Page 70 of Purrfectly Trapped

“We’ll talk, Reg, as soon as we are alone,” She promised him.

It took a little more than an hour to collect evidence from the scene and secure the Hyena to be brought towards the Shifter Council for trial. Pamela did not hesitate to confess to Hunter what had been going on.

Gretchen listened, sitting beside Elissa who was crying at the words that flowed from the poor battered female. It seemed Blake had been pimping out the females of the Pride to other local Shifter groups to garner favor.

Naturally, the forced prostitution had made females, like Pamela, distrustful of the males of the Pride, and catty to the females whom they believed allowed and even encouraged the practice.

Of course, they couldn’t have been more wrong. Hunter had roared and snarled in outrage. Elissa had quieted the male, taking Pamela into her arms. She rocked the woman, promising her that she and the other women would be seen by the doctor of their choice, taken to counseling, and that they would all be welcomed into the Pride House until they felt safe and protected.

Elissa asked for one thing in return. The females needed to help her by creating a list of the names of the Shifters who had participated in this atrocity. The list would be presented to the Council so the guilty could be tried for their crimes.

“Really? You would do that?” Pamela had asked, her eyes full of hope and disbelief.

“You’re damn fucking straight,” Elissa replied, taking the woman’s hand in hers.

“And I will help,” Gretchen added.

She had swallowed her own tears at hearing just the periphery of Pamela’s tale and could not imagine the horrors that would be revealed when more of the females came forward. This was going to be painful, but if the Maverick Pride was as strong as Reg said it was, then they could handle it. Together.

Gretchen was glad when they were finally permitted to leave. The events that had unfolded had been harrowing and scary. All she wanted was a hot bath and her mate.

Mate, her Tiger seconded.

“You ready to go,shona? I think we need to talk.”

“I’m ready, Reg,” she replied, knowing the best was yet to come.

Her mate had come after her when she’d turned him away. He had rescued her from the clutches of that warped Hyena, and though, he had probably wanted to rip the guy’s head off, he had deferred to her still human sensibilities, and merely immobilized him.

He might not have said it yet, but Reg cared about her. She knew he did. It was time to stop being a coward. There was no written rule anywhere that said a man had to be the first to confess his love.

Gretchen was a modern woman. She was in love for the first, and last, time of her life. Now, she just had to tell him. Her tiger chuffed and purred at the thought, the beast anxious to get him home, naked, and in her bed.

What better place for her to make her not so secret confession?

Prrrrrrrrrrrr.

Epilogue

Reg turned Gretchen under the spray of warm water to rinse the shampoo from her hair. He’d insisted on getting her undressed and into the shower as soon as they’d finished explaining the situation to Hunter.

“I can’t believe you got this done today,” she said, running her hands over his already healed chest in awe.

It was the surprise he’d gotten for her. A way for her to understand where she belonged in his life. He was so fucking happy she liked it.

Directly over his heart and spanning most of the left side of his body, Reg now sported an intricate, and magically crafted, tattoo that he’d gotten specifically for his mate.

He had spent over an hour being tattooed by a very efficient, semi-sadistic Witch who used magic to wield his ink gun at ten times the regular speed.

The image was of two Bengal Tigers representing Reg and hisshona, side by side. One had a very easily identifiable tuft of white fur on the tip of her tail with baby blue eyes. She was the prettiest damn thing he’d ever seen.

The male Tiger was larger, and his eyes were focused on his female. They were a darker blue color, like his own. The male cradled his mate from behind wrapping his tale protectively around her.

Tiger blossoms drifted down from above them with a whisper of Mount Maverick rising behind them. The flowers were a reminder of her beautiful scent, and the entire image was a tribute to his undying love for her.

His fated mate. His one and only.

Reg only hoped she understood.

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