Page 92 of Catch a Tiger

“You never call, and when you do, this is how I find you?”

Vix looked up into red eyes full of disapproval and opened her mouth to explain when a deep growl vibrated the air, and she slid around the raven, shielding him from the alpha.

“No. He’s mine.” She enjoyed the perverse pleasure she felt when the scent of jealousy teased her.

“Vixen.” Fingers tangled in her hair, yanking her back and around so she was forced to look up at him. “What the fuck is going on?”

A screech of the raven overhead caught Kenji’s attention and he looked up, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “Ah.”

“Release her,” Rune snarled.

It seemed the other two tigers could be just as silent as their alpha if they wanted to be.

Kenji released her, but he kept his eyes on the white tiger, one hand reaching out for her. Vix stepped into him, letting his arm wrap around her waist as she did the same, facing the other two in the opposite direction – ready to protect each other to the death if need be.

But shame filled her when she couldn’t quite bring herself to look at Rune, even now. Her eyes were on his chest, not his face, as Kenji took a step to keep the alpha in his direct line of sight and she moved with him effortlessly.

It made her feel ridiculous to press her face into Kenji’s shoulder, hiding from those green eyes that made her want to run and run and run?—

“Why did you call me here, Vix?” Kenji didn’t look away from the alpha, but he shifted slightly when Mylo moved a few steps to her left so they were surrounded.

Vix studied that bare chest decorated with ink, her eyes drawn to the waistband of the same sweats she wore by the black art on that ‘V’ of muscles, dipping down…She forced her eyes back up to his chest, wondering how his shoulders could be so wide and strong without the same kind of ridiculous muscle mass Rune had.

“Vixen.”

Right, she’d called him here for a reason.

“The tigers are my mates,” she whispered into his shoulder, keeping her eyes on Mylo instead of Rune. “They took me from my garden of death?—”

“Tookyou?” That question was sharp enough she winced.

“Convinced me to see their den,” she amended. “But they allowed a raven without a collective inside their dwelling.”

Kenji chuckled, but his body was tense as he held her. “What’s the plan then, Vixen?”

It would be so easy to tell him to take her home. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about any of this, but…she couldn’t leave her mates unprotected no matter how stupid they were.

Her silence must have convinced Rune she was going to leave, because he took a step forward, snarling at Kenji. “You can’t just take her. She’s my mate.”

“Ravens have no mates,” Kenji informed him. “Sounds like your problem, not hers.”

“Vix.” The agony in that voice forced her gaze to those green eyes, and the evergreen sea tried to drown her once more, taunting her with all the things she’d lost. “Whatever I did wrong, punish me for it, but don’t leave. You haven’t even tried my steak yet. I made sure it was bloody and everything, but I couldn’t find angel blood for you to drink…I’ll find it, I swear. Just stay.”

Those green eyes were a shade brighter than the ones that haunted her, and she’d never once seen that kind of agony in them. They’d always been so empty and lifeless, but not these green eyes.

More like ivy than evergreen really.

Tears started to run down her cheeks, which was ridiculous, but his agony and despair felt like they were digging into her chest until she couldn’t breathe.

“I can’t stay,” she whispered. “I’ll break the rules.”

“Fuckthe rules,” Rune snarled, taking another step toward her. “If you don’t like that fucking raven, I’ll kill her for you and take all the blame. Would you like that?”

Yes, she would.

She would like that very much.

Chapter 28

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