Page 25 of Kitten Kisses

“Who was it?”

“My brother,” Kijani replied. “There are some animals that can’t resist their instinct when they sense their mate. It triggers something primal in them.”

Slater tilted his head back and inhaled deeply, filling his senses with the enticing scent of dark chocolate and desire. “You need to leave, Kijani. My tiger is too close, and my mate is right outside the open door.”

“Sort this out with him.” Kijani walked out.

Slater lowered his head and glanced at the doorway. His tiger had almost gone feral when Alex made that joke. Honestly, Slater found it was amusing, especially with the way Becky’s eyes had widened. He adored his mate’s sharp wit, but his tiger had become furious at the thought of Alex being with anyone else.

Alex stepped closer to the open door, looking uncertain. “I heard what you said to him.” He avoided Slater’s gaze. “It’s because of me that your animal is acting this way.”

“It’s not your fault, hummingbird.” Slater approached Alex and stopped in front of him. “I would never threaten or harm you. And I would never try to control you either.”

Alex groaned and rolled his eyes. “I should have never made that joke. It was the worst attempt at humor.”

“I actually found it quite amusing.” Slater grinned.

Alex gave him a skeptical look. “Really?”

“Absolutely,” Slater replied, still grinning. “Your quick wit is only surpassed by your deadly knees.”

That earned a raised eyebrow from Alex. “Was that your worst attempt at humor?”

Slater huffed, pretending to be offended. “Are you saying it wasn’t funny?”

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mate’s lips. “It was decent, I suppose.”

“Are we okay, hummingbird?” Slater’s smile faded. He wanted to hold his mate in his arms, but he wasn’t touching Alex until he knew things were settled between them.

“I guess it depends. Am I going to be standing at this door all night?”

Slater moved aside to let his mate enter and then closed the door behind him. He watched as Alex’s eyes widened in shock at the destruction.

“Kijani and I just had a disagreement.” It was more than just a man-sized hole that needed repaired. When the couch had crashed into the opposite wall, it had caused even more damage. There were deep marks on the floor from its legs, and things were knocked over or broken.

“This is what you call a disagreement?” Alex gestured toward the damaged wall in disbelief.

The adrenaline from the fight had faded, and Slater was now feeling the physical toll of his injuries.

He needed to shift.

The living room wasn’t the only thing damaged during their fight. Kijani’s powerful punches had caused internal damage, evidenced by the intense pain radiating from Slater’s midsection.

He also knew Kijani had sustained some pretty serious injuries as well, although Slater had been trying his hardest not to hurt his friend.

But he didn’t want to let his tiger out so he could heal while Alex was there. His animal was already hard to control around his mate, and he didn’t know how it would react when meeting Alex in person for the first time.

Though Slater knew his tiger wouldn’t harm Alex, it was too aggressive at the moment, and it might terrify their mate. Alex had already run from him once, and fuck if Slater wanted to take any chances of it happening again.

Alex’s expression turned concerned as he glanced at Slater. “I can see you’re in pain. How badly did he hurt you?” Anger flashed in his eyes as he waited for an answer.

Instead of answering, Slater moved the couch away from the wall and sat down with a grunt of pain.

“How bad are you hurt?” Alex demanded as he walked over to him, clearly worried.

“I’m not going to lie to you.” Slater gritted his teeth as he clutched his side. “Pretty bad. I can heal on my own, but…” He felt his tiger pacing restlessly within him, frustrated that Slater was holding it back.

“But what?” Alex sat down beside him.

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