7. Vix

Chapter 7

Vix

V ix had always been a ravenous little monster, starving for companionship, for touch, for tricks and trades, for life …there were so many tasty things in this world to tempt and distract her from her purpose.

Like this man.

Her gaze caught on the silver chains dangling from his neck and the tinkling of charms soaked with magic. Just like the ravens, she'd always been drawn to pretty, shiny things and Vix couldn't help herself as she tapped her finger against one, flinching slightly when magic burned her as well as silver.

Then her hand was on his chest, searching for the burn that was already healing. Her unexpected spike of concern made her frown because it didn't make any sense. He wasn't pack.

This shifter wore silver even though it burned.

Vix decided that was very…interesting.

It was such pretty skin though. Such a shame to ruin it over and over and over…

His scent of alpha and tiger and frozen hibiscus curled around her, making her entire body relax against her will. She dropped back down to the snow, keeping her inquisitive gaze away from the green eyes that made her feel like she might just remember everything, and she wasn't sure she wanted that right now.

Her fingers trailed across such warm skin that reminded her of…Vix didn't know what. Maybe the chestnuts she found sometimes? It was a gentle brown with the tiniest hint of cream, but his soft curly hair was dark, if not quite as dark as hers.

Another scent told her that magic was stitched into his flesh somewhere, but it wasn't quite…right.

It had been a very long time since she'd seen someone in their human form who wasn't pack, and she wondered if that was why she felt so drawn to this gorgeous thing above her. Enough she couldn't be bothered to care about the risks.

Not when he'd been the one to approach her.

It still seemed like he should be cold, but she supposed the god of winter wouldn't feel cold.

Warm fingers wiped blood from her cheek and Vix flinched, snarling as his spell over her broke and she flipped him over. Crouching over him, she dug her claws into his throat – promising death if he moved.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face before it died.

"You can touch me, but I can't touch you?" he asked, irritation laced into every word.

Her head tilted at the shift in his tone, curious why he'd do that for her like he cared what she thought. "You wear silver." Her fingers slid down his neck to wrap the titanium chain around her hand and the silver charms made her palm sizzle.

It burned – a sickeningly familiar sensation as she watched the steam rise from her flesh.

Vix forced herself to release his charms and watched as they fell onto bare skin. He didn't react at all even though they started burning him again. She could feel the dull ache of his pain and moved the charms so they rested over his shirt instead.

He already carried so much pain, she really didn't think he needed more.

Calculating green eyes watched her and she felt like she remembered…

Her fingers reached out before she could stop herself, tracing the line of his strong chin and sharp jaw. The skin was smooth as if no hair grew there. His lips pursed slightly, drawing her attention to how full and soft they looked.

Vix skipped over his throat and found her eyes back on his chest. The sight of it was making her feel things she hadn't felt in such a long time, things she'd once thought were the answer to her emptiness.

Things that made her ravenous .

The human ink on his forearm was done in geometric patterns and she gently trailed her claws over it, realizing it looked familiar.

"Samoan?" she asked, tilting her head as she tapped each of the empty triangles. "Or Māori?"

No response, so she started tapping the black triangles that led her to a new, curving pattern.

"Maybe Hawaiian?" Rings on his fingers stung, telling her they were made of silver too, but this time she didn't flinch. "And those green eyes tell me there's something else."

"How would you know?" he asked, settling his hands on her thighs.

She froze, eyes dropping to those large hands…almost as large as his paws had been.

"Vanya." She shrugged one shoulder and shifted her gaze back to his face. "Did you come here to steal from me too? Maybe seduce me so I'll give it to you willingly?"

"That's not what I came here for." He pushed up to a sitting position, suddenly much closer than before.

The intensity in those jade-green eyes made her want to shy away, but Vix couldn't look away from them even if she wanted to. "I don't have anything left for you to steal," she whispered, feeling something between them that almost felt like they were tied together by the thinnest thread of silver. "But I could trade…"

Was it the scent of alpha curling around her that made her wrap her arms around his neck? Or maybe it was the smell of hibiscus, red ginger, and frost. It drew her in, and she wondered what her own scent would?—

"What are you doing?" the strange tiger asked, his jade-green eyes staring right into her soul. The question didn't sound mean or accusatory, but almost like he was…enchanted.

"I like your scent," she whispered. Just a little closer. "Can I taste it?"

Those jade-green eyes suddenly looked starved and he leaned in like he might just let her…

Snow didn't crunch this time but she still sensed movement when her magic shivered at their approach. Vix didn't want to look away from this beautiful man, but those two were dangerous .

Her gaze shifted to the shadows slinking toward them, weaving through the trees as they slowly approached.

"More winter?" She tilted her head and then she saw a flash of orange.

No, they definitely did not belong here. What the hell were jungle creatures doing in her forest?

Vix tried to scramble back as those orange tigers slunk toward them, but the alpha grabbed her hand to keep her there. She narrowed her eyes as their paths crisscrossed before circling around her.

Wings made the air shift above her as the bird landed and Vix suddenly felt the weight of a raven's attention.

She looked up and stared at those glowing red eyes, not recognizing her scent at all. Baring her teeth at it, she challenged the intruder to come down and fight her with nothing but fangs.

"I'm right here," she whispered, knowing the raven could hear her. "Kill me, assassin. It would be so easy…or would it?" Come play with me .

Green eyes blocked the raven from view and the alpha glared down at her, so tall when he stood like a human. "She's with me."

"A winter raven?"

All the winter ravens were hers .

Frowning, she slid her gaze to the massive tiger on her right who was about the same size as the alpha if a bit slimmer. "Doesn't make sense, does it?"

A chuff told her he was amused, but it still didn't make any sense why he was here at all.

"Kitty, kitty," she purred, exposing her throat to him ever so slightly to see what he would do. "What are you doing in my dark forest?"

"Yours?" the alpha asked, irritation leaking from him.

"Mine."

It was amusing how much that word bothered him.

Vix eyed the orange tiger on her left who was the size of a very large bear. He sat down like a large housecat would though, almost bigger than the white one, but not quite.

Three strange tigers in her forest…

What could they possibly want?

Curiosity flooded her veins like lightning and Vix wondered if they would play a game with her.

"I wonder…" she murmured, dropping her eyes and letting a small smile play on her lips. Would they believe she was more submissive than they were? Would they believe she wasn't afraid despite their strange approach?

It wasn't like they could scent her to find out.

"You're treading in my garden of death, Alpha." Vix made little patterns in the snow with her claws. "Unless you want to join me in purgatory, I suggest you leave."

The silence that followed was tense and she glanced over at the tiger on her right to see he looked very disinclined to do as she suggested. The sudden urge to touch him was overwhelming but something warned her not to, and Vix just barely managed to catch herself before she could.

Strange. That had been disappointment in his eyes.

"I can't leave you here," the alpha told her, drawing her attention back to him.

"Oh?" Vix flexed her claws as she stayed in a crouch so as not to alarm them, keeping her weight on the balls of her feet. "And why is that?"

"Because you're mine." He towered over her like a dark god and Vix wanted to taste his power all over again.

"Your what?"

"My mate ." The way he said it…it sounded like he couldn't think of anything worse than that and Vix couldn't help but laugh.

"Your mate?" She stood as tall as her human height would allow, and despite the fact that he didn't flinch or move away from her, she sensed his unease. "And how would you know that when I possess no scent for you to find me or the bond?"

That fucking raven landed on his shoulder then and she glared at it.

"A witch," the alpha purred, reaching up to scratch under the raven's chin.

Vix froze as memories she'd abandoned—memories that had nothing to do with her purpose, crashed through her.

"A witch," she breathed, looking down at the back of her hand to the glyph she'd carved into it.

That's right. She was a witch.

How could she have forgotten?

Vix stared up at the dark sky as she let that other word settle into her bones.

Mate .

Without a scent, she'd always thought she didn't have a mate, but these tigers were here in her forest because they believed she was theirs.

Except Vix was nothing but a wraith made of chaos and pain. A ghost—one that even hell wouldn't claim.

And yet…these three tigers had come looking for her. They'd seen something they shouldn't have and still they'd come to claim her.

Did that mean she no longer had to tend her gardens of death?

Could she maybe be…more?

Vix wanted that – the possibility of finally being something was more tempting than any game she'd played.

But she wasn't just a witch, was she? No, there was something wild in her – something free. Vix had destroyed her cage of humanity and it had given her a new piece to add to her picture.

These three though…their tigers were shoved into tiny little cages, but the cause of the pain they wore like shiny jewels was a mystery she couldn't resist.

Sliding her gaze to the tiger still sitting on her left, she decided she didn't like how his head was somehow level with hers even when she was standing on two legs like a human.

If her mate was a feline shifter…

"Tiger-tiger," she murmured, reaching out for the orange tiger and his glimmering golden eyes. "Your eyes burn so bright."

If the alpha was her mate, then it was likely this one was too.

Her eyes widened when his closed the moment she touched him.

So much pain it made her gasp with the force of it.

For some reason, it shocked her despite the agony she was swimming in constantly. Vix felt her knees give out as it washed through her, and she couldn't let go of him even if she wanted to. A small sound escaped her, and she clung to that tiger of autumn instead of winter.

Silent screams tore through her mind, and it felt a thousand times worse than the pain the trees harbored or anything the angels experienced.

Why was his so much worse?

Everything she could take, she did. Vix pressed her face to his neck and breathed in his heady scent, burying down a whimper as her body tried to decide if this felt like heaven or hell.

"Your pain is mine now," she whispered, digging her fingers into his fur, careful of her claws. "But mate? So few can claim me…so few can stomach what I am."

When the pain was a fraction more manageable, she shoved him away, taking off before they could figure out what the hell just happened.

They reeked of humanity, and she had to get away before she forgot?—

Vix slammed into something hard before she could get very far and she looked up in shock to see a large man with white-blond hair and soft, golden eyes and so very many scars.

His golden eyes didn't glow. Why…

His massive hands wrapped around her biceps, but she was just relieved to see his eyes weren't green.

"Feral little thing, aren't you?" the man crooned, his voice promising the kind of pain she could only dream about.

"What do you want from me?" she managed, mesmerized by those tiger eyes of his. The pull she felt toward him was almost as strong as the urge to touch the scar across his face so she could take his pain and see those memories he'd tried to bury, just like her.

"I want you ," he murmured, softening slightly as he studied her. "Come with us."

She shivered when she felt something strange come from him that almost sounded like alpha magic, but it wasn't a command, just a suggestion.

Could she leave?

If they claimed her, she wouldn't have to hunt down every angel she could find because she'd be whole. These were her mates…

Could a mate bond fix her broken pieces?

"We have a house not far from here," the golden tiger said, his voice dropping even lower. "Surrounded by trees."

"Where exactly?" Maybe she could go with them, just to see.

If they really were her mates, Vix didn't want to pass up this chance. He'd said he wanted her, even after what they'd seen.

If they saw the horrible creature she was and still wanted her…

Maybe she could be more than what he'd made her into.

"It's a two-hour run southeast." Those golden eyes were like warm honey, and they drew her in just like his scent. "If you can run as fast as I can anyway."

Vix bared her teeth at this massive fucking shifter like she didn't know any better. " Faster ."

If she could kill those vermin, then these three would be nothing if it became…necessary.

They were supposed to be her mates though. Even if she didn't want them, they were hers .

"Show me how fast you are," the tiger of summer teased as he tilted his head to the side.

Could she really run with tigers?

"Is it winter there?" she asked, taking a step closer to the intense heat he radiated. It called to her like a patch of sun in the forest, so sweet and yet so very bitter.

"Nothing but snow," he promised, loosening his hold on her biceps. "If it melts, I'll gather up all the snow I can find and bring it to you."

Looking up at the sky again, she waited to see if he would come for her the moment she was distracted, to steal this chance to be more just out of spite.

The reel in her head was clicking and clacking, but the images were impossible to see. Still…it was the first time she felt like she might remember without him ever since waking up in that clearing all those years ago.

Her eyes dropped to the golden tiger and she realized then his rings were silver too. They didn't steam since they were in constant contact with his skin, but his pain was a dull ache behind her eyes.

So much ink stitched into his skin to cover the scars underneath. This one's pain wasn't as bad as the other's, but that was because he'd buried it down deep and the box he kept it in was breaking .

Maybe she could fix their boxes and then…

What?

"He took my name," she whispered, taking another step closer to her scorching sun. "But you can call me Vix."

"Hello, Vix," her golden mate purred. "I'm Mylo."

"My-lo." The syllables tasted delicious on her tongue. "My tiger of summer."

His golden eyes flashed with something strange, but otherwise, his scent stayed the same. "Come with us?"

"Forever?"

That warm gold was suddenly cold as ice. "For now."

Liar .

But they couldn't cage her no matter how hard they tried. "I'll come with you," she conceded, knowing just how dangerous this game she'd decided to play was, but it would be so much fun. "Then?—"

Mylo didn't wait for her to finish speaking though. He shifted and took off, heading south.

Vix laughed when she heard his tiger call out to her. Catch me if you can.

Nothing could stop her from chasing after him, running through her forest of death as she went faster and faster and faster.

Fur brushed against her side and Vix laughed again when she dodged a tree to put more space between them, recognizing the wildness of the autumn tiger as he kept pace with her easily.

It couldn't hurt to check her southern borders before the snow melted, and then she'd pry those mysterious jewels of pain from them.

Glancing back, she saw the winter tiger close behind.

Frost and fury stared back at her, and it was absolutely breathtaking.