Page 45 of Bearly Hanging On

“He wasn’t aiming for the roof,” Mira said. “This big brave tiger thought he’d be cool and climb a tree and ‘lay in wait for prey.’”

“Of course, once he was up there, he couldn’t get down,” my other sister, Dina said. “I went to go get Mum and Dad.”

“Always were a snitch,” I muttered.

“And the big, bad tiger decided that leaping onto the roof and making his way down to the balcony would be a better option,” Mira continued. “He made it, mostly…”

“You never told me he nearly fell!” Mum said, before looking at me. “Darling, what were you thinking?”

“Not much, obviously,” I replied, taking a long sip of my beer.

“Our son is very brave,” Dad said, leaning forward and sliding an arm around Mum’s chair. “Takes after his dad. Doesn’t always make the smartest decisions…” My father looked around the table. “Not sure where he gets that from.”

“You,” my maternal grandmother said with a sniff before turning to us. “Tiger shifter men are big, strong.” Her smile sent shivers up my spine. “Virile.” I studied the label of my beer closely. “But also very stupid, such as joining an ambush with a bear and a wolf.” She let out a hiss of breath. “Who has heard of such a thing?”

“It will become more common now that shifters are out to the world,” one of the aunties said. “I was talking to one of the mothers of a lion shifter and she was most upset to hear that her son was forming a pride with some fox shifters…”

I didn’t dare look up. Tonight was a bust. The food was amazing as always, but I didn’t get a chance to choose dishes for Harper based on what she liked. Bowls heaped high were placed along the entire table so people helped themselves. I was hoping for something small, intimate, where we could really get to know each other, and instead— I looked up as I felt a hand slide into mine. Harper smiled at me as she rubbed my knuckles with her thumb. Every swipe sent delicious shivers down my spine, and with them came hope.

“Families are kinda brutal, huh?” she said. “If you ever meet my grandmother, you’ll get similar stories about my childhood antics.”

“With photos?” I asked, straightening up. “I’d love to see old photos of you when you were a little girl.”

She went to reply, but Mira got in first.

“Photos?” Before I could protest, my sister was pushing her chair back. “Do you want to see photos of Torren?”

“Are there any in tiger form?” Harper asked, grinning at me. “Tor would’ve been the cutest kitten.”

“Let’s go upstairs and take a look!”

Both Dina and Mira led the way, but when I went to follow, my parents stopped me.

“Torren.” My father stared at me steadily, his eyes becoming more and more green as the tiger pushed forward. “Your mate, she is yet unmarked.”

“And probably is going to stay that way after tonight,” I said with a sigh.

“The path of true love is rarely smooth,” my grandmother said with a shake of her head. “If it was, I would never have lost your grandfather.” When I was still young, he’d died of cancer. Apparently, a tiger’s constitution didn’t stop you from getting lung cancer when you smoked a pack a day. “But this girl…” She looked up at the steps, even though my sisters and my mate had disappeared into the apartment. “She is the one the fates have decided belongs to you. The bond will fall into place, if you prove yourself worthy.”

“By looking at baby photos of me.” I shook my head. “I guess it helps that I was a pretty photogenic kid.”

“The most beautiful,” Mum said, reaching over and patting my hand. “Now go, before your sisters break out the home videos.”

Walking upstairs was a laborious process. It was like an axe was hanging over my head the entire time. I didn’t want to see Harper’s expression when she saw my gap-toothed smile in third grade or that really bad mullet hair cut I’d insisted on when I turned twelve. Imagine my surprise when I didn’t find the three of them clustered in the lounge room around the old photo albums.

“She’s down the hall,” Mira said, nodding to where my old bedroom was. “You looked like you needed a bit of alone time.”

“No way.” I stared at each one of my sisters. “You’re actually helping me out here?”

“In return for not being a dick when I bring my fated mate home,” Dina said, her hands going to her hips. “That lion shifter Mum was talking about?”

“Abel?” I asked, and she nodded slowly.

“Things are changing a lot and the older generations aren’t coping real well. That’s why we need to stick together, got it?”

“You got it.” I took a step away from them, inexorably drawn towards my bedroom doorway. “Now I’ve gotta?—”

“Keep it in your pants,” Mira said with a frown. “Mum, Dad, Gran, any of them could walk up any second.”

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