“Just as we know everything Alicia said is true. She’s not committed to the clan, but you are and the conflict this mating has sparked within you is clear,” Ty added. “Your mate realizes more than you give her credit for. She might not be a shifter, but she’s in tune with you. You’re not going to be able to deny the mating much longer, at least if you want to think clearly. You need to talk to Grandy soon.”
“What does that mean?” Alicia glanced over her shoulder to Ty, trying to determine what she was missing.
“During your vision, part of his bear already imprinted on you. By doing this, he’s claimed you as his, but the mating isn’t complete, and his beast will demand it soon. The longer he goes, the more control he’ll lose to his other side.” Ty’s gaze shifted to Frost before returning to her. “My tiger can feel the link between us. I doubt it’s strong enough for you to feel it yet, but you’re connected to Frost, to his clan, and to me. I realized it the moment you came through the door. You were determined to fight me to leave, and you believed since you didn’t have a connection to the clan, you’d be able to.”
“Even with the connection, you can leave.” Tabitha tipped her head up to her mate. “Ty would never want to keep someone here against their will. He’s an Alpha, but he believes in freewill and kindness. He wants loyalty but not out of fear.”
“I’m human.” She didn’t understand how it was possible, yet part of her believed him.
“So am I, but I’m connected to Ty and Tabitha,” Brooklynn added. “Unlike some humans with connections to an Alpha, my ties are not only through Carran. I’ve also claimed Ty as my Alpha. With my position leading the Shifter Peace Keepers, it allows me to act as a catalyst of his power. If I need it, he can give me additional strength to get through a fight. It makes it more of an equal playing field, maybe even hedging it in my favor if I pull from his power.”
“So much I don’t know about your kind.”
“Don’t worry.” Frost glanced over at her. “I think you’ll know more than you ever wanted soon enough.”
“How about you go to the dining hall, and I’ll bring Grandy down to speak with you?” Brooklynn suggested. “From what Ty said, we don’t have time to waste. Frost, you don’t want to risk losing control. Evie needs you, and I need you as part of this team.”
“I need you.” Alicia squeezed his hand. “Trust me.”
“Fine. If you’ll come with me.” Frost’s gaze locked onto hers, waiting until she nodded.
“Anywhere and always.”
Chapter Seventeen
This was insane. Frost wanted nothing more than to leave the past where it should be—behind him. Instead of doing that, he was pacing the dining hall waiting for Brooklynn to bring Grandy to their impromptu meeting. How was it possible the girl’s uncle was part of the same team? The world was small, but it wasn’t this small. The population of shifters wasn’t as large as humans, yet they were enough of them it should have been unlikely Frost and Grandy ended up at the same place working together.
“I know you’re tense, but this is going to be okay.” Alicia rose from where she was sitting and took a step toward him. “Ty said your bear imprinted on me, you should be able to feel I’m not concerned about this meeting. As a shifter, you know I’m telling the truth when I said everything would be fine.”
“You haven’t met them.” Frost spun around to face her. “You’ve never seen the girls. You think you know something, but you might be completely wrong.”
“Back in New York, you asked me to trust you. I did. Now I’m asking you to do the same.”
“Don’t—” He took a deep breath and tried to ignore his bear snarling at him from within. He was screwing this up, even when everything inside of him wanted to make it right. Still he couldn’t get past the panic that things were about to blow up in his face. “If this blows up, it puts Evie at risk. I brought her here to keep her safe.”
“Evie is going to be fine. Listen to your bear, you know things are going to be okay. Over the years, when your paths crossed, you visited the family and watched them through the window. You know they’re happy. Those girls are growing up with both parents because of you. They moved to Colorado to have a better life and to be closer to their extended family. They have a support system now, as well as a group of shifters watching out for each other. They’re in a place where what happened to them before is unlikely to repeat itself.”
“Bullshit!” He stalked toward her. “No place is safe. You think because you’re here surrounded by a bunch of shifters you’re safe. It’s all a lie. If Lorcan wanted you, he’d come for you. He might not be stupid enough to attack the compound, but he’d find a way. Maybe he’d wait you out, wait until you let your guard down and took a trip into town, but he’d find you.”
“If you’re lashing out at me, trying to make me afraid so I’m focused on something else, it’s not going to work. I’m scared and angry, still I won’t let you continue to push me away.” Crossing her arms across her chest, she stood her ground. “You said you came here to make a better life for Evie. Well unless you’re planning on taking off and leaving behind everything you worked for, you’re going to have to face this. Grandy is part of your team. You’re going to have to work together. Either face it now, or you might as well go find Evie and start packing.”
Until that moment, Frost hadn’t considered what could happen if he wasn’t willing to face things with Grandy. Leaving had only crossed his mind if Grandy was unwilling to work with him, or if this new turn of events put Evie at risk. He hadn’t considered his own part in any of this. The remorse he carried had overwhelmed him enough to blind him to the different possibilities. If he couldn’t find a way to get over his guilt, he’d end up losing his position with the Shifter Peace Keepers.
Evie’s earlier words echoed through his thoughts. Stop being stubborn, Frosty. This is what you’ve worked for. I’ll be fine, we’re going to be fine. No, not just fine, we’re going to be happy. You won’t have to homeschool me anymore. The clan has their own teacher, so I can go back to school. Come on, you’ve gone over everything at least twice. This is going to be good for us.
She had been so excited as they planned for the possible move. It was the first time since their parent’s death that she’d seemed excited about anything. This is where she wanted to be so more than ever it was important that he didn’t allow his personal hang-ups to screw things up for her.
“They’re coming.” The words were automatic as he caught the scent of Grandy’s snow leopard. “If you want to leave, you should do it now. I’ll understand.”
“Unless you want me to leave, I’m staying.” Uneasy she shifted her weight to the other leg.
“No.” Unable to stop himself, he reached out, teasing his fingers along her arm, and when she didn’t pull away, he pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. “Why are you still here after what you know?” His voice was so low he was almost convinced she hadn’t heard him.
“Because I know the man you are. I can see it in how you are with Evie and with how hard you’ve worked to join the Shifter Peace Keepers. You risked yourself to save me, that proves more to me than words could ever.” Sliding her arms around him, she returned his embrace. “What I saw in that vision doesn’t change anything. I see who you really are, the man you try to hide.”
“You still should be running.” He tipped his head down toward her and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with her scent and calming his bear. Having her in his arms eased the tension in him, allowing him to think clearly.
“Never.” She shifted enough allowing her to look up at him, while keeping her body against him. “Not from you.”
“I hope you feel the same when this is over.” His muscles tightened as the door opened allowing the sunlight to stream in while revealing three figures.
“I’m right here,” Alicia whispered. “Always.”
He liked the sound of that, and from the way his bear relaxed, he figured th
at part of him did, too.
“Frost.” Brooklynn strolled toward him while Carran and Grandy waited near the door. “I wanted to check on you before Grandy came over. I hoped Alicia had time to talk sense into you and calm you down.”
Frost wasn’t sure what to say. He could tell Brooklynn he was fine, but was it the truth? Lying to her when she’d know the truth anyway wouldn’t set him on the right path with her or the team. When he remained silent, Alicia shifted in his arms until she stood next to him, allowing her to see Brooklynn.
“He’s okay.” Alicia glanced up at him. “Right, Iceman?”
Hearing her tease him again relaxed him further, allowing him to give Brooklynn a short nod. “Let’s do this.”
Brooklynn glanced back at Carran, nodding for them to come forward before she turned back to Frost. “I’m not expecting your remorse to dissolve overnight, but if our team is going to be solid, we need to be a unit. That means I need you and Grandy to be able to work together. If that’s going to be an issue, I need to know.”
“I understand.” His fingers tightened around Alicia’s hand before he could control himself.
As the other man came closer, Frost recognized him from the training session earlier. Since Frost had been working with Styx, going over the things he’d missed in the earlier weeks of training, he hadn’t spoken to Grandy or any of his teammates.
Now he took the moment to take in the other man. The snow leopard was taller than Frost had expected. Tall and lanky, yet something about the hardness in his eyes held warning he was as dangerous as any other. His short hair was a color Frost couldn’t describe, it was too light to be black, yet too dark to be gray. Almost a mix between the two, with lighter streaks mixed in. It was as if his fur had morphed into human hair, showing all its characteristics. The light amber eyes were the color of his animals and unlike anything humans had. Anyone who didn’t know what he was would think they were contacts.
“Same goes for you, Grandy.” Brooklynn glanced at the other man as he joined them. “If this is going to be an issue, I expect you to tell me.”
“There won’t be an issue from me.” Grandy started to hold out his hand, before quickly deciding to use his left hand instead. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m Grandy.”
“Frost.” He took Grandy’s hand, thankful the other man made the quick decision to switch hands, allowing Frost to keep his arm around Alicia. Using their left hands made it awkward, but they managed. “This is Alicia, my mate…” Frost let out a light chuckle as he looked down at her. “Well I’m hoping she’ll allow me the honor of being my mate.”
Grandy’s nostrils flared as he stared at Alicia, making Frost want to push her behind him, blocking her from the other man’s view.
“It’s nice to meet you, Grandy. Why don’t we sit?” Alicia tipped her head toward one of the tables.
“She smells of you.” Grandy’s gaze shot back to Frost.
“Excuse me.” Alicia’s shoulder muscles tightened under Frost’s touch.
“He means my polar bear. He can smell him on you.” Frost brushed his hand down her arm. “It’s not meant as an offense, it means your scent is telling him we’re mated, yet I said I hope you’d become my mate. It’s conflicting.”
“I smell like a bear?” She glanced up at Frost.
“In a way, yes, but only another shifter would be able to smell it. It marks you as mine, warning other shifters that messing with you would bring Hell down on them.”
“It’s something you have to get used to if you’re going to be mated to these guys,” Brooklynn added. “Once it’s official, others will know you’re connected to Ty and the clan as well. They’ll be able to tell all of this with a trace of your scent. It’s the best protection and calling card all in one.”
“So much I have to learn.” Alicia relaxed against Frost’s touch.
“Carran has to get back to the Elders, and I have some work to do, but I’ll be around if you need me.” Brooklynn’s gaze shifted over each of them before landing on Frost. “We’ll talk later.”
“Maybe I should—”
“No.” Knowing where she was going, Frost cut Alicia off before she could suggest she should leave.
“He’s right, you should stay.” Grandy took a step back and pulled out one of the chairs before taking a seat at the table. “Before Brooklynn left, she mentioned one of the candidates was the one who saved my brother and his family. Since I’m here, I’m assuming it’s you.”
“She didn’t tell you?” Doubtful, Frost raised an eyebrow in question.
Grandy shook his head. “Not really. This morning’s training session I spotted you and wondered, but the team wasn’t told much, only she’d found someone. Until I stepped in here, I didn’t know you were a polar bear, and that’s when things clicked into place.”
“What was she thinking?” Frost shook his head.
“Maybe that you’re both adults. Or…” Alicia pulled back to look at Frost. “What happened was something that doesn’t define you.”
“Murder doesn’t define a person? It stains a soul.”
“You saved four people and countless others.” Grandy placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. “My nieces were ten and six at the time and because of you, the oldest, Alba, is fourteen. She’s a good girl, great student, but that teenage attitude is full-blown and driving her parents up a wall. The other one turned ten last month and is a spitting image of her mother. My sister-in-law is about a month away from giving birth to twin sons. None of it would be possible if it hadn’t been for your actions that night.”
“Evie—my sister—she still has nightmares about what happened, and she didn’t even witness it. Those girls did. They saw everything that happened to their parents, and then what I did to those assholes. You can’t tell me it didn’t affect them.”
“You’re right it did affect them.” Grandy paused, letting his words sink in. “It brought them closer together. My brother was trying to live in the human world, he took a job that forced him to travel more than he was home. Between the traveling and the secret of being a shifter the stress was tearing them apart. Things changed that night. They returned to Colorado, where we were raised. Those kids are safe, and the family is happy. I’ve never seen them happier.”
“Just because it affected Evie in that way doesn’t mean it would affect everyone the same.” Alicia ran her hand along his arm. “She lost her parents.”
“Your mate is right. Evie lost part of her family, and you were pushed into a parental role. That changes things.” Grandy rubbed his hands together. “My family is thankful you were there that night. We’d have lost my brother and his family if not for you. For that, we’ll always be in your debt. If there’s anything we can do let me know. As far as we’re concerned, you, Alicia, and Evie are family, you’ve always been. We wouldn’t want you to carry this guilt.”
Alicia’s gaze was on him, as if telling him she was right. At least to her credit she remained silent. Taking her hand into his he squeezed it gently. He didn’t give his mate enough credit.
“In two weeks, Theodore is taking nursery furniture to them in Colorado, and I’m going with him to visit. Come with us.” Grandy glanced at Alicia. “Both of you and bring Evie. Meet them and see for yourself those girls are as happy as any other their age.”
“No,” Frost answered before even thinking about it.
“Why not?” Alicia stepped away from him and joined Grandy at the table. “You’re so sure you’ve ruined their lives and now you’re handed an opportunity to see for yourself, yet you turn it down. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Evie…”
“What about her?” Alicia pressed when his words trailed off.
“Bring her,” Grandy suggested. “I saw her earlier, she looks about fourteen. She’s about Alba’s age, I’m sure the girls will get along great.”
“Thirteen.” Frost grabbed the chair next to Alicia, pulled it out, and dropped onto it. The tens
ion lingering in the air since Grandy arrived seemed to dissipate as Frost began to accept things. “I don’t know if I’m ready for the teenage attitude.”
“I don’t think anyone is.” Grandy’s deep laugh echoed off the walls. “I know my brother said the same thing. Maybe he can give you some tips. I sure as hell can’t. Unless you want to gag her until she outgrows it.”
“Men.” Alicia shook her head. “Teenage girls are going through a lot. She needs you to be understanding. After all, it’s only a few years.”
“A few years?” Frost stared at her with wide eyes. “I don’t know if I can do it for a year, let alone a few years. A long few years at that.”
“You can.” Placing her hand over his, she squeezed gently. “We can.”
The thought of having Alicia by his side not only to help raise Evie, but through everything, eased the knot in his stomach he’d carried for longer than he could remember. Nothing worth having came easy, but he was willing to fight for Alicia, Evie, and his new clan.
Chapter Eighteen
More than an hour passed as they sat in the dining hall talking, the tension and worry that had nearly overwhelmed Frost before was gone. Grandy was a good man, and there was no doubt he was telling the truth. It didn’t eliminate the guilt Frost carried, but it helped him push it to the side. He wasn’t sure about making the trip to Colorado to officially meet the family, at least not yet, but it was something he didn’t have to decide now.
“I don’t want to break this up, but maybe you should find Brooklynn and tell her things are okay.” Alicia turned her gaze to Frost. “I mean the possibility of tension between two teammates when she just reformed the team might be weighing on her mind.”
“She’s right.” Grandy nodded. “The Shifter Peace Keepers is important to Brooklynn. She’s a workaholic when it comes to the team, and I have no doubt she’s wondering what’s happening here.”
Alaskan Tigers Box Set 3 Page 51
