He did what not many shifters even thought about until they came into Dewasa. He married a human at age twenty-three, and had his first child soon after. She blamed her inherent curiosity and career choice, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he ever went through the physical or emotional changes of Dewasa, or the mating pull when he came of age. Did he react to his wife like shifters reacted to his or her mate? Was there a physical reaction within him when she died? Devon had been thrust into single parenthood almost two years ago when a drunk driver hit his wife. The death of a mate, a true mate, could bring a person to their knees. Slice through their soul like they were the ones dying as well. Carolline wanted to know if he felt her pain when it happened.
That was a topic for thought later. Her curiosity was still focused on the men before her.
The man next to Devon grinned and nodded before bumping shoulders. He chuckled as a woman walked past them and slipped something into his hand. Carolline could only guess it was a name and phone number when he slid it into the front pocket of his jeans.
She didn’t blame the woman for hitting on him either. He was light in complexion, fair-haired, and from this distance, she guessed he had brilliant green eyes. He was as tall as Devon, broad shoulders, tapered waist, and long, muscular legs. He laughed easier than his companion, exuding a laid-back manner. The kind of guy she usually went for. His entire manner said no-strings affair only. The kind she preferred when it came to the opposite sex.
The men approached the beverage station, talking to each other. Oblivious to her sitting at the table nearby.
“You’re welcome to stay with me while you’re looking for a place,” Devon said.
The other man chuckled. A nice, rich throaty sound that should drive any woman wild. She frowned when she realized it didn’t do a thing for her. “Thanks, Dev, I think I’ll stick with the bed and breakfast. I love your kids, but they are going to kill me.”
“What, Uncle Jack can’t handle a couple of kids climbing on him like he’s a jungle gym?”
“I’m too old for that shit.” The man she now knew as Jack snorted, as a fond smile swooped up the corner of his mouth. “In all seriousness, I don’t think it’ll take me long to find a place. I saw a couple in your neighborhood for sale while I was out on a run.”
“Mountain lion or human?”
“Human. I remembered what you said about the woman who lives at the end of your block. Mrs. Timmons, right?”
“Yeah, says she keeps seeing a bear walk through her yard. You’d think she’d be accustomed to the wildlife around here since most of the town are shifters. I always thought it strange that as a human, she moved here. I guess some grandparents will do anything to be near their children and grandchildren. Anyway, try to steer clear of her. She keeps a shotgun handy just in case this bear, which no one else has seen, decides to use her lawn as a bathroom.”
Carolline snorted, immediately covering her mouth with her hand. The two men turned and looked at her, surprise evident on their faces. Jack’s surprise turned into what most women would call a panty-melting grin. Carolline did a quick internal check. Nope. Her panties weren’t falling off her body or melted into a puddle.
She glanced at Devon. His surprised look quickly turned to what she thought might be annoyance. Even with him scowling at her, her heart fluttered and warmth spread through her chest. Damn the man for turning her on. She needed to get out of there.
“Sorry. I couldn’t help but overhear. I’ll be on my way so you can talk,” she looked around the cafeteria at the few people there, “in private.” Picking up her cup, she got out of her chair, and skirted around the table, hoping to make another quick getaway. Tucking tail and running was becoming a habit around the man. There was a part of her, the more animalistic part, that wasn’t fond of the action at all. It didn’t matter though. The human side needed to escape.
She heard the quick step of feet behind her, and was shocked when Jack appeared in front of her, stopping her exit. They stood in the center of the cafeteria, and she was aware of the weight of curious eyes on them. The few that were there, at least.
“Hi,” he said, holding out his hand for her to shake. “Dr. Jack Bennett.”
“Dr. Carolline Greene.” She took his hand, gave it one firm pump, and then instantly let go. The less contact the better. She didn’t need any more people talking about her behind her back. First, with the few who thought she needed to head back East and away from the good, upstanding, pure shifters of Garden. And now with the gossip floating around about her and Devon.
Jack shot her a boyish lopsided grin that, on any other day, would have made her blush and her heart flutter in her chest. Sadly, it didn’t affect her one bit. She was too aware of Devon behind her. Too aware of the heat of his stare. Too aware of the fact that it was him she’d like to have smiling charmingly at her.
“I know,” Jack declared.
Her eyebrows shot up in bewilderment. “Really? How?”
“From the other day when you ran into him.” Jack nodded his head in the direction over her shoulder where she knew Devon was standing. “I saw your name tag. It wasn’t until after you left that I realized you were the hybrid specialist.”
Carolline tried her best to ignore him and concentrate on the man before her; however, she found it difficult. There was a magnetic draw to Devon she didn’t understand. She breathed in deeply through her nose, before slowly letting it out through her mouth. It was a technique she used to focus back on task, in this case, Jack Bennett. “I’m impressed. Not a lot of people know what I do, Dr. Bennett. Most think I’m some sort of therapist.”
Jack snorted. “Please, call me Jack.”
A low rumble sounded behind them. Carolline chanced a glance back and saw Devon’s eyes narrowed and focused on his friend. At least he isn’t giving me the stink eye anymore.
“Everyone knows who you are on the East Coast. I work at Peachtree County Hospital. You made a visit or two there a couple of years ago. I sat in on one of your lectures. It was really good, very informative. It’s too bad they didn’t want to implement more of your ideas. I think they would have been able to help a lot more people.”
Carolline couldn’t help the blush rushing to paint her cheeks. Accepting compliments had never been her forte. It was nice to hear someone took something away from one of her lectures though. “Thank you. I had hoped they would be more open to treatments for hybrids; but, after my second visit, I knew they were only allowing me to speak in order to meet the federally mandated training. I was never invited back to further any of the programs.”
Jack looked over at Devon, then back to her. A grin, one she knew spelled mischief, lit his lips. “I’m only in town a couple more days. Maybe we can get together before I take off. Have dinner, maybe some drinks. I would love to hear more of what you’ve learned about hybrids. I know there are things I could learn to help more of my patients. Especially now that I’ll be moving to Garden.”
Carolline was in the process of accepting his invitation; she would love to talk about her work with someone, when Devon barreled into the conversation. He latched onto Jack’s arm and pulled him away. “We need to go, Jack. I have an appointment in ten minutes.”
Jack shook loose from Devon easily. “You go on ahead. I’ll be fine with Carolline. I can catch up with you later.” The men turned to look at her.
Devon scowled. “No. I have a guy coming in I could use your opinion on. You can’t very well help me when you’re with her.” Devon stressed the last part, making it sound like poison on his tongue. She wasn’t sure what she had done to warrant such treatment, but she was sure it wasn’t because of the mishap the other day.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Devon?” Jack hissed out.
“Don’t worry about it, Jack. It’s apparent Dr. Andersen doesn’t want you around me. He must think I’ll contaminate you somehow. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here. Though I don’t see how that will be possible if you’re spendi
ng all of it with him,” she mumbled, brushing past the two men with a sense of déjà vu. One she wasn’t fond of repeating.
Chapter 6
Devon sat in the backyard watching his kids run around and play. Marcus was letting Sebastian chase and catch him, while Tabitha was in her pink playhouse. Through the tiny window, he could see she placed her dolls around the table, all facing her, as she read to them.
The simplicity of the moment sunk into his being, relaxing him more than he had been in weeks. The last-minute decision to take off early was probably the best idea he’d made in a while. Sure, making the excuse that he wanted to spend time with his old friend and potential new employee wasn’t precisely true. However, he wasn’t about to admit that he needed to put distance between him and Dr. Greene. And he surely wasn’t about to acknowledge the overpowering urge coursing through his veins to hunt her down, or his tiger’s insistence they take her to the ground and mate her.
The clink of Jack’s empty beer bottle hitting the concrete patio pulled Devon from his wayward thoughts. It dawned on him that his friend had been quieter than usual while polishing it off.
“What’s up with you?” Devon asked before tipping his own beer bottle back.
“I was wondering the same thing about you. I’ve never known you to be so rude to a woman before. Usually, you’re charming the pants off them without even trying. Not that you ever take them up on it. Which, if you ask me, and I know you didn’t, but I’m still putting it out there, is a crying shame. There’s nothing that says you can’t take a little time for yourself and give into your sexual needs. You do still have them, right?”
Devon snorted and shrugged. “I do. I’m stressed, that’s all. I didn’t intend to come across as abrasive with her. It just came out of my mouth before I could stop it.” He didn’t have a better rebuttal. Anything he said would be an excuse for poor behavior. He knew he was being rude when he had spoken so harshly. There was something about the woman that flipped some kind of switch inside him. She did something to him on a level he didn’t understand, and it would take being around her more than the handful of times before he could figure it out.
The day she accidentally bumped into him, touching him for the first time, he’d felt something—a jolt, a nudge, a push to be near her—whatever it was, he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Her quick escape negated any need for him to delve into what he felt. Whatever had happened dissipated in the blink of an eye. At the end of the day, he decided it was a fluke. Narrowing the incident down to the stress of the day and the surprise visit from his friend. Having a beautiful woman run in to you would mess any guy up.
And when did you decide she was beautiful?
“There’s more to it. You didn’t want me to have anything to do with her. Touch her. Talk to her. Invite her for coffee. I know it can’t be because she’s a hybrid. You have nothing against them or humans. Your family is a big supporter of embracing everyone as they are. The Cleansing hitting too close to home for it to be any other way.”
Devon nodded. “You’re right. It isn’t because she’s a hybrid,” Devon confirmed. He fidgeted in his chair, becoming a bit uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going, and not because of The Cleansing.
Yes, it had been a dire time in the history of shifters. A few truly powerful Purists with the ability to convince the Guild, the ruling body of all shifters, that all hybrids should be destroyed. The Cleansing took the lives of family members on Devon’s mother’s side. All of them mated to or courting humans or shifters not of their kind. It was a wakeup call to the evil that wormed its way into the hearts of their leaders and to those who followed blindly and without question.
No, it was talk of Carolline that distressed him. When it came to her, he was having a hard time figuring out up from down. His heart stuttered in his chest with excitement, while his brain told him he was being untrue.
“What’s the issue then? You can’t be jealous of her agreeing to go out with me, right?”
Jack studied him, and Devon did his best to hide the sudden tension threading through his shoulders and back. He smothered the impulse to growl at Jack, and was grateful when Tabitha came running up. “Papa, I want to be a princess,” she stated calmly.
Devon scooped her up and put her on his lap. “You’re already a Princess,” he said tapping her button nose.
“No, I’m not. I don’t have a crown.” She held out the book he’d failed to notice. She blinked her innocent green eyes at him, melting his heart.
“A crown would make you a princess?” he asked.
“Yes. We read this today, and it’s about a Princess and she had a crown, and a pink bed, and a pink room, and a pink teddy bear, and a green frog.”
“Not a pink frog?” Jack teased her.
Tabitha’s brows furrowed. “Why would a frog be pink, Uncle Jack? Frogs are green. Sometimes brown, and my teacher said there is a black one. I’ve only ever seen a green one. Marcus showed it to me, then it jumped off his hand and onto me. I screamed. A lot,” she nodded eagerly.
“Where was I when this happened?”
“We were with Nana and Pop-Pop. You were at work. Pop-Pop laughed and laughed. Nana wasn’t so happy. I think it was because Pop-Pop let one jump on her too when she was little.”
Devon didn’t think that was the reason, but decided to just go with it. “I’m sure you’re right. So, about this crown.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “I want this.” Flipping to the last page, she pointed to a little brown-haired girl who was covered in mud and grinning, wearing a pink tiara and holding a small green frog.
Devon squinted. There was something sitting on top of the frog’s head. “Is that a crown on the frog’s head?”
“Yes. He’s a prince. I don’t think Marcus and Sebastian are princes,” she announced. “They stink too much.”
Tabitha closed her book and hopped off his lap. Her face very serious when she looked at him. “Will you make me a princess?”
Devon grinned as Jack chuckled. “Since you’re already my princess, I think it can be arranged.”
“I need a crown.”
“Okay, Sweet pea. I’ll get you a crown,” he said.
“Thank you, Papa.” Tabitha kissed him on the cheek, then ran off back to her playhouse.
“Do you even know where to buy a crown?”
“Technically, it’s a tiara,” Devon said.
Jack smirked. “Whatever. Do you know where to get one?”
Not a clue. “Sure.”
Devon didn’t think Jack believed him, based on his friend’s snort. Devon could figure it out. He was a thirty-two-year-old man. Surely, he could find a pink tiara for his little girl. He idly wondered if Carolline would know where to get one, and if she’d be willing to help him out.
Chapter 7
Carolline stepped through the hospital cafeteria doors with a great sense of wariness. As casually as she could, she looked around the bustling room. The atmosphere much different than before. The last two times she had been in here, she had run into Dr. Andersen. She wasn’t looking to make it a third.
Three steps into the room, she saw him. He was facing her direction talking to one of the ER nurses Carolline knew. Luckily, he hadn’t noticed her.
She took a step back, her mind focused on escape, and ran into a solid mass. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Jack Bennett. Shit. Devon took that exact moment to look up at her…well, them. Probably because she managed to knock the wind out of the guy behind her.
Jack laughed, sliding his arm around her waist. She wasn’t sure why he did that. She wasn’t about to fall to the floor at his feet. Maybe that’s what other women did when they were in his presence, not her though. His head dipped next to hers, lips close to her ear. “At least you don’t have a hot drink this time.”
Carolline never took her eyes off Devon, who was boring a hole through them. His jaw clenched, nostrils flared.
“Why is he so mad?” she asked softly,
more to herself than to the man holding her.
“You know he never went through Dewasa like the rest of us,” Jack commented lightly, not exactly answering her question.
No, she didn’t know that for sure, but it answered one of her questions about him. “I’m not sure what that has to do with him being mad. I have nothing to do with his hormonal changes.”
Jack let go of her, stepping up next to her. “I have a question for you, and I’m hoping you’ll have the answer, or be able to find it.”
Carolline shifted her attention to Jack. “Devon isn’t a hybrid, I’d be happy to help if I can though. A lot of my studies included the pure family lines. It helped to understand the subtle changes when other species copulated and produced children.”
A small grin lifted the corner of his mouth. He looked amused by her rambling. “Can a person over the age of thirty experience Dewasa if they’ve finally found their mate? If said person was married before to a human, who may or may not have been his true mate. A person who claimed someone outside the normal perimeters we all know and tend to follow.”
Her eyes narrowed at his not so subtle description of Devon. “You think he’s found his true mate.”
Jack looked at her pointedly, then back to Devon, who was making his way over to them.
Carolline had no control over what happened next. There was a slight buzzing in her ears as she tried to make sense of what Jack was intimating. Her legs turned to jelly, and she wobbled on her feet. All the blood rushed from her head. She was aware of Jack grabbing a chair and pushing her down onto it. Aware of the murmurs picking up around the cafeteria. The way all eyes were focused on them.
She wasn’t Devon’s mate. There was no way. It can’t be what Jack was suggesting. If that were true, shouldn’t she feel something? Wouldn’t her tigon be scratching from the inside, begging to come out? She was still within the typical Dewasa mate-finding zone, though. She didn’t count the fact that she only had eyes for him when there were other rather attractive men around as a sign. All women had eyes for him. It was the nature of his charm and looks. She also didn’t think the fact that he made her heart flutter and her breath stop up in her lungs as a sign of anything either. She attributed those anomalies to his looks as well. The Goddesses knew he wasn’t charming to her. He’d never said a kind word or whispered sweet endearments in her ear. Devon scowled or glared. Barked commands and was, in general, a righteous ass.
Finding More (Tiger Nip Book 3) Page 4
