Page 87 of Catch a Tiger

A snarl escaped her as familiar wrath boiled her alive and frustration had her biting down on her tongue, blood filling her mouth as she muttered the words that would trap those visions inside her body, runes and glyphs lighting up across her skin like stars.

“Jesus fucking Christ.”

A warm hand gripped her face and she felt blood dripping down her chin. Vix kept her eyes closed so she could finish the magic, shoving aside the tiny flicker of guilt that’d she’d bitten down so hard when she’d promised Kenji she’d be more careful about that.

Someone shoved their thumb in her mouth and it shocked her so much her eyes flew open instead of the typical urge to bite it off.

A man stood over her with bloodlust in his eyes as his fingers prodded at her tongue, and Vix found herself staring at the sharp contours of his face. It was so masculine, but somehow delicate at the same time.

Long, bright red hair was pulled back from his face in a ponytail, exposing the shaved sides of his head that had a pattern with the same brutal design as the ink on his arms. Silver around his throat and in his ears.

A bare chest.

Her heart was still pounding, but not because of the fading dream.

Woodsmoke and blackberries filled her nose, and Vix wanted to see how sharp his cheekbones were, maybe touch the softness of his lips that were such a contrast and those golden eyes…

Rune blinked, clearly surprised she wasn’t protesting his exploration of her mouth. She watched as his golden eyes faded into something a little more human.

Then her heart stopped when she suddenly found herself staring into green eyes.

Not the jade-green of the alpha that reminded her of spring, but an evergreen seadrowningher in dreams and memories. Those eyes were like the ones that haunted her, a constant reminder of everything she’d lost. And now they were going to take everything she’d stolen.

Instinct took over.

Claws sliced through skin as she kicked with both feet, making those green eyes fly across the room and into the wall.

Vix didn’t waste any time.

Rolling off the bed, she landed on her feet and sprinted through the open door, planting her foot on the opposite wall to adjust her trajectory. Her palm met the other wall that wastoo close, like she was in a prison instead of a den.

The wood under her bare feet was dead and she didn’t bother with the stairs.

Leaping from the top over all thirteen of them, she rolled when she hit the bottom floor and took off, scanning this massive dwelling for that door painted with blood.

The scent of feathers, death, and glittering darkness washed over her, and Vix skidded to a stop.

On her right was a massive kitchen and a large table, but the familiar scent was on her left.

More of that horrible glass showed her it wasn’t quite dawn yet and it was so tall…a dark pink sky framed the woman sitting on one of the large gray couches like she was simply enjoying the view of the snowy forest.

The panic from earlier faded as she stared at the raven twirling a familiar blade around and around, watching her with glowing red eyes as if Vix were the prey, not the hunter.

All other sounds and scents faded away when she saw there was no insignia on her shoulder.

This raven didn’t have a collective.

Alpha had failed to mention that, hadn’t he? Guess his precious fucking rules went right out the window then, didn’t they?

Her body was moving before she’d even finished the thought and Vix was standing before the raven so fast, there was no resistance at all when she wrapped claws around that pretty throat, her other hand grabbing the wrist with the blade before twisting their bodies up and over.

Vix pinned the raven to the floor with enough force her head slammed into the wood and surprise colored her features, but then the assassin smiled as if this were just a fun little game they were playing.

Instincts overrode all common sense and decency as Vix snarled in her fucking face, ready to tear her throat out if sheneeded to. This raven—this assassin was not pack or pride orcollective.

She wasn’t even an unkindness.

No collective meant no loyalty which gave Vix free reign to do whatever the fuck she wanted with her.

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