“I’ll deal with Walter and see that Brad’s remains are returned to you.” He laid a hand over hers. “If you want to stay here, you’re welcome. I’ll make sure you have no additional problems with him.”
“They don’t want me here,” she mumbled through her tears.
“I’m Alpha here, not them,” he gently reminded her. “Losing Brad was a great loss to our clan and to me personally. I considered him a good friend, as I do you, and I would hate to see you leave here because of Walter. You know he was a big supporter of Frank, and losing them both has cut deep for him. Instead of cherishing the last connection he has to Brad, he’s pushing you away because of his own grief.”
“I’m grieving, too, but I’m not acting like that.” Her words came out as more of a whine than anything else.
“I know, but you’ve always been a stronger person than him. You’ve come to a new clan to make a home with your mate. You dealt with Walter’s hatred, Frank’s vindictive attitude, and some of the clan’s displeasure at having an outsider come into our land when many were unmated within our ranks. Yet, somehow, in the months you’ve been here, you’ve made this your home. You became a part of the community. You have friends here, and while I know they can’t replace the loss of your mate, they can stand beside you while you grieve and help you through it.” He squeezed her hand. “Heidi, you’ve seen the clan at its worst, and now that I’m in control, things are going to change. I’m going to make it better. Stay.”
“My brother wants me to come home.”
“What do you want?” Ryder pressed. “You’re not committed to any Alpha at the moment, so you get to make this decision without that pressure. Do you want to go back to your old Alpha or stay here under David? You know David’s not going to run the clan like Frank did. He and Brad were good friends. He’ll make sure you’re safe and happy here.”
“Ryder’s right, but this needs to be your decision. If you want to stay, you’ll have to vow your loyalty to me. Only then can I fight to keep you here. I’ll make the call to your brother and former Alpha, so you won’t have to worry about explaining things to them. No matter your decision, I’m going to deal with Walter.”
They sat there in silence for several minutes. David didn’t want to pressure her, but he wasn’t sure how long he could stand the silence before he said something. He would do whatever she wanted, and if that meant her leaving, he’d support her decision. Brad was a close friend, or at least as close as they could become despite David’s previous position under Frank. Because of that, he wanted to make sure Heidi was happy. The silence was approaching the uncomfortable stage when she finally nodded.
“I want to stay. My memories of him are here, and I want to see the clan move beyond Frank and into the light. It’s what Brad would have wanted. He tried so hard to protect the members of this clan. He died to protect me. The best way to honor his memory is to stay here and do my part.”
“Then we will make it so.” David nodded. “You’re giving up an opportunity to return home to your family and a stable clan. I will do my best to ensure you don’t regret it.”
“Thank you.” She wiped her tears away, leaving behind wet streaks on her cheeks. “I know you’ll do whatever is best for the clan, and that’s what matters. I’ll help in any way I can.”
“I’m glad you said that.” He released her hand and leaned back in his chair. “The coming days and weeks are going to be a big adjustment, and I want your help. We’re a small clan, but most of us don’t interact with each other much. Frank forbade socializing, so the only times we were all together were for unfortunate occasions and our meals. That needs to change. We will no longer be prisoners.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“The clan is going to need support, especially the widowed mates. I want you to help them to adjust, console each other, and assist them accept what I will be announcing soon.” He glanced back at Ryder. “I’m telling you both this in the strictest confidence, and it must not go any further than between us.”
“I’ll do whatever I can.” She agreed. “This is my home.”
“Yes, sir.” Ryder nodded.
“I will be vowing our commitment to Tabitha and the Alaskan Tigers. Once I do that, I’ll inform the clan and Tabitha will send some support to assist us. Guards to begin training the selected to secure our compound. Our enemies will see our supporters and will back off.”
“You’re doing this just to keep the clan free of others who wish to overtake you and make the clan their own?” Heidi questioned.
“You already know that my sister, Mira, is a supporter. It’s why everything happened as it did.” He paused for a moment, remembering pushing her toward the door and begging her to run. There had been no doubt in his mind that if Frank got his hands on her, she’d have been killed. David wouldn’t risk her, but he didn’t realize getting her out of harm’s way would cost him so much personally, or have such an impact on the whole clan.
“Finding out she supported bringing a better future to our kind was the final break in Frank’s sanity.” Ryder shook his head. “It was only a matter of time, but I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”
“He was becoming more paranoid by the day. Members were brought in for questioning because he felt like they were turning against him. He tort—” David stopped himself before he finished the word torture and glanced at Heidi. Brad had been one of the people Frank had begun to turn against, and the day before his death, he’d been tortured with the hope that he’d reveal whatever information Frank was looking for.
“You don’t have to censor yourself. I know.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Brad was a good man. He tried to shelter me from what was happening within the clan, but when he was brought back to our room, there was no hiding what had happened. I doctored his wounds the best I could. I think that was the first time I realized how dangerous things were getting. I begged him to let us leave before something worse happened.”
“He told me, but leaving would have signed your death warrant. Frank would’ve had you killed.”
“Styx…” She swallowed and regained her composure. “He’d have come after us just like we’d been warned.”
“That’s another thing.” He glanced to the end table where a family photo was displayed, the last one of them all together. Instead of looking at the false smiles spread across their faces, his gaze was on Mira. “Styx isn’t the assassin he once was. He’s now a guard for the Alaskan Tigers’ Elders…and Mira’s mate.”
“You can’t be serious.” Shocked, Ryder leaned forward. “What, now he’s killing for the opposing side?”
“Killing isn’t the right word.” David chose his words carefully. There was no doubt that Styx would kill someone in the line of duty or to protect those he cared about, but he was no longer the paid assassin he had been. “He’s the second in the Lieutenant’s mate’s guards. Styx is no longer an assassin. That is another thing we will have to help the clan to adjust to, because eventually Mira will visit and her mate will no doubt escort her.”
“After years of everyone being brainwashed to believe he would come after them, that might be more of a struggle to overcome than the clan accepting your commitment to the Alaskan Tigers.” Heidi looked between the two before her gaze settled on Ryder. “You’ve been here your whole life. What do you think? The threat of Styx was never used against me by my former Alpha.”
“She’s right,” Ryder agreed before David could answer her question. “It’s hard to believe someone who’s had such a career as an assassin would ever settle down to be a second in the Elder guards. He’d have to report to the Captain, the Lieutenant, and the Alpha. It’s too much hierarchy for someone with his past.”
“Be that as it may be, it’s still the truth. I’ve spoken with him myself, and with his Elders. He’s a changed man.” David glanced back at the family photo. “Maybe Mira can help convince those who have doubts. As his mate, she’d know the truth, and she was always
well liked within the clan.”
“Sounds like there are going to be many battles ahead.” Heidi twisted her wedding ring. “Brad would have loved to be a part of the changes, to see the clan rise above Frank’s control.”
“He’s a part of this through us. He’ll never be forgotten, and there is no better way to honor his memory than with you helping the clan through this difficult time,” David reassured her.
Brad wasn’t the only one who would have enjoyed seeing the clan move out of the shadows and into the sunlight. He’d have been leading the pack if he was here, making sure everyone was adjusting well. Without him, David hoped he’d be able to manage the job. The cost to overpower Frank had been great, and he’d make sure no one had died in vain. Whether they had been a supporter of Frank’s or against him, none of that mattered now. The new clan would be united in the memory of those who were no longer with them.
For Shelly and Brad.
2
Chapter Two
Without thinking of the personal consequences, Victoria jumped into her car and drove from Birmingham, Alabama, to the clan’s compound in Connecticut, only stopping for a few hours to sleep at a roadside motel. A day and a half later, she was speeding through the main part of town and wondering if she’d made the worst decision of her life.
Three years ago, she’d just barely escaped Frank’s clutches. It had cost her the clan and her family, but it would have cost her a lot more if she had stayed. Now, with the news traveling through the shifter population of the new Alpha and Frank’s demise, it might be her chance to regain some of what she’d lost. She was tired of living in hiding in the middle of nowhere. She missed contact with people, especially other tiger shifters. After all this time, she was willing to risk everything to see her family and possibly regain her place within the clan’s community. To her, it was worth the risk because she didn’t want to live like she had been any longer.
Heading home had been a spur of the moment decision, an act of desperation, but she’d be damned if she’d walk away without a fight. She couldn’t go back to her one-room cabin and face another day alone. She needed companionship and to be surrounded by her own clan again. No matter the cost, she wasn’t sure she could face another day of self-induced confinement. You must risk much to achieve great things. Or at least that’s what her mother had always said. Mom…was she even alive? Many had died in the battle that eliminated Frank, but she had no names of the survivors.
She turned onto the road that would lead up the small hill to the clan’s compound, and her chest tightened. What if she had come all this way and was turned away at the gate? Would that be worse than being admitted and finding out those she cared about were dead? If she turned around now, she could pretend that everyone was living happily with the new Alpha.
The gate came into view, and she slowed the car to a crawl. Am I really about to do this? She tried to calm the racing beat of her heart. Fear rose within like a tide waiting to consume her. Thirty-six hours after she hit the road, she was having her first doubts.
A knock on her window pulled a scream from deep within her as she pulled away from the glass. Her doors were locked, but a shifter could easily pull it from the hinges and snatch her out of the car if he wanted. Had a supporter of Frank’s taken over the clan? If he remembered her sneaking away, there might be a bounty on her head. After all this time, she was going to die at their hands. She wanted to throw the car in reverse and tear out of there at breakneck speed.
“Miss…” the man on the other side of the door called to her.
Now that she had been seen, she had no other option but to put down her window and follow through. If she was turned away, at least she tried, and if the Alpha demanded her death for abandoning the clan, her solitude would come to an end. Either way, she had to see it through to the bitter end.
She pushed the button on the armrest to roll the window down and turned, forcing herself to give the gentleman a smile. “Afternoon.”
“Ma’am, this is private property.” A man who looked to be in his early fifties leaned down. His dark glasses hid his eyes, but there wasn’t a smile to be had.
Whoever this was, she didn’t recognize him, and he was taking his job very seriously. He wasn’t even acknowledging that she was a fellow shifter, so whether he recognized her as a former member of the clan or not remained unknown.
“I’m aware of that.” She took a deep breath and tried not to panic. “I used to live here, and when I heard about what happened, I had to come check on my family.”
“You should have called. The new Alpha is not allowing visitors. If you leave your name and number, I can have someone call you with information about your family and when the compound is open to outsiders.”
Her eyebrow shot up with the way he said outsiders. Was there a new threat? Was her family in more danger? “Could you call him and explain the situation? I’ve traveled a very long way and—”
“No.”
“Tim, is there a problem?” a younger man called out as he strolled toward the car.
“No problem, just a trespasser,” he told the other man before turning back to her. “Now, turn this car around and get out of here.”
“Victoria? Is that you?” The man joined them. “I can’t believe it. It is you.”
“Reece?” She couldn’t believe the young boy with wild red hair and freckles had grown into the man before her. It had only been three years since she’d left, but he had grown as if it had been ten. He’d filled out and buffed up. The flaming red hair that seemed to go every which way was now cut short and styled in a more flattering manner. The freckles were still there along his cheekbones and across his nose, but they seemed to fit him now.
“Yeah, I’ve changed a lot, but it’s still me. What are you doing here?”
“I came to see if…my parents…are they…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish her question. She had been dreading it since she’d left Alabama.
“You didn’t hear?” His smile vanished, and his skin paled, making those freckles stand out. “Pull on through the gate, and we’ll talk.”
“No outsiders,” Tim ordered.
“She’s not an outsider. She’s Victoria. Surely you remember her.” Reece tipped his head as if indicating that she should listen to him and continue up the short distance to the gate while they had it out.
“I know who she is. She’s a deserter, and you know what Frank would have done.”
“That I do, but thankfully, Frank is dead. David is Alpha here now, and he wouldn’t want Victoria turned away without knowing what happened to her family. If you doubt me, go to him and ask for yourself.”
“I know what my son is,” Tim snapped.
“David? Not Shelly’s brother David?” she asked.
“That very one, but, Shelly…” Reece shook his head. “Drive on up, and once you’ve parked, we’ll talk.”
“Screw the car.” She pulled to the side of the road, shoved it in park, and opened her door. “What’s going on?”
“Frank killed Shelly.” He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and leaned against the side of the trunk. “Shelly was out late, doing some stupid teenage rebellion with Frank’s son. Instead of paying the price, she betrayed Mira’s confidence and told Frank she’s a supporter of the Alaskan Tigers.”
“He killed her in a fit of rage,” she supplied. “I knew his temper would eventually cost someone their life. What about Mira?”
“David pushed her toward the door and told her to run. She’s now living in Alaska with her mate.”
“Is the rumor true?” When he raised his eyebrow at her, she added, “That Styx the assassin has settled down and mated.”
“I can’t confirm anything besides he’s mated with Mira. They haven’t been here, but I know he’s an Elder guard, so I don’t suspect that means he’s settled down at all. Sounds pretty dangerous when you consider the Elders he’s guarding.”
“What about my family?” She
hadn’t pressed before because she was terrified of the answer, but she couldn’t put it off any longer. “Are they…” She wasn’t sure if she’d have said here or alive, but he cut her off before she could finish her question.
He shook his head. “They’re not here. I thought they’d have gotten in touch with you. I figured if anyone knew where you were, it was them.”
“When I left, I told no one where I was going, not even my parents. There was no goodbyes, and I didn’t even hint to them I might leave. If Frank thought for a moment they knew where I was, they’d have been tortured and killed.” She sucked in a deep breath of air and pushed down the rising fear. “All this time, I’ve been living in hiding. A small cabin in the middle of nowhere that I’ve paid for in cash each month. Living totally off the grid, I’ve left no trace behind, so Frank couldn’t find me. It’s the only reason I’ve survived all this time.”
“He was furious when you left.” His face paled. “For weeks, everyone was questioned, but after your parents left, he seemed to take more interest in Harper. That was until David began to move up within the clan, and then Frank seemed more interested in other things.”
“But my parents, they’re alive?”
“Last I heard, they were. You should ask David. He’d know more than I would.”
She leaned back against the car, the heat from the metal warming the chill that had surrounded her since she’d started the journey home, and let her gaze travel over the compound. Nearly two days since she set out to be reunited with her family, only to find out they weren’t here. She had no idea where else to look. Who else would be missing once she made her way inside the gated community? Would this journey only bring her more loss instead of reuniting her with people she cared about?
When you left, Frank took interest in Harper. Reece’s statement played through her thoughts over and over, but she wasn’t ready to face that. She didn’t want to think that someone else had suffered as she had once she ran away. Harper had been so young and innocent when she left. The attentions of an older male in a position of power might have been thrilling to her, as it had once been to Victoria, although she didn’t doubt that Frank would quickly change and it would go from sweet affection to something utterly terrifying. Had the young girl suffered some of the same tortures she had?
Healing the Clan: Alaskan Tigers: Book Ten Page 2
