Page 29 of Tiger Born

“She’s not here,” Dame said.

“Do you know when she will be back?” his brother asked.

Dame didn’t answer.

Stellan ripped his gaze away from the hospital for just a moment to look at Dame and then went back to staring. “Why did you do that?” he gritted out.

“Do what?” Dame asked, stopping several yards away.

A growl rattled Stellan’s throat, and he clenched his jaw so hard, a muscle twitched there. “Lead me to her?”

Dame shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around. He hadn’t noticed this green space last night. It was pretty here. “I don’t know why I came to her. I was hurt. My mind wasn’t working right.”

“You ruined everything,” Stellan said low.

Dame was confused. “I thought you would be happy to find your Rabbit.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Stellan demanded, his eyes flashing gold as he glared at Dame. “You think I want to do this? You think I want this hunt? She’s an innocent. She’s a woman. She could have a family, man. Kids. Parents. A husband. Fuck, I don’t know. You dragged me right to her with your goddamn blood trail, and for what?” Stellan stood and held his hands out, palm up, beseeching Dame. “Why?”

There was no use lying to a Cat. Dame hated the words as each spilled from his mouth though. “I like her.”

“What the hell, man?” Stellan barked. “Take it back.” He shook his head and paced away. “Say anything else.”

“I think parts of me have liked her since you attacked her. Since I saw her for the first time five years ago. Since she didn’t go to the police about what happened. Since she protected you in that way.” He scratched his nose. “I knew she was a nurse. I needed help. You and Mars hurt me bad. I probably wouldn’t be standing here with you if I hadn’t come to her.”

Stellan shook his head and for the first time since before he’d been Turned, Dame could see fear in his eyes. “I can’t call the animal off her. I don’t even have access to him. I try.”

“You do?” Dame asked, surprised. This was news to him.

“He’s bigger than me, man. He always has been. He can reach me. He can control me if he tries hard enough. Look at me. I’m here in my human form, waiting for her. I can’t reach him though. I can’t control him. You’re going to have to put me down.”

“Stellan—”

“We’ve talked about it before—”

“Stellan—”

“We rode this as long as we could—”

“Stellan, stop!”

Stellan blurred to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. “I can’t stop what’s coming for her.”

Dame wasn’t scared because he could take Stellan. Yesterday had been a fluke where he’d been trying to break up a savage fight between Stellan and Marsden’s tigers, and they had both turned on him. He’d been put at a disadvantage so fast with both of them on him. He wasn’t mad. It was how it was with Cats. He’d fought Stellan a hundred times, and a hundred times he’d won.

And that was why he didn’t believe him when he said he had no control over the tiger. Every time, he’d kept the tiger from fighting full force. Every time, Dame could feel him holding back.

He wasn’t a mindless killer. Just mostly mindless.

Plus, Dame wasn’t his Rabbit. Cats hunted their Rabbits differently. They hunted them until they killed them, even if it took them their entire lifetime. It was ingrained. It was unavoidable. It was the big hunt to end all hunts and satisfy something deep within them. It was unpredictable which prey each tiger would choose for a Rabbit.

It was awful, terrible, disastrous luck that Stellan’s animal had chosen Misty.

Stellan inhaled, his nostrils flaring, and his pupils constricted to pinpoints. He released Dame in a rush as anger filtered through his glowing gold eyes. “I smell her on you.” His voice was different now—grittier, deeper, scratchier.

Dame closed his eyes in frustration. Even with five showers with strong bodywash, and dousing himself in cologne, Stellan could smell her.

“Where is she?” Stellan demanded in that demon’s voice of his.