Cat of a Different Color

by Dana Marie Bell

  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.

  Sheri let the edge of her shirt go and took his hand again. He wasn’t certain she noticed she’d done it. “Max bit me and changed me. If he hadn’t I would have died. When Rudy tried to hurt me again I was able to defend myself. I was forced to run when he tried to hurt me with his Pack backing him up.”

  Max took over before Adrian could ask some questions, like, why
aren’t you a Wolf? “At this point I was pretty sure Parker was rogue. I contacted the local Pack, and they knew nothing about him or his small band of friends. They promised me they’d deal with him. When Parker tried to get back at me for changing Sheri, Simon and I managed to fight him and his ‘Pack’ off. He’s been chasing Sheri ever since. She’s been forced to move around a lot and not have anyone close, like a Pride, for fear Parker would use them against her. She’s petitioned to join our Pride, which means she’s no longer alone.” Max’s hard gaze swept the room. “We deal with this threat now.”

  The Alpha smiled when his Pride members murmured their consent. Adrian felt Sheri’s hand tremble in his.

  “Now, for those of you with kits, keep in mind that Parker is a sick man who won’t stop at anything to get Sheri back. Keep them safe, know where they are at all times. I’ll e-mail everyone with a photo of Parker so that if you see him you know what to do. Contact me or Simon—”

  “Or me,” Adrian piped up, squeezing Sheri’s hand reassuringly. He let up immediately when he saw her wince, but refused to let go.

  “Or Adrian.” Max nodded. “Under no circumstances, other than threat to your kits, are you to approach Parker in any way. He runs with about three other wolves. That may or may not have changed. I’ll contact the Pack in the Pocono’s and see if they’ll help. Last I heard the Pack leader was isolationist, so we may be on our own on this.”

  “I’ll help,” Belinda said. “There are places she may need to go to that a man can’t go. I’ll go with her.”

  “Well, she’s not the Curana so she should be safe,” one of the females muttered.

  “Excuse me?”

  Adrian shuddered at the ice in Emma’s voice as the Pride’s Curana took offense at the woman’s tone. A thin mist surrounded her, a serious indication of just how pissed off she was. “Do you doubt my word that Belinda Campbell had nothing to do with the attack on Rebecca Yaeger?”

  Uh-oh, them’s fightin’ words. If the woman knew what was good for her she’d back down and apologize immediately. Adrian watched as several of the women winced and drew away from the offending member of the Pride.

  “No, Curana.” The woman bowed her head in submission.

  “Good.” Emma looked around at the other members of the Pride. “I expect this nonsense to stop. Belinda has proven to both Rebecca and me that she had absolutely nothing to do with Olivia’s attack on Rebecca. Punishing her for Olivia’s actions is wrong, and I expect better of my Pridemates. Understood?”

  Adrian watched as Max positioned himself squarely next to his mate, a cool warning in his eyes for anyone who would challenge her. To challenge Emma was to challenge Max, and not a single male in the room believed himself capable of defeating the Alpha. When the Betas ranged themselves right next to the Alphas and added their glares the argument was pretty much over.

  Murmurs of assent drifted through the room and the Alphas relaxed. “Sheri will be working part-time at Wallflowers, starting tomorrow,” Emma added in a warmer tone of voice.

  “She can move into Becky’s apartment, it’s right above the store,” Simon said, his arm going once more around his mate.

  Becky looked up at him. “She can? What about the person who’s currently living there?”

  “I thought she could move in with me. You don’t mind, do you?” Simon grinned down at his mate, and Adrian had to hide a smile. The rest of the people in the room didn’t even bother. A few went so far as to chuckle as Becky grunted in response.

  “I like my apartment.”

  “It would be easier on Sheri and you’d be doing a very nice thing for a new friend.”

  Becky sighed. “That was a low blow, Simon.”

  “Plus my feet get cold at night.”

  “Oh, well, we can’t have your feet getting cold, can we, Garfield?”

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” Simon grinned as the room exploded into laughter.

  That little bit of laughter helped ease the tensions in the room. People settled in comfortably to discuss how best to help Sheri while getting to know the newest Pride member. Adrian was never very far from her side, and surprisingly neither was Belinda. The two women seemed to hit it off. He sat back and watched as they laughed together over something, then made plans to go to lunch the following day after Sheri got off work. He felt some of his own tension ease; his mate would be safe with Belinda. He’d hit Max up for the full story tomorrow.

  Chapter Three

  “Go ahead. Ask.” Sheri tried not to grin as Belinda put her sandwich down and leaned in on both elbows, looking both curious and guilty.

  “What’s it like being an albino?” Belinda asked quietly.

  She sighed as she put her sandwich down. She wasn’t offended. She’d gotten used to correcting people, but it still bothered her that people asked. “I really hate that word.”

  “Why?”

  She’d been waiting for someone to ask her that question since yesterday at the Pride meeting, but Belinda was the first one to work up the courage. The two women were sitting in Kelly’s Diner eating hamburgers and fries and totally blowing their diets. It was one of the nicest afternoons she’d had in a long time. It was nice to have a friend again. She hoped they weren’t about to ruin that.

  “I’m a person with albinism. Saying I’m an albino is like saying I have a communicable disease, like calling someone a leper. It’s a condition I live with, not who I am.”

  “But it’s no worse than calling me a blonde or blondie.”

  “I doubt that.” She laughed. “Think about the stereotype of the ‘albino’. We’re always the evil one who’s out to do some nasty stuff to some poor innocent who doesn’t know that the albino is evil. And nobody stares at you just because you’re blonde.”

  There was a moment of silence. “Okay,” Belinda finally drawled. “Tell me a blonde joke.”

  Sheri paused with the burger halfway to her mouth, her head tilted as she tried to catch the other woman’s expression.

  “How about this one? A redhead walks into the doctor’s office and says, ‘Doc, it hurts wherever I touch myself.’ The doc has her touch everywhere on her body, and sure enough, she screams every time she does. The doc asks if she’s a natural blonde; stop me if you know the punch line?”

  She blushed; she had heard this one before, and had laughed as loudly as her friends had.

  “The doc says, ‘I thought so; your finger is broken.’”

  Sheri could hear Belinda take a sip of her soda. “A blonde was playing Trivial Pursuit one night with some friends. When it was her turn, she rolled the dice and landed on Science and Nature. Her question was, ‘If you’re in a vacuum and someone calls your name, can you hear it?’ The blonde thought for a moment and asked, ‘Is it on or off?’”

  Sheri bit her lip to keep from laughing, but she had the feeling the other woman saw it.

  “Or my personal favorite, what do you call three blondes in a Volkswagen? Farfromthinken.”

  Sheri lost the battle against laughing, and was relieved when Belinda chuckled too.

  “I have a Bachelor’s degree in Management with a minor in Finance, but because I look like a Kewpie doll people who have known me all my life treat me like I’m an idiot.”

  Sheri could just make out the other woman’s shrug. “Sometimes that’s what life does to you, and sometimes it’s what you do to yourself. So I know some blonde jokes, and I laugh at blonde jokes, and I try to make the best of things by not letting other people’s opinions matter to me. It doesn’t always work, but I try.”

  “Wow. Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t let the label bother you. If you do, you just wind up expending energy on something that doesn’t really matter in the long run. If I got mad at every blonde joke I heard I’d be mad an awful lot of the time.” Belinda leaned in close so Sheri could see her grin and whispered, “Or I’d be a redhead, worshiping at the shrine of Ms. Clairol.”

  The
y were quiet as each of them ate a little. “Do you own your own business?”

  “No,” Belinda answered with a sigh. “I worked at Noah’s as the hostess, and I planned on applying for the manager’s position...but that didn’t pan out. I’m pretty sure I can afford to open my own place, but I wanted to be able to put down experience in a management position on my loan papers. I don’t think I can qualify without it.”

  Sheri could hear the pain in the other woman’s voice. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. The market sucks right now for opening the kind of business I want to run anyway.”

  “What kind of business would that be?”

  “Livia and I...we used to joke that we’d open up our own place. I wanted to open a bar and grill, and call it Blondie’s or something; she wanted a day spa.” Belinda shrugged. “It was one of the reasons I loved working at Noah’s. I love the restaurant business.”

  “What happened with your job there?”

  “I got fired.”

  “Why?”

  “Because people thought I was in league with Livia. She attacked Becky, injuring her pretty badly, during this year’s masquerade. Livia used the threat to Becky to try and get Emma to give her the Curana’s ring.”

  “What?” Sheri couldn’t believe her ears. “Someone tried to use Becky to get to Emma?”

  “Yup. I didn’t know anything about it until Simon carried Becky off to heal her and change her.”

  “And claim her.”

  “And claim her.” She could hear a different kind of pain in Belinda’s voice and wondered if the other woman had feelings for Simon. If she did, it was too bad; Simon was obviously devoted to his mate.

  “But the ring—”

  “Doesn’t make you the Curana, right? But if Emma handed it over—”

  “She’d be seen as weak,” Sheri finished thoughtfully.

  “Exactly. She’d be cat chow.”

  Sheri laughed. She was going to like it here.

  ***

  Adrian waited outside the diner and watched as the two women talked and laughed. Something in his heart eased as he watched her truly relax for the first time since he’d met her.