“Is her story the truth?” Adam was concerned this new tigress could be an enemy, sent to gain their trust. As one of the Elders Guards, he had to be aware of everyone as a potential threat to their safety, especially with Pierce still on the loose.
“She refuses to speak. She’s scared and won’t shift from her tigress form. Tabitha’s going to try to speak with her using her ability to communicate by thought, as she did with Lukas when he arrived injured at her welcome home party.” Ty ran his hand through his shoulder length hair, drawing it away from his face.
“Besides Felix, are other guards with the women? Why did she need Bethany and Kallie? If the young tigress strikes out in fear, one of the women could be injured.” Adam mentally kicked himself for not performing his duties. He should be with Tabitha, to protect her from the new tigress, not sitting here with the Elders, or cuddling Robin as he had earlier.
“Felix is with her and Thomas is filling in for you temporarily. Shadow, Styx, and the twins, Drew and Jayden, of Bethany’s guards are also with them. They’re protected. I believe either Taber or Thorben accompanied Kallie, as they rarely let her go anywhere without one of them.” Ty stepped closer to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “Robin’s holding back. Whatever she’s hiding is causing these panic attacks, and it’s more than being frightened by shifters. She trusts you. You’re the only one close enough to find out what she’s hiding without us adding pressure.”
“I’ll do whatever you need, but Robin’s trust with me is flimsy. She’s only with me because she has no one else. Give her someone else that she believes is more trustworthy, or isn’t a shifter and she’ll cling to them.” Adam hated that his words were the truth. Robin was his mate and he wanted to gain her trust, but she was like a scared child hiding in a corner, not really trusting anyone.
“You’re her mate. You’ll find a way to completely gain her trust, as I did with Bethany.” Raja gave him an encouraging smile.
Adam nodded, not completely convinced. “Has Connor found anything in Boston yet?”
Ty shook his head, disappointment clear on his face. “He’s eliminating leads. Jinx’s clan is standing by in West Virginia if we find a solid lead they can follow.”
“Do you trust his team?” Adam had begun to accept Jinx as a part of their team, but since he hadn’t met any of the West Virginia Tigers other than Jinx and Lukas, Adam wasn’t sure if they were trustworthy. Before Lukas took a position with Connor, dealing with the technical aspect of the search for Pierce, he had been Jinx’s unofficial Lieutenant, helping him command the West Virginia Tigers.
“We’ve already sent two of our men for additional support there, but I trust Jinx’s clan.” Ty leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. “If we have solid evidence Pierce is in Boston some of us will go. Hopefully, we’ll have time to get there before he moves on. I want to be there when he goes down.”
Adam swallowed the last bit of his coffee, and pushed back his chair. He wanted to ask his Alpha if he could be a part of the take-down team, but now wasn’t the time. It would be putting the cart before the horse. He’d wait for the right time to approach the subject. “Once I find out if she’s hiding any information, I’ll let you know.”
Ty nodded. “We don’t have a lot of time. We need to find Pierce before he attacks again, and before he finds out Robin is here. The compound doesn’t need another attack.”
“I’ll try to be quick.” He turned his attention to Raja. “I’ll see you and Bethany tonight.”
Leaving Ty’s quarters, he followed Tabitha’s scent. Even knowing there were other guards with her, he needed to check on her. Since Tabitha’s arrival in Alaska, Felix and Adam had developed a bond which made them a strong team. They predicted each other’s move, giving them the best advantage to protect the Queen of the Tigers. No matter how well trained the other guards were, they weren’t Adam. He wouldn’t risk Tabitha’s safety. She was too important to not only the clan, but to all tigers, and shifters.
There had to be a balance between his duties to Tabitha, and his obligation to Robin. Other guards established the balance, so why wouldn’t he? Sitting in front of his Elders, Adam should have been concerned with his responsibilities to his clan, instead he couldn’t stop thinking about Robin. He longed for her touch, to get her to fully trust him.
Now that he found his mate, he understood why so many of the guards, who went through the mating, were temporarily given leave from their duties. A guard couldn’t perform their job to the fullest if their head was always thinking about their mate. When guarding the clan, especially the Elders, a guard had to commit to them completely. It was only natural to be worried about a mate, but a guard couldn’t allow it to hinder their ability to protect the clan. Ultimately, protecting the clan as a whole would protect a mate.
Adam walked around the building to where most of the unmated clan members lived. Thomas leaned casually next to one of the doors. Adam worked with Thomas long enough to know even if he appeared to be relaxed and at ease, he’d spring to action faster than many of the other guards. Drew and Jayden stood with their legs spread apart and arms crossed. They were alert as if expecting danger at any moment. They appeared more like bodyguards, but they were young and new to guarding the Elders.
“Hey, Adam, what are you doing here? Ty said you were taking a few days off.” Thomas stood straight.
“I had some stuff to deal with, but wanted to check on Felix and Tabitha.” Adam didn’t have the same easiness with Thomas as he did with Felix, but they were still partners from time to time. He didn’t want to explain his situation with Robin to Thomas. If Ty wanted Thomas to know Robin was here then he would have told the guard.
“They’re inside,” Drew said, as if Felix and Tabitha’s whereabouts weren’t obvious.
Adam nodded and moved pass them to the door. Stepping inside, he heard a growl erupt from the tigress lying next to the bed. He went into protection mode, reaching for the firearm strapped to his hip.
“Don’t shoot. She’s just terrified.” Tabitha turned to face Adam, doing the one thing you never did when a dangerous predator eyed you like dinner, she turned her back on the animal.
Felix automatically stepped between the Queen and the tigress, blocking the tigress if she decided to attack.
“Tabitha, what the hell are you thinking?” Adam wanted to rush to his charge, but he didn’t want to spook the tigress any more than she already was. He placed his hands on Tabitha’s arms and spun her around to the tigress. “You know better than to turn your back on a possible threat.”
Nodding, she glanced at Adam. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“Even with guards around you, you can’t take risks like that. It’s dangerous.” He was glad this situation didn’t get out of control because of her mistake. She meant too much to the future of shifters for her to be careless.
“What are you doing here?”
“My job.” Adam needed to make sure something like this didn’t happen again. He looked around the small studio. Bethany and Kallie stood off to the side, Shadow and Styx protecting Bethany, as Adam should have been doing for Tabitha with Felix. Thorben stood next to his mate, Kallie. Thorben and Taber were part of the Kodiak Bears out of Nome before mating with Kallie and becoming honorary Alaskan Tigers. “Have you gained anything more from this tigress?”
“Very little. Her fears have taken over her thoughts. I know she can hear me in her head because she responds to me with her eyes, but I think the connection frightens her even more.” Tabitha kept her attention on the tigress, her shoulders rigid as if heeding Adam’s warning to never let down her guard.
“Did you get any negative readings from her?”
“No, Harmony’s just scared. I’ve gathered she’s been on her own most of her life.” Tabitha tried to take a step closer to the tigress, only to be stopped by Felix.
“You’re close enough,” Felix told her without removing his stare from the tigress.
“Gu
ards always make my job harder.” She knelt, going eye level with Harmony, also making the duty of protecting her more difficult for the guards if something happened. Unnerving, but part of their job, they couldn’t keep Tabitha sheltered so much it hindered her duties to the clan and the rest of the tigers.
“Harmony, I know you’re scared, but you’re safe here. No one is going to hurt you. We need to know where you were injured, if it was truly a hunter’s trap or one set up for our kind. If we’re going to protect you, we need to know if someone is after you.” After a few minutes of silence, Tabitha finally stood. “It’s no use, there are too many people. All the men here are scaring her even more. If I’m going to get anything from her then you guys need to leave.”
“Not happening Tabitha, you know the rules,” Ty said from the back of the room, causing everyone to turn.
Adam had been so immersed in what was happening he wasn’t paying attention to the door as a bodyguard should, even though the guards outside would have kept anyone out who meant harm. Drew and Jayden were young, and eager to prove themselves.
Harmony growled. Tigers rarely retreat when frightened. Being predators, they’d fight to the death. Harmony would run if there were an opening. The studio apartment they had put her in left very little room for her in tigress form. She could only cower or fight. Right now she chose to cower, but that could change in an instant.
“Harmony, it’s okay. Ty’s the Alpha here and my mate. He means you no harm. Ty and Raja, our Lieutenant, are the ones who found you stumbling around the woods.” Tabitha beckoned her mate to stand next to her. Snuggling into his body, she glanced up at him. “This isn’t working, Ty.”
“Compromise,” Ty whispered, loud enough that Adam heard. “Kallie, Tabitha thought having an additional female, that wasn’t an Elder, would help, but it’s not working. If you and Thorben could leave.”
“Tabitha, if you need me, you know where I am. Good luck.” Kallie quietly made an exit with Thorben at her side.
Adam waited beside Tabitha, waiting for Ty to dismiss him. He wanted to stay, to do his duty, but he also knew Ty expected him to get to the bottom of whatever Robin was hiding.
Instead of dismissing him, Ty turned to Styx. “If you could wait outside with the others.”
As Adam was Felix’s right-hand, Styx was Shadow’s. They rarely separated when protecting Bethany. They too were a well-tuned pair, knowing each other’s moves.
With Styx’s exit, Ty focused on Tabitha. “That’s the best you get. Without Raja here, I trust the four of us to keep you and Bethany safe. Do what you need because time’s running short.”
“Maybe I should try healing her.” Bethany suggested. “If she’s not in so much pain maybe she won’t be so scared.”
Ty shook his head. “Not happening until she’s calmer. Doc gave her something for the pain, but until she’s calm enough we can get close without the risk of her attacking, we won’t jeopardize you or Galen.”
Tabitha closed her eyes as she tried to reason with the scared tigress. “Harmony, if you could relax, Bethany can try to heal your leg.” Suddenly her eyes opened, her body rigidly tense. “Felix, go outside now.”
“What?” Felix frowned.
“Go outside. Send in Styx, anyone, just go.” There was a desperation in her voice Adam had never heard before.
“Just go, Felix,” Ty ordered. The authority in his voice made it clear that Tabitha wouldn’t have asked if there wasn’t a reason behind it.
Felix shrugged his shoulders and left without another word. Adam stepped into Felix’s vacated spot, ready to jump in front of Tabitha, to protect her if the situation called for it.
“He’s not the man you fear, I swear it. Felix is the Captain of my Guards and has been a member of this clan since he came into his tiger.” Tabitha’s words were meant to reassure the tigress.
Hopefully Tabitha’s plan would work with the tigress because Adam was confused. He didn’t understand why Harmony would fear Felix. He wasn’t small by any means, but he was less intimidating then their Alpha. Ty had an air of authority no one else matched, not even Jinx, the West Virginia Alpha.
Chapter Six
More than an hour later, Adam was in the conference room with the Elders and their guards. He was anxious to get back to Robin, but the questions running through his head could only be answered by Tabitha, who left him waiting with everyone else.
Ty’s arm sat tight around Tabitha’s waist. He glanced around the room as everyone gathered. “Recent information has come to light that everyone here needs to know.” He turned to Felix and held his hand up for the guard to stand. “Felix, please share this information with us.”
Pushing away from the table, Felix rose from his chair. “The clan members who were around when I was a child might remember my story, but it is never spoken about. It’s not something the Elders or I publicized. We preferred to keep my personal issues private.” He paused, gazing out the window as if unable to meet anyone’s gaze. “I have a twin brother, Henry. Since the clan moved to Alaska, he’s been living with the clan in Ohio. To my knowledge, Henry is the first child of two shifter parents who can’t shift. The tiger inside him wants to come out, but his body won’t let him. Being unable to shift is driving him insane.”
Felix’s hands clenched into balls. “We both had the same symptoms—fever, body aches, pains, and stomach cramps. When the time came to shift, I shifted. My brother said he could feel the tiger clawing at the inside of his body, but the change wouldn’t happen. We took him to Doc. He couldn’t determine the reason. Henry went through a number of treatments to bring the tiger out. All options available were explored. Nothing worked. The agony became too much for him. The vibrant twin I grew up with is no longer there. He is, for all purposes, insane. He fights anyone who gets close, so he has to be heavily drugged. Even though he’s not in tiger form, he’s still deadly. Henry has the strength and speed of a tiger. The Ohio Tigers have a doctor who works with mentally ill patients. He has been looking after my brother for some time. Henry is allowed to live among the clan as long as he is treated by their doctor.” Felix spit out the truth about his family and then turned to face everyone in the silent room.
“Doc is great, he just doesn’t have the experience with the mentally ill to help Henry. I visit my brother as much as I can. Most times, he doesn’t know who I am, regardless of his condition, I continued to visit him. When Ty found Tabitha in Pennsylvania, I was in Ohio visiting Henry. When Ty asked for help guarding her, I left Henry and rushed to their side. My last visit to Ohio was the last time I saw Henry. I had no idea…” He shook his head.
Adam didn’t need to feel Felix’s emotions to know the man was tormented by his brother’s metal health. Felix had no mate to ease his torment, so he had to endure the pain alone. “You had no idea of what?” Adam encouraged him to carry on with his story.
“Anyone who didn’t live up to the clan’s standards, who was considered lesser tigers, was sent to my brother’s quarters where he tortured them.” Felix ran his hand over his face, before meeting Adam’s gaze. “It kept him calm and quiet. You have to know, I wouldn’t have agreed if I had known.”
“If you didn’t know, then how do we know now?” Styx asked.
“I learned it from Harmony. Once we cleared the room of some of the guards, I was able to connect telepathically with her. I saw the memories. It was clear why she was running from them and why she thought Henry and Felix were the same person. It’s why I sent him from the room,” Tabitha explained.
Adam processed the information quickly, putting together the pieces. He knew Felix had a brother who he visited, but the rest was all new to Adam. “If Harmony was considered lesser to them, why wasn’t Henry?”
Tabitha shot Felix a look before answering. “All I’ve been able to gather is Henry proved to be helpful to the clan. I suspect by killing those they believed didn’t belong, Henry held a usefulness for them, as well as income from what Felix was paying them
to care for his twin.”
Adam tried to wrap his head around Felix’s horrifying description of events. “We know all of this because Harmony was one of the tigers given to Henry?”
“Yes.” Felix’s one word response caused a whispered hush over the room.
Robin tried to read, but no book had any appeal to her. She pushed the curtain aside and peeked out the window. More tigers strolled around the grounds. There was no way she could sneak away from the compound if there was never a break in the guards. Staying here wasn’t an option. She had second thoughts about the whole situation. They wouldn’t want her here once they found out she knew more than she shared. She had to find a way to escape, not that she had a plan, or even a winter jacket suitable for Alaska. April in Alaska was quite chilly. Robin wouldn’t survive long without shelter.
Stepping to the side of the window, out of the direct view of anyone who might be looking, she caught a glimpse of her reflection. Dark circles shadowed her eyes like an awful makeup job. All the color, that normally tinted her cheeks, was gone, leaving her pale. Her long, curly brown hair fell lifeless over her shoulders, her highlights having outgrown weeks ago. Running for her life had left little time to go to the salon for a touch-up. The girl next-door look she always resembled was gone, and replaced with something the cat dragged in. I guess the cat did drag it in. She chuckled at her twisted sense of humor.
Running from state to state, she had two goals, to stay alive and to live again. Yet here she was, in a compound of shifters she was running from. She may never have another chance at a normal life. Not like she had before. She couldn’t get her job back, what would she tell her boss? If she told him a bunch of shifters were after her, her boss would call the paddy wagon. This meant if she managed to escape with her life, she’d never be able to return to Virginia without questions being raised. No one in her small town would give her a job after she disappeared from the last one without notice.
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