Brooklynn pulled out another blanket and wrapped it around Alicia’s shoulders.
“No one was there. A black envelope lay on the ground in front of the door. The note warned Lou to leave and never come back, otherwise his blood would be the next spilled on the altar.” She tugged the blanket closer to her body, huddling in it.
“Why would he send you there?” Carran turned in his seat. “He went to meet with Omar to sell the land, he had to know they were working together. He could have sent you into a trap.”
“He didn’t!” Her voice rose as anger heated her from within forcing her to pull back from Frost.
“It’s okay, Alicia.” Frost kept his arm around her, gently pulling her back against him. “Carran’s only trying to understand what brought you back to the cabin and what’s been going on.”
“I didn’t know where else to go,” she reasoned, staring into Frost’s eyes. “I remembered the gun back at the cabin and figured it would be worth the risk to have something to defend myself with. I sent the message to the forum and headed to the only place I knew. Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest move, but I survived. It gave me a place to hunker down while waiting for you guys to arrive.”
“You were safe. That’s what matters.” Frost gently squeezed her shoulder before glancing up at Carran. “Can you have Connor look into this Roxanne Sullivan? There must be a connection between her and Omar or Lorcan. Otherwise, how would she have a way to call them in for help? From what I know about Lorcan’s group, they don’t seem the type to help someone unless there’s something in it for them.”
“She knew what Lou was.” The words left her mouth before she even realized it. “I forgot about that until now. She knew Lou was a shifter when they first met after Hazel’s death. From what Lou said, the knowledge of shifters is a closely guarded secret, so she had to find out somehow. Maybe if you can figure out how she knew, it would give you the connection she had with Lorcan? She also knew something else about Lou, but he wouldn’t tell me. Whatever it was unnerved him. I never saw him so unsettled before. His beast was close to the surface making the hairs on his arms turn white like his wolf’s coat. It was disconcerting…I mean…he seemed out of control which wasn’t like him. If there was one thing he prided himself on, it was his control.”
“Baby,” Brooklynn waited for Carran to turn back to her. “Have Connor research Lou further. We need to know everything we can find out about his past. There’s something there Roxanne or Lorcan found. Whatever they found they were using as leverage along with Alicia’s wellbeing.”
“Research him?” Alicia pulled away from Frost and spun around to face Brooklynn. “He’s dead. What does any of it matter now?”
“Something in his past put you in danger. Until we know what it is and overcome it, the threat will continue to follow you. It will also place a target on my clan.” Brooklynn placed her arm on the back of the seat, scooting closer. “We can’t fight it unless we know the details.”
“It’s an invasion of his privacy.” Alicia understood what Brooklynn meant, but the betrayal cut into her. Not wanting anyone to see the tears welling in her eyes she turned toward the window, watching the darkness speed past her.
“Sugar…” Frost teased his fingers along her thigh, working up toward where her hands rested. “Lou’s dead, he’s not going to care. From what you’ve told us about him, I believe he’d understand we need to do this in order to keep you safe. If you’re worried about what we learn will change your opinion of him, you can’t focus on that. You must remember the man you knew, the man who risked himself to keep you safe today. That’s the man he was. His past means nothing.”
She knew he was right but the tightness in her stomach refused to subside. There had to be a reason for whatever Lou had kept hidden. She didn’t know much about his past. Not that she pried. How could she when she didn’t want to share her own past? She didn’t want to explain to anyone how many years she lost because she refused to stand up for herself. They lived in the present. The past was like a dream they didn’t bother to acknowledge.
I’m sorry, Lou.
Chapter Nine
Drawing in a ragged breath, Alicia tried to force herself to focus on the man before her instead of the discomfort. Between the pain in her leg and the plane bouncing around the sky, her stomach rolled until she thought she was going to heave. “I guess I should be happy we didn’t hit turbulence while you were stitching me up.”
“Let me give you something more for the pain.” Frost secured the fresh bandage over the wound and turned his attention to the bag near their feet.
“I’m fine.” Her eyelids drifted close as she leaned back against the airplane seat. “Just need a minute.”
“You’re not fine, you’re pale and about to pass out.”
“That obvious, huh?” She forced herself to open her eyes and look at him. “Really, I don’t want any drugs, I’ll be okay in a few minutes.”
“We’ve got something.” Carran rose from his seat, taking his laptop with him as he made his way toward the inflight system. Connecting the laptop to the system allowed everyone to see his screen.
“I hope it’s better news than what Turi found.” Letting out a deep sigh, Brooklynn shut her laptop.
“This…” Carran paused as he waited for the image to display on the screen. “Roxanne Sullivan with—”
“Lorcan,” Styx growled. “That fucker keeps popping up, doesn’t he?”
Brooklynn shifted in her seat to glance at Frost. “It’s personal for him. Really for all of us. Mira, Styx’s mate, was attacked by a group of Lorcan’s clan members.”
“She was forced to leave her former clan in a hurry, and ran to the only city she remembered visiting with her family as a child to wait for us. It was the wrong city, and she came in contact with a group of Lorcan’s men.” The anger rolled off Styx, making Alicia shift in her seat with unease.
“Was she…um, I mean, is she…okay?”
“She’s safe because we made it there in time, but if we’d been delayed, she’d been…” Styx sucked in a deep breath. “Tortured and raped before one of those assholes finally killed her. I will rip their heads off personally.”
“When the time is right. We need to be prepared, otherwise we risk losing too many people and not eliminating those who are the biggest threat to us.” Brooklynn leaned over the back of her chair to look at Styx. “The time is coming.”
“Not soon enough,” Styx mumbled. “The only reason I haven’t already gone after these fuckers is respect for Ty and Tabitha.”
“I don’t understand,” Alicia spoke, hoping to ease some of the tension within the confined space. “Lorcan’s a shifter. How would Roxanne even know him, let alone be working with him? Unless there’s some draw between…I don’t know, magick connection or something. Maybe what turns you into an animal also draws someone who practices magick together.” She was rambling, but she wasn’t sure how to explain what she was thinking.
“They’re siblings.” Carran pressed a button on the computer and two birth certificates appeared side-by-side. “Mrs. Sullivan adopted Roxanne from her sister. Unofficially the adoption occurred because Roxanne wasn’t a shifter. The father, a tiger shifter, had always been ashamed he was mated to a lowly human, and absolutely refused to acknowledge a human child. Roxanne’s mother sent her away to give her a better life. Unfortunately, as a teenager she learned the truth and turned to magick in hopes of finding a way to connect with her father and Lorcan.”
“Did she?” Alicia considered the picture she’d been shown moments before. Lorcan and Roxanne had been standing next to each other in the image, but even the still image had picked up a tension between them. What had it been like to witness that moment in time?
“Their connection is strained at best. Lorcan has used her for his own gain, but he’d never consider her family. If her usefulness ran out, he’d allow his members to have her to do with her as they wished.” Carran ran a hand through his long bl
ack hair, making the white stripes separate throughout before falling around his shoulders again. “It’s likely she’s realized this and looked for a way to become more powerful than Lorcan. By doing so, her magick has become darker. Once white and pure magick has been replaced by more sinister stuff, growing darker with every spell she completes. Alicia already mentioned it, but I can confirm there’s a ley line running through Lou’s property, making it valuable to her. She believed she could absorb the energy within it to become more powerful than Lorcan. She wants to eliminate the last of her family and rise from the ashes as the most powerful of them.”
“Even if she does it won’t change things, it wouldn’t make her a shifter.” Alicia tipped her head toward Frost. “Right?”
“True shifters are born. Magick can’t make you one of us.”
“True shifters? That makes it sound like there’s another kind.” She watched him, waiting for him to explain.
“A rogue shifter could bite someone, forcing a piece of their animal on them, but they’re never truly a shifter. They’d only be able to change on the night of a full moon and even then, they’d be a cross between a man and the animal who bit them.” Frost explained taking her hand into his. “If we went around biting people, don’t you think humans would know about our existence already?”
“I…um…never thought about it.” Enjoying the touch, she stared down at their hands. “Maybe they already know. There are plenty of legends of werewolves and vampires. There’s also all those popular paranormal romance books.”
“But do you see shifters on the news? Or really believe your neighbor might be a lion shifter? That the guy living in the basement apartment, working the night shift at the local hospital, might be a vampire?” Frost shook his head. “No, because humans believe they’re fairytales, not reality, living the same life you are. Shifters aren’t the things that go bump in the night, at least not most of us. We’re very similar to you.”
“Except you can turn furry.” Looking up at him, she shot him a smirk. “I get it. When I found out what Lou really was, I admit I was pretty freaked. Then I remember the man he was. So what if he turned into the big bad wolf. He was a man who would protect those he cared about, and that included me. I guess when I think about it that way, I’d rather have him on my side than against me.”
“That’s true for most of us,” Styx added. “We’ve kept this secret from the masses for our safety. Humans would see us as the enemy and the government would seek to exploit us for their benefit. Then there’s some who would want to hunt us. No matter which category the masses fell into, it would be devastating for us.”
“The humans who know about our existence and who help us would be placed in great danger. Those of us mated with humans, or the shifters who have human offspring…they’d all be at risk.” Carran stepped closer to his mate and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’m not willing to take that risk.”
The ramifications of Brooklynn’s humanity settled over Alicia. When word leaked about shifters, there was no doubt Brooklynn would be viewed as a traitor to her own kind. How would shifters see her? Would they view her as those who threatened to eliminate their species? Not fitting in with either group completely, the question would be would either accept her?
“Most underestimate me when they find out, but before mating with Carran, I was a police officer. Back then I could handle myself against an opponent who outweighed me and did their best to overpower me. Now…” Tipping her head back, Brooklynn smiled up at her mate. “With Carran’s beast within me and Styx’s training, I can hold my own with most shifters.”
“With the right people surrounding her, she’s unstoppable. That’s why she was chosen to lead the Shifter Peace Keepers.” Within Styx’s tone there was a hint of pride. It was clear he was pleased with how far she had come and what she was able to accomplish.
“So that’s what you are? A group of shifter law enforcement?” The words were out of Alicia’s mouth before she could think the question through.
“Not exactly.” Carran tipped his head toward Frost. “We were in New York to find the newest member of Brooklynn’s team. Styx and I are not officially part of the Shifter Peace Keepers. Styx handles most of their private training, but the team also trains with the Elder guards.”
“What is the Shifter Peace Keepers?” Alicia questioned.
“It’s a group of shifters standing for a better tomorrow. The main goal will be to help smooth the transition as Tabitha takes command and as shifters make their presence known to humans.” Brooklynn explained. “I’ve put together a diverse team. Having different shifter breeds will hopefully allow us to be accepted easier by each group we interact with. Tabitha is already working to unite the tigers under her, but once she unites all shifters, we’ll be interacting with other groups on a regular occasion.”
“If it’s okay for me to ask, what shifter groups are represented?”
“As you’d expect there are members from the Alaskan Tigers. Brooklyn talked another member of our clan, Ambrose, a lion, into joining. Then from recruiting she’s added a snow leopard, a wolf, a jaguar, and now with Frost joining there will also be a polar bear.” Styx glanced at Brooklynn. “For a human, you’ve acquired yourself a broad range of shifters willing to follow you. You should be proud of yourself.”
“Don’t doubt for a second if I showed any weakness, they wouldn’t try to overpower me.” She shook her head. “Also one of the Kodiak Bears is an unofficial member. We’ll be using the Brown brothers to pilot us wherever we need to go. Besides, as our pilot they’ll be additional members we can count on if needed.”
“Ty’s made it clear you’re in charge. There’s to be no challenge to your authority. It’s not like challenging a clan leader to take over. You’re appointed, and if something were to happen to you the next person would be as well. A challenge will get a person nowhere.” Styx reminded her. “Without you Shifters Peace Keepers wouldn’t exist. Tabitha and Ty liked Ivy’s idea for the team, but it wasn’t until you came into our community that it was possible. We needed you in order to make Ivy’s idea a reality.”
“Between Ty and Carran, my team is scared of letting something happen to me.” She shook her head. “Our first real mission should be an experience.”
“Carran, if not part of the team, what is your role?” Alicia asked.
“I’m part of Tabitha’s guards,” Carran explained.
“What my mate fails to mention is Tabitha is the Queen of the Tigers. She’s very important, not only to the tiger shifters, but soon all shifters will know who she is. She will be responsible for opening a new future for shifters.” Brooklynn rose to stand next to Carran, who wrapped his arm around her waist. “The future for shifters has a lot of uncertainties right now. Still I’m hopeful future generations will be able to live in a world their parents didn’t. One where they’ll be safe and can live without their secret weighing on their shoulders.”
Glancing at each of them she tried to think about what it was like to live with their secret. She’d never considered how it weighed on Lou. Were their moments in their lives when they wanted nothing more than to shed their human skin and allow their beast to be free? Having humans around them would make that nearly impossible. No matter where they went, the possibility of someone stumbling upon them would be a constant threat for some of them. Tigers didn’t roam free in the United States. Whereas with a wolf like Lou, it was easier to shift in the woods and find the freedom he sought. Frost couldn’t shift in New York without causing a shockwave if spotted, but in parts of Alaska, it wouldn’t be unusual to see a polar bear.
The children. How do they hide their secret? She remembered what it was like as a child, there were times emotions were high. Didn’t Lou mention emotions effected his shifting unless he kept control of his wolf?
“Alicia…” Frost’s thumb teased along the curve of her knuckles, gently pulling her back from her thoughts. “I can feel your anxiety, but I don’t understand wha
t caused it.”
“I was thinking what it would be like to live with a secret like that.” Shifting in her seat to take in the man beside her. “The young girl you sent up to the cockpit when we boarded. She’s a shifter too, right? She can never be free to be herself. She’ll always be hiding something from her peers. Can she even attend school?”
“Evie hasn’t gone through the transition yet, but she’s a polar bear too.” Frost explained. “She has been homeschooled. I hope in Alaska she might attend school with the other children. To keep the kids safe, most clans have their own schools. She’ll be around those who understand who she is, and she’ll be safe. I’ll make sure of it.”
As the conversation turned back to the problems at hand, her thoughts stayed on the man before her. Why was Evie his responsibility? Where were her parents? Even more alarming, why was she there with them, instead of somewhere safe? Bringing her on a mission, placing her in danger, was no way to keep her safe.
Frost would never intentionally place Evie at risk. There must be something I’m missing.
Chapter Ten
With nothing left to do but wait until they arrived in Alaska, most everyone settled back to rest for a few hours. Frost on the other hand was restless. There was something on Alicia’s mind. Something she wasn’t sharing. Her emotions were erratic. Considering all she’d been through in the last twenty-four hours, it wasn’t surprising. Her boss was murdered before her eyes, and from what he’d gathered, they’d been close. Throwing her into danger and sending her fleeing to Alaska with a group of strangers was a lot for anyone to take in. Add in shifters who wanted her dead as well as black magick, and he was surprised she wasn’t having a breakdown.
Pacing the back of the plane, he glanced in her direction. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn’t asleep. What is she thinking? Knowing she needed rest, he wondered if he should push for her to take the pain medication, giving her a break from not only the discomfort but also her thoughts. Before he could decide the cockpit door opened.
Alaskan Tigers Box Set 3 Page 46
