The need didn’t leave him when he shifted back to human. He stroked her head, liking the wiry fur of her wolf.
The female wolf looked up at him in a wash of confusion. She was a gray wolf, with gray eyes. She breathed in Jace’s scent, wrinkling her nose, clearly wondering who he was.
Jace gave her head another stroke, wishing she’d turn back to human so he could talk to her. She’d run to his rescue, a Lupine taking the side of a Feline, and Jace wanted to know why.
The she-wolf remained wolf, still growling softly. Jace touched her head one last time and walked back to the male wolf. “New way of greeting guests in Shiftertown?” he asked. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Jace Warden. A guest of Dylan’s.”
Jace knew he didn’t need to explain that his own father was leader of another Shiftertown. The fact that Dylan sanctioned Jace’s visit should be enough for this wolf.
The wolf morphed into his human form, a man with short black hair and light gray eyes. “Hey, I saw a strange Feline trying to sneak into the fight club when he wasn’t invited, and when no one but regulars are supposed to know about the new place. What did you expect?”
“So you were defending all the Shifters here?” Jace asked with evident skepticism. “Commendable.”
“Ask that crazy bitch what she was doing,” the Lupine said, scowling at the she-wolf. “Nurturing females, my ass. She’s all spit and vinegar.”
“Let me guess.” Jace felt mirth. “She turned down your mate-claim.”
The Lupine gave Jace an incredulous look. “I wouldn’t mate-claim her. Not if she were the last female in Shiftertown. She’s out of her mind. You can never tell what she’s going to do.” The man made a broad gesture in her direction. “You saw her.”
“I thought it was nice of her to help me out.”
“Nah, she saw a fight, it sparked her loony side, and she dove in. Look at her. She’s not even sure what happened.”
Jace turned his gaze to the she-wolf again and saw that the man was right. She watched Jace and the Lupine, trembling but trying to hide it with a growl and a glare. Jace saw fear in her eyes along with deep anger—a woman hurting from something and not wanting anyone else to know it.
“I keep trying to tell Liam she should be put down,” the Lupine said. “She’s a danger to the rest of us.”
The she-wolf snarled again. Scent and body language told Jace what he needed to know—the female was dominant but of a different clan than the male wolf; the male was aggressive, cocky, and hated to be bested. The male wolf would be dominant in his clan as well. Jace outranked both of them, though.
Jace looked into the other man’s eyes. “Why don’t you shut your hole, get dressed, and go the hell home? You’re too unstable to be here tonight.”
The man tried to meet Jace’s gaze. He did pretty well, but in the end had to slide his eyes sideways. “What, you want some privacy with her? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Just go,” Jace said.
The wolf snorted. “Whatever.” He climbed to his feet and strolled away, not worried that he was naked.
The fight hadn’t attracted any attention. A sudden roar of voices within the arena told Jace why—there must be an intense match going down. The human voices were accompanied by roars and growls, since half the watchers would be in animal form.
Jace retrieved his torn clothing, grunting in irritation. He’d only brought two changes of clothes, thinking he wouldn’t be in Austin that long.
The jeans had escaped the worst of the shredding, and he pulled them on, the ripped seams stretching as he crouched down to look at the she-wolf again.
“You all right?” he asked her. “Who was that asshole?”
The disgust in his question reached past the feral fear in her eyes. He saw clarity return, and then the wolf shifted into a female with a lush, lovely body, close-cut wheat-colored hair, and large gray eyes.
She remained in a crouch, covering herself, but Jace’s gaze traced the curve of her ample breasts, his natural need rising. She’d be worth sneaking off into the darkness with, maybe having a bounce with in the bed of a pickup.
No, she’d be worth more than that. This wasn’t a lady Jace would use to relieve horniness and then forget. Not with that gorgeous gaze pinning him flat.
“His name’s Broderick,” she said in a voice Jace wanted to embrace. “He usually wins Asshole of the Month around here.”
“No doubt. What did you jump in for? He’s right about one thing—it was a crazy thing to do. Two males with their blood up could have hurt you.”
“I saw him besting you. No one deserves to be pounded by Broderick for no reason.”
“He wasn’t besting me,” Jace said, giving her a grin. “I had him. And then he started kicking your ass.”
She frowned. “Oh, please. I was a few bites away from making him crawl away whimpering.”
As Jace hoped, his needling made her irritation erase her fear and pain. “Not to mention, your Collar was going off,” Jace said. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
He placed his hand on the side of her neck, over the Collar in question. Ordinarily, Jace wouldn’t touch uninvited, especially not cross-species, but something in this woman cried out to him. She needed soothing.
Her eyes widened a little, but she didn’t jerk away. “What about you? Your Collar didn’t go off. You can dampen its effect, can’t you? Like Liam does?”
Jace let his fingers caress her neck as he chose his words. “That’s not supposed to be common knowledge. Need-to-know basis.”
“Maybe I need to know. Dylan’s trying to teach me, but I can’t do it yet.”
“In that case, I’ll give you some pointers.” Jace traced her Collar to the front, pausing when his fingers rested on its Celtic cross lying against her throat. “But I’d better find Dylan and tell him I’m here before the payback for controlling my Collar hits me.”
“Dylan’s fighting right now,” the woman said. “His bouts are always popular. But short. He should be done soon.”
Jace placed his hand on hers. He wanted to keep touching this woman for some reason, as though breaking contact with her would lessen him somehow. “Come with me. We’ll watch him win together.”
“No.” The woman started to rise, and Jace unfolded himself and helped her to her feet. She didn’t hide herself anymore, a Shifter woman unembarrassed by her body. “I have to go. Are you Jace? You’ve been to Shiftertown before, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, but why haven’t I met you?” Jace still didn’t want to release her hand. “I’ve made lots of trips out here, but I don’t remember seeing you.”
“I’ve been . . . sick,” she said. “I’m Deni. Deni Rowe.”
Deni watched him anxiously, as though gauging his reaction to the name. “Ellison Rowe’s sister?” Jace asked.
“Yes.” Deni still peered at him, waiting.
Jace tightened his hand on hers. “Why do you have to go? Stay with me and watch Dylan kick ass. You can keep other Lupines from jumping me.”
Deni didn’t smile. She glanced at the arena and the mass of figures there, and Jace scented her nervousness. “I can’t. Sometimes the fighting . . .”
“Calls to the feral in you? Makes you lose control?”
She gave him a startled look. “How did you know that?”
“Because I saw your eyes when you attacked Broderick. You didn’t dive into the fight only to rescue me. You did it because watching made you want to fight too. I was like that during my Transition.” Jace caressed the hand he hadn’t released. “All you have to do is hold on to someone. The touch will calm you and keep you tethered.”