Part 11 (1/2)

The child's innocent question caused crimson to creep over Jamie's face. Not embarra.s.sment. Fury. Damian met her enraged look with a level one.

”I'm not cut out to be a den mother,” Jamie shot back.

Sandra, Marie's mother, stared in amazement. ”Jamie, I don't understand. Without you his line dies. You're very privileged because only you can carry his heir.”

”There's always adoption. Lots of unwanted wolves around, I'm sure.” Jamie pushed off her chair. ”I need to get more refreshments.”

The little group fell silent as she banged the door behind her. Armand shot Damian a bemused look. ”It's the highest honor for a female to bear the young of a powerful Alpha.”

Damian suspected Jamie would rather tie his private parts up in a nice, neat knot than partic.i.p.ate in said honor. ”It's complicated.”

”Good luck, sire.” Armand's gaze held a measure of respect. ”I sense this is a difficult mating, but it may be a sign. Perhaps your mate possesses powers the Draicon left behind and this is why you must become one with her. Our Alpha recently said odd things are happening. The coming together of the one again as was foretold. The halves made whole, and the Draicon regaining strength to defeat the enemy.”

Tension made his jaw rigid as rock. ”My people will fight to the end, to our last breath. And I will die before I let another Morph take one of my pack.”

”It's not your fight alone. We must learn to fight as one pack, and defeat the evil walking among us,” Armand insisted.

Armand studied Archimedes wending about his daughter's ankles, meowing loudly as if begging for attention. After Damian told him how it was Renee's pet, the man gave him a speculative look.

”Marie has always longed for a cat. If she doesn't mind, can we take this one with us since he was Renee's pet? You still have another cat.”

Damian frowned. ”Two? We don't have two cats here.”

”Then what do you call that?” Armand pointed at the tangle of bushes in the garden.

Dread filled him as Damian stared at the second black cat silently regarding him. Same size as Archimedes.

Of course it was just a cat-probably snuck in. And the house had a s.h.i.+eld against Morphs. But magick s.h.i.+elds weakened the more times a Draicon performed magick. He'd performed powerful magick since arriving. And failed to reinforce the house s.h.i.+eld.

The feline in the bushes blinked. Green eyes showed a soulless black.

At Marie's feet, the other black cat arched his back, hissed and then ran off. The cat in the bushes released a chilling yowl and hissed as it darted out of the bushes toward Marie.

Realization slammed into Damian. The real Archimedes had been outside the gate all this time. This one he had taken from Renee's shop, thinking it was Archimedes, was really...

A Morph.

The cat swiped at Marie's bare calves. The little girl screamed in pain. The cat began twisting. Changing.

”Take your family and run. Now,” Damian ordered Armand.

The Draicon didn't need an engraved invitation. He whooshed his little girl into his arms, herded his family out, slamming the gate shut behind them.

Damian turned to face the cat. It contorted, twisted, s.h.i.+fting into its original form.

Morph.

Ugly yellowed fangs showed as it hissed; greasy hair hung from its skull in strands. The hunched figure was hideous. Then it s.h.i.+fted again. Human this time.

A female human, with big eyes, and a helpless look.

”Please, don't hurt me,” it whimpered loudly.

It glanced upward at the house where Jamie was and smiled.

His emotions vanished as if someone pulled a plug. With a hand wave, Damian dispensed his clothing and s.h.i.+fted into wolf with a snarl. He sprang forward to attack.

As his ma.s.sive jaws opened to rip apart the Morph, he prayed Jamie wouldn't witness this.

What an exhausting way to turn twenty-one.

First the draining emotions of Renee's burial. Then finding out she was destined to bear Damian's children.

”Happy birthday to me,” she muttered, shoving a hand through her casual hairstyle. ”You get to mother a race of wolves. Don't think so.”

Spent, she sagged against the wall. Marie's innocent words bothered the holy h.e.l.l out of her.

Especially coming on the heels of her mother's conversation. Jamie had realized this was a rare opportunity to get to know a Draicon female better. She'd asked questions. Questions about Alpha males and s.e.x.

Sandra had smiled a little and told her.

Male Draicon were always tender and considerate of their mates, but they were dominating and highly aggressive. It drove them crazy to smell their female's arousal.

”And if he's coming off a fight, where his testosterone is up, he'll instinctively turn all that male aggression toward s.e.xual release.” Sandra had said this with a small, secret smile.

The image of Damian, jacked up and hot, did weird things to her body. Jamie felt herself grow soft, wet and wanting. It was biology. Sure. She wanted s.e.x, just s.e.x with Damian, a big, domineering Draicon who wanted her. A wickedly handsome Draicon. Wanted his big maleness and all those hard muscles covering her, thrusting inside her until he'd given her enough o.r.g.a.s.ms to light up all of New Orleans.

Made perfect sense. Biologically speaking. Now if she could just get her mind to tell her body to get with the program and remind it Damian was a dangerous killer who would destroy anyone who got in his way...

A woman's cry of distress derailed her thoughts.

Jamie scurried for the window. She looked down and saw Damian change into a wolf. Oh G.o.d, was that Renee's daughter-in-law there with him?

Damian charged, relentless as a locomotive. His powerful jaws opened, snapped and tore flesh off the woman's leg. Blood splashed over the redbrick walls. The woman's mouth opened in a silent scream.

The Draicon gave no mercy. He went for her throat.

Jamie ran downstairs, her short heels clattering on the wood steps. She flung open the door, shouting for him to stop.

Just as she hit the courtyard, the wolf's jaws locked around the woman's heart. Jamie skidded to a halt, panicking as the wolf bit down.

Her heart thudded a crazy beat as instinct screamed to run. Something s.h.i.+mmered inside her, humming with power. Riding it beneath was a quiet sense of calm, as if this were good.

Good? Damian just killed a woman, a woman, oh G.o.d, and...

The woman dissolved into a pile of gray ash. No human woman. Damian had killed a Morph. Just like the crayfish vendor and Paul.