Jamie shrugged.

Damian's expression softened. "Happy birthday, ma pet.i.te. I didn't realize." He pressed a soft kiss into her palm. A shiver of pleasure shot up her spine. "I promise, I will make it up to you. What do you want?"

An absurd joy wriggled up from her stomach as she imagined her dearest wish. It was so stupid. A wide smile broke over his face. "Ah, excellent. Good choice."

This sure was freaky, having someone else peer into her thoughts. She felt invaded, exposed. Maybe she could block him, and she thought of a redbrick wall.

"Do it again. Read my mind," she insisted.

His smile dropped. "It's not necessary," he said curtly. "Just tell me to stay out and I'll stay out. You don't need a gatekeeper."

Damian dropped her hand as they continued walking. She felt a bit ashamed, acting as if he were some pervert, eavesdropping into her thoughts like a peeping Damian.

They turned from Bourbon onto St. Philip, slowly approaching the McDonough school. As they walked, hair rose on the nape of her neck.

Someone's following us.

Blushing again, she realized she'd used their mental communication. Damian only nodded. Stay ahead of me. He shuffled so she walked slightly in front.

Suddenly Damian stopped and whirled with a snarl. Oh, great. Wonderful. Jamie sighed with exasperation as she recognized the man who'd hit on her in the bar.

"Hey there, sweetie. Why are you with this loser?" He glowered at Damian.

"Leave us. Now," Damian said, his expression tightening.

"I'm not afraid of you." Vodka Breath raised his chin defiantly. Claws grew from his fingers as he swiped at Damian, who sidestepped.

"Not human, but not pack. Rogue," he said. Putting Jamie behind him in a protective maneuver, he faced the male.

"Give me the female. I need her to breed. She has an aura of power and will make strong young," Vodka Breath snarled. "I challenge you for her."

Shocked disbelief coursed through her as he flashed two very sharp descending canine teeth.

Damian smiled slowly. "Your right. Your mistake. But not on the street. Too many eyes."

He leaped over the low iron gate separating the school from the sidewalk and went into the yard. Shadows covered him. Vodka Breath followed, then shrugged out of his clothing. He stood naked, then faster than she could blink, changed into a wolf. A muscled black wolf with bared fangs.

Damian merely waved his hands. Clothing vanished. Then he shifted, his far more powerful and larger Alpha wolf outweighing the other male by thirty pounds.

Jamie gasped as the two wolves charged, their bodies smacking together with a dull thud. She climbed the fence, jumping onto the ground.

Frantic fear cresting over her, Jamie reached out, fingers stretched outward. With a mighty thought that sent pain spiking through her brain, she hurled the black wolf backward twelve feet into an alleyway between the school and the brick building next door. The wolf growled, shook its head. Blood droplets from its torn muzzle sprayed the wall. In a brave, suicidal rush he charged Damian, who waited with calculating patience. Damian turned, drew blood on the other's muzzle.

Damian would kill him, she realized with sickening dread. Damian fought for the right to mate and breed with her. And he'd tear apart any male who threatened his authority. She knew the animal world, knew what drove Damian. But she couldn't let him kill this inebriated fool.

Yet she remained motionless, reluctant to test her powers again. The pain had proved too much. Jamie hugged herself as she watched the battle rage.

The black wolf retreated then darted around, tearing at Damian's hindquarters. Blood dripped down his flanks. She cried out. No more. He was hurt.

Ignoring the pain stabbing her temples, she directed all her thoughts.

Just as Damian bared his fangs and sprang for the male's throat, Jamie sent them both flying upward. Knives stabbed her temples. Jamie winced, holding them aloft despite the agony. She only wanted to collapse and scream. With every ounce of her strength, she concentrated.

The large gray wolf suddenly shape-shifted back into Damian. A fully clothed Damian. Slowly she lowered him to the ground. He came to her, his hands framing her face.

"Jamie, put him down. I can feel your pain. Chere, what is this?"

Slowly she released the other wolf, letting him drift downward. When all four paws touched the ground, she staggered back and released a low moan. Jamie clutched her pounding head.

The wolf charged, jaws snapping, Jamie in the way of its target. Damian whirled, pulled her aside just as the wolf leaped. Claws skidded on the ground as the wolf attempted to stop, and crashed into the iron fence.

Agony speared her temples. Jamie moaned, sank down to the ground. "My head, it hurts. Just give me a minute, please."

Damian leaned over and gently touched her temples. His fingertips were cool and soothing. Some of the pain fled, bringing intense relief. She struggled to her feet.

He narrowed his gaze at Vodka Breath, who shifted back into human form, and quickly dressed. "You could have injured her. You're so obsessed with winning her, you forgot the first rule. Protect your mate at all costs. You're brazen for your age, and need to know your place."

"I apologize. I never intended to hurt her." The other male lowered his head as Damian stared him down. Submissive at last.

Damian gave him a level look. "You need a pack, cub. Being alone among humans hasn't taught you manners. You need to be with your own kind." He slid an arm about Jamie and named an address. "Tomorrow, go to that house, ask for Raphael, tell him what happened. He'll accept you if you're humble and tell him I sent you. If I see you on the streets alone again, know this. Your a.s.s is mine."

Looking mortified, the male nodded and mumbled thanks. He shuffled away.

She let herself sag against Damian with a small moan.

Magick always came with a price. And this one felt almost too high to pay.

Jamie's pain radiated through him. He supported her weight. She felt ice-cold. Like death. He had to warm her, get her home fast. Frantic, he checked her pulse. Too slow. Sluggish.

Breath caught in his throat as he glanced down at her fingernails.

Gray. Like stone. Magick had activated the spell.

He lifted her into his arms as if she weighed no more than a sack of cotton candy. The street was deserted. But for the revelry drifting from the Lafitte bar nearby, he heard nothing.

Then footsteps. Slow, purposeful. A threat.

A group of ten walked toward them, their steps determined. Instinct screamed to fight, but he couldn't risk Jamie. Carrying her, he retreated back into the shadows of the schoolyard. He set her down, reached for his phone and speed-dialed Raphael.

"McDonough. Jamie's hurt and I've got company," he muttered, then shut off the phone and pocketed it.

The people suddenly stopped before the schoolyard, turned with exact precision toward him. Military precision.

In an eyeblink, they shifted into a swarm of angry wasps and flew toward him.

No choice. He lowered Jamie to the ground and covered her body with his, turning her face to let her breathe and protecting her head with his arms and hands. The insects buzzed angrily around him, stinging, trying to get at skin. They stung through his thin silk shirt, crawled on the back of his neck. Wasps landed on exposed parts of his face. He just had to outlast them and pray his magick would heal him fast enough before the allergies kicked in. Fighting back the burning pain, he hung on. Several wasps landed on his cheeks, ears and neck. A few crawled toward his eyes. Damian squeezed them shut.

No use. They stung his eyelids. He clenched his teeth.

Minutes later, several motorcycles roared to the curb. Damian heard the thump of heavy boots on concrete, snarls, and felt the power in the air. Eyes closed, he waited, still covering Jamie.

"T'frere. Oh, merde." Raphael helped him to his feet. Wasps littered the ground, tiny corpses fried by Rafe's powerful magick.

"Take Jamie home. She's hurting, bad," he mumbled through swollen lips.

His hands looked absurdly like Mickey Mouse's. Raphael picked up Jamie, slid her onto the bike, and then hopped on, supporting her unconscious weight with one strong arm.

Damian's arms and legs burned. He spoke into her mind. Go with Rafe. He'll get you home safely. I'll be along shortly.

"I'll take care of her," Raphael promised, and roared off.

Adam stared at him from behind round gla.s.ses. "What about you?"

"I'll walk." Damian pa.s.sed a swollen hand over his equally swollen face.

"Man, you look bad," Adam muttered. "Let me give you a lift."

He mustered strength to shake his head. Damian managed to hold himself aloft. When the bikers roared off, he sank into the shadows. His body felt twice its size. Like a wounded animal, he slunk farther into the schoolyard's darkness. White-hot flames licked his skin.

For a moment he lay curled on the ground. Control. Discipline. When Jamie had infected him with the disease that nearly killed him, he used both to ride through the pain. No one in his pack suspected how he'd hurt. Even as he lay in bed, wasting away, he issued orders. Remained in charge. Worried about his people.

You can do this. It's nothing. Damian clenched his jaw and rode it out.

Fifteen minutes later, he stood, feeling less shaky. His body began healing itself.

He walked back, feeling his skin slowly mend, the swollen stings gradually fade. Magick drained from him rapidly. If more Morphs attacked, he could fight. Barely. Bring them on.

They didn't want him dead. Their purpose was only to injure and hurt. The decoys Raphael planned tonight had failed. Someone tracked their moves.

And Jamie's newfound powers presented possibilities and concerns. Inside she was a well of power waiting to be tapped.

She'd tapped it, all right. Like a d.a.m.n geyser. His magick should only slow the spell, not give Jamie power. More power than he possessed.

Or control. She needed to learn. He could teach her, but too many questions remained unanswered. What was Jamie? A human with powerful psi abilities, the ability to kill with her mind?

He stopped, ignoring the crowds pushing past him. She'd tried to save him when she thought he was in danger. Not the actions of a woman determined to murder her former lover.

The fragile shaping of a bond had begun. He only hoped it would continue.

Before the spell set in for good. Her gray, clammy skin worried him. He shouldered the thought aside, concentrated on centering his thoughts to heal.

Damian headed for Bourbon. In the thick crowd out for drinks and a good time, no one noticed him. His face healed first, then his limbs. He walked for a long while. By the time he reached the end of the strip, he'd healed fully.

Turning, he headed toward Raphael's house. A few minutes later, his cell phone rang, playing Creedence's "Bad Moon Rising." Jamie had changed the ringtone. Little minx.

"She's out cold," Raphael told him. "Guess you figured our plan failed."

"T'me dis pas," he said dryly. "What happened?"

Damian had spread the word he was taking Jamie to the City Park. Two of Raphael's friends shape-shifted into Damian and Jamie's forms. It took incredibly powerful magick a.s.sisted by potions. Unfortunately, unlike the Morphs, they couldn't hold the forms long.

"They went to the park, but no one followed. b.a.s.t.a.r.ds knew they were decoys. Someone's stalking you, t'frere. And I can't figure out how they're doing it."

"I'll find out," Damian told him.

He thumbed off the phone.

A while later, he arrived at the house. Raphael sat in the parlor on the upholstered couch, laptop open before him. He glanced at Damian.

"Raw steak in the fridge. I figured you needed it."

"Not tonight. I need to hunt. Can you watch over her while I'm gone?"

"Sure. Besides, it'll give me time to record this." His brother turned the computer around so Damian could glimpse the intricate Web page with streets, graphic pushpins marking locations. "Pa.s.sword protected. Every time there's a Morph attack or a murder, we record it on the computer."

"Risky if someone finds out. Or hacks into the system." Something about the computer nagged Damian, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

"Let them try. It's secure. I have guys who are genius with systems and software."

Damian headed out of the room, paused. He spoke over his shoulder. "I never did thank you for all you've done, for me and for all our race, Rafe. So, thanks."

Silently he entered Jamie's bedroom. On the large four-poster, she appeared to sleep, her face smooth of suffering. But her skin was still gray and clammy to his touch.

Unable to resist touching her, he kissed her forehead. "Ah, chere, how I wish you would realize I would never hurt you," he whispered.

Damian looked down at her, sorely tempted. So innocent, all her defenses lowered like the barricaded gates to a fortress. So easy it would be to awaken her with soft kisses, raining all over her skin, pulling off her clothing. s.e.x as a means to slow the stone spell spreading through her veins. She'd be easy and pliable in his arms, and willing.

Not now. He needed to hunt.

He released a frustrated sigh and left. Damian paced down the back steps. Moonlight dappled the trees in the courtyard. He let himself out the back gate and headed for the river.

Where railroad tracks spliced through the land, he raised his head to the waxing moon. She caressed his face with healing light, power.

With a hand wave, his clothing vanished. Bones and muscle lengthened as his body shape-shifted. Wolf now, he slipped into the night. Bounding down the railroad tracks, he followed them east as they curved south. Following the bend of the Mississippi, past the ruined charred remains of the coffee warehouses.

He did not return until the moon receded in the sky like a small nickel. At the Ursuline streetcar station, he shifted back and walked to the house.

Damian went upstairs to Jamie's room. Light spilling from the hallway speared the darkened bedroom. She lay fast asleep, her breathing even. But something felt wrong. Dread hammered at his chest with twin fists. He bent down, stared at his destined mate.

Gray streaked her beautiful dark hair. Another sign the stone spell had advanced.

He picked up a strand, rubbed it between his fingers. Damian kissed her chilled forehead and left. He stripped and lay in his bed. Weary, he closed his eyes. But sleep did not come for a long time.

The nightmare came with swift, punishing precision. Annie was screaming and he couldn't reach her. Sharp claws scudded over the mansion's cool tile floor, drawing nearer. Curling herself into a tight ball beneath the bed, clutching her stuffed wolf for protection. The scampering claws drew nearer. Annie screamed again. Damian tried to run faster, but he was mired in a thick bog. Then the screams shifted and became lower pitched and the face changed.... A woman with a lovely pixie face and beautiful gray eyes...

The Morphs wanted to kill Jamie.

Suddenly the dream split as if a movie screen parted in half. Jamie was there, but no terror etched her expression. Her smile was soft and rea.s.suring as she slid into his arms, murmuring rea.s.surances. Calming peace settled over him. She felt good and he never wanted to let go.