Page 90 of Catch a Tiger

Chapter 27

Vix

It took far too much effort not to snarl at the alpha’s cub.

Surprising to see she didn’t look much more than five or six years younger than Vix though. A pretty little thing too with all that blonde hair and warm brown eyes, but she found the stench of her fear revolting when the witch possessed so much power.

Unfortunately, this added a complication.

If the witch didn’t want the raven to leave and Vix did, then it was up to the alpha to make the final decision, wasn’t it?

She took a step toward the glass wall, turning to put her back to the forest and keep everyone in her field of view. Then she looked to Samuel.

The alpha was still holding the blade he’d pulled from her side, staring at her stomach like he couldn’t believe she’d done that. Vix almost felt bad for him, but he still smelled too angry – too conflicted.

Her gaze shifted to Mylo then.

The other alpha had his claws wrapped around Rune’s throat to hold him back, and his golden eyes were scorching. Vix felt her heart skip a beat when she saw he wasn’t staring at her likehe couldn’t understand what the hell was going on, but like he knewexactlywhat she was thinking, down to the very last detail.

She saw conflict in him too, but it wasn’t the same as Samuel’s. No, Mylo was disturbed she was looking tohimfor the final decision, but he was so very pleased about it too.

“I can’t stay here if the raven won’t leave,” she tried to explain, not daring to drop her gaze. He hadn’t wanted her to before. “I’ll have to break the rules.”

Mylo narrowed his eyes. “You attacked Rune.”

His statement forced her to look at the giant who was willingly letting the golden alpha hold him back and she couldn’t quite look at his face, but she could still remember what they looked like. “I woke up and saw green eyes in a face I’ve never seen before. It scared me. Hurting him was an accident. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“Honestly, I deserved it for grabbing your tongue like that.” Rune shrugged and it was obvious he wasn’t holding a grudge, but the tension in the room didn’t ease. “Plus, you didn’t try to kill me, so technically, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Vix managed to look at his mouth, swallowing hard at the sudden urge to cry. His reassurance meant so much more than she could have imagined. It really had been an accident and the slash marks on his shirt that were evidence of what she’d done made her feel horrible.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, bringing her eyes up to his mouth. “I’ll be better.”

“You don’t?—”

“Mylo, I need Valentina to stay here with me,” Morgan interrupted, her words as sharp as a blade. “This is just a misunderstanding.”

“One you purposefully created,” Vix snapped, her irritation burning through the self-loathing. This whole fucking thing was ridiculous. Not to mention that witch was still in the doorway,blocking her exit. “Stop acting like you don’t knowwhythis is a problem, mind reader.”

That snapped Samuel out of his conflict, and he snarled at her like she’d crossed a line. “Vix, that’s enough.”

It would be so simple if she could just tell themwhy, but they were outsiders.

Vix still had a collective. She could be punished for violating the rules, and Valentina didn’t. There was no reason for her to withhold information from the tigers, and if the witch could read minds, she could just fucking tell them what they needed to know.

There were only two ways to solve this problem. This raven needed to be removed from the situation. Dead or alive, it didn’t matter to Vix. If that was impossible without violating these ridiculous rules the alpha insisted on, she’d need to get permission to tell her mates whatever she wanted.

For that, she needed the guardian.

It wouldn’t take long to run up there and ask, but that witch was still in the doorway and if she ran toward her, everyone would believe she was trying to kill her.

See, this was why she’d decided to live in the forest. People were fucking exhausting.

“We need to have a discussion about this,” Samuel said, turning to Morgan with atoneshe recognized. “Obviously, you left out some important details, didn’t you?”

This was his cub. The alpha couldn’t be rational about the situation at all.

Vix eyed Mylo, knowing he wouldn’t challenge Samuel for her when he couldn’t scent the mate bond. His pain wouldn’t let him. Rune…

---