“I didn’t do it after we were mated. I told him we were done, but…”
“Shut up!”
Deja blinked at Karl’s shout. Everyone knew about them sleeping together, so what was all the noise about?
“He said we weren’t done,” Tina went on. She raised her head toward Heath, and the plea in her expression irritated Deja. “I was faithful to you after I won the fight, Heath. I told Karl it was over, but he forced me. He raped me. That’s why we couldn’t consummate our bond.”
“Liar!” Karl sprang toward her, but Heath was there to block his path. The alpha puffed up, fists clenched. “You’re stupid enough to think you can take me?”
Heath’s unwavering gaze had Karl reddening. “Believe me when I say we will have our fight, and I will crush you, but we settle this matter first.”
A shout of terror went up outside, and Deja wondered what the heck was going on. Then someone thumped against the door from other side. The doorknob rattled.
“Open the door, Joe,” Heath ordered, “and be sure to step back.”
Deja stared at him, and then she figured it out a beat before Joe did Heath’s bidding. A tiger filled the doorway, massive beyond belief, loped in, head low and pale blue eyes searching for its prey. First the beast alighted on Heath, and Deja whimpered, but Heath clicked his tongue. The animal acknowledged his master. When had Heath called it? She felt no power go out of him, and from the dazed expressions on those around her, neither did anyone else. She marveled at her husband, shocked that he could grow so powerful, so suddenly. His ability had expanded as if the need and the desperate situation had drawn it from him. Heath went beyond anything any of them had ever seen, and of that she had no doubt.
The tiger turned toward Frank, who bared his teeth and hunched down. From the energy radiating off Frank, the expected battle excited him.
“I haven’t ordered this,” Karl postured. “What is that beast doing in my town? He’s unstable. I can sense his mind isn’t all there. Frank deserves to die, but he will do so when and how I say so.”
A grin spread over Heath’s face, and he spread his hands to the side. “By all means, call him off.”
Karl sneered, but he swung toward the circling tigers, saying nothing. The battle, which Deja expected to be epic, failed to be more than a scuffle. Frank, agile and vicious, leaped onto the larger tiger’s back and dug his claws deep between his opponent’s shoulder blades. The beast howled, but more from rage than pain. He shook his massive body, and Frank tumbled sideways. He flipped himself to land on his feet, but a paw as big as a bear’s with long, hook-like claws caught him in midair and slammed him to the ground. One swipe took Frank’s life, and he stilled.
Screams erupted, and Deja realized Joe never closed the door. Many of the townspeople had witnessed the kill and were terrified, especially since before that night, Heath had trouble bringing Frank down.
“Everyone out,” Heath announced. “Except for Deja.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Karl demanded. The tiger growled at him, and Karl stumbled back a step. He refused to give in though. “What now? You’re going to use that abomination to kill me too?”
Heath eyeballed him from head to foot. “No, I’m going to have the pleasure of fighting you personally. The people need help right now, or don’t you give a damn?”
They faced off, neither budging nor looking away from each other. At last Karl sighed and started for the door. He squeezed the doorknob in his palm so hard, Deja thought he’d break the lock, but he stepped to the threshold.
“You find me, and we’ll settle this once and for all,” Karl snapped. “And when I win, you and yours will never again be welcome to live among us. That includes your father, his human wife, and his half breeds.”
Heath’s eyes blazed in fury. Deja thought he’d jump Karl right there, but he held himself in check. The tiger bounded on huge silent paws toward Karl, and the alpha turned an ankle, fell, and crawled in a very undignified retreat, turning back only to slam the door behind him. Deja smothered a laugh, but then it died away when Heath walked over to stoop beside Tina, who lay prone now.
Deja joined him and peered close to Tina’s face. Her chest didn’t rise and fall by very much, and she’d shut her eyes. If nothing was done for her, she would die. Still Heath remained still, not touching her. Deja laid a hand on his arm.
“If you don’t help her heal, Heath, you’re going to regret it. You’re not the kind of man that would let spite stop you from being there. She’s still a citizen of Siberia, and you’ve always looked out for all of us.”
He drew in a deep breath and took his time letting it out. “I suppose you’re right.” When he extended a hand, Tina’s eyes opened, and she caught it. The desperate clutch and tears on long, curved lashes spoke volumes. Heath tugged to free himself. “Let me get you to a better place, Tina, and then Sylvia can tend to your wounds.”
“No,” she whispered. “I don’t deserve it.”
“Of course you do,” he insisted.
She licked dry lips and gave her head a small shake. “I would have done anything to be with you. Anything. I love you, Heath. You know that, don’t you?”
He glanced at Deja, and she nodded, encouraging him. “Yes, I know.”
Deja had expected him to say he loved her, too, to appease her and get her to accept his help in healing. Heath allowed Tina to hold onto his hand, but he used the other to touch her forehead. Deja sensed the power go out, an ability of the alpha. He hadn’t taken the position yet from Karl. Did that mean he was an alpha either way? If he never fought and won against Karl, they would not be able to stay in Siberia even if Karl had a change of heart. No two alphas could stand side-by-side.
When Tina seemed more at ease and her heartbeat a bit more regular, Heath removed his hand from her forehead. “Tina.”
She stared up at him with such adoration, Deja’s stomach turned. At the same time, she felt sorry for the woman. What kind of person sold their body to men in some insane bid to get the man she really wanted? Tina hadn’t flat out admitted she knew about Frank’s killing spree, but she had released him.
“I didn’t mean for anyone to die,” she insisted. “You understand, don’t you? I love you, Heath.”
Heath disentangled himself and leaned back a little. “I’m sorry, Tina, but I can’t be with you.”
“What?” Her eyes grew round, and she peered between them.
“You are not my mate. Deja is.”
She struggled to a sitting position. Deja thought Heath would offer to help, but he seemed loath to even touch her again. Tina noticed it, and humiliation turned her cheeks red. “I won you fair and square!”
“Tina, search yourself. Can you honestly say you feel a connection between us?”
Her head dropped into her hands, and she sobbed, seeing the truth. “I don’t understand. Why? Why?”
Deja wanted to tell her because she was a manipulative bitch, and all that evil could not be rewarded, but she kept her lips pressed together.
“I’m sorry. There can only be one for me,” Heath explained. “I fought as a man to keep the one I love, to keep Deja. In the end, my tiger submitted to the man. That’s how it has to be.”
She sniffled and looked up at him. The longing in her eyes faded to dull acceptance. “What’s going to happen to me? Are you going to let that thing kill me like you did with Frank?”
“No, he won’t hurt you.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I have to confront Karl, but after that, you will have to go.”
She gaped. “Go where?”
He stood up and took a step away from her. “You will have to leave Siberia. I will no longer allow you to have refuge here.”
The sobs began again, and she hiccupped and coughed. Deja turned her back, all compassion for the woman gone. Tina brought it on herself, and she didn’t think twice about anyone’s welfare when she let Frank run rampant. In a sense, she’d been a mastermind who’d used two men to cause
enough chaos to bring down Ward and almost destroy Deja’s marriage. As far as Deja was concerned, Heath had made the right decision. Why let Tina stay to think up another way to get between them. No, they were done.
Heath pulled Deja to his side and clicked his tongue. The tiger heeled. Deja shivered and peered at it. “Do you think he can change back into a man?”
“No.”
She gasped. “He’s stuck like that?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Heath scratched behind the beast’s ears as if it were no more than a common housecat. “At first I struggled to control him, and I was fading fast, but then all of a sudden, something rose up inside that allowed me to do it without effort. I want to keep him.”
“He’ll cause a panic.”
Heath nodded as they headed to the exit. “I’ll figure it out, but this is now his home as well as ours.”
She grinned up at him. “You’re pretty confident, sir.”
The kiss stole her breath, and he threaded his tongue between her lips and crushed her to him. Her body came alive, aching to be consumed in every way possible by this man. She loved him more than life and needed him like her next breath.
When he raised his head, he stared into her eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“I’m confident because I fight for you and for Maia and Neve. Then for the people.”
She spread fingers over his chest and luxuriated in the strong beat of his heart. The fear she’d felt for the fight he would have with the Alpha, or for any challenge to come in the future, dissipated. “I will always be by your side from now on, and you can’t get rid of me even if you try.”
He chuckled. “I will count on it.”
Chapter Fourteen
They strode down Main Street hand in hand, the big tiger ambling at their side. The sun rose on the horizon, chasing away the darkness. Deja, overtired and feeling a little silly with it, imagined they moved in slow motion. Citizens of Siberia lined the streets watching them, and while a few people cried out in alarm at seeing the tiger walk free, there was no wild panic. She attributed it to Karl instilling calm over everyone, but it wouldn’t last long.
About midtown, she and Heath stopped. Karl and a few of the men loyal to him stood nearby. The man who called himself their leader but was more of a bully if she had anything to say about it, folded his arms over his chest, feet planted. From his stance, Karl thought he would have no problem winning the fight, but then she sensed no hesitation in Heath either.
“Stay out of this,” Heath commanded, and he looked first at the tiger and then at her.
She made a noise of disgust. “Why you telling me? I know this is what you have to do for all of us.”
Heath opened his mouth to answer, but Karl cut across him. “I’m going to teach you your place, boy.”
Deja expected much more smack to be thrown around, but one minute they glared at each other, and the next they were shifted and going at it. Vicious snarls and bites, sharp claws, they tore into each other without mercy. When Heath had Karl on his back, one of Karl’s men moved forward.
“Don’t you even think about interfering,” she shouted at him.
The man spit on the ground in front of her. “Mind your business.”
“Oh no you didn’t.”
He held up his hands in invitation. “You can come over here if you want, and I’ll give you something for your troubles.”
She looked him up and down. “You’re just as low as your alpha.”
The man glared. “He’s all of our leader, and as soon as he kills Heath, he’s throwing you out of Siberia. You should have never come here in the first place.”
Deja stepped into his face, hands on her hips. “He’s your leader, a lowlife leading the lowlifes—”
Before she could finish the sentence the man curled his hand into a fist, and he launched it at her. The blur was so fast, she didn’t think she would have time to dodge it. In fact, the wind that blew past her cheek said she’d been close to landing on her ass. One attack was all the tiger needed. His powerful jaws came down on the man’s arm, and a collective grunt went up in the crowd at the sound of crunching bone. The man howled and fell to the ground, the tiger still holding on.
Deja froze, staring at him. She forgot about Heath’s fight for a second and reached out to the tiger’s back. “Let him go, buddy.”
The instant she spoke the words, the tiger backed off and had a seat. She blinked. The bastard’s friends gathered around him, and Deja turned back to the fight. Heath leaped forward to give Karl a finishing blow. Karl dropped hard to the ground and didn’t get up again. While she watched, he morphed to his human form, and Heath followed suit.
“Is he dead?” she wondered, peering closer.
“No.” Heath snaked out a hand and drew her away from Karl, and she recalled how Tina had faked being knocked out to get the drop on her. Karl, on the other hand, never budged, and the biggest of his minions hauled him up to toss over his shoulder. Already, Deja sensed the shift in authority to Heath, and so did the others by their subdued attitudes with downcast eyes.
Scott appeared from wherever he’d been and touched knuckles to the ground. Heath growled at him, and Scott jumped to his feet. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to back you up, sir, but I had to take Ward to the human hospital.” At Heath’s start, Scott rushed to explain. “Your stepmother is awake.”
Deja grabbed Heath’s arm. “Let’s go.”
He nodded. “Scott, your keys.”
“Sure thing, boss.” He held up the keys and a bag, which Deja guessed held fresh clothing for them. She could have kissed the man. She grabbed the gift and hopped inside the truck. Heath took a moment to give instructions to Scott and a few guards, and then he joined her. They drove a short way out of town, and Deja scrambled out of her soiled clothing for the clean ones. Heath dragged on jeans and a T-shirt. After he’d stuffed his feet into shoes and left then untied, he sped down the highway toward the human hospital where Coreen waited. As soon as they walked into the room, Deja spotted Ward sitting at his wife’s bedside staring at her like a lovesick teenager. Her young sons sat nearby, Aaron with his head in her lap while she stroked it, and Abel holding her hand.
“Mom,” Heath said, and crossed the floor in three long strides. He bent to kiss her head. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Coreen smiled and raised her cheek for Deja to drop a kiss on it. “Me too. I’m sorry I worried everyone.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Deja assured her. “You protected the girls, going way beyond what you should have. Thank you so much.”
Worry creased Coreen’s brow. “Are they okay?”
“They’re fine.” Deja remembered she still hadn’t discussed their condition with Heath, but now wasn’t the time. Just as she thought it, Heath turned to meet her gaze, and she shut away the thought. For a while longer, he studied her face, and she tried not to squirm under his gaze. To her relief, Ward came to himself and realized they were present.
“Son, you’re the alpha?” Ward blinked at Heath. Of course he would sense it.
“I am,” Heath said. “We don’t have to worry about Karl abusing his position any longer. I wanted to see that Mom is fine, and then I’m heading back to finish up with him and those who followed him.”
Ward straightened and ran a hand through his disordered hair, a movement that put Deja in mind of Heath. “I screwed up. I’m sorry about that, son, but I’m okay now. I can take over again as leader.”
“No.”
Deja turned her head toward Heath, along with everyone else. She looked at Ward with his eyebrows nearly disappearing behind his hair. “You don’t have to worry about fighting me, Heath. You can concede the position.”
Heath rotated his shoulders in move that said he didn’t feel comfortable discussing the matter with everyone present. “I think I’ll hang on to it. I don’t blame you for what happened. I would do worse if anything happened to Deja or my girls, but eit
her way, I’ve stepped into the position of alpha, and I don’t feel like I’m not qualified anymore. I’m not inconvenienced to have the responsibility. No one is going to move me from this position unless they make me give it up.”
Deja almost laughed at the way Ward seemed put out by Heath’s attitude. All the time they’d been in Siberia, the man had pushed Heath into more and more responsibility, and now that Heath had taken a stand, he didn’t like it.
Coreen reached for her husband’s hand and squeezed it. “I want you and me to spend a lot more time together, and the boys.”
Ward’s expression softened. He nodded. “You’re right. I realized after this accident I’d be lost without you.” The harrumph following the declaration and the red cheeks had Deja releasing the chuckle she’d held back, and Ward winked at her. He slapped both hands on his legs. “That settles it. I’m officially retired! Have at it, son. I’m sure you will do right by the people.”
Deja shook her head in amusement. Ward would never remain annoyed with Heath, and his upbeat attitude said anyone with reservations about the change in leadership would come around. The ones who embraced Karl’s evil, well, she knew Heath would handle them soon enough.
“We’ll come back later, Mom, Dad,” Heath said as he held his hand out to Deja. “I want to finish business so I can see the girls, and then we’re going back home. I’m sure you know how hard it’s been for Deja and me the last few days. I’m not letting her out of my sight for a while.”
Abel’s head popped up, and he frowned. “Gross.”
His brother echoed the sentiment, and Deja noted how neither complained about Heath taking over from Ward. When they first arrived, the boys’ noses had been put out of joint because they’d thought one of them would be the next alpha. She knew they respected their big brother now and was glad.
Deja sat across from Heath as they rode back to Siberia, tense and trying her best not to twist her fingers together. Heath appeared relaxed behind the wheel. In fact, she’d say he seemed happier and more at ease than she had seen him in a long time. She didn’t want to ruin his mood.
Tiger Betrayed Page 14
