The Catalyst - By Zoe Winters Page 0,32

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