Page 24 of Purrfectly Trapped

Reg understood the importance of having a strong leader and a good Pride. He couldn’t have picked a better man than Hunter Maverick as Neta. On two legs, the man was as strong as any beast, and as for in his fur, well, Hunter’s Tiger was almost half again the size of the next largest one in the Pride.

All that power and strength still wasn’t enough to rule a group of Shifters whose instincts ran high when it came to aggression, fighting, mating, all the above.

Hunter was a fantastic Neta because along with all of his great strength came a tremendous amount of patience and compassion for his Pride mates. They were lucky to have him, and Reg knew it.

“Sit down.” Hunter nodded, holding his cherished mate in his arms.

“Hello, Reg,” Elissa said, smiling sweetly.

She looked as if she had just been thoroughly kissed, but Reg was careful not to gaze too long. Not that he wanted too. While happy for them, it had all the ick factor of catching his parents making out.

So gross.

And the cause for some heavy talks with his guidance counselor in high school after he’d caught Mom riding Dad like a rodeo cowgirl on more than one occasion. Why he was always the one to walk in on them and not Robbie, his brother, he didn’t fucking know. Just his luck, he supposed.

“Um, hey,” Reg began, not noticing the third person in the room until the old Witch turned his electric blue gaze on him.

Magic hummed in the air, but Reg was careful not to react. Uncle Uzzi was the last person he wanted to rub wrong, especially when an idea hit him. That sly old Witch had sent him for that haircut. He must have known all along his mate was waiting for him there.

“Well, Reginald Cray, that is an improvement.”

“Uncle Uzzi,” he said, Tiger peeking through his eyes to survey the elderly Witch.

“Your haircut. It suits you, Reg,” Uncle Uzzi smiled broadly from his perch on one of the large wing chairs to the side of Hunter’s desk.

“Oh, yeah, thanks, Uncle Uzzi.”

“Of course,” the sly old man said, looking down at his fingernails after buffing them on his white sweater. “So, tell me, did anything interesting happen while you were there?”

Uncle Uzzi asked innocently enough, but Reg noticed the mated Alpha couple trying hard not to smile. He knew it! This was all a plot. He should feel angry, pissed, something. But he couldn’t. Fact was, Reg was so deeply pleased, he could only smile in response.

“So, you know already,” Reg told the room at large.

“Well? Are you going to be a bore, or will you confirm our suspicions about you and a certain new salon owner?” Uncle Uzzi let out an exasperated sigh.

“I can see there is no point in denying it,” he smiled and addressed all three of them. “Gretchen is my fated mate, and I have a date with her tonight.”

“Wonderful!”

“That’s great, Reg,” Hunter’s voice was the deepest, and therefore easiest to pick out.

“Um, I came here because, well, I just needed some help. I don’t know anything about her besides she’s beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, and damn, she knows her way around a straight-edged razor,” he said grinning.

“Um, gee, Reg how romantic?” Elissa said, though it sounded more like a question. “So, what do you want to know?”

“I don’t know, everything for starters, but really, I wanna know where to take her. What does she like to eat? Where is she comfortable? I want tonight to be special.”

“Oh, well, Gretchen is pretty easygoing. She likes pretty much everything,” Elissa shrugged.

“I heard her say she liked the sandwich Trigger brought them for lunch the other day,” Hunter added, shrugging.

“Yes, but what else? I don’t wanna fuc-, I mean, mess this up, Nari,” he asked, correcting his language when Hunter narrowed his teal eyes.

Shit.

Reg knew better than that. He’d come here seeking Hunter and Elissa’s advice because nothing had ever mattered this much. Not in his world. Hisshonawas everything to him, and he wanted to show her that he cared. That he, Reg Cray, could be the man she needed. Of course, after listening to these three, he was not sure any of their advice was helpful.

“Reg, look at me,” Uncle Uzzi insisted. “Gretchen is special. You are right to be concerned about your first date and what impression you will make. But do not lose sight that this is your fated mate you are talking about here. Dinner is great, but unless you already told her, you will need to explain what being mates actually means.”

---