Page 57 of Tiger Bitten

Mars wanted to kill Stellan.

Whatever he’d said to cause that pain to Ren, he wanted to kill him.

Mars paced the small guest house and ran his hand through his hair roughly. He could hear her crying.

A Half-Cat. A Half-Cat! He would’ve never guessed. They were so rare. It had never even crossed his mind, but now so many things made sense. Her steady glowing eye color, her avoidance anytime he mentioned her Cat. The way she smelled like a Cat but not like he and his Ambush. It was…different. She was different.

Another soft sob ripped his heart wide open.

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t physically stay away from her for a second longer.

He pushed the bathroom open and said her name softly.

She was in the bathtub with the curtain drawn. Fuck, his heart had never felt like this. His chest was on fire.

Gently, slowly so as not to scare her, he pushed the curtain aside. She was lying inside with all her clothes on.

“Babyyy,” he drawled in a whisper as he knelt down beside the tub.

“I…I…I…” she stammered in a sob.

“Shhh,” he told her, scooping her out of the tub. “Stand.”

She nodded and stood there, swaying. He kept his grip on her arm, steadying her as he turned on the warm water to run a bath for her.

“Does it hurt?” he asked. He wanted to know everything.

“N-n-not anymore.” Her breath hitched and her eyes were swollen from crying.

“Hey,” he murmured, cupping her cheeks. “You’re okay. I’m here. You’re safe.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

He hated it. She had nothing in the world to apologize about. He couldn’t even imagine what she’d been through in her life. “Okay, those two words seem really important to you. Is this something you do after a Change? You just need to say you’re sorry a lot? I want to understand.”

“A-almost-Change. It’s an Almost-Change. I don’t Change. I don’t have a Cat. She’s not there. I can’t reach her ever. She’s not there.”

“Okay, and you’re apologizing for not having a Cat?” he asked, trying to understand.

“No, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Ren,” he said softly, aching over the hurt in her bright gold eyes. “It’s a big thing you go through. I’m not mad at all. You don’t owe me or anyone else an explanation.”

“I didn’t want you to see me like that,” she said hoarsely.

He leaned over and tested the water temperature with his fingertips and turned up the cold water so it wouldn’t be too hot for her. “You didn’t want me to see you in an Almost-Change?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It’s my secret. I only do those alone.”

“Okay.” He nodded and repeated, “Okay. Is that what almost happened yesterday? When we were talking about Changes?”

She nodded. “I haven’t done it in a while, and it was already built up, and sometimes when I can feel the tension, or start imagining what it would be like to Change all the way, it’ll happen. It’s like my body wants to Change but I get stuck. I always get stuck.”

He nodded. He was starting to get it now. “But you’re okay with talking about it now? It’s not too much on you? I don’t want you to have another Almost-Change too soon. It looks painful.”

“It’s awful,” she admitted in an emotional whisper.

“Okay. But we can talk about it right now? You’re okay right now?”