The Catalyst (25 page)

“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 naïve 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. N
ot 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)

Prologue

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.

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.