Higher Than The Alpha (#Wattys2014) »ᴄɵᴍᴘᴌᴇтᴇ«

SEVENTEEN

SEVENTEEN – Our Mate [Victoria's Cat]

As my human side fell asleep within me, I stared at the large white tiger who was looking at me with one thought. To claim me.

The main reason I said for her to sleep was because I wasn't sure if I was ready to accept our mate. She loved him. Had loved him for as long as she could remember. He hadn't.

I may have been newly born, but I knew that wild cats mated and then the male left. Leaving the female with cubs. But then I knew that as a were, that shouldn't happen. But I couldn't stop the thoughts of our wild cousins.

Snarling as our mate took a step closer, I saw that it was his tiger in play, but his human mind was awake, just letting his tiger have free rein. But as I'd sent my human side to sleep, he'd cocked his head, wondering why I would do such a thing.

Another reason was because if we fought as our cousins did, I knew that my human side would make it difficult. She wouldn't want to hurt this weretiger. Even as he attacked to claim.

And so, now I stood, waiting for him to dare take another step as the scent of prey blew on the wind. We stood there, letting the wind blow across our fur. And then he moved. He was fast. Extremely fast, and my body was new, but I managed to jump out the way, his front paw hitting my flank, spinning me around.

Going low, my ears twisted, I bared my teeth in a snarl. Daring him to mark me. Because this first time had nothing to do with mating, only marking. And I knew that if this male marked me, that would be it. And I refused to allow him to do so without fighting for it.

As the white striped in black tiger looked me over, I saw understanding cover his fur like a winter coat, make his eyes burn with determination.

I felt my heart pick up as adrenaline swam through my veins like a wildfire. Knowing that this would be a fight to remember. A fight that would leave me free to mate or marked for life. But even as I thought that, I knew as a fact that even if this male lost, I wouldn't seek another. I blamed my human side, for taking my youth of playing away as I had only recently found her while she was already a young adult.

But as claws became unsheathed, fangs bared, and weight and agility was used, I couldn't find myself to truly care about missing my youth.

I heard the other cats approach, knew that they wouldn't disturb us. Watch, but not disturb. They knew exactly what we were doing. And with an audience, our mate started to become quicker, stronger. Wanting it over before another male could come to fight him for the right that was his.

It was a slip up that cost me. Or was it cockiness? Thinking that I was strong, I looked out into the forest. That was when he barrelled into me. Knocking my breath out of my lungs. As soon as my body landed, he stood over me and before I could do anything, his jaw bit into section where my neck connected to shoulder.

I stayed still. He'd won. I didn't move as he released me to nuzzle and lick at my fur. Licking the blood away. As his bond seeped into me, I felt my human awaken and see everything that had just happened, and I felt Lex's mind brush mine.

As Lex stood over me, I butted my head against him, showing affection. At the same time, my human snapped at me.

You tricked me?

No, I asked you to sleep because you wouldn't have let me fight our mate as it was needed.

My human side grumbled. So what now?

Now we are mated to your life long lover. Our mate.

As though "our mate" had been a key, I watched Lex's life play before my eyes.

As a child, he'd had a child-like affection for my human side.

As they became teenagers and Lex defended her... but then started dating other girls. But something calmed in both our minds as we saw that Lex never truly stopped thinking about my human side.

Then Lex's birthday. As soon as he'd walked into the canteen, he'd known exactly who his mate was. Us.

And then memories since. Walking my human side home, showing my human side the truth, the cinema, then the wolves... I growled as I felt an echo of the pain the current had given him all the while hearing my humans screams once the Alpha wolf had put my human in with him.

And then I watched through his eyes and emotions as my human changed to become us.

  

I felt strength in the knowledge that as much as my human side loved this weretiger, he loved her, and I knew it would be only time before I loved him too.

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