Tiger Rejected: The Island Stripe Pride Tales, #3

By C.D. Gorri

Can a Tiger with a bad rep win a Bunny with a heart of gold?

 

Ever since Mara Casabella's sister mated a Pride Enforcer it's been nothing but Tigers running around her once quaint hometown. These felines are furr-ociously ill-mannered and conceited to boot. Mara doesn't have time for their games.

 

But what's a Bunny to do when a cocky tom-Cat starts sniffing around her cutesy cottontail? Run, that's what! And if that doesn't work, rejecting him in front of his whole crew should.

 

Bruno D'Italia is a smooth-talking Tiger with no problem notching his bed post at home. When he's assigned to the security detail at the Island Pride Mountain Resort, Bruno assumes it's going to be easy pickins with the local ladies. He's set his sights on one smexy kit, but this female wants nothing to do with him. 

 

Can Bruno handle the rejection, or will he use every trick in the book till this little Bunny says yes?

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.D. Gorri
• Release date: Feb 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215114063

Book preview

Tiger Rejected

TIGER REJECTED

AN ISLAND STRIPE PRIDE TALE

C.D. GORRI

C.D. Gorri

CONTENTS

Tiger Rejected

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

P.S

Beware… Here Be Dragons!

Have you met the Barvale Clan Bears?

Other Titles by C.D. Gorri

Excerpt from Purrfectly Mated

About the Author

COPYRIGHT

Tiger Rejected

An Island Stripe Pride Tale

Copyright 2022 C.D. Gorri, NJ

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, places, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either part of the author’s imagination and/or used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to person, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights are reserved. No part of this book is to be reproduced, scanned, downloaded, printed, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of any materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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DEDICATION

To the ones with few words,

It’s okay you don’t talk a lot, just remember to say what you mean when you do. If you love someone, tell them. You won’t regret it. The person who loves you will accept you just the way you are, and you are perfect for them.

Xoxo,

C.D. Gorri

TIGER REJECTED

Can a Tiger with a bad rep learn to take no for an answer? 

Ever since Mara Casabella’s sister mated a Pride Enforcer, it’s been nothing but Tigers running around her once quaint hometown. These felines are furrociously ill-mannered and conceited to boot. Mara doesn’t have time for their games.

But what’s a Bunny to do when a cocky tomcat starts sniffing around her cutesy cottontail? Run, that’s what! And if that doesn’t work, rejecting him in front of his whole crew should.

Bruno D’Italia is a smooth-talking Tiger with no problem notching his bed post at home. When he’s assigned to the security detail at the Island Pride Mountain Resort, Bruno assumes it’s going to be easy pickins with the local ladies. He’s set his sights on one smexy kit, but this female wants nothing to do with him. 

Can Bruno handle the rejection, or will he use every trick in the book till this little Bunny says yes?

PROLOGUE

I think we need a new name for the restaurant, or maybe just a new sign.

Mara turned to see if her sister had heard her, but was Toni listening?

Nope.

The recently mated Bunny was too busy rubbing her enormous belly and making goo-goo eyes at her Tiger Shifter mate. Sure, Carter was a throwback from when they were kids, but Mara could not fathom how the small Rabbit inside her sister felt safe with the behemoth.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact the guy was all rock hard muscle and smoldering looks whenever he gazed at Tony. Barf. She peeked to see what her bro-in-law was doing and rolled her eyes. Toni sighed. Her sister was just watching him while he did some testosterone laden manly Tiger thing, like lifting stuff or telling his security team what to do. So typically male, and yet, Mara’s big sis just ate it up.

Double barf.

Whatever Toni saw in the overgrown furball was anybody’s guess. Mara had neither the time nor the inclination to figure it out. She was too busy picking up the slack while Toni grew her kit, er, cub, or whatever her niece or nephew was going to be. From what she knew, the babies could be one or the other when both parents were Shifters.

Hybrids existed, but that was a rare phenomenon. Didn’t matter. Toni and Carter’s babies would be very much loved, and that was all that counted in Mara’s book. Personally, she could not wait to have a niece or nephew to spoil.

True, but what you really want is a baby of your own.

Mara growled softly and ignored that pesky voice in her head. She was genuinely happy for her sister, and not about to ruin the mood by crying over her single state.

"What do you think of The Bunny Bar, or Good Eats Big Feets," she said jokingly.

That’s fine, Toni mumbled, a dreamy smile on her lips.

Toni! You’re not paying attention!

What? Oh, Mara, I am so sorry. Being pregnant just seems to take up all my headspace, Toni murmured apologetically and turned her big blue eyes on her sister.

Her sister was very similar to Mara in some ways. Same eyes as hers. Same chin too. But something about Toni had grown warm and soft ever since her mating with Carter. She constantly had this faraway look in her eyes that Mara secretly hoped to achieve one day. That was the look of someone who loved well and was loved in return.

It’s fine, Mara replied with a sigh.

No, really, I am sorry.

Alright, I forgive you. So, what’s it like carrying that pussycat’s baby? she asked cheekily.

Ha ha, Toni replied with a grin. "Remember when you were a kit, and you used to call stomach butterflies tummy-flies?"

Yeah.

It feels like that, only I have to pee like every three seconds.

Sounds terrible, Mara teased and giggled. Alright, I’m gonna go.

Not yet. Come on, let’s talk.

About what?

Mara heaved a great big sigh. She was exhausted with all the hours she was putting in at the diner. Even finding steady new employees had been a chore after the last cretin had developed an unhealthy crush on her sister, well, they were taking some serious precautions. As in, Carter, her sister’s mate, was using every connection he had to run background checks, and Mara had also been coordinating with the Flock’s Alpha, Julius, to ensure he started screening their members.

The Cottontail Flock was growing by leaps and bounds, and with the new and hip leadership, things had gotten a little lax. She could not blame the Alpha, though. Who would have expected a Rabbit Shifter to go all Fatal Attraction on one of their own? Totally creepy.

Earth to Mara, I asked you what you are doing tonight? Toni repeated with a big, goofy grin on her face.

Nothing. This, Mara replied and gestured between the two of them.

She loved sister time, really, she did, but tonight she just felt blah. For once, she wished she had plans. Like smexy time, ooh la la, get down and dirty plans. But Mara was decidedly alone, and she really did not want another date with Mr. Roboto—her rechargeable nighttime friend.

Sad whine.

But it’s almost the weekend! Toni gasped. Don’t you have wild parties to go to? Clubs to shake your booty at? A hot date where you will be responsible and use condoms, Toni added with a snarl, and Mara grinned.

Her big sis always got growly like a mama bear when it came to taking care of her. But there was no reason for it. It was just another night. Just another weekend coming up. Did Mara have any big plans? Sadly, the answer was no.

Nope. No. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

She had no boyfriend. No besties. No one wanting to hang out with her. No one asking her for dates. She had zero prospects—period.

Every guy she met seemed to friend-zone her on sight. Was it her ample curves? Her forthright personality? Her volunteer work? Her nerdy hobbies? Was it her work ethic that turned them off? She really didn’t know.

Whatever.

In a nutshell, all this meant was that this Bunny had zero social life. What had the last guy she’d dated called her? Oh yeah. Boring. Mara was just plain boring, predictable, unexciting, a total bummer. And that was from a man who was an accountant, for fuck’s sake.

I don’t want to talk about this, Toni. Look, I just stopped by to drop off the minestrone you wanted.

You did? Oh my gods, thank you, sis! I am starved, Toni growled, rubbing her tummy in wide circles.

Mara giggled. Toni was always starving. More so since she’d been knocked up by her Tiger mate. And yes, true to form, her sister had been having cravings again. Soup being the biggest one so far. She could not get enough of the stuff and Mara was running out of ideas. She’d been through six varieties of chicken soup this month trying to satisfy her sister’s cravings.

And that wasn’t all her big sis wanted. Toni had a pretty gnarly sweet tooth as well, proven by the midnight texts from Carter begging Mara for everything from lemon bars to snickerdoodles. She’d wised up and started leaving tubs of starter cookie dough in the fridge, where she could easily add cinnamon sugar or chocolate chips and nuts, depending on what Toni wanted.

Mara grinned as she thought of the kit or cub, depending on which beastie won out, her sister was growing inside