Free A Twitch of Tail by R. E. Butler

“Because you’re closing that chapter of your life and starting over here, with me.”
    “You’re right,” he said and kissed the tip of her nose.  “I hadn’t thought of it like that.  There’s no one else I’d rather start my life over with.”
    She smiled, and it knocked his socks off.  Then again, it always did.  When she was really happy, her smile could light a small city.  He was just glad he was lucky enough to be her mate.
    Leaving her to her portion of the packing, he walked into the family room where Melo talked on his cell.  Melo ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.  “When we get home, Midas said we could do your joining ceremony and Tera’s mating ceremony at the same time, next Saturday.  Normally our ambush does ceremonies like this on the full moon, but with Tera being part of the coven and needing to be there for their rituals, he’s making an exception.”
    “Good.  I’ll be glad when this weekend is over and we can come home.”
    They walked into the bedroom together to help Tera pack, and Tahlon thought about what Tera had said, about starting a new chapter of their lives and leaving everything else behind.  His past had shaped him into the male he was now, and however he’d come to this point in his life, one look into Tera’s vivid purple eyes and he knew it was worth it.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Early Friday morning, Tera opened the shower door and took the towel off the rack, wrapping it around herself.  Tahlon smiled at her.  He wasn’t sure he had smiled so much in the last ten years as he had in the last two weeks with her.  Of course he hadn’t ever really been happy before.
    His eyes caught sight of something on her skin, and he put down the small bag he was packing and put his hands on her shoulders, turning her towards the vanity lights.  The skin around her neck was red.  “Did you hurt yourself, love?”  He gingerly touched the mark, which was a few inches thick and flowed up from her collarbone to her neck.  Her skin felt hot, but then again she’d just gotten out of the shower.
    “Hmm?  No, I don’t think so.”  She looked in the mirror, leaning forward and touching the mark herself.  “I was outside some yesterday, and it was pretty sunny.  Maybe it’s just too much sun.”
    Something tickled at the back of his mind, but he didn’t know what it was.  She opened a tube of lotion, and he took it from her, gently massaging the thick cream into her skin.  She sighed, closing her eyes with a hum.  When he was finished, she kissed him and darted into the bedroom to change.
    He sighed himself, turning back to the mirror and looking at his reflection.  It had been nice not thinking about the ambush for the last couple of weeks, while thoughts of his mate filled his mind instead.  But the time had come for him to face the ambush and break his oath.  The only good thing to come out of this situation was finding Tera when he’d come to Melo for support.
    Zipping up his case, he turned off the light and walked out of the bathroom to finish getting ready.  In thirteen hours, they were going to be walking into a tiger ambush that may or may not be friendly to them any longer.  And the most important person in his life was going to be kept safe at all costs.
    At his insistence, Tera stretched out in the second row of the SUV they borrowed from Manny and Mari.  With a pillow tucked under her cheek and a blanket tossed over her petite body, Tera was asleep before they hit the interstate and headed south.  They’d left in the early morning hours so they could arrive at the ambush’s territory by seven p.m.  After dinner, they would go to Tahlon’s small home and begin packing.
    Unease settled through him, and he cast his eyes back at Tera.  They had just begun their journey and already he wished they were home.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Tera stood between Tahlon and Melo, her body trembling slightly with nerves.  Tahlon squeezed her