Dana Bell: Cat of a Different Color

Too bad it wouldn’t work out. Rudy would take one look at the good doctor and eat him for lunch.

Literally.

Max sighed. “Long story, buddy, and one we’ll be telling the entire pack. C’mon in, take your coats off and have a seat. Hey, Jerry.”

She gave Jerry the command that let him know he was off duty, so when Max bent down and petted him, he wagged his tail hard enough to nearly pull the harness out of her hand. She laughed, glad her dog and her Alpha liked one another. “He likes you.”

“Good, because he’ll be seeing a lot of me.” He took her coat and handed it to Emma. Adrian casually guided her to a large burgundy leather sofa. She could see people moving around, but couldn’t really make out faces. Scents, on the other hand…

There were several men and women in the group; thankfully none of them wore perfume or cologne, something Weres tended not to do anyway. Their sensitive noses wouldn’t allow it. None of their scents were familiar except for Max, the Betas and Adrian. Children squealed and laughed upstairs. She could make out the sounds of a video game running somewhere and figured the majority of the children were there.

The enticing scent of the luscious Dr. Yum drifted towards her. “Rabid boyfriend?” Adrian whispered in her ear as he settled in next to her.

She sighed. “I only want to tell it once, okay?”

Silence.

“Please?” She didn’t know why she was pleading with him, but the weight of his stare was beginning to make her uncomfortable. And uncomfortably hot, something she did not need to be in a room full of predators.

She could just make out his nod before she heard his “Okay.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “But we will talk about this later.”

The feel of his breath on her ear and neck sent a shiver down her spine even as his commanding tone got her hackles up.

She frowned at him and started to say something, only to be interrupted by Max. “Okay, people, listen up. We have a new Pride member to meet tonight. She’s someone Simon and I knew in college, someone I changed when she needed help. Her name is Sheridan Montgomery. She’s a good person who’s had a hard time. She’s come to us for help, so please listen up.”

Sheri could hear the Alpha in Max’s voice, felt his power reach into the room. All of the conversations died down immediately as she stood and stepped forward. She could smell Max and his mate standing next to the fireplace, with Simon and Becky on Max’s right. She turned reluctantly to face the room. The moment of truth. Will they help me, or not?

“Hello,” she began, her fingers tightening on Jerry’s lead. He reacted by going back on duty, settling down next to her in an alert posture. “I’m Sheri.”

Adrian sat back as casually as he could and tried to get his tense muscles to relax. His mate had been threatened, and from the way Max and Simon were acting she was still under threat. His Puma was practically vibrating. If he’d had a tail it would have been swishing rapidly back and forth. Hell, even as a human he had the urge to stand up and pace, but he forced himself to stay still and listen to what Sheri had to say.

“Back in college, I dated a man named Rudy Parker. I was in my third year of the Comp Sci program, he was in the graduate program. Mechanical Engineering. He wanted to work with robots.” She smiled sadly as she said it. “He seemed like the answer to every dream I’d ever had.”

Adrian nearly growled. The thought of her caring about someone else that much set his teeth on edge, and he’d only known the woman for about an hour. Every possessive instinct he had began stretching, like a cat waking in the morning light, all of its attention centered on the slender blonde in front of him.

“In my senior year little things started to happen that had me worried. He’d tell me to wear a skirt, because he loved me in skirts, then he’d get upset if I wore jeans. He’d buy me hot chocolate to drink and pout if I wasn’t properly grateful. Things began escalating right before I graduated.”

Her voice was strong, but her hands began to shake. He had the urge to get up and put his arms around her, to let her know she’d be safe with him. Did this Parker guy hurt her? If he’d laid a hand on her he was a dead man. Adrian would hunt him down and gut him personally.

He felt someone’s eyes on him and turned. It was Simon. The man looked at him as if he knew exactly what he was thinking. And if anyone in this room did, it would be the big artist. His mate had been attacked and badly injured by a Pride member before she’d been turned, and Adrian knew Simon still wished he’d killed the bitch. Becky leaned into Simon and stroked his arm soothingly, but her eyes were glued to Sheri.

Adrian turned his attention back to his snow princess.

“Rudy knew I couldn’t see very well. I’m legally blind. I used a cane when I went places at college and at home. I knew my way around fairly well, so it wasn’t difficult, and the cane came in most useful when doing things like crossing the street. He took my cane, told me it had been stolen by some kids playing a prank, and then offered to help me around campus. He started missing his own classes to get me to mine, which seemed really sweet at the time. But if I didn’t go into the building, or if he checked on me and I wasn’t there, he would freak.

“That year I met Max.” Her smile wasn’t sad anymore; it was mischievous. “He was dating a girl who was getting too clingy and he was trying to get out of the relationship without hurting her feelings. And, no, there wasn’t another woman involved; he just felt pressured and wanted out. So we wound up comparing notes and some of the things I told him triggered alarm bells for him. He said he wanted to meet Rudy and I said sure.”

Adrian could feel her tension. Everyone, with the exception of the children upstairs, was completely still.

“Needless to say, Rudy wasn’t happy to meet Max. That night we went on a date and he took me out into the woods. I didn’t think anything of it at the time because we’d gone there before. It was his favorite place to be, someplace where we could talk about our dreams, how we wanted our lives to go, that sort of thing.”

She sighed, her head dipping down and off to one side. Adrian had the impression she was looking at him. He caught a flash of red from her eyes before she tilted her head back up, hiding her eyes behind those glasses. “He attacked me that night. I didn’t believe in Werewolves or Werepumas before that night.”

“Werewolves?” Belinda asked. She’d taken up a position near Becky, as was her habit since the attack on the female Beta. Becky’s eyes narrowed; Emma looked thoughtful. The Pride leaders both looked cold and emotionless, putting Adrian on guard. He turned his attention once again to Sheri.

“Yes. Werewolves. Rudy transformed right in front of me and attacked me. He held me on the ground and tried to mount me. My injuries were…bad.” She took a deep breath, obviously rattled by the memories, and Adrian couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He stood and went to her, standing next to her, holding the hand that wasn’t holding Jerry’s harness. She seemed to steady at his touch, her voice calming and growing stronger, and his Puma purred in satisfaction. “I managed to get away from him but I was bleeding pretty badly. Sometimes I think he wanted me to get away, that he wanted the thrill of the hunt, but I don’t think he expected me to get to the road.” She smiled slightly. “My guardian angel finally woke up when I reached the road, because I was nearly hit by Simon, who was coming home from a party.” Simon nodded grimly, confirming her story. “I begged him to take me to the hospital. He took me to Max instead. I don’t remember much of what happened after that, but when I woke up I was completely healed, other than a bite mark.” She pulled aside the edge of her white sweater to reveal a scar. Out of the corner of his eye Adrian saw Becky rub a similar mark. Simon’s hand covered his mate’s and he looked down at her with a fierce protectiveness that, for once, Adrian completely understood because he was battling the urge to look down at Sheri the same way.