Page 65 of Purrfectly Trapped

Mate,her Tiger insisted, but Gretchen rejected the word.

According to Pamela it didn’t mean anything special.

Grrr,her Tiger grumbled at the other woman’s name, but again Gretchen ignored her beast.

She needed to call Reg to tell him to stay away, maybe then this feeling she had of being trapped in her own emotions would lessen.

She needed clarity, but she would only find that on her own.

ChapterTwenty

Reg whistled as he made his way through the Pride House. Work had been a real bitch today. It seemed like Maverick Development was forever rebuilding roads and repairing exit ramps for the great state of New Jersey.

Not that he minded. He was good at his job. Now that Brayden was the foreman of his crew, things went a hell of a lot smoother for them.

Reg did not miss his ex-foreman and ex-Beta, Blake. Not one itty bitty bit.

That asshole had been the cause of so much misery and he’d almost cost the Nari her life. Reg was particularly fond of Elissa Maverick. She was the perfect mate for their fearless leader.

Shame filled him as he recalled his part in those unfortunate turn of events. Luckily, the Neta had allowed Reg to tell his side of the story, and he’d been blessed with a second chance to prove himself to the Pride. They were the reason he felt worthy enough to remain in Maverick Point and to claim his fated mate. He owed a lot to Hunter and Elissa.

Ever since Rob had gone overseas, Reg had been responsible for taking care of himself. To his credit, Reg never gave up. Not even when he’d fucked up. Nope. He was not a quitter. Reg owned his fucking mistakes and learned from them.

And look how it paid off! He had his very own sweeter than honey fine as fuck mate waiting for him at the end of the day. He was one lucky motherfucker.

Grrrrrrr.

Reg jumped in the shower and scrubbed off the dirt and grime of his day from his skin as quickly and thoroughly as he could. He wanted to hurry up and head over to Gretchen’s place, but he insisted on being clean and fresh for her. She deserved him at his best.

Always.

His Tiger paced impatiently inside his mind’s eye. The animal was always near to frenzying whenever they were apart. He hated that she lived by herself. Wanted her with him, always, but she’d been human up until a few days ago.

He had to do things differently than he would have if she’d been born a Shifter. Differently was code for slowly.

But Reg was impatient. He tried to curb his eagerness, for her sake. Tonight he was going to broach the subject of living together. Fuck, he wanted that more than anything.

“Give her some time to adjust, Reg,”Mikey had told him.

The Pride healer was a little older, and presumably, wiser than Reg, what with his advanced education and all. So, he’d taken his advice gratefully, but he couldn’t stop the creeping sensation that something was wrong. That he was fucking up by waiting.

We are fated mates. Everything will be fine.

Or so he’d told himself the last few days, but he did not know how much longer he could hold out. No. He was done sleeping apart. Tonight he would ask her to pick where she wanted to live. He didn’t care where, as long as it was with her.

Mine.

Reg brushed his hair and donned a pair of soft faded jeans and a clean tee. It was sort of his uniform, he laughed at himself. Tonight was going to be special.

He had a surprise for his sweet Gretchen. Going slow was one thing, but he still needed her to know he was serious. Bite marks aside, he had a present for her, one she would hopefully understand and appreciate.

His cell phone rang as he pulled the pitcher of lemon infused water from the fridge to pour himself a glass. The sun was hot, in spite of the temperature capping at a brisk sixty-five degrees and Reg was parched.

He grinned and took a swig of the refreshing liquid. Ever since Hunter had mated Elissa, the Pride House had been stocked with all kinds of treats and goodies. Bowls filled to the brim with crushed red pepper kale chips and roasted dill chickpeas sat on the countertops for hungry Shifters. He nabbed a few and checked out who was calling him.

“Hey,” he answered with a mouthful of the scrumptious snacks. “I was just about to leave---”

He was usually happy to hear from Gretchen, but his mate didn’t sound all that happy to be calling. In fact, she sounded upset, and that made his Tiger all kinds of angry. The chickpeas turned to dust in his mouth when she told him the unthinkable.

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