Must Love Fangs

sort of thing bothers the nose when you’re new. You’ll get used to it eventually.”

I took the clothing with one hand, the other holding the sheet closed. “Um. What did you mean about yesterday? Was I out long?”

She laughed. “Out long? Girl, you slept for three days straight.”

“Three . . . days?” I hardly dared to believe it. I dropped onto the edge of the bed. “I slept for three days?”

“And snored for most of them, too. I didn’t think cats could snore, but there it is.” She looked pleased. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to stay in cat form the whole time, but we didn’t want to wake you just for that, so we let you sleep.”

Three. Whole. Days.

I’d slept. I’d finally slept. I swiped at a tear that slid down my face.

I was free. I wasn’t going to die. I was healthy, and I was going to live! I laughed, though the knot in my throat made it come out more like a snuffle.

Sara looked worried. “Marie? You okay?”

“I slept,” I blubbered. “Oh, my God, I slept.”

“You did,” she agreed, mystified.

I stared down at the bed and ran a hand over the rumpled covers. “Can I . . . can I sleep again?”

She laughed. “Sure, if you want to.”

Oh, I did. I wanted to see if I could do it again.

But I wanted to see Josh, too, and share my excitement with him. I gave the bed another longing look, then glanced at Sara. “You’ll wake me up when Josh gets here?”

She nodded and shut the door, leaving me alone with the bed. I stared at it for a long minute. Please don’t let this all be one massive and incredibly cruel hallucination.

I slid into the center of the bed, nestling my head in the pillows and snuggling deep. Could I fall asleep again? My body was tense, as if I didn’t quite believe it yet. What if it was just false hope?

But even as I worried, my eyes drooped closed and I fell back to sleep.

• • •

I woke up at dawn and felt incredible.

I was going to live. Glory fucking hallelujah, I was going to live! I danced flat on my back in the bed, grinning like a fool. And it was all thanks to Josh. Beautiful, wonderful, thoughtful Josh. I wept with joy as I dressed.

I was giddy with excitement, and for the first time in months I felt strong and healthy and powerful. I didn’t even mind the were-cougar part. Turning into a cat would take some getting used to, but I’d have Josh on my side.

I wasn’t looking forward to exile, but I pictured cozying up in a snowy cabin with Josh at my side, huddled under the blankets, and decided that it might be fun. Everything seemed like fun now.

I left the bedroom and went downstairs, my stomach growling loudly. Either I was starving or this, too, was amplified in my new state. Probably both. I found Sara in the kitchen, setting two plates at the table near an enormous stack of pancakes. At the sight of her, I was so overcome with giddiness that I enveloped her in a hug.

She stiffened at my touch, then relaxed. “I take it we had a good morning?”

“I feel amazing,” I told her, unable to stop smiling. “I’m so happy I could burst.” My stomach growled and I slapped a hand to it in embarrassment. “I might also be hungry.”

She laughed and gestured at the table. “I thought you might be, so I made breakfast. No meat, though. You might want to ease off on that for the next few weeks until you get used to controlling your shifting. The predator in you gets excited by meat, and your animal side’s harder to control when you’re hungry.”

I nodded as I sat down, soaking in the information. The pile of pancakes looked so good that I stabbed one with a fork and ate it whole, no syrup. I needed something in my stomach now.

Sara ignored my bad manners, pouring two cups of coffee and moving back to the table.

I glanced around. No scents of anyone but Sara and me. No Ramsey. No Ellis or Everett. No Lily. And no Josh. I missed him. “So where is everyone?” I asked between bites.

“Giving us some space,” she said cheerfully. “A new shifter is under a lot of strain, and the others thought it might be best to keep your exposure to a minimum while you adjust.”

“Is Lily okay? I can’t see her going with the others willingly.”

She grimaced. “Well. Lily is a problem. She’s human, but she’s seen too much for them to just send her home. The first night you were here and unconscious, Lily bolted. The twins gathered her up again. She’s now being kept in a safe location until the Alliance decides what to do with her. They’re meeting with the vampires this week to discuss ‘the incident.’?” She made air quotes.

“Apparently the vampires didn’t believe the story until Josh pointed out that Andre had been keeping Lily captive for quite some time. Now they’re bending over backward to try to smooth things over, but Beau’s people are furious and questioning everything. As they should. It seems like this isn’t the first incident with that vampire, and now the Alliance wants stricter guidelines for vampire interaction. There’s talk of setting up a permanent liaison, which means that the dating agency would have to work with them.” She grimaced.

I grinned. “Not my problem, now that I’m fired. And turned!”

“Yes, you are,” she said with a small laugh. “And I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly.”

And she’d given up her time to teach me the ropes. I thought of her mate, Ramsey, and how they seemed to constantly touch when they were together, and I said, “I’m sorry. This must be a big chore.”

She shook her head and reached over to pat my hand. “Not at all. I had no help when I was newly turned, and I’m happy to be of assistance. Ramsey is patient. He knows I’ll be back.” A smile curved her face. “I gave him homework. He needs to improve his PvP skills in WoW, or else I’m going to totally school him the next time we play. And he’s not a good loser.”

I had no idea what that was, but it sounded like they enjoyed it. As she chatted about shooters and techniques, I ate methodically. When she got up to bring over more coffee, I noticed a massive, dark red mark at the base of her neck. I tried not to stare at it, but I couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to your neck?”

She blushed bright red and clapped a hand over the mark. “Um. So that’s probably new to you. It’s a mate mark,” she said with a hint of pride. “A man gives it to his mate when he wants to claim her before all others.”

My eyes widened. I had forgotten about my mate mark. I got up and went into the bathroom, suddenly curious to see it on my own neck.

I paused at the sight of my reflection in the mirror. I looked tired, but not as hollow and wasted as before. The hunted look in my eyes was gone. I touched my hair. It was shiny for the first time in weeks, instead of dry and flat. Huh. My gaze dropped to my neck, and I brushed my hair back.

There, just below my ear, was a single reddish mark on my neck, like the world’s largest hickey. How was it that only shifters could see this? That didn’t make sense . . . but then again, neither did turning into a cat. I thought of Josh’s mouth on my neck as he’d kissed and nipped at me, and my body flushed.

Suddenly I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, to share my utter joy at being cured. He’d saved me.

I rushed out of the bathroom and almost smacked back into Sara, who had followed me. “Can I see Josh now? I want to talk to him.”

She bit her lip. “There’s a bit of a problem . . . He’s been arrested for turning a human. And it’s not looking good for him.”

“But he changed me to save my life,” I pointed out, even though I’d expected repercussions.

“The reason behind it doesn’t matter,” she said gently. “All the other alphas can see is that a Russell broke the rules, and Beau’s backed into a corner. He can’t let his brother get off scot-free while throwing down the hammer on anyone else who changes a human. It’s just really bad timing. It just looks like the Alliance playboy decided to take a human playmate.”

“That’s not it at all!”

“Unfortunately, Josh refuses to discuss any of it.”

I sighed. “Well, he’s not going into exile alone. I’m going with him.”