There was nothing out of the ordinary. But still the beast within him sensed something.
Grinding his teeth, he left the kitchen to head to the bar. He'd only taken one step inside when he found the source of his discomfort...
Maggie.
And she was talking to Dev.
Wren's gaze narrowed even more as a jealousy the likes of which he'd never experienced before took hold of him. It was all he could do to stay in human form and not run headlong and attack the bear until he had Dev lying dead in his jaws.
But he did cross the bar in quick, fierce strides.
Marguerite felt the air behind her stir. Even before she turned her head, she knew it was Wren. She could feel his presence like a tangible touch.
She looked up at him over her shoulder. His blue eyes scalded her with heat. The intensity of his stare made her shiver.
"You left your wallet," she said quickly, not wanting him to think that she was tracking him down. She took the wallet from the man she'd given it to and handed it to Wren. "I was just going to leave it for you."
She started for the door.
"Wait," Wren said, pulling her to a stop.
"Wait for what?" she said more harshly than she meant to. "I'm not a yo-yo, Wren. You made it clear that there's nothing more between us. I was-"
He cut her words off with a scorching kiss. Marguerite actually moaned at the feral taste of him.
Even so, she pulled back. "This is cruel." She saw the bitter longing in his eyes as he stared at her.
"Have you ever wanted something that you knew was bad for you? Something that you ached for so much that you could think of nothing else?"
"Yes, which is why I always end up eating the whole chocolate bar anyway."
His grip loosened on her arm as he laughed. She saw the shock on the man's face over his shoulder.
Wren pulled her against him, nuzzled her, and took a deep breath in her hair. "And I want to inhale my chocolate, kitten. Even if it kills me."
She frowned at his words. "I would never hurt you, Wren."
He tensed as if he heard or felt something. "You need to go now. It's not safe here for you."
"How so?"
Wren didn't answer. The two of them were getting way too much attention from the other Were-Hunters in the bar. He couldn't afford to let them know just how much this woman was coming to mean to him.
"I'm taking my break," he said to Dev before he took her arm and led her for the door.
"What's going on here?" she asked him as they walked outside.
"I can't explain it. I really can't." There was no way to tell her that the feelings inside him were completely wrong. He wasn't supposed to feel for a human. Not like this.
He felt...
Like a human being. And that was something he most definitely wasn't.
Wren took her to her Mercedes, which was parked on the side street. He clenched his fists as his body roared to life, demanding he take her again.
Why was he feeling like this? Dammit, it was wrong.
Lifting one hand, he laid his fingers against the blush of her cheek.
He wasn't what she needed in her life. He wasn't what anyone needed, and he knew it. But for the first time ever, he wanted to be with someone.
And a human woman no less.
What was wrong with him? Was this the trelosa that could come upon Were-Hunters when they hit puberty? He'd never really felt it as a young man and hadn't understood the rabies-like madness that appeared with hormonal surges.
But he felt it now. It gnawed and it demanded.
Maybe the trelosa had been delayed because he was a hybrid. He didn't know. But humans weren't supposed to attract him. Not as anything more than a possible bedmate or prey.
She stared up at him with those accusing brown eyes that were shining in anger. "I don't understand what's going on here, Wren. You push me away and yet you look at me as if you're a starving beggar and I'm the only steak in town."
"That sums it up about right," he said softly. "You are so out of my league."
"How do you figure?"
"I'm not right, Maggie. Physically, emotionally, socially... I shouldn't be with you."
"That's just stupid. You keep saying that and I don't see anything abnormal with you. What is so wrong with you that we can't date?"
How he wished he could tell her, but that was stupid and he knew it. To tell her he was an animal would scare the life out of her. Instead, he settled on human arguments. "I'm antisocial."
"So am I. I'm socially awkward and I hate parties and mixers."
"I hate people."
"Then why is your hand still on my face?"
He swallowed at the truth he couldn't deny. "Because I don't hate you."
"Well that's a relief to know, especially after this afternoon."
A tic started in his jaw as he dropped his hand away. "I need to get back to work."
"Will I see you later?"
He wanted to say no, but there was a part of him that was so calm around her. It was the only time in his life that he had felt such.
Dear gods, she had actually tamed some part of him.
Shove her away.
He couldn't. He needed to feel her against him. Against his will, he felt himself nodding.
Marguerite breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't realized that she'd been holding her breath in expectation.
He hadn't rejected her this time. It was a good sign.
"Wren?"
She looked past him to see the mean older woman on the street, glaring at them. Apparently the woman hadn't warmed up to either one of them since the last time she'd thrown Marguerite out of her house.
Wren glanced at the woman, then growled a sound that didn't seem quite human as he returned to stare into Marguerite's eyes. "I have to go now."
"Okay." Marguerite leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. As she pulled back, she saw the way he savored it.
He picked her hand up and brought it to his lips, where he placed a hungry kiss on her knuckles. "Be careful."
"You, too."
He stepped back as she got in her car and he didn't move until she'd driven away.
Turning, Wren walked to where Nicolette was still standing. The bear didn't say a word as he walked past her, but he felt the heat of her stare.
Ignoring it, he returned to the bar and went back to work.
Nicolette followed the tigard inside and paused by her son Dev's side. "It is unnatural for our kind to be attracted to a human."
"He's becoming unstable."
She nodded. "I spoke with a cousin of his a few hours ago."
"And?"
She narrowed her eyes on the tigard. "He said that Wren had killed both of his parents."
Dev looked stunned by the news, but she hadn't been. It was what she'd expected to hear. There was something evil about that tigard.
"How?" Dev asked. "He was barely more than a cub when he was brought here."
"It is the curse of his breed. Why do you think the snow leopards are nearly extinct? They go mad and turn on the ones they depend on. The ones who care for them."
"You think Wren is going mad?"
"What do you think?"
Dev glanced to where Wren was cleaning a table with Marvin on his shoulder. "I think he's in love with that woman. I actually heard him laugh."
Nicolette sneered at the very thought. "It is unnatural for a Katagari to love a human. Not to mention, that woman," she spat the word, "is death to all of us. Can you imagine what would happen if her father ever learned of us? We would be hunted and killed."
Dev nodded. "The humans would panic, no doubt."
Nicolette ground her teeth as raw, bitter anger consumed her. "I will not allow that hybrid beast to jeopardize all of us."
"What do you plan to do, Maman?"
She didn't speak as she watched the tigard curl his lip at her before he took his dishes to the kitchen.
She couldn't tell Dev what she had planned. For some reason, her son was rather fond of the tigard. Something that truly appalled her. But then most males were weak. It was why bearswans were the stronger of the species and why she was the one who led this household.
"Don't worry, Devereaux. Maman will handle everything. You go back and monitor our door."
And soon her house would again be safe from the threat that Wren posed to them all.