Her Black Tiger (Alaskan Tigers Book 11) by Marissa Dobson

the strongest shifter. You couldn’t cause as much pain to someone if you ripped out their heart. Mates are interconnected on multiple levels and losing one kills something within you.”
    “How do you know this?”
    “My father went through it.”
    The words were whisper soft, but the pain was evident, making her want to go to him. There was more to the story, but something told her the topic was closed.
    Before she could say anything, he spoke. “The emotions of a shifters can be felt by others within a clan. Ambrose left his lion pride when he mated and now that she’s died, the clan has rejected him, making him a lone shifter. Right now he doesn’t have the energy to block those he’s around, and because of this, we are able to feel it.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Come here.” He held his hand out to her. “Take my hand and I’ll show you.”
    Not knowing what to expect, she crossed the space to stand in front of him and looked down at his hand as if it was a snake that might attack. “How will this work?”
    “We’re mates, and once that bond is cemented, my emotions will be accessible to you. Through that bond I can open you to those around us or my clan, which could keep you safe if we were ever in a difficult situation. Now it will allow you to get a hint of what’s happening with Ambrose. You don’t trust him, but this might make you feel more comfortable with him.”
    “Or it could have the opposite effect.” She wasn’t really sure she wanted to know anything, but she slipped her hand into his. At first, all she felt was the soothing current that arose every time they touched. “Nothing’s happ…” The words caught in her throat as a flood of emotions rushed into her. It was as if she was standing on the beach, and wave after wave slammed into her until she wanted to stumble back out of the surf.
    Grief that tightened her chest came first and nearly knocked her over with the force behind it. The tightness eased as the rest came, until she could almost see him holding his daughter and the gratefulness radiated toward her. That little girl meant everything to him and he’d left her behind out of fear he’d hurt her. The connection gave her an insight that she’d have missed by just looking at him. He was a good man and Carran was right; Ambrose wouldn’t have attacked her if he was thinking straight. Focusing on that, she dug deeper, holding Carran’s hand tighter as if that would make the connection stronger. Something was there…something red.
    Carran pulled his hand out of hers. “That’s enough.”
    “What…” She stumbled back a step and let her hand fall to her side. “What was that?”
    “Nothing.” He rubbed his hands down the thighs of his jeans but wouldn’t make eye contact with her.
    “Don’t tell me it was nothing. It was…” She didn’t know how to describe what she’d seen and felt. It was like a living hell.
    “That’s just it, Brooklynn.” He looked back at her, sadness gleaming in his eyes. “It’s nothing. The void of everything that ever mattered to you. Once the beast takes over, it’s said your world turns red. You’re full of rage, your thoughts are so jumbled that you can’t make sense of them, and everyone seems to be coming after you. That’s what you saw. If I didn’t end the connection, you’d have felt his paranoia, his fury, and his need to inflict his misery onto everyone else.”
    “Have you…ever…” Uncertain whether she wanted to know, she stumbled over her words before falling silent.
    “Been close to going rogue?” Instead of giving her a chance to answer, he continued, “No. There was a time when I thought I’d go mad with guilt and regret, but I kept a tight hold on my tiger.”

Chapter Nine
    M emories of those day sprouted in Carran’s thoughts like weeds in a garden. No matter how he tried to pluck them, they continued to pop up. Losing Cas had almost broken him and even to this day he didn’t know how