by Tate James
I didn’t want to wake up to that reality ever again.
My stomach tightened with dread at the thought. I didn’t want to go home. After the demonstration with the tablet, and seeing my mother’s image so very like my own, I had to admit I was probably descended from that fourth Tyger tribe. But…
In the past twenty-seven years, I’d never had any reason to believe I wasn’t human. I’d never had an increased sense of hearing or smell. Never had a dream about roaming the woods or turning into an animal. Surely in almost three decades, I would have had some inkling that there was a tiger living inside me. Wouldn’t I?
Or had my ignorance of any such gift been a side effect of living on Earth, oblivious to any other planets, and my supposed birthright from my parents?
Even though I was tearfully grateful to at least know something about my mother, my father had been conspicuously absent from any message she’d left for me. Had he been a Prime too? Or had he been a regular Tyger, and maybe that was why I apparently couldn’t shift? Was I still a Prime if I couldn’t shift?
Would one of the Primes really want me if I wasn’t a Tyger…?
I had to admit that it was pretty fucking nice to have three guys interested in me. Even if it was only because I was the fourth Prime they’d feared missing. Or the last female. I didn’t care to be a prize or trophy, like my mother had said in the recording, though. If I was going to stay…
If one of these gorgeous men ended up at my side…
I’d want him to choose me because he loved and cared for me. Not because I was the last female.
But for just a moment, as I rested my head back against the carved shelf, I let myself daydream. I let my mind entertain the idea of all three of the princes falling in love with me. Wanting me.
How would I ever choose just one?
5
Now I really had died in my sleep and woken up in a heavenly fairytale.
Dressed in a red-carpet-worthy gown that matched my green eyes, I paused at the top of the stairs. The full skirt reached all the way to the floor and dragged slightly behind me. The bodice hugged my curves and made me feel…
Like a fucking royal princess. I still couldn’t get my head wrapped around it.
Tela had swept my hair up into an elegant updo with tendrils falling down around my face, held in place by…
You guessed it. A fucking real-life tiara. Yes, a crown, glittering with chunks of glowing crystals.
I couldn’t even. I just. Wow.
I was Beauty, and my Beast waited at the bottom of the stairs, watching silently as I came down toward him. Only there were three Tyger princes and they all stared at me with heavy, dark eyes.
Dharius took my hand first and bowed low, his lips warm on my knuckles. “Your beauty graces my home, Kimberly Amurkin, which I offer completely to you.”
Not to be outdone, Marak pressed close on my other side and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Tygress.”
Kazhar stood back a bit, watching and silent, his brows drawn down in that perpetual scowl. Because the other two men were showing interest in me? Because he wasn’t the Prime Alpha? Or because he was, and this wasn’t his territory? I had no idea.
Unsure, I held my left hand out to him. His eyebrows shot up and the grim scowl lightened a bit as he took a step closer. His fingers gripped mine surprisingly hard, as if afraid to let me go.
He allowed Dharius to lead the way and didn’t relinquish my hand, even though Marak kept jostling him, trying to get closer to me. Kazhar finally snarled at the other man and a wave of energy surged from him. I’d never felt anything quite like it. The hairs prickled on my nape and goose bumps rose on my arms, as if I was standing too close to a power station. Or a million-volt lightning strike had narrowly missed knocking me on my ass.
Marak felt that surge too and immediately backed off, though he still hovered close enough behind me that I feared for the train of my beautiful new dress.
The dining room was all dark, polished wood and gleaming crystals. A ridiculously long table that could seat at least twenty people comfortably was centered in the room, but only four places had been set at one end. Marak raced ahead to pull out the chair at the head of the table for me. I wasn’t used to adjusting such poufy skirts, so it took some maneuvering to get seated and scooted up to the table, though they all helped me, even Kazhar, without a word of complaint.
Eying the chairs, I was braced for another fight. I could only have two of them seated on either side, and with a table this large, someone was going to be further away. I had to admit it surprised me when Kazhar took the furthest chair without complaint, allowing Marak to sit on my left-hand side, while Dharius took my right. He could have used that energy surge again and kept the other man away, but he didn’t. Why? I needed to understand the way they interacted if I was going to stay.
I just didn’t know them well enough to decide if it was a ploy on his part, or simple societal politeness that dictated a certain seating arrangement. Not understanding the rules made me uneasy, even though they were doing everything possible to make me comfortable.
Once we were seated, an older man with silvered hair, filled our glasses with what looked like a sparkling pink wine, while others brought steaming bowls to each of us. Sure, it was only soup, but already, my mouth was watering at the delicious aromas, and here I’d been afraid all they’d have to eat was raw meat.
“What?” Dharius asked, catching the way my lips curved with wry amusement.
“I expected tigers to live in a cave and only have bloody hunks of dead animals to eat,” I admitted. “Even talking tigers.”
He laughed, a deep base rumble that strummed my spine. “That’s the second course.”
I barely suppressed a shiver. That laugh made me think about the way Marak had purred beneath my ear as I woke up. “What’s the third course?”
“Dessert,” Marak said at the same time as Kazhar said, “You.”
I laughed, thinking they were joking, but Kazhar’s eyes burned with desire. “Seriously?”
“If you wish to taste us before deciding whether to stay or not, absolutely. We would like nothing better than to show you what we offer our Tygress.”
I dragged my gaze back to the soup and tried to laugh it off. Taking a few bites, I hoped my cheeks weren’t fire-engine red. At least the soup was tasty. “I could never choose among you.”
Marak lightly touched the back of my hand. “Who said you had to choose?”
I coughed as a bit of vegetable seemed to get lodged in my throat. I reached for the glass and took a careful sip to judge how strong it was. Sweet nectar filled my mouth and gently warmed my throat as I swallowed. Oh boy. Between the fantastic soup, this delicious wine, the beautiful clothes, and these gorgeous, attentive men…
I bit back a sob. I didn’t want to wake up and lose all of this, but it was inevitable.
“We will accommodate any request or desire you have, Tygress,” Kazhar said in that gruff voice that sounded so irritated. But when I risked a quick glance up to check his face, he actually smiled at me.
It wasn’t a grin of amusement by any means, but he wasn’t angry and certainly not jealous.
I couldn’t help but push back, just a little. I needed to know what his true temperament was. I’d been with enough men over the years to know that sometimes they could put on a really good act to get into my pants. He wanted me to believe he wasn’t jealous, but I couldn’t forget the way he’d growled at Marak earlier.
I took another sip of wine and watched his face for the slightest reaction that would betray him. “So if I asked Marak first, you wouldn’t care.”
Kazhar shifted slightly, his shoulders rippling beneath the tunic. “Not at all, because you said first. The only thing I would regret is if you didn’t select me at some point, but as Tygress, you’ll choose your mates, even if it’s not any of us.”
“You’ll say who, how many, and when,” Marak added with a sensual curve of his tempting lips
“We are,” Dharius agreed. “But you may choose anyone you wish. Your cubs will be Primes regardless, even if you return to your home and mate a non-Tyger.”
I blinked, not sure I’d heard him correctly. “What? Why?”
His head tipped slightly, his nose wrinkling as if he was trying to tell something from my scent. “The Prime Alpha’s cubs are always Primes.”
“Me?” I practically squawked. “That’s not possible. I can’t even shift like you!”
A deep, tearing sound rolled from Kazhar’s chest. It took me a moment to realize he was purring, but it wasn’t a relaxed or soothing sound. “You, Kimberly Amurkin, are our Prime Alpha. Without question.”
6
I couldn’t seem to get my brain to work. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”
Me. The Prime Alpha? That was ridiculous. If they were depending on me to save them from the Sitti and repopulate their planet…
They were fools. Gorgeous, yes, but fools.
A waitress from St. Louis couldn’t possibly be the Prime Alpha.
“You are,” Kazhar insisted. “Even if you can’t shift. Even if you don’t stay. Even if you mate humans or non-Primes. You. Are. Tygress. The only surviving cub of the last Prime Alpha. If you had siblings, you might have had to fight them to prove your stature among them, but I have no doubt in declaring that you’d be Prime Alpha even if your mother had managed to have a dozen cubs.”
“Then what the fuck was all that growling and posturing about earlier?” He stared at me blankly, so I added, “With Marak? I felt a pulse of something from you that damned near frizzed my hair.”
I wasn’t prepared for the slow, heavy-lidded look he gave me. Masculine satisfaction oozed from him and he relaxed in his chair in an easy sprawl. “You felt that? Then you’re definitely my Prime Alpha.”
I swallowed hard and allowed my gaze to run down the long, hard, length of his body. I hadn’t seen him so relaxed before, as if all the stress and reservations he’d been carrying had dissolved. “Did you doubt me?” I asked in a small voice, stirring the spoon aimlessly in my soup bowl though I didn’t take another bite. “Because I sure did. I still do.”
He released another growly rumble that seemed to slide inside me and vibrate my bones. “I have no doubts whatsoever, Tygress. My only fear was that you’d decide to return to your previous world, but I don’t fear that now. I’m confident that you’ll stay right here and allow us to shower you with all the love that you’ve been denied your entire life.”
Tears burned my eyes, but I blinked them away. I had been denied many things in my life, but he was right. The lack of love had always hurt the most. Focusing on my soup, I methodically emptied the bowl. It was good, and I needed the nutrition. It certainly tasted far better than the side of lard I always ended up with at the diner.
“That surge you felt from me was my Tyger,” he continued, even though I didn’t look up at him. “If you felt that, then you’re more attuned to our planet than I first thought. Your senses are awakening. You’re remembering what it means to be Tyger. I think that you’ll be able to shift eventually too. You just need time to remember what you are.”
The wait staff quietly slipped back into the room and cleared away the soup bowls, while another wave brought out thick, juicy steaks that made my mouth water. And yes, they were a bit bloody, but deliciously roasted with herbs, along with something very much like potatoes, only they were a beautiful soft blue almost the color of Marak’s eyes.
Everything was incredible. I could cut the meat with my fork, and though it was rarer than I would have ever guessed I’d eat…
I ate every scrap.
I couldn’t remember actually having actual steak before. Meat was too damned expensive on a budget, let alone steaks this thick and tender. It was cheaper to buy a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of cheap white bread, and a bag of apples. I could live on that a very long time.
Meanwhile, the three men regaled me with tale after tale, as if they were going to try and teach me the entire history of Dhalmaria, plus their life stories in one meal. Marak had hilarious stories for each of the other men, and he took great pleasure in telling me every single gory detail.
He might have meant to embarrass them, but it actually helped illuminate their personalities all the better. Marak was obviously the trickster of the bunch. Kazhar wasn’t a warm-and-fuzzy sort of guy, but he didn’t give a damn that his friend told me about the time he’d gone on a hunt to impress a girl and had gotten gored by a ghast, whatever that was. He even cracked another one of those rare smiles as he stood, came closer, and pulled up his tunic to show me the brutal six-inch scar on his abdomen.
I traced my fingers over the silvery mark in his skin and shivered. Not at the thought of how much it must have hurt, or even at how close he must have come to death.
But because even such a simple caress sent a pulse of desire through me.
His nostrils flared. For a moment, I thought he’d press closer. Lean down to seal his lips over mine. Snag my hand and press my palm to the growing bulge in his pants. Something. Instead, he quietly withdrew and sat in his chair as if nothing had happened.
Giving me space and time to process everything. Another mark in his favor.
The third course was indeed dessert, a fluffy individual-sized cake just sweet enough to call it dessert without overkill, lightly dusted with some kind of caramelized chopped nuts. It was all I could do not to pick up my plate and search for any of those sweet little bits I might have missed.
“I hope the food has been to your liking,” Dharius said.
I glanced at him and caught the quirk of his lips and the dance of mirth in his eyes. I laughed softly and admitted, “I almost had to lick the plate.”
Kazhar made a low, rough sound and shifted in his seat again. Even Marak didn’t crack a joke. Dharius alone seemed unfazed by my comment, his manner easy as he rose from his chair and offered his hand. “Would you like to dance, Tygress? Or we can walk in the garden beneath the moonlight.”
His palm engulfed my fingers, but he was so incredibly gentle. He reminded me of a giant, cuddly teddy… tiger. Still holding his hand, I stepped closer and hesitantly laid my head against his chest. He didn’t grab me or even touch me, beyond the barest brush of his lips along my temple.
He smelled so good. Even though I was stuffed after the delicious meal, hunger still knifed through my stomach that had absolutely nothing to do with food. I wanted to rub my face against his bare skin and grip him in my teeth.
“Hold me? Please?”
Immediately, he eased his big arms around me, swallowing me up against him. Despite having the much bigger body, he still managed to drape around me. Cuddling me—but not pinning me against him. Heat rolled off him and I could only imagine how delightful it’d feel to lie skin to skin with him. I’d probably be sweaty and be miserably hot after a few minutes, but I still wanted to try.
“You are so warm,” I whispered, burying deeper into his embrace.
He murmured against my ear. “Does it get very cold in St. Louis?”
“Yes, especially when you can’t afford the gas bill. My back is still cold, though.”
As soon as the words escaped my mouth, something hot slid in against me. Or rather someone. Two someones.
I’d only known them a few hours, but I knew Kazhar’s touch already. Hard and insistent—but also gentle. All bark and no bite. His fingers tightened on my waist, letting me feel the strength, and potential command in his touch, but he didn’t drag me back against him or lift me off my feet.
Marak reminded me of a cat winding around my ankles. In some ways, he was the boldest of them, using his charm and mischief to get away with more. He wormed his way beneath Dharius’s a
rm so he could curl against my side, and the big man ended up holding us both.
“Better?” Kazhar whispered against my ear, his breath hot.
Unbidden images flickered through my head. Him holding me like this, but biting and kissing my neck, finding that spot behind my ear that always made me weak in the knees. While Dharius licked a leisurely path down the front of my body.
I drew in a shaky breath. “Yes. But I need…”
I hesitated, not wanting to break this spell.
I didn’t want to lose them, but that was my greatest fear right now. If this really was a dream, I needed to wake up. Now. Because if I let my spicy thoughts continue, and then woke up…
It would break my heart to know they weren’t real.
“Anything,” Kazhar growled fiercely. “Tell us, Tygress, and we shall make it so.”
“I need to go back to the portal.”
Shock shimmered through them all. I felt the tensing of their muscles. The incremental tightening of their fingers, as if they would refuse me. They didn’t want to let me go either, which made me blink back tears.
But they didn’t argue. They didn’t press closer, determined to change my mind. In fact, Kazhar released his fierce grip on my waist and stepped back.
I shivered, missing his heat already.
Dharius tucked my arm through his. “Of course, Tygress. We’ll go back at once.”
7
We walked in silence back toward the clearing where I’d first woken up surrounded by tigers.
Marak went ahead of me and Dharius, while Kazhar brought up the rear. It was dark now and even cooler, so I was glad for the warm, thick shawl Dharius had insisted I wrap around my shoulders. We made good time even though they didn’t shift, but beneath the trees, I couldn’t see anything. The beautiful velvet slippers that matched my dress weren’t suited for walking far.
