Island Stripe Pride - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Fuck. Oh fuck. FUCK. What did he do?
Trench felt like he was being hit by a runaway train. Emotion after emotion slammed into him, like freight cars, and he was powerless to do anything but take it.
“Bria! Fuck, talk to me. Are you okay?” he asked.
He was worried out of his mind, but he did not dare touch her again. The first time he tried that, she’d screamed louder, and tears flooded from her eyes. Trench had never taken a mate before, but he’d allowed instinct to take over. Clearly, his tiger had fucked up.
Rooaarr!
The beast objected, but Trench ignored it. Fuck. His mate was in pain, and regardless of what his animal thought, it was his fault. Whatever he did, he would kick his ass later. Right then, he just needed to help her.
Bria had fallen onto the floor and refused to move. He already knew she would not let him touch her, and he didn’t blame her. Apparently, it hurt like fuck.
The sounds of her moaning in pain were like knives to his heart. Shit. What could he do? She was sweat drenched and shivering, curled into fetal position on the cold, hard floor. He didn’t know what went wrong, but there was someone who might. Once he got his head out of his ass, he ran to his cell phone and called his Neta.
The leader of the did not sound very happy when Trench explained what had transpired, leaving out all the naughty bits, of course. Yes, he told him they’d been intimate and that he’d claimed her. That was all he needed to know.
“What the fuck did you do?” snarled the Neta of the .
Trench didn’t appreciate the tone. Especially not when his mate was writhing in agony on the floor. But he allowed it, he deserved the man’s ire.
Holy shit.
She really was his mate now. He’d taken her, fucked her, and claimed her with his mating bite. He’d been so overcome by his own need, and his Tiger’s insistence that she was his, Trench had allowed his primal instincts to take over. That was dangerous for a man like him.
It was probably wrong for him to be filled with joy, but he could not help it. She was his. And his joy was second to worry, but his beast was oddly okay with the whole situation, though he did not like her to be in so much pain.
Dean Romero continued to chuff and haw at the other end of the line until Violet, his mate, and the Nari of the , took the phone. Luckily for Dean, Trench had no desire to take over as Neta or he might have challenged the guy over all his snarling about human females and endangering his mission.
Far as Trench was concerned, Bria was his only mission. She was everything to him. But seeing her in pain was pushing his beast closer to the edge. He needed to help her. Now.
“Trench? This is Violet, now talk to me, what is happening?” Violet Romero asked in that same tone of voice he heard her use with her cubs.
The woman had a spine of steel, far as he could tell. But she was fair and kind, a good Nari and mate to the Pride’s only leader. Trench had the utmost respect for both her and Dean. He was just agitated.
“She’s in pain, Nari. Something, uh, happened.”
“I see,” she replied knowingly. “You gave her your mating mark?”
“Yes, Nari.”
“Did you ask permission?”
“Uh, sort of,” he cleared his throat.
“Well, this should be interesting,” Violet muttered. “Okay, Trench, I believe she is going through the Puspa. I experienced it, and it is no picnic. Especially if she is fighting her change.”
Then Violet laid out some rules for him to follow and he ended the call with a promise to follow up. Oh fuck. He looked down at where his mate was curled into fetal position and narrowed his eyes. Her skin was dotted with goosebumps and beads of sweat. Bria’s hair was plastered to her forehead, and her eyes were bleary with fever.
“Hey now,” Trench said, kneeling down beside her.
He did not dare to touch her, knowing even the slightest pressure on her sensitized skin would feel like she was being stabbed by a thousand sharp knives. The Puspa was a magical process that literally meant change. It was looked upon as a blessing by Tiger Shifters.
Only granted by the Fates to those special couples who were destined to be together. Beings whose hearts and souls were so perfectly aligned, one would only benefit from the gift of becoming a Shifter. The Puspa was a fairytale to most. He wouldn’t have accepted it so readily had he not known about Dean and Violet having gone through it already.
Their love story was one for the books. At least it had a happy ending. As Trench watched Bria suffer, he wasn’t quite as sure of his own. That did not matter just then. He had to help her through this, somehow.
“Bria, can you hear me?”
At her slight nod, he knew she was in there somewhere, trapped inside the agony. It tore at him inside, but his Tiger sent him the strength to continue when he would’ve cried out for forgiveness. The beast sensed what was near, and it couldn’t wait.
“When I bit you, claimed you as my own, I started an ancient process I did not know was possible. It is called the Puspa. It means something is waking up inside of you, but you gotta let it in,” he continued, gritting his teeth.
“You can give me hell later, I promise I’ll take it. But you have to stop fighting the change, kitten. You need to let it happen. Let your Tiger in,” he pleaded.
He stayed like that, by her side, whispering to her apologies, promises, and pleading one after the other. Trench meant every word. He was so happy to claim her, but he never meant to hurt her. It was his fault she was transforming, but he promised her change would get easier each time she did it. Bria was becoming part of his world now.
Yes, it was permanent, but she would never have to face it alone. He begged her to let in her animal. To accept the beast that was now part of her body, heart, and soul. Just as she was a part of him. Fuck, he loved her. And he told her. Begged her to believe him.
“Please, kitten. I love you. Stay strong for me. Let her in, my love, so you can live. I will do anything, anything at all, if you just live through this.”
Eons later, or maybe an hour and fifteen minutes, she stopped shaking. Finally. Bria opened her eyes slowly and Trench gasped. Instead of the warm brown he loved, they were a bright yellow-gold.
She blinked again, slowly, as if seeing the world for the first time. He supposed she was. Her skin rippled, face sharpening into the more angular shape of a big Cat, and fur proceeded from her pores.
Slowly, so he could watch, her body began to shake and tremble, and the scent of ozone filled the air. Then, so suddenly he would have missed it if he’d even blinked, she shifted.
Bria Grotto chuffed, then snarled, loudly. She sneezed when she took a whiff of her paw, and he grinned. Then she turned her Tigress’ eyes on him and hissed.
He would take her anger. As long as she lived. He could take anything then.
Her enormous feline head butted into him, hard. But all Trench could do was laugh and smile. He was so fucking happy she was okay.
And did he mention lovely? Her Tigress was beautiful. Her hide was a soft orange that blended more to tawny, and her stripes were more bronzed than black. Unique, gorgeous, both were applicable to her in either human or Cat form.
“You are so beautiful, kitten,” Trench proclaimed.
She chuffed and hissed, clearly pissed off. And he didn’t blame her, but he was just so happy he could not stop smiling. Her big ringed tail batted against his head until he got the message.
“Come on. Let’s go for a run,” he murmured, scratching behind her ears.
The female Tigress really seemed to like that if her purr was anything to go by. Trench was still undressed, so that part was easy. He opened the big side door and was shocked to see it was dark already.
His cabin was in a private section of woods, so he was not too concerned with trespassers. The necessary signs had been posted, warning hunters away. He was relatively certain they were safe.
“Ready?” he said, grinning over his shoulder.
His shift flowed over him, and his larger Tiger roared, calling his mate forward. The female hissed, vaulting over him and heading for the woods. He didn’t mind a game of tag. In fact, he relished running after his mate.
Bria took to her new shape like a fish to water, or a cat to darkness, he supposed was a better analogy. He certainly enjoyed it when Stevie Nicks sang about that, anyway. Though Bria was way better than any rock song heroine.
His heart squeezed as he gave chase. For hours and hours they ran. All through the night, climbing trees and jumping in the creek. They fished, ate, and napped together under the stars. Bria taking to her fur better than he’d expected.
The sound of a twig snapping far too close caught his attention and Trench growled a warning. It was morning already. They had slept through the night in their fur. It had been wondrous and amazing, but now it was over. Time to face the new day in their human skin.
Grrr.
“Relax, it is just us,” Dean Romero, his Neta, spoke before entering the clearing.
Trepidation ran through Trench. He knew what this meant. Throughout the night he’d picked up on thoughts and feelings from his mate, but her change was too new for them to be able to telecommunicate like some Shifter mates could. He had yet to speak with her.
And now that it was in his immediate future, Trench did not know what to say. Fuck.
Bria stood, alert and wary as Dean stepped into Trench’s territory with Violet, the Pride Nari, by his side. His Tiger snapped at the intrusion, but the gentle swatting of Bria’s tail against his side reminded him of what was really important.
Her. Always her. Only her.
Trench rubbed his head on the Tigress, pushing her gently behind him. Then he shifted to his human shape.
“Why are you here?” he questioned.
Dean stood silent, waiting. At the last minute, Trench remembered to avert his gaze lest he challenge the Neta, for fuck’s sake. Violet snorted a laugh, then nodded at Bria, her smile calming and welcoming to the new Shifter.
“We are here to make sure you didn’t do something we would have to clean up,” Dean said, slightly annoyed but not angry.
That was good, at least. He knew he’d fucked up. But Trench had hoped to have time with Bria to talk to her before they had to return to normal life.
“The Shifter Council has a meeting set up for tomorrow. They want updates, Trench. We need your mate to come in,” he said.
“No---”
The two men snarled and hissed, but stopped when Violet cleared her throat. Trench was no fool. He knew enough to heed a warning from a pissed off Tigress. She’d been kneeling by Bria, the two communicating without words as some Shifters were capable. Now, the Nari stood and faced both men.
“We are going back to the cabin so Bria can dress. You can follow and protect us or stay out here and measure your dicks. Your choice,” she said.
Dean growled and moved to follow his mate, Bria already ahead of them all. Trench took the rear. He tried not to listen to the Neta complaining to his wife about looking at another male’s dick. Nudity was part and parcel of the whole Shifter thing, but it was funny to hear such a powerful man talk about it.
“How long will you need?” Dean asked Trench before he stepped inside.
“A few minutes, Neta.”
“Okay. We parked beside Alex’s car. He is going to kill you, by the way.”
Trench nodded. What did he care? He mounted the stairs to the master bathroom. But Bria was already in there, he could hear the shower. He wanted to go inside with her, to join her under the warm spray, but he didn’t dare presume.
So much had happened in so short a time. He grabbed some things and moved to the outdoor shower to wash and dress for the trip back home. When he was done, he was shocked to see Dean waiting for him. Alone.
“Where is Bria?”
“She wanted some time alone. Violet suggested they go back together. And I need to talk to you,” Dean said, daring Trench to question him.
“Alone? How long have they been gone?”
“A few minutes. NO worries, Trench, they have an armed detail with them.”
“But still,” he began.
“Indeed. I understand. Let’s go then,” Dean said, cutting him off before he could voice his worry.
Shit.
His Tiger scratched against his skin, wanting him to haul ass. Now that he’d had a taste, he wondered if he could ever survive without her. With any luck, he would never have to find out.
“We need to talk,” the Neta began, but Trench had one word in his head. And it was on instant replay.
Mate. Mate. MATE.