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.
Chapter Eight
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.
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