The Catalyst - By Zoe Winters Page 0,19

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,