The Year of the Tiger (Book 3 of The Almair Series) (Completed)

Chapter 22

"It's so nice for you two to join us finally," my dad said as Matt and I came down the stairs. There was a small scowl on his face, and I was sure that he knew what Matt and I had done in the bathroom. "How was the kiss?" He took a sip of his drink and raised his eyebrow.

"It was good, Dad," I replied as Matt set me down in my chair. I glanced around and noticed a different looking male sitting in John's seat. I could tell by the mannerism that he was putting off was that he was someone I knew and was pretty pissed at. "Would you like to try it?" I asked, and my dad almost choked on his drink.

"Martha," Mom scowled, coming into the dining room. She set out a plate of food for both Matt and me, a smile playing on her lips. "Your father will not try anything with your mate, while he is my mate. If we are divorced, then you two can talk about it."

"But I am never getting a divorce with you," he said. He kissed my mother on her lips, and I gagged.

"Please, no more," Brody groaned when he walked into the dining room to see our parents kissing each other. He covered his eyes with his paws whining. "I had to deal with Matt and Martha kissing earlier today."

I threw a grape at my brother, and he yelped and glared at me. "Next time it will be something harder than that," I warned, picking up my spoon.

"Martha," Mom scolded, and I looked at her, innocently. She scowled and narrowed her eyes at me before looking at her mate. "Why didn't we stop at Nick and Mike?" she asked with a groan, and I pouted.

"Ya, why didn't you stop at us?" Nick asked, coming into the room followed by Mike. He moved a hand through my hair, and I scowled and swatted at his hands. He glanced at the male, his face paling. "J-Jason?" he asked, stuttering. "You are back?"

I glanced at the male before looking at Nick. "I had a feeling it was you," I said, looking back at him. I gave him a look over, noticing more muscle on him than in the past. "You've gotten bigger." I leaned against my mate, feeling him get jealous.

Jason looked at Nick, his face turning a bit red before looking at me. He tried to get the blush off of his face. "And, I have contacts in," he said, his voice getting deeper. He glanced at my mate before looking at me. "Who is that?" he asked.

"My mate," I said, not knowing why I felt slightly jealous. I cleared my throat and looked at my mate. "Matt, this is Jason. He is the friend that I was telling you about." I gestured to Jason. "Jason, this Matt. He is my mate."

Jason smiled at my mate, and I could've sworn that I heard my brother growl. "Nice to meet you, Matt," he said. "Did you know that our Alpha's name is Matthew?"

"Nice to meet you too," Matt replied. "And, I am well aware of it." He placed a kiss on my forehead, watching him.

"Jealous mate," I teased, and he snorted. I patted his cheek, and he kissed it. "Don't worry, I get jealous too."

"Mainly with Mia," Dad said. He glanced at Nick and then at Jason. There was a small knowing look in his eyes, and I was sure that he had the same feeling as me. "I have no idea if anyone else will try to do anything with him."

I looked at Jason and raised an eyebrow. "Celeste?" I asked, and he snorted and nodded. "She'll try something."

"I am guessing I will know her when school starts up again?" Matt asked, and I nodded. He sighed and shook his head. "Great," he muttered, and I snorted. "Don't get mad at me if they try something?"

"Oh, it's not you that I will be mad at," I said. I shrugged. "I might or might not punch them in the nose and break it."

"Maratha Anne," Mom said, and I winced. She scowled and gave me a look that told me I was in trouble. "Don't talk like that. It is not proper for a young lady t-" She stopped when Dad gave her a pointed look and sighed, shaking her head. "Never mind, I will never be able to change you."

"Not when my duty is to protect and serve," I replied. I took a bite out of my food before looking at Jason. I could tell that he was curious about my injuries but didn't want to ask. "I had gotten into a fight with the Tiger Second yesterday."

"Will you leave then?" Jason asked, his fork dropping from his hand. Worry filled his eyes, and I could tell that he did not want me to leave. He had something to tell me, something that he had been hiding from everyone.

I shook my head, no. "I'm not going anywhere," I said. "I am going to be staying there even if it kills me."

"Martha!" Mom exclaimed, and we snickered.

"Yay! More food for us," Mike cheered. He looked at his brother, who didn't cheer with him. "Are you all right?" he asked, worry in his voice.

Nick looked at him and forced a smile on his face. "Uh, ya," he said. He cleared his throat and looked at me. "So, Martha, when is training to become a tiger start?" he asked, changing the subject. He ignored his brother's scowl.

"When my leg heals," I replied. "I'm not really worried about my stitches. I know that they will probably heal faster than my leg. I'll probably have to do some light sessions first before I go into full battle mode."

Nick nodded his head. He looked hesitant about something, but he only shook his head and not said a word.

"Did you know that Randi was a lesbian?" I asked, looking at Jason.

"What do you mean by was?" Jason asked. "I know about the attack but..." Sadness filled his eyes, and I could tell he figured it out. "She died; didn't she?"

I nodded. "The Dark Forces killed her." Anger filled my body, and all I wanted to do was find a nest or some place of theirs and wreak havoc on them. However, I knew that that would be a suicide mission, even though I knew two of my three forms. "Thankfully, she was the only one that had died."

Jason nodded his head. "Where were you?" he asked, cocking his head. "I thought you didn't like to party. Was it fun?"

I took a sip of my drink and tried to cool my simmering hatred for Marcus. I didn't know what had walked up in his ass and died, but he needed to remove it. "If you count almost getting into a fight with the Second about his wife and children, then yes, it was fun."