by Renee George
Her vision clouded as darkness closed in. Don’t lose consciousness, she told herself. Tony had taught her one hard fast rule. Stay awake to stay alive. A thunderous roar penetrated her foggy brain, and she was tossed sideways as a blur of golden fur tackled the spotted cat to the ground.
****
The tiger’s screeching roar jolted Shane into action. He’d raced out the door just as Scottie changed from human to tiger. Her magnificent beast tore at her assailant, her powerful jaw clamping onto the large cat shifter in a bite meant to kill. Instinct had him shifting immediately, and within seconds he leaped into the air and swatted the jaguar down. He sank his teeth into the jaguar’s skull, relishing the moment of victory as his enemy crumpled lifeless to the ground. Shane gave the attacker, as the man shifted back to his human form, a final shake before letting go.
Even in tiger form, the lion knew his mate’s scent. But her jasmine and citrus were marred by the stench of blood and fear. He raced to her, dread like a lead weight in his chest. Her stomach was split open, her guts exposed. His lion raged. There was nothing he could do for her. Not in this guise. Two women and a man ran toward him and his wounded mate.
His mate.
Mine.
Shane stood over her body and growled a warning. He would kill anyone who tried to get near her.
“Scottie!” one of the women gasped. He recognized her from the bar. She’d been one of the tigers who’d backed Scottie up in the bar fight.
“It’s okay, big fella,” the man said. “We’re her family. We mean no harm. You have to let us look at her.”
Family. Yes, this was her home. Her family. He fought to put his lion back in the cage of his human body, not an easy feat considering the beast wanted to kill everyone to keep Scottie safe.
“Oh, Jesus,” he said, scrambling to pull Scottie’s tiger into his arms. Her pulse was thready as her heart beat frantically trying to pump blood she was losing too fast. “She’s bleeding to death,” Shane said. She was dying. Dying in his arms, and he couldn’t do anything about it. He hadn’t been able to save his mother. Was that his lot in life? To lose those who held his heart?
He stroked the tiger’s fur and looked up at her people. “Help me.” He swallowed his fear and anxiety. “Help me save her.”
Tig brought a blanket and wrapped it around Scottie. “We need to bandage her wound and keep all her insides on the inside,” she said. She looked at the man. “Tony, go call Abrams and see if his healer is around.”
“Isaac went to Cutler,” he said. “I don’t think he’s in the area.”
“Find someone who can fix her, goddamnit,” she snapped. “Just tell Abrams to send help.”
“This can’t be,” the other woman said. Her voice trembled, but the sharp spike in her scent denoted anger, not fear. “He’s part of the Leone Pride.”
The Leone…his father’s Pride? No. Would this be the second death in Shane’s life his father was responsible for? “How do you know?”
Lin lifted the werejaguar’s arm. His rib, just below his armpit, had a scar in the shape of a capital L with a circle loop at the top like an Ankh or a sun cross. “It’s the brand we’re all given as children.” She raised the side of her shirt and showed her own matching scar. “Tig and I both have them.”
They moved Scottie inside. “Why isn’t she changing back to her human body?” Shane asked.
Lin shredded bed sheets and tied them around her daughter’s stomach. “I’ve seen this in the very young when they’re frightened or wounded. Scottie has never been hurt before. Not like this.” She tied off the last knot and put her hand over her mouth. “I thought she was protected. I didn’t think they could get to her here. Not here.”
“You think this was part of a plan from your old Pride?” Shane asked.
“Yes,” Lin said.
Tig jumped in. “Of course not. Matthew Pierce could give a rat’s ass what happens to us out here. Solomon was the problem. When he died, the problem died. They aren’t coming after you. After us.”
“Then what’s this?” Lin’s grief was palpable, and the heft of it weighed on Shane.
“This is the work of a fucking asshole who didn’t like being humiliated by a woman.”
Lin shook her head. She stroked the curve of her daughter’s head. “Come on, sweet child. Come back to me.” She blinked at her sister. “She’s so weak, Tig.”
Shane crawled into the bed behind Scottie and put his arm over her shoulder. “I can’t lose you, kitten. Not like this. Please, not like this.”
Tony came into the bedroom with another man who carried a bag. “This is Flynn.”
“Is he a Healer?” Shane asked, recognizing the man as unmated. Reacting to his lion’s need to protect, he gathered Scottie closer to his chest.
“I’m trained in healing,” Flynn said. “I worked for Isaac Abrams for many years before he went to Cutler.”
“Let him work,” Tig said. “You can stay with her, but he has to treat her injuries.”
Shane murmured to Scottie as Flynn went to work. Even unconscious, the tiger flinched every time her wound was probed. It took all of Shane’s willpower not to tear the man to shreds. When Flynn finally finished, he said, “I’ve cleaned her up and glued the wound shut. The rest is up to Scottie.”
Chapter Six
“She needs to shift. She needs to rest. She needs to heal,” Scottie heard someone say.
“I swear to God if you say time heals all wounds, I’m going to gut you.” She recognized that voice. Shane. Why did he sound so distant?
Scottie’s limbs felt cold and heavy, too heavy to lift. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids refused to cooperate. What’s wrong with me?
She’d been attacked. The memory came back to her. And so did the pain. “Come back to me, kitten,” Shane said.
I’m here. Right here. Had her attacker done something that made it impossible for her to move or communicate? Had she been turned into a freaking vegetable?
“The Itan wants to speak with you, Shane,” she heard her aunt say.
“I’m not leaving Scottie.”
“I’ll stay with her, lover. I don’t think it will take long.”
Scottie felt the bed beneath her move. Shane had been holding her. She couldn’t feel his presence, but she definitely felt his absence.
“You’re man is a feisty one, baby.” Her aunt sounded sad, maybe even scared. “It’s been two days, and he hasn’t left your side.”
Two days. She’d been out for two days. How was that possible? And Shane had never left her side? Why? Why would he stick around for her? If the jaguar broke her neck, she would make a lousy date. Shane and his coma girl.
Tig kept talking. “He must have one impressive bladder because I don’t even think I’ve seen him get up to pee.”
The thought of Shane with a bladder the size of a watermelon, for some crazy reason, made Scottie happy.
“Did you just smile?”
I don’t know. Did I? Why couldn’t she speak? A rumble like vibration shook her body.
“She’s purring,” Tig shouted. “She’s fucking purring!”
The commotion of chairs being scooted across the floor and heavy footfalls happened next. She heard a chorus of voices, her mom’s, Tony’s, a gravelly voice of a man she didn’t know, and Shane.
Scottie wished all of them but Shane would shut up.
“Is she waking up?” Lin said.
“She smiled,” Tig told her. “I swear it. And look.” There was a short pause. “She’s purring!”
“But why isn’t she waking up?”
“I can help her shift,” the man whose voice she didn’t recognize said. A thunderous growl occurred, and the man added, “I have no designs on your mate, Shane Largos. If you don’t want my help, I’ll go in the other room.”
Mate? Who was Shane’s mate? Did he really have sex with her while he was mated to someone else? No. Was she his mate? No, not after one night. Or rather three, if you cou
nted the two she was unaware of. That was just stupid. Why was her brain being stupid? Did the fight give her a brain injury?
Open eyes. Open. Open. Her lids felt almost glued shut, but finally, she blinked. Then again as Shane’s face was inches from her own. “Hello, kitten,” he said softly. “You need to shift.”
Shift? Her head felt like it was full of bricks, but she managed to lift it from the pillow. Her body was covered in pale orange fur with black stripes. She had transformed during the fight. She remembered now. But why was she still in cat mode?
Because your human side is too weak, her animal growled inside her.
Well, it was time for the genie to go back into the bottle. She concentrated on her body, willing her fur away, but for some reason, she couldn’t change.
“Help her, Itan. Please,” Shane begged. Scottie could tell the plea cost him macho points.
Scottie saw now that the stranger in the room was Ty Abrams. He was a broad man with brown hair and brown eyes, and while he was shorter than Shane, Scottie’s beast could feel the Itan’s power as it flooded the room. She felt her tiger withdraw.
“Call to your woman, Largos.”
“Scottie,” Shane said. “You got this. You are so strong. You just need to fight a little more.”
Scottie held on to Shane’s words like a lifeline as their gazes locked. His golden eyes swirled, and she could almost see his lion pacing behind his irises.
“There you are,” he said.
Scottie blinked again. Skin had replaced fur. She could move again, but her stomach hurt. “Did someone get the license plate of the car that hit me?” Her voice was hoarse and raspy. Shane grabbed a glass of water and held a straw to her lips. She sipped down the cool liquid.
Tig started laughing. Lin began to cry.
“Kitten,” Shane said, and damn it, she was beginning to really like the nickname, He pulled a sheet up over her and caressed her cheek. “Your poor face.”
“Do I look really bad?”
“You look beautiful. Just…pretty bruised. If I could resurrect the asshole who did this to you and kill him again, I would.”
“He’s dead?” She’d blacked out before that part.
“Yes.”
“Good. That jackhole deserved to die.”
“I concur,” the Itan said. “Which is what I’ll tell Rex Pierce.”
“I’ll tell him myself,” Shane said. His scent shifted from anxiety to anger.
“The jaguar was part of the Leone Pride?” Scottie looked at her golden lion. “Why would you tell Rex Pierce anything?”
“Because he’s my father.”
“But you’re half human,” Lin said.
“Yes.” Shane nodded. “My mother, who Matthew Pierce mated with then abandoned her.”
“No,” Lin said. “It’s…it’s not possible.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Scottie asked, horrified.
“The Rex is the reason Scottie doesn’t have a father. Your grandfather had my mate executed. A fated mating. We had no choice in our love,” Lin cried. “But Solomon believed that mixing blood, whether human or non-cat shifter, weakened our Pride.”
“Solomon killed my dad?” Scottie asked.
Lin shook her head. “I did.”
“What?” Scottie sat up, her head spinning as she clutched the sheets to her breasts. “Why? How could you?”
“He said I could kill the man I loved, or he would kill him and you,” Lin said. Her voice had grown cold. She stared at Shane as if he was betrayal personified. “I could lose both of you or just him. I wanted to kill myself, but Solomon promised me that if I took my own life, he’d make sure that Scott and Scottie would both suffer days before he killed them. He wanted my misery. All because I wouldn’t mate with his son.”
“My father,” said Shane. “He was supposed to mate with you?”
“I was already mated—and had a child. We were happy—until Solomon demanded I fall into line with his wishes. Matthew didn’t even want me. I don’t know why Solomon pushed so hard, but his prejudices nearly destroyed me. He couldn’t stand that I loved a human. And all this time, his own son had a bastard half-breed…”
“Mom!” Scottie said. “That’s not fair.”
“No,” Lin agreed. “It’s not fair. His mate got to live. His mate and his child. It’s not fair at all.” Lin shouldered past her sister and walked out of the room.
Tig looked at Scottie. “She’ll calm down.” She tapped Tony. “We should go check on her.” They left next.
The Itan, who’d been strangely quiet during her mom’s big confession, put his hand on Shane’s shoulder. “You two have a lot to talk about.”
“Understatement,” Scottie said.
After Ty Abram’s had left, Shane sat down on the bed next to Scottie. “I’m sorry about your dad. And your mom.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t expect to meet you, Scottie. I didn’t expect any of this.”
“What was the plan?”
“He abandoned my mother. She died a little over a year ago. I found love letters he wrote to her. She was alone. Always alone. Because of him. I planned to challenge him for his Pride.”
“So you planned on getting yourself killed.” Her ire rose at his explanation. “Why would you hook up with me if you knew you weren’t going to be around?” She fisted the sheets, and they fell down around her waist. She yanked them back up when she caught him staring. “None of that,” she told him. “You’ve lost viewing privileges. Hell, you’ve lost all privileges when it comes to my body.”
“I didn’t know fate would intervene. I didn’t know that I was running toward something more than vengeance.” He tried to take her hand, but she pulled away. “I won’t go to the Leone Pride. I won’t challenge Matthew Pierce.”
“Really?” Scottie gazed into his eyes, testing his sincerity. “Why would you give up your revenge now?”
“Because I want to be with you. The moment I saw you, my heart was certain that it couldn’t beat without you. I was a ghost of a man. A shell.”
“We barely know each other.”
“I’m willing to wait as long as you need to fall in love with me. Unlike my father, I won’t turn my back on you. Ever. I want to woo you, Scottie.”
“I…I wouldn’t mind some wooing.” She smirked. It was hard to laugh through the physical and emotional pain she’d been dealt, but Shane made her feel as if, together, they could get through anything. “No challenging the Rex?”
“No challenge,” he agreed.
“Then kiss me.”
Shane’s hand slipped behind her neck, and his dipped his face to hers. The light press of her warm lips stole her breath and made her skin buzz.
“None of that,” Tig said at the door. “You still need to heal, Scottie, and I have a feeling your man is not a gentle lover.”
The hot burn of mortified embarrassment singed Scottie’s cheeks. “Tig!”
In a low and super sexy voice, Shane said, “I can be gentle.” He smiled. “But your aunt is right, you are still healing. But when you’re better,” he kissed her again and growled, “your pussy is mine.”
“Hot damn,” she breathed.
“I need to clean up. It’s been a couple of days since I showered. You going to be okay?”
Scottie nodded. With Shane by her side, she would definitely be okay. She just hoped her mom would be. The bastard son bombshell really shook her.
Tig poked her head into Scottie’s bedroom. “You need anything before I go, kid?”
“How’s Mom?”
“She’ll be okay. She went for a run in the woods. That always makes her feel better. No worries, baby.”
“Thanks.” Scottie couldn’t imagine what her mother must have gone through all those years ago. The awful choice she had to make so that her daughter, at least, could survive. Scottie wondered if she would have been strong enough to make the same choice.
Chapter Seven
&nbs
p; The next morning, Shane carefully crawled out of bed. He didn’t want to wake Scottie. Her lightly tanned skin looked almost pale as she recovered from the severe blood loss her stomach wound had caused. Thank God she was a shifter and not human. It was the only reason his little tiger had survived.
Even after they’d hooked up in his room, Shane had still planned on going through with challenging his father. He’d felt so connected to Scottie, but until she was dying in his arms, he hadn’t realized just how much she meant to him. His lion agreed. Scottie was theirs. Their mate. He should have known it from the second he kissed her, but not growing up with other shifters, he’d had no idea of the instant joining of two souls that happened when meeting fate.
“What you doing?” Scottie murmured sleepily.
“I’m going to go get my bag from my room.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek, his hand trailing down her back to rest on her delicious bottom. “I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry,” she said, turning to give him a view of her supple breasts as the covers slipped down. “I’m feeling much stronger today.”
The heady scent of lust and jasmine permeated the air. Shane’s cock went rigid as she pulled the covers up and gave him a half-hearted, oops.
“Woman,” he growled.
“Man,” she said back.
“Keep this up, and I’m going to forget you were almost dying a day ago.”
“I thought you were a big, take charge lion.” Scottie shrugged. “But I guess you’re just a pussy cat. A gentle, tame kitty.”
“You want to hear my roar?”
“Over and over.” She gave him a serious look and said, “Besides, don’t you have some promises to keep?”
Lacing his fingers in her auburn hair, Shane plunged his tongue between Scottie’s lips, his cock painfully swollen as he pressed his body against hers. He could feel her wince.
“Did I hurt you?”
“A little.” She blinked as he stroked her hair away from her face. “I guess my stomach isn’t completely healed.”
