Tiger Magic

by Jennifer Ashley

  Liam’s face elongated until it was the muzzle of a lion, the hair on his head flowing into a formidable black mane. Tiger kept his hands clenched but didn’t change, his low tiger growl going on and on.

  Tiger’s growl was matched by Liam’s, both blending into it and vibrating the air. Connor tried to flatten himself against the counter, as though fearing they’d turn and see him, weak and vulnerable, and strike.

  Another growl sounded at the back door. Dylan stood in the opening, still in human form, but his eyes were the same white-hot color as Liam’s.

  Carly took a step back, then another and another, silently and steadily making her way back to the door to the living room. She understood how Connor felt, hoping the Shifters wouldn’t turn around, see her, and send that building pool of aggression toward her.

  Connor slid around the edges of the kitchen, his back to the wall, to join her. His eyes had taken on the same white-blue hue as the others’, but with fear, not rage. When Connor reached Carly, he grabbed her by the wrist, pulled her out of the kitchen, and started heading for the front door.

  “Wait,” Carly said, trying to stop.

  Connor shook his head. “If they start tearing it up in there, the best place for us to be is not here.”

  “But they can’t really fight each other, can they? The Collars stop them. Right?”

  Her words died into uncertainty as Connor stared down at her. “Carly, you’re naive. My granddad’s a killer. So is Tiger, and the Collars don’t change that. Do you know what’s going on in there? Liam’s trying to make Tiger back down and obey him, but Tiger’s saying he won’t. Dylan came because he sensed Tiger was snapping Liam’s control. Liam hasn’t really ever been able to control Tiger, and it’s been harder since Tiger met you.”

  Carly’s mouth went dry. “Oh, sure, blame this on me.”

  “No, not your fault. Tiger’s decided you’re his mate, and that makes him stronger than ever. Shifters will do anything to protect their mates, including defy their leaders if they have to. And I don’t think Tiger has ever recognized Liam as his leader. I’m thinking he’s been obeying Liam just to be nice.”

  “But I never said I’d be his mate,” Carly said, her throat tight. “We’re not even dating. Last night was . . .” She broke off, her face heating. “We’d been hurt and scared, and we were celebrating being alive.”

  “Not in Tiger’s mind. He’s convinced you’re meant to be together—forever. Probably he’s reacting this way because his mate died, and his cub. The researchers threw them together, then dragged them apart, wouldn’t even let him say a proper good-bye when they died. I bet that’s why he’s clinging on to you, afraid that will happen again.”

  “I know about his mate. He told me, the poor guy.”

  They peeked through the open door to the kitchen where the “poor guy” was facing Dylan and Liam, his powerful hands clenched to fists, the snarling match still going on. No sign of sparks from any Collars, no signs of pain. Just Shifters facing each other down, violence hovering in the air.

  “What can I do?” Carly asked, twining her fingers together in worry. “There has to be something.”

  “You could reject the mate-claim,” Connor said. “If Tiger is told he’s no longer obligated to protect you, he might calm down.”

  “Might calm down?”

  “That’s all I’ve got.”

  Carly drew a breath. “All right. What do I do?”

  * * *

  Dylan was going to kill him. Tiger scented that without doubt. The former Shiftertown leader had run out of patience, and now he was here to protect his son. To Dylan Tiger was a danger, an aberration. They could kill him, have Sean send his body to dust, then hack into the human databases again and wipe out his presence. No trouble at all.

  Liam would be sorry, Tiger sensed, but relieved. Liam had never known what to do with Tiger, had been looking after him only as a favor to Eric and Iona. Dylan had never been happy with Tiger here at all.

  “Tiger.” Carly was in the room again, with Connor behind her. The scent of his mate twined around him, giving him strength. Tiger knew he could defeat both Liam and Dylan, and protect her and Connor.

  He scented Carly’s terror as well, which made him shift his stance slightly, making sure neither Dylan nor Liam could get past him to her.

  Carly stepped closer to Tiger. She shouldn’t do that—Dylan was unpredictable, and Carly moving made her harder to guard.

  Tiger was so focused on where Carly was and how to keep the other two Shifter males away from her that he was completely unprepared when Carly cleared her throat and then stated in a loud voice, “Tiger, I reject your mate-claim.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Liam blinked, and his growl cut off. He let his face return to human, rubbing it a little after the change.

  Dylan had never shifted, but his eyes didn’t calm. He looked away from Tiger and pinned Carly, which Tiger didn’t like. Tiger renewed his growl and stepped more solidly in front of his mate.

  “Thank you, lass,” Liam said, releasing a breath. “Tiger, let her go. I’ll have Sean go with her today to make sure Walker or the Bureau doesn’t try anything more with her. Yes, I heard already about you releasing Walker.”

  They didn’t understand. These Shifters who thought they ruled with wisdom and experience had forgotten what it was to be Shifter. Tiger had never lived outside the basement in the place the humans called Area 51, and he’d lived only forty years, but he knew he was Shifter, wild, and different.

  “The words she says mean nothing,” Tiger said. “She is my true mate.”

  Carly made a noise of exasperation. “Oh, come on, Tiger. I’m only trying to help.”

  “She rejected your claim in front of witnesses, son,” Liam said. “That makes her free of you.”

  “She is free.” If Tiger explained carefully, maybe they’d get it. “But she is also my mate, and I will protect her from you.”

  “Damn it.” Liam’s anger returned. “I’m the one trying to protect you. The other Shifter leaders are ready to get rid of you, the Shifter Bureau is delving into who you really are, you’re claiming a mate who doesn’t want to be claimed, and you’re threatening me. You don’t threaten a leader unless you’re challenging for dominance, and you don’t want to go down that road.”

  “I don’t want to lead this Shiftertown.” Tiger couldn’t keep the disgust from his voice. “Shifters shouldn’t have leaders. I don’t want to live here either. I want out.”

  “Too bad,” Liam said. “If you leave Shiftertown, you’ll be hunted down. Slaughtered. Not given a chance. At least here, I can give you a chance.”

  “Then stay away from my mate.”

  “Shite, Tiger. I don’t want your mate. And she’s not your mate. You scent-marked her, and you claimed her, but you can only complete the mating ceremonies with her consent. You know that.”

  “Your words and rituals are not important. Carly is my mate. Doesn’t matter what words I say, or she says, doesn’t matter if she wants to run away and never see me again.” Tiger touched his fist to his chest. “The mating is real. She’s of my heart.”

  Carly’s voice cut through Tiger’s words. “Damn, I knew you were a sweet-talker the minute I met you.”

  Tiger turned his back on Liam and Dylan to face Carly. He heard Dylan’s growl, the man taking Tiger deliberately turning away as a slap. Tiger didn’t care. Hierarchy meant nothing to him. Protect the mate, protect the cubs—nothing else mattered.

  “You are my mate,” Tiger said to Carly. “Even if you run from me, if I never see you again, you will always be the mate of my heart.”

  Carly’s face softened. She was looking at him as she had on the highway, one hand on her hip, her gaze roving him. Her eyes, so beautiful with their gray on green, met his. “You’re flattering, I’ll give you that.”

  She came to him, her scent filling him, calming him. Tiger forgot about Liam trying to challenge him, Dylan ready to kill, even Connor
waiting anxiously in the doorway. Carly was Tiger’s world.

  He smoothed her hair and pressed a light kiss to her lips. Kissing was a fine thing.

  “I really have to go,” Carly said. “Stay here and talk to Liam about whatever he needs to say to you, or he might burst a blood vessel. But I promise, I’ll come back, and we’ll have that long talk.”

  Tiger touched her face. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight, not without protection. But he didn’t want the Morrissey brothers, or their dad, anywhere near her. “If I stay, Spike goes with you.” He gave Liam a hard look. “I trust him.”

  Liam moved his hands out to his sides, though the grim lines didn’t leave his face. “At least you’re giving me that. Stay put, Tiger—please. There are some things you need to know.”

  * * *

  Tiger made sure Carly was safely away, driven by Spike in Dylan’s truck, with Connor on her other side. Tiger didn’t fully believe the two of them could keep her safe, but he also knew that the strike yesterday had been against him, not Carly. The man had shot at Carly so Tiger would protect her.

  He thought of the way the man had stood next to Tiger after he’d fired the first shots, watching. The man had been waiting for something. Testing him. And he hadn’t killed Tiger, had left him and all the others alive.

  “There’s no easy way to put this,” Liam said when they walked back into the house. Dylan followed them to the kitchen—Tiger knew the man would stay until satisfied that Tiger was no longer a threat. “The other Shifter leaders want me to put a Collar on you. A real one.”

  Tiger touched the silver and black chain with the Celtic knot at his throat that Sean and Liam had manufactured. Unlike real Collars, this one wasn’t laced with Fae magic and microchips. Who the Fae was that had turned out the new Collars, happy to help the humans subjugate Shifters, Tiger had to wonder. And why someone like Dylan hadn’t killed him, Tiger wondered as well.

  “I won’t wear the Collar.”

  “You don’t have a choice,” Liam said. “They’re scared of you. They want you to take a Collar or else for us to kill you.”

  “You can’t kill me.” Tiger knew that. None of them could.

  “I don’t want to,” Liam said. “I want to help you. But you have to cooperate.”

  “I can’t take a Collar,” Tiger repeated. “I can’t do what I’m made to do if I have a Collar.”

  Liam had been reaching for the refrigerator, probably to take the edge off their tension with Guinness, but he stopped. “Now that’s interesting. What were you made to do?”

  “I don’t know. But I know the Collar will prevent me.”

  “I see.” Liam opened the refrigerator and reached inside, coming out with, yes, a dark brown bottle with Guinness Stout on the label. “What do you think it might be?”

  “They never told me. But the way I recovered from the shooting must be a part of it. The second time faster than the first. I’m changing.” He let out a breath. “It’s tiring. I’ve never felt this tired before.”

  Liam lowered the beer, not drinking. “You also had a lot of sex, my friend. Hours of it. Can’t blame you—she’s a lovely lady. As far as I know, that’s the first sex you’ve had since you arrived. Sure you’re not just exhausted from pleasure? It can wipe you out—in a different way from fighting. And much more fun.”

  “Being with Carly didn’t tire me.” Tiger warmed, remembering rolling her onto her back, still inside her, with her pliant to take him. He’d loved her slowly, kissing her while she kissed him. He’d never wanted to stop, never wanted to leave the bed. Real life had been far away, unimportant. “The healing though. That burned.”

  “I’m sure.” Liam shook his head. “I wish we had a Shifter healer here to look at you. Andrea’s good, but her talent is natural, not learned. She hasn’t made a study of Shifters.”

  “But we know someone who might tell us what’s going on inside him,” Dylan said. “If it’s magical.”

  Liam flicked his gaze to his father, then his eyes took on a faraway look as he considered. “True. If he’ll talk to us. We’ll need Sean. And Andrea.”

  “Good thing they stayed home,” Dylan said in his dry voice.

  “Aye,” Liam said. “Tiger, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  * * *

  Sean and Andrea met them on the strip of green behind the houses, in the clump of trees that Tiger avoided for some reason. He’d never thought about why he didn’t like to go there, but something in him made him steer around it whenever he walked down the long common ground.

  Sean had brought his sword. Tiger eyed it in its sheath on Sean’s back. A few months ago, he’d watched Sean drive the blade of the sword into the body of an elderly Shifter, the man sighing in relief as his last breath went out of him. His body had crumbled to dust, and the Shifters who’d gathered for the parting ceremony had said prayers, both grieving and thanking Sean for freeing the man’s soul.

  Tiger wasn’t sure how a sword could do that, but he saw again the threads that connected it to Sean, and connected Sean to Andrea, as he had when Andrea had started healing him after the accident. Sean unsheathed the sword, which rang faintly, and Tiger stepped back, well out of its reach.

  Sean pointed the sword forward, holding it toward nothing. Andrea put her hand over his on its hilt.

  “Dad,” she said.

  “Open up, it’s the in-laws,” Sean added.

  “He’s not big on humor,” Andrea said in her calm way.

  Sean grinned. “I know. That’s why I do it.”

  A light slit the air. Tiger growled and stepped back again, hackles rising. In the ten months he’d been here, he’d never seen this. He’d never smelled the acrid stench that came out of the slit, which had Liam wrinkling his nose, and Sean looking stoic.

  A figure appeared in the opening. He was tall, thin, almost angular. White hair hung over his shoulder in a long braid, and he wore a shirt of linked rings over white leather, a black cloak rolling back from his shoulders.

  “What?” he snapped. His voice was rich and full, with a hint of Irish.

  “Nice to see you too.” Andrea released the sword and went to the man, enclosing him in her embrace.

  The man’s sharp face softened as he allowed the hug, closing his arms around her in return. “Andrea. Child. Let me look at you.”

  “I haven’t changed since the last time,” Andrea said.

  “Give an old man the delight of seeing his daughter. How’s the wee one?”

  “Kenny’s fine. Growing fast.”

  “Don’t bother telling me he looks like me or has my nose. He’ll be mostly Shifter.” The man glanced at Sean. “Will smell like one too.”

  “Better than the stench of Fae,” Sean said, but with no rancor behind the words.

  “I’ll ignore that,” Andrea said. “Father, Liam wants you to meet Tiger. Tiger, Fionn Cillian, my father. My real father. He’s a Fae.”

  The Fae moved his gaze from Andrea to Tiger. He stiffened, his stance becoming defensive, a warrior reacting to a threat. “What is that?”

  “His name’s Tiger,” Andrea said. “Because, you know, he’s a tiger.”

  “I’d never have guessed.” Fionn took in Tiger’s multicolored hair, his build, his golden eyes. “No Fae made that.”

  “That’s why we’re curious,” Liam said. “Can you tell us how he was made? Or maybe, how he wasn’t?”

  “Why don’t you ask his parents? Presumably pure tiger.”

  “He doesn’t have parents,” Liam said. “He was concocted in a lab. None of us, including Tiger, know how.”

  “I’d have to touch him to find out,” Fionn said. “And I don’t want to come near him. He’s ready to rip my head off. I can see it in him.”

  “He’ll behave,” Andrea said. “Won’t you?” She slanted Tiger a warning glance, and Tiger made her happy by nodding.

  Fionn’s lips thinned. “You dragged me across a dimension for me to put my hand on a tiger Shifter
? What do I get in return?”

  “An hour with your grandson,” Andrea said.

  Fionn’s face softened. “You fight dirty, daughter. All right.”

  He stepped through the opening without any problem, the cold, nostril-curling smell clinging to his cloak. Fionn stopped in front of Tiger, the man tall enough to look at him eye to eye.

  “Don’t try anything,” Fionn warned. “I might not be able to turn into a beast, but I’ve trained as a fighter for more years than anyone here has been alive. Hold still.”

  Fionn stripped off a skin-fitting leather glove and pressed his bare, long-fingered hand to Tiger’s chest.

  Something snapped through Tiger like an electric shock, shooting through his chest in a bite of pain. His mind whipped back to the dark basement, where researchers had shocked him, jolt after jolt, Tiger screaming, not even aware that he’d opened his mouth.

  He brought up his hand to smack Fionn away, but Fionn had jerked back well before Tiger moved.

  “What the hell?” Fionn growled. “I told you not to attack me.”

  Tiger opened his eyes. The lab disappeared, and he drew a breath of humid Austin air, now tinged with Faerie. “I didn’t,” he said, voice rasping. “You shocked me.”

  “No, my friend. I don’t carry a thousand volts in my body. I’m Fae. I don’t even like the human concept of electricity. That was all you. Throwing me out.”

  Tiger stared. He’d not consciously reacted to Fionn’s touch.

  “It wasn’t Fae magic that surged up,” Fionn said. “In fact, there’s not a glimmer of Fae magic in his entire body. I got that much.”

  “There’s Fae magic in all Shifters,” Dylan said. “Passed down through the generations. It’s what formed us in the first place.”

  “Not this one.” Fionn shook out his hand and slid his glove back on in quick jerks. “I don’t know what he is. Now, take me to Kenny.”

  He put his hand on Andrea’s shoulder and walked off with her, finished with Tiger. Which left Tiger in the middle of the three Morrisseys.