9. Vix

Chapter 9

Vix

V ix stared up at the alpha, not sure why that was what he was so worried about. They were shifters. Why did he care so much about modesty? "It's just skin, though I guess it's not as pretty as yours." Especially with all her scars.

Mylo's amusement perfumed the air, and she pretended not to notice as she waited for the alpha to decide.

Finally, he sighed and pulled her up onto the porch beside him. "Let's get you cleaned up then," the alpha muttered, yanking the front door open. "I don't want that awful stench in my house."

Oh, that was the game he was going to play? Fine then.

Vix yanked her coat off and tossed it to the ground, stepping out of the pants next until she was in nothing but her white, skintight long-sleeve shirt and leggings. When she went to strip that off too, the alpha grabbed her by the throat.

Freezing was the only way to keep from violently reacting to the desperate hold he had on her.

Anger, but it wasn't at her if she was right. "What are you doing?"

"You said not to bring it into your house," she said carefully, pushing his hand off her neck and raising a single eyebrow in question. "Why would I poison your den?"

The alpha didn't respond, but he slid his gaze to Mylo in what appeared to be a wordless command, because the other tiger scooped her up in his arms without hesitation and carried her through the door.

Vix wasn't sure why her stomach flip-flopped, but she wrapped her arms around the golden tiger's neck and buried her face in it as they went through the massive house and up some more stairs.

This place was dead inside and it freaked her out.

All the human things were a blur as she breathed Mylo's scent deep to keep calm. An unfamiliar heartbeat somewhere and it was slow enough to tell her the witch was asleep. The only thing that kept Vix from running off was his soothing lemongrass.

Mylo set her down on her feet in a room that smelled like stone, but she refused to let go of him, even when he froze like he wasn't sure what to do now.

Pulling herself a little closer, she rubbed her cheek against his neck and took a deep breath. There—dark chocolate that was even more bittersweet than Rune's.

Mate .

Her claws dug into his skin as she tried to hold back, but Mylo didn't seem to notice she was struggling because of his scent, not this place. The sound of him clearing his throat settled some of the possessive need to mark him, and she pulled back to look up into those frosty golden eyes.

"Have you ever used a shower before?" Mylo asked, frowning slightly as he stared down at her.

Vix couldn't help but grin at how adorably stupid he was being. "I'm feral, aren't I? Why would I know how to use one?"

His eyes narrowed like he couldn't tell if she was messing with him or not and, geez, she really wanted to tease him even more when he made that face.

"Are you using my own words against me?" Mylo leaned in closer like he was hoping to scare her. "This helpless act won't work on me."

Good to know.

"Maybe I just want you to comfort me," she murmured, reaching out to trace his scar, but she snatched her hand back before she could. He wouldn't like that. "Could we do a bath instead? It's more like a lake."

The more familiar the better. This place was nothing like anywhere she'd ever been before, even when playing the role of a human witch. Sometimes that made things easier, but not always.

Vix took in the large room her summer tiger had taken them to.

It was made of black rock mostly, like they'd carved it from the mountains and placed it in here to match the landscape outside. There was a fireplace and right in front of it was a giant bathtub in the corner – the walls were made of glass too.

So much fucking glass.

But she had to admit, the view of the forest was comforting.

The rock had a sharp mineral smell, and she eyed the way the whole room was built like a cave. There was nothing separating the large shower area from the bathtub or fireplace. Seats were naturally formed by the rock and glass bottles were down in the corner.

An open door showed her where a toilet was tucked away, but Vix liked the sink that had been put into a natural bowl formation along one of the walls, like this whole place was part of the wilderness. The glass was supposed to help convince her this was outside, but the drain in the floor and the lack of wind told her otherwise.

Water trickled into the tub when Mylo turned a knob, and Vix crouched down, unbuckling her boots as she watched him from under her lashes.

There was something about his scent that bothered her.

It wasn't there all the time like the alpha with the jade-green eyes, but it trickled in and out. Alpha magic, if her senses could be trusted – and honestly, that was all she had left at this point.

But this alpha magic felt off, sharp in ways it shouldn't be.

Setting her boots to the side, Vix yanked her long-sleeved shirt off and studied the wound that angel's blade had given her. It was healed already, but the skin still looked a bit pink.

Healing from those was always a bitch, but the angel blood usually helped.

Folding the shirt and placing it next to her boots was second nature. Kenji and Vanya hated when she tossed all her shit on the floor in messy piles and these tigers were probably the same. Her white leggings went next as she listened to the strange silence in the house, the running water, and Mylo's breathing.

It suddenly became erratic, and she looked up to see his eyes glowing gold as he stared at her.

Was he upset because she was naked? She really hadn't thought that would bother this one, but maybe?—

"What the fuck is this?" Mylo demanded, suddenly right in front of her with her arm in his hand.

It startled her enough she scrambled backwards, but his grip was so tight. "I…"

What was he even talking about?

"I don't know…" she managed, one hand on his chest to keep some distance between them. "Did I do something wrong?"

He glared at her, chest heaving, and she felt his rage fracture some of his brittle armor. "What the fuck is this? " His thumb pressed down on her skin to emphasize his point, and Vix glanced down to see one of her glyphs.

This was what had upset him?

"My scars?" She pressed her hand against his chest harder, trying to get him to back up, but Mylo was a lot bigger than her thanks to his stupid apex predator genes. "What about them?"

"They're all over your body," Mylo snarled, pulling her forward until his face was in hers and those blazing gold eyes were all she could see. "Who put them there?"

She went completely still when she realized what the problem was.

This stupid fucking tiger didn't want to believe she was his mate, but he could still feel the pull just like she could and that pull was making his tiger insane with the sight of scars all over her skin.

"Do you even know what it takes for scars to form on a body that has supernatural healing?" Mylo asked, searching her eyes like he actually doubted she was aware of how difficult it was to make them.

"I do," she whispered, studying the scar across his face that was a little too perfect of a line. "Just like you do."

Mylo released her so fast she stumbled, foot catching on the uneven stone floor. Vix winced when she fell and skinned her knee, but it was already healing before a single drop of blood could hit the air.

Hot hands were suddenly on her shoulders, and she flinched.

If he thought the runes and glyphs were bad, he was going to lose his fucking mind ?—

"Vix." His voice was all deep and gravelly with the sound of his tiger, echoing slightly as he lost control and flexed his dominance.

She glanced up when he knelt down, needing to see the wildness he kept trying to hide.

Mylo looked like he needed to murder something and there was enough madness in his eyes she dropped her gaze just in case his tiger's illogical rage decided she should be that something.

A finger under her chin forced her to look up at him, which was…abnormal. Their faces were nearly level thanks to the way he was kneeling and with someone as dominant as him who possessed alpha magic that smelled so sharp …he shouldn't want her gaze to meet his at all.

" Tell me what happened ." An alpha command.

It was nearly as powerful as the other alpha's and Vix hid her wince. "My runes, or my back?"

"Both."

She gave him a sharp grin, knowing just how much he was going to fucking hate this. " I carved them into my skin," she whispered, licking her lips as the scent of his outrage and disbelief tried to choke her. "I wanted them…every, single, one."

Now it looked like he definitely wanted to kill her, and Vix's grin widened when she felt a shift in his scent, almost like he found this side of her desirable .

"My back?" she leaned in closer, daring him to let go or do something about the flash of hunger she could see the moment he glanced down at her lips. "I did that too."

He released her and a muscle in his jaw flickered. "Why?"

Vix felt her grin fade as she tried to remember but couldn't. "I don't know. Just did."

"What did you do to yourself to make a scar like that?" he asked as he brushed his knuckles against the glyph on top of her shoulder, where it connected to her arm.

"I…" Silver glimmered on his fingers, and she cringed. It felt familiar somehow and she reached back, feeling the uneven skin where her shoulder blade ended.

It ached, as if her attention had given permission for her body to remind her of what she'd done.

"Silver," she murmured. "I'm pretty sure."

"And this?" Another brush of his knuckles over the top of her breast made her breath catch.

Vix looked down to see the scar in the shape of a circle right over her heart. The mark was clearly from a large bullet piercing flesh, but those didn't usually scar on a shifter, and she didn't remember it happening which meant it had happened sometime before she'd become a raven.

"It wasn't the only time I've been shot," she admitted, covering the ruined skin so she didn't have to look at it. "But I don't remember this one. Before the eyrie."

"Eyrie?" Mylo wasn't as angry anymore, but now he was suspicious again, which was just as bad.

Vix sighed, wondering if she'd ever make progress with this one. "Yes. It's a nest where birds live."

His flicker of surprise and amusement erased some of that suspicion and Mylo scooped her up again. "I know what it means, but how you're using it doesn't make sense."

"I lived in one." She rested her head on his shoulder and inhaled the scent of mate , wondering if they'd believe her if she told them she could scent it. "I was nothing, and then I became a raven. Now…"

She was still nothing, but at least she had a purpose.

Looking up at Mylo, she wondered if it was okay to change that purpose even if she still hadn't found all the missing pieces. Would he care?

"I like your scars," she whispered, taking a risk. He froze and stared down at her with a wild gaze that could mean anything, even her death. "They shine like stars."

Mylo didn't seem to know what to say to that, but there was a deep rumble in his chest which seemed to surprise him, and he set her in the bath so fast she slipped right under the water. His hot hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her up, eyes wild with fear.

"I can swim." Vix laughed and splashed him with water. "I know how to take care of myself, tiger-tiger. You don't need to worry."

"I'm not worried," he snarled, releasing her instantly. He pointed to more glass bottles along the windowsill. "Soap. Wash your skin while you wait for your precious alpha to help you with your hair."

She dropped down in the massive rock bowl until the water lapped at her nose and watched Mylo leave. It was hard not to tell him he could be her alpha too, but Vix still didn't really understand the sharp scent that came and went, completely different from the alpha with the jade-green eyes.

What would they do when they found out what kind of shifter she was?

There was a prickle of nerves in her stomach that made her think they wouldn't like it.

Vix lifted her feet and lay back, floating in the warm water and staring up at the rock ceiling as she wondered.

Three tiger shifters and then her…

A fox.