Page 46 of Stray Cat

Diego looked as startled by Cassidy’s announcement as Xav was, but Eric seemed pleased by this and relaxed his grip.

Lindsay gazed imploringly at her well-meaning friends. “Give me a minute.” She turned to Xav, beautiful eyes wide. “All right? Let me clear my head and think.”

“Okay.” Xav shrugged, pretending it didn’t kick his ego that she didn’t instantly burst into grateful tears and sayyes. “This is important shit. Don’t get caught up in the excitement.”

Xav shouldn’t either, he reminded himself, though he didn’t regret his spontaneous mate- claim one bit.

Not that spontaneous, actually. Xav realized he’d been contemplating this move for a while, even if he hadn’t admitted it to himself.

Diego remained at Xav’s side after Eric finally moved off. Diego didn’t try to advise Xav or make any observations—he simply quieted the rest of the room with his patient gaze.

“We have a mission to run,” Diego reminded them. “A hostage to find. Plenty of time for Lindsay to think while we carry on with it. Can you two work together without imploding?”

Lindsay straightened her back and wiped her eyes. “Of course. There’s a job to do.”

Xav wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t try to throw Lindsay over his shoulder and run off with her, but he nodded. “Sure. We can compartmentalize.”

Diego’s answering look held skepticism, but he didn’t push it. “All right then. If Brody will quit doing a conga line by himself, we can continue.”

Brody pirouetted in place, which was weird to see in such a big guy, then he clapped his massive hands together. “Sweet. Let’s do this.”

Lindsay said nothing. The glance she shared with Xav didn’t reveal her decision, but it seared Xav to the core. This was, as he’d said, important shit.

No turning back now.

* * *

Eric resumed the briefing,but the mood in the room was electric, the Shifters and Carly barely containing their excitement. The ladies and cubs surrounded Lindsay, carrying her in their bubble to the kitchen where much laughter ensued, probably at Xav’s expense.

Tiger didn’t return. As Xav knew what Diego and Eric were going to discuss, and Lindsay’s friends had taken her over, he slipped out the back door and sought Tiger.

The large man stood in the middle of the common area, staring at nothing. Tiger often did this, so Xav didn’t find it alarming.

Xav joined him, gazing around what had once been plain houses on barren lots that the Shifters had transformed into cozy homes. While Xav liked the house he’d purchased, with its luxurious fittings in the kitchen and bathrooms, it was very empty. There was a reason he found excuses to visit Diego in Shiftertown every evening, even beyond a chance to be with Lindsay.

“When I was a kid, I lived in a close community like this one,” Xav said, whether Tiger was listening or not. “None of us had any money, but we all had friends. Everyone’s mom looked after everyone else’s kids, though we didn’t realize it back then. I landed myself in lots of trouble, but I knew, beneath it all, that my friends and family had my back.”

Tiger didn’t answer. Xav figured he was lost in his own thoughts, until Tiger surprised him by turning his head and looking straight at Xav.

“This is the first place I saw after Iona rescued me,” he said. “I’d never seen so many Shifters together, and none of them in cages. Eric let me stay in his basement, because I had a hard time getting used to being outside. I hadn’t realized the world was so big.”

“Yeah.” Tiger’s early existence had been bleaker than anyone could imagine. “I remember when they brought you in.”

“They were afraid of me, the other Shifters,” Tiger rumbled.

“I remember that too.” Xav sent him a rueful grin. “So was I. You have to realize, no one had ever seen anything like you.”

“I know.” Tiger shrugged, unoffended. “I thought there would be nothing for me here except existence. When they sent me to the Austin Shiftertown, I thought the same. And then I met Carly.”

Tiger’s golden eyes softened, the brutal, very dangerous Shifter becoming the mate and father again.

“You knew right away, didn’t you?” Xav asked him. He’d heard the story of how Tiger had found Carly broken down on the side of the road, and how she’d ended up assistinghim, in all ways.

“I did.” Tiger gave Xav a nod. “Carly argued with me about it, and the other Shifters said that wasn’t how mating worked. It wasn’t mate-bond-at-first-sight, they told me. But it was.”

“You’re a special Shifter, though.” Xav glanced at the house where he could see Lindsay in animated conversation with the other ladies in the kitchen. Hands waved, bodies quivered in laughter. “I’m not a Shifter at all.”

“But you know Lindsay is the one.”

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