His Tiger Mate novel Chapter 5

Stepping into the shower I let the warm water wash away some of my tiredness and wake me up. I stand in the warm spray a little longer than necessary before I soap up and rinse off, but I really need it. Getting out I grab a towel off the towel warmer and dry off, slip into some tight boxers and go with black joggers, a plain white t-shirt and put on my favorite sneakers.

I head down to the kitchen where one of the people on cooking duty makes me a big BLT with fries while I check my phone for messages and answer emails while enjoying a hot steaming cup of coffee.

I can't help but think about my mother every time I'm in the kitchen, this was her domain. While growing up I enjoyed countless of happy meals with the pack with her behind the stove, always smiling and taking care of everyone. She was a loving woman and the whole pack adored her, the perfect Luna. The love between her and my dad was amazing to witness and they had been married for over 25 years when he was killed in a rogue attack, after he died she followed 2 years later. She just couldn't go on without him. That's not unusual among mates, if they die it's like they take a big part of the other with them. Often they go crazy with grief, some die, and some turn rogue.

Now, rogues are nasty creatures, they are wolves who for some reason or another gave up their humanity, they are soulless killing machines and a constant threat to all packs. Luckily they like solitude, so they are easy enough for our warriors to fight. But there are quite a few of them, so we are constantly on our guards along the borders, if even one was to come to close to the weaker members of our pack the results would be catastrophic.

After finishing my meal I decide that I can't put off seeing our feline guests any longer so I head down to the holding cells, they are kept apart from the packhouse. In the event of an escape it's not safe to have them too close to where the kids and nonwarriors in the pack live and play.

Going down the stairs inside the cells is always a little unnerving, the smells that hits my nose are disgusting and makes my eyes sting. But as I move towards where the two new prisoners are held something else starts to register. The scent is pleasant, it's vanilla and oranges, and I can feel Mads getting really agitated, whining and growling in my mind. As I enter the room a pack member greets me, but that hardly registers because there on the floor is the only thing that matters in the whole world. Blue eyes are pulling me in and I feel like I'm drowning in them. He is dirty, covered in blood and grime, but he is beautiful! And he is MINE!

"Sure thing beautiful, although I have to admit that I'm enjoying the view," he says, and the bastard actually follows up with a wink. An action that practically stopped my heart. I'm starting to wonder what the hell is wrong with me, I mean sure, I can appreciate a nice specimen of the male gender, but this is ridiculous.

A new guy enters the room and gives me a pair of sweatpants and a wife beater, and hands Leila a sundress.

After getting dressed Leila takes the opportunity to give me a little pep talk, "You not only have a mate, but it's an Alpha wolf. Sucks to be you bro," she tells me and punches my shoulder. Oh, the comfort and love of a sibling, it sure is a beautiful thing.