Page 30 of Tiger Born

“I can’t tell you. You know I can’t tell you.”

“Where is she!” he roared in Dame’s face.

“Gone.”

“Lie. Try again.”

“Gone,” Dame enunciated. “You would have to torture me for that information, and I would die before I tell you.” There was some truth for him.

Rage flitted across Stellan’s face. Rage and desperation. Mars had left too soon. He was missing the show.

“Let’s do this in the woods,” Dame told him somberly. “We both know what’s going to happen.”

“You’re still hurt. We don’t have to fight. You could just tell me where she is,” Stellan negotiated. “You don’t have to die for her.” The terrifying part was Dame had never heard his animal speaking through him. Marsden and Dame? It was pretty routine, but up until now, they’d thought Stellan’s human side was completely separate from the animal inside of him.

This was really bad.

He had a moment walking into those woods beside his brother that he wanted to place the blame on something. On his upbringing, on the betrayal of a family member, on Stellan or his tiger. He wished he could blame himself, or Mars.

But really, the blame fell on Fate.

They’d been born onto this path where one of them was going to fall for the other’s Rabbit. Somewhere out there, the Fates were laughing. They’d orchestrated this so seamlessly.

So, if he could point the blame anywhere at all…it had to be that.

This moment had been set up so perfectly.

He believed it.

This moment had always been destined to happen.

Chapter Nine

It had been three weeks, and Misty was still dragging around her life like a zombie.

She’d tried. Really, she had.

She’d set up girls’ nights, and had three dinners with Uncle Tim. She’d gone on a little shopping spree for new summer clothes. She’d got herself a gym membership and had done a couple sessions of personal training. She’d called in favors at work and taken a few vacation days where she’d hopped on a plane and spent time in Vegas next to a pool with a lazy river and unlimited margaritas. She’d gone to the crafts store and bought yarn and knitting needles and a book on how to make a blanket, and she’d made a terrible attempt at it. She’d repotted her money tree, Veronica, and done as Dame had suggested and cut away the root rot. She’d stayed busy at work, and if she had any downtime, she played crossword puzzles on her phone to keep her mind distracted. She’d had security escort her to her car each night, but everything was quiet.

There was no Stellan, and there was no Dame.

They had disappeared like phantoms.

Part of her was happy, because she was safe, but part of her felt heartbroken, and she still couldn’t wrap her head around why a man she knew intimately for that one day had grown to matter so much.

She must’ve been broken or something by the two quick break-ups. Was it a break-up with Dame? He had marked her and that felt important, but then he’d ghosted her so easily.

She had moments when she tried to convince herself she hated him, and then moments when she thought she had never loved anyone as much as him. Crazy, right?

Maybe Cats had super seduction powers or something. Maybe it was magic.

Or maybe it was just her stupid heart yearning for something she knew she could never have.

On the girls’ night, she had even talked about Dame. Not his name or what he was, but she had talked about the crazy chemistry she’d had with him and had needed them to tell her she was insane and to move on, but all five of her friends had said similar sentiments—when you know, you just know.

Romantics, all of them.

She was pretty sure that if she had mentioned his brother had tried to kill her and probably would again in the future if he ever saw her again, they would be a little sparser with their encouragement. They didn’t need to worry though. Plus, she’d invested in handgun lessons, got her conceal carry permit, and was the proud owner of a weapon that would at least slow a tiger down. In addition, she’d purchased several cans of bear spray and switched her shifts to have Fridays and Tuesdays off. That and Uncle Tim was dropping her off for her shifts most days. She had been staying most nights at his place. She was probably safe.