The Tiger Luna

Fast Bikes and Introductions

You know you could have been a little bit more helpful in that situation, right?

Cleopatra yawned in boredom as she stretched in my mind that night. I think I was perfectly helpful if you ask my opinion. Mate is now marked and you have back up. Why we're back here when we could be in our mate's bed is utterly beyond me. Our mate is gorgeous and we could be having s*x right now if you weren't such a control freak.

You do realize that he marked us without my permission, correct?

Well, I'd already told Ragnar that he had mine and that you'd come around to the idea. You were going to reject him until he marked you and don't lie and try and say you didn't want it. You were every bit as present as me when I marked him and you loved it. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed since I can't spend the evening with mate.

Frost rolled her eyes as Cleopatra blocked their link and curled up to pout. Since she now had nothing better to do, she sat on her bed looking over the files that Hail had given her and began to put together a design for his new restaurant. She got so lost in her work that she was shocked to find that it was already 1:30 am and she cursed. She had missed the races tonight and that meant that she had to make sure that she got to them tomorrow. She couldn't risk failing just because she had found her mate and had work to do. She hadn't been captured by those sick bastards, but so many shifters that she knew had been.

She took a quick shower to calm her nerves a little, turned on the rainy jungle sounds she couldn't sleep without and curled up in her bed. She didn't usually have troubles falling asleep but tonight her mind was restless and at three she had given up with the idea of sleep. She had just pulled up the specs that she had for the poachers vehicles when someone tried to mind link her and she jumped in surprise. There were only a handful of people that had the ability to mind link her and they would only do it at this time if they were in danger. She shoved her mental block aside in a panic and prepared for the worst.

Calm down, will you? I'm thirty miles away and your anxiety is still strong enough that it's keeping me awake, Hail's voice filtered into her mind and she let out a sigh of relief.

You'll excuse me if I'm not used to having to take other people's thought into account over my own feelings. I don't have anyone that I let feel me freely through the link and I'm not even sure what's going on, she snapped and Cleopatra muttered mate bond unhelpfully in her mind. Why the f**k would my nerves been such a mess because of the mate bond? It's supposed to make us stronger once we're mated.

It's because we're mated, but you're still fighting it and the distance this early on doesn't help matters either. We need to spend time together in order to stabilize our bond, otherwise this anxious feeling will just continue to intensify.

Frost grunted in frustration as the magnitude of his words hit her square in the face and left her furious. Not only had she been unwillingly marked, but now she had to spend time around the man or her bond would drive her mad. Awesome, just what she needed. Not. what she needed was sleep and it seemed the only way to get that was by spending more time around the man whose neck she currently wanted to snap. She might be able to sense that he felt guilty, but that did nothing to curb her anger. To be completely honest, all his guilt did was fuel his anger. I'll survive without sleep. Perhaps you should have thought of the side effects before forcefully marking your mate.

His growl of annoyance rippled through her mind and she could practically see his eyes flashing with frustration. I can help you with these poachers, Frost. As an Alpha I have many more connections than you and I can get my foot in the door with them.

I don't want a foot in the door, I want the door blown to bits! Besides, they're looking for drivers. I beat you so do you have anyone else better? When he remained silent on the other end, she knew that she had her answer and smirked. I didn't think so, so remind me again what exactly it is that I need you for?

His frustration was smothering through the bond and he knew that she felt it too. Why do you have to be so stubborn, Frost?!

Because these poachers killed my parents and kidnapped everyone I was close to! I refuse to allow you to be another of the masses that disappear from around me. I've survived everything life has thrown my way, but if something were to happen to my mate..... It would destroy me.

Her heart felt confession tore through his very soul and he needed her to know that he felt the same for her. Don't go to sleep yet, he demanded as he jumped from his king sized bed. Some things needed to be spoken about in person and he wasn't about to give her the opportunity to deny him that conversation so he quickly stuffed his feet in shoes and grabbed a jacket. His Beta shot him a questioning glance as he barrelled out the door at three in the morning, but he paid him no mind and climbed onto his tricked out Ninja. He weaved in and out of side streets to cut the time to Frost's house and found himself in her drive way in less than twenty minutes. Will you come outside?

Frost was shocked as the question filtered into her tired mind and she instantly jumped to her feet, uncaring that she only wore underwear and a T-shirt that still smelled like her father. Surely that crazy wolf had not driven over here in the middle of the night simply because she admitted to not wanting to lose him. She stepped out on her porch with Kodiac on her heels and there he was, leaning against his bike in her driveway. She meant to sound annoyed, but her words came out almost strangled when she spoke. "Why are you here?"

He looked at her as though she were crazy for even having to ask and a smile stretched across his handsome face. "My mate sounded upset. There was no way that I wasn't coming to check on you after what you said. I'm not going to allow you to hurt on your own ever again," he murmured as he approached her front porch.

His words were a balm on her shaken soul and she didn't even bother to stop herself from flying into his arms. He wás the only person aside from her two friends who had ever gone out of their way to check on her since her parents were taken. Granted, that was because she kept her walls too high to allow anyone to ever get close, but she'd done the same to him. She had done everything in her power to push her mate away, even tried to reject him, but here he was in the middle of the night, checking on her. "Thank you," she whispered as she buried her face in his neck and breathed in his salt and sandalwood scent.

He reveled in the feel of his mate nestled into his arms and stroked her hair as he held her tightly. "You don't have to thank me. I'm your mate and I will always be here for you. I may have a bad reputation, but now that I have you, all of that is behind me. I never wanted a mate, in fact, I had every intention of rejecting them and then you walked into that damned restaurant and I was hooked."

She tipped her head back to meet his lovely amber eyes and raised a brow. "What made me so different that you forcefully marked the mate you were so determined to reject?"

There was no ire in her sweet soprano, only an intense interest so he answered honestly. "I've always had women throwing themselves at me because of my money and within my pack she-wolves do it in hopes of becoming Luna. No one would ever dare to challenge me, humans because they want my money and wolves for fear of repercussions. You didn't care who I was, you challenged me and not only did you challenge me, you actually bested me. I think I fell for you right then."

"Do you want to come inside? I'm exhausted. You can stay with me, but no funny business. I don't think I'll be able to sleep if you leave."

Hail was more than thrilled to accept her invitation so he followed her inside and patted Kodiac on the head as he passed. He followed her into her room, stripped down to his boxers and climbed in bed behind her. He pulled her back against his chest, sparks flitting through his entire body at the contact and nuzzled her hair. "Don't ever leave me, Frost. I don't care how long it takes for you to love me, or hell, even trust me, but just don't leave me. I don't think that I would survive losing you."

Her fingers tightened on his arm that was draped over her waist and her throat constricted with nervousness. "I'm not going anywhere, Hail. I don't think Cleopatra would allow me to even attempt it at this point... She threatened to shut me out over you so she must see something in you and I trust her."

"Good. I'll prove to you that she was right in trusting me no matter how long it takes me. I'll prove to you that I'm the only man for you."

There wasn't any speaking after that, but it was only a matter of minutes before both of them were sleeping peacefully. They were awoken by the shrill ringtone of Hail's cell phone and he groaned as he snatched it up. "What?!" he snapped, annoyed at being so rudely disturbed.

"Hail, I tracked down those poachers that you told me about last night. I have an address and I wanted to call to see what your orders were."

Hail dragged a hand down his face and internally rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you just mind link me?"

"You're outside the reach of mind link and I figured you'd want to know immediately, man."

How was that possible? He had no problem when he mind linked Frost last night and she hadn't even been accepted into the pack yet. He would have to dig deeper into the reasoning behind that once this was handled. "Send me that address, get twenty of our strongest warriors gathered and meet me outside of their security measures within the hour."

"Consider it done, Alpha. I'll see you shortly."

Hail hung up the phone and looked down at his little mate who would have surely heard every word with her heightened hearing. She was looking at him expectantly and he wanted to soothe her fears. "Consider your poacher problem resolved. My men and I will be taking care of them within the hour and your friends will be released."

Frost looked at him as though he was a moron; of course she had been able to hear him and she already knew all of that. "Yeah, what I wanted was to know where we're going?"

"We? We are not going anywhere. I'm going to go meet my men, case their base of operation and then break the shifters free."

Even Cleopatra, who had sided with him since admitting he was our mate, bristled and let out a threatening hiss. Hail looked taken back by the sound, she was obviously the first feline shifter he had ever met and he was in for a shock. She would not simply sit by like a good little female while he solved her problems. "Hail Winston, you will not leave me out of this! I have been searching for these people for years and I refuse to just sit by while you go in."

Goddess, would this infuriating woman ever stop challenging him? He needed to know that she was safe and couldn't she understand that he would be distracted if she was in danger? It was imperative to him that she remain safe and yet he knew she would not relent. "I'll make you a deal, if you can keep up with me, you can help in the take down. If I manage to outrun you or lose you, you return home and wait for me to tell you that it's safe "

Challenge sparkled in her eyes and he knew that he was in for trouble. "If I keep up I join, but if I lose I will be with Tori and Steph, bitching about what a pain in the ass my mate is."

"Your friends are wolves?"

She scoffed in derision and rolled her eyes as though that was the most ridiculous assumption that she'd ever heard. "Obviously not, or you would be able to sense them. Tori is a werepanther and Steph is a werejaguar. Cats can more easily stand to be loners and we appease the need for ties with friendship instead of a pack... This is beside the point and we should be getting ready."

She didn't wait for his response, simply slid gracefully from the bed and disappeared through a door on the far wall. She came back a few moments later and his mouth watered at the sight of her. She was in a pair of liquid black leggings that hugged every single one of her curves and a thick black sports bra that pushed her breasts closer together. She had on a black leather jacket that she had left unzipped, flat heeled sturdy boots that came to her knees and her hair had been tied haphazardly on her head. She looked ready for battle with the daggers tucked into the tops of her boots and he wanted to devour his warrior goddess.

She grabbed a pair of wrap around sunglasses and a set of keys from her dresser and turned to face him expectantly. "Well? Let's get going."

Hail smirked, knowing that he was bound to win because there was no way her gorgeous classic could get the places that his bike could. She followed him out the front door after loosing Kodiac in the yard and headed towards the garage. "Where are you going? Your car is right there."

She looked back at him over her shoulder with a snort as she put the garage passcode in and it rolled up. Inside the garage was a sleek black 2007 Harley Night Train with beige feathers on the tank and front fender and a dreamcatcher with teal, red and yellow beads on the rear fender. This gorgeous beast had more than ten thousand dollars in the engine and people always thought it would be easy to beat. "Oh, Hail, you didn't think I was going to make it that easy on you, now did you?" she asked innocently as she slid her leg over the seat and settled in. "I thought you'd want it to at least be a fair race and I don't want to ding up my paint job keeping up with you. If you're afraid I'll win, I can still take my car, but you're paying for any damages as a result of keeping up with you."

His wolf growled in frustration, but he couldn't help but admire his mate's fire. Every time he thought he was figuring more out about her, she showed him another facet. He knew she would take the car if he said to, but she would know exactly what he was doing and it might make her less likely to trust him. "Have fun trying to keep up on that cruiser," he smirked as he climbed on his bike and started it.

"How about you worry about your little street bike and leave the real machinery to me." She didn't give him time to respond, simply turned the key and hit the ignition switch so the engine come to life with a deafening roar. He catapulted out of the driveway and she made sure that she was hot on his tail. They both ignored the stop sign at the end of her street and he made a sharp turn onto a rural road, hoping to lose her within all the curves.

He kept a close eye on her as his bike inched towards 125 and couldn't contain his growl of approval. His woman road like she had been born for it, leaning so far into the curves that sparks flew from the tip of her exhaust. Every time he sped up, he heard the roar of her engine in response and her bike was never more than two car lengths behind him. His woman sure knew her s**t if she had done enough work that the cruiser could keep up with his turbo boosted Kawasaki. Not to mention that she looked completely at ease at the break neck speeds that he was flying through the narrow roads, her hair whipping in the wind.

It was cute that he thought he could outrun her, but this was her mission and she was not about to let him s**t her out. Adrenaline mixed with joy as the headers drowned at any noise and the throttle vibrated withing her grasp. She upshifted and hammered down on the throttle through the next curve, only mere inches from his fender. The scenery blowing by so fast that it was nothing more than a blur and all that existed was her bike and Hail's taillights. The wind was whipping all around her and she wanted more speed. Why the hell wasn't he going any faster? She knew for a fact that his bike had more power.

She had the agitating inkling that he wasn't doing more because he was worried about her safety. Werewolves were exceedingly over protective of their mates and Alphas were even more so. Her parents had been equals and her father trusted his mate's strength and ability to take care of herself. She needed for Hail to have that same respect for her so she took the throttle and pulled up next to him. She waved her hand forwards, motioning for him to speed up and he shook his head. She let out a frustrated chuff and stayed next to him as they leaned into the next curve, her tail pipe spraying sparks the entire time.

They slowed as they approached their rendezvous and were greeted by the sight of ten blacked out SUVs. She pulled up beside Hail and killed the bike, flipping the kickstand down and waiting for information. The man she assumed must be his Beta looked at her in askance and Hail shrugged. "This is my mate, Frost, we had a deal that if she could keep up she could come."

His Beta raised a brow in shock and looked at her with a grin. "Any woman that can put Hail in his place is one that I'd be proud to call Luna. I'm Devin, this blockhead's Beta, greet to meet you, Luna."

Frost took his outstretched hand, shaking it and let out a derisive snort. "I'd be more than happy to beat him again if he wasn't pussyfooting around now that he knows I'm his mate. Do all you wolves treat your females like they're made of porcelain? Or is that just an Alpha thing?"

The warriors gathered around looked shocked and Devin's mouth was agape at her words, which was mostly her plan. "You're a human?" he asked in complete disbelief.

She threw her head back and laughed

There were shocked looks from the warriors as well and she had garnered the exact reaction she had hopped for. "Goddess no, I'm a weretiger and we treat our women as equals."

"You are an equal but that still doesn't mean I'm going to put you in unnecessary danger."

"I've been in danger since the day I was born and I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. I'd been doing it for nearly twenty years until you came along two days ago and here I am, still alive.... Now, can we get to discussing what we're going to do about these filthy poachers?"