal horns, he''d at least be wearing a black coat and have two days worth of beard growth, and a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. But wasn''t the devil a fallen angel? And if he could fall, this Rodolfo character couldn''t fare much better.


    Although Jane and the angel were in clean surroundings - too clean if you asked her - the warning light flashed in her mind. Even so, she latched onto the lifeline he''d tossed. She didn''t care what she had to do - accept some awful punishment, walk across hot coals - if there was the smallest hope of being reunited with Cole and their child, she''d do it.


    "You would never be able to return to heaven, of course," he said, laying the trap.


    She fought back the sarcastic retort rising in her throat. No way to return to this? Oh, sign her up for the exit door, please. She''d take an eternity stuck in hell where at least there were challenges, things to do, something worth fighting for, instead of the maintenance of the unmarred status quo.


    "There is no guarantee he''ll want you," he continued.


    "Why wouldn''t he want me?"


    "You''ll be a demon, a succubus."


    Jane swallowed around the lump forming in her throat. On the one hand, the idea of being such a powerful being, of never being able to be killed or be someone else''s victim again, was heady. But she knew there must be things he wasn''t telling her. There seemed to be a nudge-nudge, wink-wink in there she wasn''t grasping.


    "What''s the catch?"


    "You don''t think that''s the catch? My, my Miss Tanner, how you ever ended up here is a great mystery."


    "Mrs. Riley," she said, annoyed.


    "Last I checked, werewolves don''t get married, so you are Miss Tanner according to our books and scrolls."


    She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Demon me up. I need to get back to my mate and child."


    The angel smiled. Not a friendly smile.


    Cain was in his tent draining the life from a woman when he felt another of his kind enter the world, fresh and new. He shoved the girl to the floor and stood, alert, looking around for his pants.


    "Well, you just got a reprieve. I suggest you stop following strange men home from here on out," he said, spotting his pants behind the large cushion he and the girl had been sprawled on.


    The woman''s eyes were still glassy, the lust he''d induced in her not yet abated. She looked like she was going to cry, desperate for him to keep touching her.


    Oh for God''s sake. "Enough," he said. He hadn''t been hungry. He wasn''t sure why he did this. On the outside he was a happy hedonistic incubus, but inside, empty. And all the demon gluttony in the world wouldn''t solve it. But now wasn''t the time for self-pity. He had a new demon to initiate into his world.


    The anger boiled inside him. Fucking angels. They turned demons and left them to fend for themselves with no knowledge of what to do or how to survive - messes for Cain to clean up.


    The memory of his own turning - eight thousand years old as it was - still burned fresh in his mind. Nobody had been there to help him. He''d had to figure it all out on his own. The only thing they''d given him was directions to his newly-created dimension, intel they chose not to share with any other new demon. No, that was the burden they''d always make Cain bear, finding them and bringing them to safety.


    He glanced down at the woman on the cushion with disdain. She crawled toward him, reaching for him.


    "Stop it, we''re done," he said. When she still seemed hypnotized by his erotic thrall, he reached for a glass of water and threw it in her face. That brought her back to her senses.


    "You asshole!"


    "Yeah. That''s right. I''m an asshole. Stop going home with pretty monsters, you stupid trollop."


    Sure, he''d used the thrall, but not until he''d already had her by more natural means. If she hadn''t followed him out of the bar like some lost puppy, he might have left her alone. Probably not. But maybe. There was that thin hope. She''d still followed him of her own free will outside into the darkness with no witnesses. That was stupid, and Cain felt compelled to punish stupidity.


    She reached for the brandy and was about to chuck it at him in her temper tantrum over the idea that she wasn''t the most important thing in his world after only an hour in her company. Oh no she didn''t. That was the good stuff.


    "Sleep," he commanded. She slumped onto the cushion and the alcohol dropped safely out of her hands and onto the soft, fluffy fabric.


    On his way out of the tent, he scooped her up and passed her off to another demon, ordering her to be returned to her town. Beyond that, she was on her own. If some other nasty got her, well, that''s what happened when you went home with dark and alluring strangers. Let that be a lesson.


    Considering the fact that he''d just pulled her memories of the night with the order to sleep, she''d be right back in that bar acting stupid again tomorrow night. Maybe he''d just kill her. Such a waste of DNA. No one needed her to reproduce. It would be his gift to humanity. Survival of the fittest was yesterday''s story. How about survival of the smartest for a change?


    He grabbed a blanket on his way out of the dimension. He never knew the state the new demon would be in. They could be in shock or traumatized. It always pissed him off the way they were brought to him. Could the angels not make the transition more humane? Were they not supposed to be the good guys?


    As evil as demons were purported to be, at least they took care of their own, which wasn''t any different from humans who cared little for other species besides themselves. So why did humans get so many chances?


    Cain''s dimensions had multiple portal points allowing them to enter the human world easily. Portal charms could be used if necessary to open a portal where one didn''t exist, but Cain didn''t like to do it too much. He worried that it unsettled the magic.


    The dimension was protected, given that the portal recognized the essence of demons like computers recognized thumbprints and only let demons pass. With the exception of Cole - Cary Town, Washington''s werewolf pack alpha. Cain had given him a portal charm - several in fact - allowing him and his pack free access to escape the police state forming in their city.


    It wasn''t that Cain was a big humanitarian or... theriantarian as it were. Cole had helped him once. A witch had bound him in a glass bottle. It was humiliating. All it took to break the spell was shattering the bottle, but she''d put it in a protected place so no matter what he did, he couldn''t shatter it on his own.


    In an odd twist of fate, Cole had stumbled upon him, and in exchange for a portal charm, freed him. It was one of those things so embarrassing that he''d been willing to do Cole favors for the hush money factor as much as anything.


    After that, he''d been a lot more careful to make sure witches weren''t on his menu. He should have learned the lesson much earlier on, especially after his brother had been trapped for fifty years in a house by a curse with the most ridiculous reversal clause he''d ever heard.


    At least the angels dropped new demons near a portal point so he didn''t have to travel for days. They also dropped them in deserted areas.


    Since humans had become less superstitious and cities had grown bigger and technology stronger, letting them see too much of the preternatural world was no longer wise. And the angels didn''t want their secrets revealed, either - if only because they wanted to be seen as elite and top secret. Perish the thought that someone should have the knowledge of how boring heaven was before they got there.


    It was the club everybody thought they wanted in, until they arrived. Like just about any country club, when he thought about it.


    This demon was female. A succubus. He found her in a forest in Romania. At one point he would have assumed the woman had been from that area. But he''d learned over time that where they were spit back out had nothing to do with where they''d been from, at least not these days. Once upon a time, they''d been more organized about it. She could be Chinese or Japanese or American. She could be anything. It was good that he was fluent in everything.


    She was in the demon form, scaled reddish-brown skin, claws, horns popping out over her shoulders, fangs, and glowing red eyes. Not the best form to catch dinner in. He waited for her to speak first. He''d have to know what language she spoke so he could talk to her and help her shift. She looked up at him and scrambled back, a look of horror on her face. She''d been crying for a while. Who could blame her?


    But the horror at seeing him? It was harmful to his ego. It wasn''t the usual reaction from females. He was in his prime human hunting form. He''d spent his first thousand years fine-tuning it. No female could resist it. Except this one, apparently.


    "Cain?" She said his name as if willing it not to be true.


    He hoped this wasn''t some woman he''d had for dinner. That would be just awkward.


    "In the flesh," he said. "Whatever we had before... we don''t sleep with our own kind. So don''t get any ideas."


    "Ewww, gross. I would never sleep with you," she said.


    Okay, so not someone he''d slept with. He hoped. Generally, there was no pillow talk afterward because the woman was dead. There weren''t often occasions for him to get critiqued on his technique. He wasn''t sure his ego could handle a bad review after all this time.


    "Who are you?" he asked, the suspense driving him mad.


    "Jane Tanner, Cole''s mate."


    Fuck. He''d heard Jane had died. Cole never hunted his own food now; it was brought to him. He never left the den anymore. And now, here his mate was, a succubus.


    "Jane, listen to me, I am going to help you. I know you must be hungry. But I need you to stay here and try to remain calm. I''ll show you how to shift to a form you can feed in as soon as I return."


    He knew she didn''t trust him, but she also seemed aware he was all the help she had at the moment.


    "Don''t leave me here." She pushed the words awkwardly around her fangs.


    "I won''t be long, I promise." He gave her the blanket he''d been clutching and went to kick an ass.


    Cain was in full-on demon form when he crossed into what he liked to call the lobby of Heaven. It was as far as he was allowed to go. But oh, he''d seen past the gates to those silly streets and those zombies that stayed there pretending to be happy with their harps and shit. He was fine with just the lobby.


    The reception angel took a full step back from behind her podium. "Um..."


    "Tell the fucker that just made Jane Tanner into a demon to get his ass out here right now."


    The receptionist was a cute blonde thing, looked about twenty. If he had to guess, some human woman who had been elevated. Angels came in two types: created and elevated. Created were unfathomably beautiful. Elevated could be anything. She was cute, but she wasn''t created-level cute. Part of him wanted to see if he could tempt her, to make her fall, but then she''d be a guardian, and what would he do with a guardian? Nothing. But it would be fun, at least. Corrupting the innocent always was.


    She darted through the gate and returned a few minutes later with a couple of different angels. They were both rather short and bald. Elevated. Those were the worst. So smug and self-righteous. So proud of themselves for attaining the unattainable. Even an eternity without sex seemed to matter little to them, given the power they got to wield, or sort of got to wield.


    "Well, which one of you do I have to thank for Jane''s turning?"


    One of them stepped forward, and Cain punched the angel in the nose.


    The other ran around the lobby like he was on speed, shouting. "It''s the apocalypse! It''s the apocalypse! Cain is starting the apocalypse!"


    "Oh pipe down. I''m not starting the apocalypse. No one wants your puny real estate."


    He looked back at the odious angel who was responsible for Jane''s turning. "You dumb ass. She''s got a mate down there. How could you do something like that? Werewolves don''t share. Did Cole do something to deserve this? Did Jane?"


    Ordinarily Cain wouldn''t give a shit about other people''s problems, but he did owe that debt to Cole, and Jane was now one of his own. His protective urges were surging out of control, and he wished they''d go away. His own kind was his one weakness.


    The angel looked at the ground and mumbled. "I left the mating intact when I turned her."


    Cain''s eyes narrowed. "What does that mean, exactly?"


    "It means they''re still tied together, and now he''s immortal, too. I''m sure she can feed from him because of their bond. She could find other ways to curb the cravings that don''t involve sleeping around." He smiled weakly up at Cain who was more than twice the angel''s height in full-demon form.


    "Oh I don''t buy for a minute that you left the bond intact on purpose. You''re just lucky it was strong enough. Did you tell Jane any of this?"


    The angel backed up a bit. "Uh, no."


    Cain felt his eyes start to glow, a low growl tearing out of him. "And why is that?"


    "The man upstairs said not to."


    The man upstairs.


    Cain chuckled, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, you better hope the man upstairs deals in technicalities, otherwise you''ve just fallen and bought yourself a one-way ticket to the lovely and exciting hell, otherwise known as earth. I look forward to our paths crossing."


    The angel swallowed hard. The other angel, the one who had been screaming about the apocalypse, had already retreated to hide behind the gate. The receptionist was doing her best to study a list on a scroll. She looked up for a moment and Cain winked at her, unable to help himself. She hurriedly went back to her work.


    His assessing glare went back to the angel responsible for the current mess, watching him as he cowered and pulled in on himself as if waiting for the big violence to start. Probably the other angel had gone to get backups - the warrior class. Those angels? They were created. And he didn''t feel like slinging it out with them, especially since his noncorporeal trick only worked in the human dimension. And Jane needed him. She was one of his now.


    He rolled his eyes and went back to his new charge.


    When he returned via the portal point, Jane was huddled in the blanket beside a tree trunk. Most of the tree had broken off in a storm. Her glowing red eyes met his. For all the outward scariness of her demon form, she still seemed fragile. Back when she''d been human, there was a time Cain would have drained her, unable to resist something that screamed prey so loudly. But he hadn''t met her until she was already with Cole - if not the werewolf''s mate in fact at that point, his mate in spirit. And Cain wouldn''t go there, not if he wanted his demon-trapped-in-a-bottle story kept mum.


    He sighed as he looked down at her. "Close your eyes, Jane."


    "What? Hell no, I''m not stupid." She moved behind the tree trunk as if one broken tree could protect her.


    "I can''t kill you. I can''t fuck you. You''re in no real danger from me unless you break my laws. I have a special prison in our dimension for the demons who break my laws. But I don''t foresee that kind of trouble from you. Now close your eyes, I''m going to help you change into a form you can feed in."


    She looked at him warily, but finally her lids lowered.


    "That''s right. Now, I want you to think about looking in the mirror and what you looked like before. Hold the image in your mind. Then airbrush it."


    One of her eyes quirked open as her face scrunched in confusion. "Airbrush it?"


    "You know, envision yourself without any physical flaws. The perfect version of you, like a big, famous magazine took your photograph and airbrushed it."


    "I''m not good at visualization," she said.


    "Trust me. You are now. Part of the demon package. Just do it."


    She closed her eyes again and focused for a few minutes until the change came over her. As her form shifted and became much smaller and more feminine, the blanket she''d had wrapped around her loosened and dropped halfway down her body. At first she didn''t notice the modesty compromise.


    Her hair, a nice honey color, shimmered about twice as much as normal. Her skin was clearer and more radiant. The scars she''d had were gone. No surprises there, after what the vamps had done to her. And if he wasn''t mistaken, she''d just gone up a cup size. He chuckled.


    Jane opened her eyes and self-consciously pulled the blanket around her. "Stop ogling me."


    "I wasn''t ogling. I was merely curious about what changes you''d make to your appearance. This is like attending a birth for me. Let me have my moment."


    She rolled her eyes. "I''m hungry."


    "I know you are." Cain held out a hand and she took it. He''d teach her everything she needed to know about her new form and her new life, but first he had to get her home to the demon dimension and find her mate.

 Page 5

    Jane had never paid much attention to the demon dimension when she''d passed through it before. She''d always been anxious to get out to the other end, away from Cain and the other sex demons. They always made her nervous - way too attractive for their own good. Or anybody else''s. And there was that edge of danger, the kind that sang to many women like a siren''s song. Now that she was one of them and no longer prey, she took the time to look at her surroundings.


    Lots of beautiful desert, colorful tents, firelight, cobblestone streets, and brilliant stars so bright and close that you could almost reach out and touch them. She had to resist the urge to try.Advertisement


    "I bet this place is less magical in the day," she said, more to herself than anything. But Cain heard it.


    "There is no day here. And no weather, either. Nothing grows. We bring everything we want in from the outside world."


    That was... unexpected. She took a moment to process the sameness of the place. Like heaven had been in a way. And yet, here you could just be what you were. No one was pretending. Whereas heaven had strict restrictions on the more earthy pleasures, here she could smell the sex in the air. It made her mouth water. The demon dimension was a hedonist''s paradise. And she suspected there was no bigger hedonist than Cain.


    The air was a comfortable, moderate temperature. Occasionally there was a breeze, which seemed like weather to her, but she didn''t say anything. Cain was someone she didn''t want to cross, even in minor weather squabbles. Mostly everything was calm and changeless. While this had been something that made her feel itchy and restless in heaven, here it filled her with an unexpected contentedness. As if she were home.


    He still had her by the hand, but it wasn''t the kind of handholding that would make her feel as if she were cheating on her mate. It was the demon being in charge, showing her the ropes. He''d already told her what he''d learned in heaven as they''d made their way to the portal point. It felt strange not needing the portal charm to get through anymore: the portal had just parted for her like the red sea, knowing her essence more than she did.


    It warmed her to think of her bond with Cole unsevered, but warm and fuzzy thoughts were having a harder time getting through as the hunger escalated, causing physical pain. What if Cole couldn''t accept the change? She had to feed soon. The discomfort was starting to build far past the tolerance point. Her skin was tight, hot, itchy. She felt weak, and she wondered if she still had her higher pain threshold or if that was gone now.


    She still wasn''t clear on how much of old Jane was in there, and how much of her was upgraded and new. Would Cole recognize anything of the woman he''d loved? Though she''d gone through many changes in this last lifetime, none were so pronounced as the one she''d undergone when she''d been transformed into a succubus.


    What if she had to feed from someone else? Then he''d never be okay with her. Cain said he''d help her figure out other things to take the edge off, things that wouldn''t involve cheating on her mate. But that was assuming Cole was on board for all this and also assuming she could trust the demon.


    Being on the other side of things, where Cain was someone she could rely on, was different and disconcerting. She''d gotten used to darting past him when going to Golatha Falls on her trips with Cole through the dimensions. The last time, she''d been about to go into labor. She hadn''t realized it was so close. The baby had been early.


    She''d been pissed at Cole for something stupid she couldn''t remember now and had ended up alone in the Georgia forest, giving birth to the pup and dying shortly after, unable to survive the rigors of giving birth to a preternatural species when she was only human.


    In her last moments, as she''d bled to death, she''d thought of how foolish it had been to be so anxious of Cain when it wasn''t him, but her own offspring that would do her in. The pup needed her, but she couldn''t stay no matter how hard she fought to. She''d closed her eyes and apologized to Cole. It was her fault all of this had happened.


    "Jane?"


    She shook herself out of memory lane and glanced up. The demon looked concerned, something she still didn''t trust wasn''t a trick. "Hmmm?"


    "This will be your tent. I know you''ll want to spend most of your time with Cole and the pack, but there will be times when you may want to be with other demons, those who will understand you better. This is your home anytime you want to be here."


    "Um, thanks." A part of her wondered if this was all a dream. Maybe the angel was messing with her head, giving her images and hallucinations that weren''t real, all a fantasy to help her let go. She waited for something horrible and morbid that would shake her and shatter the illusion. But nothing epic happened.


    The inside of the tent was as bright and colorful as the outside. Lots of cushions. Sweet treats, like gourmet chocolate and fancy alcohols. Looking around, it was clear this was a place meant for seduction. It drove home what she was now.


    A flashback of her time with the vampires surged through her. Those assholes passing her around, treating her like a whore. And now? She could pretend the tables had turned, but she needed to have sex for survival now, or at least health. She needed it like humans and therians needed food.


    She thought she''d gotten over all the vampire crap. But no, she''d just been so happy with Cole she''d allowed it to go into hiding. Now she was faced with her past once again. It would never be behind her. The blessing of reincarnation would have been forgetting it all. Now she''d never forget. This would be her final form to live out eternity in.


    "Hey." Cain''s hand was on her shoulder. The caring look on his face was so different from the dangerous and inappropriately jovial demon she was used to. "I want you to stay here. I''ll bring Cole to you so you can feed."


    All Jane could do was nod. The tent flap dropped and she heard him speaking low to a couple of demons, instructing them to guard her and not let her leave or let a human male near her, no matter what she did. Or else.


    The thought of sleeping with another man - even as hungry as she was - disgusted her. The demon part of her wanted to, perhaps. But the Jane part of her recoiled at the idea.


    A couple of hours later she revised that thought. She was ready to dry hump just about anything. She''d pulled seduction attempts with the guards to try to get a nice hot piece of male ass in her tent, but it did no good.


    One of the guards arched a brow. "Doesn''t she know we don''t do our own kind?"


    "Hey, I''m standing right here," Jane said, rubbing a breast against the demon''s arm. Some part of her was revolted by what she was doing, but another part was intent on getting fed and getting fed now.


    The other one shrugged. "You know how they are after they''re first turned. Reason doesn''t penetrate the lust and hunger."


    "Why won''t he just let her feed? Did she do something to piss him off?"


    "Who knows? But I wish he''d hurry up. I don''t want to babysit all day. I''ve got my own dinner to hunt. I found this great club in L.A. where the women are just... wow. It''s like they take care of themselves just for my dining pleasure."


    The other one chuckled, and Jane growled and went back into the tent. It sucked having all this seduction power and it being totally useless.


    Cole hadn''t slept right in months. His face was gaunt, and he knew from the few times he''d passed by a mirror on the way to the bathroom that dark circles lived under his eyes. Mara and Blake had started bringing him rabbits, like he was a pup just learning to hunt. He''d picked over them, then went back to the alcohol. It was the only thing that could make him forget for five minutes.


    He knew it wasn''t right leaving the pack to fend for themselves without a leader, leaving Blake to do all the heavy lifting, but he''d never felt grief like this before. It swallowed him up, consumed him. It was a bottomless pit, and he just kept falling with no end in sight.


    When he trudged out of his private den to the pack''s common area, grasping a bottle of whiskey by the neck, he felt a rush of guilt at the way his pack cowered from the waiting demon. They couldn''t fight Cain; he''d just go noncorporeal. He was an unfair fighter that way.


    "What do you want?" Cole slurred. "Coming to collect your debt for the portal charms?" The question of who owed whom wasn''t something he cared to get into at the moment. But if the demon were coming to collect, he was tempted to spill the truth about how they''d become allies in the first place. Let Cain kill him for it. It would be a more merciful end. Then he could see Jane again.


    "Jane is alive."


    The wolf''s head jerked up; his gaze narrowed. "Cain, stop fucking with me. I know she''s gone. I felt the bond break." Even drunk he wasn''t that big of an idiot, and he was in no mood for the demon''s mind games.


    Cain moved across the space between them so fast, Cole almost took a step back. He cursed. It wouldn''t do for anyone to see the alpha stepping back from anyone. Including a demon. Drunk or not, such an act would seal the suspicions that he wasn''t up to leading them anymore. Blake could have challenged him for alpha and won a hundred times over. It would have been an easy win for anyone right now. But they hadn''t because they pitied him. And maybe that was worse.


    The incubus snapped his fingers in front of Cole''s face and yelled back at no one in particular. "Someone get me some coffee. I need your leader sober." When they jumped at the order and one of them scampered off, he turned back to Cole. "And what do you feel now? Are you too drunk to feel the bond is back?"


    Cole was so drunk it was possible none of this was happening.


    "Your mate is alive, and if you''d lay off the bottle for five minutes you''d know that. You would have felt it the moment she was brought back."


    Cole''s mind raced. It was too much to hope. Jane, alive? The pain over the loss of his pup flared anew. But, Jane - she might be okay.


    Mara returned with a tall mug of black coffee. He''d refused the bitter brew on the multiple occasions they''d already tried to ply him with it. But now he drank it down greedily, hungry for the clear head he''d need to feel the bond if it existed. The thing about therians was, everything was more for them. They got drunker easier, and got sober more quickly, depending on what they were given to facilitate it.


    A moment later, Cole was back. Though malnourished, his senses were sharper, everything whooshing into clarity. And with it, he felt the bond come back to life.


    "Oh God." The wolf turned away from the pack. He''d let them witness a great many weaknesses from him in the past months, but crying wasn''t going to be one of them. He struggled with himself for a moment. Once he''d found his composure, he turned back to the demon.


    "Where is she?"


    Cain shifted his weight from one foot to the other. It was such a small movement that most didn''t notice it. They were too busy being scared of him. But Cole noticed. Cain was full of bravado and swagger. If he let the tiniest thing slip, it meant some big shit was going down.


    Cole braced himself. "Perhaps we should take this outside." This wasn''t pack business. It was Cole''s business.


    The demon nodded and the two of them strode past the frozen pack that was just starting to reanimate itself, the noise volume increasing as Cole and Cain moved away from the group.


    An hour later, Cole was in wolf form, hunting. It was something big all right. Cain wouldn''t let him in the demon dimension until he''d fed. He said Jane would need him at full energy. For the first time in a long time, he was hunting in the Cary Town forest with no concern for whether the Preternatural border patrol found him.


    As he tracked the bear, the voice in his mind chanted: Jane''s a demon. Jane''s a demon. Jane''s a demon. Despite his possessive nature, at the moment he could care less if she''d fed off an entire college football team. The most important part was that she was alive. She was back. But was she still his Jane? Still the woman he loved?


    Cole took the bear down with a growl, but the animal wasn''t prepared to go quietly. Ordinarily a bear was no match against a werewolf. Today, odds were about even. Just what he needed while his mate starved in the demon dimension.


    The two rolled on the ground for awhile, snapping and growling at each other. If he''d fed regularly, Cole wouldn''t be so weak. He finally got the upper hand and ripped into the bear''s throat with his fangs. The large animal struggled a little longer, then slumped and died with a whimper.


    He ate everything. Nothing was wasted. He couldn''t afford it right now. When he shifted back to human form, he felt better than he had in months. He reached up to touch his face. It had already started to fill out, the gauntness gone. He wiped the remaining bear blood off his mouth and sucked it off his fingers.


    He jumped as Cain stepped out from behind a tree. "You''re such a creepy voyeur aren''t you?"


    "Yeah, that''s me. Watching a werewolf eat a bear without the slightest bit of table manners really does it for me," Cain drawled, his voice thick with sarcasm.


    Cole snorted, but when the demon turned to go to the portal point, he followed. Cain stretched out his hand and a shimmery film appeared in front of them.


    "Wait."


    The demon looked up. "Yes? Your mate is starving, I hope this is important."


    Cole looked down at the ground, feeling like the ultimate ass for saying it, especially to Cain. "What if she''s not her? What if too much is different? I''m not sure I can handle what she''s become. A demon is... a lot."


    "Well, you''ll have to figure it out and work it out. There are trade-offs. No situation is perfect. But it''s a lot better than what you had. You have your mate for eternity, never to be separated again. A few minor inconveniences in that road are nothing."


    It was weird getting a pep talk from the demon, but now that Cole had started, he couldn''t stop. "We were happy before. Why couldn''t they just send her back as she was?"


    "Oh yeah? Explain to me how Jane, with a human lifespan who would age differently than you, die, and then leave you a mopey bastard for centuries is a better outcome. I''d love to hear it." He crossed his arms over his chest like he was ready to settle in for story hour.


    Cole wanted to say there was no way he''d last centuries, he''d just euthanize himself, but he remained silent. The demon had made his point. It had always lurked in the back of his mind that he was going to lose Jane. He''d known the mating mark he gave her wouldn''t make her age at the same rate he did. It was something he''d planned to think about later. Later had come too soon. Cain was right, but it didn''t make any of this easy.


    "Time to man up and take care of your woman," Cain snarled, stepping through the shimmery film.


    Cole took a deep breath and followed him.


    Cain growled when they reached the tent. "Oh, heads are going to roll. I told them to guard her tent."


    But Cole wasn''t listening. He pulled back the curtain to see Jane, rubbing her naked parts against a still-clothed human male. Her eyes glowed as she looked up at her mate with a trace of guilt. "I''m sorry, I was..."


    Cole wasn''t listening. He''d already shifted into wolf form, rolling around and snarling until he could get out of his clothes. When he''d fought free of the clothing, he pounced on the man, his paws on the guy''s chest to hold him down.


    The man started to scream like a little girl. The pansy display helped tamp down the jealousy just a bit.


    "Wait! Don''t. He''s just human. Just some college kid. It''s not his fault. I was hungry, I couldn''t help it. But I didn''t... nothing happened."


    They both knew the true ending to that sentence was "yet."


    Cole looked up at her, growling, frustrated he couldn''t yell or argue with her in this form. He''d been too angry at seeing another man near Jane, that he''d lost all reason, shifting without intending to. He eased off the poor schmuck who had gotten between a werewolf and his mate.


    Before he released him, the wolf swiped out and sliced the man''s cheek, causing three deep gashes to appear. He bent and licked up the pooling blood before backing off of him. The man scrambled to his feet, clutching his cheek and backing away while Cole continued to growl. He wanted it to be clear he hadn''t yet decided to let him live.


    An attractive succubus appeared in the doorway of the tent. She wore a slinky dress made entirely of gold-colored beads that left nothing to the imagination. Every time she moved, beads parted to show an expanse of flesh. A thigh. A breast. A peek at her navel. She had wavy, black hair and bright violet, mischievous eyes.


    "So here''s where my meal wandered off to." She nodded to Jane. "You must be new. The boss not letting you feed?" The demon noticed Cole, a look of alarm crossing her face at the sight of a large, angry animal in one of the tents.


    "I''m Jane. That''s my mate. He''s the Cary Town pack alpha. You guys let us use the portals," Jane said by way of explanation and introduction.


    "Oh. Right. Yeah, we never see the pack in anything but human form. Wait. Did you say he was your mate?" The pieces seemed to be snapping into place. She cast a look of sympathy - or maybe pity - in his direction. "We heard about that." She looked back to Jane. "And now you''re a... Oh wow. This is not my business. I''ll just take my dinner and get out of your way." She snapped a finger at the man who still cowered from Cole. The human looked up at her, his eyes glazing a bit.


    "You''ve been a naughty boy, Sam. Whatever am I going to do with you?"


    His voice was husky when he responded, "Whatever you want, Daria."


    She laughed. "Good answer."


    He preceded her out. Daria watched him go then turned back to Cole. "I''m not into killing them. I like having my regulars. I''ll try to keep my toys within my sights if you try not to break them. Deal?"


    Cole snorted in response. When she left, he shifted back to his human form.


    "I''m sorry, Cole. I know how that looked, I just... I''m starving and..."


    "I''m not mad at you. I acted on instinct. You know what I am, and I imagine you''ve got similar self-control challenges now." He scrubbed a hand through his hair, standing there like an idiot, willing the tears not to gather in his eyes. He still wasn''t convinced she was real. Maybe he was passed out in the den, dreaming. Such a lovely dream. He didn''t want to wake up.


    Of course she''d think he was angry with her. He hadn''t even touched her, after all. But it wasn''t that. Though he''d worried on the trip over, the second he''d seen her, he''d known she''d always be his no matter what she was. Being turned into a demon changed nothing about the way he felt.


    He reached out and touched her, running his hands over her arms and torso as if making sure she was there and safe. He noticed her scars were gone, and she looked a bit more busty than normal, but he wasn''t about to complain about that - as long as she hadn''t done it for other men.


    When his eyes moved upward, his fangs elongated. He felt fur starting to sprout again. No doubt his eyes glowed gold as well. "Where is my mating mark?" he demanded.


    Jane jumped and took a step back. Now he was angry, and he didn''t blame her for being smart and moving away. She was probably at least matched with him in strength now, even without having fed, but either she didn''t know that or couldn''t yet remember. He imagined there was a lot for her to assimilate and get used to.


    "Where is it, Jane? Are you hiding who you belong to now? It should be there. If our bond still exists, the bite does. Why aren''t you wearing it? Did you think it was an optional accessory?"


    He knew he sounded like some kind of psychotic, like he should be wearing a wife-beater and raising a threatening fist in the air, but there were certain things you just didn''t do to your mate. It rankled that she''d cover it up for some cheap meal. He understood her being hungry and not yet in charge of her instincts - he did. And maybe a human male wouldn''t understand a mating mark anyway, but it was like she was ashamed of him.


    He wanted people to see it. He wanted other preternaturals to know who she belonged to. The instinct to protect her didn''t just disappear even if she could take care of herself now. She was his. She''d known that when she''d accepted his mark in the beginning. But now it felt as if the rules were changing on him, and as much as he''d missed her, as empty as his life had been without her in it, he couldn''t just be someone else for her now. He was the alpha for a reason.


    She held her hands out in a placating gesture, and he felt guilty that his mate should have to use such a gesture in the first place, as if she were some weak lower-level pack member and not his alpha female.


    "Cole, no. It''s not like that. Cain taught me how to alter my form and I was just getting rid of scars, I didn''t think... I..." She sighed. "I''m new at this. " She closed her eyes and concentrated. His bite mark reappeared on her throat.


    He let out a growl of approval. "That''s better. Come here."


    She took a tentative step forward, and he arched a brow at her hesitance. Then she ran for him and let him wrap his arms around her. He nuzzled his mark.


    "I need to feed. Is that okay?" she asked. "Cain said that the... err... meal... enjoys the experience."


    He knew she felt his erection pressed between them. "What do you think?"


    She pulled back and smiled, her eyes dancing. "I missed you so much. I was dying without you. It''s my fault, I shouldn''t have run out like that in the middle of a fight with the baby coming so soon. It was dangerous and stupid."


    He put a finger to her lips. "That''s all behind us. I have you. That''s all that matters. I just want to feel you against me. I sense how hungry you are. Is Cain going to give us trouble about this?"


    "Why would he?"


    "My kind and your kind aren''t allowed to be together, because of the vampires," Cole said. It must have slipped her mind. The first vampire had been created from the joining of an incubus with a werewolf. She''d been born a human with vampire blood in her veins, which was how she''d ended up Cole''s true mate to begin with. That vampire blood had given her a link, however weak, to his kind. Without it, they never would have come together.


    Therian and demon relationships were forbidden. Cain didn''t want any more half-breeds being created. From what the werewolf knew, the original vampire was strong and more dangerous than those he''d created from humans. Cain wouldn''t want another one of those running around. From what Cole had heard, the original vampire had been under lock and key in the demon dimension for centuries.


    "If it wasn''t okay, he wouldn''t have brought you to me," Jane reasoned.


    "I didn''t say we weren''t going to be together. Cain would have to kill me - "


    "You aren''t able to die now."


    Cole stepped out of her arms. "Say that again?" Cain had told him they were still tied together and had said something about eternity, but it hadn''t penetrated that he couldn''t die. Sure, maybe not age, maybe be conditionally immortal like a vampire, but immortal like a demon?


    "Well... Cain told me. When a vampire makes a claim, it''s forever. If it''s a human, the human stops aging... but they''re only conditionally immortal, because vampires are..."


    "You aren''t a vampire. And I''m not a human. So why are we having this conversation?"


    "I know, we''re a special case. When demons find a mate, those are always human and they kill them but take their soul so they can stay. When I got changed, the bond didn''t break, but you got tied to my lifeline, like a vampire claim."


    Cole could feel his hackles rising. "Can you control me? In that fucked-up vampire way? Because that shit isn''t going to work with me, Jane. I am not subordinate to anybody." His stance turned intimidating, and he hated himself for directing it at his mate, but she had to know how things worked. Her species-upgrade couldn''t change the pack dynamics. He couldn''t let it.


    "No... I don''t know. I haven''t tried. I don''t think so."


    "I don''t want to fight you for dominance. An alpha should never have to fight his own mate like that. You know the hierarchy with the wolf pack. Are you going to challenge me?"


    "Of course not! Who do you think I am?" She looked offended and a touch pissed off.


    "Not who. What."


    Her face fell, and Cole felt like a jerk for hurting her. He''d just gotten her back and he was treating her like the enemy. What the hell was wrong with him? All he wanted was for things to return to normal. "I''m sorry. This is hard for me. I don''t know how to react to you. I was used to you being weaker, and hell, for all I know, you could take me in a fight..."


    Jane strode toward him and, as if there were any doubt before, shoved him across the room. He went flying to land in a heap of pillows. "Stop being an ass. You want me all weak and defenseless? Finally, I never have to worry about not being able to defend myself or about staying away from the rest of the pack during the full moon, and you''re concerned with posturing?"


    He got to his feet, and his eyes glowed. "I warned you. I''m taking that as a challenge."


    Jane stood her ground. She looked so pissed off with her arms crossed over her chest, her body flushed, that he didn''t know whether to be angry or turned on.


    Deciding on anger and his baser instinct for dominance, Cole rushed her. The two of them went flying, hitting a support pole and taking the tent down around them. They struggled, rolling around in the heavy fabric that had collapsed around them.


    "Owww, fuck!" Cole growled, as sharp claws dug into his flesh. Had she partially shifted? She couldn''t be too weak from hunger if she could do that. "Are we really playing that way, Jane? I''ve got claws too, don''t forget."


    She punched him in the arm as they continued to try to extricate themselves from under the fallen tent. "This is ridiculous, Cole."


    "It''s not."


    "Yes, it is. You know it is. I''m not challenging you, you brute. You didn''t walk all over me before, why start now?"


    Before, she hadn''t been able to challenge him. He''d been secure in their roles and who had the power. He hated the side of him that considered things like that mixed in the same bowl with feelings of tenderness and love.


    Cole went still. "I can''t have this discussion wrapped up in a tent."


    "I told you it was ridiculous." She began pressing kisses across the scar on his belly, trailing her tongue over it, making him shiver. "Be the man who got this scar protecting his mother. Don''t be the monster with me."


    He groaned. Oh now she was playing dirty.


    "Please, Cole," she panted. "I''m hungry. Take care of me." She managed to crawl up his body, and straddled him. She knew just the right words to appease the beast. Take care of me. He was a brute. But he''d be her brute as long as she''d have him.


    He sighed. "Well, hop on."


    "Such a romantic," she teased, sending another well-placed but playful punch to his arm.


    Anyone who walked by the flattened tent, would see the unmistakable outline of one body grinding against another, no doubt connected in the carnal act. He held her against him as they joined, and this time tears did come. He couldn''t stop them. He couldn''t believe she was here in his arms again. Demon or not, she was a miracle.


    "Cole? Are you all right?"


    "Shut up and fuck me," he growled. She didn''t argue.


    He knew the moment she started feeding. It was a tingling warmth that felt like its own orgasm, a steady hum of pleasure he could be driven mad by. Sex with Jane had always been great, but now it was indescribable. Screw the bottle, she was his drug now.

 Page 6

    Cain''s dimension was largely empty. There were peaks and lulls, and right now a lot of the demons were in the human world, hunting for prey. A few tended to bring their meals home, though. Cain pushed back the flap of one of the tents that smelled the most like sex.


    "Daria, have you seen Leo and Duke? I put them in charge of guarding the new succubus."Advertisement


    Cain tilted his head to the side, admiring the position the other demon had managed to get herself into with Sam, one of her regulars. It was moments like this Cain was sad they couldn''t sleep with their own kind. Daria had her charms. Though she had several men, he suspected Sam was her favorite. If she were going to take a soul, it would be Sam''s.


    The demon''s eyes snapped open, annoyed. "As much as I like to be watched, these interruptions are getting old."


    Cain growled and she let out a sigh.


    "They went to Golatha Falls. There''s a big Halloween frat party. They went in demon form."


    "They WHAT?" Cain felt his own form changing, the anger simmering and boiling beneath the surface. Those two were already in trouble for not following his orders, now they were partying in demon form at a frat house? Not on his watch, they weren''t.


    "Hey, I told them you''d be mad, but I''m not their mommy. Now could you please go? You''re distracting my human. I need him to relax so I can feed."


    Cain cursed under his breath and left the tent. It took all his self control to maintain his human form when he reached the university. The Halloween party was bigger than Daria had hinted, taking up a whole city block and being crashed by several of the locals. GFU wasn''t that big.


    He brushed past a witch - a costumed one, not a real one... he hoped - three fairy-tale princesses, a genie, four pirates, and a nondescript monster before he bumped into someone he knew. The woman had a hold on the man''s arm and shrank back when she saw him.


    "Lucien? Anna?" When Anna had given her soul to his brother, Cain had assumed they were busy globe-trotting. They''d barely been in the demon dimension for months, no doubt avoiding him. "What are you doing here?"


    "Anna wanted to come to the party. They do this every year. You should know, after bringing me my meals."


    "It wasn''t this big last year," Cain said, feeling embarrassed that all these human customs and rituals just bled together for him anymore. He felt more alienated from his own kind every year. He envied what his brother had found, but he''d never say so out loud. Jealousy was what had caused their initial separation to begin with, back when they''d both been human and Luc''s name had been Abel.


    Anna hid behind Luc.


    "Oh for God''s sake," Cain said, "I''m not going to hurt you."


    "You did try to kill her," Luc said. "It''s not as if her fears are irrational."


    "Tried and succeeded, in a roundabout way, but that''s neither here nor there. She''s one of us now. Have you seen Leo and Duke?"


    Luc''s face turned serious. "Go easy on them, they''re young."


    "Young, my ass. They''re plenty old enough to know better. I''m not grading on a curve. If they can''t follow the very few rules I have, they''ll learn the hard way. Where?"


    Luc pointed to the front lawn of the Phi Beta Sigma house. Leo and Duke were in full demon form, claws and glowing eyes and fangs on full display for drunk co-eds who were too stupid to know what they were seeing. Duke chugged beer out of a funnel, while Leo helped him as the crowd chanted "Drink, drink, drink, drink, drink."


    "Excuse me," Cain said, squeezing past the couple. "I hope to see you back home again. It''s your home even if you''re avoiding it." His gaze shifted to the brunette on his brother''s arm. "It''s your home too, Anna. I have no interest in harming you now."


    The olive branch he extended didn''t cause Anna to move from behind her protector. Cain growled in frustration and strode to the demons that needed discipline.


    "Leo! Duke!" he shouted. He was sure his face held a paternal look of displeasure.


    The two looked up, fear in their glowing eyes. "We can explain," the beer chugger said.


    "I''m sure I''ll be quite fascinated by your half truths when we get home. Let''s go."


    The two looked at each other and bolted, running through the crowd, counting on him not making a scene in front of the humans. Good instincts.


    "Ow!" "Watch it!" "Asshole!" people shouted as the demons shoved through the costumed throng, Cain hot on their trail.


    He bumped into one rather attractive woman and stopped, his gaze scanning over her form before giving her an appreciative wink. "You and I will be meeting again later." He slipped a suggestion in her mind and caught her when she nearly fainted. His mouth pressed against her ear, and he whispered, "You''re going to be delicious." He left her disoriented and darted through the crowd after his wayward demons.


    Whether it was because they were young or just lumbering idiots, the demons had moved away from the humans and into the forest. Perfect. Cain used his full speed and cornered one of them.


    "Where''s Leo?" They''d split up. "No matter. I''ll deal with you now and find him later. He''s got to come home sometime. The longer he''s out, the worse it will be for him."


    Cain grabbed Duke by the scruff of the neck and dragged his struggling form to the portal point before tossing him through and following him to the other side. The demon broke into a run again, but it was a pointless attempt. He was too young.


    "Stop. Running is only pissing me off and lengthening your sentence."


    Duke stopped running. Cain wouldn''t call him a smart demon, but he wasn''t utterly retarded at least.


    "Now shift. If you aren''t in your human form, by the time your punishment is over you won''t be able to shift back to feed. Then I''ll have to waste a day hypnotizing a woman into finding you appealing. And believe me, in your demon form it''s a near impossibility, even with my power."


    The demon''s eyes widened. He knew what this meant. "Please, sir, I''m sorry. I was just... I was just having a little fun. I thought demons were supposed to have fun."


    "Demons aren''t supposed to disregard my direct orders. Jane almost damaged her relationship with her mate because of your stupidity. Then, showing your true form in the human dimension..."


    "It''s Halloween, they don''t know! Do you know how convincing some costumes are now? They almost fool me! A bunch of drunk college kids aren''t going to know anything!"


    "It doesn''t matter. It''s not worth the risk. Every faction has agreed to keep the humans in the dark. Humans may not be as strong as us or as old as us, but they are fearful. And they can get the magic users on their side. I''m afraid your foolishness has cost you twenty years. Go." Cain pointed in the direction of the caves where he kept the prison for his kind.


    He didn''t have to use it often, but he did have a few demons imprisoned at any given time. The original vampire was the one being who would never be freed. He''d challenge Cain for control of the demon dimension, and there was a small chance he could win that fight. He was a wild card the demon didn''t want to deal with.


    He followed Duke out to the caves. Out here the sand swirled in an angry sandstorm, the only thing close to weather that they had in the dimension. It was darker than normal, not the benign peaceful darkness with brilliant stars overhead, but the darkness of a hopeless abyss.


    The young demon made one final attempt. "Please, I''ll do anything. I''ll never go against your rules again."


    "Anything?" Cain asked.


    "Anything. I swear."


    "Serve your time. That''s the anything you need to do. And I''m sure you speak the truth. After twenty years being trapped, bored, and starved, you won''t cross me ever again."


    The caves didn''t require guards. There was no escape from this place until Cain determined it. It was fortified with powerful magic from the man upstairs, the kind of magic that created universes. Cain had been given the caves, and only he could control them. It was yet another boon the man upstairs had granted him when creating this world.


    There were times when Cain wondered if he were the devil the humans so feared. How wrong they''d gotten their mythology. Fallen angels were the original demon breed, known as guardians. They were mainly mercenaries and bodyguards for the other preternaturals, since they had no dimension of their own. They weren''t usually a direct threat to humans - unless one got in their way. Lucifer was a guardian, and a piss poor one at that, last Cain had heard. There were many other demon breeds with their own dimensions, but they weren''t associated with the Hebrew god or earth, and they rarely had cause to cross over.


    The only thing any human had to fear from Cain was the least painful death they could imagine - the most merciful exit ramp they had out of here. And yet, they wasted so much energy fearing this nebulous evil being who they thought wanted their soul. They flattered themselves.


    Cain would never take a soul. At eight thousand years old, he''d never find a woman who could understand him, so why bother? He''d waited too long. There wasn''t a woman alive who would give herself to him forever, knowing everything.


    He shook himself out of the brief self-pity and led Duke to his individual pod. He waved a hand and it opened. "In," he commanded.


    The demon started to cry. It was unsightly. "Please. It was just a stupid mistake. Twenty years is unjust."


    "You''re immortal. I have to spend eternity with you in my dimension. And it was direct defiance that could have harmed another of our kind and could have harmed us all if the humans had figured you out. I can''t have anarchy in my realm. Don''t make me ask you again, or we''ll make it thirty years."


    The demon went into the pod.


    "It''ll open automatically when your sentence is up. Use this time to think about what you''ve done. And pray I catch Leo quickly. The longer it takes me, the worse his punishment will be."


    "You bastard. I''ll end you. We will rise up and revolt!"


    "Sure you will. Twenty-five years. Keep talking."


    The demon fell silent and Cain waved a hand to seal him in. He needed to go help Jane. The other fugitive would have to wait until he had time to bother with him.


    Jane sighed, feeling strong and content, cuddled in Cole''s arms. They were dressed now and snuggled together on top of the collapsed tent. She had no idea how to fix it. Cole nuzzled his mark, squeezing her hard enough he would have broken something if she were human. Good thing she wasn''t.


    "We''ll never have a pup," Cole said, his voice threaded with emotion. "I''m sure Cain won''t allow us to reproduce, not after the results the last time a demon and therian reproduced. But either way, it wouldn''t be a pup. I wish it didn''t bother me so much, but..."


    Stupid, Jane. In all the missing him and fighting and feeding, she''d forgotten a very important piece of the puzzle her mate didn''t know yet. She took a deep breath and plunged in.


    "Our pup is alive."


    "What?" The hope in his voice almost unmade her.


    "I should have told you. I was going to, and then... you know, all this happened." She gestured at the debris surrounding them.


    "How do you know he''s alive?"


    "When I was in heaven, I had screens that I could watch you and the pup on. I begged them to let me come back to you. I needed you to know our baby was okay and you were killing yourself inside that bottle. He''s being cared for by a witch and a panther therian in the Golatha Falls forest. But he needs to be with the pack."


    Jane toppled to the ground as Cole got to his feet. He held out a hand to help her up. "Let''s go get him."


    "Not yet you aren''t."


    Jane looked up to see Cain standing there, an eyebrow arched in interest at the mess they''d made.


    "It must have been some sex to bring down a tent. Those support poles are pretty strong," he said.


    Jane felt her face heat.


    "My dear, demons do not blush."


    "This demon does," she said. "We have to go get the pup now."


    "I said, no. I have to teach you how to curb your appetite when you can''t feed from mate. You''ll wear the poor wolf out, otherwise."


    "I''m not opposed to that option," Cole said with a leer, making her blush deeper.


    She punched him in the arm and turned back to Cain. "But my pup... "


    " ... will be fine. I do wish everybody would recognize who I am and stop treating me like the wacky sidekick," Cain groused.


    "Well, if you''d stop getting yourself trapped in - "


    "Cole!" he roared.


    The wolf chuckled. Jane had no idea what that was about, but she didn''t care about their inside jokes. She had her mate, now she needed her child. Mama bear was all demoned up now. If Cain thought he was keeping her from her kid, he was insane.


    "I can''t read your mind, Jane, but if your thoughts are reflective of your facial expressions, we''ve got a problem. I''m trying to help you. The sooner I teach you how to feed, the sooner you can go to your pup. Cole, go deal with your pack. Reassure them that you''re in charge of things again. I''ll bring Jane to you when we''ve got things sorted."


    The werewolf and demon growled at each other, neither of them used to deferring to anybody for any reason. After a bit of a standoff, Cole took a portal charm and headed back to the pack. Then it was just Cain and Jane standing on top of the rubble.


    "Shall we?" He held his arm out like he was her escort at a debutante ball.


    She glared at him.


    "I''m sorry, is my teaching you how to not starve without cheating on your mate messing up your day planner?"


    "Fine. Let''s just get this over with."


    Cain gave her a brilliant smile, and they headed for one of the portal points.


    An hour later they were standing in an empty alleyway outside a brothel. "I don''t like this place," she said. She could sense too many emotions now. The lives of the women inside felt too much like the life she''d had to endure with the vampires before Cole had rescued her.


    "I don''t care if you like it. I''m going to teach you a practical way to snack in between full meals that won''t require you to be unfaithful to your mate. Feeding off Cole is much stronger than feeding from a human. So you''ll only need these stopgap methods for a couple of centuries at most."


    Jane recoiled at that. "A couple of centuries? No. Oh, no. I can''t do this for a couple of centuries. I can''t be around this. It''s too... ugh. It''s..."


    Cain placed a steady hand on her shoulder, his expression strangely sincere. "Listen Jane, I get it. I know you''ve been through a lot, but you aren''t the victim here. The world is full of evil, and whatever you think of me, humans are far worse. You can''t let everybody else''s pain become your own. You can do this. I''ve always been impressed by your strength."


    Her eyes narrowed, not sure she could believe a word out of the demon''s mouth. Thinking of Cain as any kind of ally, despite what he''d already done for her, still felt too foreign. "Really?"


    "Really. Now close your eyes and imagine yourself wrapped in a clear blanket."


    "What?" Airbrushing her form had been one thing, but this was way too esoteric, especially given that she didn''t understand what the goal was.


    "Watch me." Cain closed his eyes, a serenity coming over his features, then he was gone.


    Jane looked behind her. "Cain?"


    "I''m still standing where I was. You''ll need to be invisible so no one knows you''re there. Try it."


    It took her several tries before she was able to look down at her hands and not see them anymore. It freaked her out. A hand grasped hers.


    "Come with me. We have to be quiet."


    Jane felt like a ghost as they moved through the brothel. It wasn''t as bad an establishment as she''d thought it would be. It wasn''t wonderful, but it was a nicer place than she''d expected. He took her all the way to the back room and they slipped inside the open door, waiting for the next couple to come in.


    When they did, Cain shed his invisibility. The woman appeared mesmerized right away, but the man was upset. "This is my time. I paid for it. Get out."


    Cain held the man''s gaze. "I''m not here. No one is here but you and the whore. You can''t hear anybody else or see anybody else."


    Cain did the same number on the woman, then both of them were oblivious of his presence. "You can drop the invisibility now, Jane. Normally, I want you to use it. It''s easier. But I can''t teach you if you can''t see me."


    He crossed to the door and locked it to make sure they wouldn''t be disturbed. By this point the man and woman had stripped out of their clothes and were on the bed. The man was overweight, with squinty eyes and a bald patch. Jane made a blech face.


    "Food doesn''t have to be pretty to give you what you need. Think of how many ugly chickens you ate when you were human. You won''t have to touch him or do anything you''d find gross. Well, aside from having to watch this."


    Cain moved closer to the two people fornicating on the bed. "You can use this method anywhere where a man is getting off or is very aroused. X-rated movie houses, strip clubs, brothels, peep shows, kink clubs. Your options are pretty wide." He motioned for Jane to come closer. "Can you feel his sexual energy?"


    Her face held disgust, but she nodded.


    Cain kept his hand a few inches away from the man. "I can''t feed from a man, but this is what you''ll do. Try it. You focus just the same way you do when feeding regularly. You''re just going to pull the energy up through your hands. You''ll need to visualize it to activate the skill."


    The demon stepped out of her way and she held her hands out, a few inches from the man''s face.


    "You find him repulsive, don''t you?" Cain said.


    "You know I do."


    "And not just his looks. You find it grotesque that he''s using her like this, paying her to give him pleasure with no regard for her as a human being."


    "Yes. I fucking hate this. Okay?"


    "So use it. Suck the energy right out of him. Make it vengeance. See it however you need to see it, just get it done. I''m sorry this happened to you, but you have powers now that you can find creative ways to use for your benefit, if you''re willing to see it that way. Are you willing to stop being a victim, Jane?"


    That was all she needed to hear to motivate her. Jane''s eyes glowed red and she focused, feeding off the man and her own rage. The man passed out a few moments later.


    "You might have overdone it," Cain said.


    "Oh no I didn''t," she replied. "I did exactly what I wanted to do."


    He smirked in response. "It''ll tide you over longer, at least."


    "Thank God," the prostitute said, getting off him. She felt for a pulse and seemed satisfied that he had one, then she dressed and left the room.


    Jane laughed and looked at Cain. "I''m kind of mad with power right now."


    He chuckled. "I knew you would be. Come along. I have a few shape-shifting tricks to show you that you haven''t seen yet."

 Page 7

    The cave was lonely when Fiona woke. On the one hand it was a relief not to have to deal with the mercurial panther, on the other, he was a part of the place. His presence, awkward as it was, had been comforting. His scent had made the cave feel protected. In his absence, it felt like anything could happen.


    She''d had breakfast, taken her antibiotic pill, and let the pup out of his cage. But the wolf didn''t lessen the anxiety of being alone in the cave.Advertisement


    I''m used to being alone. Why should this be uncomfortable?


    She knew the answer. Having a taste of what it was like to have a man around made her realize all she''d been missing in her hermit existence. But sleeping with him would have been the worst kind of mistake. He''d leave her and break her heart. She''d feel used. But what difference did it make? It wasn''t as if she''d ever have a normal life with a man with a white picket fence. Shouldn''t she have taken the opportunity while it was there? However brief the window?


    Pathetic, Fiona.


    And then there was the stupid part of her that thought maybe he''d connect with her in some way he couldn''t connect with others. Something about her would be special, and he wouldn''t leave. Maybe he just hadn''t found the right woman. Maybe she could be it.


    She let out an exasperated scream that echoed off the walls of the cave, sending the pup scurrying behind an overstuffed leather chair. He peered out around the side at her.


    "Sorry, I''m just being crazy." And pathetic. Let''s not forget the pathetic part.


    Fiona stared at the spell book on the kitchen table. It was still open to the protection spell. She ran her fingers over the old, worn pages, tracing the flowing, cursive script. Her grandmother''s. Her mom hadn''t kept a spell book, and Fiona had followed in her footsteps.


    Why was she keeping all these books and tools if she wasn''t going to use them? Instead of learning everything she could to become more powerful and protect herself, she''d hidden, trying not to call attention to herself or her magic. If she didn''t use magic, no one would sense it or come for her. No one would hurt her. If she wasn''t on anybody''s radar, she couldn''t be seen as a threat or a pawn.


    Even with this precaution, somehow trouble had found her. Just like the birds had said. She''d gone outside and something bad had happened. But could Z be the bad thing? She wished he was back in the cave. Arguing with him would be better than living in her scattered mind alone.


    She sorted through the bags, gathering the various ingredients she''d need for the protection spell. Salt for the circle. Candles, crystals, herbs. Her finger skimmed down the page of the weathered book as if she were preparing to make her first pot roast. All she had to do was follow the recipe and everything would be fine.


    She sat in the middle of the circle, her eyes closed, breathing in the incense and quieting the incessant chatter in her brain. The circle had been created, the candles lit, the protective crystals put in the right places. She began to intone the chant.


    Nothing happened.


    She quirked one eye open and looked around. Nothing seemed different. If it had worked, wouldn''t she at least feel something? The last time she''d done wards on her house, she''d felt that. But this was a new spell of a different nature. Doing one protection spell wasn''t the same as doing them all.


    Had she raised any magic at all? Surely she had. And if she had, without successfully completing the spell, then did that mean she''d given her whereabouts away? With people after the pup, had she just brought them to Z''s door? Would his wards hold and keep them away?


    Tears slipped from her eyes, but before she could start the self-pity party, she noticed the cave was quiet. Too quiet. Where was the pup? She snuffed out the candles and stepped outside the circle, checking his cage and behind and underneath all the furniture. Then she checked the bathroom, particularly the shower, and underneath Z''s bed. He''d left a couple of dresser drawers open, but there was no pup in there, either.


    Her heart pounded in her chest as she raced to the entrance of the cave. Why hadn''t she locked the pup up before doing the spell? Z was going to kill her.


    Fiona reached the mouth of the cave and looked down. The pup had climbed down and was sniffing around some wild blackberry bushes.


    She whistled for him. He looked up at her, his tongue hanging out. He yipped and started to run around, his tail wagging. He thought it was a game.


    Just climb down there and get him. It''s not far. Then you can come back inside. Nothing will happen. It''s no farther than the mailbox. You can make it fifty-five steps. You''ve done it a million times before.


    The self-talk wasn''t working. Fiona''s breath came harder and faster, and she was afraid she''d hyperventilate. She leaned against the cave wall, her breath coming in sharp pants. Just breathe. She closed her eyes, trying to force the sense of vertigo to go away, but closing her eyes only made her more dizzy.


    God damn that panther! This shouldn''t be her concern. She should be at her house watching her television and ordering her groceries for the week, not stranded in some crazy panther therian''s cave babysitting a werewolf pup. This was all Z''s fault.


    "Puppy, come here. Don''t make me come down there after you." Her voice sounded thin and thready.


    Now would be a perfect time for an appropriate spell. If she''d been practicing her magic like a good witch, she could have had the ability to get the pup back without having to climb down. It was bad enough having to go outside where it wasn''t safe, but to have to climb down the steep rock that the cave was settled in was too much to ask of anyone.


    Fiona bit her lip, trying to screw up her courage to climb down into the big bad outside. Had the cave become her new home base already? If she''d been kidnapped and nothing horrible had happened, maybe she could go outside. She''d already broken her pattern, what could happen? The birds were wrong. Or just screwing with her.


    The pup wandered out of her line of sight. The time for weighing the pros and cons was long past. She took another measured breath and grabbed for a sturdy branch and made her way down the steep path.


    Z drummed his fingers on top of the sales counter in the cell phone store, growing impatient with the sales rep. He should have gotten a cheap prepaid flip phone with nothing fancy, like what he''d had before, but they''d talked him into having an intelligent phone. Was that what they were called? He hadn''t really been listening to the guy.


    It was a phone. How smart could it be? How smart did it need to be? And how many people did he ever have the need to call?


    "This phone ends up acting as a tablet. You can buy digital books, shop on the web, watch videos. There''s GPS which is super convenient if you travel. And of course you''ve got your social media apps all at the touch of a button." The associate demonstrated the phone, sliding his thumb across the touch screen, giddy when a website came up as if he didn''t do this presentation five hundred times a day.


    "Fine. Just ring it up."


    The associate arched a brow. "Well, we have to finish setting your phone up, and you have to sign the contract."


    Z held back a growl, but when the associate took a couple of steps back, he was sure his eyes must have gone gold for a second. A fantasy of shifting into panther form and causing chaos in the store made him smile. But fantasy or no, things like that had consequences in the real world. Vampires would come swarming in, throwing their weight around and memory-wiping everybody in the same zip code as the security breach. Magic users would be gunning for him, and who knew how many packs and tribes of therians would end up on his doorstep screeching about not letting the humans know. Everybody was out to ruin his fun.


    "Would you like your phone to be a hotspot?"


    "A what?" Could this pimply moron not shut up? Why did buying a new phone have to be this much drama? Z''s eyes strayed to the name badge on the guy''s vest. It read: Team Leader, Tim "Listen, Tim, maybe we should nix this and get the prepaid set up with one of the regular phones. I''m not sure I''m cut out for all this complication." Not to mention that a two year phone plan sounded like such a commitment. He''d never committed to anything except his living quarters for that long. And that was only because he liked his cave and had worked so hard to make it livable.


    Tim looked aghast. "Oh no, you''re going to want this phone. Trust me. It''s like crack. You''ll get addicted to all the games and the convenience. You can check your email from anywhere."


    "I don''t have email."


    The associate was nonplussed. "Well, surely you use the Internet."


    "Nope. Don''t do that, either," Z said. "If I can''t see you and smell you, I can''t trust you."


    Tim got an odd look on his face. Maybe it was the smell you part that crossed the line. It was always hard for Z to tell which thing was just one bit of commentary too far.


    "So, then, we''ll check no next to hotspot for now." There was a nervous tremor in the guy''s voice, as if he were finally picking up on the fact that his customer might be dangerous.


    Z nodded. "You might also want to check no next to the box that says ''Would you like your phone to turn into a jet pack,'' because I can assure you I do not. I just want my phone to call people.''"


    Tim''s eyes darted back to the computer screen in front of him as he typed out a few things as quickly as possible. "Okay, well, I''ll have you out of here in just a minute." He clicked a button on the computer and several papers spit out of the printer. "I just need you to sign here and here." Tim passed Z a pen and pointed to the parts of the contract he was supposed to sign. His credit had been building for the past 72 years, so at least that part had been no problem. Though he didn''t look a day over thirty. Maybe he was set in his ways.


    He signed the paper and listened as the associate droned on some more about features and benefits, not having listened when Z had told him he just wanted to call people.


    "Here''s your phone number," Tim said, passing a card to Z. "And your bill will come to that address right there."


    "Wonderful. Can I go now?"


    Tim nodded quickly and Z collected the truckload of paperwork, card with his number on it, and cell phone that had been charged for the first time in the store. When he got outside, he folded the papers and shoved them into his leather jacket.


    He growled as he tried to repeat what Tim had shown him in the store to get his phone to agree to the most basic function for which it had been intended. Finally, he got to the proper screen to make a call. He grimaced at the cutesy sound the phone made as he touched the numbers on the screen to dial Fiona. It sounded like a handheld video game.


    He felt bad about how he''d left things with her. Before he left town, he at least needed to know that she was okay and try to smooth things over.


    The phone would have rang into voicemail if Z had ever bothered to set his voicemail up. He didn''t like to be bothered. If he wasn''t answering his phone, there was a reason, and leaving a message shouldn''t be an option to violate that choice.


    He called three more times, but each time it went to an automated voice that said, "I''m sorry, but this wireless customer has not set up a voice mailbox." He could hear the judgment coming from the robotic voice, as if he''d lapsed on his moral duty to let people get in touch with him.


    Z hopped on his motorcycle and headed for the interstate, still not sure where he was going to search. The obstacles in the way of finding the pup''s pack seemed insurmountable. He could hit some truck stops, look for other therians, ask around, but he wasn''t sure how far it would get him.


    He tried to ignore Fiona''s silence. Maybe she was mad at him. Stranger shit had happened. It wasn''t like women didn''t routinely get pissed at him. She wasn''t obligated to answer his calls. But with her particular phobias, even if mad, she wouldn''t shut out the opportunity to have a point of contact, and she wouldn''t know how to get into his voicemail even if he''d had the foresight to set it up.


    He pulled into a gas station next to the interstate and dialed his old cell again but still no answer. "Dammit, Fiona! Answer the phone."


    His instincts sent warning bells and strobe lights and buzzers. Something was wrong. She''d answer the phone. It was too late for her to still be sleeping. She wouldn''t leave the cave. He growled. He couldn''t start the search with this nagging feeling. Even if everything was okay, he had to go back and check on her. He wouldn''t allow himself to think why he just had to do such a noble thing.


    The further Fiona got from the cave, the more anxious she became, as if her lifeline were fraying away and she was adrift at sea, far from civilization. It was kind of true. Though she''d lived most of her life in the forest, she didn''t know it well. Not as well as she should, anyway.


    She might be going in circles by this point. Even if she found the pup, she was afraid they wouldn''t make it back home. It was past lunchtime, and she was starting to get hungry. If she didn''t find him soon and start making her way back to the cave, the sun would set, leaving them at the mercy of whatever came out in the forest at night. And besides that danger, she couldn''t imagine it being easier to find her way back in the dark.


    "Puppy! Here boy!" She let out a few short whistles.


    A hawk stopped in the tree above her. You looking for a wolf pup?


    "Yes! Have you seen him?" Of course, Fiona. Use your freaking gift. Talk to an animal. Duh.


    He must be a therian if he could understand her as well as she could understand him. The hawk looked to the west. He''s wandering in a clearing about a mile west of here.


    "Thank you!" Fiona hoped he''d be around to help her find the cave, once she got to the pup.


    She picked up her pace to get to the wolf before he wandered off again. When she reached the clearing, he was eating a rabbit. She made a gagging sound and his ears perked up.


    "Puppy, I know this is what you eat, and I''m thrilled you''re learning to hunt, but we have to get you home."


    The wolf growled around the rabbit leg he was gnawing on, ignoring her. He wanted to hunt. It was his natural instinct. Keeping him cooped up in the cave, treating him like a domesticated dog breed, wasn''t good for him. She wondered if Z had taken him hunting before he''d had to keep him inside.


    How long would he be gone? How far would he search? These were details they hadn''t ironed out because she''d been mad at him when he''d left. His list of crimes was enormous and growing by the minute:


    Kidnapping her.


    Being hot.


    Wanting to sleep with her.


    Not wanting to sleep with her.


    Abandoning her with the pup with no idea of when he''d be back.


    Being hot.


    Fiona sat on the ground nearby, but not so close the pup would feel his meal was threatened. Cute or not, there was no telling how he''d react if he thought she was competing for his food, especially out here in the middle of nature where the animal side of his instincts would be stronger.


    "Was breakfast not enough for you?"


    He watched her suspiciously, growling as he continued eviscerating the poor rabbit that had crossed his path. When he was finished, he chewed and played with the bones for a bit before stretching out and rolling in the grass. He closed his eyes, basking in the sunlight. It was nap time.


    "We need to go home. It''s going to be dark in a few hours and you''ve wandered pretty far." Why was she reasoning with a wolf pup? He couldn''t communicate clear ideas to her, just images and basic needs. Right now he was communicating the desire to take a nap in the sun and his appreciation of the warmth and brightness. Though anyone could have puzzled that one out. It didn''t take a magical animal communication ability.


    Fiona sighed, unsure how she was supposed to convince him to come home with her or how she could make him do so if he couldn''t be reasoned with. He was small but squirmy and solid muscle. If he didn''t want to go, she wouldn''t be able to make him.


    A shadow fell over her, and she looked up to see a woman in jeans and a gray T-shirt. "Found him," she called out. "I knew I sensed some magic out this way. Weak magic, but still."


    What a bitch, Fiona thought.


    Another woman and three men stepped out from the forest from different sides, like they''d been canvassing the place. They circled and closed in on Fiona and the pup. The pup, sensing danger, opened his eyes and moved in front of her, growling at the interlopers.


    "Oh, that''s so cute!" the other woman said. "It''s like he''s defending her!"


    "Shut up, Sonya. I don''t know why we brought you. You''re a liability," the woman in the gray T-shirt said.


    "The boss''s orders were to bring the whole coven, and that includes me," Sonya said.


    "The boss can screw himself," Gray T-shirt said. "I don''t know why we''re doing a vampire''s dirty work anyway."


    "Girls! Would both of you kindly shut up so we can concentrate over here?" the largest of the men said. He looked like he might be the one in charge.


    Fiona knew the women were witches. Even if her own powers had atrophied from lack of regular use and training, she at least could sense their power. The men were magic users as well. Fiona hadn''t moved to stand because there was nowhere to go and she didn''t want to make any sudden, threatening moves.


    If she''d had any doubts before, she knew now that her protection spell had fizzled out, leaving nothing but a weak magic trail for others to find. The opposite of protection. This was why she''d been afraid to start learning more magic. Aside from house wards and a few basic healing spells, she''d avoided the craft to stay off the radar of those with bad intentions.


    One of the men pointed at the pup and began to chant in Latin. A second man joined him in the chant, pointing at the wolf as well. The leader stood to the side, doing nothing. It seemed he was there in a supervisory capacity. A glowing bubble surrounded the pup and caused him to rise in the air. He whimpered and clawed at the bubble of magic, trying to free himself.


    Fiona was torn between horror over the situation, fear for the pup and herself, and anger that she hadn''t been a responsible witch. Her grandmother had always told her she was a steward of great powers and that she should take care to nurture and grow her gifts. Whisking the pup home in a magic bubble the second she''d seen him in the clearing would have kept them alive. Being able to do a protection spell would have kept them alive. There were a lot of things she could have bothered to learn along the way that would have kept them alive.


    "What are we doing with the weak witch?" Gray T-shirt asked.


    "He only wants the pup. She''s useless. Kill her."


    "W-wait!" Fiona said. If she couldn''t ensure her survival with magic, she''d try to talk her way out of it. "I can understand him. I can talk to animals. You might need me."


    The man sized her up. "Interesting and potent skill for a witch who probably can''t pull a rabbit out of a hat."


    "I bet she''s lying," Gray T-shirt said.


    "This is so exciting!" Sonya said, like it was reality TV and not somebody''s actual life on the line.


    Fiona''s eyes widened as Z crept up behind the leader. He was naked, which let Fiona know he''d been in panther form, tracking her. She had no idea what had made him come back. Part of her was grateful, and another part was scared for him. And then a third part was thinking inappropriate thoughts for the situation. She needed to learn to look at a man naked without having a psychotic break.


    He''d gone straight for the leader, intent on taking out the strongest link.


    Before the man noticed him, Z''s hands were on either side of his head, then a twist and a sharp crack. The magic user fell to the ground. Z shifted to panther form and moved to stand in front of Fiona, growling at the others.


    Sonya screamed and ran off into the woods, leaving Gray T-shirt and the other two men. Gray T-shirt produced a ball of electricity in her hand, bouncing it in her palm like it was a softball she was about to pitch.


    The two men who were chanting started to retreat, keeping the chant up as they went.


    "Go after the pup!" Fiona shouted, unable to believe Z wasn''t budging.


    They won''t kill him now, but they''ll kill you. I''m not having that. Z growled in reply.


    With the witch poised with the electricity ball, and already doubting Fiona''s gift, Z was stuck shielding her while the other two got away with the pup.


    "How heroic," Gray T-shirt said. "I can just kill you first, then the witch."


    No she can''t. Z said. She''ll only wound me and then I''ll pounce before she can conjure another one. She can''t kill me with just one of those fancy firecrackers.


    As he''d predicted, Gray T-shirt flung the ball of electricity. He caught it in the shoulder, whimpered, stumbled a bit, and then took a running leap at the remaining witch while she tried to regroup to produce another one. He landed on her chest, his heavy paws knocking the wind out of her, then he ripped out her throat in one swipe.


    He turned to Fiona, blood dripping, and she jumped up and started backing away. He shifted and shouted at her. "Stop! You know I''m not going to hurt you. I''m not wounding anything that''s just going to rise up stronger and come back for us. Haven''t you ever watched a horror movie?"


    Fiona shook her head. "They scare me. I live out in the middle of the woods trapped in my house. How is a horror movie a good idea?"


    "Well, trust me on this one. It''s kill or be killed here."


    With the human side of him seeming to be back in control, she stopped her retreat and looked around the clearing. The airhead witch and the two men who had taken the pup were nowhere to be found. Z was sporting a pretty serious bruise and burn combination on his shoulder that looked like it hurt like hell.


    He went through the pockets of both the woman and the man he''d killed. The woman''s pockets were empty, but the man had a wallet.


    "Nothing of interest in here," Z said. "Whoever they''re working for, they aren''t carrying his calling card around. I didn''t expect them to, but it never hurts to check."


    "You killed them," Fiona said, unnecessarily.


    It was easier to take him twisting the guy''s neck, but the witch... it seemed excessive and brutal.


    "I don''t negotiate with terrorists," Z said, without apology. "Wild animal, here, remember?"


    "Yeah, but... you ripped her throat out."


    "I''m sorry, is there an approved list of killing methods I was supposed to run by you before I saved your life? Did you not hear his order to kill you?"


    "Thank you," Fiona mumbled.


    Z only nodded.


    She hadn''t realized he''d been lurking that long, waiting for his moment, no doubt. He''d probably planned to kill all of them, given half a chance.


    He took long strides to reach her. She tried not to react to him being so naked and hot and dangerous mere inches from her.


    "I''d kiss you right now in some grand sweeping gesture, except I''m covered in blood and I''m guessing humans don''t find that sexy."


    "Good guess."


    "Your loss."


    Fiona rolled her eyes.

 Page 8

    Z couldn''t get his heart to calm down. From the second he''d seen Fiona surrounded by those magic users, he''d known true terror.


    He''d had the wolf for months, but it was a temporary inconvenience. Having him around was half annoyance and half entertainment. It didn''t stir any longings in Z for young of his own. That was a Chinese finger trap he didn''t want to stick his fingers into.Advertisement


    Fiona, on the other hand... she had an absurd level of sweetness he shouldn''t be so damned attracted to. He''d only damage her. She''d end up hexing him for it. And he''d deserve it when she did.


    She triggered a bizarre combination of predatory and protective instincts. Half of him wanted to lock her away in a convent with bars on the doors and magic spells everywhere, the other half wanted to throw her down on the shag rug in front of the fireplace in his cave and have his wicked way with her.


    He had a tight hold on her hand as he led her through the forest, finding his way back to the cave by scent. She''d stayed quiet since they''d started back, not complaining of the distance, though she couldn''t be used to this much tramping through the woods. He admired a woman who didn''t bitch and moan about hiking.


    But it wasn''t the peaceful kind of silence that happened while observing the natural world in awe. Tension sparked off her like bolts of agitated current from a live wire.


    Z''s silence was for a different reason. He knew there might still be a witch out here somewhere. Ditzy or not, she was still a witch who was aligned with the enemy.


    "We have to find the pup," Fiona said.


    Here it was.


    "Where do you propose I look? A couple of magic users magicked him away. I have no way of finding them. I don''t even know who they are."


    "Can''t you follow their trail?"


    "You think they wouldn''t mask it? You think they''re so stupid and underprepared knowing he''s with someone like me who can track? These people are organized. They''ve been after him for months!" He should blame Fiona for letting the pup out of the cave, but the biggest emotion Z felt with regards to the lack of a small wolf was relief. The situation was out of his hands now, and he was free.


    He pushed down the guilt before it could grow. He should have left the pup in the middle of the woods that day to fend for himself, but he''d been bored, and the pup had been entertaining.


    "Don''t yell at me," Fiona said, tears in her voice.


    "I''m not yelling. I''m just saying. Unless you have some magic way to find him, we can''t find him."


    Her silence was all he needed.


    Z sighed. "It''s over. He''s gone. I don''t know where his pack is. I don''t know how to find them. I don''t know who these people are that took him." And he''d stupidly tossed the card with the phone number on it in the fire. He could have called that priest vampire. Not that the guy would have given him any information, anyway. And if Fiona couldn''t use a spell to locate the pup, a business card wouldn''t help her find the vampire, either.


    "We''ll try to figure something out tomorrow," he said. Part of him just wanted to forget about the pup. It wasn''t his problem now. Shit happened. But saying that out loud to Fiona would guarantee she''d hate him forever, and he couldn''t have that - not with the weird thing she''d done to his heart. He wasn''t sure what would happen if she hated him, and he wasn''t worried about magic. No, this was all standard human emotion stuff. He made a face like he''d eaten something sour, thankful he was walking in front of the witch so she couldn''t see it.


    "But anything could happen," she said. She''d given up the fight against her tears.


    He could feel her guilt over letting the pup get away from her.


    "It''s not your fault, okay? I just need rest. I don''t have a plan. I just... Tomorrow. We''ll figure something out tomorrow." Maybe a meteor would fall on the cave... or an apocalypse would happen... or she''d hit her head and get amnesia. Any of those outcomes would work.


    "Do you promise?" The catch in her voice made his skin feel too tight, like he wanted to crawl out of it.


    "Yes." Anything to get you to stop crying.


    Another half hour passed before they arrived at the cave. Fiona had managed to stop the tears and was back to silence. Z gave her a boost at the cave entrance.


    She looked back. "Seriously? You''re not going to check inside to make sure it''s safe, first?"


    Z growled. "How many times do I have to explain the wild animal thing to you? I can smell the whole cave. Nobody has been here but us. Now get your cute butt in there."


    Even in the growing darkness, and despite losing the pup, he could see the blush creeping over her face, but she scurried up the side of the rock and into the cave. Z followed.


    "I-I could do some magic - a healing spell, I mean - on your shoulder."


    Z glanced down. The injury was minor by his standards, though probably not by hers. "It''s fine. It''ll be healed up by the time I go to bed. There''s no sense in you wasting your magic on me." He stalked closer and she took an unconscious step back.


    "It wouldn''t be a waste - "


    "Shhh." He offered his hand. "I need a shower and so do you, after being out all day in the heat."


    Her eyes widened comically. "I b-beg your pardon?"


    There he went with the one-step-too-far thing. He couldn''t be sure if she was offended that he''d implied she didn''t smell great - hey neither did he, it wasn''t a judgment - or that he''d just suggested they shower together to fix the situation. He figured he''d skip over the lesser issue and make his case for the latter.


    "Oh, come on. We had a big adrenaline-filled moment in the clearing back there. I know you felt it, too. If I hadn''t had blood all over me, I would have taken you right there. You know we''re going to do this. You''ve drooled over me every opportunity you''ve gotten in the short time we''ve been in each other''s company - "


    "I have not!" Her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive posture, as if he was the last sentient being she''d sleep with even if her species faced extinction. But he wasn''t buying it. Underneath the smell of sweat and fear for the pup and the woods was the smell that made him brave, because he knew just how much she wanted him.


    And he was still naked, having left his clothing miles and miles away when he''d first shifted to track her faster. It was obvious he wanted her. So what were they waiting for? She needed a distraction from the pup crisis, and he needed to be inside her.


    "No point denying what I can smell. My nose doesn''t lie, darlin''." He smirked as her skin flushed a darker red.


    He knew she wanted to take him up on his offer, could see the internal struggle like subtitles going across her face. But she was too conflicted to make a move toward him.


    "Fiona, look. You want to. I want to. I know your first time should be with some guy you''ve been mooning over for months, who has bought you flowers and candy and pretends to like the same movies you like. There should be candles and fancy sheets. But I''m not a romantic candlelight sex kind of guy. I''m a fuck-in-the-shower kind of guy."


    "N-no thank you."


    He knew he was getting to her.


    Z threw up his hands in surrender. "All right. But I can''t be in this close proximity to you much longer like this. Fair warning. I''m running out of gentlemanly scruples. And it''s not safe to take you back home now. You know where I am if you change your mind."


    Fiona collapsed on the couch as soon as he was down the hallway. She was surprised her legs had held her up this long, especially after he''d propositioned her. Everything about Z was inappropriate and non-romantic and just plain... like some uncivilized caveman.


    But he was right.


    She wanted him in the worst way. She''d had this background ache for him almost from the moment he''d shifted for the first time in her kitchen. Although she needed someone to be gentle with her the first time, every fantasy that starred Z was rough and exciting. Everything about him was too overpowering. She''d be lying if she said she didn''t want to be swept up in it because being around him made her forget all her stupid fears - maybe because he replaced those fears with new, more immediate fears, but still. Why question what worked?


    She''d ventured outside the cave to protect the pup. She couldn''t have done that without Z coming into her life. Of course, she''d almost gotten killed in the process... and they''d lost the wolf...


    Her mind flashed to muscled tan flesh stalking the leader of the witches. Z was a killer. He may or may not kill human beings regularly, but he didn''t have a guilt complex about it. He showed no signs of having any moral trouble with what he''d done out there. No remorse. Wild animal was right. He did whatever he had to do.


    Why was she so attracted to that? Because no matter what the birds said, Z is big enough and bad enough to protect what''s his. He won''t hesitate.


    Where had that come from? As if being his were an option. She could tell he didn''t care one way or the other about the pup. Even after having him for so long. He was relieved to be rid of the responsibility. What was she going to say to him: "So, Z... since you kidnapped me for babysitting help and since you just got free of adult responsibility again, maybe I could interest you in being my personal bodyguard."


    Who was she kidding? He''d minced no words explaining his notched-bedpost philosophy of life. He wasn''t boyfriend material. He wasn''t true love material. He wasn''t anything but a quick road to heartbreak. On the other hand, shouldn''t she have more than one sexual partner in life? Was that what was normal now?


    Maybe she could be more brave after this. Couldn''t he just be her first without attaching expectations to it? He didn''t have to be the one. He didn''t have to be noble and wonderful or father material or husband material. All he had to be was an experience. She wasn''t a teenager. She could handle this.


    The sound of the shower startled her out of the mental cheerleading. Fiona was off the couch before she realized she''d moved. She wouldn''t let herself think about what she was doing. This might be her one opportunity before she ended up back in her cottage watching men on TV. Was that what she wanted? To sit around her house alone, regretting how close she''d come to primal maleness and having a normal life experience, only to let it slip away?


    This was a normal thing. And it was just down the hall. Well... a couple of steps away behind a door. The door creaked open when she turned the knob, and Fiona winced at the sound. She couldn''t walk away without him knowing she''d been there.


    Z''s head popped out from around the shower curtain. His eyes glowed golden, and his nostrils flared.


    She stood mere inches from him. "I thought you said I smelled bad." From the look in his eyes and the way he was sniffing the air, the opposite was the case.


    "I said we both needed a shower. Besides, the other smell is overpowering the smell from the woods. Ditch the clothes and get in here."


    Definitely not a romantic. What the hell am I doing? Was she going to let some cave-dwelling cretin bark non-romantic orders at her? Shouldn''t he at least make some minor effort? Like she mattered in some miniscule way? For the moment she forgot about the fact that when it was between the pup and her, he''d chosen her. He''d risked his life for hers. That was the classic romance hero, swooping in all righteous to save the day. It was every movie she''d ever watched. But that moment had passed. Now they were left with this one. And somehow she doubted this was what happened later behind closed doors in those stories.


    "This was a mistake." Fiona turned to leave.


    "Oh no you don''t. That was the last flip-flop you pulled on me." With one arm he reached out and pulled her into the shower with him, fully clothed.


    Z backed her against the shower wall opposite from where the water sprayed down, his searing kisses stealing the protests from her mouth. Fiona gripped his shoulders - the only solid thing to hold onto in there. The rest was slippery, wet tile.


    He wrapped one arm around her, pulling her flush against him, and propped the other against the wall over her head.


    "Fiona... you''re playing with fire with me."


    "Hey, you pulled me in here!" Her clothes were sticking to her. Jeans and wet T-shirt. She wasn''t prepared to be so close to him in such good lighting with no clothes on, but soaked clothes clinging to her every curve wasn''t comfortable, either.


    Z pulled the shirt over her head, wrung it out and tossed it out on the floor. Then his fingers hooked into the front of her pants. Fiona''s stomach clenched in excitement and fear at his fingers being so close to such an intimate place. No man''s hand had been that close before. She sucked in a breath and looked away.


    The energy around him shifted, and then his hand was stroking her face and the side of her neck. She couldn''t help arching toward him.


    "Hey," he said, his voice going gentle, "we both need a shower. That''s all we have to do here."


    She chanced a glance at his eyes. "Okay." Sure, they''d pretend this was about hygiene and being conservationists. Two people. One shower. It was good for the environment. Now to collect her ecology merit badge.


    He went back to the jeans, fumbling with the two buttons at the top, then with help from her and a lot of frustrated cursing, he peeled them off. She crossed her arms over her chest.


    "You''ve got nothing to hide from me," he said, taking her hands in his.


    She tried not to think of his long list of conquests. As if he could read her mind - and how big of a mystery could her thoughts be under the circumstances - he said, "Believe me. They don''t hold a candle to you."


    It was a line, but she couldn''t help falling for it, because right now she needed to hear it and believe in it. If she was going to keep doing this normal thing that grown women who aren''t afraid to leave their houses do, if she was going to have this one moment where she pretended she was one of those normal women, one who didn''t have powers she was afraid of and phobias about being outside, then she needed to hear the line and be the stupid girl who believed it. Because that was normal, too.


    The cave was small and closed in and protected. Z could protect her. She could exist in this tiny, safe world with him. The trouble was, would he want her here tomorrow after he''d scratched his itch? Z''s cave had become the new safe base, but there were no guarantees she''d be allowed to stay. How was she going to function if she had to leave?


    His hands moved to her back to unclasp her bra, then it joined the rest of her clothes.


    "Give me some sign you''re in this with me," he said.


    Fiona felt her face heat, and it wasn''t from the steam of the shower. She pushed her panties down over her hips and stepped out of them, then she tossed them out onto the floor with the rest of her clothing.


    He nodded his approval. To his credit he didn''t stand there and gawk too long, nor did he do anything else to make her uncomfortable. Instead, he grabbed the bar soap. It was a masculine-scented deodorant soap that smelled like him.


    He worked up a lather, and then his soapy hands were on her. Fiona couldn''t help the moan that escaped her lips. He wasn''t touching her anywhere intimate yet. It was her shoulders, and her arms, but there could be no separation of safe zones and unsafe zones when naked in a shower with him. All those lines and boundaries dissolved away, leaving two aroused adults with nothing stopping them but scruples. What were those again?


    She couldn''t pretend this was just an exercise in hygiene. She wasn''t that innocent. It was an exercise in foreplay. He led her down his path of seduction, and she followed without even a weak whimper of protest.


    He turned her around and placed her hands on the tile, one on either side of her face. She leaned forward, her forearms resting against the shower wall as he soaped up her back. Z''s hands wrapped around her waist, moving over her belly.


    This is really happening. Of course it''s happening, you head case. Naked in a shower with a werepanther. Did you think he''d stand in his corner and you''d stand in yours?


    Fiona tried to shut off the inane mental commentary.


    Z''s voice rumbled over her. "Relax. Don''t think so much."


    "How do you know I''m thinking?"


    "Because your jaw is set like you''re being tortured in an inquisition, and every muscle in your body is so tense I''m surprised you haven''t strained something." He was quiet for a moment. "Maybe we shouldn''t do this."


    Fiona spun to face him, almost losing her balance in the process. She grabbed his arm for support. "Now who''s flip-flopping? If you think you''re getting me all naked and vulnerable in a shower, then rejecting me, you are out of your mind." She hooked one hand around the back of his neck, and without thinking, pulled him to her, her mouth crashing against his.


    She was tired of playing the lamb to his wolf. He growled as his hands roamed over her ass. Or maybe she wasn''t tired of it. But she was tired of pretending it was awful.


    Z shut off the water and abruptly got out.


    Fiona stood dazed, trying to figure out what had just happened. But the next minute a towel was wrapped around her, and he carried her to the bedroom. He tossed her on the bed and shut the door like he thought they''d be interrupted otherwise.


    "Tell me now if we''re doing this or not. This is your last chance to back out. I mean, no pressure, but I keep telling you the wild animal thing. Past a certain point I don''t have the ability to stop. I need you to understand that. You know what I am."


    There were drops of water coming off his hair and rolling down his body. She licked her lips. Yes, she knew what he was. Over six feet of raw, primal male power. Tight muscles that had pressed against her in the shower, strong hands that had killed a man to protect her - but had been nothing but gentle when they touched her, a kiss that lived up to his caveman reputation and then some. She was never getting a better opportunity than this.


    Fiona laid back against the pillows like some fainting damsel. "I understand. Do what you have to do."


    His eyes narrowed. "Are you being smart?"


    "Maybe."


    Z joined her on the bed. She was surprised when he spooned with her. She hadn''t thought of him as the cuddling type, and right after his big warning, she hadn''t expected another tender gesture.


    "Before we do anything, you''re going to relax. If you''re not relaxed, I''m not doing this. It''ll hurt you too much, and I''m not an ogre. So we''re going to work on that, yeah?"


    "Okay. Although... you did chloroform me," she pointed out helpfully.


    Z smacked her ass. Before she could get indignant about it, he rubbed over the mark she was sure he''d made. She settled against him, letting go as he kneaded the tension from her body. Then a sound started, and she felt a vibration against her back.


    "Are you purring?"


    "I''m a big cat. It''s a thing. Be quiet and let me take care of you."


    Fiona had to work to stifle the giggle bubbling out. His hand moved between her legs, turning the giggle into a moan.


    "That''s the sound I prefer," he whispered in her ear.


    When he talked to her that way, she came undone. She wasn''t sure if she was supposed to be offended or scared. She knew if she stopped thinking for two seconds, nothing in the world would matter but the way he played her body.


    Every part of Z screamed this was a bad idea. She was too innocent. But he pushed the voice down. He wanted what he wanted, and if the way she shuddered in his arms was any indication, she did, too.


    Her hips began to rock as he eased two fingers inside her. So lovely and wet and... tight. He pressed harder and she let out a cry. He could smell her tears.


    Z didn''t move, just waited, trailing kisses down the side of her neck. He''d had sex with a virgin twice before Fiona. The first time he''d been clueless, popping her cherry with the first thrust, traumatizing the poor girl. The second time, he''d tried the fingering approach.


    He''d found the pain was almost as much psychological and fearing it as it was the actual event, so he''d learned to treat it like a Band-Aid and rip it off while nobody was looking.


    "Shhh, relax. That''s all the hurting part."


    "Really?" It didn''t seem as if she believed him.


    He withdrew his fingers to let her see the blood in the dim light. "That''s my sneak attack method."


    She giggled, finally relaxing. Z rolled them so she could straddle him. When he looked up at her, Fiona''s face didn''t have any of the earlier anxieties. It was serene and free of worry lines.


    He wanted her in this position for his own selfish reasons. He wanted her breasts hanging free in easy reach of his hands. He wanted to feel her writhing on top of him. Nothing was hotter to him than a woman riding him, seeking her own pleasure. And after the bit of pain, he wanted to be sure she had that.


    Z guided her, and she let out a gasp to match his answering groan as she sank down on him. He couldn''t imagine what it felt like for her, but he was in heaven.


    Her cheeks flushed, the pink almost swallowing her freckles. Her lips parted as her breath deepened. Then his gaze made the mistake of moving to her eyes. He avoided too much eye contact during sex; it was too intimate, but he couldn''t avoid it with her. Something inside wouldn''t let him abandon her right now. As she rode him, he felt something that had nothing to do with his anatomy. He felt connected. And it scared the shit out of him.


    As soon as Fiona fell asleep, Z bolted for the kitchen. He was on his second pot of coffee.


    He tried not to think about how he''d been with her. Sweet. Soft. Caring. No. This was bad news. It was just because she was a virgin. That had to be it. He wasn''t a monster. What was he going to do, toss her down on the ground and do her doggie style her first time? Clamp a hand over her mouth while she screamed past the pain? He''d had to be more gentle with her. Her first time shouldn''t be a bad memory, even if he couldn''t offer a commitment afterward.


    But he wasn''t convincing himself. He didn''t like to sleep with virgins because they were too much trouble, but he''d done it before and he hadn''t felt warm and fuzzy and protective. They''d wanted him to be their first. He''d agreed. It was as simple as that. Nothing about Fiona was simple.


    "Hey."


    Z looked up guiltily, worried she might be able to sense too much of what was going on inside him. Did her gift only work when he was in animal form? How much information could she get with no direct dialogue? He wasn''t sure.


    She leaned against the refrigerator, her hair mussed up, wearing one of his T-shirts. The look on her face was... she looked so vulnerable. Had he put that look on her face? If anybody else had put that look there, he would have kicked their ass.


    "Do you want some coffee?" he asked. He hadn''t bothered to put clothes on when he''d come into the kitchen, and now that they were at an awkward moment, she was trying to avoid looking at any particular part of him, especially the part he couldn''t be bothered to cover up.


    She shook her head. "It''ll keep me up. I''m not a big coffee drinker."


    "You''re up already."


    "I rolled over and you weren''t there."


    An instinctive look must have crossed his face, the kind that signaled his willingness to fight to the death to protect his bachelorhood, because she flinched in response.


    "I''m sorry," she said, "I didn''t mean... I''m going to try to go back to sleep, I guess." She turned away, the tension evident in her body. And after he''d done all that work to relax her.


    "Do you want to just sit with me, then?" Z didn''t know how to do this. He didn''t know how to talk to a woman he''d just slept with. Up until now he''d orchestrated his sexual interactions so he wouldn''t have to carry on a conversation after the initial seduction, and definitely not after the main event.


    When he''d chosen human women, he''d become the master of sneaking out of strange beds in the middle of the night. He''d been stealthy to begin with, but he''d tweaked the skill to such a level that he''d never once been caught by a groggy woman with fairy-tale-princess dreams. Until now.


    This time, he''d chosen to sleep with a human woman in his own cave - a woman he couldn''t just dump, who might not be able to leave without a panic attack. Fuck. Z stared at the steam coming off his coffee cup.


    Fiona pulled out the chair he''d indicated and sat. "Now that you''ve had me, are you going to toss me out?"


    He looked up as if he''d been caught with his hand in a cookie jar. "What? No. What kind of monster do you think I am?" Subtle, Z. "You think I''d abandon you?" Keep lying to her. She knows.


    "Why not? You were ready to abandon the pup."


    He didn''t know what the hell he was going to do with her. The more time they spent alone together, and the more attached he became, the more danger he was in of losing his freedom. But actually tossing her out hadn''t crossed his mind. It was more the terror of where this might go. If he''d thought just getting rid of her was an option, he wouldn''t have a reason to be afraid.


    "Nobody abandoned the pup. The pup was taken. Tell me how to find him. Do you have a plan? Do you have a map? Maybe you put some kind of tracking chip on him?" He knew he was goading her.


    She looked at her hands as she clasped and unclasped them on the table. "You know I don''t know how to find him anymore than you do." Then she started crying. "All this is my fault."


    Oh no. Not that again. Z had never met a woman who cried so damn much, and it wasn''t some female problem. He''d know if it was that. He knew the exact times to steer clear of a woman to keep away unwanted offspring and to avoid hormone meltdown.


    "All what is your fault? Let''s try to narrow this down to a single topic."


    Fiona shot him a glare. "I''m the one who let my guard down. I should have kept him in his cage while I worked the protection spell. I''m the one who screwed up the spell and left a magic trail that could be found. I''m the one who hesitated about going out after him when I could have kept him from going too far. Should I go on, because I''m sure the list is longer?"


    "You sound insane. Did you choose to be involved in any of this in the first place? I lost the pup the first time, landing him on your doorstep and involving you to begin with. I kidnapped you and brought you back here. I left you alone with him. I knew your fears when I left you here. It''s not your fault. All right? Please, please stop crying."


    He got up and paced the floor, watching her agitation grow. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and settled down. Kidnapping her to help him understand the pup had seemed smart at the time. But who was he going to kidnap to help him figure Fiona out?


    "Come here." He was struck by the notion that he was uncomfortable with how close they were in the small space of his cave. But he was equally uncomfortable by how far away they were, and the fact that he wasn''t touching her.


    She looked unsure, but got out of the chair and crossed the kitchen to meet him. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. After a second of shock at the unexpected gesture, she laid her head on his shoulder and he stroked her hair.


    Well weren''t they just domestic? If his panther buddies could see him now. They''d never stop laughing.


    Z kissed the top of her head. "Everything is going to be okay. We just need some sleep. In the morning when we''re fresh, we''ll figure something out. But no matter what happens, it''s not your fault. The pup wasn''t your responsibility. I don''t blame you for any of this, and you shouldn''t blame yourself."


    She nodded against his shoulder, and some of the tension started to drift out of her. He led her back to the bedroom and pulled back the covers for her to get in. He joined her and tried not to think too much about why he pulled her flush against him to spoon with her until she fell asleep, or why he wrapped one arm around her waist and left it there.

 Page 9

    Cole surveyed the pack, looking for any hint of mutiny. He''d called the meeting to tell them Jane''s status. Nobody seemed too worked up, but maybe they were in shock. He hadn''t been their leader for months, and now he was coming back with this story. It was possible anything he told them would result in a smile-and-nod response. But just to make sure...


    "Are we going to have any problems over this? Do I need to throw my weight around?"Advertisement


    They all shook their heads quickly. Various voices murmured things like "no sir," "we''re cool," "whatever you say, we''re just glad you''re back with us." That last one was Blake.


    Cole arched a brow at the beta. "You didn''t enjoy playing substitute alpha?"


    "Hell, no. It''s too much work. I prefer being second-in-command where I can just stand around and look pretty."


    Cole chuckled. "Good to hear." In between drunken stupors, he''d worried Blake would get a taste of power and he''d have to fight the beta to get his pack back. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his friend, but Cole didn''t sing backup for anybody.


    "There''s one other thing I think everyone should know. The pup is alive."


    A murmur went up from the gathered wolves.


    "How do you know?" one of the pack members in the back asked.


    "Shut up!" another pack member said to the first one, jabbing him in the ribs.


    "Guys, it''s okay. I''m not going to bite anybody''s head off for asking a question. Jane saw him while she was in heaven. She knows the pup''s location, and the last she saw he was safe and being cared for. We''re going to go get him as soon as she gets back."


    "Where is she?" the same wolf asked. He was about nineteen. The potential alpha-ness rolled off him. Cole was going to have to keep an eye on him or encourage him to seek leadership opportunities elsewhere.


    "She''s with Cain learning alternate ways to feed when she isn''t with me. I expect everybody to treat her like they always have. This is a good thing. Our alliance with Cain is secure now. We have a stable ally if we ever have to go against Anthony and the other vampires. Cain takes an interest in the well-being of the demons in his care. This involves him in issues he''s previously had no interest in getting involved in, which could be good for us."


    "How do we know Cain won''t turn on us?" Ed asked. Ed. Always the cynic.


    "Trust me. I know. Cain has a strong sense of responsibility toward his kind, and our alliance was solid before this happened."


    The wolf seemed satisfied by the answer. Murmurs bounced around the cave as wolves discussed the new situation amongst themselves.


    It had taken Cole a while after getting back to the hive to realize all the benefits of Jane''s new condition. Once he''d pushed past his insecurities with regards to her strength - or mostly pushed past them - he''d seen that as a pack they could only be stronger now with Cain''s interest in Jane. This new development would ensure they always remained free of Anthony''s encroaching police state. The effects of the vampire''s takeover weren''t affecting the Cary Town pack, yet. But they would. Sooner or later they''d be found. At some point, there may be no place safe to be outside Cain''s dimension.


    "Hey, guys. Did you miss me?"


    If he hadn''t been preoccupied, Cole would have smelled her and felt her before he heard her, but he''d been too lost in thought. He looked up to see Jane standing in the cave entrance, a sassy grin on her face. The wolves inclined their heads toward her, offering their throat in a symbolic gesture. Good. They could accept her. No one had hesitated for a second when she''d stepped into the cave.


    But then why would they? They''d come to love her when she''d had the enemy''s blood in her veins and was human to boot. What difference would a change in species make now? Anything short of a vampire, they''d accept.


    Against all odds they''d welcomed her when she''d been the weakest pack member, being only human. Their allegiance hadn''t shifted in the slightest since she''d become a demon. There didn''t seem to be a Goldilocks happy medium with her.


    With the pack''s support, it might be easier for Cole to accept the change. He didn''t think she''d try to usurp him; he just wasn''t sure if she''d start overstepping bounds, knowing she could get away with it. It made him feel like a powerless figurehead, and he hoped none of the pack started to see it that way. He tensed as she moved through the crowd to reach him, knowing she was about to set a precedent for how their relationship would be seen by the others.


    But when she got there, she inclined her head. Her honey-brown hair fell back behind one shoulder, baring her mating mark to his gaze. She was going to play by the rules. Good. Cole growled his approval, allowing some of the wolf to come out in his eyes. He nuzzled the mark, then bit gently over it, eliciting a shiver from his mate.


    "I told you, you were being ridiculous," she whispered, too soft for the pack to hear. "You think I want to boss you or the others around? Please."


    "That''ll be enough of that," he whispered back.


    She shrugged. "You''re the boss."


    "Try not to forget it."


    Slowly, pack members approached her. The males kept a larger distance, wary of crossing lines or appearing too affectionate. The females, however, came up and hugged her and started talking about how bad things had been without her. A few of them cried. Nobody came out and said anything about Cole not being himself while she was gone or him being unable to lead them, but the sentiment was there, just under the surface. It was an unspoken conversation that everyone but Cole was involved in. Without Jane, he''d become ineffective as a leader.


    "As much as I hate to interrupt this happy reunion, it has to wait. We need to go collect our pup," Cole said, reasserting control of the situation.


    "Of course."


    Cole arched a brow at Jane''s sudden diplomacy, but he didn''t say anything until he''d led her away from the hive and into the forest. It wasn''t just the words she''d said. It was the way she''d inclined her head and the plastic smile she''d put on, for whose benefit he could no longer be sure.


    "Of course? What are you, a head of state now? Did Cain teach you that diplomatic submission crap?" It was always a mask with Jane. First the mask she''d worn while she was with the vampires to blend in as a vampire groupie to stay alive, and now this new mask: Jane the diplomat. It was less convincing than the vampire-slut mask had been.


    It was an adaptation, something she''d learned to survive in varied and unpleasant life circumstances, but it still left him wondering who the real Jane was. Was she the tough-talking and jaded vampire groupie, the vulnerable and scared girl he''d rescued, some super-demon, or this new politically enhanced first lady image she projected now?


    Her arms crossed over her chest, the posture telegraphing that she was more annoyed than defensive. "All Cain taught me was how to feed without cheating on you. And a few other demon tricks. Why don''t you tell me who you want me to be, and I''ll try to fit that role? I''m just trying to reassure you that I have no interest in changing the dynamics of our personal relationship. I''m sending the same message to the pack. There is no reason for them to suspect I could or would challenge you, because I won''t. I trust you. I like it when you take care of me and take the lead. So I got stronger while I was away. So what? I''m here! Doesn''t that matter to you at all?"


    She hurriedly moved to wipe tears off her face. Now he felt like an ass. And he was an ass. The love of his life had returned to him, and he was still worrying about his territory being usurped, then throwing a fit as his mate tried to reassure him that wasn''t her plan.


    "I came back for you," she whispered. "And our pup. I thought you guys needed me."


    Cole didn''t hesitate. He opened his arms to his mate and held her, his lips brushing over his mark. "Shhh. We do. You know we do. You saw how I was without you. I''m sorry. You''re right. I know you came back for us. Heaven must have been wonderful, and now you''ve come back to all this. And you gave it up forever." He didn''t want to initiate the discussion about him losing heaven, too, and how her decision had affected him, tying him to her and her fate on Earth. As long as he had her, he didn''t care.


    Jane pulled away, her nose wrinkling in distaste. "Are you kidding me? Heaven was fucking boring and just awful."


    Cole hid a smile at her potty mouth coming back in full force... courtesy of the tough-Jane mask she''d worn for so long. The truth was, she was tough. And she''d been tough before she''d been upgraded into a new, fully-loaded demon package. If she hadn''t been, the pack never would have accepted her as a leader, mating mark or no mating mark. They would have deserted.


    "What?" Jane said, her scowl deepening. "It was boring. It''s like the cruel joke of the universe. It was so... plastic. I mean, there were lovely meadows and the sun never set and water so clear you can see miles down to the colorful plant life on the bottom and flowers of every variety you could imagine, but... do you know they have literal streets of gold? I couldn''t believe it. Why would anybody care about gold in the afterlife? Who are they trying to impress? There was no challenge there, and it seemed like people were afraid of being thrown into hell. I like Cain''s dimension much better. It''s earthy and real. I guess heaven or hell is all a matter of perspective. It can''t be one size fits all or it''s not heaven."


    "It sounds like a prison camp," Cole said sarcastically, amused by how adamant she was over what seemed like a world without worry. Wasn''t a world without worry a good thing? Especially one so beautiful?


    "You have no idea. Husbands and wives didn''t have sex or any real physical or emotional intimacy. They lived in mansions next door to each other and waved like you''d wave to a neighbor as he got in his big SUV to go to work. I kept thinking about how sad I would be if you and I had been there together. We would have led lives of quiet desperation... except forever. There is something seriously wrong with the people up there, Cole. I''m not even sure it''s the real heaven."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I don''t know. I guess I just thought ''is this all there is?'' I know people think it''ll be great, but you''d have to be a totally different type of being to think it''s great. Nothing matters there. I''m just not sure it''s all there is. And I get why people choose to come back. That''s all I''m saying."


    Cole shook his head, intrigued by the insight into the afterlife. It was yet another proof he''d had his head up his ass behaving like some animal since she''d returned. Otherwise wouldn''t he have asked about her experience in heaven before now?


    He brushed a stray bit of hair out of her face. "You don''t have to worry about that place anymore. Does it bother you that you''re trapped here and can''t go back?"


    "If I were powerless, yes. But I''m not powerless anymore."


    "And I wouldn''t want you to be." For the first time, he meant it.


    They walked in a comfortable silence through the forest, their hands linked together, until they reached the portal point. Cole pulled out the talisman, and Jane put a hand on his arm to stop him.


    "We don''t need that if you''re with me, remember?"


    The shimmery film appeared when she stretched out her hand, and she pulled him through.


    "Remember when I was trying to convince you this portal was safe? And now you don''t even need a key."


    "I am a key," she said.


    "Just don''t let it go to your head."


    "Of course." She put on the diplomatic Jane face again, then broke into a laugh.


    Now she was doing it on purpose. Cole stripped out of his clothes and tossed them at his mate.


    She caught them, her brow raising in question. "I thought you said we were going to get the pup." She must have mistook the nudity for an overture.


    "We are. I''ll race you." He shifted and ran full speed through the cobblestone streets, past the colorful tents and torchlight to reach the portal for Golatha Falls. He couldn''t have raced Jane full-out before. There would have been no challenge. No point. Now there was a good chance she could beat him. It was the next best thing to being able to run with her as wolves.


    As he ran, Cole looked behind him, expecting to see Jane looking like Jane, or maybe in Demon form if she wanted to have a competitive edge. He was shocked to find a light brown wolf chasing him.


    He put on another burst of speed, determined now, and reached the portal point just before her. He shifted back, still trying to pant like a wolf, re-acclimating to his human form. He wasn''t sure if she''d let him win, but when she arrived and shifted, she was out of breath, too.


    "Wow, that''s trippy," she said. She stood fully clothed, holding Cole''s clothes. She handed them back.


    "What the hell was that? And how can you shift with clothes?"


    "That was me taking another form and experiencing the limits of that form. As for the clothing, it''s hard to explain. I basically held it in my mind. It''s a demon thing. I guess we get to run together after all."


    Cole slipped his clothes back on, a goofy grin covering his face. He''d never loved Jane less because she couldn''t shift and run with him on the full moon, but he''d always wished it could be different. Now it was.


    "It''s hard for me to hold an animal form for long. Maybe I''ll get better with practice. It''s more an illusion than anything," Jane said.


    "It doesn''t matter. It''s great."


    When they crossed into the Golatha Falls forest, Cole nearly hummed with anticipation over getting to see his pup. He followed Jane through the tangled woods.


    "Do you know where you''re going?" he asked as they threaded between the trees, moving north.


    "Of course I know where I''m going. The panther''s cave is about a mile this way."


    "Do you think they''ll be awake this early?" Cole was beginning to get antsy, anxiety prickling at the back of his mind over what could go wrong. He wasn''t sure if it was instincts or garden-variety paranoia. Being this close to the situation made it impossible to tell.


    "I''m not waiting any more to see my kid."


    Fiona woke to a sound in the cave and rolled over to see Z shoot straight up, his eyes glowing yellow in the darkness of the bedroom. Then he was out of the bed, shifting into his panther form.


    "What is it?" Had the magic users found them and come back to finish them off?


    Stay in here. Do not leave this room. He growled.


    She nodded, but had no intention of listening. As soon as he was out of the room, she slipped out of bed and shimmied into some jeans and a T-shirt. As she dressed, she tried not to worry about whether or not his arm had still been wrapped around her when she''d first woken up. Now wasn''t the time to dissect her first sexual encounter. And it wasn''t the time to moon over him like he was a high school crush she was considering asking to the Sadie Hawkins dance.


    There was possibly an intruder in the house. Possibly because it could be a possum or a squirrel, but her red flags were up.


    Fiona moved into the hallway to listen. She heard growling and answering growls, but no intelligible words. Whatever was growling back at Z wasn''t a panther. They didn''t speak the same language, so they weren''t bothering to use one. It was the equivalent of caveman grunting. What she sensed from both creatures, however, was protectiveness, not open hostility.


    There was a woman''s voice. "Cole, that''s the panther therian. Just shift so you two can talk like civilized beings. I swear."


    Fiona peered around the corner in time to watch both the wolf and the panther shift back into human form. Oh my. Two hot, naked males.


    A growl came from the naked werewolf. "Jane, are you checking him out?"


    So Fiona hadn''t been the only one doing a double take. Talk about double your pleasure. She blushed. Had a single sexual encounter just opened some kind of horny Pandora''s box with her?


    "I''m a succubus. I can''t help it. He''s attractive and male and the sexual energy is coming off him... wow. Some girl is lucky."


    "That''s not helping," Cole said. "If you don''t want me to kill him, maybe you should keep those thoughts to yourself."


    "I''d love to see you try to kill me." That was Z, sounding laid back and lethal as ever. Not that Fiona wanted to watch them roll around on the floor fighting.


    She came out from her hiding place before she started to imagine inappropriate things. "M-maybe if everybody would put clothes on, that would solve the problem."


    "I thought I told you to stay in the bedroom," Z said.


    "Yeah, I heard the growls. But then I decided on a different course of action."


    The succubus laughed. "I see you''ve got one of these, too. You have to let them do their gruff, growly thing and indulge them. I don''t know about yours, but Cole is sweet when you get to know him." Her hair fell back over her shoulder, revealing a bite mark that looked like it must have hurt, but the woman was unperturbed by it. As a demon, it probably hadn''t hurt her at all. But why would a demon have a mating mark from a wolf?


    "Jane! I''m not sweet," the wolf grumbled.


    "What?" she said. "This isn''t a battleground. Z wants to get his freedom back. We want the pup. Easy trade. No body parts lost."


    "How did you know my name?" Z said, suspicion coming back into his eyes. By this point, Cole was putting on clothes, though Z still stood without a stitch of clothing on, with no sense of unease about it.


    "Relax," Jane said. "I''m the pup''s mother. I saw you on a screen when I was in heaven."


    Z didn''t look like he was buying it, and Jane could tell. "Nice try, but a demon and werewolf can''t make a pup. They can make a vampire, but they sure as fuck can''t make a pup."


    "Oh, I was human when we made him. Why else would I have been in heaven? Do you think demons get visitor passes?"


    While she spoke, Jane did that hungry once-over on Z again. It tripped Fiona''s territorial meter, though she knew she had no claim on him. Before she could challenge the demon to a fight she couldn''t win, she went back to the bedroom and grabbed jeans and a T-shirt for Z. When she returned, she tossed them to the panther.


    He caught them mid-air without taking his eyes off the two interlopers. He put the jeans on, but eyed the shirt like it was infested with roaches. "I never wear T-shirts in the cave," he protested.


    "Please." She hoped he wouldn''t embarrass her in front of the pup''s family by pointing out that she wasn''t his mate and couldn''t make such demands. He stared at her for a few seconds, then put the shirt on.


    As he pulled it over his head, he said, "Pup''s not here. He was taken by some magic users in the forest yesterday afternoon. I don''t know who they are. I don''t know who they''re working for. I don''t know why they took him. I don''t know how to get him back. Thank you for visiting. Now I''d like to go back to sleep if you don''t mind."


    Cole growled, glancing over at his mate. "This is Cain''s fault. If he hadn''t felt like he had to teach you all your fancy demon skills, we could have gotten to the pup first." He turned back to Z. "Why didn''t you go looking for him?"


    And now the fangs were out. "Hey, crazy wolf. Did you miss my monologue just now where I said I don''t know where the fuck to look for your rug rat?"


    "Z!" Fiona said. He''d promised he''d go look. She felt so stupid. He''d never intended to look or form a plan. He''d just wanted in her pants. Shutting her up about the pup had been the necessary evil to serve that agenda. She couldn''t hide the betrayal in her eyes. Z''s return expression was tense, but obviously not looking forward to drama, because anything that inconvenienced him and his glorious bachelor lifestyle was drama. And they couldn''t have that.


    Fiona felt bad for the werewolf. The light went out of his eyes, replaced by a haunted look it seemed he''d gotten used to wearing. That was how easily it fit on his face. The demon, on the other hand was angry.


    Her eyes glowed red. "Cole. We''ll find him. Wherever he is, we will find him. Charlee knows that sorcerer guy."


    "We are not dealing with Dayne Wickham," the wolf said. "Besides, if magic users took him, they''ll have shields up. They could want him for anything." He paced in front of the couch.


    Jane went to the cage. "Which one of these toys has the pup had the longest?"


    Z pointed to a red ball in the corner. "That one."


    She retrieved the ball and went to the kitchen, sorting through a drawer like she owned the place. Nobody bothered trying to stop her. She came back with a pen and paper and handed it to Cole. "Write down your cell number. They can call us if they hear anything, and I''m sure Dayne will be willing to do a spell to try to track him."


    "Not after I cut him off from theriantype.com, he won''t."


    "Wait," Z said, "You own theriantype.com? That''s hilarious. Nobody trusts werewolves, and they''re all doing business with one. And a demon." He gave Jane an appreciative once-over that made Fiona feel insecure times thirty.


    Jane and Cole both glared at Z as the wolf shoved the paper into his hands. "You call me if you hear anything," Cole said. Then the two disappeared out of the cave without another word.


    "The manners of some people," Z said, sinking back onto the couch. He crumbled up the piece of paper and tossed it in the corner.


    "You had no intention of looking for the pup, did you?"


    "Fiona, I''m tired. I want to go back to sleep. Do we have to do this now?"


    Her voice was cold when she replied. "That''s all I needed to know. Take me home right now."


    She was already packing up bags, putting her magic book back into the duffel beside the fireplace.


    "You know I can''t. It''s not safe out there. We don''t know who they are. They could come back. And anyway, it''s outside" He used sarcastic finger quotes, putting emphasis on the word to remind her of her phobia, as if it were some red button he could push to control her. And ordinarily, it might have been. But at the moment she was too pissed.


    "Yeah, I know how agoraphobia works. It''s just that I don''t care what happens to me right now because you lied to get me in bed. Maybe you''re the thing the birds warned about. If you are, the danger''s over so take me home."


    Z stood, his jaw clenched tight. "Oh my god. Virgins are such drama. I did not lie to you to..."


    Before he could finish the sentence, she slapped him. She''d moved so fast that for a moment he forgot she was human. The sharp snap of her fury echoed off the walls of the cave.


    "Don''t you ever make me feel like some lesser being just because I haven''t screwed everything breathing. You are not the measuring stick of normal so get over yourself. Take. Me. Home. You have no right to keep me prisoner here."


    "Fine. Fuck."

 Page 10

    Z had to get her out of his cave. If he didn''t, he''d try to mount her again. The flushed anger in her face was much sexier right now than he wanted to admit.


    He didn''t say another word as he helped her get her things together. He slung a few of the satchels over his shoulder and loaded Fiona down with the others. He helped her down the side of the rock, gave her his helmet, and took her back to her place.Advertisement


    This is why I don''t sleep with virgins. Of course it would end like this. Sex was too big of a deal to them. No matter what they said, they couldn''t just fuck and move on. It had to be a big deal. It had to be romance and relationships and confrontations.


    What was he supposed to do about the pup? How was he supposed to find him? Maybe he should have put some kind of tracker on the little guy, but that was water under the bridge now. Whatever he should have done had no bearing on what he had done or where they were now. All he wanted was to disentangle himself from all of it and get back to being a normal panther.


    He was relieved it was the family''s problem now, instead of his. Z could sleep without guilt, without having to be further involved in any of it. And that suited him just fine. Who was more motivated and better equipped to find the missing pup? Him with his unpracticed witch, or the parents, one of whom was a demon and knew a powerful sorcerer?


    And now that Fiona had gone nuclear, he didn''t have to worry about what he was going to do with her, either.


    He could get rid of that stupid cage and all the toys from the bachelor cave. He could sleep through the damned night. He could go out whenever he wanted and sleep with whomever he wanted and go back to who he''d been before this domestic interruption. Life was good again.


    But it was hard to convince himself of that when he could smell Fiona''s tears and feel the warmth from her body as she held onto him on the back of the motorcycle. His protective urges wouldn''t shut up around her. Didn''t she need him? No, that was stalking, he was pretty sure. Yeah, he''d kidnapped her, but that was a one-time event. Continuing to impose himself in her life was a whole other level of psycho he wasn''t prepared to embody.


    She''s drama. You''re better off without her.


    When they stopped in front of the cottage, everything looked secure. Stan had been by to fix the window like Z had requested. Fiona hopped off the back of the motorcycle like her ass was on fire and marched straight up to the house without looking back. Z followed with the rest of her bags.


    He put the bags down beside her front door and slunk back toward his ride. She could keep the helmet. He didn''t need it anyway, and the sooner he put space between them, the happier he''d be.


    Her voice stopped him cold. "You know, I might die alone because of my fears, but so will you. Think about that when you''ve run through the available female population."


    Ouch. Some nasty part of him wanted to call her a bitch, but she wasn''t a bitch. She was right. They would both end up alone. But that didn''t mean he was good for her.


    "Fiona..."


    "What?" Her voice was guarded, as if she expected him to say something vicious, and maybe that had been the plan before he''d seen that stark look in her eyes. Now he couldn''t remember what he''d been about to say.


    The anger drained out of him. "You deserve somebody better than me. There''s nothing wrong with you. You''re amazing. I''m just... not that guy. I don''t know how to be that guy. I still don''t feel good about leaving you alone here..."


    You''re stalling.


    "They got what they came for. They aren''t coming back. Just go. Leave me alone so I can start forgetting I met you."


    Z nodded. "Okay."


    When he got back to the cave, he couldn''t help noticing how quiet it was. How had he lived in so much quiet before?


    The place still smelled like her. He''d been tired, but now sleep was the last thing he wanted. A scrap of purple fabric peeked out from under the bed. She''d left one of her T-shirts. For a moment, he had the idea to go back to her cottage on the pretext of returning the shirt, but he couldn''t bring himself to. He wadded it up and threw it in the garbage can under the kitchen sink.


    He opened the cabinet and stared. Several coffee mugs lined in a perfect row from largest to smallest stared back at him. Z took the cups out one by one and hurled them across the cave to smash against the mantle of the fireplace. The crash and shattering of ceramic was cathartic until it was over. Then it was just a mess.


    He swept up the pieces, along with the crumpled piece of paper with the werewolf''s cell phone number and threw it all in the trash. Speaking of cell phones... he wondered if Fiona still had his phone. Maybe he could call her tomorrow, just to make sure she was okay.


    He shook his head. No. She''d been very clear. He''d already made a big enough mess. He could at least respect this one request.


    The mood in the hive was somber, like a funeral. And in a way it was. They all knew the odds of finding the pup alive were small. Thinking otherwise was kidding themselves. Therians born in their fur were stronger than those born the normal way. That was a lot of magic, and there were a lot of people who would want their hands on that magic.


    Cole had locked himself away in the private den. Jane needed him if they were going to find their pup, because no matter the odds, there was still a chance - if he could pull it together. She had to believe that or she''d fall apart.


    "He just needs some time," she said as Mara approached. It was her new reasonable-reassuring-Jane face.


    "We almost lost him last time to the bottle. You have to talk to him, reason with him," Mara said.


    "He wanted that pup, and now we can''t have another one. We haven''t talked about it in detail, but I know Cain won''t let us have a kid - not with me being what I am now. It would make another pure blood vampire. He won''t have that. Cole won''t take that kind of micromanaging in our affairs well. Either way, even if we could have a baby, it wouldn''t be a pup. It wouldn''t shift and be like Cole. He''s lost that forever."


    The wolf put a hand on Jane''s arm. "Hey. Look at me. You talk like the pup''s dead. We don''t know that. He could still be out there."


    Jane shook her head. "I can''t get in touch with Charlee, and I know Cole would be furious if I approached Dayne alone. Cain may have a connection, but I doubt it. Demons avoid magic users. They''re our only true weakness in this world."


    Blake walked up and handed her a slip of paper.


    "What''s this?"


    "It''s the new code to Cole''s private den."


    The beta kept a copy in case of emergency.


    "I can''t use this. He wants to be alone."


    Blake growled. "He''s being a dumb ass, and you''re losing time. He needs to pull himself together and go after his pup. And he needs you. Go to him."


    "Thanks. You''re a good beta."


    "Yeah, well, I don''t want to have to play substitute alpha again."


    But they both knew that wasn''t what motivated him.


    Jane moved quickly through the tunnel that connected the main den to her and Cole''s den and punched in the security code. She hadn''t been inside since she''d been human and pregnant with the pup.


    "Cole?" she said, when the metal door whooshed open. She was thankful he''d gotten rid of all the paintings of her bleeding to death.


    A quiet whimper came from their bedroom. She wasn''t surprised to find him in wolf form curled up on their bed, his nose between his paws. He just wanted to recede into the animal part of himself and not hurt so much.


    Jane took her clothes off and shifted into the wolf form she''d assumed earlier in the demon dimension, back when Cole had been so excited and happy. It had only been a few hours ago. And now they were back to this. She curled up with him, unsure how long she could hold this form, but she''d hold it as long as she could to comfort him.


    They stayed like that for what felt like forever until Cole growled and abruptly shifted.


    Jane shifted back as well, tired and hungry from all the energy she''d used to show solidarity. "What is it?"


    "I''ve got an idea."


    Fiona sat in the living room with a half gallon of Chunky Monkey ice cream. She was going to be a chunky monkey if she couldn''t put down the carton. The sun had just set, and she was watching a tearjerker on her computer and bawling her eyes out.


    There was a knock on the front door. She looked down at her fuzzy pink bathrobe with spaghetti sauce stains. Her hair was a mess, and no doubt her face was all splotchy from crying.


    "Just a minute!" she called out, sure it was Z. A part of her wanted to yell for him to leave, but the movie had made her all mushy inside. She''d kick herself if she let him get away again. Not that he was coming to swoop her off to some happily ever after. At best he just wanted to have sex again. How lame was she if she said yes?


    Fiona scrambled to the kitchen to put the ice cream back in the freezer and raced to her room. She tore through three drawers of clothing before she found a pair of jeans that made her ass look great, a push-up bra, and just the right top. She ran a comb through her hair, thankful it was just messy and not dirty. She swiped a lip gloss wand across her lips, put powder on her forehead and nose, and some concealer under her eyes to cover the signs of crying, then she headed for the door.


    She would have spritzed perfume on, but that would have been too much. She didn''t want to look like she was trying too hard. Or at all. She just wanted to look natural, like she didn''t need him. She opened the door, afraid he might have given up or changed his mind and gone home.


    On the other side of the door stood three men. Two she recognized as the sorcerers who had taken the pup. They wore black suits and looked like government agents. The other man was dressed like a priest. She shoved the door with everything she had, but they were too strong.


    The sorcerers dragged her outside, kicking and screaming. She bit one of them in the arm and got smacked in the face for her trouble. How far away was Z? Was he out with a woman, or would he be in the woods or in his cave?


    "Z!" she shouted. Would he come for her if she were in trouble? Once he''d washed his hands of the pup, he hadn''t been concerned with the wolf''s welfare. Why would it be any different with her?


    The other sorcerer put a hand over her mouth to stifle her screams. "Don''t think about biting me," he snarled.


    The priest guy stepped forward then; his eyes glowed red and fangs peeked from between his lips. Fiona closed her eyes and resumed struggling.


    "My name is Father Hadrian. We don''t want to hurt you, we just need some leverage to broker a trade." His voice was hypnotic, and she wondered if he could control her mind with her eyes shut. Why, oh why hadn''t she learned to use her magic?


    A beat of silence and then he spoke again. "You think we can''t make you open your eyes? You have no chance here. If you fight us, you''ll end up getting hurt. If you scream, you''ll end up getting hurt. I won''t use thrall if you''ll behave. Will you behave?"


    Tears slipped down her cheeks, but she nodded and stopped fighting. The sorcerer took his hand from her mouth.


    What else was she going to do? Three against one were terrible odds, especially when it was three males to one female: two strong sorcerers and a vampire against a novice witch. It was like taking a nuclear warhead to a minor playground spat between schoolchildren.


    Fiona looked up, determined to avoid the vampire''s gaze. It didn''t matter because he''d turned and disappeared through a thick patch of trees. The sorcerers dragged her through the woods.


    "Where are you taking me?"


    "Don''t speak," one of them said. "You know, we should kill you right now. Your stupid panther killed two of ours, but the boss says we have to keep you breathing."


    Their grips were unnecessarily tight, but she didn''t say anything else. She tried not to hyperventilate as they moved farther from the cottage. The fear over being outside and far from safety warred with the real fear - the legitimate fear. This was what the birds had warned about, and the catalyst had been helping the wolf that first day. She should have ignored the pup.


    To hold onto the last threads of her sanity a bit longer, Fiona mentally rewound everything until she was back to that day. She counted the steps to the mailbox, pulled out her electric bill, and then counted the steps back. She heard the pup cry, and she ignored him and went back inside. Everything would be better if she''d taken that path instead.


    The panther had been on his way. He could smell and track the pup. Her involvement hadn''t been needed or helpful. It had only made things worse. She tried not to think about how intense Z had been about protecting the pup from her, how intense he''d been about protecting her in the clearing. If he didn''t care, he wouldn''t have done those things. He would have left the pup and left her. She''d been the one who''d started the fight and insisted on going home.


    She''d been afraid that since Z didn''t need her for anything anymore, he''d toss her out. So she''d beaten him to the punch.


    "Speed up," one of them said. She''d been dragging her feet. Well, of course she was dragging her feet. She was being kidnapped. This wasn''t a field trip to Disneyworld.


    Birds flew from tree to tree overhead. I told you so. I told you so. I told you so. Their tones were self-righteous and shrill.


    She couldn''t take their taunting anymore. "Shut UP!" she screamed up at the sky.


    The sorcerers stopped. They''d been carrying on their own conversation which she''d been trying to ignore, because it wasn''t about her or where they were going or anything she could use to help her escape. They were too smart for that.


    "What did you just say to us?"


    Fiona froze. "I wasn''t talking to you. I was talking to the birds. They were mocking me." It sounded insane, like she''d lost touch with reality. The forest did feel unreal.


    The men exchanged a look like they were trying to determine if she was telling the truth or just crazy. "Your gift better not be an act," one of them said.


    "It''s not an act." It was the only thing Fiona had that counted as a magical talent.


    The forest emptied into a gravel parking lot, empty except for a black sedan. Three guesses who that vehicle belonged to.


    One of them let go of her arm to unlock the car. "Get in." The door stood open, like the jaws of a monster waiting to consume her.


    If they were normal men, she might have tried to break free and run or scream, hoping for a passerby. But though they had no guns on them, they were armed. Every magic user past a certain point in their training was perpetually armed with fireballs, energy balls, or whatever else they could conjure on the fly. Stomping on somebody''s foot and running wasn''t an option.


    She tried to stall, instead. "What about Father Hadrian?"


    "He went to talk to your bodyguard. You should have stayed with the panther. We were surprised to find your magic trail led back to the cottage. Did you two have a lovers'' quarrel?"


    Fiona blushed but didn''t answer. The more important part of that equation was magic trail. She had a magic trail? She''d thought it was only if she did magic. It was one of the reasons she''d been scared to try to learn anything, afraid someone would catch her magical signature and bring harm to her.


    What a joke. Most of her spells blew up in her face, but she''d left a trail just by going about her day.


    Wherever they were going, they didn''t care about her knowing the location, because they didn''t bother to blindfold her. Maybe they didn''t plan on her surviving. Fiona tried not to think about that and stared out the dark-tinted windows to distract herself. She had vague memories of the town from before her gift had started to show, before the birds had warned her.


    The town hadn''t changed at all. It was as if the place were frozen in time, but she was sure places changed. Each year new television shows displayed the changing fads and fashions. But not Golatha Falls.


    Fiona did a double take when they went through the historic district. One of the old antebellum houses had burned to the ground. Charred remains of the foundation was all that was left of the place. She tried to remember what the house had looked like. It had been large with columns in the front. When she''d been in school, she remembered going past the place, trying not to look at the windows for fear someone might be looking back out at her. That was one of the times the place had been for sale. It was always for sale. Everybody knew it was haunted.


    They were getting closer to the interstate. Fiona''s knuckles turned white as she gripped the edge of the seat. Her breath came too fast and she couldn''t slow it down. She wasn''t getting air. Her chest was tight, and then she was crying, which didn''t help the breathing situation at all.


    "Hey!"


    One of the sorcerers had a glowing red ball in his hand. "I will set you on fire if you don''t shut the fuck up." He tossed an empty fast food bag into the back seat at her. "Breathe into that."


    She closed her eyes and breathed into the bag until everything returned to normal, except for her pounding heartbeat. Maybe she should have let the vampire thrall her, then she wouldn''t be so scared.


    A couple of streets before the on-ramp, the sedan turned left. The road started out nice with the occasional peach tree, though the fruit was long gone since it was November. The air was starting to get that brisk bite to it. It didn''t get very cold in Golatha Falls, even out in the woods where there wasn''t much sun peeking through the trees.


    The road went from paved to gravel, and then from gravel to dirt. They''re taking you to the middle of nowhere to kill you. But that didn''t make sense.


    The trees gave way to open, flat land where the dark, clear sky rolled on forever like it might swallow her up into a sea of twinkling and never ending stars. Fiona gasped at the sight. It had been years since she''d seen this much sky in one place before. She''d only seen the tiny bits through the trees. There was the day in the clearing with the pup, but the space hadn''t been this big.


    This wasn''t safe. It was too open. Fiona wasn''t sure why her brain still glitched on this, but in her head, small, dark spaces were safe and hidden. This was open, and though beautiful, terrifying. Her mind had trouble with the idea that the magical thugs who had taken her were a greater danger than being out of her comfort zone in the cottage or the cave.


    When the sedan rolled to a stop, she noticed the plane. There was no way she was getting on that thing. Before the sorcerers could get out, Fiona opened her door and bolted for the cover of the trees. She was almost there when a wall of fire stopped her. She turned to find the fire circling around her, trapping her in the middle.


    The two men jogged up to the outside of the fire ring.


    "You shouldn''t waste your energy." One said to the other.


    "She''s driving me batshit. I''m putting her to sleep."


    "But the boss may want to talk to her."


    "Then he can wake her up."


    The other sorcerer shrugged, and they both began to chant. Fiona wasn''t sure if they''d put the fire out, but she felt cooler as she tumbled into blackness.

 Page 11

    Z parked his motorcycle across the street from the Java Junkie. Cherry worked all the damned time. If only he could learn her schedule, he might still be able to get his coffee during her off times. But not today he wouldn''t. Her car was right out front.


    He grumbled, his eyes changing briefly. He''d have to settle for the diner on State Street. Their coffee was too acidic.Advertisement


    "What can I get for ya?" the bottle blonde asked when he stepped in the diner. She popped her gum and smelled of cigarettes. She had to be pushing hard against fifty.


    "Just a tuna melt and some coffee."


    She raised a brow and cocked her head to the side like a curious poodle. "Tuna melt? You''re a brave one."


    Z had a stomach like iron. You could pour poison straight down his throat, and his stomach would take care of it, no problem. He hadn''t tested the theory, but he''d never had a bout of food poisoning in his life, and he''d eaten in worse dives than this.


    He slipped into a corner booth and pulled out his cell phone to dial the number he''d been trying not to dial since he''d left Fiona at her cottage. He had no idea what he''d say to her. ''Hey, sorry I''m such a schmuck, but how are you?'' It rang six or eight times, but no one picked up. She''s okay. She just doesn''t want to talk to you. Leave her alone.


    He wasn''t sure what he''d do if she answered the phone. How was that conversation going to go? He was still the same guy he''d been when he''d told her he couldn''t give her anything. Nothing monumental had happened to change that in the past several hours.


    Z stared out the window until a familiar figure passed into his line of sight. He tensed when he saw the priest''s collar. It was the vampire who liked to absolve people.


    The priest''s gaze locked with Z''s as the moon rose in the sky. If it had been the sun, with the way the vamp was standing in the middle of the street staring at him, he''d think he was being challenged to a duel.


    After a minute or two of intimidation, the priest began moving toward the diner. The bell over the door dinged, and ominous footsteps plodded to the back corner, stopping at his booth. Z tried to look bored, but he knew the vampire could hear the blood pumping faster than it should as his heart pounded out a staccato beat. At least therian minds couldn''t be controlled by vampires.


    "Panther," the priest said.


    "Vampire," Z mocked.


    The vamp glanced around, but there was nobody else in the diner save for the cook and the waitress, and they were busy with Z''s ever-so-complicated order of tuna and cheese on toasted bread.


    Without an invitation, the vampire slid into the seat across from him. "I don''t normally like to have my back to the door, but I''m sure you''ll watch out for me."


    The waitress appeared with burnt coffee and a tuna melt that looked like it might be able to get up and walk off the plate on its own, but Z didn''t care. How this place had stayed in business even before the Java Junkie was anybody''s guess.


    "Can I get you something, Father?" the waitress asked. She''d gotten rid of her gum, or at least had the courtesy not to smack it at him.


    The priest''s smile was mild, but the disgust was clear in his eyes as he looked from the tuna melt to the waitress.


    "I''m afraid not," he said. She nodded and stuck her pencil behind her ear, then went back to wipe down the counters. The vampire turned his attention to Z. "Where''s your witch?"


    Z had only taken a couple of bites of the sandwich, but now he wasn''t hungry, and it wasn''t the less-than-appetizing food. "My what?" Maybe he hadn''t heard him right. Maybe he was just preoccupied with Fiona, and the moping was causing him to hear things.


    "Don''t play stupid. We know you have a witch in your care. Or she was in your care. Now she''s in our care."


    Z lunged across the table, grabbing the vampire by the collar. The waitress came rushing out at the commotion with a burly, tattooed cook in tow.


    "Is there a problem here? You should leave the priest alone," the cook said. He was simple-minded enough to assume religious clergy were all spotless lambs, so the priest couldn''t have instigated this scene.


    "You should listen to him," the vampire said, forcing a thin smile to his lips.


    Z turned on the cook and bared his fangs, letting them see his sharp teeth and inhuman eyes. A low growl rumbled from his throat. "Go back to the fucking kitchen and learn how to make a proper tuna melt. This isn''t your concern."


    The waitress had scurried to the back the moment Z''s face had shifted. The cook backed up slowly, not wanting to look weak, but not wanting to take the panther on, either. In the end, he followed the path she''d taken.


    When they were alone, Z turned back to the vampire. "You think you can take me in panther form? Are you that confident?"


    "You wouldn''t dare."


    "Try me. You''ll have to thrall those two anyway, may as well make it a good show. You don''t feel very old to me. Not more than a few decades. I can probably take you, and I haven''t even hunted today." He''d been too busy moping.


    The vampire growled and pried Z''s hands from his clerics. "We have your witch. By now she''s arrived at my employer''s compound. We have the pup as well. If you want to see her alive again, you will tell the wolf to come to us at this address."


    Z backed off as the vampire slammed a piece of paper on the table with an address in Washington state. Fiona would be terrified being that far from home.


    "How do you know about the wolf?" Z knew the vamp was referring to daddy wolf.


    "He left a scent trail, but it disappears into nothing. We suspect he''s got some way to travel through dimensions. We just don''t know how that''s possible or where the portals are. If he was looking for his pup, he would have left a way to contact him in case you learned anything. Wouldn''t that be the normal thing to do in this situation?"


    Z got out of the booth and prowled around the diner, fighting not to change and rip the vampire apart. "Why did you bring her into it? She has nothing to do with whatever you want the pup for."


    "You have an in with the wolf. I think the witch motivates you more than the pup. They told me what you did in the clearing. You killed two of ours for her, and you would have killed more. You chose her over the pup, so she has something to do with this now. Tell Cole to be at that address by 8pm tomorrow night and we''ll release her."


    Z was taken aback that he knew the werewolf''s name. This wasn''t some random kidnapping of a therian born in his fur. They''d known who the pup belonged to from the start. The vampire slid gracefully out of the booth. To his credit, he didn''t flinch or show any fear of the panther as he made his way back to the kitchen to take care of the security leak.


    Z threw money down on the counter and headed for his motorcycle.


    When he got to the cave, he went straight for the kitchen and dumped the contents of the garbage can out on the floor. He cursed when he cut his hand on some glass, trying to sort through the trash to find the crumpled piece of paper with Cole''s number on it.


    Thank God he''d thrown it in the trash instead of the fire like he''d done with the priest''s number. But then, despite his bravado, he''d wanted to leave the door open to the werewolf in case he got a lead on the missing pup.


    Cole stared at his computer screen deep in thought when Jane came in and put a cup of coffee on the desk. He smiled sheepishly at her. "Thanks." He was trying to forget about behaving like some whipped pup in front of her.


    "You looked like you could use it. Have you found any leads yet?"


    "A couple. Mick is sending the information now."


    When he''d snapped out of his premature mourning, he''d realized that if somebody had taken the pup for a ritual, they still had a few days until the next full moon. Anyone who''d taken him to release and steal his power would wait until the time when it would give them the best results. Therians born in their fur were rare enough that you didn''t take their power half-assed on any night. There was still a chance this could end well.


    Whatever they needed it for, chances were good they''d tried to get werewolf blood through other means first. That was when the idea had come to check the theriantype.com order databases. He''d been emailing with Mick to determine who''d tried to order werewolf blood from their company. If Mick had turned somebody away, they might have started a hunt for someone with strong blood who was vulnerable. Which was where the pup came in.


    That left a huge mystery as to how they''d stumbled upon the pup to begin with, but the only thing that mattered right now was finding him and getting him back to the hive and his pack safe and sound.


    Cole swiveled in his chair as the fax machine spit out several pieces of paper.


    "I still think we should contact Dayne. He could do a spell and help us pinpoint the location." Jane sounded defensive, like she thought he was going to argue with her. He wasn''t going to argue with her.


    He was finished being stupid and stubborn. Whatever they had to do to get the pup back, they''d do.


    "No, you''re right. It was a good idea. We need to know which of these suspects could have the pup, and we don''t have time to follow every lead, not before the full moon comes." Cole''s money was on suspect one, though. The first suspect wasn''t a magic user, but a werewolf pack alpha from Alabama.


    Close proximity to Georgia. Check. And, being a werewolf, one could see how the pup''s power would benefit him. The other suspect was a male magic user who claimed to be a wizard, but had tripped something during the psychological screening. He''d been flagged, but it wasn''t obvious why he''d need a wolf pup. Plus he was in Maine.


    "Will you get me my cell? It''s in my pants in the bedroom where I shifted."


    Jane nodded and slipped out of the room to retrieve the phone while Cole looked at the information and photos they''d gathered on the two suspects. He swiveled back to the computer and typed another email to his tech support guy:


    Mick, I know I asked you to go back just one month, but that might not be enough. Could you check the past year to be safe and forward me the files of anyone we turned away? I want to see everybody.


    Thx.


    Jane handed him the phone. "You missed a call."


    "Hmmm. I must have had it on vibrate. I''ll call back later."


    "I think you should call now. It might be that panther or the witch."


    Cole was anxious to get on the phone with Dayne. He''d have to reinstate his ordering privileges with the site, and even then he wasn''t sure the sorcerer would help him, which was why he wanted to get that phone call over with so he could know if he was getting his hopes up for nothing. But the look in Jane''s eyes had him dialing the missed call first.


    "Cole?" The panther said in answer.


    Even as long as caller ID had been around, it still spooked him when somebody called him by name when they answered their phone.


    The werewolf tensed. "Yes? Do you know where my pup is?"


    "I do. A vampire hand-delivered me a location. It''s in Washington State."


    "Tell me." Cole growled. He knew who had his pup, but all he cared about was getting the information.


    "They''ve got Fiona. I''m going. You come get me, and we''ll go together."


    "Fine." He stabbed the button angrily to end the call, arguing with the panther would only waste time, and if he wanted to lend some extra muscle, so much the better.


    "Well?" Jane looked anxious.


    "We were wrong. There''s no ritual."


    "What do you mean?"


    "It''s Anthony. He''ll want a trade. The location of the hive for the pup."


    Fiona heard a snapping sound. She opened her eyes to find a hand near her face trying to get her attention.


    "Ah. There she is. I''m so glad you could join us, hours after you were bespelled. Are you sure this woman''s a witch?"


    "Yes, sir. She''s a witch, just not a very good one."


    Fiona would be angry if it weren''t for the mind-numbing terror. Her vision blurred as she opened her eyes. Everything looked strange and warped, like she''d been drugged. She took a deep breath and things began to clear. She scooted away from the hand that had been snapping at her.


    "Drink this."


    A glass of clear liquid was shoved in her face.


    "W-what is it?" As if she had a choice in the matter.


    "Water."


    She struggled to a seated position and took a tentative sip. When nothing tasted off, she drank the rest down quickly. She hadn''t realized she''d been so thirsty.


    "It''s an aftereffect of the spell."


    Vampire. He knows what I''m thinking.


    "I do. So it''s going to be pointless for you to lie to me when I ask you questions."


    Fiona glanced around the room. It was warm and masculine, like somebody''s home. Z could have lived there if not for the cave. It had that bachelor-pad feel to it.


    "This is my penthouse. I don''t live here anymore, but I still keep it just in case. The pup is playing on the roof by the pool."


    "The pup''s here? Y-you haven''t hurt him?"


    The man stood in front of her, menacing in all black. His long blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, making him look like a hit man. At least he wasn''t wearing black leather gloves.


    "Of course I haven''t hurt him. I need him for information. That''s all. Tell me, dear, when Cole came for his pup, did he tell you anything about where he lived?"


    "N-no, he just wanted the pup. Why would he tell me anything about..."


    "Stop talking. I don''t care what your mouth says. I care what your thoughts say."


    Fiona froze while he stared hard at her, poking around in her head, searching through her thoughts. She tried not to think anything lame or weak.


    After several minutes, an exasperated look crossed his face. "I didn''t expect anything. Oh well. Cole will be here soon enough, but let''s make sure, shall we?"


    He produced a phone from his jacket pocket. It was the prepaid phone Z had left with her when he''d gone searching for the pup''s family.


    "Call him."


    Fiona''s brow creased in confusion. "Call who?"


    "Your boyfriend. Make sure he''s sending Cole. Use your sad little tears on him. I''m sure that will sway the therian."


    As if on cue, tears began to track down her face. "He won''t come. He doesn''t care for me. I was never anything more than a conquest."


    The vampire''s eyes narrowed. "I don''t think so. You smell like him. He marked you."


    Fiona blushed. Was there a sign over her head? Perhaps someone had given her a tramp stamp while she''d been out cold. Z hadn''t bitten her or left any other kind of mark. He''d slept with her, yes, but that didn''t make her his.


    "Cats rub against things to mark them. You smell like him in a way that is deliberate. It''s not just sex. He cares. And I''m betting he''s the last number that called you while you were unconscious."


    Her hands shook as she took the phone from the vampire and checked the missed calls. Z''s number was there. And the vampire was right, it wasn''t long ago. A couple of hours at the most, depending on how long she''d been out.


    "It doesn''t mean... "


    "Call him. And when you ask him to send the wolf tomorrow night, make sure it sounds like your life depends on it. Because it does. I have no other use for you. I''d just as soon drain you for dinner and be done with it. You''re a bargaining chip. Once that value disappears, I get hungrier."


    "How will Cole know how to get here?"


    "The panther already has the address. A member of the coven delivered it."


    She wished the vampire would give her some space and stop hovering. Despite what he''d said, she wasn''t sure Z would help. All he has to do is call Cole and relay a message. Even if he doesn''t want to see you again, he''ll do at least that much. It won''t interrupt his bachelor lifestyle.


    Z answered on the second ring. "Fiona?!"


    Okay. Maybe he cared.


    "Z! Are-are you sending Cole? I mean I know that we aren''t a thing or anything, but please just call him... they''ll kill me if he doesn''t show up." She winced at the way her voice sounded, the horrible pleading in it. There was a long pause. "Z?"


    "Are you kidding me? Of course I called Cole. I''ll be there, too. I don''t know who you think I am, but if you think I''m just leaving you to be negotiated over by a bunch of monsters, you''ve lost your motherfucking mind."


    Fiona''s gaze shifted to the vampire, wondering if he''d be upset about extra members in the rescue party.


    The vampire raised an eyebrow. "I don''t care who all is coming. I''ve got an army of my own. Should be fun. I look forward to the smackdown."


    "Fiona?"


    She turned her attention back to the phone, still processing the fact that he was coming for her. Directly. No intermediaries. "Yes?"


    "Is he there in the room with you?"


    She nodded, then remembering Z couldn''t see her, she said, "Yes."


    "Give him the phone."


    She passed the phone to the vampire. "He w-wants to speak to you."


    "I''m sure he does."


    The vampire took the phone, and then there was a lot of yelling. Fiona couldn''t make out what Z was saying, but he was angry.


    Without the slightest irritation, the vampire said, "It will be lovely to meet you tomorrow night. Ciao." He chuckled as he closed the flip phone. "That boyfriend of yours has a temper. He told me if I touched a single hair on your head that he''d let me find out what my intestines looked like before I died, then he''d make a noose out of them and hang me while he drove a stake through my heart. Such vivid imagery. It makes me wish he was one of mine."


    "He said that?" She wasn''t quite sure if the vampire was messing with her, though it did sound like something Z might say.


    "Nothing like a kidnapping to bring young lovers together. Just think, without this melodrama, you two might have remained stubborn for years until you forgot about one another. You can thank me later."


    "Who will I send the card to?" Fiona asked, uncharacteristic bravery creeping through.


    "Anthony Burgess."


    "The Clockwork Orange guy?"


    Anthony rolled his eyes. "No. Not The Clockwork Orange guy. I swear. Do you have any idea how old I am? More than one person on the planet can have the same name! If I''d known that man would become famous for that book, I would have hunted him down and killed him before he''d written the first page."


    Fiona shrank back. "Sorry," she mumbled. This was obviously a sore spot.


    Anthony composed himself like someone had flipped a switch, then patted her on the knee and started toward to door. "No harm done. Someone will bring you dinner in a while. I expect you to watch the pup for me until the big showdown."


    So what else was new? Kidnapped to be a babysitter. Again.

 Page 12

    Z was running on almost no sleep. From the moment the priest had told him they had Fiona, rest had been the last thing on his mind. He shouldn''t have taken her back home. Let her whine and cry. He should have listened to his instincts and kept her in the cave.


    But he''d been afraid it was less about her own safety and more about him. And that was a rabbit hole he didn''t want to fall down. Being attached was bad. He was just starting to get his life back. He''d been so busy trying to get back to his status quo, he hadn''t stopped to think about how empty that life had been.Advertisement


    Fiona was sweet and pretty, and he wanted to take care of her. Maybe months with the pup had domesticated him after all. Maybe it was only an illusion that he was still the hard drinking, man-whore panther he''d been before he''d stumbled upon the wolf.


    Z couldn''t help blaming himself for the mess everything was in. Fiona''s life was in danger because he''d taken the pup, though he wouldn''t have met her without the pup, either.


    He expected to be on his way to Washington state by now, but he was tramping through desert in the middle of the night. Perfect weather, though. It was a demon dimension. His skin felt itchy with the entire Cary Town werewolf pack trudging along behind him. They each had bags and gear, but Z hadn''t asked any questions. Being brought along for the trip was enough.


    Ahead of him were two demons, Jane - who he''d met before - and a male named Cain. The panther wasn''t up on the politics of the various preternatural factions, but if he had to guess, Cain ran this dimension. He moved through the place with the certainty of someone who knew everyone would cater to his whims or else.


    "This is far enough from my people to not cause a disturbance. You can make camp here," Cain said.


    "Thank you," Cole said, "We appreciate it."


    The demon looked incredulous. "I''m sorry, were you dismissing me with that? This is my dimension, and if you all think you''re living here until the danger is over, I''m going with you. I want you all back in the hive within the next forty-eight hours."


    "W-we might have to tell Anthony the hive''s location to get our pup back," Jane said. Unlike Cole, she was trying to appease the demon.


    "No. You will not. My dimension is for my demons only. This is a safety precaution. We will be fighting. The day I bend to a vampire is the day time stops. Fucking half-breeds." The demon leader turned to Z. "Are you fighting with us?"


    "Oh, hell yes," Z said. He wanted to make good on his threat to Anthony. He hoped the vampire wouldn''t cooperate so he could.


    The demon nodded. "So myself, Jane, Cole - I''m sorry, I didn''t catch your name."


    "Just call me Z," Z said.


    Cain ticked off numbers on his fingers as he said the names, "and... Just call me Z." He turned to the pack alpha. "Pick your five best fighters, and I''ll pick my five best."


    Cole seemed irritated about being given orders, but he let it go. It was Cain''s dimension. Z figured it was a my dimension, my rules deal. If there had been any doubt over who the leader was here, there wasn''t any more: Cain.


    The demon disappeared down the path he''d led them down, Jane following behind him. The pack started unpacking their things and setting up their tents. Some of the younger pups cried while their mothers reassured them everything here was safe.


    Cole looked out at the pack. "I don''t know who is coming back from this, so I''m not going to force anybody. A lot of you have families, and I''m not asking you to stick your neck out for me and my pup. So I''ll take five volunteers."


    The unpacking stopped and silence fell, then murmurs and whispers. One of the wolves stepped forward. "Well, I''m the beta, and I''m single, so I''m going."


    "Thanks, Blake"


    A couple of females stepped out of the line.


    "Mara, Shelly, I''m not sure about..." Cole started.


    Mara spoke up. "I know. It''s just... neither of us has pups or a mate yet, so it makes sense. If you end up with more than five, we''ll fall back if not needed."


    Cole nodded. But it was doubtful there would be a large number of volunteers. They seemed to have read suicide mission from between the lines.


    A young male that looked like alpha material stepped out of the ranks. "I''ll go."


    "No!" A female. Possibly his girl, but there was no mating mark on her.


    "Lucy, stop it. I have to go. I''ll come home."


    "You don''t know that."


    He took her away from the group, and Z watched the two of them argue, too far away to make out their words. The male came back and joined the volunteers.


    "I need one more," Cole said.


    "I''m going." It was Lucy.


    "You''re staying," her boyfriend said.


    "Oh, you''re my father now? If you''re going, I''m going. You''ve talked about breaking off and starting your own pack. If you''re going to be an alpha, I have to be a leader, too."


    "Lucy!" The male looked to Cole, scared. Shit, this pack was terrified of him.


    "It''s all right," Cole said, "I''ve known he was an alpha for a long time. His options eventually will be to fight me or break off and form his own pack, and I''d just as soon not kill him."


    Jane''s loyalties were split. Cain was her demon leader and Cole was her mate. How was she going to be a demon and the alpha female of the wolf pack? Those two things were hard to prioritize. It shouldn''t be difficult with Cole being her mate, but Cain had that charismatic leader magnetism, and crossing him would be a mistake. The peace between her mate and the demon leader was tenuous at best. She had to be the bridge that kept everybody safe.


    She hoped Cole didn''t think she was picking a side against him. It just made sense to go with Cain for the demon selection. Her mate could handle the wolves.


    Cain didn''t speak as the empty desert slowly became a town. She loved it here and wished the pack could move here, but she knew Cain wasn''t going to start sheltering everybody, even if it was the mate and pack of one of his demons.


    Her thoughts turned to Anthony. She didn''t want to believe he could be behind this. So much had changed. During the tournament for vampire king, she hadn''t believed Anthony was all that bad - not as evil as Linus. She''d breathed a sigh of relief when he''d won, thinking he was the safer option.


    He''d won more cool points when he''d allowed her to kill Paul, the vampire who''d abused her and kept her prisoner until Cole had rescued her. He''d said Paul was dying because of treason, but she''d always believed it was partly for her. She was friends with his mate after all.


    Now that the vampire king had her child, it was hard to see how anything he did was for anyone but himself. She wiped an angry tear away - part anger at the vampire, part over her own gullibility and faith in him.


    "Do not start crying," Cain said. "I need you strong for this. That bastard has your pup. Be angry, but do not cry. Do you understand me?"


    "Yes." She wasn''t about to challenge him. This wasn''t his problem. He''d be justified in sitting this one out. "Thank you for helping us."


    "Oh, believe me, it''s entirely selfish. I don''t want your ragtag band of wolves occupying my dimension forever."


    He was never going to admit he cared and was invested in what happened to her. He took a strong interest in the safety and happiness of his demons, but going this far above and beyond was unheard of.


    "What does my mate have on you?" she asked, finally.


    The demon turned sharp eyes on her. "Excuse me?"


    She took an involuntary step back. "Well, I mean... he said he helped you once, and sometimes there''s tension between you two, so... what does he have on you? That''s the only motivation I can figure."


    "He has nothing on me."


    She knew it was a lie. But it wasn''t worth pushing the issue, so she let it drop.


    Cain poked his head in a tent. "Daria. I need you."


    "For what?"


    "Killing vampires."


    "Oh, goody!" She popped out of the tent looking like Xena Joins A Harem.


    Cain looked her up and down in that way men do. "Are you wearing that?"


    "Oh yes. I will distract with my cleavage, then kick asses."


    He chuckled. "Don''t get too excited. Our intelligence says there are magic users in the group. That could mean some danger."


    Daria shrugged. "So, we bring our own heat. Isn''t Luc''s girl a witch?"


    He growled.


    "What? She''s got all her memories. She could be useful. If she trapped Luc in that house for half a century then..."


    "I don''t have time to track them down. They could be anywhere," Cain said, obviously not keen on the plan.


    "Well, they could be, but they''re not. They''ve got a tent a few blocks over. They''ve been here the past three days."


    "Why didn''t I know about it?"


    "They were laying low."


    Cain growled. "Find two more strong fighters, older ones. I don''t want anybody under a thousand, and I''ll get my brother and his witch on board. And weapons. We need guns. Wooden bullets."


    "If we''re only going with older demons, we can throw fire at them." It was one of the few demon powers that didn''t manifest until much later. Cain had explained it all to Jane during her shapeshifting training.


    "Magic users. Remember?" he said. "Magic can block magic fire. Get guns."


    He turned without waiting for agreement from Daria and headed in the direction she''d pointed. He was a big bundle of irritated energy, and only an idiot would cross him right now.


    Jane followed to Luc''s tent. "A witch on our side is a good thing," she said, trying to calm him down.


    "A witch is never a good thing. Do not trust them, Jane. You''ll end up trapped in some stupid fucking curse. A house. A bottle. Some awful cave. Stay away from the magically inclined. So help me, if you start befriending magic users..."


    She thought Cain was taking the witch thing too far. If the witch was mated to another demon, she was on their side.


    "We do know a pretty strong sorcerer, Dayne Wickham. He might help..."


    "No! A sorcerer is worse."


    "It was just a suggestion."


    Cain ripped open the tent and Jane followed him inside. Luc looked up, startled, and the female looked scared. This was the witch the demon was so freaked out about?


    "Well, hello to you, brother. You know, we could have been in the middle of something," Luc said.


    "Nothing I haven''t seen," Cain shot back. "I need your help. And Anna''s."


    Luc''s hand tightened on the woman''s. "What do you need Anna for?"


    "She''s a witch."


    "I''m not," she protested.


    "Do you or do you not remember how to do magic?" Cain asked, losing patience.


    "Yes, but..."


    "Then you''re a witch. We need you."


    Jane put a hand on Cain''s arm. "Why don''t I take her outside and talk to her, and you can talk with Luc." The woman looked like she was about to step out of her skin, and Jane, though also a demon, could pull off the nonthreatening vibe much better than Cain. The demon leader wasn''t subtle.


    "Fine."


    Jane held out a hand, trying to look as encouraging as possible. Anna didn''t take her hand, but she went with her, taking as wide a path around Cain to get out of the tent as she could.


    When they were outside, Anna said, "I''m never going to feel safe around him. He says I''m one of you guys, but..."


    Jane reached out to touch the woman''s arm in a comforting gesture, ready to reassure her that Cain was just tense right now and probably meant her no harm, but her hand went right through the other woman. "What the..."


    Anna looked down to see Jane''s hand passing through. "Oh, yeah. This is one of the side effects of becoming mated to an incubus. Fun, fun."


    Jane looked horrified. "So, you''re a ghost forever? How do you and he..." she gestured wildly, trying not to say anything too crass. Sometimes it was a hard habit to break. Even after the way her life had changed, sometimes she was in pink-hair, punk-girl mode with all its attendant lack of tact.


    "Oh, yeah. No, we''re fine for that. I''m solid if he''s touching me. And I''ll be able to be solid on my own eventually. Over time, I''ll absorb a lot of his powers."


    "That is so fucked up."


    "Yeah, well. What can you do?"


    Jane took a deep breath and launched into her plea for help, telling Anna all about Anthony and how he had her pup. She ended with, "We''d be unstoppable if not for the fact that he has magic users." She couldn''t imagine what Luc had done to make that woman lock him in a house for half a century. That was pretty hardcore, even in Jane''s book. And she''d seen a lot of shit.


    Anna bit her lip. "Well, I''m out of practice. I mean, I remember my time as a witch, but I''m not sure how useful it would be. Tam is who we need."


    "Who''s Tam?"


    "Only the most badass super-witch I know. She''s in Golatha Falls. I bet, if you explained your situation to her, she''d help."


    Jane glanced toward the tent. Cain and Luc were in a heated argument. Should she mention Tam to him? She poked her head in.


    "What?!" they both shouted in unison.


    Okay, that would be a no. "Um, Anna''s on board. I''m just taking her back to the camp. Meet you there?"


    "Fine," Cain said. It was his new favorite word.


    Jane hoped the demon leader wouldn''t blow his top when she showed up with an extra witch, but they needed somebody strong, and this Tam chick seemed to fit the bill. He couldn''t be too mad about it, could he?


    Cain was sullen as he walked in uncomfortable silence next to Luc. At least his brother was helping. Cain had played the I took care of you for fifty years while you couldn''t feed yourself card. He wasn''t sure how much more mileage he was going to get out of it, but he''d use the card as long as it worked.


    Luc hadn''t wanted Anna involved, which he could understand, but this was war and they needed a witch. Anna was the closest thing they had.


    "If I''d flat out refused, would you have imprisoned me in the cave?" Luc asked.


    "What? No. Of course not. You''re my brother. Why would I ever ...?"


    "Oh, I don''t know. You killed me that one time."


    "That was eight thousand years ago when we were both human."


    "Whatever."


    Cain was never going to be able to make it up to him. That single betrayal had cursed him. He''d thought the curse was only for his human life, then it would be over, but the Hebrew god had more in store for him, making him the first incubus and giving him this world to rule over.


    Since then he''d been on a mission to prove he could be loyal to something or someone. Watching the god spit out all his rejects, turning them into demons, and leaving them without any means to understand their new state, Cain had taken it upon himself to protect them and make sure they had a good life. Inside his dimension, they''d created their own hedonistic paradise - their own sanctuary.


    As far as Cain was concerned, it was better than heaven, which was a point of pride for him. But the soured relationship that had started it all still wasn''t completely healed.


    "Lucien... Abel..."


    Luc rounded on him. "Don''t call me that. If you think reminding me of that time makes any of this better..."


    "It was so long ago, can''t we just move on?"


    "We could have moved on, until you fucked with Anna."


    "The curse was her fault!" Cain growled in frustration, then took a breath. "I know I have no right to ask for either of your help. I know none of this is your fight, but I care about my people. Jane is one of mine now. Her problems are our problems."


    "I said I''d help. I just don''t want you to think this means I''m finished being mad. Anna is terrified of you."


    Cain shrugged. "I don''t trust her. She''s a witch."


    "Was a witch."


    "Whatever. I still don''t trust her."


    They were getting close to the camp of werewolves now, and Luc stopped walking. "And how will that turn out for her?"


    "I''m not going to hurt her."


    "You do and we are done. I don''t care if you''re the leader or what power you have to lock me up. Are we clear?"


    "Crystal," Cain said.


    They started walking again, and as they got closer, his eyes narrowed at the new and unexpected addition.


    Tam smiled brightly at him. "Hi Cain, long time, no kicking your ass. I''ve missed it."


    The growl rumbled out from deep within his chest. It was the only warning he was giving her. So she''d thrown that one energy ball at him. Big deal. Anybody could be caught off guard once. He still wasn''t sure why he''d just left after that. He could have retaliated with fire, but he''d wanted out of that house.


    "What are you doing here?" he asked.


    "She can help us," Jane said. "She''s a strong witch. If we''re getting my pup back, we need a strong witch."


    Tam moved closer to Luc, lowering her voice. "I need to do a small spell with you."


    "No," Cain said.


    She shot him a dirty look. "I wasn''t talking to you."


    "What do you need?" Luc asked, ignoring his brother.


    "I want to make Anna solid temporarily. I need to be able to do what you do with her. If we''re going to be able to chant and shield you guys while you fight, I''ll need her solid."


    "How are you going to do that?" He sounded intrigued.


    Cain wanted to throttle him. This was why Luc got trapped in houses.


    "I''m going to borrow a tiny part of your essence so the bond thinks I''m you."


    "I forbid it," Cain said.


    "Okay," Luc said, "whatever you need."


    Tam shot Cain an annoyed look, and just for that, he sent her a naughty image of the two of them together: both naked in his tent, him taking her from behind, his hand wrapping around her throat in a darkly possessive manner. He was betting with her focus split so many different ways, she wasn''t shielding from demon mojo right now. He bet right.


    Her face flushed, and she grabbed onto Luc''s arm to steady herself. Cain felt how hot the suggestion made her, and in spite of himself, in spite of the illusory nature of the whole thing, for a moment, he did want her. Until she fought through the hypnosis and produced a glowing ball of purple energy.


    Cain sailed backward several yards and landed on his ass. If he hadn''t been so wrapped up in the fantasy himself, he would have remembered to go noncorporeal.


    "Don''t ever do that again," Tam said. There was another energy ball ready in her hand. He''d never met a witch who could regroup that fast. It shouldn''t be possible.


    He stood, glowering at her as he brushed himself off. That was it. He didn''t have time to break out the fire power now, but when this was over, he was killing her. This was the second time she''d dropped him like a baby demon.


    "Whoa," Jane said, impressed.


    Cain glared at her. It wasn''t just Jane or the pack or the panther who had seen it. It was Daria, and the two demons she''d brought on board: Jackson and Mace. Though Jackson had already seen this show the first time Tam had done it back at Luc and Anna''s house.


    Rather than look weak again, he said, "This is why we don''t associate with magic users. Is the threat real enough for you all now?"


    There was a mumble of assent from his people and a lot of eye contact avoidance.


    Cain gave Tam a look that promised death, but she smiled sweetly in reply. He moved the rescue party away from the rest of the pack. Those who weren''t going didn''t need to hear all of this. Cole stood to the side, looking like he was itching to lead. Tough. The demon had to regain control of things now that Tam had started throwing magic at him.


    "Go do your ritual with Luc. I''ll brief everyone else, and then Jane can fill you guys in on the way."


    He expected her to resist him, but the witch nodded and took Luc away from the group to do her magic. Cain shook his head, unable to believe his brother would trust another witch, or that he was mated to one. Cain was just glad it wasn''t him.


    The demon turned back to the assembled warriors. Daria had gotten plenty of guns with wooden bullets and was busy passing them out.


    "Okay, here''s the plan. All the demons are going in invisible. Nobody goes visible until I say. That includes you, Jane. We have no reason to think Anthony knows you''re alive. Only the witches and the therians will be visible. The witches are going to protect us from magic so we can ride through on brute force. We will not be telling Anthony the location of the hive. We will fight until we win."

 Page 13

    Cole led his group of wolves, and the witches through the portal, glad it was still a day until the full moon, making it possible for everyone to control the change. The wolves and panther were in human form and would stay in human form until Cole gave the signal. After all, there might be a talking part before the fighting part.


    The demons followed, all invisible, including Jane. She hadn''t loved the plan of being off the grid like this. She wanted to confront and tell Anthony off, but this plan was better.Advertisement


    The address on the slip of paper Z had given them was a big warehouse close to the border of Cary Town. Cole reached for the door, but an invisible hand grabbed his.


    "Jane?"


    "Yeah. Cain said I should stay with you in case you need me for something. I just wanted you to know I''m right here so I don''t freak you out."


    He chuckled. "Good plan."


    Inside the warehouse, there was a platform up on a second level on one end, with doors that looked like they led to offices. On the main level stood large several large crates.


    "Send the demons to check the inside perimeter. Make sure nobody is hiding and waiting to ambush us. If anybody is there, see if they can quietly take them out," Cole whispered.


    "Okay," Jane whispered back.


    A spotlight came on over the platform, a door opened, and out filed ten vampires, heavily armed, followed by Anthony, who was also armed. Then a couple of sorcerers.


    "Cole! Nice to see you. How are things?"


    "Shut up, Anthony."


    "Hmmm, should I consider that a treasonous offense?"


    "Let''s get one thing straight," Cole said. His voice was a low growl, but he knew with the acoustics that it was carrying just fine to the vampire king. "You do not own my wolves."


    "I own Cary Town. Are you not in Cary Town?"


    "Not often."


    "Ah yes. And that''s the problem. You see, therians aren''t allowed to leave Cary Town without permission from the border patrol, and yet, your wolves move in and out of the city. That''s a problem for me."


    Cole was startled by that bit of intel. He''d thought he''d been clear with the pack about not going into town. With Blake left in charge, things must have gotten lax. He wiped any evidence of surprise at the revelation off his face.


    "Boo-hoo," he said. He needed to stall for Jane and the others to get a chance to see what was what on the ground floor, though riling Anthony was always fun. "Maybe we''ll just move out of Cary Town altogether."


    "I''m afraid I can''t authorize that action. Besides, there''s only so far you can move. Do you think I''m stopping with Cary Town?"


    "Well, now I don''t." Though Cole had always suspected the power hungry vampire had dreams of world domination while others dreamed of sugarplum fairies.


    Anthony held something in his hand that looked like a detonator. Cole fought to remain in control and keep the rage inside. His eyes panned up to the vampire''s bland expression. Anthony stretched his hand out and pressed the button.


    "NO!" Cole lurched forward, his hand outstretched as if he could magically stop whatever Anthony had just set into motion.


    But nothing exploded. Instead a large screen lit the back of the warehouse. It was Fiona in a well-furnished room with the pup. Cole''s eyes filled with tears, seeing his pup for the first time. Both of them looked healthy. The woman was throwing a ball for him.


    "I am so sick of seeing our pup on a screen," Jane whispered from beside him.


    The screen captured a couple of vampires standing guard off to the side. Fiona appeared to be talking to someone who wasn''t visible onscreen, but Cole couldn''t make out her words.


    Anthony clicked the button again and the screen went black. "Now," he said. "You see that they are unharmed. I have no burning urge to hurt anyone. All I want is to know the location of the hive. That''s it. Tell me where you live and how you get past my border patrol, and everybody gets to go home tonight."


    Z growled and shifted, not content to wait for a signal. Seeing Fiona under lockdown had been all the signal he needed.


    Anthony laughed. "I take it that''s the boyfriend?"


    Cole pressed on. "And if we don''t tell you? What will you do to them?"


    "What do you think? Werewolf blood is strong and delicious, and so is witch blood. Both will make fine meals. It''s a very simple choice. What''s more important, your child or your pack?"


    "And if the question were reversed? Your coven or your mate?"


    "My mate. Always my mate without question," he answered. "The coven could go fuck themselves." A few of the vampires on the platform raised eyebrows, but that was all. They must be low enough on the totem pole for him to get away with saying that without an uprising. Or maybe they were his inner circle, his trusted advisers. Whoever they were, Cole wanted to stake them all out in the grass and wait for the sun to rise.


    "I need to talk to you," Jane whispered. "Buy us a few minutes."


    Cole kept his eyes straight ahead toward Anthony so as not to give her presence away. "Do you mind if I confer with my pack for a moment?"


    "Not at all," Anthony said. "I''ve got all night."


    The alpha turned toward the pack and motioned them all to gather around as if they were in a football huddle to shield who he was speaking with.


    Jane kept her tone low. "The perimeter down here is clear. He''s got his whole group up there on the platform with him, which means he thinks it''s just a bunch of therians, not demons. The magic users may sniff us out soon, which is why I need you to distract them so I can slip out the back door. I know where he''s keeping Fiona and the pup. That''s his penthouse. I recognize it from the weird little windows. I stayed in that building during the coven tournament. If I go in invisible, I can take them out and get Fiona and the pup to safety."


    "No, I think it''s a bad idea," Cole said.


    "And what do you suggest?" Cain''s voice.


    "It''s too dangerous," the alpha growled.


    "I''m not human anymore, Cole. I''m immortal. The worst that can happen to me is being locked up somewhere by a spell. If I don''t show up, you guys will come after me."


    "Don''t downplay that risk," Cain said.


    "Hey, I''m trying to get him on my side, here."


    Cole wasn''t convinced that was the worst that could happen, but having a conversation with invisible people was giving him a headache, so he growled and said, "I''ll stall. Be careful. I love you."


    "Wait. Take a portal charm. It''ll be safer to get them back to the demon dimension than looking for a portal point," Cain said.


    There was some fumbling around as one invisible demon handed a charm off to the other invisible demon, then Cole felt warm lips against his mouth, and she was gone.


    He turned back to Anthony. "How do I know you''ll release Fiona and the pup if I tell you where the hive is?"


    "Well, your other option is to fight, and we outnumber you. We''re up here on this platform, you''re down there on the ground. It''s like shooting fish in a barrel. And oh look, we have guns."


    Stall, stall. What else can we talk about? Oh! "How did you find the pup? How did you know he was mine?"


    Anthony made a condescending sound somewhere between a snort and a sigh. "You know, Cole, just because I only own Cary Town, doesn''t mean that I don''t have eyes and ears everywhere. I am the vampire king. And a few of your wolves liked to wander around the Cary Town forest. Some of them have big mouths. I also had a top sorcerer until the other day." He pierced Z with a glare, and the panther growled in response.


    The vampire continued, "We discovered you were running in Golatha Falls, but what was more exciting... Jane was pregnant. We didn''t expect to find the pup. We considered taking members of your pack until somebody talked, but that can be so messy. This was a more elegant option. Once we heard rumors of a wolf pup in his fur, we figured... jackpot."


    One of the sorcerers on the platform moved up next to Anthony and whispered in his ear. The vampire''s eyes narrowed and he nodded.


    "Are you ready?" Tam whispered to Anna on Cole''s right. "That''s our cue." Tam tossed some strongly scented herbs around them.


    "This is very interesting," Anthony said. He was trying to maintain a calm composure but it was clear he was spooked. "One of my magic users tells me that he senses the magical signature of more than what it appears."


    "That is interesting," Cole said. "What do you know that can be invisible?"


    Anthony paled. "How many?"


    "Count for yourself," Cain said. One by one, the demons materialized.


    Anna and Tam joined hands and began to chant, "Liberi et ab aliis verbis. Liberi et ab aliis verbis. Liberi et ab aliis verbis..."


    Energy buzzed around them. A shimmery film cloaked the therians and demons, then blended into the background. Though it could no longer be seen, it was felt: a strong protection against any magical barbs thrown their way.


    Anthony didn''t seem to care about the protection spell; he was too preoccupied with the presence of the head demon. "C-Cain is here? I thought you didn''t get involved in petty infighting between Preternatural species. I thought you were above all of that."


    The demon shrugged. "Cole and I are friends."


    "No, there''s something more."


    "Release them or we''re fighting. The boyfriend is getting restless," Cain said.


    Z growled, still in panther form, stalking back and forth, watching Anthony like he was a meal.


    "Shoot the witches!" Anthony said.


    Tam let go of Anna''s hands and bullets went through her. At the same time, Tam closed her eyes and must have channeled the power Luc had lent her, because the bullets went through her as well.


    "What the hell?"


    "That''s right. Waste some more ammunition," Cain said.


    Cole shifted, and the other wolves followed his lead. Z didn''t wait for another cue. He took a flying leap onto the platform and batted the gun out of Anthony''s hands, fangs bared.


    Jane raced full speed through Cary Town. It took a lot of energy to maintain invisibility. Being a new demon, she needed to feed more often. She''d needed to feed earlier, but it felt like such a stupid time to have sex. She hadn''t been in the mood. All she wanted was her kid back and this whole nightmare to be over.


    It was like being hungry but nothing looking good. She just hoped she had enough energy to see her through this. Either way, she felt strong enough to take on a couple of vampires, especially if they couldn''t see her, and she didn''t intend on giving up that advantage no matter how much energy it took from her. As long as they didn''t have a witch with Fiona and the pup, she was home free. If there was a witch, she wasn''t sure what she''d do.


    The Cary Town Luxury Apartments were a shining beacon rising up in the middle of the downtown area. She slipped into the lobby behind a couple so the door wouldn''t appear to open by itself.


    The guardian at the front looked in her direction. He seemed to see her - or at least sense her. He stared for what felt like forever, but then he shrugged and went back to reading his newspaper. Jane let out a breath and moved toward the elevator.


    When she was sure nobody was looking, she pressed the button. She couldn''t go straight up to the penthouse. For that, you needed a key. But she had another plan. The elevator stopped on five, one floor below Anthony''s place, the same floor she''d stayed on for the tournament. At the end of the hallway was a window. Because the building was old, the window opened. In a newer model hotel, it would have been sealed for a hallway like this. Safety first.


    But since the guardians looked the other way while vampires brought meals up to their rooms, Jane was thinking safety first wasn''t one of their mottos. It was hard to fathom the clueless humans who lived here. She pushed the window up and took one last look down the hallway.


    It was empty, so Jane materialized. If she shape-shifted into something that could fly, she could zip up to the roof and get in through the door, even if she had to use brute strength to rip it off its hinges. Though that might blow her element of surprise.


    She closed her eyes and focused on a memory of a raven she''d seen after a fresh snow one winter. It had been eating berries off an otherwise scraggly and bare tree. It wasn''t working. Dammit! She didn''t know how long Cole could stall. She''d been fast, but they must be fighting by now.


    Jane moved down the hall, holding her hands out, hovering over the walls and doors... Somebody be feeling amorous tonight. Anybody. She sensed two humans in one of the apartments and the beginnings at least of flirtatious energy. She could work with that.


    She knocked on the door of 5G. A woman answered, an irritated look on her face. "Who the hell are you?"


    Jane''s lips turned up in a friendly smile. "I''m not here. You don''t see me. You want to climb your boyfriend like a tree and fuck his brains out. You can''t stand for another moment to go by without him inside you."


    The woman went back inside the apartment, the command fresh in her mind. The man showed up then. "Hey, what''s going on?"


    "I''m not here," Jane said. She was about to put a suggestion in the man''s head, but the woman needed no additional help. As the two writhed on the kitchen floor like they were in heat, Jane''s hands hovered over them, soaking in the sexual energy. How she wished she''d just inconvenienced Cole for twenty minutes before they''d left for Cary Town. This was... more inconvenient.


    When she was satiated, she left the two none the wiser and went back into the hallway. This time, the shift came on easily. She hopped onto the window ledge in bird form and flew up to the roof. She would have loved to enjoy the thrill of flying, but now wasn''t the time. She shifted back and went invisible again, making her way to the door that led back inside.


    The knob on the metal door turned easily in her hand. As quietly as she could, she went through the penthouse, assessing the situation. There were only the two vampire guards, just like on the video screen. Fiona and the pup were playing in the main living area, but there was a witch besides Fiona. Not good.


    Who first? If she took out the vampires, the witch might start chanting, and she didn''t know how strong she was. It had to be the witch first. The pup looked right at Jane as if he could see her. She looked down at her hands but she was invisible. Could he sense her? The thought made her all warm inside. But if he sensed her, the witch would soon as well.


    She backed into the kitchen and the curious pup followed her. Maybe he could see her? Cole couldn''t when she was invisible. Maybe it was some preternatural mother-child bond. Since returning, she hadn''t had time to read up on weirdness between magical mothers and their offspring.


    "Stay here, I''m going to go after the pup," the witch said to Fiona from the other room, then she followed him into the kitchen. Exactly where Jane wanted her. Alone.


    Jane moved behind the witch and put her in a sleeper hold, cutting off her oxygen so she couldn''t chant. The witch struggled at first, but the demon was too strong for her. The blonde slid to the floor, and Jane stepped over her body.


    Fiona appeared in the kitchen, having ignored the witch''s order. Her eyes widened at the blonde passed out on the floor. Jane materialized. "It''s okay, it''s just me."


    She knelt next to the pup and scratched behind his ear. "Go back in the other room with Fiona. Mommy has to kill some people," she whispered to the pup. She wasn''t sure how much of that he could comprehend, but he trotted back into the other room, anyway.


    Fiona seemed to be analyzing and sizing up the situation. Jane was impressed by her outward calm in the face of everything.


    "Can you go back to being invisible?"


    Jane nodded and changed back.


    "That''s better," Fiona said. "They think I''m crazy, so if we get interrupted they''ll just think I''m talking to myself. You should take the big one out first. I''ve been watching him, and not only is he big, but he''s old, so he''s the strongest. I''ll try to distract the other one when you make your move. And there''s also..."


    "What''s going on in there?"


    Fiona rushed out of the kitchen before the vampire could come in and see the witch on the ground. "Nothing, nothing. Sonya is just making the pup a snack."


    The vamp grumbled something incoherent as Fiona corralled him back to the living area.


    And there''s also what? What had the witch been about to say? Damnit. Jane pulled a stake from her jacket. She''d foregone a gun with wooden bullets. She''d been so angry, she''d wanted the intimacy of a stake. She''d envisioned taking out the vampire king herself, but a gun would have been so much easier. Boom. Boom. Assassin style.


    When everyone settled back in the living room, Jane crept over to the burliest of the two vampires. Without hesitation, she slammed the stake home. He cried out, and then his flesh began to melt off the bones. She pulled the stake out of the goo and leapt out of the way of the other vampire who was lunging toward her now, looking for the threat.


    Fiona screamed and started to babble nonsense. The vamp turned toward the outburst, perhaps thinking she''d used magic somehow. In the moment of distraction, Jane rushed him. He sensed the movement and turned toward her again, so she jerked her elbow up hard, smacking him against the jaw.


    The vamp let out an oomph and stumbled back. "Where are you, you little bitch?"


    Fighting invisible was taking too much energy, and the element of surprise was long gone, anyway. She shed her invisibility. "Right here, you little half-breed."


    He barreled toward her, all brawn and no brains. She sidestepped the vamp at the last moment, sending him into the wall. Jane pivoted and swung around, her fists ready to pummel him. She just kept punching, throwing everything she had into it, going for his ribs and any weak points he exposed in his struggle. He fought to turn around, and when he succeeded, she didn''t miss a beat, grabbing his shoulders and kneeing him in the groin.


    The vampire crumpled. Jane flipped him on his back and raised the stake in the air, prepared to drive it home, when a door opened. She looked up to see a very pregnant Charlee coming out of the bathroom. Well, that cleared up the mystery of and there''s also... The distraction and the squick moment over Charlee carrying Anthony''s evil seed caused the vampire to gain the upper hand and flip them, reversing their positions.


    "Get off me, you psycho. You can''t kill me, and you''ve got no witch. So what are you going to do?"


    "I can torture the shit out of you until Anthony gets back, then we''ll decide from there. You seem like you''re running on empty."


    Yeah, so? Cain''s alternate method of feeding wasn''t meant for this much ass kicking. It was more of a small between meal snack.


    "Get off her," Charlee said.


    The vampire hesitated. Charlee was only human, and a pregnant human at that. You couldn''t get much more vulnerable with a vampire. But the mating mark on her throat from the vampire king, gave her a different kind of power.


    "I am your queen. Get. Off. Her."


    Wow. Charlee had been brushing up on her regal demeanor. She''d been good at it when she''d taken Jane down to execute Paul, but now she was a pro.


    The vampire grumbled, but obeyed the order. He must have thought he was safe because his stance was just relaxed enough for Jane to drive the stake home. The vamp started to melt.


    "Was that necessary?" Charlee asked.


    "Was kidnapping my child and Fiona necessary?"


    "It wasn''t me. You know that. Who am I going to be kidnapping with this stomach? I can barely fit through doors as it is."


    "You didn''t try to stop him. You didn''t do anything to get my child back to me."


    "We thought you were dead!" Charlee said.


    "Well, what about Cole? You knew Cole wasn''t dead!"


    "And how was I going to find him without Anthony finding out? You might think my mate is evil, but he''s just doing what he has to do. Not everybody is on board with him having me for a mate, and now I''m pregnant. Do you know what they do to babies born from a human mated to a vampire?"


    Jane shrugged, not sure she cared, seeing as they hadn''t cared what happened to her kid.


    Charlee''s hand went over her stomach in a protective gesture. Jane knew that gesture, and she softened.


    "They kill them. Babies born to a claimed human mother from a vampire are weak. They have all the weaknesses of a vampire but none of the strengths. They''re considered an abomination. Anthony is doing what he''s doing to protect our daughter. He has to be ruthless enough that no one will try to cross him and kill our child. All we want to know is where the hive is."


    "No."


    "Anthony can''t look weak," Charlee said, pleading in her eyes.


    Jane put her hands on her hips, feeling odd with the two of them together in this building again. "Look, some of my pack could be dying right now. They''re fighting, and it has to stop. Anthony won''t look weak if I have a hostage."


    Charlee''s eyes widened. "You''d do that to me?"


    Jane growled. "Jesus, Charlee, no. Do you not know how to act? Just look pathetic, and I''ll sell the rest of it. I''ve worn one mask or another so long I can be anything or anyone. Anthony doesn''t know who I am. He''s never known."


    Charlee nodded. "Okay."


    "Um, guys?" Fiona said. "I think we should move me and the pup to a safe location. If we go with you, the tables could turn on us again."


    Jane nodded. She''d assumed Fiona would be dead weight in all of this, and was surprised when she wasn''t. "That was my plan, yes." She pulled out the talisman Cain had given her and turned the shiny, golden stone over the runic markings to the correct combination. The shimmery film appeared.


    "When you go through with the pup, ask for directions to the werewolf camp. Tell them Cain said you''re off limits. Actually, you might want to lead with that part."


    The internal struggle was clear on Fiona''s face as she looked at the film and the potential danger beyond.


    "Hey, you''ve got this. Trust me. You''re stronger than you think," Jane said.


    The witch bit her lip and nodded. She turned and hugged Charlee. "Thanks for keeping me sane in here."


    "No problem. Good luck."


    Then Fiona took the pup and disappeared into the safety of the demon dimension.


    When Jane and Charlee reached the lobby, the guardian at the front desk didn''t look shocked to see them, his suspicions of something amiss confirmed. But he went right back to his paper.

 Page 14

    Outside the warehouse, Jane glanced at Charlee. "Are you ready for this?" She could tell her friend was still weirded out about her dying then coming back as a demon. And given the tense situation ahead of them, there hadn''t been much small talk about it on the trip over.


    Charlee nodded.Advertisement


    "Alrighty then." Jane busted through the door, dragging her pregnant friend along with her, doing a perfect impersonation of a crazy gunman with a hostage. Only, instead of a gun, she had a stake poised at Charlee''s throat.


    Anthony or somebody in his camp had called in reinforcements while she''d been gone, so the odds were stacked on the vampire side now from sheer numbers alone. Anna and Tam continued to chant, but they looked like they were getting tired.


    The sorcerers on Anthony''s team were throwing energy balls trying to put a dent in Tam and Anna''s protection shield and waiting for the moment when the two witches on the demon and therian side collapsed so they could start cursing demons. The demons were throwing fireballs, occasionally lighting a vampire on fire. The magic users on Anthony''s side were too busy with offense to shield against it.


    She scanned the ground to find several wolves down. How bad, she didn''t know. Cole was injured, but he was fighting through it. And he''d survive anything now, so at least she didn''t have to worry about him. Z was still kicking asses and taking names with the vampires. He''d taken a bullet in the shoulder, but was now devouring a vampire whole and healing nicely.


    Anthony had a few scratches and had likely fed on somebody to heal. One of his magic users no doubt. He''d moved behind his troops for safety.


    Jane whistled loud and long, then shouted, "Everybody STOP!"


    The fighting ceased for a moment as all eyes went to Jane and the bounty she''d caught. Anthony went pale.


    "Send your people away, Anthony, or your mate is a memory."


    "You wouldn''t. Charlee is your friend."


    Jane shrugged, assuming a disaffected look. "Meh. She never calls. Never writes. I didn''t even know she was having a baby. Congratulations, by the way. May you have more luck keeping yours safe. Nah, I class Charlee as a casual acquaintance tops. No skin off my nose if she dies." She''d had years of practice, so channeling her inner disaffected goth was child''s play.


    "I don''t believe you."


    Without blinking, Jane jabbed the stake against Charlee''s throat, being careful not to hit the main artery - just enough to draw blood and a frightened whimper. Anthony''s nostrils flared as the scent of his mate''s blood hit the air.


    "She means it," Charlee said, sounding panicked.


    Jane smelled the salt of her friend''s tears. Either Charlee was a good actress in her own right, or she believed the act. Jane squeezed her shoulder as covertly as possible, hoping to give reassurance. Her friend''s pulse slowed from the gesture.


    "Okay," Anthony said. "Okay. Everybody go home," he said to his people. "No one is to touch any of them." His attention went back to Jane. "I assume you have the witch and the pup?"


    "Yup. They''re safe in the demon dimension." Jane turned to her group, which she''d somehow defaulted as the leader of for the moment. "Take the wounded and get back to Cain''s dimension." She was going to hold Charlee at stake point until they were safe - especially the wounded.


    The demons began to gather up the injured wolves. Z picked up Lucy, and Cole picked up the younger alpha. Both looked dead. Cole and Jane exchanged a glance, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. At least they went together. At least they weren''t separated.


    As they were filing out, Cain turned back to Anthony. "There will be no retribution on the pack, Fiona, or the panther. If you go after any of them, there will be a war, and I will win. This ends now."


    "Don''t be so sure," Anthony said, trying to maintain his sense of control, though most of his vampires had already dispersed to their resting places. "I can find more magic users to even the odds. Dayne owes me a favor for saving his werecat. And I bet I have more vampires than you have demons."


    Tam spoke up then, though she looked like she was about to drop. "We''ll have our own army of witches. So bring it."


    Cain stopped, his mouth hanging open. But before Tam could look his way, he''d covered it and gone back to the stone cold mask of disinterest he normally wore. Interesting, Jane thought.


    "Call a truce now," Jane said. "You will leave us alone. You will not seek out the hive. We are off limits in your world domination scheme. I can still kill her. Don''t think I won''t." She gripped the stake tighter.


    The panic hadn''t left Anthony''s face. "Truce. But the story will be that I banished the Cary Town wolf pack, so don''t show your faces in my town again. Whatever you''re doing to hide yourselves, you''d better keep doing it or leave."


    Jane looked over at Cole, a question in her eyes.


    Cole nodded.


    When the wounded had been taken out the back door, Jane shoved Charlee away from her and Anthony blurred to his mate''s side. He glared at Jane as he placed his hand over her pregnant belly. Then he held her close, his hands stroking her hair. His lips moved to her forehead in a tender kiss and they clung to each other like the last two people on earth among apocalyptic debris.


    No matter what Jane thought of Anthony, she couldn''t doubt his love for Charlee. Whatever he felt he had to do, there was no mistaking the look in his eyes when he''d thought he could lose her.


    The last thing Jane saw before she left the warehouse was her friend''s eyes on her, no doubt wondering if they''d ever speak again. There was no reassurance Jane could offer with Anthony watching so closely, so she just turned and walked out the door.


    Cain had been silent since they''d returned to the demon dimension. Had Tam really pledged to align herself with him if he needed the magical protection in a fight? So what if she had? Witches couldn''t be trusted. They were too dangerous.


    It was the second time that night he''d had an odd feeling with regards to her. If he had no self-preservation instinct, he''d corner her somewhere, feed, and get her out of his system. He might kill her; he might not. At the rate he was going, it would be better to kill her than to develop some fixation that would end with him sealed up in another glass jar waiting who-knew-how-long for somebody to set him free. Screw that.


    He looked away from her, but where his gaze landed next wasn''t much better. Jane and Cole, holding their pup, looking happy to be together. It''ll never be you, buddy. Cain wasn''t about to sleep with a therian and produce a freak child who might try to usurp him. Though outside the Cole and Jane exception, a true mating couldn''t happen between a demon and therian - only a demon and human. But a human couldn''t understand him. And no way in hell would any human give the leader of the sex demons her soul in a voluntary exchange.


    He''d missed his opportunity about seven thousand years ago, if not more. Now it was pointless trying to relate to them. Love was weakness anyway. It would only hurt, and Cain was too much of a hedonist for that. He watched Jane and Cole for another minute.


    Cole winced as the pup''s back paw hit him in the stomach. The injury he''d taken in the warehouse would have killed him, if not for the bond he had with Jane. Both of them were getting weepy and emotional about being together, holding each other close.


    "I love you," Cole said.


    "I love you, too," Jane replied. "I''ll need to feed soon."


    Cole got an evil gleam in his eyes. "I think I''ve decided I like this demon thing. There are perks all around."


    Next to them was Luc and Anna. She was completely drained, and he embraced her, using their bond to charge her back up like a battery. Yet another happy couple with a happy ending.


    Cain turned away, unable to take any more sugary sweetness. His demons tended to the wounded. All of the werewolves had taken damage. As had the panther. Two of the wolves had died. The youngest ones. He didn''t know why Cole had let them volunteer, especially the girl.


    They''d been a couple, too. And as perverse as it was, in a way they''d gotten their own happy ending. Though heaven would likely bore the shit out of them, they could choose to return together and start over in new lives. Young love. Cain shook his head.


    The rest of the pack gathered around the two fallen wolves, whispering and planning the funeral rite. Cole and Jane put the pup down and joined them, trying to contain their happiness over being together again in light of the pack''s loss.


    Cain looked away, feeling as if he were intruding on their privacy and mourning.


    Fiona patched what was left of the bullet wound in the panther''s shoulder.


    "Stop fussing over it, it''s fine. I fed, and I''m almost healed."


    Cain cocked his head to the side. Z had been so adamant about coming after her. If Anthony''s guy hadn''t shot the panther and gotten him to back down, the vampire king would be dead. Cain had never seen such a single-minded fighter. But faced with the girl he obviously cared for, he was being cold and indifferent. Reminded Cain of himself.


    He approached the couple. "Daria will take you two back to your dimension when you''re ready to go."


    The panther nodded. Cain made his way through the werewolves and demons, bumping into Tam on his escape from the group. He stared at her a moment. She didn''t say anything. He didn''t say anything back. He just turned and went to his tent alone, trying to get the carnal images of her out of his head.


    Fiona hadn''t expected Z to proclaim his undying love or anything. As he''d said before, he wasn''t that guy. She wasn''t sure what she''d expected, but she''d expected something. He''d come for her. Didn''t that mean something? Or was she naive for thinking it did?


    So she''d been kidnapped and he''d been part of the group sent in to rescue her. Did that obligate him to start dating her? Propose marriage? Ask for panther babies? She needed to stop watching romantic comedies and get a grip on reality.


    After Daria dropped them off in the Golatha Falls forest, the tension between them grew higher. There weren''t any distractions left. No patching up his wounds, no demon buffer, no wolf pup buffer. Just the two of them in the forest with nothing but the crickets and hooting owls to keep them company.


    Z had left his motorcycle near the portal opening. It was a miracle it was still there. He wordlessly handed the helmet to Fiona and got on. She was glad to have the helmet, and the noise of the motorcycle so he couldn''t see or hear her crying.


    Yes, damnit. She wanted him. She wanted to live with him in his cave and wake up with him every morning. Why couldn''t he want the same thing? It wasn''t a stupid thing to want. It was normal. She just wanted to be normal for a change.


    But she could leave the cottage now. After being kidnapped and carted across the country by car and plane and spending time with therians and vampires and dodging magic from other magic users, a bit of bravery had edged its way in. She hadn''t kicked asses, but she''d survived. Knowing she could survive something like that changed everything. It was a start, anyway.


    So she''d leave the house and find a guy. She''d date like a regular person. Maybe she''d learn more magic. A whole world waited for her.


    As the motorcycle zipped through the woods, zigging and zagging around trees, Fiona took deep breaths to stop the tears. She wasn''t going to have him seeing her cry again. He came to get her. He cared. Maybe that made them friends. That was okay, wasn''t it?


    Not really, but she had to make herself believe it so she could be composed by the time they got back to her place.


    The motorcycle stopped in front of her door fifteen minutes later. "Well, I guess this is you," Z said.


    She wanted to punch him in his wounded shoulder. It wouldn''t hurt much since he was mostly healed, but it would make her feel a hell of a lot better. Well, I guess this is you? Was he merely her taxi?


    "Yeah. Thanks for coming after me."


    "No problem. It was the right thing to do."


    Fiona wished she knew more magic. She''d zap him off his motorcycle and into the dirt. Then she''d kick him in the head. It was the right thing to do? Be more clinical, Z. Not like we slept together or anything. Not like we shared a moment or ten.


    He walked her to her door, and they stood awkward for a few minutes until he wished her a good night, said he''d call her, and disappeared into the forest on his bike.


    Sure he''d call her. That was manspeak for "If I''m lucky I''ll never bump into you again for another uncomfortable moment like this."


    Fiona went inside and slammed the door behind her. She tried not to think about how empty the house was, how everything was just over. She would leave first thing in the morning and go into town. She would go to a coffee shop or a diner or something and make a friend or acquaintance. She''d mingle with the living, 3-D people. It would be fine.


    She logged into her email client to find about ten emails from work, all wondering why she hadn''t logged in and that something serious better have happened. She zipped off an email lying about a terrible bout of the flu. No way would they buy the real story.


    An hour later, when her job was once again secure, she settled in on the couch for a movie. A knock startled her out of the romantic ending. She put her popcorn on the coffee table and warily went to the door. She wasn''t going to just fling it open this time. She was going to be smart.


    "Who is it?"


    "It''s Z."


    Hope and anger warred inside her. She opened the door, trying and failing to force a mask of indifference on her face.


    He held out a purple shirt. "You left your shirt at my place."


    She took the clothing and turned to lay it on the table in the entryway. A hand came over her mouth, a strong smell, and darkness.


    Fiona felt fuzzy when she opened her eyes. It took a few moments for her vision to clear. She was in the cave with Z. Of course she was. Her books and most of her things were stacked neatly in the living area. How long had she been out?


    "Are you kidding me?!" she shouted.


    Z prowled around her in his panther way. He barely seemed human.


    "You are staying here in this cave with me," he said like it was some edict from on high. "It''s far too dangerous in that death trap you call a cottage. You''ve been kidnapped from that place three times now, for God''s sake!"


    "Two of them were you!"


    "Yeah, well... still. You see how easy it can be done. You''re a sitting duck there."


    Fiona crossed her arms over her chest, glaring.


    He knelt next to her, taking her hands in his. "Come on, Fiona. Don''t be like that. I''m a wild animal. I''m not good with the words part. I didn''t know how to ask you. I don''t know how to do relationships."


    That much was obvious. "So, then, you''re asking me to live with you? Not ordering me and keeping me prisoner?"


    The look on his face said he was thinking it over. Kidnapping was good enough for cave men. At least he hadn''t hit her over the head with a club and dragged her there. Chloroform was moderately more civilized, but this had better be the last time.


    He sighed. "Yes. I''m asking. Fiona, will you move in with me?"


    She looked around again, not sure she wanted to let him off the hook so easy. "Well, all my stuff is here. It would be inconvenient to move it back. And I like this cave."


    "So yes?" He looked too hopeful for her to stay mad.


    "I thought you said you weren''t that guy."


    "When I found out you''d been kidnapped, I just wanted to snap necks. I don''t know if I''m that guy or not, but I can try to be. I know I can''t stand you not being here or worrying about you all the time. And I don''t like my bed empty in the morning." He stood and pulled her up with him. This was about as close to a declaration of undying love as was possible for him. Knowing that made the speech endearing.


    When his lips met hers, it seared her from the inside. Her arms threaded around his neck, and he deepened the kiss. When her brain started working again, she pulled away. "Okay," she sighed against his mouth. "I''ll stay. But I need this place wired up for Internet. I need to be online for work."


    "Done."


    Then he dragged her back to his room to practice being boyfriend material.


    Click to the next page for an excerpt of Life Cycle (book 4)

 Page 15

    123 A.D. A hidden cavern near the waters of the Blue Grotto in Italy.


    Tamar shivered with her twelve companions. They were about to attempt their most daring incantation. An opening at the top of the cavern allowed the light from the full moon to shine down on them, illuminating their secret gathering and adding its own power to the unfolding ritual.Advertisement


    Salt water splashed on her from a waterfall in the nearby pool. They''d searched for the water of immortality, a legend that had spread since before her birth. Far and wide, people had spoken of water that could make a person eternal and young.


    But it wasn''t the water that conferred immortality. It was the creatures that lived inside the water. They were transparent and hard to see, with spongy tops and long tendrils on the bottom that could sting if you got too close. They didn''t die. Instead, they could age backward, reaching the end of their life, and then, without dying, start over again.


    "We''ll freeze to death if you don''t hurry." Tamar glared at the man in the middle of the circle. The irony of freezing to death while seeking immortality caused her to stifle a dark laugh.


    "The potion must be altered with other ingredients unless you want to come back as a newborn each time. You''ll find that frustrating," Jacob said. He was their leader and the best with potions.


    Tamar made a face, but huddled closer to her sister, Naomi, for warmth. A circle of salt had been poured around them. Candles were already lit. A large stone had become a makeshift table upon which the coven leader worked. The sea creatures had been pulverized and added to an iron pot. He poured the herbal infusions into the potion.


    Jacob passed a sharp knife to the person on his left. "Each of us must contribute blood to the potion or it will fail. The magic is in this creature, but they have no blood. Our blood must bond with this animal if we hope to succeed."


    "Are you sure that''s necessary?" Naomi asked. Tamar nodded her agreement. Cutting themselves and mixing their blood seemed extreme. What would be the consequences of linking together eternally?


    "I am sure," Jacob said, losing patience with their squeamishness. Magic like this had a price, and they all knew it. But the consequences always showed themselves when it was too late.


    One by one they sliced the center of their palms with the ritual knife and added their blood. Jacob stirred the concoction with a wooden spoon; it smelled like death. When he was finished, he dipped a silver goblet into the brew.


    "We each drink and then we chant," he said, passing the goblet.


    Tamar couldn''t help feeling pride at the chant she''d written. When they''d all drunk, they clasped hands and turned their faces up to the moonlight. The cavern echoed their words back to them. "Da immortalitatem. Renatus sine oblitus. Numquam moriens. Da immortalitatem. Renatus sine oblitus. Numquam moriens..."


    And then they all died.


    Tamar jolted as oxygen flooded into her body. Something felt very strange. Had the spell worked? She glanced around at her companions, each of them coming back to life one by one.


    "We''re all children."