The Catalyst (a paranormal romance: Preternaturals Book 3)

by Zoe Winters

  Z had been surprised when she hadn’t started shouting spells at him and throwing balls of energy. Some witches were kind of intense. Different magic users had different skills and gifts, and he was thankful that didn’t seem to be part of her repertoire. Aside from the skill she had that he needed, she seemed to need a lot of prep work for magic, which was good. It kept the balance of power in his favor, exactly where he preferred it to be at all times.

  He pulled her to him, setting to work bandaging her arm. “I’m Zane Trent, but you can call me Z.”

  “I need my books. I can heal this if you’ll just let me get my books,” she said, ignoring his introduction. Poor girl probably wasn’t yet prepared to see him as anything beyond the crazy naked man in her kitchen.

  He snorted. “Sure, I’m that stupid. I get you your books, and you hex me into a sealed magic jar or turn me into a frog. No can do. Besides, don’t self-healing spells take a lot of energy out of a witch?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “I need you with full energy to help take care of this pup.”

  “You’re insane.”

  “Only moderately. This kid is driving me crazy. I need help.”

  Her expression softened. “Still. I-I can’t go out there.”

  “Out where?”

  Her gaze went to the door.

  “You went out there to bring the pup in.”

  “I know but… I try not to go outside.”

  Z moved on to her torso, which was just grazed, not as bad as the arm. He was beginning to think he had a nut job on his hands. “Why?”

  Her voice lowered to a whisper as if she didn’t want to be overheard. “The birds told me something bad would happen.”

  Fucking great. All he needed was a mentally unstable nanny he couldn’t bring himself to leave the kid with. What good was that going to do him?

  “I’m not crazy,” she said, as if reading his mind.

  She’d probably just read his facial expression. Unless she could read minds. Could she read minds? Hey, I think you’re real pretty. If you weren’t so pretty I’d eat you for dinner, he thought at her. But she didn’t react; she was still on about her birds. At least his mind was safe from her.

  “They did warn me,” she said, “I heard them just like I heard you when you were in your other form. And just like I understood what the wolf needed.”

  She had him there.

  “Come on, it’s only a few miles from here,” he said. Despite his intention not to negotiate with her, he found himself negotiating. If he could get her to come to his cave of her own free will it would be so much simpler. Maybe her weird outside phobia was minor, just a blip on an otherwise sane human being.

  “Miles? Miles! No. Oh no. Miles are too far. Way too far. That’s just impossible for me. I’m sorry.”

  He’d known it was too much to hope for.

  “Nothing will get you out there. I’ll protect you,” he said, standing and offering a hand like he was about to sweep her up on his white stallion and go riding off into the sunset. Was he about to do that?

  She held her bandaged arm up and raised a brow. It was still dripping blood. “That makes me feel safe.”

  He tried again, willing himself to be patient and not shift and chase her out of the house. He was betting her fear of him would dwarf her fear of the nebulous outside if push came to shove. “What’s your name?”

  She looked away. “I wish you’d put some clothing on.”

  “No problem, ma’am. Let me just step outside where I keep my traveling walk-in closet.” Ordinarily her shyness would entertain him, but right now it was annoying. “Stop acting like a virgin.”

  The attractive flush that came to her cheeks confirmed the suspicion that had been building in the back of his mind, the suspicion he’d hoped he’d been wrong about. “A girl as pretty as you? You had no opportunities? No interest?”

  Her hands were in her lap, and she’d gone to staring at them, he guessed because clothing wasn’t about to magically appear on him.

  “I don’t ever leave my house. So, no. You’re the first adult male I’ve ever…”

  “Seen naked?” He’d softened his voice because now he just felt like an ass. He’d destroyed her kitchen, injured her, and now this. He disappeared back down the hallway to the bathroom and returned, wrapped in a towel for her comfort more than his. “Better?” he asked.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He sighed. “If you won’t come with me, I need you to watch the pup for a while. Can you do that?”

  She nodded, and he shifted back into his panther form and jumped out the window. By nightfall she’d be in his cave with him where it was safer. She just didn’t know it yet. Sometimes these things took finesse.

  Chapter Two

  Fiona swept the glass into a pile and put a tarp over the window. Stan, the window guy, wouldn’t be able to get there to fix it until the next day. It made her wish she’d had that security system put in last year or had another magic user come in and put up wards for her.

  She’d let the wards lapse because they required going outside and all around the house. It took too much time out there. It made her too anxious. And when she was anxious, she couldn’t do magic worth a damn, anyway.

  Now she was left unprotected with the pup.

  The panther had only been gone half an hour, but the sun was starting to set. She almost wished she’d had the courage to go with him, with the window being how it was. Maybe she could work up the nerve to ask him to stay with her overnight, assuming she could convince him she wasn’t propositioning him. He seemed the type who knew how good-looking he was.

  The bandages were still seeping blood. He was right about the stitches, if she didn’t do a healing spell. She got up to get her supplies. The wolf jumped on the pile of glass shards making them crunch on the floor. A piece flew up and landed on her foot.

  “Oh, no puppy, don’t do that. You’ll cut your paw, and I’ll have to do two healing spells. I’m not sure I have that much energy in me.”

  He twisted his head to the side like he was trying to parse her language; his tongue lolled out in a grin. She wanted to squeeze him. He was so adorable.

  Fiona was startled by a knock on the door. “W-who is it?”

  “It’s me. Z.”

  He was back already? She opened the door to see him in jeans, hiking boots, and a black T-shirt that slid over his muscles like fabric sin. At least it was clothing.

  “Fiona Patrone. I believe you left your electric bill in the front yard.” He passed the white rectangle to her and she ripped it from his hand. It must have fallen out of her waistband when she was picking up the pup to bring him inside.

  Great. He knew her name now. Not that it mattered. He knew where she lived. It wasn’t like knowledge of her name was a bigger security risk at this point.

  To make herself stop staring at him, she turned to scoop up the wolf pup. “He’s been very…” The words died there as a foul-smelling cloth pressed against her mouth and nose. She struggled for several seconds, but he was too strong for her. She tried not to breathe in, to little avail. Besides her pounding heartbeat, the last thing she heard was his whispered apology.

  ***

  Fiona opened her eyes to find a strange, older gentleman sitting beside her. As consciousness resumed and the fog cleared, she felt the pain. “Ow, ow, OW!”

  “Careful, you’ll rip the stitches. I’m not quite done.”

  She jerked her arm away, and he released the needle and thread. It dangled from her arm as she tried to orient herself to her surroundings.

  “Where am I?”

  Another form moved into her peripheral vision, the voice low and deep. “My place.” Z.

  She spun swiftly, and regretted it, feeling woozy. He was there so fast she didn’t see him move, his hand under her elbow, steadying her.

  “Careful.” His warm breath was in her ear when he spoke. His nearness did weird things to her. His voice, his hand on her elbow, it w
as just too much.

  She pulled away and he backed off, his hands in the air as if he were the good guy and she was just some hysterical woman in the midst of her monthly. Well, we’ll see about that. “You drugged me! I can’t believe you drugged me!”

  “It was necessary. I said I needed your help.” He was still wearing pants, at least, but his shirt was nowhere to be found.

  She tried to forget his pecs and focus on her anger. “That’s your rationalization for kidnapping me? Let’s find out what the authorities have to say.” She turned to the older gentleman who had been stitching up her arm. “This man has brought me here against my will. You have to call the police. It’s your civic duty.”

  The older gentleman held out his hand. “Please, Miss. Just one more stitch and I’ll have you all patched up. Would you like some drugs to dull the pain?”

  She goggled at him. No she didn’t want drugs. That was the last thing she needed. “Didn’t you hear me?”

  “I heard you.” He guided her to sit back on the couch, took her arm, and finished the stitching while she tried not to scream. No way was she going to let the asshole who brought her here see her cry over stitches. A few moments later the older man patted her arm. “There, now. You’ll be good as new before you know it.”

  She could have handled it just fine on her own with her books and tools and with much less pokey-needle pain. She didn’t need someone to come along and stitch her up. The man handed a bottle of pills to Z.

  “Make sure she takes these. One in the morning and one at night to avoid infection. Humans aren’t like us. You’ve got to be careful with them.”

  “I’m a witch! I don’t need any of that. I’ve got magic.” She looked around, but none of her books were there—just a small bag she recognized that looked like it had clothes in it. “Where are my books and tools?”

  “Again,” Z said, “I won’t have you doing magic while you’re with me. I’m not stupid.”

  She felt like she couldn’t breathe. No books or tools. She wasn’t at her house, but outside. Miles away. Was the room getting hotter?

  Z snapped a finger in front of her face before she could make a dramatic scene. The panic attack had been edging in on her senses.

  “Hey. None of that. We’re not doing that here. Do you read me?”

  His flippant attitude about her emotional state pissed her off enough that the anxiety eased. Nothing like anger to ward off an encroaching panic attack. She looked around. At least the cave looked secure. It was small, closed in. Cozy. Safe. Safer than her house right now, she reasoned. She just had to think of this as the new, safe home base.

  Easier said than done.

  The doctor continued, unfazed. “And this one…” he passed a second bottle to Z. “These are for pain if she needs them.”

  “I’m not taking any of that,” Fiona said, still ruffled that the doctor who wasn’t human was siding with her abductor. Only therians had this honor-among-thieves code to this extreme. No human doctor would go along with kidnapping.

  Z’s eyes narrowed at her, then he turned back to the doctor. “She’ll take them. Thanks, doc.”

  “No problem. You have my number.”

  When he was gone, Fiona dropped back into the chair. She was trapped. Maybe not literally. She wasn’t sure if she was locked in or not. But the fear of going outside was enough to confine her to this new prison.

  It was only now that the situation was starting to dawn on her in the way it would have dawned on someone who didn’t have her particular phobias much earlier. A dangerous panther therian had kidnapped her. He’d said he needed her help with the pup, but he’d also said he just needed her to watch the wolf for a while, during which time he’d gone to get the tools he needed to take her without a fight. His word was worthless.

  “Hey. Stop all that thinking,” Z said, snapping his fingers in front of her face again. “I really did just bring you here to help me with the pup. I have no evil plan.”

  “How can I trust that?”

  He held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

  Fiona wrinkled her nose, not trusting that for a minute.

  “Look. If I’d wanted to hurt you, I could have done it a thousand times already.”

  She held up her arm again to make the point that he had, in fact, already done physical damage.

  “You know what I mean. You think I couldn’t have killed you in a couple of swipes if I’d wanted? And if I’d wanted to do other things… that would have been simple enough, too. I’m not a bad guy.”

  She didn’t like the way his eyes roved over her body, sizing her up when he said other things. Or maybe she did like it. She’d never had a man look at her like she was an appetizer before. Again, that was probably because she wasn’t around men, being in her house all the time.

  “Whatever. You know I’m stuck here now, right? If you ever want to get rid of me, you’ll have to chloroform me to get me back home. Because I still can’t go out there.” She knew it was ludicrous, how crazy it sounded, that she’d rather stay in the cave with some unhinged panther guy she didn’t know she could trust, than to be faced with a few miles trip back to her own home. Of course it was illogical. Phobias weren’t logical. But logic didn’t change how she felt.

  “I assumed as much. And if that’s all right with you, I’ll do that as soon as I’ve found the pup’s family. Whatever you need to make it easier. I also took care of your window. I’ve got a guy working on it right now. When you get back home everything should be secure. Just like before.”

  Before you came crashing into my life, you mean?

  There was still that part of her that was sad about the prospect of going back to her house by herself. Because as screwed up as this whole situation was, when and where was she going to meet another guy? Even if she could go out and mingle like normal people, the odds of meeting another one this hot were slim.

  Therians tended to have the animal magnetism going, but they didn’t often mingle with magic users socially—not since that website with the therian blood started up. There had always been suspicion between the magic users and the therians. Neither could ever trust the motivations of the other, and now, they didn’t need to.

  How many decades would pass before another eligible man just showed up at her house and busted through her window? Men weren’t like pizza delivery. Sadly. It was the one thing she couldn’t order off the Internet.

  Even if she met a guy, how was she going to date him? The kind of man who would only be interested in coming over to her place and not going anywhere, wasn’t the kind of man she wanted. She didn’t want to be somebody’s late night booty call. Besides, it was beyond embarrassing that she’d made it to twenty-seven without losing her virginity. She wouldn’t know what to do. They’d assume something was wrong with her, or that she was freaky religious.

  Still, she wasn’t going to throw herself at the panther, especially since he looked like the kind of guy who had enough experience to write a sex manual. She didn’t want to be his poker-with-the-guys story about the clueless chick who didn’t know her way around a man’s body.

  “All right, then,” Z said. “Are you hungry? I’m afraid the extent of my kitchen skills are cardboard box plus microwave. But I’ve got a stash of everything in the deep freezer.”

  “Don’t panthers hunt?”

  “I do. But I’ve got a high metabolism. Hunting is great, but I like to think my whole life doesn’t revolve around it.” He waved the frozen food box in her direction. “I’ve got mac and cheese, here. You interested?”

  Why not? “Sure. Mac and cheese sounds fine.”

  Fiona couldn’t stop looking at his tanned upper body as he opened boxes and peeled the clear plastic cover off the food. She was a great cook, but she wasn’t about to insist he run to the store for her so she could make something proper. She bet he’d never had homemade macaroni and cheese before.

  She shook herself out of the thoughts of making him a home-cooked meal. Tha
t was not the appropriate response when someone kidnapped you to turn you into an indentured werewolf nanny. Fiona wasn’t sure there was an appropriate response to that circumstance, or that anyone else had ever had it happen to them before.

  A few minutes later he passed the first macaroni entree to her, along with a fork, then he tossed his in the microwave and pressed a couple of buttons.

  “Milk, cola, water?”

  “Water is fine,” she said, standing beside the counter. She didn’t bother sitting because the kitchen table was covered in papers and random crap he’d left piled on it. He was definitely a single male. Or he was if what she’d seen of them on TV shows was in any way accurate.

  He put an antibiotic pill in her hand and she tossed it back, not bothering to argue.

  “How do you have electricity and indoor plumbing here?”

  “How do you have it in your house?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. This is a cave.”

  “It’s a home just like any other. It can be wired up… a little more difficult with all the stone, but not impossible. It just took some creative thinking.”

  He tossed her a plastic bottle and leaned against the fridge, his arms crossed over his chest. “For someone who has just been kidnapped, you seem calm.”

  “I told you. I have a problem with outside. I’m inside now. This is the new safe place. It’s fine.” This was all babbling self-talk and bluster, because there was no reality in which it was fine.

  He arched a brow and laughed. “I could be crazy, evil, or just garden-variety lecherous, and you’ve decided I’m safe now?”

  Fiona grew annoyed with the mocking. “No,” she said in between bites, “I didn’t say you were safe. I said this physical location is. You, I’m still not sure about, but you haven’t done anything scary since you took me, so I’m waiting it out. Right now the forest is scarier than you are.”

  The microwave dinged, and he shook his head. “You are a piece of work. I didn’t know crazy came in such a cute package. It’s a shame.”