The Tiger Prince's Witch
Chapter 67 - Second Chances

Santi stared at the woman in front of him. He was too scared to blink, afraid she might disappear. She was tall and slender, with long black hair and light brown eyes.

"You...you're my mate?" She asked softly. Santi couldn't speak; all he could do was nod. A sliver of fear went through his body when she fell to her knees in tears. Did she not want to be mated to him? "Why are you crying?" He asked nervously.

"My first mate died before he could mark me almost ten years ago. I never thought I would get a second chance, mate." Santi fell to his knees next to her. He wanted to hug her but didn't know if she would appreciate his touch. "My name is Santi. What's yours?" She looked at him with wide eyes.

"You're Santi? The tiger who was evil but is now good?" He watched her expression. She looked curious, not fearful.

"Yes." He answered simply.

"My name is Maxie." She said shyly, looking down at the floor. Maxie never dreamed she would be mated to a strong and handsome tiger. He may be older than she was by at least a decade, maybe even two, but age didn't matter in their world.

"It's nice to meet you. Would you like to come with me so we can talk privately?" Santi had noticed how everyone seemed to have frozen in place watching them. Maxie looked around, and he saw her face turning red.

"Yes, please." Santi stood up and reached out to help her. They both felt the electricity shooting through their bodies when their hands touched. He led her to his room, where he knew no one would bother them. Everyone stared at them, but he didn't see any anger or hostility as he expected from the wolves. He saw smiles and nods of approval.

Once they were in his room, he shut the door and walked over to the couch. Maxie followed him, glancing around, trying to take everything in. His scent was so strong that it made her want to leap into his arms and bury her face in his neck. She sat down on the other end of the couch facing Santi.

"So you're from the Black Mist pack?" Santi asked while clenching and unclenching his hands. He wanted to touch her but didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"Yes. Originally I was from the Lost Moon pack, but when I met my first mate, I moved to Black Mist to be with him. He was a warrior but still young. While running around the perimeter one night on patrol, he was attacked by a group of rogues. He mindlinked the pack, but it was too late. There were too many rogues, and he was dead by the time anyone got to him. Many think we're harder to kill because we're shifters and more resilient. However, when someone is attacked by other shifters, it can make them as fragile as a human." Maxie looked down at her hands. The loss of Cole still made her heart hurt even after ten years. Although, after seeing Santi, the pain wasn't as gut-wrenching as usual.

"I'm so sorry you lost him. Why hadn't you marked each other?" Santi reached over and took her hand. He couldn't stand seeing the pain on her face.

"I had just moved to his pack that day. We were going to mark each other the next day. We had plans to go to a cabin the pack had near the lake so we could be alone for a few days. There were some days I wished he had already marked me so the pain of the loss would have killed me too. Black Mist accepted me with open arms even after he was gone, so I stayed there. It made me feel closer to him, hearing stories of him growing up and talking to his friends. At night when I was alone, I cried myself to sleep. I'm sorry. You probably don't want to hear about my first mate, and I've just been rambling." Maxie looked at where their hands were intertwined. She felt the couch dip near her as Santi moved closer, so their knees were touching.

"I want to know everything about you. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I had a mate at one time, too, that I did mark. However, that was when my body was filled with evil. Even though I had already marked her, she rejected me. I didn't feel anything from the rejection because my mind wasn't in a good place at the time. I found out later that she was pregnant with a cub. She was so distraught from how I treated her that she couldn't care for our cub, so she dropped her off to my brother, King Randal. He raised her as his own. I wish things could have been different, and I raised her myself. I can't bear the thought of the evil demon that's holding her killing her before I can make it up to her." Santi's heart hurt over everything that happened with Melita. He was upset about failing his first mate, but what he did to his daughter while Astaroth was in his body is what made him want to end his own life.

"You're not responsible for your actions while being controlled by an evil being. You would have made other choices if you didn't have that darkness." Maxie felt her heart melting for the large tiger. They had both been through so much that had been out of their control.

"The worst part is that the demon would take over my body, so it was like I wasn't there. I found out that he'd raped Melita when he was in my body, so she thought I, her dad, had done that to her. I tried to explain that it wasn't me, but she was broken by what he did. That was when I realized I needed to find a way out from under him. I'm still hoping to save her even if she doesn't want anything to do with me." Santi let the tears run down his face as his body shook with the pain he'd caused. He didn't talk about this with anyone because he was ashamed of the pain he'd caused.

Maxie wrapped her arms around him and let him cry on her shoulder. She was crying with him feeling the pain he'd been holding inside for so long. He put his arms around her holding her tightly to him.

"Hopefully, when this is over, you can be reunited with her. Look at me." Santi pulled back, and she saw his red-rimmed eyes filled with pain. Maxie put her hands on his cheeks, holding his head to look her in the eyes. "It's okay to cry and show your emotions with me. I want you to promise that you'll always tell me how you feel. When you need someone to cry with, I'll be that person. When you're angry and need to yell, I'll listen. When you need someone to hold you to make you feel whole again, that will be me. We're mates Santi. That means you never have to be alone again."

"You accept me?" Santi asked in disbelief. He had made himself emotionally raw and told her more than he had told anyone. He couldn't believe she still wanted him.

"Of course I want you. You're my mate, and that means we're made for each other. Despite what happened in our past, we're each other's other half now." Maxie smiled at him as she rubbed her hand on his cheek. He took her hand and kissed her palm.

"I never thought I would be offered a second chance, mate. I'm so glad it's you. You're everything I could have ever hoped for and more. Can I kiss you?" Santi stared into her eyes, wanting to drown in them.

"Yes, you can kiss me. This is the beginning of forever. Whatever comes our way from here on out, we'll face together." She smiled as he brought his mouth to hers. Neither had kissed anyone in so long that it felt like their first kiss. The sparks that ran between them intensified the kiss until it took everything they had to separate just to get some air.

Neither had expected to be given a second chance. Life is unpredictable no matter what species you are. They were two lost souls who thought they were destined to be alone. However, lost souls have a way of finding each other in their darkest hour.