Page 34 of Catch a Tiger

Chapter 10

Rune

“Are you going to shift back?” Sammy snapped, glaring down at him with madness flickering in those golden eyes.

Rune shifted easily, running a finger along the silver chains he wore. “You hate her.”

“I don’t,” their alpha tried to argue.

No, he didn’t, but Sammy didn’t know that yet.

Just running through the forest with her made all those dark voices in his head disappear. He didn’t know what she’d done to him, but it felt like he might not need the collar or the cage tonight.

That was nothing compared to what she’d done to Sammy.

After the brutal slaughter they’d seen, Rune really hadn’t expected the alpha to let her touch him.

But he had – he’d even reached for her…

Sammy was ignoring how dangerous she was, just like the rest of them. They didn’t have the luxury of being picky and what was waiting for them if this didn’t work was a thousand times worse than death.

It might actually be a mercy if she killed them.

And sweet darkness, she wasfast.

He’d never seen anything like it. Even Sammy could barely stay ahead of her, and he was the fastest shifter on this continent.

Or so the alpha assumed, but smaller shifters avoided the larger ones. Rune knew better than anyone just how gifted those who didn’t fall under the category of apex predator were.

Like ravens.

Morgan’s raven, Valentina, coasted toward them, and Rune couldn’t stop thinking about how his mate had looked into an assassin’s red eyes without fear, even going so far as to challenge her. Must have been quite the shock if the look on Valentina’s face was any indication.

“Well,Ilike her,” Rune muttered.

Even if she was a psychotic angel killer.

The raven tried to stomp past them after shifting back to human and Rune jogged up the stairs at exactly the same moment, making sure to get in Valentina’s way as he did. The grin that split his face got him anotherlookfrom Sammy, but it was worth it just to irritate the raven he hadn’t been told was going to be here despite being the goddamn enforcer of their pride.

Hitting the alpha’s shoulder with his as he passed was an invitation and he felt his grin sharpen when Sammy grabbed him. Rune had to be careful though, and his tiger whispered the same warning. If he pushed too much after what they’d seen, that monster inside Sammy would break free and then they’d really be fucked.

“This is…”

The jittery excitement coursing through Rune’s body died down when he saw the flicker of fear in the alpha’s eyes.

“This is unprecedented.”

“A feral shifter isn’t uncommon,” Rune reminded him.

But that was what his human eyes and brain told him. Their mate wasn’t exactly feral. She was something else entirely, and Rune hadn’t seen anything like it despite how many rare creatures he’d come across.

Working for the Collector for most of his life in a menagerie where people could come andcollectwhat they couldn’t find on their own, enslaved by a silver collar just like the one he wore when—Rune didn’t let himself finish that thought.

He’d seen a variety of species and races that most in the paranormal world didn’t know even existed.

“She’s not just a shifter,” Sammy reminded him with a tired sigh. “She’s also a witch.”

And they had no idea what flavor of either.

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