Tiger and the Unicorn

by Susan Hayes

  Who were they? When she got back to the academy, she’d be demanding answers to that question and a host of others. She’d let herself be reassured by FUC’s promises that the threat was gone, but clearly, they’d been wrong. Not only was she still in danger, but if the jerks following her figured out that the academy was more than it pretended to be, the ones who had taken her might decide to raid the place and take every shifter they could find. She hunched deeper into her borrowed jacket. She’d have to leave. Give up her job and get FUC’s help to give her a new identity.

  She sniffled and gritted her teeth, willing herself not to cry. This wasn’t the time. She could blubber and eat vast quantities of ice cream after this was over. Vats of ice cream would be needed to build up her courage before she told her parents they’d been right all along. Looking for excitement and adventure had brought her nothing but trouble. She rubbed the tender spot on her neck again. Trouble, and an arrogant tiger who lived a life of non-stop adventure. How did he think she could ever be part of a life like that?

  15

  Sergei stalked through the woods in silence, but inside his head, things were noisy as hell. What had he been thinking, marking Tabi? And why wasn’t she happy about it? Granted, it was a serious declaration of intent, but any other woman he’d been with would have been screaming yes and planning the wedding before she’d finished her orgasm. But no… not Tabi.

  He growled and slashed his claws down the bark of a tree, shredding it. Tabi frustrated the fuck out of him. She was smart, sexy, and she bent his brain worse than that one time he’d eaten the wrong mushrooms and wound up wandering the woods for a few hours talking to trees and picking a fight with his own reflection in a lake.

  Tail lashing, he continued his patrol, almost resenting the fact the area was clear and there was no one he could tear apart. He wove through the forest, taking care to obscure his tracks as much as possible. When he was satisfied they weren’t being followed, he circled back toward the hot spring. The temperature was already dropping, and the skies were clear, which meant it was going to be a long, cold night. They couldn’t risk a fire, either. The light and scent of smoke would make it too easy to find them.

  Tabi knew he was there before he broke cover, an impressive feat considering he’d been doing his best to be stealthy. She was continuously amazing and confounding him. A fact that made him question his sanity. Why the hell did he want a woman who drove him to distraction?

  The answer came to him as clearly as if Bast herself had howled it in his ear. Because life with her would never be boring. She was a new adventure, one that could last the rest of his life. Well, fuck.

  She watched him from the shadows beneath the trees where she’d been hiding, her expression wary, though he could see she was relieved to see him, too.

  He shifted to human form and pulled on his clothes as he asked, “All quiet?” Lame as it was, it was the only safe question he could think of.

  “Yes. Anything out there besides trees and birds?”

  “All clear. I think we’re good to set up camp and spend the night right here.”

  She nodded. “Warmer here, and we’d hear anyone coming this way. I didn’t notice before, but we’re in a small gully, and the rocky outcroppings carry sound well.”

  To his chagrin, he realized he hadn’t noticed either. Then again, they’d both been distracted by other things. Sexy, glorious things that he’d really like to spend all night doing. Instead, he suspected they’d have to do one of his least favourite things—talk. Talking was a bit tricky, though, when the other person was doing their best to avoid you.

  She headed off while he was still trying to come up with an opening line. “I’ll start gathering branches so we’ve got something to sleep on.”

  And so it went. For the next hour, they worked in relative silence and got their camp organized. At least she didn’t seem to mind the fact he was building a shelter for two instead of separate ones for each of them. She made a bed for them inside the shelter, layering their extra clothes on top for comfort and warmth. Then she’d gone out and retrieved fresh, clean snow by the cupful, melting it by the spring and transferring the water into their canteens.

  They worked so well together they barely said more than a few words, which was both amazing and annoying as hell. Their synergy was just one more sign they were meant to be together, but it was making it hard to start a conversation.

  They broke out their MREs for dinner. It wasn’t until he opened his packet of chicken and pasta that he realized that in all the excitement, they’d missed lunch. “After the day we’ve had, we’re going to need more calories than this.”

  She looked up from her meal. “It’s getting dark, but I could see if I could find more juniper berries.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “Nope. Screw foraging for food. We’ve got something better.”

  Tabi cocked her head, the few bits of hair that had escaped her braid falling across her face as she did so. “Did you cheat again?”

  “I didn’t, but if you’ll recall, I did catch some of the others trying to smuggle chocolate bars. I had forgotten about them until now.”

  There was no missing the way she perked up at the mention of chocolate. “Dessert?”

  “There’s a few. I think we can have dessert and set aside one for breakfast.”

  “I would happily kill for chocolate. Or coffee. Or both. My parents would be horrified at what I’ve become.”

  “What? Why?”

  “When I mentioned I was raised in a shifter commune? I wasn’t exaggerating. My parents are vegan, pacifist tree-huggers still sad they were born a few decades too late to be flower-children.” She pointed to her meal. “I left home and became a meat-eating, caffeine addicted, processed food eating member of the establishment. I even get my pay cheque from the Cryptozoian council.”

  He snorted. “Whereas my folks would be thrilled if I’d taken that route.”

  It was her turn to look surprised. “But you’re a television star!”

  He shrugged. “Which doesn’t impress either of them. My mom thinks I take too many chances and need to settle down with a nice, gentle woman who will take care of me and convince me to stay home. My dad thinks I don’t take nearly enough risks on the show and he’s embarrassed he raised such a wimp.”

  “Well, I think they’re both wrong. They must fight about you a lot if they feel so differently about their son.”

  He answered without thinking. “Oh, they used to fight about anything and everything, which is why they’ve been divorced since I was ten.”

  She gaped. “Your parents are divorced?”

  That reaction was why he didn’t usually talk about his folks. Shifters weren’t much for divorce. It happened, but it wasn’t common. “Mom’s remarried and a happy homemaker. I think my dad is on wife number four now. To be honest, I’ve lost track. We don’t talk much.”

  “Well, that explains a few things.”

  He bristled. “What does that mean?”

  She smiled, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “Wisdom is more valued when it comes at a price. Chocolate, please.”

  “This better be some deeply insightful wisdom.” He rummaged in his pack until he found dessert and held out the bars for her to choose from.

  “Yes! There’s a Coffee Crisp! I can appease two cravings at once.” She gleefully took the offered candy bar and tore the wrapper off.

  Her next words came out around a mouthful of chocolate. “We’re all a product of our upbringing. Even if we rebel, we can’t escape it. Your parents broke up when you were still a kid, which is bound to leave you with some emotional scars. Add in the fact it sounds like your dad doesn’t have a lot of respect for relationships, or you, for that matter. You were a FUC agent. You take risks every day. He should be proud of you.”

  “But what does that explain, exactly?”

  She gave him a knowing look. “Why you’re not good at communicating what you’re thinking. You’re an only child, ri
ght?”

  He nodded.

  “Only child. Parents divorced when you were young, but not so young you don’t remember what they were like together. Add in the fact you’re trying to be different from them and prove yourself at the same time?” She spread her hands out in front of her. “Voila. Sergei Molotov, determined loner and solo adventurer. You against the world.”

  She had a point. Several, in fact. His need to go his own way had been part of the reason he left FUC, and while he communicated well with his crew, they had long since gotten to the point he didn’t need to say much to them. They knew their jobs and did them well.

  Tabi took another nibble of chocolate, then added. “And your mother sounds nice, but if she thinks you are going to settle down with a sweet caretaker of a wife, she really doesn’t know you very well.”

  He claimed an Aero bar for himself and put the last of the candy aside for their breakfast. “So, who do you see me settling down with, then?”

  “Someone like you. She’ll need to be confident and capable with an adventurer’s spirit. You need a partner, not a homemaker.” Tabi waved around them. “This is not a life for someone who wants to stay home and bake cookies.”

  “I know someone like that. She’s got a sharp mind and is probably more capable than I am when it comes to organizing things. She’s a brave, sexy as hell unicorn shifter, and I think she’d make a hell of a partner.”

  She blinked at him, her mouth opening and closing several times before she managed to say anything. “I’m nothing like that.”

  “Says the woman who survived being kidnapped and experimented on. Who has coped with a survival training trip that’s turned into the plot of a bad movie without complaint. Hell, you’ve even managed to crack jokes while under fire. You are everything I just described, Tabi. All of that, and more.”

  He wasn’t good at heartfelt conversations. She’d been right about that, but he thought he’d done pretty well - until she started crying.

  Fuck.

  He moved to sit beside her, and when she leaned into him, tears still streaming down her face, he did the only thing he could think of. He stretched out his legs and lifted her onto his lap. “Hey, whatever I said to upset you, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not you. It’s me. I…” she snuffled and buried her face in his chest.

  Crap. Those words were always bad news. “You’re what, my little gothicus?”

  She huffed softly. “You have to stop calling me that.”

  “I don’t want to stop. So, how about you explain to me why you’re so convinced that you aren’t mine.”

  “It can’t work between us. Every time I try to leave my comfort zone even the slightest bit, I land smack in the middle of something like this. I’m done trying. If we get out of here, I’m going to ask FUC to put me in some kind of witness relocation program. They have those, right? It’s the only way I can protect everyone I care about. I need to disappear until they are a hundred percent sure the threat is gone.”

  He wanted to roar his frustration to the darkening sky. If she went into hiding, he’d never see her again. Worse, she wouldn’t have any chance at a real life. She’d be in a cage built of fear and uncertainty instead of metal, but it would still be a cage. “They have those, but… it’s not an easy way to live. I don’t think you’d be happy.”

  She sighed. “Probably not. But I would be alive, and maybe it won’t have to be for very long.”

  He hated this plan more every second, but for the moment, he didn’t have a better suggestion. He was going to come up with one, though, because letting her vanish from his life was not happening. “I thought you were done running?”

  She gave him a sad, sweet smile that tore into his soul. “I did too. But how do I fight an enemy who knows everything about me, when I don’t even know who they are?”

  “We’ll find a way.”

  She didn’t reply. They stayed curled up together, watching the sunset paint the sky in ever darkening colours. Pinks and golds that faded to deep crimson and purple, and as the light faded, the sounds of the forest slowly died away to near silence. The spring burbled softly, the trees creaked and groaned in a light wind, but it was as close to true silence as this part of the world ever got.

  Usually he was alone during the transition from day to night, and it always made him acutely aware of his solitary life. Not tonight. He had Tabi with him, and that changed everything. He wasn’t lonely at all. He felt complete and at peace. There wasn’t a chance in hell he’d let go of that feeling, or her.

  16

  Every time she thought she had him figured out, Sergei surprised her by doing the unexpected. When she’d cracked and started to cry, she thought he’d react with disdain or at least disinterest. Instead, he’d done his best to make her feel better. Hell, he’d even apologized, even though he had no idea why she was crying.

  Then, when she’d told him her plans and why it couldn’t work between them, he’d tightened his arms around her and told her they’d find a way to fix things, like that was the end of it and the world was just going to have to bend to his will. She smiled to herself. Given who he was? That’s probably exactly what he expected to happen, and who knew, maybe it would.

  She understood him a little better after their talk. She’d always assumed that someone with his confidence and status had the full support of a strong family. Instead, he was forging his own path, and in some ways, he was even more alone than she was. Her parents supported her, even if they didn’t understand her choices. He barely spoke to his. He was still arrogant and pushy, but she was starting to understand why, and if she was honest with herself, she liked him that way. Hell, she liked him, period.

  As night fell, she spotted a glimmer in the trees. It had to be several kilometres away, but it looked like… “I think our asshole friends built a fire.”

  Sergei tensed. “Where?”

  She pointed. “There. See it? Or am I imagining things?”

  He rumbled deep in his chest. “You are not seeing things. Thank Bast that whoever is after you can’t afford a better class of SCUMBAG.”

  It was another name she recognized from her time at the academy, but since it was also an appropriate insult for that group, she had to clarify. “Are you calling them scum, or do you think they’re from the Shifter Collective of Underground Mercs, Bombmakers, Anarchists, and Gunmen?”

  “Both, but mostly the latter. And from what we’ve seen, they’re clearly from the discount rack, which is something we can be grateful for.”

  She heard the anger in his voice and steeled herself for what she expected would come next. “You want to go after them, don’t you?”

  He growled. “Of course I do, but it’s not the smart move. We’re not back to full strength, for one thing. At least now we know where they are. Near as I can tell, they’re following the same trail we were before they ambushed us.”

  “Which means they’re between us and the rendezvous site, right?”

  She expected him to dismiss her question with a casual answer, but this time, he didn’t. “There’s the fire, right?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  He pointed into the night sky, where a million stars were now shining like tiny motes in the darkness. “See that large star? The one that’s almost straight up from the campfire?”

  It took her a second, but she found it. “Okay, I see it.”

  “Good. Now, draw a straight line to the right until you see a group of stars that looks a bit like a rabbit. Big ears above eyes and nose. Then, swing your gaze down until you find another cluster of stars that don’t really look like anything, but it’s a little brighter than anything else around it.”

  “Okay.”

  “Below that is the spot we need to reach tomorrow morning. I’ll show you the landmarks in the morning so you’ll be able to find it on your own.”

  “My own?”

  “If things get bad, I want you to hightail your ass out of there.”

  “Leave th
e fighting to the real predator?” She’d had a taste of what it meant to be on that side of the food chain, and she hadn’t liked it, but she liked the idea of running away and leaving Sergei to fight alone even less.

  “You are a real predator, and a badass battle-corn. I just don’t want you to get hurt, or worse, hurting someone else. I know what kind of toll that takes, and I’m sorry I fucked up so badly you had to come and haul my ass out of there.”

  “I’ve never attacked intentionally before. I mean, I knew what I was doing. Not like the other times.” She swallowed hard. “And today, I chose to kill someone.” That knowledge would haunt her for the rest of her life, but it didn’t change anything. She’d do it again if it meant protecting Sergei.

  “I know.” He wrapped his arms even tighter around her and rocked her in his arms. “And that’s on me. I’m sorry.”

  This time, she didn’t fight the tears. She let them fall, and it felt good. At least it was too dark for him to see her red, swollen eyes.

  “You were magnificent, you know.”

  She laughed through her tears. “Only you would think so. Besides, you were loopy on tranquilizers. Your judgement is not to be trusted.”

  “I remember the moment you charged into the clearing. Beautiful. Dangerous. And mad as hell that someone was trying to hurt me.” He smoothed a few strands of hair back from her face. “I don’t doubt your abilities for a second, Tabi. Not as prey, or predator. I’m sorry I ever called you fluffy.”

  She snorted. “So you should be.”

  “As amazing as you are, I’m still going to worry about you, though. Because I will lose my fucking mind if something happened to you.”

  She leaned into his touch, lifting her hand to cover his. “I might regret admitting this, but I feel the same way about you.”

  He leaned in to kiss her and managed to mash their noses together instead. He got it right the second try, but then they were both laughing a little, and the night didn’t seem so dark anymore.