Free Circe's Recruits 2: Zack and Ace by Marie Harte

his beast. If not, why the hell had Ace jacked him off in his bedroom? Why blow him before they’d left? Was it simply lust? Was Ace exorcising him out of his blood to make room for Kelly?
    An odd jealousy formed, but for whom, Zack wasn’t sure. He wanted Kelly just as much as Ace did. He cried out for her with every breath he took. But Ace had her. Ace was probably still fucking her, uncaring that Zack was gone. Because he had Kelly, Ace had no more need for Zack. She’d effectively excluded him, and she had no idea what she’d done.
    Speeding toward an exit and uncaring of where it led, Zack wanted to move as far away from his heart as he could. Fuck Ace Two Bears. Zack’s vision blurred, making him even angrier. He could just hear Ace taunting him. Yeah, you’re a real man now. Crying like a fucking girl. Damned pussy. You should have been born with one. Rage and hurt mingled until Zack was blinded by it. He accelerated off the main road into a wooded area. Crashing through the barrier, the Wrangler smashed into a tree. Instinct was the only thing that saved him. He changed as he smashed through the windshield into a thick tree trunk.
    Bone crunched, but the hard shell of his skull held firm. Trying to clear the haze in his mind, Zack stood up on shaky feet and clutched his side. He’d reopened the stitching in his wound and might have broken a rib. Dammit. The pain amped his temper.

    Muttering under his breath, he stomped into the marsh surrounding the wreck of his car. The lateness of the hour and lack of moonlight helped camouflage him, but he really needed to avoid the roads until he changed back.
    So much for maintaining control. Derrick was right. Women were trouble.
    Things had been going so well with Ace. Then she’d come between them. Kelly, the woman he wanted as much as his next breath. Apparently, she found Ace as captivating as he did. Now he was ass out, both of his mates drawn to each other, but not to him.
    Oh, Zack knew he’d made Kelly feel good. He could fuck like a stallion. But she hadn’t looked at him the way she’d looked at Ace, with love in her eyes.
    Furious and not sure what to do about it, Zack tried to find a way out of the mess his life had become as he headed deeper into the marsh. He was a Circ. He couldn’t turn that off.
    Every month he had to endure the mating heat. With Ace so close, yet so distant, Zack didn’t think he could handle forcing his friend to take him anymore. No matter how hard they came together when changed, Ace always resented it afterward. Zack had hoped Ace might change his mind, especially after their last few days together. But now, he didn’t know what to think.
    Brooding, he pushed onward, the mosquitoes and gnats unable to bite through his thick skin. Thick only in the physical sense. All this emotional bullshit is annoying.
    So mired in his worries, Zack failed to note the warning silence around him until it was too late. He turned as he sensed eyes upon him. At the same instant, something solid plowed into him, taking him to the ground.
    “Dammit, she’s mine,” a hoarse voice snarled as claws ripped into him.
    Grunting under the assault, Zack quickly shoved the Circ from him and stood, cursing himself for his lack of attention.
    Facing off against a rogue as tall as himself, Zack wondered how far gone this one might be. “What the fuck’s your problem?”

    “The female’s scent all over you is wrong. She’s mine,” the Circ growled before he launched himself again.
    Prepared, Zack caught him and flipped the asshole over his shoulder. The rage he’d felt about Kelly and Ace returned full force. Now this guy thought he had a claim to Kelly too?
    “Stand in line, pal.” Zack met him blow for blow. He slipped under the male’s defenses with a long slash to his stomach followed by a kick to his solar plexus. As the Circ went down, Zack followed, continually striking the Circ’s face and abdomen. He managed a swift kick to his