Page 52 of Tiger Born

She was up for the challenge though if it meant she got to keep Dame.

He’d set up an outdoor eating area the day Stellan had been released from the cage. They’d all been ripped up from that fight, and healing, including Misty, but they’d made the push to create a safe place to hang out at nights. It seemed important to Dame that they share food together in the evenings.

They’d dragged the table from the back porch, and the shade umbrellas. This was where they shared memories of ‘the before.’

Before whatever their stepdad had done.

Before their mother went cold.

Before the tigers were born.

Before their world was demolished.

They were reaching memories that were good, and the relief in the Ledger boys’ smiles over memory dinners filled something inside of Misty’s heart.

Stellan had gone back to work today, and Marsden was all packed up and preparing for an all-night drive back to where he lived.

Today, she’d spent every minute with Dame. God, he was so soft and attentive to her. So caring with her emotions. So tender when he changed her bandages from where she’d scraped her skin running from Stellan. But she knew what he was now. She understood the monster he controlled inside of him. She’d seen him break down a metal door to get to her, and Change on the run, and she’d witnessed the absolute destruction he could wreak on another. She loved everything about him.

She set the cornbread on the potholder on the table and checked the mouth of the road again. Stellan would be here any minute.

On the side of the house, Dame and Mars had been grilling steaks. She was glad she liked steak. It seemed to be the bulk of a Cat’s diet.

She would just have to get more and more creative with sides so she wouldn’t get bored. The Ledger brothers had never tried homemade cornbread before, so this was her contribution. That and a fruit salad those boys wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Misty smiled to herself as she looked at the fruit. She would have leftovers for a few days.

Dame came up behind her and slid his hand to her waist. Her body’s response was automatic. She leaned back into him and rested her temple against his cheek as he wrapped his arms around her middle.

“You look so pretty out here,” he murmured, but his voice was too gravelly.

With a frown, she turned in his arms and looked up at him. His eyes were glowing gold. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

He shook his head slightly. “I don’t know. I just feel…” He shrugged.

“You don’t want Mars to go,” she whispered, touching his cheek.

He dropped his gaze and shook his head. He nuzzled his cheek against her palm. “It doesn’t make any damn sense. Ambushes are rare. Tigers don’t like to stay together. They’re solitary.”

“You are brothers first. Cats second,” she murmured.

He slid his hand to the back of hers, turned his face and pressed a kiss onto the palm of her hand in a silent thank you for her being understanding. He was becoming so easy for her to read.

The sound of a truck dragged Dame’s attention over her shoulder, and she knew Stellan would be pulling up.

She was still nervous every time she saw Stellan that his tiger would snap back into hunting her, but as Stellan got out of his truck, he offered her a smile and nodded to Dame in a greeting.

He was still him.

Mars strode for the table with a plate of steaks, and they sat down to dinner.

The thing about eating meals with Cats—she was always always going to be the last one eating.

They ate like animals. She had to hide a smile half the meal at their single-minded attention to the food. There was little talking until they were satisfied, while she ate at normal speed and then joined in the conversation as she finished her meal.

They never rushed her, and she appreciated it.

Tonight’s conversation lacked the laughter or the memory-talk. Tonight, there was a somberness that hung in the air between them.

“I have to,” Mars said softly as a stretch of silence dragged on. “I have a life back at home. I was just here to help with Mom’s funeral.” He shook his head. “I was supposed to leave weeks ago. I’m going to get fired if I’m not back by midday tomorrow.”