“Are you challenging me, son?” Karl demanded.
“No.”
Others in the room chuckled, and Heath figured they thought he feared their new leader. Let them think what they wanted. He bided his time.
“I am just tired. As I said I was attacked and injured. I’m eager to see my family.”
Karl eyeballed him in silence and then returned to his desk. Heath noticed he didn’t push to get him to bow, and he thought the others did too. He wondered why the man had backed off, but then his next words made it all clear.
“I understand that,” Karl said. “If I’d been separated from Tina for any length of time, I’d be eager to get back to that luscious body as well.”
A snarl rose in Heath’s throat. His eyes widened, and he stuffed it down. Why the hell did his tiger take exception to Karl talking about Tina that way? He could care less. “Come again?”
Karl shifted a few papers on his desk and then glanced up at Heath as if he’d forgotten he was there. “Hm? Oh, didn’t you hear? The challenge Tina issued to Deja has been lost.”
Heath nodded and smiled. “Of course. I didn’t want it to happen while I was gone, but…”
Snorts broke out around the room, and Karl silenced them all with a glance. Again, Scott tossed him a look of apology. A sneaking suspicion started in Heath’s gut.
“Your ex-wife lost,” Karl informed him in no uncertain terms. “She’s no longer qualified to be your mate or the mother of your children. In fact, if you want to keep your job as sheriff in this town, you will go to your house and arrest her. She’s been holed up there with your daughters since the fight.”
Now Heath’s knees did give, and he crouched to the floor, dipping his head. He sucked in a breath and fought for control. “That’s impossible,” he whispered.
“I assure you it’s true. She didn’t take the decision well, but I told her it wasn’t my decision but whoever or whatever rules us as a race. Our ancient maker, I guess you’d call him.”
Heath refused to believe it. No way would Deja lose, and even if she did, they were mated. She belonged to him and him to her. Right? So why had he started to feel differently, from the moment of that flash or pain or whatever it was back in the woods? He’d known something in their relationship changed. Yet it couldn’t be. He couldn’t accept it in this modern world.
“Let me talk to her,” he muttered and forced himself to his feet. “She’ll listen to me.”
“Ted will go—”
“No! I go alone.”
“Who do you think you are?” Ted growled.
“Ted, enough,” Karl barked. “Very well, Heath, but I expect results, and you will spend this night and every other you are not working with your true mate, Tina. Dismissed.”
Heath stood outside his house, the house he’d had built for him and Deja. Karl had called Tina his true mate, as if she were that just because she’d won a fight. In his human heart, he knew she was not. A long time ago, even before his tiger woke, he’d considered that life wasn’t worth living if he didn’t have Deja by his side. Now, more and more the beast stirred with a longing for Tina, a woman who had connived and plotted to have him. On one side, he hated her and yet, on the other…
Testing how much things change, he opened himself as he stood there. He’d done it once before without meaning to and drew Deja to him. She had been helpless to come to him and offer her lovely body to be consumed by him. This time, he let his power loose and waited. The front door didn’t open. Light never brightened the window.
Deja!
Did she even hear, or did she resist the call because she knew she’d lost everything? Looking at it that way, he hurried forward and tried the door. Finding it locked, he slid his keys from his pocket and made his way inside. Unless his imagination played tricks with him, the atmosphere of the house hung heavy, and no light illuminated the place.
He stepped farther in and shut the door. “Deja?”
A murmur from somewhere down the hall told him his daughters were asleep, and he started toward their bedroom with a longing to see their innocent faces. Deja blocked his path.
“You’re back,” she said, her tone lifeless. “I called and called.”
“I’m sorry. My phone was damaged.” For some reason, he hesitated to take her into his arms. Any other time, she would have run into his embrace, and by now they would be naked on the couch, on the floor, or on the bed, whichever spot lay closest. Too much stretched between them.
“Oh.” She twisted her hands before her, and compassion stirred in his chest.
“Come to the living room. I want to talk to you.”
She nodded, and when she moved, stiff as if she were in pain, he caught her arm.
“Are you okay?”
She drew away. “I’m fine.”
He thought about pressing her but let it go. “Let me look in on the girls and then I’ll join you.” She said nothing but continued toward the living room. He ducked into his daughters’ room and bent to kiss their foreheads. Breathing in, he filled up on their sweet innocence, and a love that would never die for his girls swelled in his heart. In a way, it hurt, to know they were safe in their relationship with him. What about Deja?
He left the room and joined her on the couch. She sat hunched, so much smaller and frail looking than when he’d left Siberia. So much had happened. Taking her hand in his, he threaded his fingers with hers, and the familiar reaction in his body soothed him. The problem began with a niggling deep inside that this was wrong. He ignored it.
“I went to Carter’s.”
Her head came up and eyes widened. “You did? That’s great. How are they? Did Melanie say anything? I hope their relationship has grown stronger and she’s sure of how she feels about him.”
“They’re dead.”
He didn’t mean to drop the words with such bluntness, but Deja’s eagerness for the success of their relationship grated on the raw spots of his nerves. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, making him feel like a first class heel.
“No, that can’t be. H-how?” She sobbed.
He drew her into his arms and stroked her back. The movements were awkward at best, which made it worse. “The killer. They were torn up. I imagine Carter never heard him coming. They were in bed together. With everything that’s happened, it didn’t occur to me to have someone go out and do cleanup.”
She continued to shake in his hold, and on impulse, he raised her chin and covered her soft lips. They tasted the same, so sweet, and she parted them to let him dip his tongue inside. Grasping her hip, he considered taking it further, but guilt washed over him. He drew away and released her.
“Let me turn on a light.” He started up, but she grabbed his arm.
“No, don’t. Please.”
He sat down again, and they remained still and silent for a while.
“Deja.”
“Yes?”
“Did you…are you having an affair with Jake?”
She gasped. “What?”
Anger raised the hairs at his nape. “You understood the question. I picked up your scent at his place. You were there. You should not have even known where he lived!”
Rather than the apology he expected, she glared at him, anger reflected in the dark brown eyes. “You’re going to question me about that, at a time like this?”
“Is there a better time?”
“I’m not dignifying that question with an answer.”
He reached out and tangled his fingers in her braids. She winced when he gave them a small tug. “Those who are guilty say that.”
“Fuck you, Heath.”
He thrust her back until she lay flat, and he lay above her. She didn’t fight, but he watched how her chest heaved, causing her breasts to rise and fall. His attraction to her hadn’t lessened. She was still a beautiful woman with a body that could satisfy his lusts. Tonight she wore a simple blouse and a pair of shorts that showed off her long, shapely legs. He pinched the butt
on open on the shorts and thumbed the smooth skin beneath her navel.
The mutinous glint in her gaze never wavered. He stopped and lowered his head until it touched her belly. He released her arms and ran hands along her hips, sighing. She hadn’t denied betraying him, and he wondered if she’d lost on purpose. He dared not ask for details of the fight. Hating the weakness, he raised his head and skimmed fingers beneath her blouse, pushing it higher. Her breasts strained against her bra, ready to be released. He unhooked the front clasp and set them free. The pebbled nipples drew his mouth, but he waited.
“Deja.”
She reached up and pulled him down until his lips enclosed the tiny buds. A flick of his tongue arched her back, and he nipped the peak. Her shuttering gasp served to spur him on, and he shoved the shorts low on her hips. Rather than take them off, he pushed a hand between her legs to stroke her pussy. She whimpered, and her come coated his fingers. He watched the anger seep from her features and desire take over. In the end, they were both highly sexual creatures.
“I’ve never hated what I am more than I do right now,” he growled low in his throat.
She opened her mouth to speak, but he looked away and lowered his zipper. In a few swift movements, he entered her, shoving deep and forgoing gentleness. He reached beneath her to grasp her ass to thrust up toward him. The pleasure, the tight fit, had his head spinning. He ground his cock in as far as it would go and then pulled back. He took her over and over, not meeting her eyes, not wanting to see the hurt and pain, especially since he knew she would see the same reflected in his gaze.
When he neared his limit, she squeezed a hand between them and wrapped it around the base of his cock. She tightened her grip, and he fell down to an elbow, gasping, his eyes shut. This wasn’t lovemaking. This was sex—raw, emotional, and in a way painful. Her pussy milked his cock, and he couldn’t help emptying every drop of his seed inside her.
At last, he got up and moved to the end of the couch. She scooted up to give him room, and he dropped down, tossing an arm over his face. “I shouldn’t have done that. You don’t belong to me anymore.”
“Heath.”
He didn’t dare look at her.
“The choice you mentioned.”
“Don’t,” he snapped.
The couch creaked, and he guessed she stood to fix her clothes. He considered what to do with her, but then the heat of her body warmed him from between his legs, and he uncovered his eyes. She’d slipped out of her shorts and panties and stood naked from the waist down. He breathed in the musk of her scent mixed with his, and his cock twitched to life. Haven’t you cheated enough?
She’d shaved, but was it for him? He clenched his fist at his side. She climbed onto his lap, spreading her legs and exposing that beautiful pussy, the lips swollen with their earlier activity. The bruises on her thighs distracted him for a second. He started to touch one, but she shoved his hands away. When she came down on his cock, causing him to sink into her heat, he forgot almost everything except how it felt.
“You’re not hard enough,” she complained.
“I will be.”
He followed her hands with is gaze as she roved them over her body. They squeezed her breasts and massaged the nipples, twisted them between thumb and forefinger. His shaft twitched, growing. She continued the exploration to her belly and lower to her clit. Manipulating the stiff bud reignited his need, and he began rotating his hips under her, grinding to get deeper. She matched his movements, riding until he grew harder. He ran his hands along her thighs, mesmerized by her apex, drunk on her scent. He stared, unable to look away, loving the way she rose and fell on his erection, but as she screamed in ecstasy and writhed from the orgasm he brought her to, something inside him twisted with fury. No, not something—his tiger.
She’s not ours anymore!
The statement shattered his mind. He moved to push her away, but at the same moment, she dropped her hands onto his shoulders and rode him harder. He cursed. An orgasm swelled closer to the surface. Soon, he would have to let go. He fought it, trying to calm down. Let her have her fun, and then he had to let her know.
His heart ached even as the tiger raged, burning up his insides, forcing a shift. Claws grew from his fingernails, and he curled his fingers to keep from cutting her. In his mouth, his teeth pointed. He willed the beast to chill, but Deja rocked her hips and cried out in pleasure. Her breasts bounced, the nipples teasing his cheek when she dipped forward.
“Not. My. Fault.” He panted.
Just when he thought he couldn’t take another second, his release came with a powerful force that felt so good and felt so wrong. He howled in both agony and bliss, and when he’d filled her with his come once more and she’d calmed from her own orgasm, he picked her up and set her aside. He stood and drew his pants up, zipping them before she got any other ideas.
Not looking at her, he harrumphed. “Get dressed, and get the girls ready. I’m taking the three of you to Dad’s.”
She made a sound of protest, and he dared to glance at her. Relief came seeing she’d closed her blouse, and because she stood, he no longer saw her pussy.
“What?” he snapped.
“I didn’t think to tell you. I’m so sorry, Heath.”
Dread washed over him. “Sorry about what?”
“Coreen is in a coma.”
Heath stood over his dad, marveling at the transformation. Instead of the habitual smile his father always greeted him with, the man barely looked up. Heath’s teenage brothers sat on the floor near the former alpha, appearing almost as lost.
“Guys, it’s late. Go to bed. I’ll be here in the morning, okay?” He ruffled the blond heads of each boy, and where he’d usually get an earful about how they weren’t kids, he got grunts. They shuffled off, and he caught the quiet click of each of their bedroom doors shutting. Heath handed Maia to Deja and dropped into the seat next to his dad. He’d only been gone a few days, and yet, so much had changed. Siberia didn’t feel like the haven he’d come know and love.
He glanced at Deja, and she mumbled some excuse before leaving the room. She’d told him the news with a bluntness that staggered him as if she didn’t care about Coreen, but he knew that wasn’t true. Coreen was like a mom to both of them, given they had both grown up without one. They loved her.
He rested a hand on Ward’s shoulder. From the beginning, he’d found it hard to think of Ward as his father, especially since he’d loved the man he called father all his life and only after his death had learned the truth. Tate had worked for Spiderweb and fallen for his mother. Calling Ward dad took a while even after dealing with his sense of betrayal. Now, he didn’t know where he would be without him. Ward had been there for advice and guidance. He pushed him when he hesitated about walking in the path he’d been born to. “Dad, what happened? Talk to me.”
“She wasn’t my true mate,” his father whispered, and Heath winced.
“Is there such a thing?”
To his surprise, Ward looked up at him. He seemed to make an effort to put together the significance of Heath’s words and failed. The alcohol he’d consumed blocked clear logic. As compensation for his mind strain, his dad took a long swig from the can of beer he held. He set the empty container on the table with too much force. “Your mother was my one true mate, and no one could take that away from me. Not even Spiderweb.”
Heath shifted in his seat, wanting to change the topic of discussion.
“When I lost her, I thought I couldn’t live. At first I didn’t. Not really,” he explained. “And then came Coreen.”
“She’s a good woman.”
“She’s wasting away in that hospital, son. And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. She won’t wake up. I can’t… They’re taking another one away. What am I supposed to do with that? What will I tell the boys?”
Heath shoved hands through his hair and stood. “Dad, you’re stronger than this.” He wanted to rail and curse. If his dad hadn’t been so weak, he woul
dn’t have lost the alpha position, and he could have forced Tina to wait until Heath returned from his trip. Then Deja would still be his.
No, he could blame no one but himself. Deja had been onto him about pushing her away during the investigation. He’d only wanted to protect her. Now, his tiger wanted another—craved her. He hated admitting it to himself, and as much as he wanted to stay here and help his father work through the mess he had made, the beast ravaged his insides, demanding he go to Tina. No amount of will could make him delay much longer.
“I’m going to visit Mom in the hospital tomorrow,” he promised. “I’ll come by here and get you, and we can go together. For now, Deja and the girls will stay here with you.”
No response.
“Dad!”
Ward waved his hand, staring at the can. “Yeah, yeah. It’s fine.”
Heath watched him a little longer and then turned to leave. He found Deja in the spare bedroom they’d shared when they came to Siberia. Memories washed over him of the first time he made love to her here in this room. Why was he going along with it? He could fight the tiger. He could stay with her.
He leaned against the doorframe following her hand movements as she changed Neve. Maia sat on the bed not far away, fighting sleep, blinking, and nodding. Every time she tried to scoot to the edge of the bed to climb down, Deja caught her and tugged her back.
“Go to sleep, Maia,” Deja scolded. “You know you’re tired.”
A similar weariness descended over Heath. He took a step into the room, and anguish flooded his system, almost bringing him to his knees. He needed to at least see Tina. He clenched his hands into fists.
Tiger Betrayed Page 8
