Our mate will make the perfect mother to our cub.
Mate. Jesus. But he couldn’t deny the truth of his tiger’s words. He was one hundred percent right. Squeezing his eyes shut, he shook his head once hard before refocusing on the conversation.
“Shelby, it’s not as easy as you’re thinking it is. And what makes you think Hol—Mrs. White even wants anything to do with me?”
“Come on, Dad. All the girls talk about you. They call you Hot Dad. There’s no way Mrs. White doesn’t see that. Besides, all shifters mates are drawn to them. And if Jax can win Piper back, you can win Mrs. White.”
“What do you know about Jax and Piper?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“I know enough. She was really mad at him when she first came back to town, but he made it work. You can, too.”
Shaking his head, he caught a glimpse of green out of the corner of his eye, and looked over to see Holly walking back into the room. His breath caught as he watched her. God, she was beautiful. The dress she wore was hugging her curves, and the green brought out the emerald in her eyes. A student approached her, and she leaned down to talk to her. His heart clenched at her smile. She genuinely cared for the kids around her, and he thought that might be her most attractive quality. She was beyond gorgeous, but her personality and caring nature were the real draw, and they only enhanced her natural beauty.
Shelby squealed, breaking the spell Holly had woven around him without even knowing she was doing it. Glancing down at his daughter, he raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“The way you just looked at her,” she said dreamily. “That was beautiful. Oh, this is just so perfect. I think Mrs. White is amazing. She’d make the best mother.”
Stunned, Ian stared at his daughter, trying to wrap his mind around what she just said. “Do—” pausing as his voice broke, he cleared his throat and tried again. “Do you want a mother?”
Looking thoughtful, she was quiet for a moment. “I used to think I didn’t. Farrah was horrible, and I never wanted someone like her in my life again. I thought for the longest time that all mothers were like that. But I know now they’re not. And I still didn’t want to risk it, but Mrs. White isn’t a risk. She’s crazy nice, and I know she’d never do or say the things Farrah did.”
Heart cracking right down the middle, he took a moment to get his emotions under control. He couldn’t stand the thought of the e
motional abuse and pain his daughter had gone through at the hands of her mother, and hatred for Farrah burned through his veins. And he wasn’t going to correct Shelby’s use of her mother’s given name. Farrah hadn’t earned the right of the title Mother.
“I’m glad you’re able to see that not all women are like Farrah,” he told her softly. “But sweets, I don’t want you to get your hopes up. Just because my tiger says she’s my mate, doesn’t mean she’ll agree to it. I don’t want you to be disappointed if she doesn’t.”
“Does that mean you’re going to at least try, though?” she asked hopefully.
Looking up, his eyes found Holly again. She was laughing at something another teacher was saying, and his heart stopped at the kindness and joy that radiated from her. His tiger purred in his chest, and Ian understood, down to his bones, his tiger’s sentiments.
“Yeah,” he told Shelby, not taking his eyes off Holly. His mate. “I’m going to try as hard as I can.”
“IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU OUT HERE, KIAN.” Ian shook the tiger shifters hand.
“Thank you for having me. I figured it was time to train with a real opponent, now that there’s more competition in town,” Kian replied with a half-smile.
“So they’re staying?” he asked as he led the way to the barn.
“That’s what they told me. They wanted to stay long enough for each of them to fight each of us. And after the way Dmitri handed my ass to me last week, I thought it would be a good idea to brush up on my skills.”
Throwing his head back with a laugh, Ian walked to the shelf where they kept the hand wraps. When Kian first arrived, he was very formal in his speech and rarely cursed or used phrases like that. He was still more formal sometimes, but he’d loosened up some and adapted to the way the rest of them spoke in the last few months. No, more than a few months. Doing the math in his head, his eyebrows twitched as he realized how long Kian had been there.
“Can I ask you a question?” Ian asked as they wrapped their hands.
“Of course.”
“Is there a reason you’ve stayed in Eagle Creek so long? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate you spending so much time with Shelby. And any person who loves my daughter is all right in my book. But I get the feeling this is about more than just her.”
Exhaling, Kian stretched his arms out, a frown on his face. “A lot of it was to spend time with your daughter. She means the world to me. But, I will admit, part of the reason I wanted to come was to get away from the War Cats. And my father. He’s a harsh and strict ruler, and the mentality of my tribe has never gone over well with me. And then I come here, where you all are friendly while still being competitive. You all like each other and genuinely care for each other. I have never seen anything like it, and you’re not even shifters of the same animal. It makes it hard to leave and go back to what I had before, though, I realize I can’t stay here forever.”
“Why not?”
“Why not stay here?” Kian glanced at him, eyebrows high. “It’s not possible. My father is alpha, and one day I will be, as well. My place is with the War Cats.”
“But why do you need to go back now?” he asked as they moved to the sparring area. “I understand you have to take over, but that won’t happen until your father either steps down or passes away.”
“My father will never step down,” Kian replied with a grim smile. “He enjoys the power too much. Gets off on it. Alpha will be pried from his cold, dead hands before he ever lets it go.”