Free You're Kitten Me by Celia Kyle

through this, then she can.”
    “But…” the girl nibbled her lower lip. “A wolf? Ares would never let—”
    “Let us deal with Ares,” he soothed and padded forward until he stood at Veronica’s side.
    The urge to lean into him, to wrap her arm around his waist and take comfort, nearly overwhelmed her. No matter how many times she denied him, he was still her mate. Her one. Her other half.
    But this wasn’t her first time on the mate rodeo, was it?
    No.
    “If this is really what you want, we’ll make it happen,” Braden soothed.
    “We? You two?” Claire gestured at them, a flick of her finger bouncing between them.
    Veronica swallowed hard and her wolf growled at her, demanding she present a united front with Braden. She took a deep breath and took one tiny step to the left, bringing their bodies into contact. She slipped her hand around his waist, encouraging him to drape his arm over her shoulder.
    “Us. Braden and I are…” She lifted her attention to him, meeting his gaze, and she didn’t let her stare waver. Once she said the words, it was done. Good or bad, right or wrong, it was done. She just prayed they could develop a mating that would leave both of them alive at the end of the day. “We’re mates.”
    Satisfaction blazed in his eyes, the color transitioning to the yellow of his tiger while orange and black fur slipped from his pores.
    His attention moved to Claire. “We’re mates and we’ll stand with you if that’s what you want.”
    Claire’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t heard… No one told me.” The girl’s nose twitched and her chest expanded as she drew in air. “You don’t scent like mates.”
    Ronnie winced and opened her mouth to respond, but Braden beat her to it. “Because I have some reservations about the claiming.”
    Now her eyes really widened. “Oh.” Her gaze went to Ronnie. “ Oh. Yeah, I can see why, then.” Claire’s gaze softened. “Congratulations and I wish you both luck in whatever you decide.”
    Ronnie’s brow furrowed. Okay, she admitted they hadn’t mated because she was hesitant and fearful of the outcome, but to hear that Braden had concerns…
    “Wait, what?” She pulled away from him and frowned. “What about the claiming? What reservations?”
    They really should have talked more about their mating and less about her father’s arrival.
    But I didn’t want to talk about anything mate-related, did I?
    Nope, she hadn’t. Now she did.
    “Uh… You guys look like you have something to talk about, so I’ll see you both later.” With that, Claire scurried away, leaving them alone in the kitchen.
    “What reservations?”
    Braden countered, “Why won’t you admit to me that we’re mates? You can tell Claire, but not me?”
    Ronnie pressed her lips together, not ready to delve into the past just yet. Definitely not in the middle of the kitchen with her father’s impending arrival.
    “Mating is about communication,” he pointed out.
    She hated that he was right. “I have…” She cleared her throat. She had to give him something. “In the past, I… A male tried to…” She sighed. “It ended badly, Braden.”
    His eyes glowed with the tiger’s presence. “Did some male force—”
    “No,” her denial was immediate and she stepped closer, running her hands along his arms. “No.” Close, though. “But it made me wary. It made me not want…”
    “To tie yourself to someone.” He cupped her cheeks. “When you told Claire that your mother helped you… You went through something—”
    “I went through something.” And she wanted to leave it at that. “But what are your worries?”
    Braden rubbed her cheek with his thumb and she leaned into the touch, reveling in the feel of him. “You know how tigers mate.”
    Ronnie nodded. She made fun of Zoe enough about it. Tigers bit each other’s asses. Er, tugged tails.
    “It’s hard enough for two tigers to match and go through the ceremony, to tug tails.” He leaned down and