The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Excellent idea! He could take to his fur and race through the woods. That should wear off some of his excess energy before seeing her. It was a great way to calm the beast inside him.
Reg left his clothes in the open shed behind the Pride House and shifted into his animal. A familiar magical hum washed over him, and he felt bones break, muscles bend, and fur sprout along his sensitized skin. The process was painful, but tolerable with practice. It only took about forty-five seconds all in all.
His Tiger was a deep orange with thick black markings on his shoulders and back. He stood still, growling as he wrestled control from the animal. Reg did not expect his Tiger’s need for his mate would be so powerful. It was almost too strong, but he managed to rein him in with promises of what was to come later.
As he stalked through the budding Springtime forest, Reg felt another presence. As if someone were watching him. He sniffed and panted, tasting the air. A female had travelled through the woods not long before him. He ignored the scent after cataloging it.
Pride members were allowed to roam the acres of forest surrounding the Pride House. The land was legally owned by Hunter’s corporation, Maverick Development. Typically, he would go and search out the visiting Pride mate, but he had no desire for company.
Especially not female company. He picked up his pace, running over roots and rocks until he was sweating and out of breath. Eventually, he scaled a tall oak tree just to lie out on one of its sturdier branches. There, Reg basked in the sun and pictured the upcoming night.
Dinner with his mate. Nerves rose while he imagined picking her up and taking her to the ritzy little restaurant. He wanted to feed her, to please her, to show her he would be a good mate.
After a good long while, Reg headed back and switched his fur for skin in the grass behind the shed where he’d left his clothes.
“Oh, my, my, how we have grown.”
“Well, well. Hello there, Reg.”
Two Pride females were lounging against the shed, spying it would seem, and perusing Reg as he shifted back to human like they were starving, and he was a full course meal.
Bad etiquette, to say the least. Shifters knew better than to stare uninvited. His Tiger snarled and Reg tugged on his pants. It was not good form to stare at the naked body of someone who’d just shifted.
Usually, said person was antsy, their senses heightened and a bit angry after the sometimes painful process. He sure as fuck did not want any female looking at him naked except for Gretchen. Hers were the only pair of eyes he wanted feasting on his form.
“What do you want?” he snapped, not liking the snarky smirk on either female’s face.
“We don’t want anything, Reg. Unless you do, of course,” the blonde purred.
“Can’t we appreciate one of our Pride’s most trusted guards?” asked the brown-haired female.
“Anyway, I was wondering if maybe you’d like to come over tonight. I have something I’d love for you to try on,” the former added, striking what was supposed to be a seductive pose.
Unfortunately for her, Reg had never been so turned off. The thinner one stalked forward in what he assumed she thought was a sexy walk. He turned his face, the scent of her hairspray overwhelming. It was all he could do not to sneeze.
“No thanks, ladies. And just a tip, but you would do well to avoid asking me in the future. I am no longer on the market,” he said, and started to walk away only to be stopped by the female’s hand on his arm.
His Tiger roared inside his mind’s eye, and it was all he could do not to push the woman off of him. He would never ever strike a woman, but her nails biting into his skin was really pissing him off. His Tiger wanted no one’s hands on him except his mate’s.
“What? You’re turning us down?” the brunette barked the question.
“Ha! A traitor like you can’t have many prospects, Reginald Cray, you should take what I am offering,” she frowned hard at him, her smile turned into a sneer.
“Excuse me? I am one of the Nari’s own trusted guards, not a traitor. Now, I suggest you leave the Pride House until you can remember your manners,” Reginald said and straightened his shoulders.
Dominant women were not usually a problem, but something was not right about how these women were behaving. He could be reacting to having found his mate, but Reg felt it was more than that. Not liking to roar at females, he could not control the growl in his voice as he glared at them and opened his mouth once more.
“Leave. Now. Before I report you both to the Nari,” he told them.
As Alpha fem, part of Elissa’s job was to maintain control of the females in their Pride. Female Tiger Shifters, like all Big Cats, experienced a heat cycle which could make them agitated. If that were the issue here, he had a duty to arrange help.
He could scent nothing different about the women. Only anger and spite. But Reg was no expert in the matter. He would leave that to the Nari, making a mental note to speak to her.
“You hear that Pam, he’s going to report us,” snorted the taller woman. “I know what you are, Reginald Cray,” she said, stepping closer. “Maybe you need a reminder.”
“I said go,” Reg snarled, no longer able to deny his beast’s anger.
The force of his roar shook the very ground, and the two females ran off. He’d recognized both of them but had never dated or slept with either woman. Their claims to know him were completely false. Even when he’d been stupid enough to believe Blake, he had never hung around with the man’s women.
And yes, Reg recognized them from the past as hanging around the ex-Beta inside the Pride House on occasion. Blake had worked his way through many of the Pride females, but not Reg. He’d had very little to do with them.
Reg was a firm believer in not shitting where he ate. He’d always kept his dating brief and outside of Maverick Point, not wanting the hassle of awkward encounters after the fact.