Page 31 of Catch a Tiger

Chapter 9

Vix

Vix stared up at the alpha, not sure whythatwas what he was so worried about. They were shifters. Why did he care so much about modesty? “It’s just skin, though I guess it’s not as pretty as yours.” Especially with all her scars.

Mylo’s amusement perfumed the air, and she pretended not to notice as she waited for the alpha to decide.

Finally, he sighed and pulled her up onto the porch beside him. “Let’s get you cleaned up then,” the alpha muttered, yanking the front door open. “I don’t want that awful stench in my house.”

Oh,thatwas the game he was going to play? Fine then.

Vix yanked her coat off and tossed it to the ground, stepping out of the pants next until she was in nothing but her white,skintightlong-sleeve shirt and leggings. When she went to strip that off too, the alpha grabbed her by the throat.

Freezing was the only way to keep from violently reacting to the desperate hold he had on her.

Anger, but it wasn’t at her if she was right. “What are you doing?”

“You said not to bring it into your house,” she said carefully, pushing his hand off her neck and raising a single eyebrow in question. “Why would I poison your den?”

The alpha didn’t respond, but he slid his gaze to Mylo in what appeared to be a wordless command, because the other tiger scooped her up in his arms without hesitation and carried her through the door.

Vix wasn’t sure why her stomach flip-flopped, but she wrapped her arms around the golden tiger’s neck and buried her face in it as they went through the massive house and up some more stairs.

This place was dead inside and it freaked her out.

All the human things were a blur as she breathed Mylo’s scent deep to keep calm. An unfamiliar heartbeat somewhere and it was slow enough to tell her the witch was asleep. The only thing that kept Vix from running off was his soothing lemongrass.

Mylo set her down on her feet in a room that smelled like stone, but she refused to let go of him, even when he froze like he wasn’t sure what to do now.

Pulling herself a little closer, she rubbed her cheek against his neck and took a deep breath. There—dark chocolate that was even more bittersweet than Rune’s.

Mate.

Her claws dug into his skin as she tried to hold back, but Mylo didn’t seem to notice she was struggling because of his scent, not this place. The sound of him clearing his throat settled some of the possessive need to mark him, and she pulled back to look up into those frosty golden eyes.

“Have you ever used a shower before?” Mylo asked, frowning slightly as he stared down at her.

Vix couldn’t help but grin at how adorably stupid he was being. “I’m feral, aren’t I? Why would I know how to use one?”

His eyes narrowed like he couldn’t tell if she was messing with him or not and,geez,she really wanted to tease him even more when he made that face.

“Are you using my own words against me?” Mylo leaned in closer like he was hoping to scare her. “This helpless act won’t work on me.”

Good to know.

“Maybe I just want you to comfort me,” she murmured, reaching out to trace his scar, but she snatched her hand back before she could. He wouldn’t like that. “Could we do a bath instead? It’s more like a lake.”

The more familiar the better. This place was nothing like anywhere she’d ever been before, even when playing the role of a human witch. Sometimes that made things easier, but not always.

Vix took in the large room her summer tiger had taken them to.

It was made of black rock mostly, like they’d carved it from the mountains and placed it in here to match the landscape outside. There was a fireplace and right in front of it was a giant bathtub in the corner – the walls were made of glass too.

So much fucking glass.

But she had to admit, the view of the forest was comforting.

The rock had a sharp mineral smell, and she eyed the way the whole room was built like a cave. There was nothing separating the large shower area from the bathtub or fireplace. Seats were naturally formed by the rock and glass bottles were down in the corner.

---