Dana Bell - Cat of a Different Color

Sheri snuffled in her sleep and curled in tighter around him. Sighing, she settled back down, one arm draped across his stomach, one leg thrown across both of his.

If they didn’t catch Rudy soon he was going to be one massively tired kitty. He kissed his princess on the forehead and resigned himself to guarding her sleep.

Richard Lowell was huge and intimidating. The man easily reached six-foot-four. Broad, powerful shoulders matched the massively muscled arms crossed over his chest. Pale blue eyes stared coldly at Adrian from a face that had seen hard times. There was a scar that ran the length of his left cheek, an angry red one that let Adrian know it was still new, probably within the last few weeks. Since he was the new Pack Alpha, odds were he’d received it during a dominance challenge. Long bright red hair was tightly bound by a braid that went all the way to his waist. He wore black jeans and a dark blue sweater that strained against his massive chest. “What do you mean you’re leaving to bring back the other female?”

Belinda was being discharged from the hospital. She’d been in a full day longer than Sheri. She’d refused to go to a halfway house, opting instead for physical therapy on an outpatient basis. “Both women are at risk, Belle because she pushed Sheri out of the way of the car. I think it’s best to have them both under the same roof, especially since Belle can’t protect herself right now. Gabriel will guard Sheri while I fetch Belle.”

“I don’t think that’s wise.”

Adrian stared at the huge Pack Alpha. “You’re here. Are you telling me that Parker will be able to get through you, your Marshal, his second, my second, and two other wolves to get to my mate?”

“I’ll send one of my wolves to fetch the female.”

Adrian rolled his eyes. “Sure, right. Belle would take one look at your guys and scream her head off. No offense but she doesn’t know any of you guys from Adam, and she has reason to be cautious of Wolves right now.”

“But she trusts you, since you’re Pride.” Richard still stared at him coldly. “Then have one of my men go with you, or send your Second.”

Gabe flushed. “She won’t go with me, either.”

Richard looked at the sheriff briefly before returning those cold eyes to Adrian. “Meaning that the female can’t trust the peacekeepers of her Pride?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose; the headache he’d woken up with that morning was only getting worse. “Look, there were some issues between Belle and the rest of the Pride that we’re still resolving, and none of them are her fault. She trusts very few people right now. I just happen to be one of them.”

He looked around the room at the five Wolves and three Pumas. “Sheri isn’t leaving this house, and she’s one of the few Belle trusts. Emma and Becky are dealing with the vandalism of their store. Max and Simon will be going with me to get Belle, and, no, I will not send them alone; the threat is to both of them as well. Gabe will protect my mate. I’m asking you to stay here and help him with that. If you can’t I’ll make other arrangements.”

The power rolling off of Richard was different from the power that Max exuded with such ease. The man was incredibly strong, but the difference between the independent, strong-willed power of the Pride Alpha and the dominant hammer the Pack Alpha wielded as he tried to bludgeon Adrian into submission were completely different. Richard didn’t give a fuck what Adrian wanted. He demanded obedience with his force of will. He probably always got it, too.

But not today.

Adrian knew he was right. He was acting on his instincts as his Pride’s Marshal, not as a Puma with a mate in danger. The thought of sending Max and Simon to the hospital alone gave him a major case of the panics. He stared the Alpha down, not budging an inch as Gabe clutched his head and groaned. Sheri curled up in a ball, whimpering at the power rolling through the room.

“Let it go, Rick, he’s not going to budge,” the Pack Marshal said with a smile as his second joined in with some head clutching and groaning of his own. The other wolves were all cowering on the floor at their Alpha’s display of temper.

The power Richard had been wielding abruptly cut off. “You are a stubborn man,” Richard said softly.

“I’m my Pride’s Marshal, and every instinct I have says it’s dangerous to send Max after Belle without me.”

Richard stared at him for a long moment before nodding once. He turned to his Marshal. “Secure the area, Ben. Let me know when the Pride Alpha and Beta arrive.”

The man nodded once and motioned to the other wolves. They left the house, presumably to “secure the area” to their Alpha’s satisfaction.

“Thank you.”

The other man finally smiled. “No problem.”

Adrian shook his head and sat next to Sheri. He gathered her close, not surprised when she tucked her face into his shoulder. “As soon as the others get here I’ll leave. Belle will sleep here, with us, until Parker’s dealt with. You’ll be able to fuss over each other to your heart’s content. Okay?”

She nodded.

“Head hurt, princess?”

She shook her head.

Richard knelt in front of them, his ice blue eyes soft as he looked at the trembling woman. “I promise you, Parker will not lay a finger on you while you are under my protection.”

Sheri looked up at the huge man. She bit her lip, uncertainty in her eyes as she stared at him. “May I see you?”

Adrian started, his Puma snarling. “Seeing” Richard meant nose to nose, not something he felt comfortable with.

Richard looked at Adrian, then looked back at Sheri. “I can understand your nervousness, considering it was Wolves who attacked you. If it will make you feel more comfortable, by all means, um,” he frowned, slightly confused, “see me.”

Adrian sat back and forced himself to allow his mate to get close to the big, bad Wolf.

Sheri stared at the large red-headed man in front of her and tried to remember that he was there to help.

The fact that he smelled of Wolf didn’t help much. His coldness and his power only made her more afraid.

But when he’d knelt in front of her and tried to reassure her she’d known he understood. He only seemed cold. Every instinct she had told her that this man would sooner gnaw off his own paw than hurt a woman. She didn’t know how she knew that, she just did.

Maybe it was in his scent, or the way he immediately grasped her problem and tried to fix it in the only way he knew how. By opening himself up to her examination he allowed her teeth and claws dangerously close to his unprotected eyes and neck, something he would never do if he felt threatened in any way. It reassured her in a way nothing else could have.

She leaned in close and allowed their noses to almost touch. She felt Adrian’s tension and knew he wouldn’t appreciate it if she actually made contact with the other man.

Pale blue eyes stared at her from a battle-worn face. The initial layer of frost hid a nature more deeply compassionate and caring than any she’d ever seen before, mixed with a fierce determination to protect those he considered under his care. It was easy to see. She’d seen it in Adrian’s eyes once too often to mistake it.

But it was different in this man. Where Adrian was content to slide through until his special abilities were called for, this man was always “on”, always aware of what was happening with and to those people he considered his. If her mate hadn’t had the threat of Parker to fuel his power, he’d have been groaning right alongside Gabe.

“I can see why she is your mate now,” he said, staring into her eyes. What he saw there, she had no idea, but it seemed to reassure him just as much as what she saw reassured her. “She sees deeply, more deeply than anyone I’ve ever met.”