Page 61 of Tiger Bitten

“My mom didn’t ever have a full name. It was a first date, she met him at a bar, took her back to his hotel, had a one-night stand, and then poof. I was there. I don’t even know if he gave her his real name, but he told her it was Grady.”

Mars and Dame flashed a look at each other, but she didn’t know what it meant.

“Would DNA reveal what her Cat is at least?” Mars asked Misty.

“You don’t even know what kind you are?” Stellan asked.

“Stellan,” Mars gritted out, more growl than human tone.

“I’m going to ask questions, Mars, go fuck yourself. If she doesn’t know, we will find out.”

Mars looked surprised. “Okay. I wouldn’t mind the help.”

“My mom has a picture with Grady. One of her friends snapped it the night they hung out on one of those film cameras, and she had it developed. She showed it to me when I was sixteen and was asking a trillion questions. She’s never had many answers for me. I can ask her for it when I get home.”

“It could help,” Mars agreed.

“Can we tell people?” Misty asked suddenly.

“What?” Ren asked, sure she’d misheard. “You mean tell people that I’m a Half-Cat?”

“Yeah. It’s just you’re this super rare supernatural creature. You’re like a unicorn or something. We have a Half-Cat in our Ambush. And make no mistake, Ren, you will be a part of our Ambush. We all see that bond between you and Mars.” She grinned and leaned back in her chair, looking around at the boys. She whispered it again excitedly. “We have a Half-Cat…in our Ambush. I feel like we’re famous or something.”

Uncertainly, Ren let off a little laugh and looked at the boys, sure she was being teased or something.

“I mean, it’s pretty cool,” Mars admitted low. Truth.

“You’re kind of a big deal to our people,” Dame said. “I know that’s probably not what you want to hear, but Half-Cats are legends. Everyone knows how tough Half-Cats are. They are to be protected and coveted in Ambushes. And Misty is right. You have a spot in ours if you want it.”

Chills rippled up her arms. They really weren’t joking. They were speaking about her with reverence and offering her a place in their Ambush. Mars was watching her reaction, but she didn’t know how to feel. She’d always thought she was wrong. A mistake. Stuck in the in-between, toeing some invisible line between human and Cat, and always feeling loneliness on either side.

But here, it was special?

She was special?

Ren swallowed hard, and told Misty, “I’ve never really talked about it before.”

“We don’t have to tell anyone. It can be our secret, of course. Whatever makes you comfortable.” She pursed her lips and scrunched up her face. “It’s pretty cool though.” Truth.

“Who would you tell?”

“Any Cat who thought their Ambush was cooler than ours,” Misty said without hesitation.

Ren giggled. “Really?”

The guys were smiling now.

What was this feeling in her chest? It was perhaps the lack of loneliness in this moment. It was the filling of a void that she’d been born with. These people could answer her questions in real time. They didn’t hate her Cat side or her human side. They just accepted her, and even more than that, they saw what she was as some kind of honor.

In this moment, it was as if something was clicking into place inside of her.

She felt all right.

Last night, Mars had settled her heart with the prospect of honeymoon phase dates after her Almost-Changes and had eased some of her dread. That alone was something she could never thank him enough for. But now this? Misty wanted to brag on her, and the boys wanted to help her find answers to her questions about herself and her origin.

So, okay.

Misty was telling her it was okay to own what she was.