Page 47 of Catch a Tiger

Chapter 14

Vix

Samuel leaned against the sink and crossed his arms over his chest. The way it accentuated his massive pecs was almost enough to distract her from the weight of his jade-green eyes pushing her toremember.

“I’m not going to steal from you,” Samuel told her.

She blinked, wondering why he would say that out of nowhere.

“I went looking for you because the witchling told me you were our mate.”

Vix eyed him, not trusting this new topic of conversation.

“No other reason,” the alpha told her, his eyes unblinking as he stared down at her. “If you don’t want us, you’re free to leave.”

Everything he’d said up to that last sentence had been the truth.

Samuel the man would let her leave, but the tiger would hunt her down to the ends of the earth if he had to. He might even join her in purgatory and Vix felt like he’d fit somehow into her endless winter…

But the other two were summer and autumn.

She couldn’t abandon them, not now that she knew they were hers.

Winter killed autumn, and summer murdered winter.

It was an interesting metaphor that made her mind run ahead of itself until concepts flipped by too quickly for her to grasp, clicking and clacking as it tried to make sense of herbeforeand how it fit into hernow.

Vix stared into the alpha’s eyes and felt entranced. There were no whispers warning her to drop her gaze to keep his tiger placated either.

Jade-green that reminded her of spring. Such a contradiction, her winter tiger.

“Are you asking me to stay?”

“I’d like you to, until you know whether you want us or not,” the alpha said carefully. “But I need you to understand it is my job to protect everyone in this house. No killing here.”

No killing, but maiming…

Vix smiled slightly and looked down at her black claws. “The raven?”

“She belongs to my witchling. No killing her either.”

“What happens if someone tries to kill me?” All the rules of the game needed to be clear so she knew exactly where to bend them and where to give him malicious compliance.

“No one in this house will try to kill you,” Samuel promised, his alpha magic leaking into his voice. “If you agree to stay, I’ll protect you.”

She could take care of herself, but Vix had to admit she liked the sound of that. “Any other rules?”

“No running off without telling anyone where you’re going.” The alpha opened a cupboard she hadn’t even seen thanks to the way it blended into the rock. He pulled out a few things and set them on the clothes. “If you need anything, tell us. We’re not mind readers.”

Oh, the way he said that was curious. Did that mean there was a mind reader somewhere? Not the raven, so…the witchling?Fascinating.

Now she really wanted to meet her.

“I just want to see if this will work,” Samuel admitted, some of his tiger fading away as humanity rose up to take its place. “Spending time together is the only way to do that.”

Technically, he wasn’t wrong, but it was too simplistic of an idea when all three tigers were steeped in pain and mysteries.

“I’ll stay for a bit,” Vix acceded. “Staying in this house will be…difficult, but I’ll do my best.”

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