Enemy Mine (14 page)

readers. The story grabs you and doesn’t

let go.”

—Cynthia Eden, author of
Deadly Heat

“Reus shows great promise, and you’ll

look forward to visiting this world again

soon!”

—
RT Book Reviews
(4 stars)

“Reus crafts a fast-paced action story. . . .

Alpha Instinct
is awesome, an engrossing page-turner that I enjoyed in one sitting.

Reus offers all the ingredients I love in a

paranormal romance.”

—Book Lovers Inc.

“Prepare yourself for the start of a great

new series! . . . I’m excited about reading

more about this great group of characters.”

—Fresh Fiction

“A well-plotted, excellently delivered

emotional and sensual ride that grabs hold

and doesn’t let go! . . . Ms. Reus delivers

mystery, suspense, and a romance nothing

short of heart-pounding!”

—Night Owl Reviews

“If you’re looking for a new shifter

romance to sink your teeth in, then look no

further.
Alpha Instinct
is action-packed with a solid romance that will keep the

reader on the edge of [her] toes! . . .

Highly recommended for fans of Rachel

Vincent’s Werecat series.”

—Nocturne Romance Reads

“
Alpha Instinct
is a strong book full of

mystery, intrigue, and a new world to

explore. . . . I thoroughly enjoyed this one,

as I suspect lovers of the paranormal

romance genres will do as well!”

—Ramblings from a Chaotic Mind

DISCOVER OTHER KATIE REUS

TITLES!

Alpha Instinct

Lover’s Instinct

(Penguin eSpecial)

Primal Possession

Don’t miss the brand-new novel

in the Moon Shifter series

by Katie Reus,

MATING INSTINCT

On sale March 5, 2013 from Signet Eclipse.

Here’s a sneak peek. . . .

Chapter 1

Jayce Kazan parked his Harley in front of

December McIntyre’s house. The feisty

pregnant redhead wouldn’t be there

because she now lived on the Armstrong

ranch with her mate and the rest of the

lupine shifter pack who made their home

in Fontana, North Carolina.

But Kat would be home.

Or she should be. Even after December

moved, Kat had stayed there instead of

moving to the ranch. After her brutal

attack by the radical Antiparanormal

League (APL) group a month ago and

subsequent near-death experience, she’d

been turned into a lupine shifter out of

necessity. Just like him. The only

difference between them was he’d been

born that way almost five hundred years

ago. Well, maybe not the only difference.

He was a crass, roughneck enforcer

who’d killed more beings than he could

ever hope to count and she was . . .

fucking perfection.

At least to him.

Right now she wasn’t returning his

calls. Not that he blamed her. He hadn’t

been there for her when she’d needed him

most, and he wanted to rip his own heart

out because of it. At least then maybe he’d

be able to assuage some of his guilt. One

of the Armstrong pack members had bitten

and turned her into a shifter instead of

letting her die. She’d only had a one

percent chance of surviving the change,

and even though Jayce was grateful that

Aiden had saved her, a dark part of him

hated that bastard.

He hated the fact that he hadn’t been the

one to save her. That someone else had

had the honor of taking what was his. His

human side knew he’d never planned to

change Kat—it would have turned her into

a walking target overnight if anyone

discovered how deep his feelings for her

ran—but his animal side didn’t give a shit.

No one should have ever touched what

was his.

Though she really wasn’t his, was she?

Not anymore, anyway. Hadn’t been for

almost a year. At one time she had been.

He’d kissed and teased every inch of her

naked body, and she’d done the same to

him. Things had never been particularly

easy
between them—not with their strong

personalities. But with the exception of

his MIA brother, she was the only person

on the planet he’d ever let his guard down

around. She brought out the best in him.

Hell, she also brought out his worst,

protective side. For over a month he’d

exercised all his restraint staying away

from her while working for the Council.

After getting only an hour of sleep the

previous night, he was edgy and ready to

rip someone’s head off. Maybe it hadn’t

been the smartest idea to roll up to see her

the moment he’d gotten back in town, but

he didn’t care. He needed to see her.

Craved it so bad his canines ached at

the thought. She could slam the door on

him for all he cared. He just needed to
see

her face.

As he swung his leg over the bike and

straightened up, he glanced over when he

saw Ryan get out of his truck from across

the street. Though he didn’t want to be

patient or polite, he waited while the other

shifter strode toward him.

Ryan wore a thick down jacket and

jeans, and even though Jayce couldn’t see

an outline he knew the guy was packing a

few weapons. The chilly January weather

wouldn’t have affected Ryan like it would

humans so he knew the main reason the

shifter was wearing a jacket was to hide

guns and blades. “Hey, Jayce. What are

you doing here?”

Jayce raised an eyebrow at the

question. Why the hell wouldn’t he be

here?

Ryan’s lips pulled into a thin line. “I

didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t know

you’d be back so early. Thought you were

still on Council business or something.”

He shrugged. As the enforcer for the

North American Council of lupine

shifters, Jayce didn’t answer to anyone.

Not Ryan. Not even Connor Armstrong,

leader of the Armstrong pack and also

Ryan’s Alpha.
No one.
While he might

work for the Council he sure as hell didn’t

answer to
them
either. They needed him

and he made damn sure they never forgot

it. So even if he didn’t have to answer the

wolf in front of him, or that wolf’s boss,

he knew projecting his own bad mood

wouldn’t win him any friends. And right

now he needed all the fucking friends he

could get. “Caught an early flight and

headed over here. Haven’t called Connor

to let him know I’m in town though so . . .”

Ryan nodded. “I’ll let you call him.”

He cleared his throat. “Thanks.” The

word felt foreign on his lips. He should

have called Connor the moment he arrived

in town out of respect, but he had a lot to

discuss with him and some of it needed to

be done in person. He’d received

information that someone was trafficking

vampire blood in the next county. After

settling in, he intended to search out some

former contacts. Not to mention he still

planned to ferret out any possible

dangerous APL members still in the area.

That problem hadn’t gone away and he

knew it wasn’t likely to anytime soon.

More than anything, he just wanted to see

Kat, and everything else took a backseat.

“When did she get home?” Jayce didn’t

need to specify whom he referred to.

Ryan shrugged. “Few hours ago. She

was at the ranch with, uh . . . Aiden,

training,
but she still won’t move there to live with the pack. Which is why we’re

still watching her in shifts.”

Jayce already knew that. After her

attack from those APL fuckers nearly

killed her she’d been fairly defiant in her

demand that she live away from what was

now her pack. Connor had jurisdiction

over her since she technically lived in his

territory, but considering she’d been

turned into a shifter without the proper

introduction to pack life and rules, Connor

was giving her some leeway. He was a

fair Alpha, so Jayce wasn’t exactly

surprised. Even if he did hate the fact that

Connor wouldn’t force her to live on the

ranch where she’d be protected at all

times.

“You have a key to the house?” Jayce

asked, though he was already fairly

certain of the answer. Connor wouldn’t

have left anyone to watch the house

without a way to get inside if necessary.

Of course they could break in, but

cleaning up a mess was a hassle Jayce

knew the Alpha wouldn’t want to deal

with.

Ryan paused, but nodded. “Yeah, but

she’s gonna be pissed if you just walk in

there.”

“I know.” He held out his hand, not

asking for it, but silently demanding.

Sighing, the other wolf dug a single key

out of his pocket and handed it over. As he

headed back to his vehicle, Ryan muttered

something under his breath about Jayce

taking his life into his own hands.

If he’d had more sleep or was in a

better mood he might have smiled at the

statement. A pissed off Kat was a sight to

see. And he’d only seen her truly angry

when she’d been human. He could only

imagine her attitude as a shifter.

One of the last times he’d seen her as a

lupine shifter had been directly after her

transformation. She’d been healed after

the change but covered in her own blood.

And another wolf had been holding her.

Protecting her.

Comforting her.

Jayce still didn’t know the details of

what had happened to her during her hours

of torture—she refused to tell anyone

about it—but according to December she

still had nightmares.

And no one was there to ease her pain.

Jayce’s hands balled into fists as he turned

and headed up the stone walkway. Ever

since they’d found Kat in that broken

down barn, he’d been living in a state of

hell. It was the feeling of helplessness that

nearly undid him every time he thought of

Kat. Which was practically every second

of every day. The tall, gorgeous woman

invaded his dreams when he was sleeping.

He should have been there to save her. If

he had, he’d have been the one to change

her into a shifter.

The second he stepped into the house,

he knew Kat wasn’t there. Her scent was

there, but he couldn’t hear a heartbeat.

She’d been gone maybe twenty minutes if

he had to guess from her fading scent. Had

ducked her guard just like he feared she’d

do since Connor had let her live apart

from the pack.

Jayce knew it wasn’t the first time

she’d done this either. December had

become an unlikely source of information,

since she was worried about her friend

and often called him with updates on Kat.

This kind of shit was going to stop as

far as he was concerned. If she didn’t care

about her own safety, she needed to at

least be concerned about the rest of the

pack. And according to December, over

the past week Kat had been disappearing

for hours at a time. She wouldn’t tell

anyone what she was doing, either. Since

Jayce had heard she’d been having

difficulty controlling her change from

human to wolf, that could be a very

dangerous thing for all the local shifters.

Worry and possessiveness rose up

inside him. His need to protect Kat was

deep-seated and something he still didn’t

understand completely. He’d felt it the

moment he’d met her and it jarred him

every time he was near her. Or thought

about her.

Inhaling, he followed the trail of her

scent out the back door, through

December’s backyard, and on to the next

street over. The distinctive scent of roses

was so blatantly Kat. Every time he

smelled the damn flower he thought of her.

But it was slightly different than the actual

rose. The classic smell intermixed with

something sweeter, purer, and all Kat.

He’d recognize it anywhere.

She hadn’t been gone long so he hurried

back to his bike and headed out. He didn’t

bother telling Ryan that Kat was gone

either. No one was going after her except

him. If anyone tried to interfere tonight,

they’d probably get hurt. Including any

shifters.

On his motorcycle it was easy to trail

her in his human form. Hell, as an enforcer

he preferred his human form. He was

much older than most shifters and once he

let his animal take over, it was always a

struggle for control with his wolf. Right

now he needed to exert as much restraint

as possible. Where Kat was concerned, it

was important—if not necessary.

A short ride later he pulled in to the

parking lot of Kelly’s Place, a local Irish

bar in the middle of downtown Fontana.

The mountain town in North Carolina saw