Cat's Wolf (A Shifter Romance Novella) (2 page)

Devine.

It was a well-known bar in the
shifter community run by a member of the council’s son and many shifters came
here to relax, though it was also frequented by humans too.

Misha flung an arm through
Kaitlin’s and they only had to smile at the bouncer and they were let in—all
shifters were given VIP treatment. The waiting line of humans protested and the
bouncer shouted something that shut them up.

The music was pounding inside and
she glanced around. Misha’s elbow connected with her side, “Sexy guys at the
bar.”

They’d only just arrived and Misha
was looking for guy’s to spend the rest of the evening with. She rolled her
eyes but turned her head and searched them out. It wasn’t hard, they were
shifters of some kind; five altogether, built well and very attractive. They
were surrounded by girls trying to catch their eye with the little clothing
they had on and the sexy dance moves they were busting.

“Do you reckon they’re looking for
some shifter girls?” Misha asked with a grin. Kaitlin shifted, feeling uncomfortable
suddenly. “Well?” She demanded.

“I don’t know.”

Fingers wrapped around her own,
“Only one way to find out.”

In minutes they stood at the bar
ordering drinks. “Well hello, ladies,” a man drawled. They turned to find one
of the shifters gazing at them appreciatively. He was attractive with green
eyes and black hair.

Misha gave him her full attention.
“Hey,” she purred. “I’m Misha and this is my best friend, Kaitlin.”

He grinned, his nostrils flaring
slightly. “I’m Brent.” He turned from them to get his friends attention, “Hey,
guys. Some lovely girls here you should meet.”

All eyes turned to them and one
pair of golden amber eyes caught Kaitlin’s attention more than the rest. They’d
haunted her thoughts for the past twenty-four hours. She took in the rest of
him and her mouth parted. He’d been gorgeous by moonlight but in club-light, he
was sexy as hell. The dark blue jeans hugged to his muscular thighs and the
t-shirt clung in all the right places.

She received another elbow in the
ribs and she realised everyone had introduced themselves but her and golden
eyes. “Sorry, I’m Kaitlin.”

“Rhys.”

Rhys. She ran the name over and
over in her head, searching for some recollection for the name but found none.

“It’s lovely to meet you guys,”
Misha purred as she linked her arm with Kaitlins again and then dug her nails
into her arm painfully. She knew it was some sort of warning and forced her
gaze away from Rhys’ and picked up her drink with her free hand.

“Likewise,” one of them said with a
grin.

“We’re just going to the ladies
room, we’ll be right back.”

Kaitlin was dragged through the
partiers and into the bathroom. “They’re wolves!” Misha hissed as she leant
against the door. “We have to get out of here.”

Kaitlin—strangely— didn’t agree
with her. The wolves could have turned volatile and attacked—wolves didn’t seem
bothered by public displays—but they hadn't; they’d welcomed them and bought
their drinks.

Moving over to the line of mirrors
she checked her hair and make-up.

“Kaitlin! We have to go!”

“Why, Misha?”

Her friend met her gaze in the
mirror with one of disbelief. “Why?!” She screeched. “In case you’ve forgotten,
they’re our enemies, Kaitlin!”

She turned to face her, “I don’t
think they are.”

Misha’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse
me?”

“If they wanted to hurt us, they
would have regardless of where we were.”

Her friend’s eyes narrowed, “It’s
him, isn’t it?”

“Who?”

“The one you got into trouble with
last night; he’s out there, the one with the gold eyes.” A muscle started to
tic in her cheek, instantly giving her away. “Where the hell were you last
night to meet a wolf?”

She’d passed the message on to her
parents first thing this morning after waking and her father had asked her not
to mention it to anyone while he investigated the matter further to see if there
was a logical explanation.

“Misha, I can’t say. It’s council
business.” She heard a low growl and cocked a brow at her friend in disbelief.
Misha rarely allowed herself to show any part of her shifter unless she was
seriously pissed or it was a full moon when the pack would run as a whole.

“Fine, you stay if you want but I’m
out of here.”

Kaitlin opened her mouth to protest
but stopped the words before they came. Maybe it was better if she was alone
when she questioned Rhys. Misha wasn’t a trained fighter like herself and she
couldn't protect them both from a pack of wolves.

She watched her friend disappear
into the crowd from the doorway of the ladies restroom.

“Cat?” It was softly spoken but she
heard it clearly over the music. Her head turned to see Rhys leaning against
the wall waiting for her.

“Dog?”

He grinned at her, “Touché.”

“What are you doing here?” She
asked.

Rhys shrugged. “Would you believe
me if I said drowning my sorrows after a girl jumped off a roof to get away
from me?”

Kaitlin snorted and checked the
crowd. Her gaze was caught and held by the group of shifters who were staring
at her and Rhys, even though they were stood in one of the clubs darkest
corners. It was freaky how good wolves’ night-vision was. She frowned a little
when she saw Misha was still there and having what seemed to be a heated
discussion with the guy who had bought them drinks at the bar.

“I’ll take that as a no then.”

Turning to face him again, her face
was awash with confusion, “What do you want with me?”

His gaze moved over her head to his
friends at the bar and then back to her and held out a hand, palm up, “Dance
with me?”

Curiosity at what he had to say got
the better of her and she placed her hand in his. He gave her a slight smile
and curved his fingers around her palm as he walked them onto the already
crowded dance floor.

Rhys stopped somewhere in the
middle and pulled her into his arms. The music was something with a fast beat
but he held her close to him and slow danced with her.

To say she was surprised would be
an understatement but she held her tongue and moved with him to some silent
melody.

“You want to know what I want with
you?” He murmured into the wispy hairs at her temple. She stopped breathing as
she waited for him to continue. “You’ve heard about shifters mates; about how
there is one person who is specifically made for them?”

“That’s an old tale,” she murmured
into his chest. “There’s no proof to it.”

One of his fingers ran down her
naked back, finding every notch of her spine, before resting in the small of
her back, thankfully on top of her top.

“What if I said I believed it?”

Kaitlin tried to pull away but the
hand on her back stopped her. “I’d say you were crazy.”

He continued as if she hadn't
spoken. “What if I then said; I believe my mate is you?”

Chapter 3

Kaitlin jerked back and this time
he didn’t stop her. Taking another step backwards she bumped into a couple
dancing—if’s that’s what it was they were doing?—and apologised.

“Cat?”

Her grey gaze swung to his gold and
noticed that his friends were now behind him. Would they stop her from leaving
if she tried?

The rest of the crowd didn’t even
seem to notice them and she wondered if she’d be able to get lost in the
revellers. As if reading her mind, one of the wolves stepped forward and she
backed up.

“Leave her, Jamal.” It was clearly
a veiled threat and the man stood down instantly.

Her gaze swung to Rhys in wonder.
Who was he to give orders and be obeyed without question? Obviously someone
high ranking; maybe he was a born alpha. Her eyes widened at that thought. If
he was alpha material and he thought of her as his, she was in deep trouble.

Rhys gaze softened. “Go home,
Kaitlin. I’ll be at The Crescent Bay Hotel for the next couple of weeks. Come
find me when you’re ready.” The ‘or I’ll come get you’ hung unspoken in the
air.

Kaitlin hesitated as disappointment
began to gnaw at her stomach. She was expecting more of a struggle to get away,
had actually been looking forward to the chase.

The realisation had her confused.
She shouldn’t want anything to do with these men—this man in particular—so why
did she? They were supposed to be her enemy; a fact that had been drummed into
her since she could understand. So why was she hoping for something else?
Something she shouldn’t—couldn't—want?

Her gaze returned to Rhys and she
had her answer. She wanted him with a longing from somewhere deep inside her.
To feel his body pressed against her own; his lips claiming hers with a fevered
passion.

But she also knew her father would
kill her if she did such a thing.

He must have seen the indecision on
her face. “Unless you want to come back with me now?”

Just the thought of it had her body
going into melt-down and she clamped her thighs together to try and hide the
musk of her arousal. Eyes wide, she shook her head.

“As I thought. In that case, I
suggest you leave now before I change my mind.”  His voice had dropped to a
husky growl by the end. He must have caught her body’s reaction. Still she
hesitated, the thought of staying and surrendering to his seduction had her
almost whimpering with lust. Meeting his gaze, she saw an answering darkness
enter Rhys golden amber eyes and knew she had to leave.

Now.

Turning from them, she was gone in
the blink of an eye, easily mingling with the dancers and almost ran out of the
club in her haste to get away.

Once outside, she did a brisk walk
down the bustling street, trying to avoid the drunken groups of people who were
eyeing her: the men lasciviously and the women jealously. She wasn’t afraid
though, she could handle any human easily. It was the shifters she was wary of.

The hairs at the back of her neck
prickled, a sign of no longer being alone, and she tensed. Hurrying from the
human groups, she turned into an alley—unlike the wolves, she’d rather not
fight in public—and waited for them to follow.

Brent turned into the alley,
stopping when he saw her waiting and held up his hands. “Rhys just wanted to
make sure you got home okay.”

She bristled. “If I weren’t a fully
trained fighter, I’d appreciate it. But I am, so I don’t.” She took a step
closer and he backed up.

“Hey! If you have a problem, take
it up with the boss. I’m just following orders.”

“The boss?” She asked and saw Brent
grimace as he realised what he’d let slip.

He backed up some more until he was
back on the street. “Take it up with Rhys. I just have to make sure you get
home safe.”

Chewing on her bottom lip she
thought it over and eventually nodded and stood beside him on the street. It
would be a good chance to ask questions about his “boss” and figure out what
the hell was going on between the bears and the wolves.

Linking her arm through Brent’s,
she allowed him to escort her back to the cat compound boundary, knowing that
if he was spotted by any of her brethren, he would be killed on sight.

During the twenty minute walk she
questioned him about Rhys but he didn’t give much away.

“What can I say; he’s a private
guy.”

“Then tell me how he’s ‘the boss’?
The last I heard Darren was alpha of the wolves.”

Brent snorted, “He still is, he
just doesn’t deserve the title.”

Kaitlin stopped and put her hands
on her hips. “Brent, I may like you but I am not above kicking your ass to get
answers.”

He laughed and shook his head,
“Okay, stop with the threats, I’ll tell you about him.” They started walking
again, “Rhys is a born alpha but he’s always suppressed it, not wanting the
responsibilities that go with it.”

“That I can understand.” He shot
her a harassed look and she grinned, “Sorry.”

“Anyway, Darren sent out a group of
wolves a couple of weeks ago and they never came back. They’d been slaughtered
in a warehouse,” his eyes were bleak as he recalled the event. “It wasn’t the
first time it had happened and Rhys lost his brother that night: he snapped. He
attacked Darren and was just about to deliver the killing blow when he stopped
himself, realising what he was about to do; the responsibility he would have.”
He grabbed her arm to stop her, “Rhys isn’t a bad guy, he just doesn’t like the
thought that it would be his fault if anything happened to one of the wolves.
As far as he’s concerned, they’re his family.” Brent watched her intently,
probably looking for some sign she was warming towards Rhys or not. Kaitlin
shrugged, trying not to show any emotion. “He left after the fight and about thirty
guys went with him. He’s now in charge of a small number of us but we have a
feeling the numbers will grow. We call him the boss because he doesn’t like the
title of alpha.”

Suddenly she understood him better;
knew why he was after an alliance with the bears. Knew why he was pursuing her.

“Bastard!”

Brent shot her a questioning look. “What’s
up?”

She shook her head as she backed
away, “It’s just dawned on me why he wants me.” She swore colourfully, “He
didn’t have to make up all that crap about me being his mate, my parents and
the rest of the council would have met with him anyway.” She growled as her
anger brought her to the brink of shifting, her body twitching ominously.

Brent ran a hand over his brow and
swore, “He really does believe you’re his mate, Kaitlin.”

“Yeah, right!” She turned on her
heel and walked away from him before she did something stupid, like attack him.

“Aww, fuck,” she heard him say,
“I’m going to be in deep shit for this.”

Luckily for him, he didn’t try to
follow her or she might have shifted on him, her puma itching for a fight.