The Catalyst (a paranormal romance: Preternaturals Book 3)

by Zoe Winters

  After that, he’d been a lot more careful to make sure witches weren’t on his menu. He should have learned the lesson much earlier on, especially after his brother had been trapped for fifty years in a house by a curse with the most ridiculous reversal clause he’d ever heard.

  At least the angels dropped new demons near a portal point so he didn’t have to travel for days. They also dropped them in deserted areas.

  Since humans had become less superstitious and cities had grown bigger and technology stronger, letting them see too much of the preternatural world was no longer wise. And the angels didn’t want their secrets revealed, either—if only because they wanted to be seen as elite and top secret. Perish the thought that someone should have the knowledge of how boring heaven was before they got there.

  It was the club everybody thought they wanted in, until they arrived. Like just about any country club, when he thought about it.

  This demon was female. A succubus. He found her in a forest in Romania. At one point he would have assumed the woman had been from that area. But he’d learned over time that where they were spit back out had nothing to do with where they’d been from, at least not these days. Once upon a time, they’d been more organized about it. She could be Chinese or Japanese or American. She could be anything. It was good that he was fluent in everything.

  She was in the demon form, scaled reddish-brown skin, claws, horns popping out over her shoulders, fangs, and glowing red eyes. Not the best form to catch dinner in. He waited for her to speak first. He’d have to know what language she spoke so he could talk to her and help her shift. She looked up at him and scrambled back, a look of horror on her face. She’d been crying for a while. Who could blame her?

  But the horror at seeing him? It was harmful to his ego. It wasn’t the usual reaction from females. He was in his prime human hunting form. He’d spent his first thousand years fine-tuning it. No female could resist it. Except this one, apparently.

  “Cain?” She said his name as if willing it not to be true.

  He hoped this wasn’t some woman he’d had for dinner. That would be just awkward.

  “In the flesh,” he said. “Whatever we had before… we don’t sleep with our own kind. So don’t get any ideas.”

  “Ewww, gross. I would never sleep with you,” she said.

  Okay, so not someone he’d slept with. He hoped. Generally, there was no pillow talk afterward because the woman was dead. There weren’t often occasions for him to get critiqued on his technique. He wasn’t sure his ego could handle a bad review after all this time.

  “Who are you?” he asked, the suspense driving him mad.

  “Jane Tanner, Cole’s mate.”

  Fuck. He’d heard Jane had died. Cole never hunted his own food now; it was brought to him. He never left the den anymore. And now, here his mate was, a succubus.

  “Jane, listen to me, I am going to help you. I know you must be hungry. But I need you to stay here and try to remain calm. I’ll show you how to shift to a form you can feed in as soon as I return.”

  He knew she didn’t trust him, but she also seemed aware he was all the help she had at the moment.

  “Don’t leave me here.” She pushed the words awkwardly around her fangs.

  “I won’t be long, I promise.” He gave her the blanket he’d been clutching and went to kick an ass.

  ***

  Cain was in full-on demon form when he crossed into what he liked to call the lobby of Heaven. It was as far as he was allowed to go. But oh, he’d seen past the gates to those silly streets and those zombies that stayed there pretending to be happy with their harps and shit. He was fine with just the lobby.

  The reception angel took a full step back from behind her podium. “Um…”

  “Tell the fucker that just made Jane Tanner into a demon to get his ass out here right now.”

  The receptionist was a cute blonde thing, looked about twenty. If he had to guess, some human woman who had been elevated. Angels came in two types: created and elevated. Created were unfathomably beautiful. Elevated could be anything. She was cute, but she wasn’t created-level cute. Part of him wanted to see if he could tempt her, to make her fall, but then she’d be a guardian, and what would he do with a guardian? Nothing. But it would be fun, at least. Corrupting the innocent always was.

  She darted through the gate and returned a few minutes later with a couple of different angels. They were both rather short and bald. Elevated. Those were the worst. So smug and self-righteous. So proud of themselves for attaining the unattainable. Even an eternity without sex seemed to matter little to them, given the power they got to wield, or sort of got to wield.

  “Well, which one of you do I have to thank for Jane’s turning?”

  One of them stepped forward, and Cain punched the angel in the nose.

  The other ran around the lobby like he was on speed, shouting. “It’s the apocalypse! It’s the apocalypse! Cain is starting the apocalypse!”

  “Oh pipe down. I’m not starting the apocalypse. No one wants your puny real estate.”

  He looked back at the odious angel who was responsible for Jane’s turning. “You dumb ass. She’s got a mate down there. How could you do something like that? Werewolves don’t share. Did Cole do something to deserve this? Did Jane?”

  Ordinarily Cain wouldn’t give a shit about other people’s problems, but he did owe that debt to Cole, and Jane was now one of his own. His protective urges were surging out of control, and he wished they’d go away. His own kind was his one weakness.

  The angel looked at the ground and mumbled. “I left the mating intact when I turned her.”

  Cain’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean, exactly?”

  “It means they’re still tied together, and now he’s immortal, too. I’m sure she can feed from him because of their bond. She could find other ways to curb the cravings that don’t involve sleeping around.” He smiled weakly up at Cain who was more than twice the angel’s height in full-demon form.

  “Oh I don’t buy for a minute that you left the bond intact on purpose. You’re just lucky it was strong enough. Did you tell Jane any of this?”

  The angel backed up a bit. “Uh, no.”

  Cain felt his eyes start to glow, a low growl tearing out of him. “And why is that?”

  “The man upstairs said not to.”

  The man upstairs.

  Cain chuckled, and clapped him on the shoulder. “Well, you better hope the man upstairs deals in technicalities, otherwise you’ve just fallen and bought yourself a one-way ticket to the lovely and exciting hell, otherwise known as earth. I look forward to our paths crossing.”

  The angel swallowed hard. The other angel, the one who had been screaming about the apocalypse, had already retreated to hide behind the gate. The receptionist was doing her best to study a list on a scroll. She looked up for a moment and Cain winked at her, unable to help himself. She hurriedly went back to her work.

  His assessing glare went back to the angel responsible for the current mess, watching him as he cowered and pulled in on himself as if waiting for the big violence to start. Probably the other angel had gone to get backups—the warrior class. Those angels? They were created. And he didn’t feel like slinging it out with them, especially since his noncorporeal trick only worked in the human dimension. And Jane needed him. She was one of his now.

  He rolled his eyes and went back to his new charge.

  When he returned via the portal point, Jane was huddled in the blanket beside a tree trunk. Most of the tree had broken off in a storm. Her glowing red eyes met his. For all the outward scariness of her demon form, she still seemed fragile. Back when she’d been human, there was a time Cain would have drained her, unable to resist something that screamed prey so loudly. But he hadn’t met her until she was already with Cole—if not the werewolf’s mate in fact at that point, his mate in spirit. And Cain wouldn’t go there, not if he wanted his demon-trapped-in-a-bottle story kept mum.


  He sighed as he looked down at her. “Close your eyes, Jane.”

  “What? Hell no, I’m not stupid.” She moved behind the tree trunk as if one broken tree could protect her.

  “I can’t kill you. I can’t fuck you. You’re in no real danger from me unless you break my laws. I have a special prison in our dimension for the demons who break my laws. But I don’t foresee that kind of trouble from you. Now close your eyes, I’m going to help you change into a form you can feed in.”

  She looked at him warily, but finally her lids lowered.

  “That’s right. Now, I want you to think about looking in the mirror and what you looked like before. Hold the image in your mind. Then airbrush it.”

  One of her eyes quirked open as her face scrunched in confusion. “Airbrush it?”

  “You know, envision yourself without any physical flaws. The perfect version of you, like a big, famous magazine took your photograph and airbrushed it.”

  “I’m not good at visualization,” she said.

  “Trust me. You are now. Part of the demon package. Just do it.”

  She closed her eyes again and focused for a few minutes until the change came over her. As her form shifted and became much smaller and more feminine, the blanket she’d had wrapped around her loosened and dropped halfway down her body. At first she didn’t notice the modesty compromise.

  Her hair, a nice honey color, shimmered about twice as much as normal. Her skin was clearer and more radiant. The scars she’d had were gone. No surprises there, after what the vamps had done to her. And if he wasn’t mistaken, she’d just gone up a cup size. He chuckled.

  Jane opened her eyes and self-consciously pulled the blanket around her. “Stop ogling me.”

  “I wasn’t ogling. I was merely curious about what changes you’d make to your appearance. This is like attending a birth for me. Let me have my moment.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m hungry.”

  “I know you are.” Cain held out a hand and she took it. He’d teach her everything she needed to know about her new form and her new life, but first he had to get her home to the demon dimension and find her mate.

  Chapter Five

  Jane had never paid much attention to the demon dimension when she’d passed through it before. She’d always been anxious to get out to the other end, away from Cain and the other sex demons. They always made her nervous—way too attractive for their own good. Or anybody else’s. And there was that edge of danger, the kind that sang to many women like a siren’s song. Now that she was one of them and no longer prey, she took the time to look at her surroundings.

  Lots of beautiful desert, colorful tents, firelight, cobblestone streets, and brilliant stars so bright and close that you could almost reach out and touch them. She had to resist the urge to try.

  “I bet this place is less magical in the day,” she said, more to herself than anything. But Cain heard it.

  “There is no day here. And no weather, either. Nothing grows. We bring everything we want in from the outside world.”

  That was… unexpected. She took a moment to process the sameness of the place. Like heaven had been in a way. And yet, here you could just be what you were. No one was pretending. Whereas heaven had strict restrictions on the more earthy pleasures, here she could smell the sex in the air. It made her mouth water. The demon dimension was a hedonist’s paradise. And she suspected there was no bigger hedonist than Cain.

  The air was a comfortable, moderate temperature. Occasionally there was a breeze, which seemed like weather to her, but she didn’t say anything. Cain was someone she didn’t want to cross, even in minor weather squabbles. Mostly everything was calm and changeless. While this had been something that made her feel itchy and restless in heaven, here it filled her with an unexpected contentedness. As if she were home.

  He still had her by the hand, but it wasn’t the kind of handholding that would make her feel as if she were cheating on her mate. It was the demon being in charge, showing her the ropes. He’d already told her what he’d learned in heaven as they’d made their way to the portal point. It felt strange not needing the portal charm to get through anymore: the portal had just parted for her like the red sea, knowing her essence more than she did.

  It warmed her to think of her bond with Cole unsevered, but warm and fuzzy thoughts were having a harder time getting through as the hunger escalated, causing physical pain. What if Cole couldn’t accept the change? She had to feed soon. The discomfort was starting to build far past the tolerance point. Her skin was tight, hot, itchy. She felt weak, and she wondered if she still had her higher pain threshold or if that was gone now.

  She still wasn’t clear on how much of old Jane was in there, and how much of her was upgraded and new. Would Cole recognize anything of the woman he’d loved? Though she’d gone through many changes in this last lifetime, none were so pronounced as the one she’d undergone when she’d been transformed into a succubus.

  What if she had to feed from someone else? Then he’d never be okay with her. Cain said he’d help her figure out other things to take the edge off, things that wouldn’t involve cheating on her mate. But that was assuming Cole was on board for all this and also assuming she could trust the demon.

  Being on the other side of things, where Cain was someone she could rely on, was different and disconcerting. She’d gotten used to darting past him when going to Golatha Falls on her trips with Cole through the dimensions. The last time, she’d been about to go into labor. She hadn’t realized it was so close. The baby had been early.

  She’d been pissed at Cole for something stupid she couldn’t remember now and had ended up alone in the Georgia forest, giving birth to the pup and dying shortly after, unable to survive the rigors of giving birth to a preternatural species when she was only human.

  In her last moments, as she’d bled to death, she’d thought of how foolish it had been to be so anxious of Cain when it wasn’t him, but her own offspring that would do her in. The pup needed her, but she couldn’t stay no matter how hard she fought to. She’d closed her eyes and apologized to Cole. It was her fault all of this had happened.

  “Jane?”

  She shook herself out of memory lane and glanced up. The demon looked concerned, something she still didn’t trust wasn’t a trick. “Hmmm?”

  “This will be your tent. I know you’ll want to spend most of your time with Cole and the pack, but there will be times when you may want to be with other demons, those who will understand you better. This is your home anytime you want to be here.”

  “Um, thanks.” A part of her wondered if this was all a dream. Maybe the angel was messing with her head, giving her images and hallucinations that weren’t real, all a fantasy to help her let go. She waited for something horrible and morbid that would shake her and shatter the illusion. But nothing epic happened.

  The inside of the tent was as bright and colorful as the outside. Lots of cushions. Sweet treats, like gourmet chocolate and fancy alcohols. Looking around, it was clear this was a place meant for seduction. It drove home what she was now.

  A flashback of her time with the vampires surged through her. Those assholes passing her around, treating her like a whore. And now? She could pretend the tables had turned, but she needed to have sex for survival now, or at least health. She needed it like humans and therians needed food.

  She thought she’d gotten over all the vampire crap. But no, she’d just been so happy with Cole she’d allowed it to go into hiding. Now she was faced with her past once again. It would never be behind her. The blessing of reincarnation would have been forgetting it all. Now she’d never forget. This would be her final form to live out eternity in.

  “Hey.” Cain’s hand was on her shoulder. The caring look on his face was so different from the dangerous and inappropriately jovial demon she was used to. “I want you to stay here. I’ll bring Cole to you so you can feed.”

  All Jane could do was nod. The tent flap dropped
and she heard him speaking low to a couple of demons, instructing them to guard her and not let her leave or let a human male near her, no matter what she did. Or else.

  The thought of sleeping with another man—even as hungry as she was—disgusted her. The demon part of her wanted to, perhaps. But the Jane part of her recoiled at the idea.

  A couple of hours later she revised that thought. She was ready to dry hump just about anything. She’d pulled seduction attempts with the guards to try to get a nice hot piece of male ass in her tent, but it did no good.

  One of the guards arched a brow. “Doesn’t she know we don’t do our own kind?”

  “Hey, I’m standing right here,” Jane said, rubbing a breast against the demon’s arm. Some part of her was revolted by what she was doing, but another part was intent on getting fed and getting fed now.

  The other one shrugged. “You know how they are after they’re first turned. Reason doesn’t penetrate the lust and hunger.”

  “Why won’t he just let her feed? Did she do something to piss him off?”

  “Who knows? But I wish he’d hurry up. I don’t want to babysit all day. I’ve got my own dinner to hunt. I found this great club in L.A. where the women are just… wow. It’s like they take care of themselves just for my dining pleasure.”

  The other one chuckled, and Jane growled and went back into the tent. It sucked having all this seduction power and it being totally useless.

  ***

  Cole hadn’t slept right in months. His face was gaunt, and he knew from the few times he’d passed by a mirror on the way to the bathroom that dark circles lived under his eyes. Mara and Blake had started bringing him rabbits, like he was a pup just learning to hunt. He’d picked over them, then went back to the alcohol. It was the only thing that could make him forget for five minutes.