This wasn’t how the evening was supposed to go. He cast a glance around the crowded coffee table. Containers of Chinese food were spread across the surface. Spring rolls. General Tso’s spicy chicken. Beef and broccoli. Along with a bunch of other boxes he was sure they wouldn’t eat, but somehow had managed to make huge dents in. It was far removed from the semi-romantic, semi-planned evening he’d had in mind.

Though, even calling it semi-planned was stretching it.

Devon had wanted to take Carolline out for dinner. Didn’t know what or where, just knew it would involve food of some sort. He wanted to show her he could be a gentleman. Show that he could take care of her, provide food, and comfort. All the things a male tiger would do for its mate. And maybe start imprinting it into everyone’s minds, Carolline’s especially, that they were a couple, and it would be the new norm.

Of course, she’d caught him off guard with her argument that having a conversation in a restaurant was no less private than having one on her front porch. That thought hadn’t crossed his mind at all. He’d only wanted a way to get inside her house where he would have a better chance of her not shutting him out.

Leaning back in her seat, Carolline popped the rest of a spring roll into her mouth. She chewed and hummed. It was deep-throated, and filled him with thoughts that had more to do with sex than satiating hunger. She made that cock-teasing noise with every bite. Who could blame him for staring and imagining other ways to cause her to make that sound.

She swiped a finger over the corner of her mouth, sucked whatever bit of food off it, and finally looked at him. “What? Is there something else on my face?”

“No. I just never thought I’d see you like,” he waved his hand to encompass the massive amount of food, “this. I always pegged you for a health nut.” Considering her habits of drinking herbal tea and doing yoga, eating a shit ton of Chinese food would have been the last thing he ever thought to see.

She snorted and curled her legs up on the couch. “Not a health nut. I do take care of myself, though. Go for daily runs in the woods near the park followed by some light yoga. I don’t drink a lot of caffeine, and I’m not really into sweets.” She shrugged slightly, as a faint blush colored her cheeks. “Chinese food is my weekly guilty pleasure.”

“There are worse things to love.”

“True. It didn’t used to be that way. When I was back East, I worked a whole lot more and did yoga when I needed a break. There was no decadent Chinese food to indulge in after a long week. I like this new routine better.” She grinned softly.

Devon took a second to let that sink in. She was an interesting woman for sure. “I’m curious, how did you get into yoga anyway? I haven’t seen many shifters interested in it, but it would probably offer some great benefits.”

Carolline leaned back in her chair. “I think so. I didn’t know how much it would impact my life when I first started. I don’t think I can live without it now. But you wanted to know how I got into it, and not how I think it should be implemented into shifter schools at an early age.”

“I’m sure we can talk about that later.”

Carolline nodded. “I look forward to it. Anyway, there was a group of kids that practiced yoga daily as a way to bond or create their own little hybrid pack, I really don’t know which. They commandeered one of the common rooms in our house and would shut the doors. Soft music could be heard leaking from the room along with giggles and the occasional thump of a body falling over. I was completely fascinated and desperately wanted to try it out, but years of judgmental looks from my fellow hybrids kept me from joining in. I was a bit of a loner even back then. I contented myself with sitting outside the door, leaning up against the wall to listen and imagine what they were doing.

“It wasn’t until the newest addition to the home walked by and saw me sitting there did I ever dare to go in the room. Well, it was more she decided to go in and drag me with her. Felicity was this beautiful Ocelynx. She was a tiny, small bodied girl with the power of a lion coursing through her veins. She pushed and pulled and cajoled you into doing something. Never something you didn’t want to, mind you, but she could read each person in our home like they were an open book. I swore she was a mind reader.

“Once I got over myself and the fear of being judged, I soaked it all up. I made it a part of my daily life and have done it every day since. Well, when I’m feeling one-hundred percent, that is. I can manage some poses when I’m not feeling well, but with what I’ve been experiencing recently, I’ve been fairly limited.”

“How are you feeling? Last I saw, you were having difficulty moving around.”

“I’m better. I’ll rest more this weekend and should be good as new by Monday.”

Devon hummed and thought that over. It had been two weeks since the attack. It didn’t make sense that she wasn’t healed by now. The confusion at her lack of healing must have been splashed all over his face.

“It perplexes you, doesn’t it?” She smirked.

He nodded slowly. Perplexing was one way to put it. Completely dumbfounded, another.

“You don’t deal with many hybrids in your practice, do you?”

“Not really. As open as my family is about supporting all shifters, most aren’t comfortable with me being their caregiver. I always get the feeling that they don’t’ trust my knowledge.”

“Or, they’ve been treated by full-breeds in the past and haven’t had a good experience. If you took a poll of your fellow doctors, I would bet many would tell you they had limited knowledge on hybrid anatomy. Sure, the outside looks the same, but you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Devon nodded because it was true. He didn’t even need to poll his fellow colleagues. It wouldn’t reflect well on them. It was something he strove to change. “We do have another doctor on staff, a woman, that has a bit of a mixed background, hybrids tend to go to her. She’s booked out months in advance.”

“Yes, Dr. Frasier. We’ve met on multiple occasions. Consulted on a few cases. If I remember correctly, she’s a couple relations removed from being a hybrid. Falls closer to the full-bred spectrum, I believe.”

“That’s the one. I would guess you can never fully breed the hybrid genes out though.”

Carolline’s eyebrows sky-rocketed at that comment.

“Not that it’s a bad thing,” he tried to recover quickly because it didn’t come out how it sounded in his head. He was thinking more on the clinical side, not the never be the genetically superior side. Never that side. “I’m just saying scientifically; it can’t be done. There will always be that percentage, no matter how small, which could label them as hybrid.”

“Don’t worry, Devon, I know what you meant.” She paused and tilted her head. Looked at him with intense, narrowed eyes. He felt her scrutiny down to the bone. “We’re an interesting group – hybrids. Not all of us are the same. I have a theory that there are no two hybrids alike. I rarely see multiple hybrid siblings. Once a couple either intentionally or unintentionally reproduce, they learn pretty damn quick not to do it again. There tends to be medical issues, either at birth or some months later. Most new parents will experience hybrid abnormalities within the first year.”

“Does that apply to full-blooded shifters reproducing with humans?”

“Not at all. For the reproduction to happen, there needs to be the shifter gene in the human. It doesn’t seem to matter how dormant it is either.”

“So, my kids,” he started but didn’t finish. He didn’t know if he wanted to hear her answer.

“Whether they will be a shifter or not? I wouldn’t know. Nature will take its course with them and reveal their abilities when it’s time. Speaking of the kids, how are they? I’ve wanted to ask, just didn’t know how to approach you. Especially with all the unresolved mate business, and Ben never gave me an update about them.”

He eased back in his seat, almost relieved at the change in subject. “The kids are doing good. They’ve seemed to recover from the episode quickly. They’re a bit clingy, but I’m okay with that. Really, I’m just happy my babies are alright.

“Good. I’ve been told children are resilient. A trauma like that, well, I would think it would take a while, but am relieved it hasn’t.”

They fell into a lull of silence after that. Both of them lost in their own thoughts. Devon, for sure, thinking over how the kids had been acting. To someone who didn’t know what happened, one would think they were perfectly happy, healthy kids. Which, overall, they were. He couldn’t tell what Carolline was thinking about. She didn’t give away anything through body language or facial expressions.

After a few more blissfully quiet moments, Carolline shifted on the couch. She unfolded her legs, and he could sense she was about to stand and show him to the door. The blank look on her face turned to one of determination. A look that said she was done talking, and it was time for him to leave.

Unfortunately for her, he wasn’t done with her. Not by a long shot. Reaching over, he grabbed her hand. A shocked little gasp escaped her lips, which he resolutely ignored. He rubbed soothing circles over the back of her hand with his thumb; wanting a physical connection for the upcoming conversation.

“Let’s get back to this mate business, as you call it. It is real. You’re my mate, Carolline. I know it in here.” He tapped his chest with a closed fist. He had been able to push the feelings swirling inside of him to the back while they ate. His need to see her fed and comfortable overriding his need to claim her lips and feel her body stretched out beneath him. Now that their meal was finished, and she looked prepared to kick him out, he was ready to move on with the evening.

“And what is it you feel in there? Explain it to me, because I still say your tiger merely feels gratitude for saving his cubs.”

“He does. That isn’t all, though.” Devon slid closer to her. Placed his other hand on her knee.

She glanced down and tilted her head to the side, like his action was part of a puzzle to figure out.

“You see,” he murmured. “I haven’t been able to get you off my mind.”

“But…”

“No buts. I know I haven’t been by to see you. Haven’t been stalking you like a normal single tiger who has found his mate would. You and I, we aren’t normal. I have three kids and a practice with patients to take care of. You have patients as well. People who depend on you for guidance with their futures. What should be the first priority in our lives just isn’t, because we’re beyond the first blush of adulthood.”

Devon focused on the feeling of warmth building in his chest. Closing his eyes, he scented the air around him. Filtered out the food scattered about and zeroed in on Carolline’s natural scent. The deep, earthy musk of amber. Beneath that, he could smell the woods and trees. A sense of home and comfort. It was new and intoxicating. “What I feel for you is damn near indescribable. You are always there. In the back of my mind. When I’m lying in bed at night feeling like something is missing from my life. When I’m in my office running from patient to patient. In my kitchen cooking for the kids, my parents and Jack. You’re just,” he sighed softly. “You’re just there and missing from my life altogether.”

When he opened his eyes again and focused on Carolline, a small gasp escaped her lips, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

Slowly dropping his hand, Carolline leaned forward and squinted. “Your eyes. They’re glowing. They’re this brilliant deep whiskey color.”

Devon looked to hers. “Yours are glowing too. It’s a thin, bright ring.” He couldn’t help it when his gaze traveled down to her lips, then down her long elegant neck. It rested on her frantic, beating pulse, close to where her neck met with her shoulder. The pale, creamy skin calling out to him. He licked his lips in anticipation. “I bet if I bit you, right here,” he reached out and barely touched the pulse point, “your eyes would glow even brighter.”

Whether she moved first or he did, he didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. All he knew was, in a flurry of movement, Carolline ended up in his lap. Slim legs were on either side of his hips. Long fingers were gliding up his chest and wrapping around his shoulders. Soft lips were pressing against his. It was unexpected and every wish he didn’t know he’d had.

He clamped his hands around her small waist, curling his fingers in. The second he’d touched her, had her on his lap, he knew he would never be able to let her go. Her scent curled around him, calming his raging tiger. For days on end the beast had prowled inside, a completely foreign activity. He had been restless and in need of something. Devon would have been able to pinpoint what was wrong if he’d tried, but hadn’t been ready to acknowledge.

He knew what the tiger wanted. He yearned for his mate. The tigon who’d saved his offspring. Devon couldn’t take the time to revisit his past and wonder if he’d made a mistake marrying Sasha. He’d like to think he hadn’t. His falling in love with Sasha and having children was his fate all along. If he hadn’t, then Carolline wouldn’t have been able to save them; thus, putting her directly in his path.

Their lives were intertwined by a series of events and signs he chose to ignore at first. Constantly running into her in the hospital cafeteria. The sheer coincidence of her being in the right place, at the right time. Her hybrid status, and the unknown shifting ability of his children. She was the perfect woman to be in his life. To help guide his children into their teenage years and then onto adulthood.

She was everything he wanted when he’d thought of marrying Mary Jane, only so much more. She was his mate, and he wasn’t about to lose her to a psychopath. He may not have been able to save Sasha, but he would damn well keep his new mate safe.

His tiger chuffed, as a need like he’d never felt before twisted through his veins. In all the years he’d been with Sasha, he’d never once wanted what his tiger demanded of him now. His teeth ached to burst through his gums. Fingers itched to release his claws. He gave free rein to the feeling, pulling back for a breath, he opened his mouth wide on a deep inhale. Sharp, deadly canines pushed through in a matter of seconds. The tips of his fingers changed, the claws pressing into her clothes. It wouldn’t take more than a flick of the wrist to have the thin cotton shredded from her body. He could have her bent over the coffee table with his cock rammed so far into her he wouldn’t be able to tell where he ended and she began.

Carolline squirmed on his lap, pressing down onto his shaft. It was a blissful kind of torture. “Hold still,” he rumbled, his tiger pressing even closer to the surface.

“What?” She asked in a breathless tone.

He needed a minute to rein himself in. Holy hell, she felt amazing. He rocked his hips up into her heated core, drawing a gasp from her sweet lips. Fuck! With a sudden realization, he knew there would be no taking his time with her. Not at the moment. He’d waited too long. Held off when what he should have been doing was…her, in every imaginable position. He wanted her pinned beneath him and flushed with pleasure as he pounded into her slim body. If he couldn’t make it happen in the next few seconds, he would take her like this. Her riding his cock on the damn couch. Her arousal wafted to his nose. He shuddered in satisfaction. It intoxicated. Sweet. Earthy. Mind numbing. And all because of him.

Sliding one hand up her back, he carefully wrapped it around the nape of her neck. He pulled her to him, capturing her lips again. Her fingers tightened their grip on his shoulders. She flicked her tongue over his top lip in a tease. In his move to capture it, she somehow gained the upper hand. Deft fingers traveled up his shoulders and neck, and drifted into his hair. She griped it tightly and tugged. When it got to be too much, he released her lips and allowed her to lean back marginally.

“I’m still not convinced, Andersen,” she panted. Arousal glazed her eyes, and the gold rim spread outward around the margin. I wonder if it will fill completely in after I mark her? He’d soon find out. There was no doubting he would be claiming her by the end of the evening.

He responded with a low growl. “Is that a challenge?” he asked before pulling her toward him again. Instead of taking her lips like she expected, he opened his mouth and struck, sinking his canines into the soft spot where neck and shoulder met. She stiffened momentarily in his arms, crying out with a mix of pain and pleasure. Her blood flowed, the tangy taste coming alive on his tongue. With it came the promise of a future. Of love and happiness. Endless nights of passion. Days filled with hope and unity.

He desperately wanted it all. It was what he sought when he’d approached Mary Jane all those months ago. Except with Carolline, he’d found more. More than he ever expected.

Releasing her neck, he licked the wound to help in the healing process. He expected a protest on her lips filled with angry words and punching fists. Instead, all he got was a blissed out look of euphoria and soft golden-filled eyes.

Holding her snug against his chest, he stood. He needed her on a flat surface. Any flat surface would do. He preferred their first time be in her bed, however. On the odd chance she refused to go with him later, she would have to contend with the constant reminder of his scent. Of course, he didn’t plan on letting her slip away.

When he’d taken a cursory look around her place earlier, he’d noted the kitchen and small dining room. There was the living room, which he was currently in, and a hall leading off to the right. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find her room.

“End of the hall on the left,” she said, pressing kisses over his face.

Heading into the room, his eyes adjusted easily. A large rumpled bed took center stage. Dark drapes were pulled shut. There was minimal furniture and decorations. Like she hadn’t yet settled in and made it her own. All the better for him. Moving her into his place wouldn’t take long.

Carefully placing her down on the bed, wary of her injured side, he followed her down, pinning her beneath him. Slim curves pressed into him. The sensations bombarding him were nothing like he’d ever felt. Not even with Sasha. With her, it had been all-consuming young lust. The desperate need to get naked and bury himself inside her. Get off as quickly as possible, chasing that feeling when he was close to coming. Balls tucked up tight against his body. A fire in his gut when he was about to shoot his load. It had never been about her, he realized now.

With Carolline, he wanted to worship her. Take his time to learn every dip and curve. His tiger chuffed, enjoying the feel of her touching him. There was another level of connection between their animals Devon hadn’t known existed until now. It made every kiss, every touch better than the last.

He wasted no time stripping the clothes from her body. The white tank ripped easily down the middle, revealing her pert breasts. Raspberry-colored nipples begged for his attention. Latching onto one, he sucked and bit until it beaded further on his tongue. Quickly switching sides, he gave her other nipple the same attention. Popping off only when she moaned his name.

Her plaid shorts were pulled down, and he was surprised to find she’d gone sans panties. The knowledge went straight to his throbbing erection. If he’d known, he would have pushed the fabric to the side and impaled her out in the living room. Her arousal filled his lungs; it was stronger, sweeter without the barrier of the fabric. A soft, trimmed thatch of brown hair covered her pussy. Making his way down her body, he wedged himself between her legs. Anxious to taste the sweet nectar teasing his senses. He paused, looking up her body to see if she was still with him. Still on board with what was about to happen.

She trailed a hand down her chest, reaching for his head. Threading her fingers through, she gripped and tugged, forcing his face closer to her core. She was unequivocally on board. Swiping his tongue through her slick folds, she shuddered. Her thighs flexed around his head. Fingers tightened in his hair. Both sent sparks of pleasure through him.

He wouldn’t be able to take the time to love her properly. Claiming her fully was his top priority. Driving his dick into her while marking her neck. He desperately needed it done before they left her house.

He flicked his tongue over her clit again and again. Thrusting one finger in, he finger-fucked her, quickly adding another digit as her moans increased in volume. She was on edge as much as he was, and it didn’t take long for her to stiffen and fall over the cliff. The muscles in her core were still rippling as he drove inside after freeing himself from his pants.

Her legs wrapped around his waist. Arms circled his neck. Tilting her head to the side, exposing the soft column of flesh, he set his teeth against his previous mark. Pounding into her relentlessly, he pushed her arousal back up. Her hips dancing to the rhythm he’d set, meeting him stroke for stroke. Breathy moans egging him on. As soon as his orgasm was on him, he sank his teeth in. She keened low and long, as her pussy shuddered around his cock. A half dozen strokes later, he filled her with his seed.

Releasing his hold on her neck, he got the surprise of his life when she bit him. Soft lips suctioned. Momentary pain shot from his neck down into his chest. A growl rumbled from Carolline, warning him not to move. As quickly as she’d hit, she let go. Her hot tongue lapped at her bite, and he would swear he heard her purr. Satisfaction whipped through his blood. She’d claimed him as quickly as he’d claimed her. There would be no allowing her out of his sight. She’d sealed her fate, marking him as she had.

A grin curled the edges of his mouth, as he stared down at her now limp body. Her eyes opened and the faint glow from before was definitely gone. Her eyes were now a bright golden fire.