Alaskan Tigers Box Set 1

by Marissa Dobson

  Chapter Four

  Taber stopped by command central for another stack of intelligence that needed to be reviewed before making his way back to Raja’s quarters. Catching Kallie’s scent at command central, invaded his head with visions of her. The memory made his shaft hard. Damn fate for mating me with a tigress.

  Angry at his dumb luck, he had to blow off steam. He promised the beast within him a shift as soon as he read through the files. He’d let the bear free to roam in the icy stream running through the back of the compound, and if he was lucky he’d find dinner. In his bear form maybe Kallie wouldn’t be so present in his mind.

  “Hey, Taber.” Raja pointed to a chair as Taber entered Raja’s quarters. “We’re about to get started, and we’d like you to join us.”

  Taber grew apprehensive. Why would Raja want him to sit in on the meeting when both sets of their guards were standing outside Raja’s quarters? Taber knew Raja never acted without a reason, so he nodded, tossing the files on the coffee table and pulled a chair out at the kitchen table where the Elders sat. Taber glanced to Ty and Tabitha who were hand in hand at the end of the table. Taber still didn’t like the idea of Tabitha risking her life to gather information from Victor. It wasn’t a woman’s place to confront danger head on. Women were precious and needed to be protected if their species was to continue, especially for the tiger shifters. Without Tabitha, they would simply cease to exist.

  “What’s on your mind, Taber?” Bethany asked when he continued to stare at Tabitha, his lips curved into a frown and the muscles in his shoulders tense with concern.

  He shook his head, lowering his bulky frame onto the chair. “Nothing. This vial, how do you know it’s safe?”

  Tabitha released Ty’s hand and placed hers on the book before her. It sprang open. “This book has been my guide since Ty came to Pennsylvania and found me in Pittsburgh. It’s been the reason behind everything we’ve accomplished so far. Without it I wouldn’t have thought to create the core group with Felix, Marcus, Thomas, and now Shadow and Styx. They’re going to be key elements to our success. This book brought us our healer, Galen. Without him we might never have known about Bethany’s ability to heal.”

  “Okay, but…”

  “Let me finish, Taber, and I promise you’ll soon understand.” Tabitha paused a moment, waiting for his silence. “This book has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. There was a whole section hidden, lying in wait until it found me. Every time I need answers it’s there, guiding me on the path I need to take to unite the tiger shifters. This newest development is one of many. I have no fear this vial will do anything more or less than what it says and I’ll come to no harm. It’s our only option, and we’re running out of time.”

  “I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Couldn’t one of us take it instead? That way, you’re safe. I could take it…” Taber reached for the bottle, only to have Tabitha’s hand tightly clench around it.

  “As her mate, don’t you think I would have offered the same if it was a possibility?” Anger flared in Ty’s eyes.

  Taber retracted his hand as if bitten. “I meant no disrespect. I only wish to keep you both safe.”

  “We don’t have time for this.” Tabitha stared at the vial in her hand. “Only I can do it.”

  “Tabitha will do this for us, and we need to figure out how to keep her safe.” Raja placed a tray on the table and began pouring the coffee. “After Victor broke his chains this morning, we doubled them, but we don’t know if they will hold him. There’s no way we can surround him since Tabitha will have to touch him. Where does that leave us? Packing the room full of guards armed to the max?”

  “Only a few guards. If things get out of control, I don’t want anyone hit by friendly fire. We can have more forces waiting in the other room with Bethany and Galen.” Ty slid his arm around Tabitha’s shoulders, pulling her to his body. “Felix, Adam, Taber, Raja, and I will escort Tabitha. Shadow and Styx will protect Bethany so if there’s chaos I want them to get her out of there.”

  Raja leaned back, grabbing his coffee cup. “Felix and Ty will get Tabitha to safety if things go wrong. We’ve already decided to put Victor down in a humane way. There’s a tranquilizer gun loaded with the correct dose to stop his heart. Taber, you’ll be in charge of that. I’d rather take him down with my bare hands.” His voice was low, but in a room full of shifters, everyone heard him. Bethany, the only non-shifter, wrapped her hand around Raja’s, squeezing it lightly. He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them softly. “Don’t worry love, we’ll protect you.”

  Taber watched the display of emotion with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. His gaze wandered to the left to find Ty and Tabitha embracing as well. He understood that shifters preferred to touch their mates, to put them at ease, but their intimate moment of affection made him feel very alone.

  Alone? Bears preferred to be alone, but for the first time, Taber didn’t. He wanted a mate, the same happiness that Ty and Raja had with their mates. What I don’t want is a tigress mate. Why can’t I settle down with a sow, and raise a few cubs?

  Chapter Five

  Taber thumbed through yet another file, his eyes crossing after reviewing one computer printout after another, while Raja and Styx filmed Victor. Connor would place a sound over, before they sent the final recording to Victor Senior. Everyone was on standby waiting for the recording to be sent before Tabitha could find the answers they need, because once they had the information from Victor there would be no reason to keep him alive.

  “Taber, why don’t you take a break? You and the others have been at those files nonstop for days.” Bethany handed him another bottle of honey to replace the one he finished.

  “Thank you.” He took the bottle of honey and squirted the golden liquid in his mouth. As he swallowed, the tension melted from his body. “That’s exactly what I needed. I’m fine now.”

  “You’re working too hard.” Bethany stretched on the sofa across from him, her own stack of files on her lap.

  “Isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been putting in just as many hours as the rest of us, and I suspect getting less sleep. Yet you’re sitting there doing the same thing I am.”

  “That’s different.”

  “How?” Interested in her excuse, he put the pages he was reading down on the table.

  “Ummm…I’m…the Lieutenant’s mate. I have to pull my weight somehow.”

  “Bethany, I’ll give you credit, you’re quick on your feet and that’s almost a believable excuse, too.” He chuckled. “I know how much you want to take down Pierce. We all do. We can’t stop now. The next lead might be the break we need to take down his gang of rogues.”

  A knock on the door sent Taber on high alert. Nerves on edge, he shot Shadow a quick glance before advancing to the door. No one should be here, not at this time, without warning. Someone couldn’t have gained access to the compound without alerting security, but until he knew who was standing on the other side of the door it was his responsibility to protect Bethany. As he crept to the door, Taber tilted his neck from side to side, loosening his tight muscles. Taber nodded to Shadow, a signal to be ready for anything.

  A familiar scent wafted past his nose just a step from the door. His shoulders eased. The person waiting for him to answer the door posed them no harm. Kallie…

  He pulled open the door and the sweet smell of morning, where the dew still clung to the ground and summer just around the corner—pure Kallie—hit him with such force he almost took a step back. His body called to her. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her against his body. If she wasn’t a different species, he would have. He would have forgotten about all the danger and claimed his mate. Damn it!

  “What is it, Kallie?” Taber had to get her out of sight before his hard shaft became noticeable. Out of sight, out of mind wasn’t really the case when it came to mating, but it eased the longing, at least until
he claimed her.

  “There’s a development, I need to find Raja or Ty. I checked Ty’s quarters, but there was no answer. Do you know where the Elders are?”

  His gaze traveled over her face, taking in the fear that burned in her eyes and the strain of her clenched teeth. He longed to reach out and touch her, soothe away her anxiety. “Shadow, stay with Bethany. I’m going to take Kallie to Raja.” Without waiting for an answer, he slipped out the door, closing it behind him. His attention focused on Kallie. “What’s going on?”

  “I think I should tell my Elders first.”

  He gently grabbed her arm when she started to scurry down the hall, her high heel boots clicking on the hardwood floor. “Answer me this, is there immediate danger that I shouldn’t leave Bethany and Shadow alone? Do I need to order more guards?”

  “Not immediate, no. Now let’s go.” She jerked her arm free of his grasp.

  He followed her down the hall, watching the way her ass swayed in the tight, faded blue jeans. His beast clawed within him, demanding her, but he refused. I need to get out of here and back to Nome before I can no longer keep the beast chained up.

  His twin, Thorben, would see that Taber never heard the last of it when he found out Taber’s mate was a tigress. Thorben didn’t have the same open views as Taber did when it came to other shifters. His twin believed the bear shifters should stay in Nome and mind their own business. Their family hadn’t been able to maintain control over the bear shifters of Alaska and the Alaskan Tigers had to step in, injuring his twin’s pride. It wasn’t the only thing the brothers disagreed on.

  Taber and Kallie stepped out into the cool afternoon air. The shining sun against the snow cast a shimmering glitter over the land. The ground was slick from the snow melting and refreezing, and when Kallie’s high heel boot walked on the ice she nearly fell flat on her ass. If Taber hadn’t hooked his arm around her waist she would have done just that.

  “Careful.” He helped her regain balance, but the damage was already done. The electric current that told shifters they were to be mated, traveled between them. Their gazes met. It did not go unnoticed by her because her eyes revealed the shock. History claimed, once a connection was made there was no chance of breaking the bond formed, linking them. Damn it!

  “It can’t be.” She pulled from his grasp with such force she nearly slipped and collapsed to the ground. When he reached out to steady her, she jerked back as if she’d been burned. “Don’t touch me. I don’t want or need a mate, especially not a bear.”

  “Listen woman, I’m not happy about this either. I want a sow and cubs of my own.” He stepped aside. “Maybe there’s something we can do about this…to get out of the bond.”

  “Yeah, stay away from me.”

  Raja and Styx appeared from the side of the building. “What’s going on?” Raja frowned.

  “Kallie has information she feels the Elders need to know.” Taber was thankful for the reprieve from Kallie before his temper flared beyond his control. “I’ll leave you to talk.”

  “Taber stay, we’ll go into the conference room and continue this conversation.” Raja opened the door and led the way.

  Moments later Taber sat on one of the leather chairs, eager to get this over with and away from Kallie. For someone who was only a member of the Alaskan Tigers, and not an Elder or guard, Taber had seen a lot of her since spilling coffee on her.

  “So what’s this information you bring?” Raja leaned against the wall, hands in the pockets of his stonewashed jeans. Styx might be Shadow’s second when guarding Bethany, but he hung back close to the door, guarding Raja.

  Kallie sat, clearly uncomfortable to be in front of the Elder and guards, her gaze traveling between Raja and Styx, before finally settling on Raja. “The guards you have stationed above the compound are reporting activity among Pierce’s men. It seems as though they’re preparing for something. I fear from the information I’ve received, they might be planning an attack.”

  Her statement got everyone’s quick attention as silence filled the room.

  “Styx, find Ty and tell him what’s going on. Get Tabitha and Bethany together and stay with them.” Raja moved to peer out the conference room windows, not that he could see much beyond the trees. The compound area had been picked for its isolation. The undeveloped land surrounding the compound gave them even more privacy. Ty and Raja purchased all the surrounding tracts when they built the small town to ensure no one would infringe on their clan, and that they could expand, as needed.

  “Raja, I think we should proceed with the plan, as soon as possible,” Taber said. It was time to let Tabitha work her magic on Victor. If there was going to be attack on the compound they needed to deal with Victor and eliminate him as a threat. They couldn’t afford to have someone help him escape while they were defending their land and clan.

  Raja nodded. “I agree. Kallie go back to command central. Work with Mark to find out anything else.”

  Ty walked into the room, his green dress shirt hanging open. He spared Kallie a brief look as she left and then focused on Raja. “Tabby’s with Bethany and the guards, but she’s ready. Has the video been sent to Victor Senior yet?”

  “I was on my way to deliver it to Connor when Taber and Kallie found me. I think we should send it first.”

  Ty fastened the last button on his shirt. “You do that. I’ll meet up with the women and guards, and we’ll meet you in section four. Taber, if you could head over to command central and see if there’s new information. You have twenty minutes and then I want you to meet us in section four to help guard Tabitha.”

  Taber rose from the chair. “Whatever you need.” He followed Ty out of the conference room, and then headed in the opposite direction, following Kallie’s trail. She left behind a scent that was burned in his brain.

  Heading back to command central, Kallie cursed her luck for running into Taber again. The one man in the whole compound she wanted to stay away from yet it seemed as if fate kept throwing them together. When she went to Raja’s quarters she expected to find Shadow, Styx, or even one of the other guards. She definitely didn’t expect to see Taber. It never crossed her mind that space was limited with the Captains of the Guards, each occupying one of the guest rooms in the main building along with Raja’s sister Tora and her family in another. It made sense for them to be close with danger lurking the clan, especially with a prisoner close by. She expected Taber to have been in one of the cabins, not Raja’s quarters.

  She pushed Taber from her thoughts, at least the best she could, and opened the door. Mark sat behind the main station, watching the computer screens. His eyes appeared more drawn and worried than normal as he focused on one of the cameras covering an area of the undeveloped land surrounding the compound.

  “Mark, anything happen while I was gone?” She slid into her post at the other desk. Kallie wasn’t technically on duty, but even if Raja hadn’t ordered her to help Mark, she couldn’t leave him to watch all the screens with the impending danger.

  “They’ve moved down the mountainside and found better coverage. It works to our advantage because though we can’t see them, they can’t see us either, not enough to attack. We have a team off to their south, watching. If they make a move we’ll know. Did you find Ty?” He swiveled his chair around, cup of coffee in hand.

  “I found Raja, but he sent one of the guards to get Ty. They seem to have something they need to do, but want to be kept advised on how the situation progresses.” She glanced at Mark over her computer monitor. “Do you think they will attack?” Concern laced her voice like a well-worn shirt.

  Mark didn’t have a chance to answer before they heard someone lumbering up the steps. She met his eyes just as the door pushed open. Taber stood in the doorway. She kicked herself for not paying attention to the monitor. If she had been aware of Taber’s arrival, she could have made an excuse for a coffee run.

  “Taber, come in. What can we do for you?” Mark asked.

  “Ty sen
t me for any new information received. I’d like to speak with the guards on the mountain, to see what they know.” The bear shut the door behind him and stepped into the small command central.

  The hairs rose on the back of Kallie’s neck. Taber’s bulky frame seemed to take up most of the floor space. She couldn’t breathe. She had to get out of here. With her haunted past running fresh through her mind, being closed in was more than she could take. “Mark, I gotta…” She bolted for the door, unable to finish the sentence.

  Gulping the fresh cold air, she fought the nightmares that plagued her day and night.

  Chapter Six

  Taber shook his head, completely confused by Kallie’s sudden departure. He knew she didn’t want this mating any more than he did, but wasn’t her reaction a little overdramatic? He rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Mark, ready to get down to business. If he could help it, he didn’t want anyone to know about their mating bond.

  “Don’t worry about Kallie, she’s had a tough past. Closed spaces send her right into panic mode. She’ll return once she gets her shit together.” Mark swiveled his chair around to the computer monitors. “Kallie picked up a transmission from the guards shortly before I came to replace her. It’s recorded. Let me call up the file and you can have a listen.”

  While Mark typed away on the keyboard, Taber’s thoughts drifted back to Kallie. Tough past? He wondered what happened to her and if those white streaks in her hair were part of her haunted past.