Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Lake

It took me a couple days to come to terms with everything and to process what Tucker shared with me. I made sure to keep my distance from him the best I could while also getting to know him in the way I needed to. I didn't talk much unless he asked questions, but I have my reasons.

I'm not used to talking and asking questions. I've been on my own for so long, isolating myself from the entire world. I was only speaking to those I needed to in order to survive. I didn't know who I could trust. Who the enemy was or who I could lean on when I needed it.

While in the shower, I made the decision it was time to open up to Tucker.

I don't know what it is about him that pulls at a part of me. I honestly couldn't describe it if I wanted to. But I knew I wanted him, needed him.

That need was stronger now than I've ever felt in my life. Between my thighs, I ache for him. The very thought of another man repulses me. I couldn't even touch myself to relieve the ache. It only made it worse tenfold.

Yesterday, I had a talk with Karsyn and asked her some things while we were alone. Shed explained to me what she told Tucker. My mother was indeed half human, half nymph. I'd been more than a little surprised by how she'd been able to tell me this and other things. Karsyn explained she had a connection to the earth and, in turn, to everything that thrives from it. She also had a connection to the Moon Goddess and the Earth Goddess.

I found it hard to comprehend until she'd gotten this distant look in her eyes and smiled as she spoke. "The Earth Goddess speaks truth of your grandmother being a nymph, mother only half. You have the blood of the nymphs running through your veins alongside that of the Fae. You are special in more ways than you know. You will soon find out, but first, you must come to terms with the knowledge that you are the mate of a tiger. Just as your mother was fated to that of your father. Be with him. Trust in him to be what you need him to be. Know that he will never leave you alone so long as you take his hand and hold what fate has blessed to you."

It totally freaked me out, but I'd taken the time to think about it. Dad taught me to always think things through, no matter what. Take the time to think before you act. If you don't, you end up dead. You have to be swift and calculating, and make sure whatever you decide, you make the right one.

This is my reasoning for moving into Tucker's side, rather than moving back and letting him go. Plus, I seriously want to see him shift into the tiger within him. He thinks I haven't seen the looks he's been giving me. Or the wide berth his brothers have given me when I step into a room. I'm affecting them. The longer I'm around them and not connected to Tucker, the worse it could get for them.

I learned this after doing a bit of reading. Karsyn, thankfully, had given me a couple books she's collected over the months since she found herself mated to Corbin.

Tucker doesn't speak, but I feel the tension in his body as we make our way out of his room and down the hall. Rather than going toward the main room, he turns us in the other direction toward the back door.

"Corbin called his brother Cyrus earlier today and asked him to bring Harmony by the clubhouse. She and Karsyn spelled the woods surrounding the clubhouse. The two of them together placed a protective barrier to keep evil out. We're hoping because of the gifts both women have that it will hold," Tucker explains once we step out into the cool night.The warmth radiating off Tucker keeps the chill at bay, but I'm sure once he shifts, I'll grow cold.

"So, that's what I felt earlier today," I murmur. I felt something powerful wash over me earlier in the day, but I'd put it down to my nerves getting the best of me.

"Yeah," he agrees. "Come on, we're gonna go out a little bit of ways, but not far enough that if something happens, someone can't get to you in time."

I don't bother giving him words as a response. I understand him and that he didn't want to bring me out here. Regardless, I need to be with him. Not to mention what might happen with him out of the clubhouse, away from me. I'm sure his brothers wouldn't do anything, but from what I've read thus far in the book Karsyn gave me, once a nymph comes into contact with her mate or is surrounded by multiple unmated males, doesn't matter what species, a nymph's scent changes, supposedly becomes appealing . . . sexually enticing.

I didn't know this was even possible. I haven't asked for confirmation yet, but Tucker's tension somewhat answers it for me.

The two of us walk a bit of a way past the tree line before he stops and lets go as he steps away.

Tucker strips his shirt off and turns to me. Without a word, he shoves it over my head. I'm instantly overwhelmed by a woodsy leather scent. I hadn't even been paying attention enough to see he'd taken his cut off at the clubhouse while I'd been in the shower.

I lift my gaze to Tucker's and see the vibrant gold in his eyes. They're that of a tiger's and I take a step back. Not out of fear but rather envious. I love the color. Unfortunately, he doesn't see my stepping back as what I feel.

"There's no going back now, Lake. You came out here with me. Made your choice," he snarls, eyes narrowing.

"I wasn't backing away out of fear." I straighten, glaring in defiance. "And if I decided to change my mind, I can do just that."

Tucker's nostrils flare, and he looks downright murderous. Instead of speaking and getting in my space, he shifts. It's smooth and nearly instant. In the blink of an eye, he goes from man to beast.

Beautiful. Mystical. He's the most magnificent creature I've ever seen. Far more intriguing than that of my dad and uncles.

Tucker's fur is a deep reddish-orange, his underbelly a cream color rather than white, and black stripes spread beautifully all around him. But it's his face that speaks mostly to me. His eyes are the same as they were before he shifted. Though, in this form, they seem far more striking.

"You're beautiful," I whisper.

A growl rumbles from him, and he steps forward.

I fall to my knees and keep my eyes on him, watching him watch me. To most, I'd be prey. And maybe to him, I am, but not in the same way. A shiver courses down my spine at the thought, and Tucker snarls.

"Oh, quit snarling," I mutter. "I'm not scared of you, and you know it."

Tucker steps forward again. He's a lot larger than the tigers you see in the wild or the zoo. His massive body overshadows me, and the closer he gets, the more I have to tilt my head back in order to keep eye contact.

Between my thighs aches for him, but I don't know how to say the words. The only thing I can think of to show this is to reach up and brush my fingers through his fur. Tucker stops a mere inch from me, his head over mine, and I drop my gaze. Not in submission but to see his undercoat. Right in the center, just under his neck, there's a strange design in the stripes. I suck in a breath at the sight of it because I know exactly where I've seen it before.

He's the tiger that dances around on the ceiling every night. I look up and think of the stories my dad told me about when I was just a little girl. My dad used to call me his special little girl and say that I'd one day find my prince. Seeing this design on Tucker, I know now more than ever that he is who I was meant for.

I open my mouth to say something else, but in another blink of an eye, Tucker shifts again, this time into a much longer being. Standing on two feet, his body covered in fur, his face a mixture of human and beast.

"Are you trying to frighten me?" I ask him, not fearing him in the least. If anything, I find him fascinating. I'd never seen my dad or uncles half-shift, and it's remarkable. Maybe a bit of a turn-on as well.

Tucker glares, lips drawn back, teeth out, and nostrils flaring.

"It's not going to work, Tucker," I whisper as I reach out with both hands and press them to his lower stomach. I dare not look down farther. In this form, he doesn't have anything covering him as he does when he fully shifts and has his fur to cover his . . .

Nope, not going to think about it. Not thinking about it still doesn't help the ache that grows inside me. Between my thighs, it begins to throb.

Tucker comes over to me and takes me to my back, his man and beast form coming over me. I open my mouth to say something but find myself unable to do so as he shifts back to man and claims my mouth in the most intoxicating kiss I've ever had in my life.