by Kimber White
A fierce wind kicked up, as if my rising anger had made it. Maybe it had. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe.
I did the one thing Jarred knew I would. As he stood there, eyes filled with anger and pain, I turned and ran for the woods.
Three
Jarred’s voice followed me in the wind, but he knew better than to chase me. Tearing off my jacket, I flung it behind me and rocketed down the ravine. My feet barely touched the ground. Panic crept in and my inner wolf ripped out of me.
Power surged through my limbs. Bones reknit. Soft, silvery fur sprouted along my back. My claws gripped the ground, propelling me forward. My vision sharpened, becoming four-dimensional. Ahead of me, a rabbit darted for cover; its heat burned red over its back. He had nothing to fear from me. I wasn’t here for him tonight.
Fully in my wolf, Jarred’s command couldn’t penetrate unless I wanted it to. I knew he’d try to call me back, just like he’d done at the Backwoods. He knew I’d never listen. Not now.
I saw my father’s face swim before me, like some ghostly apparition. I’d given no thought to where to run. I just wanted distance. Jarred’s words thundered through me with each heartbeat.
Mating proposals. Three of them. The Alphas of Wild Lake wanted me. My father had sanctioned it.
Sweat poured down my back. I’d reached the eastern edge of the lake. Foliage grew wild here. Moss and ivy choked some of the maple trees. I slowed, stepping gingerly around rotted leaves and underbrush until the ground turned from dirt to sand.
This was my sanctuary. My quiet place. The rest of the packs had all staked claims at different points on the lake. Not here. Broad, green lily pads covered nearly every inch of the water. Their stems tangled around my paws as I stepped through them.
Andre Lanier. Jack Monroe. And Peter Matthews. Heat coiled through me. They wanted me. They wanted to mate with me. I barely knew them. Jarred wouldn’t say it, but I knew what could happen. I’d felt the strength of their need. They would go to war for me if it came to it.
Except, I didn’t want any of them. My heart raced and dread snaked its way through my chest. It got hard to breathe.
I waded in up to my shoulders, letting the cool, still water work its magic. A bright half-moon hung high in the sky. Without thinking, I reared my head back and howled. It felt good and raw. My voice carried across the lake. I knew every wolf around would hear it. And they’d know to stay the hell away.
Just a few more yards and I’d hit the deepest part of the lake. The sandy bottom beneath my paws gave way to a steep, fifty-foot drop. When I hit it, I dove down as far as I could go. All the way.
My lungs burned, feeling like they’d burst. But still, I pushed deeper through the water, clearing my head. Finally, when lack of oxygen turned my field of vision to white starbursts, I pushed up from the bottom. I broke the surface with the force of a rocket.
I wanted to swim the entire lake. But, that would put me within the territory of all the other packs. Now, I wanted distance. I needed solitude. I had to think. Turning, I dove back down. At the center, Wild Lake reached a depth of sixty feet. I swam toward it.
Down and down I went. Black water, clean and dark, shielded me from Jarred’s reach even more than my own force of will. Lake sounds took its place. A school of bluegills flashed to my right, flicking out of my way. I followed the tall weeds even further down.
This was silence. Peace. Heaven.
My lungs craved air, but still I pushed down. No scent. No sight. No sound. I just needed the escape. A few seconds more.
Thunder shook the water around me. A swirl of light came toward me. An earthquake? Here? I hit bottom and pushed up on powerful hind legs.
Then, everything stopped. I floated, suspended in time and darkness. Two pinpoints of green light pierced through. My heart stopped. Everything...stopped. A beat. Another. Then the rush of thunder turned my world upside down.
A flash of blazing orange and black darted in front of me. I turned in the water, but couldn’t track it. It had been cool down here a second ago. Now, warmth spread.
I wasn’t alone. The water swirled in a vortex around me. Something powerful swam around me. The water muffled my growls of warning. I slashed through it, expecting my claws to find purchase. But, he moved too fast.
He. I knew it instantly. Instinctively.
One brief flash of orange then everything went still. It was only a second, but everything changed. He was massive. Huge paws, four times the size of mine. His body rippled with the power of his strokes. I reached for him. He was too fast. Then, he floated in front of me, wide green eyes filled with shock at seeing me too.
It was impossible. Maybe I’d finally gone too far and this was some near-death vision or euphoria. Except, my wolf knew better. She’d known it before too. I just hadn’t let the impossible in. Now, it stared me right in the face.
A tiger. A huge, beautiful tiger. Cruel black stripes cut through the brilliant golden-orange of his fur. His yellow-green eyes cut through the water, boring straight through me.
Instinct fueled me. I kicked hard upward, breaking the surface in a powerful arc, shifting at the same time.
Heart pounding, I sliced through the water with skilled strokes. Water sluicing off me, I found the shallow part of the lake and stood. The moon cast a blue glow over my naked body. Stumbling through the sand, I landed on the beach. The water churned behind me as dawn broke over the hillside. Blazing orange stripes streaked across the dark horizon.
Maybe that was it. It had been some trick of the light. There was no tiger at the bottom of Wild Lake. I was losing my mind. Except, my heart, my senses told me different. I kept a backpack of supplies hidden beneath a massive pine tree. I scrambled to it, pulling out a clean t-shirt and cotton underwear. I went back to the water’s edge.
No. Impossible.
The churning water stilled. His massive, round head emerged. Fangs bared, the light caught his eyes. I took a faltering step backward. Then another. I tripped and landed square on my ass in the sand.
In three graceful strides, the tiger reached me. Water beaded and dripped off his lush fur. Digging my hands into the sand, I fought the urge to reach for him. His hot breath touched my cheek. He let out a chuff that vibrated through me.
His face. Those fangs. Glistening white, each was roughly the circumference of a throwing spear with a point just as deadly. I’ve been around Alpha wolves. I’d even been around a few bear shifters. But, this creature dwarfed them all.
He circled me. I froze. As strong as I was, one on one, I’d be no match for him. It would take an entire pack to bring any kind of fair fight. He breathed in my scent. His huge, pink tongue curled as he licked his lips. Then, he stopped right in front of me and sat back on his haunches.
Lucia!
Jarred’s voice pierced through me, breaking whatever spell I’d been under. My instincts short-circuited. I vaulted into a crouch, staring the tiger down.
Tilting his head to the side, he let out a warning chuff. Slowly, I rose to my feet. My vision brightened and I knew he could see my silver wolf eyes glinting in warning. Still, the urge to touch him burned through me. The tiger stood his ground as I raised my hand.
Lucia!
I pushed back with my mind. Warning bells rang inside me. My skin pricked. Gooseflesh covered me. My wolf churned. Shift. Run. Fight. And yet, I stood transfixed in front of the tiger.
My fingers trembled as I edged closer. He let out a deep, staccato growl. The sound of it rippled through me, rattling my nerves, igniting my heart.
His eyes locked with mine. Two brilliant orbs. Emerald green ringed with gold. My throat ran dry as recognition slammed into my brain.
I knew him.
Swallowing hard, I staggered back. The tiger’s head swayed back and forth. The wild part of me clamored to shift. To run. But, the woman inside me wanted something far different.
“Clint,” I said, shocked I could even form the word. “That’s your name, isn’t it
? From the bar?”
The tiger chuffed, swinging his head. His long tail rose high, arcing back and forth. His ears flicked, turning all the way around. The backs of each had identical, stark white circles in the center of jet-black fur. Before I knew what was happening, I touched him.
My fingers sank into the fur at the top of his head. Not like a wolf’s at all. Soft. Silky. I traced the curve of his skull. The tiger blinked once but held still.
“Clint,” I whispered.
He seemed as shocked at my presence as I was at his. Chuffing again, he pulled away from my touch and took a step back. The air around him charged with magic I understood. It wavered and swirled, like looking through vapor. Bones cracked, fur remade itself into flesh. He shifted with heart-stopping beauty that took the air straight from my lungs.
Clint crouched before me. In the bar, I thought I hadn’t studied his face well. I’d only noticed his eyes. His presence. Now, even without having witnessed his shift, I could see what he was so clearly. He had broad, solid cheekbones, deep-set eyes framed by dark, straight brows. His perfect, full mouth curved into a curious, not unkind smile.
His eyes still churned with green fire as he rose to his full height. My eyes went up and up. He stood at least six foot six. Until now, I thought bear shifters were the biggest men I’d ever seen.
As my eyes traveled down, a blush heated my cheeks. He had hard, chiseled abs, bulging biceps, and thighs the size of tree trunk. Heat slammed into my chest as I stopped myself from looking between them.
Clint withstood my gaze, standing proud and tall. He moved first, with the quiet grace of the jungle cat inside of him. His skin still bore the faint trace of shadows where his stripes had been.
“Here,” I said, turning quickly. I grabbed a towel out of my backpack and tossed it to him. Clint arched a single brow, then wrapped the towel around his waist. On me, it covered my whole body. On him, it barely closed.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t,” I said. “But you’re lucky I’m the one who found you. Don’t you realize where you are?”
He took his eyes away from mine, sending a chill through me. As he adjusted the thin towel, he scanned the horizon. “Uh. Northern Michigan.”
I put a hand on my head as if it might pop off. “You’re in Wild Lake. This is wolf shifter country. You could get killed just for standing here.”
When he looked back at me, his eyes flashed with mischief. “People keep telling me that. Well, I wasn’t planning on causing a ruckus. I’m really just passing through.”
“Ruckus? You’re a...you’re a tiger!”
Clint blanched. “Yeah. About that. I don’t know what I was thinking letting you see me. I don’t suppose you could keep that under your hat.”
I crossed my arms in front of me, suddenly aware of what I must look like. Fresh from the lake, wearing just a thin t-shirt and underwear, he wouldn’t need tiger vision to see more than I intended. That new heat flashed through me, settling in my core. It unsettled me.
“If you’re trying not to draw attention to yourself, what the hell were you doing at the Backwoods? Let alone swimming in Wild Lake?”
Clint regarded me for a moment, as if he was trying to work out just how much he could trust me. I was doing something similar to him. Every ounce of common sense told me he was dangerous. And yet, I blocked my brother and with him the rest of the pack.
“I was just looking for a place to hide out for a few days. I’m on my way north.”
I don’t know what made me grow so bold, but I felt pulled to this guy like a magnet. He was a tiger! An honest to God tiger. And here I was standing alone with him in the veritable middle of nowhere.
“What are you running from, Clint?”
“Yeager,” he said. “Clint Yeager.”
I held my hand out to him stupidly. “Lucia McGraw.”
He hesitated, giving me that sly smile that was starting to infuriate me at the same time it warmed my blood. “Lucia.” The sound of my name on his lips gave me goosebumps.
I don’t know what he wanted to say. Something smooth perhaps, or smartass. He never got the chance. My spine tingled and my wolf flared as howls rose behind us. The pack was on the move.
Stupid. I’d been stupid to think Jarred wouldn’t sense something off about me. Now, I could feel all seven members of the McGraw pack plus my brother running straight for the beach.
Clint’s instinctive roar blew my hair back. If the pack found him here, they’d probably try to rip him apart. I don’t know what made me act like I did that day. It was as if everything inside me turned upside down. But, before I knew what was happening, I reached for Clint, clasping his hand in mine.
“Come on,” I said, breathless. “If you’re looking to hide out somewhere, I know a place. But, you’re going to have to hurry. And you’re going to have to trust me.”
It was just a moment in time. Clint locked his gaze with mine, his eyes flashing with green fire. The shadows across his skin deepened as his tiger bubbled to the surface. I knew the turmoil inside of him. Trust? Fight? Shift?
In the end, he gripped my hand harder and gave me a quick nod. Then, he followed me back through the woods.
Four
I have no ever-loving clue what I was thinking. I wasn’t. That was the problem. But, when I heard my brother’s pack tearing through the woods, I knew with cold certainty they would try to kill Clint if they caught his scent. Why did I care so much? There was no time to figure that out.
The minute I started to run, Clint shifted back into his tiger. The whoosh of energy around it hit me right in the chest. He pawed the ground and let out a low growl that hummed through my veins. My own wolf ripped out of me.
The ground shook beneath the force of Clint’s hard steps. I could feel him holding back. Even at top speed, he matched my pace easily. We ran along the lake’s edge. His orange and black stripes blurred beside me. I nipped his ear and turned, cutting east through the woods.
We reached the boundary of the Bonner farm. I headed for the small log cabin tucked against the bottom of a hill. Clint skidded to a halt beside me, his massive paws kicking up dirt.
I shifted, rising on unsteady legs. Charging through the front door, I quickly grabbed a change of clothes from the cedar chest we kept in the corner. This little cabin had served as a hideout for McGraw wolves many times before. I threw a pair of old jeans out the door where Clint stood.
Heart pounding, I waited for him to collect himself and join me inside. Instead, he filled the doorway and stared at me with those glimmering, green eyes.
“They won’t look for you here,” I said, breath catching. Sweat poured down the back of my neck. My shirt clung to me. I was still wet from the lake.
Clint had to duck to clear the doorframe. His eyes darted over the room. It wasn’t much. Just four walls, a fireplace, a kitchenette, farm table and chairs and a pallet in the corner.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked.
“Why are you?”
Clint paused for a moment, then his face broke into that sly smile. “That, is a longer conversation than I’m betting you have time for.”
He was right about my time running out. The pack had turned south. I couldn’t be sure whether Clint’s presence triggered Jarred’s alarm or if he was just trying to rein me in again. Either way, he’d settled. They were heading back to Jarred’s house. I knew I should get back there myself. Jarred didn’t need wolf shifter senses to eventually figure out I’d gone back to Aunt Pat’s property.
“Who are you?”
Clint’s smile didn’t break. “I already told you that.”
“Right. Clint Yeager. But, what are you doing here? I mean really?”
He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in front of him. His face changed, as if he had one answer in mind but a different one took its place. His eyes glinted with emotion and he came to me.
I couldn’t breathe. I
could barely see straight. I went up on the balls of my feet, wanting to meet him eye to eye. Even on tiptoe, I didn’t even come close. Every defensive instinct in me should have blared a warning. He was huge. He was dangerous. He was an outsider. And yet, when his hot breath touched my cheek, it ignited a firestorm of emotions. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to get close enough to learn his scent. I wanted to...kiss him.
It was just a tiny flicker in his eyes, but Clint flinched. Being this close to me affected him too. He took a step back. He cleared his throat.
“I’m not sure,” he finally said. “I just needed to put some distance between myself and some...former associates.”
“Who?”
If emotion had ruled Clint’s reaction a moment ago, he recovered. His eyes narrowed. “You need to get back, I think. And I shouldn’t stay. You took a risk bringing me here. Thank you. I’m trying not to draw attention to myself.”
I blinked hard and couldn’t suppress a laugh. “Are you kidding? Since the second I met you, you’ve done nothing but draw attention to yourself.”
Clint's face turned to stone. Those damn eyes of his drew me in. They were so much different than wolf eyes. I could at least keep mine in check if I really tried. Clint didn’t seem able to. His tiger stared out at me all the time. Shadows covered his chest in the shape of his stripes.
“I didn’t plan it,” he finally said, his voice booming and deep. He left something rather obvious unsaid. He hadn’t planned to draw attention to himself. For whatever reason, being near me made him reckless.
“You can stay,” I said. It was as if an alien had taken over my mouth. What was I saying? What was I doing? “I mean, for the day, anyway. You’re on the Bonner property. It’s neutral territory.”
“Neutral for who?”
“Lucia!” A high, feminine voice carried on the wind.
Clint’s roar ripped from him. He moved so fast I could barely register it. He put himself between me and the door, using his body to block me from our approaching visitor.
