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

he’d managed to keep his tiger under control. All he’d wanted to do was give in to the beast and let the pain, grief, and regret pass him by. It was something he would always carry with him, but instead of letting it consume him, he let it fuel him to help others. When he found the Alaskan Tigers, it gave him a cause. Now that he was one of the Elder guards, he was finding a new reason to carry on.
    If I could wrap my fingers around that promotion…
    He longed to be part of the Queen of the Tigers’ Guards. While he had the backing of Felix, the Captain of Tabitha’s Guards, he needed Ty’s as well. He hoped this mission would prove he was ready to be a permanent addition, not just a temporary fill-in.
    “How does he regain complete control?” Brooklynn questioned, not quite meeting his gaze. “You said Ambrose’s lion is still on the surface and that the control he has over his beast is still frayed.”
    “That’s different for everyone and it also depends on how much the beast was let off the leash. For Ambrose, being around people like himself has helped. More than that, being reacquainted with his daughter will take him on the right path. He’ll fight it so that he can be with her.” He stood and he took a step closer to her before stopping. The desire to touch her ate at him, even for just a moment, but he resisted. He had to give her space to figure things out. “You’ve been through a lot and tomorrow…well, we don’t know what that will bring. Why don’t you get some sleep?”
    “One more thing.” This time she closed the distance and came to stand right in front of him. Her chest pressed against the front of him and she rose up on her toes to press her lips to his cheek. “Thank you for coming after me.”
    “Carran, phone—it’s Ty,” Taber hollered from down the hall.
    Ignoring him for the moment, Carran told her, “No need to thank me.” This time, he didn’t stop himself from touching her. Slowly, he ran his hands up her arms until he got to her shoulders. It wasn’t enough for his beast and he wanted to lift her into his arms and kiss her until she wrapped her legs around his waist.
    “Carran,” Taber called again.
    “I’m coming,” he snapped, dropping his hands from her shoulders. “If you need anything, I’m right across the hall. Don’t leave.”
    “I won’t.” When he raised an eyebrow at her, she added, “You have my word. Even if I wanted to, where would I go? The wolves are after me and who knows who else from my department. Right now, I’d rather live than run away.”
    Leaving the room, the weight of her words hung in the air. Run away. She still saw them as people she needed to escape. His mate couldn’t wait to get as much distance between them as she could, while he wanted nothing more than to push her down on the bed and claim her. He had only known her for a few hours, yet she was already overtaking his thoughts and his body ached for her touch.
    He needed to stay focused on the situation with the Donovick pack. Once he handled that, he could worry about convincing her that she was right where she needed to be, with him, and claim her as his mate.
    “Mine.” He growled as he rounded the corner to the living room and almost walked into Taber.
    “I thought bears were notorious for being the grumpy ones.” Taber held the phone out to him.
    Carran had been around the Brown brothers long enough to know that they could live up to the grumpy bear comments, but they were a great addition to the Alaskan Tigers. Ignoring Taber, he brought the phone to his ear. “Ty?”
    “After you didn’t answer your phone twice, I called Taber. This is urgent. The pack’s Alpha demands a meeting now . He’s unwilling to wait until morning as arranged.” His Alpha didn’t bother with greetings and got straight to the point.
    “Fuck.” Carran moved farther away from the living room and into the kitchen.
    “It might be for the best. From what Raja has gathered, the