The Catalyst (21 page)

A glass of clear liquid was shoved in her face.

“W-what is it?” As if she had a choice in the
matter.

“Water.”

She struggled to a seated position and took a
tentative sip. When nothing tasted off, she drank the rest down
quickly. She hadn’t realized she’d been so thirsty.

“It’s an aftereffect of the spell.”

Vampire.
He knows what I’m thinking.

“I do. So it’s going to be pointless for you to lie
to me when I ask you questions.”

Fiona glanced around the room. It was warm and
masculine, like somebody’s home. Z could have lived there if not
for the cave. It had that bachelor-pad feel to it.

“This is my penthouse. I don’t live here anymore, but
I still keep it just in case. The pup is playing on the roof by the
pool.”

“The pup’s here? Y-you haven’t hurt him?”

The man stood in front of her, menacing in all black.
His long blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, making him
look like a hit man. At least he wasn’t wearing black leather
gloves.

“Of course I haven’t hurt him. I need him for
information. That’s all. Tell me, dear, when Cole came for his pup,
did he tell you anything about where he lived?”

“N-no, he just wanted the pup. Why would he tell me
anything about…”

“Stop talking. I don’t care what your mouth says. I
care what your thoughts say.”

Fiona froze while he stared hard at her, poking
around in her head, searching through her thoughts. She tried not
to think anything lame or weak.

After several minutes, an exasperated look crossed
his face. “I didn’t expect anything. Oh well. Cole will be here
soon enough, but let’s make sure, shall we?”

He produced a phone from his jacket pocket. It was
the prepaid phone Z had left with her when he’d gone searching for
the pup’s family.

“Call him.”

Fiona’s brow creased in confusion. “Call who?”

“Your boyfriend. Make sure he’s sending Cole. Use
your sad little tears on him. I’m sure that will sway the
therian.”

As if on cue, tears began to track down her face. “He
won’t come. He doesn’t care for me. I was never anything more than
a conquest.”

The vampire’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think so. You
smell like him. He marked you.”

Fiona blushed. Was there a sign over her head?
Perhaps someone had given her a tramp stamp while she’d been out
cold. Z hadn’t bitten her or left any other kind of mark. He’d
slept with her, yes, but that didn’t make her
his
.

“Cats rub against things to mark them. You smell like
him in a way that is deliberate. It’s not just sex. He cares. And
I’m betting he’s the last number that called you while you were
unconscious.”

Her hands shook as she took the phone from the
vampire and checked the missed calls. Z’s number was there. And the
vampire was right, it wasn’t long ago. A couple of hours at the
most, depending on how long she’d been out.

“It doesn’t mean… ”

“Call him. And when you ask him to send the wolf
tomorrow night, make sure it sounds like your life depends on it.
Because it does. I have no other use for you. I’d just as soon
drain you for dinner and be done with it. You’re a bargaining chip.
Once that value disappears, I get hungrier.”

“How will Cole know how to get here?”

“The panther already has the address. A member of the
coven delivered it.”

She wished the vampire would give her some space and
stop hovering. Despite what he’d said, she wasn’t sure Z would
help.
All he has to do is call Cole and relay a message. Even if
he doesn’t want to see you again, he’ll do at least that much. It
won’t interrupt his bachelor lifestyle.

Z answered on the second ring. “Fiona?!”

Okay. Maybe he cared.

“Z! Are-are you sending Cole? I mean I know that we
aren’t a thing or anything, but please just call him… they’ll kill
me if he doesn’t show up.” She winced at the way her voice sounded,
the horrible pleading in it. There was a long pause. “Z?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I called Cole. I’ll be
there, too. I don’t know who you think I am, but if you think I’m
just leaving you to be negotiated over by a bunch of monsters,
you’ve lost your motherfucking mind.”

Fiona’s gaze shifted to the vampire, wondering if
he’d be upset about extra members in the rescue party.

The vampire raised an eyebrow. “I don’t care who all
is coming. I’ve got an army of my own. Should be fun. I look
forward to the smackdown.”

“Fiona?”

She turned her attention back to the phone, still
processing the fact that he was coming for her. Directly. No
intermediaries. “Yes?”

“Is he there in the room with you?”

She nodded, then remembering Z couldn’t see her, she
said, “Yes.”

“Give him the phone.”

She passed the phone to the vampire. “He w-wants to
speak to you.”

“I’m sure he does.”

The vampire took the phone, and then there was a lot
of yelling. Fiona couldn’t make out what Z was saying, but he was
angry.

Without the slightest irritation, the vampire said,
“It will be lovely to meet you tomorrow night. Ciao.” He chuckled
as he closed the flip phone. “That boyfriend of yours has a temper.
He told me if I touched a single hair on your head that he’d let me
find out what my intestines looked like before I died, then he’d
make a noose out of them and hang me while he drove a stake through
my heart. Such vivid imagery. It makes me wish he was one of
mine.”

“He said that?” She wasn’t quite sure if the vampire
was messing with her, though it
did
sound like something Z
might say.

“Nothing like a kidnapping to bring young lovers
together. Just think, without this melodrama, you two might have
remained stubborn for years until you forgot about one another. You
can thank me later.”

“Who will I send the card to?” Fiona asked,
uncharacteristic bravery creeping through.

“Anthony Burgess.”

“The Clockwork Orange guy?”

Anthony rolled his eyes. “No. Not The Clockwork
Orange guy. I swear. Do you have any idea how old I am? More than
one person on the planet can have the same name! If I’d known that
man would become famous for that book, I would have hunted him down
and killed him before he’d written the first page.”

Fiona shrank back. “Sorry,” she mumbled. This was
obviously a sore spot.

Anthony composed himself like someone had flipped a
switch, then patted her on the knee and started toward to door. “No
harm done. Someone will bring you dinner in a while. I expect you
to watch the pup for me until the big showdown.”

So what else was new? Kidnapped to be a babysitter.
Again.

Chapter Twelve

Z was running on almost no sleep. From the moment the
priest had told him they had Fiona, rest had been the last thing on
his mind. He shouldn’t have taken her back home. Let her whine and
cry. He should have listened to his instincts and kept her in the
cave.

But he’d been afraid it was less about her own safety
and more about him. And that was a rabbit hole he didn’t want to
fall down. Being attached was bad. He was just starting to get his
life back. He’d been so busy trying to get back to his status quo,
he hadn’t stopped to think about how empty that life had been.

Fiona was sweet and pretty, and he wanted to take
care of her. Maybe months with the pup had domesticated him after
all. Maybe it was only an illusion that he was still the hard
drinking, man-whore panther he’d been before he’d stumbled upon the
wolf.

Z couldn’t help blaming himself for the mess
everything was in. Fiona’s life was in danger because he’d taken
the pup, though he wouldn’t have met her without the pup,
either.

He expected to be on his way to Washington state by
now, but he was tramping through desert in the middle of the night.
Perfect weather, though. It was a demon dimension. His skin felt
itchy with the entire Cary Town werewolf pack trudging along behind
him. They each had bags and gear, but Z hadn’t asked any questions.
Being brought along for the trip was enough.

Ahead of him were two demons, Jane—who he’d met
before—and a male named Cain. The panther wasn’t up on the politics
of the various preternatural factions, but if he had to guess, Cain
ran this dimension. He moved through the place with the certainty
of someone who knew everyone would cater to his whims or else.

“This is far enough from my people to not cause a
disturbance. You can make camp here,” Cain said.

“Thank you,” Cole said, “We appreciate it.”

The demon looked incredulous. “I’m sorry, were you
dismissing me with that? This is my dimension, and if you all think
you’re living here until the danger is over, I’m going with you. I
want you all back in the hive within the next forty-eight
hours.”

“W-we might have to tell Anthony the hive’s location
to get our pup back,” Jane said. Unlike Cole, she was trying to
appease the demon.

“No. You will not. My dimension is for my demons
only. This is a safety precaution. We will be fighting. The day I
bend to a vampire is the day time stops. Fucking half-breeds.” The
demon leader turned to Z. “Are you fighting with us?”

“Oh, hell yes,” Z said. He wanted to make good on his
threat to Anthony. He hoped the vampire wouldn’t cooperate so he
could.

The demon nodded. “So myself, Jane, Cole—I’m sorry, I
didn’t catch your name.”

“Just call me Z,” Z said.

Cain ticked off numbers on his fingers as he said the
names, “and…
Just call me Z
.” He turned to the pack alpha.
“Pick your five best fighters, and I’ll pick my five best.”

Cole seemed irritated about being given orders, but
he let it go. It was Cain’s dimension. Z figured it was a
my
dimension, my rules
deal. If there had been any doubt over
who the leader was here, there wasn’t any more: Cain.

The demon disappeared down the path he’d led them
down, Jane following behind him. The pack started unpacking their
things and setting up their tents. Some of the younger pups cried
while their mothers reassured them everything here was safe.

Cole looked out at the pack. “I don’t know who is
coming back from this, so I’m not going to force anybody. A lot of
you have families, and I’m not asking you to stick your neck out
for me and my pup. So I’ll take five volunteers.”

The unpacking stopped and silence fell, then murmurs
and whispers. One of the wolves stepped forward. “Well, I’m the
beta, and I’m single, so I’m going.”

“Thanks, Blake”

A couple of females stepped out of the line.

“Mara, Shelly, I’m not sure about…” Cole started.

Mara spoke up. “I know. It’s just… neither of us has
pups or a mate yet, so it makes sense. If you end up with more than
five, we’ll fall back if not needed.”

Cole nodded. But it was doubtful there would be a
large number of volunteers. They seemed to have read
suicide
mission
from between the lines.

A young male that looked like alpha material stepped
out of the ranks. “I’ll go.”

“No!” A female. Possibly his girl, but there was no
mating mark on her.

“Lucy, stop it. I have to go. I’ll come home.”

“You don’t know that.”

He took her away from the group, and Z watched the
two of them argue, too far away to make out their words. The male
came back and joined the volunteers.

“I need one more,” Cole said.

“I’m going.” It was Lucy.

“You’re staying,” her boyfriend said.

“Oh, you’re my father now? If you’re going, I’m
going. You’ve talked about breaking off and starting your own pack.
If you’re going to be an alpha, I have to be a leader, too.”

“Lucy!” The male looked to Cole, scared. Shit, this
pack was terrified of him.

“It’s all right,” Cole said, “I’ve known he was an
alpha for a long time. His options eventually will be to fight me
or break off and form his own pack, and I’d just as soon not kill
him.”

***

Jane’s loyalties were split. Cain was her demon
leader and Cole was her mate. How was she going to be a demon and
the alpha female of the wolf pack? Those two things were hard to
prioritize. It shouldn’t be difficult with Cole being her mate, but
Cain had that charismatic leader magnetism, and crossing him would
be a mistake. The peace between her mate and the demon leader was
tenuous at best. She had to be the bridge that kept everybody
safe.

She hoped Cole didn’t think she was picking a side
against him. It just made sense to go with Cain for the demon
selection. Her mate could handle the wolves.

Cain didn’t speak as the empty desert slowly became a
town. She loved it here and wished the pack could move here, but
she knew Cain wasn’t going to start sheltering everybody, even if
it was the mate and pack of one of his demons.

Her thoughts turned to Anthony. She didn’t want to
believe he could be behind this. So much had changed. During the
tournament for vampire king, she hadn’t believed Anthony was all
that bad—not as evil as Linus. She’d breathed a sigh of relief when
he’d won, thinking he was the safer option.

He’d won more cool points when he’d allowed her to
kill Paul, the vampire who’d abused her and kept her prisoner until
Cole had rescued her. He’d said Paul was dying because of treason,
but she’d always believed it was partly for her. She was friends
with his mate after all.

Now that the vampire king had her child, it was hard
to see how anything he did was for anyone but himself. She wiped an
angry tear away—part anger at the vampire, part over her own
gullibility and faith in him.

“Do not start crying,” Cain said. “I need you strong
for this. That bastard has your pup. Be angry, but do not cry. Do
you understand me?”