Page 5 of Stray Cat

Xav was gone. He’d probably tramped away the minute she’d sashayed off and hadn’t witnessed her attempt to make him regret her leaving.

Damn it.

Lindsay pushed through an outer door to the parking lot and let it slam behind her. This side of the arena was deserted—Diego and the cops were around the other side with their catch for the night.

She quickly made for her tiny blue car, parked in the darkness beyond any lights. She’d left a minute dress and her party shoes in the back seat, in anticipation of this evening ending differently.

Once inside her car, Lindsay started it up and got the hell out of there. She ignored the vans hunkering beyond the arena, and the seriously sexy human man who was talking quietly with his brother.

Though she longed to peel out and roar away in a cloud of dust, Lindsay knew that would be a stupid move. She drove quietly away from the arena, heading into Las Vegas and making for her favorite dance club, the ache in her heart becoming an acutely painful throb.

* * *

Humans.What did she need them for?

Okay, so they made great dance partners, like the five men who surrounded her on the club’s dance floor. While most Shifters went to a place called Coolers on the north side of town, Lindsay didn’t want to face her friends tonight. They’d ask her coyly where Xav was, and less coyly—what is going on with you two?

Lindsay didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t know what to talk about, anyway. Xav obviously wasn’t in a rush to settle down or even be semi-serious about a relationship.

She knew whatshewanted, but lately Lindsay had started to wonder why she was wasting her time. She was already past her hundredth year, well beyond her Transition from cub to adulthood, the age she’d become old enough to take a mate.

There were plenty of male Shifters in Shiftertown, because the ratio of females to males was low. That meant Lindsay could be choosy, but it was looking less and less likely that her main choice—a sexy human—was in her future.

Besides, she didn’t simply want a mate, someone to bear cubs with. Lindsay wanted what all Shifters did—to find the mate bond, that powerful, magical tie that tethered Shifters to their beloved. Every flutter in her chest when she was around Xav made hope leap high that she was forming it with him.

Then Xav would get mad at her, like tonight, or else they’d have a blast together and say goodnight, nothing moving past lighthearted fun, and Lindsay’s hopes would die once more. Whether Xav could even form the mate bond with Lindsay—or any Shifter for that matter—was a question she hesitated to explore. The answer might devastate her.

Her five current dance partners never sensed her inner turmoil. They only saw a lady in a blue glittery dress ready to have fun.

Lindsay tried to let herself enjoy watching the guys show off, busting out their moves, trying to get close. They were hoping for payoff, which she should tell them wasn’t going to happen.

She could have her pick of them, but she held off, because she only wanted Xav.

Lindsay hid a sigh. She was going to have to rethink her whole life.

That one had prospects, Lindsay decided, studying her coterie. He was dark haired and blue eyed, filled out his shirt nicely, and didn’t wear a wedding ring or have a tan line where he’d taken one off. He looked like he’d be fun and not bother her afterward.

So, why wasn’t Lindsay sashaying over, cutting him out of the herd, taking him someplace nice and relieving her ever-growing mating need?

Lindsay forced her feet to move in his direction. The guy caught on, beaming her a wide smile. Not as nice as Xav’s million-kilowatt smile, but whose could be?

Her restlessness wanted this, but her heart was still torn, as was the wildcat that lay within her.

When had she decided it was Xav or nothing?

Lindsay had just convinced herself to let it go, run off with this guy for what fun she could have, and move on, when her phone buzzed.

On any other night, she might ignore it, but Cassidy, who was the second-ranking Shifter in all Shiftertown, sometimes asked Lindsay to help out in whatever crisis was going down. Plus, Cassidy was carrying another cub, and though she had a while to go yet, she relied on Lindsay more and more these days.

It said a lot about Lindsay’s state of mind that she welcomed solving the problems of contentious Shifters to a night of impulsive shagging.

She lifted her forefinger at the guy, telling him to give her a second, and slid her tiny phone from the small pocket in her dress.

It was a text from Xav, and contained only one word.

Help.

CHAPTERTHREE

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