The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 75: Chapter 75

Prologue
The wind stopped howling, and the sudden stillness was almost eerie. As if it too sensed the coming of something big, something unstoppable.
Michael stalked through the tall trees, moving silently over the stubby grass, groundcover, and shrubs that dotted the woods that ran behind the center of town where most of the local shops and restaurants were located.
Maverick Point was a touch more rural than many of the cities and suburbs that made up the Garden State. Not too crowded, but close enough to the city to make a day trip of it. He liked it that way, and so did his beast.
Of course, he was not supposed to be in town just then. Oh no, Michael had duties that required him to be back at the Pride House, watching over the very pregnant and very irritable Nari, their title for Alpha female.
Bengal Tiger Shifter culture, though completely Americanized, was still rooted in the old world. A lot of their terms came from Bangla words and phrases, most of which he’d learned as a cub, along with English, French, Italian, and a little Sioux, at the foot of his grandmother who’d raised him. Shifters had an ear for languages and accents.
His ears twitched, anticipating hearing the little blonde that he was currently stalking. She had the most undeniably sweet Southern twang, though she did her best to hide it. Wasn’t easy to do that in a Pride, but no one called her out on it, which was good. Michael had never been one to cause trouble, but he already knew that anyone who gave the sweet little she-Cat a hard time would have to deal with him.
So yes, it was very good his Pride mates seemed to welcome the petite female and bring her immediately into the fold. Otherwise, his beast would’ve had a lot to say about that. Chuffing softly, he tested the air, looking for any hint she’d come this way.
Fuck. What am I doing?
The answer was easy. It was the same thing he’d been doing daily since she’d come to town. Pathetic, and he knew it. But he had no choice.
Michael was all nerves these days. He could hardly sleep anymore, tossing and turning through all hours of the night had become more than habit. It was like a torturous ritual.
After his rounds at the clinic, he’d given his daily report to the Neta, then went to check on the Nari’s health and comfort. Elissa was a former normal who’d undergone the Puspa and was now a Tiger Shifter like the rest of them.
The Pride had rejoiced heartily that the Universe had blessed the union of Hunter and Elissa by deeming her worthy of the Puspa. The magical change that had transformed her from human to Shifter after receiving the claiming bite of her fated mate was rare and coveted, and now another mate had gone through the change as well.
The Maverick Pride was booming with mates, and soon a new line of cubs would be born, increasing the Pride’s strength and size. Nothing so glorious as the offspring of mated pairs. Those cubs born to true lovers were wanted and happy, raised with love and protected by all. Shifters so rarely produced viable young that each cub was looked after and regarded by all as family.
As a doctor and Pride Healer, Michael was keenly aware of that not so small fact. He was both curious and a little worried about the Nari’s pregnancy, as was her mate. The big as fuck, and twice as scary, Neta was a tad overprotective.
Hunter was not a bad man, he was just a wee bit on edge. Michael knew the feeling. His Tiger growled impatiently as they hurried to their final destination.
What the hell am I doing here?
He repeated the question from within the metaphysical realm where his human half waited while he ran in his fur. The woman did not want to see him. She had made that abundantly clear over the past few months.
And yet, there he was. She had him wound so tightly he was taking runs twice daily. Just to catch a glimpse of his heart’s own desire.
So great was his need to see her, that his patient, the rather impatient Elissa Maverick, had kicked him out of the Pride House.
“I swear to God, Mikey, if you don’t stop pacing, I’m going to tear you a new asshole! Just tell the woman how you feel. Go on! Get the heck out of here before I sic Hunter on you,” the Nari had threatened before pushing him out the door.
Literally.
Fuck, the woman had gotten even stronger in her “delicate” condition. His beast groaned at the indignity of it all. A big bad Tiger, like him, being shoved around by the tiny female was preposterous.
And yet it happened, chuffed his Tiger.
Michael would never want to upset Elissa. The female was the cherished mate of his Neta, and in her condition, she was valued and loved by the entire Pride.
His beast snorted, as close to actual laughter as his Tiger could come. Still, this was a serious matter. Shifter pregnancies were typically complicated. The sad truth was they rarely came to fruition.
The birthing of viable Shifter young was unfortunately not the norm. That went for all Shifter-kind. It was why mating with humans was so keenly advised.
The same inherent magic that made it possible for beings to have dual natures also made it singularly difficult to carry and deliver to term.
Elissa was special in more ways than one. Not only was she the true and fated mate of Hunter Maverick, Pride Neta, but because she had experienced the Puspa, it was believed she would bring a sort of fertile healing to the Pride.
To Tiger Shifters, there was no greater honor. With his claiming bite, Hunter had given Elissa the ability to change into a beast of her own. The fact her other form was a beautiful white Tiger, rare indeed, just leant more credence to what was fast becoming her legend.
Hunter and Elissa were the Pride’s own fairytale couple. Michael, and the others of the Guard, knew they were all too real. But they too had marveled at the exceedingly rare gift the Fates had granted their Pride.
It seemed the Tigers of the Maverick Pride were blessed when it came to finding and wooing their fated mates.
Except for me, his beast snarled at the thought.
Michael understood the Fates had given his Pride a most worthy honor in finding their true mates using Uncle Uzzi’s Magical Matchmaking Services. The old Witch seemed Heaven sent to many of them.
And yet, it was nigh impossible for him to obtain his own happily ever after. Pain speared his heart and his beast growled softly.
What the heck had he done to piss the Fates off, anyway?
Michael wished he could simply call Uncle Uzzi and have him find his fated mate, but what good would that do?
The guess work had been taken out of the equation. He knew who she was and where, but the female simply was not interested. Once more, he felt a pain slice through him at the thought. So strong, it threatened to send him to his knees, and would have had he been in human form.
This was futile! Coming here to try to steal a peek at her. Michael had a sacred duty as Pride Healer to attend his Nari, but she was right to cast him out. He was no good to her if he was this amped up.
Elissa was due any day now, but it was just too damn difficult for him to concentrate. A problem for sure, and one he’d developed immediately after setting his eyes on a certain curvy goddess.
Kylie, her name whispered through his mind and his beast growled softly in his throat. Why don’t you want me?
Kylie McNaughton was an enigma to him. Man and beast had recognized her immediately as his and he had been dying to sink his teeth into her soft flesh ever since he’d first met the tiny blonde.
Of course, the petite beauty had been avoiding him just as long. The one time he’d actually touched her, she’d been injured defending the Nari from a streak of rogue Tigers who had been grossly misguided by the Maverick Pride’s former, and now deceased Beta, Blake.
If the Neta had not taken him out, Mikey would have for that infraction alone. Seeing her pale skin marred by scratches and bruises had damn near driven him mad with bloodlust.
It was all Brayden, the Pride Beta, and Hunter, could do to stop him from killing the remaining streak Tigers, who they took as prisoners until the Council had come to retrieve them.
Stupid cubs had been manipulated by a madman, but to Mikey, their actions were unforgiveable.
They later learned that Blake’s misdeeds had been farther reaching than they’d imagined. The female population and the youth of the Pride had suffered greatly at his bloodied hands, unbeknownst to Hunter, and the rest of his most trusted Pride mates. A problem they were currently seeking solutions to.
His Tiger paced unhappily at the thought of Kylie’s bruised and battered body after her attack. She’d lost a lot of blood during that battle, and her wounds had been many. Still, he could not help but be proud of her. The fierce she-Tiger had fought so bravely.
More so than he’d have given her credit for, but the bruises and breaks on her assailants had attested to that fact. The women had done well.
Even he would have had a hard time fighting off so many Shifter males. Her bravery and fighting skills were truly great. A medical man, he abhorred violence on principal, but as a Shifter he understood the need, and had himself been carried away by bloodlust a time or two.
Complexities made them human. That, and their hopes, dreams, desires, and ability to change their minds. To learn and grow, to feel and appreciate, and to sit around mooning for a female who did not even care that he was alive, apparently.
Fuck and damn.
Michael had treated Kylie’s wounds and dressed her breaks. He’d carried her to her apartment afterwards, and yes, he’d sat with her throughout the night, tending her every need. His Tiger had been damn near crazy with worry by the time she’d opened her beautiful green eyes.
The unusual color was one of the first things that had attracted him to the tiny woman. They were pale and crystalline, like looking through little drops of dew atop tiny spring buds that had yet to bloom.
More celery than emerald in color, he supposed, but he was not an artist. He had no idea what else to compare it to. All he knew was he loved her eyes.
That night, he’d blessed the day he’d decided to apprentice his grandmother. As the former Pride Healer, she taught him many things. That knowledge allowed him to look after Kylie in her hour of need, satisfying a primal urge inside of him to care for her.
Mate, chuffed his beast.
Shit. His need for her was growing daily, but he had no idea how to make her listen. Where was his grandmother now that he needed advice on how to woo his woman?
Retired to Florida, spending the rest of her days playing golf and sipping Mai Tais he supposed with a snort. Her old bones couldn’t take the cold anymore, or so she’d said. Still, he missed her. Very much.
Nana Turner had raised him after his own mother had left town. A normal, his mother had decided she wasn’t cut out for Pride life after her mate had passed.
He bore her no ill will. It had been for the best, he supposed. Unconventional and smart-mouthed, his grandmother had prepared him for a great many things, but not this.
Nothing could’ve prepared him for the pained feeling of wanting his mate and knowing he had no idea how to get her.
His attention was caught by a light switching on in the apartment just over Jessica’s Closet. That was her.
Kylie, he thought, and listened for any sign of what she was doing.
There.
He followed the sound of her footsteps as she moved unhurriedly from one room to the other. The slide of the balcony door opening was loud in his ears, but he remained still and unmoving. Waiting for the moment when she finally emerged.
Kylie was a creature of habit, at least as far as he’d been able to discover for himself. For whatever reason, his unclaimed mate liked to sit in the early morning darkness with her coffee, all alone.
Maybe she was thinking deep thoughts, or maybe she was simply taking in the air. He could only wonder. Once or twice he thought she’d seen him, but he couldn’t know for certain.
He was a patient man, but even Michael had his breaking point. Sooner or later he’d be scaling that balcony and taking what was his.
Ready or not, he had plans to catch a certain little kitten. And he was prepared to use every tool he had.