Page 31 of Purrfectly Kissed

The Council of Shifters had come to get a final testimony for Hunter about Blake Segal, effectively closing the file on the former Beta. They were all better off without the infectious male. He seemed to breed unrest, and his taint was even more obvious now with him dead.

Hunter was working to restore the balance, but it would take time. Especially after learning from the Council that a rogue group of Tiger Shifters with a beef against the Pride was encroaching on their lands. Anger at the trespassers, Brayden had excused himself for a run.

The Council representative who’d passed on the information was a Cougar Shifter named Dakota Miles. Loners in the wild, Cougar Shifters typically lived in a Pride, but anyone who worked in the Council did so at the expense of leaving their group to become allied to all Shifters in spirit. At least, that was how it had been explained to Brayden.

Not that he would ever want such a life. It was bad enough when his best friend had died, and the male’s mate had looked to Brayden for comfort.

Fuck.

He really needed to tell Jessica the truth about that. She probably had the wrong idea about what kind of Shifter Brayden really was, and that did not sit well with him at all.

The Cougar had left them with a warning not to take the rogues lightly. Whatever. Those Council reps never brought good news with them. He’d sat through enough of those meetings to know that much.

As the Maverick Pride Beta, he was privy to their meetings with the leader of the Pride. He’d never heard the term Neta before coming to Maverick Point. Not unusual since he was a Black Bear Shifter, and that term came from an old Bengal word meaning leader.

Appropriate, he supposed, but why not just say Alpha? He’d asked Hunter once, and the man had smiled. He then explained the pomp and circumstance of Tiger Shifter tradition stemming from his English and Bengali roots.

Brayden wasn’t much of a history buff and the entire idea behind imperialism was a mindfuck he in no way wanted to get into. But now that he thought about it, he supposed it made sense that the Maverick’s had English ancestry.

It was in Jessica’s hair and skin tone, where Hunter had obviously gotten his slightly darker skin from his Bengali heritage. Those Maverick eyes however, those were an exotic mix of both sides of their heritage.

Both siblings had that unique teal color, but Jessica’s were way more intense. Everything about her was more intense as far as Brayden was concerned. She called to him like no other.

Jess was so fucking beautiful. Nothing short of a dream personified. She was smart, funny, and had this amazing quality, like she didn’t even know how sexy and beautiful she really was. It only made her that much more attractive to him.

Throughout their date, he kept getting little hints of her honey-ginger spiced scent. He practically drooled on the table like an idiot just imagining tasting her. He’d bet anything she’d be mouth numbingly sweet and spicy. Just like fresh gingerbread drizzled in honey. That was his favorite holiday treat.

Grrr.

Even his Bear wanted a taste. Brayden had wanted to kiss her then, but he’d frozen. He only hoped he hadn’t waited too damn long to call her after their lunch date. She probably thought he wasn’t interested.

Wasn’t that a fucking joke?

There could be nothing farther from the truth. He was interested all right, but he was cautious. If Jessica rejected him, he would never recover.

Mate, his Bear chuffed.

It was definitely a big risk, but it was one he was willing to take. She was worth it.

Fuck yes.

The female was worth anything and everything he had to give. Yeah. He should have called her the day after they’d had lunch. Should have sent her roses or something.

He’d never intended for so much time to pass. At first, he’d told himself he was giving her much needed space and time to adjust to the idea of him dating her. Afterwards, Brayden’s duties had kept him occupied.

Dating?

His Bear growled and stomped. The animal wanted to claim her as his mate. Sooner rather than later. He wasn’t a teenager who needed dates to confirm whether he liked the girl.

She was made for him. His fated mate. There would be no one else for Brayden. Not ever.

Being this far away from her was agitating his Bear. Even a two-hour trek through the woods, running at a vigorous pace, did nothing to spend his big beast’s excess energy. He snorted and pawed at the ground, a warning to the Tigers lurking close by their Beta was in no fucking mood.

A noise from the front of the house had his great ursine head turning around suddenly. His Bear snorted and stilled. He sniffed the air, and a rumbling growl filled his chest. It grew deeper and louder, shaking the very air as waves of nutmeg, honey, and ginger greeted his supernaturally enhanced nostrils.

Mine.

He tried to stop himself, but the Bear was harder to control in this form. He charged. The beast raced to the front of the house, just in time to see Jessica bent over her vehicle with that motherfucker Reg, standing a little too close for comfort. Mainly, the Tiger’s comfort.

---