Aimee paused outside of Carson's door, gathering her courage. Even though it'd been a month since she'd last seen the wolfswain, she still couldn't get the taste or scent of Fang out of her mind or her thoughts. It was as if he'd somehow branded her and made her his.

That was the most upsetting part of all.

Since then, she'd been subjected to three more rounds of "find a sex toy, Aimee." And unfortunately, none of the bearswains had stirred anything inside her. Not even repulsion or distaste. She was completely numb to them.

All of them.

What was wrong with her?

She needed to talk to someone and didn't dare speak of her concerns to any member of her large family for fear of it getting back to her parents. Her mother would kill her. Dead. Mutilated. And it wouldn't be pretty either.

But Aimee had to understand what was wrong with her. Why wasn't she finding any bears she wanted to mate with?

Most of all, why was she haunted by thoughts of the most unacceptable male on the planet?

"Aimee?"

She cursed inwardly at Carson's deep voice coming through the door. How could she have forgotten that power? He knew anytime anyone came near his office.

So much for indecisive dawdling.

Hold your fishing pole at ready. . . .

Bracing herself, she pushed the door open to see him sitting at the desk where a file was open. His hand, which held a pen, hovered over it as if he'd been making notes.

Tall and muscular, he'd almost pass for a bear. But Carson was an Arcadian hawk. His black hair and sharp features paid tribute to his Native American father and the heritage Carson held dear to his heart.

His features softened to those of fatherly affection for her, which was almost comical since she was about a hundred years older than he, even though she looked younger. "Is something wrong?"

Shaking her head, she entered and closed the door tight behind her. "Do you have a second?"

"For you, always."

She offered him a smile at his sincere answer. The two of them had been friends since he'd first shown up and asked Maman about setting up a clinic in their home-over sixty years ago. It'd been the best decision they ever made. Not only was he the best vet and doctor she'd ever seen, he was a vital ally and trusted friend to them all.

Carson pulled a chair out for her to sit down beside him. Putting his pen aside, he leaned back and folded his hands over his stomach. "So what's on your mind?"

Aimee sat down and tried to sort through her thoughts and concerns. "I've been wondering about something."

When she hesitated, he arched a brow. "Is this a female problem? You want me to get Margie out here for you? Would that help with your embarrassment? You know, Aimee, I am a doctor so there's no reason you can't tell me anything. I may not be a woman, but I understand your bodies and am familiar with your unique problems."

Heat rushed over her face. That was just what she needed . . . a human to give her advice on her animal senses going awry. Margie was nice enough, but she knew nothing about mating rituals. Good grief, this was getting worse by the second. "No, it's nothing like that. It's just . . ."

I want to jump a wolf until we're both limping and I have no idea why.

Why was this so hard for her?

Because you want to jump a wolf and if anyone finds out, you're toast.

True enough. But she had to talk to Carson and find out if this was some freakish problem of hers or if there was a precedent in their species that she didn't know about. Something to make her feel a little more "normal." At least as normal as a werebear with heightened powers could be.

C'mon, Aim. Just say it.

"It's inter-species related."

Carson's other brow shot up. "Are you afraid of insulting me?"

"No . . . at least I hope not." She hadn't even thought about the fact that Carson was half human and half Arcadian. "I'm just trying to understand how it all works. I mean, I understand in your case where one parent is human and the other Arcadian . . . that's almost a natural attraction when two humans meet. Most of the time the human has no idea the other isn't human and so the attraction makes sense, especially since humans tend to have an unnatural attraction to us anyway. I get that. What has me stumped are the ones like Wren's parents. What would make a snow leopard want to mate with a tiger or a Katagari mate with a human?"

There, that should get her an answer without her telling him the real reason she was asking.

Carson considered his answer carefully before he gave her a gimlet stare. "Honestly?"

She nodded.

"No one really knows. There's all kinds of speculation that it's something wrong with the DNA. Maybe a defective gene we don't know about. A birth defect if you will. Kind of the same thing that makes a human crave inappropriate sexual partners. But . . ." He glanced away.

Great, she had a birth defect.

"But?" she prompted, wanting to hear if he had another explanation that didn't end with her being chromosomally damaged.

"I personally wonder if it's not something the Fates do to us as a continuing punishment."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, look at Wren. Regardless of who he partners with, human or Were-Hunter, he'll most likely be sterile. Anytime a Katagari, male or female, is mated with a human, there's no chance whatsoever of progeny. Even as an Arcadian, I have less chance of fathering children because my father was human. I think it's a way the Fates have contrived to kill off our species."

Aimee hadn't even thought of that. How cruel could three goddesses really be?

Then again . . .

"That makes sense in a very twisted way . . . which would coincide with it being a gift from the Fates."

Carson nodded. "Exactly. It would also explain why it's so common for us to mate outside our species. I think it's why so many Arcadian and Katagaria end up together. The Fates are hoping the women will reject the men and then both are left sterile for the rest of their lives. It's cruel really."

Yes, it was.

But it still didn't explain her attraction to Fang. "Have you ever heard of a completely out-of-species mating?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like in Wren's case, while they weren't the same species per se, they were both cats. Have you ever heard of say a wolf wanting to mate with a hawk or a dragon?"

Or in her case, a bear.

She cleared her throat before she asked the most significant part. "Especially if say one of them was Arcadian and the other Katagaria?"

Carson scowled as if her question was completely preposterous. "No. That's never been done. At least not to my knowledge. Gods, I can't imagine anything worse than that. Can you?"

Actually, yes, she could, lots of things, point of fact. But she wasn't about to say that out loud and risk his telling her mother. "Horrifying to the extreme."

And she really did mean that. How could she even think about touching Fang? Like Carson had said, it was unnatural and wrong. It defied everything she knew about her people and their traditions.

Everything.

Yet she couldn't get him out of her mind. He hovered there in the back of her thoughts like a beckoning light, drawing her fantasies to him anytime she left them unguarded. Even now, a part of her wanted to go hunt for him.

I am so broken.

Aimee was about to get up when a sharp, shooting pain went through her head.

Carson leaned forward, concerned as she doubled over from the agony of it. "Are you all right?"

An image of Wren went through her. She could see him outside being trounced by a group she absolutely hated. "Wren's in trouble."

Carson gave her a suspicious look. "He's downstairs busing tables. How can he be in trouble?"

Aimee shook her head as images of him being beaten flashed through her head in sharp clarity. Because of the close friendship they shared, she could almost feel the blows. "He's not inside the club."

Without another word to Carson, she flashed herself to the alley behind the club where they dropped their garbage into Dumpsters.

Sure enough, just as she'd seen in her mind, Wren was there, surrounded by a pack of wolves. It was the Arcadian pack that had been in New Orleans even longer than the bears had. Their leader, Stone, had been at odds with her clan since he'd hit puberty.

All of them hated that little prick.

There was something about him that just chafed her raw. He and his bully squad were always looking for some reason to jump any Were-Hunter who came to Sanctuary-if they were Katagaria, even better. She had no idea why they were so aggressive, but there was no excuse in their behavior.

Wren was trying to maintain his human form, but because he was in the middle of puberty and currently in pain from their beating, his form kept shifting from naked human to tiger to leopard and back again. He was covered in bruises and blood from their bites.

Anger descended on her with a vengeance as she ran at the wolves. "Get out of here! What are you doing?"

They turned on her then. Stone, who was more than a head taller than her and twice her girth, grabbed her and shoved her against the wall. "You're not inside the club, little girl. The protection of Sanctuary doesn't exist out here. Stay out of this or get hurt."

Wren growled as he lunged after one of the other wolves, but he was no match for them. Not while he couldn't control his powers.

The sight of them preying on him disgusted her.

"If those are my only two choices . . . I choose to get hurt." She head-butted Stone and kicked him back, then ran to Wren to try and help him to his feet. Something that would have been infinitely easier if he stopped switching from human to large, heavy cat.

"Can you walk?" she asked him, panting from the strain of trying to lift his body.

"I'm trying."

"Can you flash him inside?"

She froze at the deep sound of Fang's voice in her ear. Looking up, she saw him in human form. Her heart pounded in gratitude as she did what he asked and prayed that Wren's uncontrolled powers didn't interfere with hers for the jump.

Fang turned to face the Arcadians who stared at him in disbelief.

"Well, well," their leader said in a smug tone. "What have we here? A piece of Katagari trash that's taken up refuge with the bears?"

Fang gave him his best shit-eating grin that was designed to anger him. "No, just a wolf who's going to kick your ass back to whatever hole it crawled out of."

Their leader scoffed at his boast. "And you plan to do this alone? You think a lot of yourself, don't you, animal?"

Fang shook his head. "Oh, punk, please. Believe me, when dealing with wusses like you who have to gang up on a kid to feel powerful, I don't need any help."

They charged him. Fang turned into a wolf as he leapt at the leader's throat. He tackled him to the ground. He would have ravaged him more, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the others pull a Taser. As the Arcadian fired it, Fang leapt out of the way. It fizzed on the leader who went down cursing.

Fang dove at the legs of another. Before he could get ahold of him, Dev and his brothers were there as backup. Not that he needed it, but . . .

The Arcadians scattered like school-yard bullies seeing a principal.

Fang manifested his human form and sneered at their flight. "Yeah, you better run home to your mama. Hide under her skirts until you grow enough balls to stand and fight."

Dev grabbed the one who was still on the ground. "Stoooone," he said, his tone lethal as he dragged out Stone's name. "How many times do we have to tell you not to come here?"

But it was hard to hold on to him since Stone was shifting from human to wolf and back again.

"The tiger started it," Stone growled out the ten and a half seconds he was human.

Dev snorted. "I somehow doubt it. Wren keeps to himself unless he's provoked."

"What about you?" The Dev lookalike with the ponytail sneered at Fang. "Why are you here?"

Fang narrowed his eyes as he took issue with the bear's tone. "Back off, Grizzly Adams. I don't answer to you."

"Leave him alone, Remi," Aimee said as she rejoined them. "He allowed me to get Wren inside and send you guys out here to deal with Stone."

Passing an arrogant sneer at Remi that he was sure ticked the bear off to no end, Fang turned his attention to Aimee. Dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans, she took his breath away. Her blond hair was mussed with a large strand of it falling into her eyes.

Every part of him came to life.

She didn't even look his way as she lunged at Stone.

Remi swung away from him to catch her. "Settle down, little sister."

Aimee struggled against his hold. "Settle down, my heinie. Did you see what he did to Wren? I want to claw a piece of his skin off."

Stone raked her with a repugnant glare. "He's an animal, like you. He deserves nothing better than to be a hide mounted on a wall."

Aimee kicked at Stone, but, courtesy of Remi, her foot just missed him. "You disgusting filth! If you're the ideal of humanity, I'd much rather be an animal." She looked at Dev with her lips curled. "You're right, I hate wolves. They're the most repulsive breed ever conceived. Why Lycaon picked them for his sons is beyond me. I think they should all be rounded up and executed. Filthy dogs! All of you!"

Stunned, Fang felt her words like a blow to his stomach. Dog was the worst insult that could be dealt to a wolf. It likened them to a whipped animal whose only function was to please its master. A mindless supplicant with no power, no dignity, and no sense.

But it wasn't so much what she said, it was the sincere hatred backing those words that cut him the deepest.

She was just like the all the others who hated his species and it was why the wolves did their best to avoid the other branches of their kind. No wonder with all the different breeds living under the Peltier roof none of them were wolves.

It was all crystal clear now.

Making sure to keep his voice even, Fang stepped forward. "For the record, there's a big difference between a dog and a wolf. The main one being, we heel to no one. Ever."

Aimee went cold as she remembered Fang's presence. She froze in Remi's arms as instant regret tore through her. How could she have forgotten he was here?

She turned and saw the anguish he hid behind an emotionless expression. It burned deep in his eyes. "Fang-"

He vanished before she could finish her apology.

Aimee cursed. How could I have been so stupid?

The problem was she didn't include him in the same category as Stone and his crew. And up until she'd met Fang and his pack, Stone was the only wolf she'd ever been around.

Remi tsked at her as Dev took Stone inside. "Guess you hurt his little feelings, huh?"

Aimee had to bite her tongue to keep from telling him to shut up.

I can't leave it like this. . . .

Without a word to her brothers, she closed her eyes and zoned in on Fang. He'd manifested not with his pack or brother, but on the lower end of Bourbon Street where he sat on a stoop looking as ill as she felt.

How strange . . .



Fang sat alone outside of a ubiquitous New Orleans row house as anger, hurt, and hatred burned deep in his stomach. He should just go home.

Yeah, right. . . .

Vane was being as moody as a teen Gemini on her period after he'd seen some human he was now pining for. Anya was off with her mate and Petra hissed and growled every time she saw him. Alone and lonely, he'd been wandering around the French Quarter, trying to get his bearings on their latest den.

Somehow he'd found his way back to Sanctuary.

No, it wasn't "somehow." He'd gone there seeking the one thing he knew he shouldn't seek.

Aimee. All he'd wanted was just to catch a glimpse of her. He'd told himself that that would be enough to ease the ache inside him. Just one glimpse and he'd be satisfied.

He let out a tired breath. What had he really expected? That Aimee would fall into his arms, strip him naked, and make love to him?

She's a bear.

You're a wolf.

No, according to her, he was a filthy dog who should be rounded up and executed.

"Fang?"

He looked up at her gentle voice to see her appear on the street in front of him. "How'd you find me?"

Aimee paused at the hostile tone. "Your scent," she lied, not willing to tell him about her powers.

"I don't leave a scent. I know better."

She shook her head in denial. "You leave a scent." It'd been branded into her senses the moment he'd kissed her.

"Whatever." He pushed himself to his feet. "Look, I don't need any more insults from you or anyone else. I'm over my quota for the day. Just go home and leave me alone."

She pulled on the sleeve of his jacket to stop him from leaving. "I didn't mean what I said."

"Don't insult my intelligence. I'm not a dog and I heard the sincerity in your tone. You meant every word of it."

She stiffened angrily. "All right, so I meant what I said. Sue me. But it was directed at Stone and his craven bullies. I didn't even think to include you in that category."

Yeah, right. How stupid did she think he was? "I don't believe you."

Aimee wanted to cry in frustration. But the one thing she knew about pigheaded men . . . there was no way to change their minds. "Fine. Don't believe me then." She let go of his sleeve and held her hands up in surrender. "I don't even know why I bothered."

"Why did you bother?" He moved closer to her. So close she was dizzy from it and all she really wanted to do was tuck herself into his arms and feel him hold her.

The scent of his skin filled her head. She could feel the warmth from his body. . . .

Every piece of her sizzled. There was no other word for it. Maman was right, there was no mistaking this. This was the quickening she was supposed to feel-the overwhelming lure to mate. That one elusive sensation she'd been trying so hard to experience with her kind.

And Fang was the only one who made her feel it.

Damn.

She ground her teeth before she answered with the truth. "I didn't want you angry at me."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." But she did know and that was the most upsetting part of all. She wanted him.

All of him.

He reached for her. Aimee stood still, wanting that touch. Needing it.

But she couldn't. This is so wrong. . . .

It would crush every person who meant something to her. Everyone she loved.

Stepping back, she bit her lip. "I need to get back and check on Wren. He doesn't do well around other people or animals."

"Neither do I."

She swallowed, then forced herself to vanish.

Fang stood there in the darkness, savoring the last remnants of her scent on the breeze. He wanted to howl over it.

Most of all, he wanted to track her down and ease the pain inside him that wanted to savor every inch of her lush body.

His breathing ragged, it took all his control not to chase after her. But she'd made it clear that she was off-limits to him. He would honor that.

Even if it killed him.

Looking down at the bulge in his jeans, he decided that outcome wasn't as far-fetched a thought as it should be.



Stone was captured by the bears . . . again."

Eli Blakemore looked up from the book he was reading to pin a menacing glare on his son's second in command. What was his name? David? Davis? Donald? Dreck?

It didn't matter. He was born of lesser stock anyway. Unlike his lineage, the Arcadian before him came from some unknown Apollite half-wit Eli's ancestor had experimented on.

Eli's bloodline came straight from the king of Arcadia himself-from the king's eldest son, no less. That distinction had been impressed upon him from the moment of his birth. Theirs was a sacred duty to show the plebeians how to behave and to police the animals his ancestor should have slaughtered the moment they were created.

And he'd be damned if a group of Katagaria mongrels was going to touch his illustrious son.

Rising to his feet, he set his book down with a calmness he didn't feel. "Have Varyk come to me."

The wolf gulped audibly. "Varyk?"

Eli gave him a tight-lipped smile. Varyk was the most lethal werewolf ever born. A natural-born killer, Varyk would be the tool Eli would use to destroy that nest of filth that had infested his city. He was sick of those bears and all they represented.

It was time they took back New Orleans for once and for all. Sanctuary was going to burn to the ground.

And Varyk would light the match.

"Yes. Varyk. Fetch him. Now."