Free Southern Shifters: Purred Promises (Kindle Worlds Novella) by R. E. Butler Page A

about his unique coloring, but she hadn’t seen it. A part of him, no matter how small it might be, worried about her reaction.
    “I said I love you,” she said.
    “I know.”
    “I don’t take that lightly. My love is unconditional , okay? No matter what your shift looks like, or how you steal the blankets at night, I still love you. I will always. That’s how truematings work. You’re stuck with me.”
    He chuckled, and felt some of the tension leave him. “ I only steal blankets in self-defense. Your feet are like icicles.” He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “You’re stuck with me too.”
    “Happily stuck.”
    “If my sweetheart wants to shift, then we will. I can’t wait to see your beautiful cat.”
    His tiger agreed, purring with interest.
    When they arrived home, they headed to the back patio. “Remember to stay with me in the woods. I know where the boundaries are, and it can be easy to get distracted and wind up outside of our territory.”
    “I promise,” she said.
    While they undressed outside, he wrestled with his conflicting feelings. He’d been brought up to believe that wolves were inferior , that cats were better, and hybrids particularly should be reviled. Even as a kid, he’d sensed that there was something different about him, but he’d never had confirmation until he shifted. In his pride, most of the tigers were orange -and-black striped or white-and- black striped. His family line, through his mother, had dominant blue fur with black stripes. That his wolf was dominant in the shift but not in the coloring had been confusing, but he’d been told that was what happened with hybrids. He was effectively a wolf shifter with a bit of tiger hidden in his DNA.
    “You look so serious,” Genesis said, pressing her fingertips to his cheeks and drawing his attention to her. “There isn’t anything here but love. You’re the sexiest guy I’ve ever met. You smell amazing to me, and my cat wants to shred your clothes every time you get dressed because you look so amazing naked.” She peered up at him, her gaze searching. “Don’t be ashamed of your wolf. Without him, you wouldn’t be you , and that would mean I’m alone. Let go of the past. Your pride isn’t here. We have a new…well , I don’t know what to call us. A prain? Or a chide?”
    He laughed at her silliness. “How do you always seem to know what I’m thinking about?”
    She pressed her hand over his heart. “Because I love you.”
    Her affection could bring him to his knees. He was constantly in awe of the fact he was such a lucky sonofabitch. He kissed her swiftly, tempted to throw her over his shoulder and head back inside. Instead, he took a step a way and reached for his shift. When he was younger, he’d fought changing because being a wolf in a tiger pride was difficult as hell. He’d eventually stopped fighting it so much, but he hated the wolf for a long time. Now, as his claws flexed and his tail snapped behind him, he was grateful for both beasts. Without them, together, he would n’t have Genesis.
    His senses were heightened in his shift, and he could pick up even more of her lovely scent. She knelt naked in front of him , and ran her fingers through his thick fur.
    “Holy shit, you’re gorgeous,” she said. “You’re the prettiest shade of blue. I didn’t even know that blue tigers were a real thing, I thought they were a myth.”
    She shook her head and grasped him behind the ears, pressing her forehead to his. “My beautiful mate. So sexy in his human form, so lovely in his shift. Our kids are going to be stunning.”
    He could have stood there letting her pet him all night. It felt so good to be adored, when in the past his shift had been a source of emotional pain for him. He’d always been an outsider, but with Genesis he was at the epicenter of their family, with her by his side. The wolf growled knowingly.
    She scooted back slightly and kissed his snout, and then she