Page 38 of Catch a Tiger

Floating in the warm water made it easy to lose track of time. Vix let her thoughts scatter until there was nothing left – just the awareness that she was in this human-made cave, separated from the wildness she’d been connected to for years.

Even the cities hadn’t been as dead as this place.

The scent of rock, soap, Mylo, andmatehad distracted her from how this house was steeped in dark magic. Not only did it protect the dwelling from threats, but it also removed all scents of life that should be woven into it over time, along with a tiny spark of wildness on the bottom floor where it connected to the earth.

No plants to speak of inside, but her magic told her there was a place where plant-life thrived. Other than the raven, the witch, and the three tigers, everything in this dwelling was dead or silenced by magic.

It could be because the witch was keeping the tigers safe, but it wasn’t necessary to remove scents to protect a place, which meant these three were definitely hiding something from her. It could be anything, but she had to wonder if they’d brought other females here and didn’t want her to know.

Vix hoped it was dead bodies or maybe a dungeon. That would be better than finding out her mates had a secret lover.

Two out of three were hers, and with feline shifters…

Finding out if the alpha was definitely her mate or not was something she had to do as quickly as possible. Then she would know what to do next.

If the third was not the alpha, they’d have to go find that person, and if it was, then she needed to learn what he liked. Being an alpha wasn’t his only personality trait, but he liked to pretend it was.

She sighed, wondering if he’d forgotten about her.

Thanks to her furs and underclothes, her skin wasn’t all that dirty. Her face had been easy to clean with soap, and she’d already given her hair a good scrubbing with shampoo. Vix had to wait for the alpha for the rest, because if she had to try to detangle it herself, she’d rather just cut it all off.

But most males preferred long hair. It was the one thing Kenji had insisted she keep from her life as a human witch and occasionally, he’d get her charms to fix her hair, but she’d been avoiding him.

He worried too much.

Not that she didn’t understand why. Kenji was sure she’d get herself killed hunting down angels and leaving all these bodies around.

It was dangerous and she had to be a special kind of crazy to leave mutilated angel bodies around in places where normal shifters could find them, but if her traps caught one inside territory lines, she usually moved the body to the fringes or up north where she didn’t have as many issues with the packs.

Only a few prides and they were comprised of the kinds of cats and foxes this alpha wouldn’t particularly like.

Apex predators had a bit of a complex, just like witches. It was weird, and Vix didn’t think she’d ever really get it. Findingout some of her magic was ‘dark’ was what had forced her out of Vancouver. The witches there hadfreaked.

Seattle had been much better for her since it was an unclaimed city – free from the usual politics. Chaos ruled in that place. It was where even a demon could run an organization, and witches did whatever they wanted…she’d seen enough variety to enjoy it until she’d seenhim.

Did he even know what he was?

Sometimes Vix thought about going back there and finding him, maybe talking to him…but what would she even say? She didn’t remember anything really. If she thought about it too much, all the tiny shards she was desperately holding on to would dissolve under her skin to become nothing, just like her.

Trailing her fingers through the water, she finally heard footsteps and closed her eyes.

Vix had almost given up, but apparently he hadn’t forgotten her. That shouldn’t affect her as much as it did, but she’d always been easily swayed by devoted companionship.

The alpha opened the door and then closed it behind him gently. She listened to his heart and bit her cheek to keep from smiling when she heard it skip a beat before thumping a little harder than before.

When he sat near the edge of the cavernous bath, he said nothing. Vix let his scent of frozen hibiscus and red ginger wash over her, mixing perfectly with the dark note of alpha and a hint of his tiger’s icy wildness.

She opened her eyes when she heard him set something down, and Vix felt her heart thumpinghardwhen she saw he’d removed his shirt completely.

Well, that wasn’t fair.

This winter tiger was so pretty he was difficult to look at, but not in the same way it hurt to look at an angel. No, he was just so…tempting. There was a draw to him that whispered sheshould get a little closer, maybe taste his skin before scenting him for the mate bond.

Her eyes strayed to his dark nipples and Vix felt a wild thrill go through her as she studied the hard planes of his bare chest and the way his necklaces looked against his dusky skin. Those massive shoulders curved forward, and a strong arm rested over his knee as he waited…

What was he waiting for?

Vix slid her gaze up to those jade-green eyes and forced herself not to freak out. These green eyes were not the same as the ones that haunted her nightmares.

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