Island Stripe Pride - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

“Who are you again?”
The gorgeous woman with honey-brown hair and flashing hazel eyes inquired. But he was too tongue-tied to speak. He mopped up his hair and face with the towel she’d given him, best he could.
Shit. He wished he could have showered and dressed properly. That’s what he got for going out to drink first.
Smooth, Alex. Very smooth.
“He’s the cat burglar,” whispered the teenager, whom without the stink of oil and paint clogging up his senses, he easily discerned as a young she-Wolf.
And that wasn’t the only thing that became apparent with his new proximity to the females. Alex sucked in a breath, and his tiger chuffed impatiently. Yes, he’d been right. The golden-haired beauty was his fated mate.
Mine.
“Excuse me?” he asked, surprised at the ridiculous notion that he was a thief.
Cat? His inner beast scoffed at the poor description. Try Tiger. Sniff. Alex had never stolen a thing in his life, except maybe a kiss or two. Right then, he only wanted one female’s lips on his, but her attention was on the younger one.
Daughter? No way. He easily dismissed the idea. She was too young to have a child that age.
Sisters? Maybe. Though the younger had shocking red hair and freckles, there was some familial resemblance there.
“Mags, it’s got to be the cat burglar! Who else would break into our crappy office?” she growled, and he could practically see his Tiger rolling his eyes.
Well, at least she had the cat part right. Alex cleared his throat while the two females continued their whispered argument. It didn’t matter. He could hear every word.
“Ladies, if you don’t mind,” he interrupted, “My name is Alex Kensington, and I am not a cat burglar.”
“Bull shit.”
“Jo-Jo, language! Look, Mr. Kensington,” she turned to him, and for some reason her eyes kept going to his hair.
Alex lifted the towel once more and followed where she motioned with her hands. Fucking hell, he wiped again, coming back with more of the blue and black sludge from his forehead and hair. Tigers weren’t nearly as vain as Lions, but he had to admit he was fond of his thick, wavy locks.
“Mr. Kensington-”
“Alex,” he inserted, wanting to hear his name on her lips.
“Alex,” she nodded, “I apologize for my sister’s actions. I mean, obviously this was an accident.
“Her dousing me with, um, this stuff was an accident,” he smirked, while she straightened her shoulders.
“Yes, I am sure she was just cleaning out, er, Jo-Jo, what the heck is that anyway?”
“It’s acrylic paint, calligraphy ink, some mineral oil, a little glue, and turpentine,” she smirked.
“Paint? Ink? In my hair?”
Okay. He did not squeak. Well, maybe. A little. Fucking hell. He was a Tiger dammit, not some pansy-ass. Alex’s majestic beast winced at the sound he’d made and covered his face with his paws inside his mind’s eye.
Shut up. He growled and shook his head to clear the image.
“Listen, I am not a criminal. I was supposed to meet with an M. Flint at the bank today to inform the former manager that this establishment is officially under the control of ISP Inc-”
“You’re from ISP Inc?” hazel eyes widened as first shock, then fury crossed her beautiful face, quickly followed by soul-deep sadness.
This time, when he winced, it was in his human form. Shit. It could not be, could it?
“I was supposed to meet with you,” she said in a deceptively calm voice, “I apologize, I was unavoidably detained.”
“Mags?” the young Wolf whimpered.
“You’re M. Flint?” he asked.
“Margaret, my name is Margaret, but everyone calls me Maggie,” she said with a quiet sort of resignation that broke his heart.
Shit. This was the woman Dean had told Alex to toss out on her ass for running the place into the ground.
Fuck. Fuckety. Fuck. That was so not happening. Not now, when he knew she was his mate. Besides, something must not be right.
He knew instinctively the woman was smart and good. Whatever had created this mess, he was going to help make it better.
“Yes, I work for ISP, but now that I am here, we can-”
“Get. Out.”
“What?” he must have sludge in his ears.
“Get out!” she yelled, and damn, she was cute when she was mad.
“Miss Flint,” he began, with a silent, please let it be Miss added for his own benefit, but the woman’s hazel eyes flashed as she pointed to the street.
“Maggie,” she snapped, “Now get out!”
“Maggie, please, I understand this is not the way things usually work, and I will apologize for my late arrival-”
“Wait. You mean he’s the one kicking us out?” The younger one approached and sniffed.
“Shit. Jo-Jo not now,” Maggie whispered.
Alex looked from Maggie’s still posture, and he saw the instant Jo-Jo’s animal decided to make itself known. The young Wolf shivered and shook, battling the beast within. Alex frowned.
“Jo-Jo. No, please no,” Maggie begged, shaking her head.
He knew Margaret was a human. Had scented it immediately. Damn, this must be so hard on her, raising a teen Wolf.
Why didn’t she have any help? Clearly, her charge was new to Shifting. That kind of thing required guidance, and sometimes a stronger hand.
“Oh god! No, no, no,” she jumped in front of him, and his Tiger was enraged she would put herself in harm’s way for him or anyone for that matter.
Pride in her bravery and fear for her safety warred within him. Didn’t she know she was too precious to risk her life?
Unacceptable.
Even more outrageous was the way she slapped at his hands when he tried to move her. Okay, maybe he thought it was a little kinky, truth be told. Alex had nothing against spanking. Especially if his mate was into it.
Anything she wanted, needed, asked for, he would provide. If she said so, he was on board. But all naughty thoughts fled his brain when the teenager snarled, and he watched as her fangs grew until they protruded from her mouth.
“Joelle! No, get control,” she whispered furiously.
When the first bone cracked Alex, couldn’t take anymore. He lifted the sublimely supple Margaret in his hands, relishing the slight weight, and soft feel of her for a moment, then he pushed her gently behind him.
“You don’t understand, please, we have to go,” she tried tugging on his arm, but his sweet little mate didn’t know he was a Tiger.
If only he had the time to tell her that before she went all hellion on him. But damn, she was sexy as fuck hissing at him, and when she pulled on his ear like he was a naughty cub his cock throbbed in his ruined suit pants dying to burst free.
Ooh. She gave him such sinfully sweet ideas for later. Yowza. Purrrrrrr.
“It’s okay Margaret. I got this,” he tried to sound assured, “Easy now, Jo-Jo,” he said to the teenager as she dropped to the floor panting. Her Change rolled over her in slow, anguish filled waves, and he cringed remembering the days when his own Shift hurt like a motherhumper.
“Oh shit,” Maggie whimpered, “I know what you must be thinking,” she began, but he turned his neck to catch her eye.
“It will be okay. Just trust me,” he let his Tiger peek through and was gratified when her mouth formed a perfect O of surprise.
“What? Are you a Wolf too?”
“A Wolf? Heck no. Just trust me, kit, I got this.” he winked, then turned his attention back to the furious, red-furred she-Wolf who looked as though she wanted to rip a chunk out of his hide.
With one more gentle shove, he sent Maggie back against the wall, then he leapt forward. The good thing about being both an adult and a Cat, was Alex could switch forms from one breath to the next.
His Shift no longer hurt, nor did it take precious minutes to swap skin for fur or vice versa. The other benefit of being a Tiger Shifter was Alex always landed on his feet.
With an impressive roar meant to startle his prey not to injure, followed by a playful nudge with his massive head into the pup’s shoulder, and Alex had gained Joelle’s full attention. She was no longer snarling at her frightened older sister.
And didn’t that make his Tiger want to chuff happily? The Wolf pup was all legs as she tried to glare at him, but Alex knew he was bigger and badder. Definitely more dominant.
Still, this was not a challenge. He just wanted to try to control the situation before someone got hurt. Joelle was a pretty little Wolf with auburn fur and eyes a similar shade of hazel to her sister’s glowing up at him.
He growled deep and low in his chest. The infrasound, capable of paralyzing even the most cunning enemy, slipped past his jaws without permission. Simply his beast demanding the younger Shifter avert her gaze to his awesomeness, which she did before he could wrangle his feline’s baser emotions.
The Tiger stopped the sound and sat still while the pup panted with the effort of her Change. The animal knew she belonged to his mate, and he readily adopted the young she-Wolf as his own. Then and there, no questions asked. Alex chuffed and licked the pup’s snout. He now had a little sister.
As if she understood the notion, Joelle sat down and laid her head on her paws, still weak from the energy spent for her to Shift to Wolf form. Alex understood. Sympathy filled him as he realized the poor thing had no one around to talk about these things with. Maybe he could be of help there as well.
“Easy Jo-Jo,” Maggie had somehow moved closer, and he whipped his head to see her kneeling down about a foot away from her sister’s face.
The Wolf growled and Alex inserted himself between them, pushing the female back until she fell on her rather tasty rump and gasped at him.