Eighteen

Kyle stood there, a broken tree limb in his hands as he glared down at Arlin’s body, Arlin’s motionless body, Eve noticed. She couldn’t tell whether he was dead or just unconscious, but he definitely wasn’t moving. Her heart lurched in her chest, the pounding echoing in her ears. They should have known Kyle would not give up that easily. They were careless and arrogant, and now Arlin paid the price for their flippant behavior.

“People should learn to mind their own business,” Kyle snarled as he sneered down at Arlin. Glancing up at Eve, he shook his head. “This is your fault. If you would have just done what I told you to do, just packed your bags and headed home instead of sowing your wild oats, none of this would have happened.” He pointed at Arlin with the end of the branch he wielded like a club. “You made this happen. You did this.” With each word, his voice grew louder, angrier. “Don’t blame me. I didn’t want this to happen, but I told you it would if you didn’t come home.” He stood straighter, his shoulders flat and his chest puffed out. “Now,” he motioned the way she had been walking, “let’s go get your stuff and go home. We can put this whole mess behind us.”

“No,” she snapped, doing her best to keep the fear from making her voice quiver, or the tears that threatened to fall from revealing how scared she was. “I’m not going anywhere with you. You don’t own me, Kyle. I’m not some prize you won or some helpless female you can bully. This is my life, and it no longer includes you. Just go away.”

Kyle raised the branch high over Arlin’s head, his lips twisted into a crazed leer. “I’ll bash in his head if you don’t get moving. If he’s the one making you act this way, then I’ll get rid of him. Only you can spare his life.” He motioned as if to bring the branch down on Arlin’s skull, making Eve cry out for him to stop.

Hands held out as if warding off Kyle’s threat, the tears finally fell. “Okay, okay. I’ll go. I’ll go. Just leave him alone.” She took a few steps backward, hoping to lead Kyle away from Arlin’s prone body. Her tiger raged within her, wanting to bust free and attack, the orange and black striped fur slipping through her flesh. Eve gritted her teeth, biting the inside of her mouth as she fought to tamp her animal down, doing her best to control her tiger. Please, not now. We’re too close. If she shifted now, it might scare Kyle and cause him to attack Arlin. She needed to lead him away from her mate, far enough away so she would have time to shift and not risk Arlin being hurt. Then she could turn and take the bastard out with pleasure. But first, she needed to create some distance between her past and her future.

He gave her a wary look, only lowering the branch a little as he stepped over Arlin’s body. She backed up a couple of more steps, turning only slightly, wanting to keep Kyle in her line of vision. To her relief, he followed her. To her dismay, however, Arlin still wasn’t moving. I just need to get him away from Arlin. She allowed herself to face forward, determined to make Kyle believe he had won. Then, I’m going to kill him. She took a deep breath and kept walking.

“You could have made this simple, Eve. Could have kept all this from happening.” His voice held a tinge of anger, the threats of the past coloring his tone. “But, oh no, you just had to make me come looking for you. You shouldn’t have done that. Nope. Shouldn’t have done that at all.”

She heard him walking behind her; it sounded like he drew closer to her. Chancing a quick glance over her shoulder, she noticed the branch still in his hand, but now dangling at his side as he walked. He focused more on chastising her than protecting himself. Taking a deep breath, she clenched her fists. He still sees me as some weak female he can bully. Won’t he be surprised?

With another deep breath, she flexed her fingers, ready to unleash the tiger inside of her. Yet, just as she was about to shift, a blur roared past her, taking Kyle with it, the two of them tumbling over and over on the dirt road. She stared, unsure what had happened or what to do. Kyle screamed as whatever took him—an animal—growled, its massive paws and sharp claws slashing the man across the chest, knocking him across the road and into the grass. Eve stared at Arlin in his tiger form as he braced, paws apart ready to pounce one more time, his mouth open, lips curled back, growling, attention focused solely on Kyle.

Glancing at Kyle, she watched as he rolled over, his hands behind his back as he did a backward crab crawl to get away from the tiger. “What the hell? Why is there a tiger here?” Arlin took a step closer, and Kyle screamed. From Eve’s angle, it appeared he wet his pants as well, which made her smile.

Eve closed the distance between her and where Arlin stood, reaching out and stroking his raised fur when she reached him. Keeping her gaze on the tiger, she spoke to Kyle, however. “I warned you. I told you I wasn’t going back with you, and I meant it.” She scratched behind Arlin’s ear as she turned her gaze back to Kyle. “I don’t need knives or restraining orders or anything else to make sure you understand me. I have Arlin. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and he gave me the greatest gift anyone could ever give.”

Kyle’s gaze stayed riveted on the tiger. “What did he give you that I didn’t?”

She smiled, soft and warm. “He gave me his love, unconditional and open.” Then she grinned. “And then he gave me this.” With a smirk, she took a deep breath and shifted, her bones popping and snapping as her body transformed from the small, sandy-haired woman to a strong, powerful female tiger, the perfect counterpart to her mate. When the transformation was complete, Kyle gawked with wide eyes and an open mouth, his bottom lip quivering. She roared, taking a small leap toward him, Arlin’s tiger roaring with her, and it was all Kyle could take. He jerked himself off the ground, spinning as he did, and ran into the woods, screaming. It was the most significant sight Eve had ever seen.

Her roars turned to purrs as Arlin brushed his muzzle up against her, rubbing her, his own contented purr mixing with hers. After a few moments of mingling fur, she heard his voice in her head. As much as I want to continue this, Little Warrior, we should follow him and make sure he truly leaves.

She growled, nipping at the ruff of Arlin’s neck. As much as she didn’t want to agree with him, she knew he was right, and with a burst of speed, she shoved off the earth and headed after Kyle. She’d thank her mate properly soon enough.

Kyle wasn’t faking it. They followed his scent to the edge of Bull Creek and an oil-burning Chevy that left rubber track marks on the road where it had been parked, heading west. When they reached the edge of the forest where Kyle vanished, they both shifted back, the evening breeze brushing against their naked flesh. Remaining hidden from passersby who didn’t need to see their nude forms, Eve stared at the open road, the empty open road. It was over. It was truly, finally over. Kyle was out of her life. Gone.

She felt Arlin’s strong hand on her arm, pulling her to him. Turning, she placed a hand on his chest as she gazed up into his golden eyes, his smile brightening up her night. “It’s over, Little Warrior,” he said, reaching up and brushing her hair out of her eyes.

She reached up, turning his head to the side, causing him to wince. “How’s your head? I was worried Kyle had succeeded in killing you.”

His voice seemed strained when he answered, the pain evident in his tone. “Oh, it hurts like hell, but it’ll take more than that to knock me out.” He grinned, giving a soft chuckle. “It wasn’t even hard enough to knock some sense into me.” He winked at her as he turned his head back toward her. “I just needed him to move away first so I could shift. Besides, we’re a hardy breed, quick healers.”

She felt the grin pushing up her cheeks. “Thank you. For everything.” She pressed her head against his chest, taking a deep breath of him into her.

He stroked her hair, and she had never felt so much love in a touch. “Little Warrior, you haven’t seen everything yet.” He pulled her back so he could gaze into her eyes. “But you will. My entire life is going to be all about showing you.”

She squeezed him, the emotions washing over her like a waterfall. This is what life was supposed to be about. Not fear, but love. This was Heaven, and she had to go through Hell to find it. Now that she did, she would never let it go. She heard the growl within her. Not that her tiger would permit her to let it go. No. This was her life. Her future. And she would enjoy every minute of it. This was the journey she craved all her life, and she would savor every step.

*The End*

If you liked Mate's Appeal, check out book 3, Mate's Touch, also on Readict!