“The future, huh? Yours or mine?” He wanted to touch her hand in reassurance.
“Both.”
Footsteps came jogging up the steps, and a moment later, Heidi came through the door. Let the fun begin.
“Harry, didn’t you get the message?” Heidi strolled straight toward her brother.
“I got it, but it doesn’t change anything. I want you to come home.” Harry rose from the sofa and stepped forward.
“I’ve committed to David and this clan.”
“This is stupid. You have family who cares for you. You’re not staying here. This clan will be eliminated or taken over by someone else. I won’t have you risk your life because you’ve been brainwashed.”
“Are you even listening to yourself? Brainwashed? Really, that’s the best you’ve got?” Heidi shook her head. “I’m doing this because it’s what Brad would have wanted. It’s what I want. I’ve come to care about the people here, and I know David will make a superb Alpha. I want to be here to see the changes that are made.”
“The clan will fight for you if we have to.” Harry balled his fists as if he was ready to take on anyone who stood in his way.
“Sir.” Matt stepped into the doorway. “I don’t wish to interrupt, but may I have a moment of your time?”
“What’s up, Matt?” He stepped over to the door and hoped it was important.
“Reece wanted me to tell you there’s a new arrival at the gate. Carran. He claims he’s with the Alaskan Tigers.”
“The Alaskan Tigers?” Harry’s attention was no longer on his sister but on them. “Traitors to our kind.”
Victoria spun toward him. “A traitor to our kind? You can’t be serious.”
“Damn right, that’s what I said. They want our presence known to those lesser human beings. We will be hunted down like wolves. If you’re a supporter, I should kill you where you stand.”
“There will be none of that.” David raised his voice and let the authority shine through. “She is my guest and is protected. If you have a problem with the Alaskan Tigers, you have a problem with me because I’m committed to them.”
“Traitor!” Harry growled.
“What the hell is going on?” A male with long black hair and what appeared to be grayish highlights stepped inside.
“Who are you?” Ryder asked.
“Carran.”
“It’s okay,” David told Ryder.
Carran stepped into the room and eyed the situation before letting his gaze settle on David’s. “I convinced your guard to let me pass when Matt didn’t return.”
“We’re not finished here, David,” Harry hollered. “It’s not too late for you to turn back and not betray your kind. To join with them is not only a disgrace, but it will also be signing your death warrant. Make your choice and let it be the right one because if not, I’ll kill you where you stand and claim this clan as my own.”
“Are you challenging me?” David squared his shoulders and stepped forward.
“If you’ve sided with the Alaskan Tigers…”
“Harry.” Heidi reached forward.
Her brother moved to the side, out of her reach. “Stay out of this. It doesn’t concern you.”
“The hell it doesn’t. What the hell happened in Mississippi since I left? I never thought you or Lee would be against Tabitha.”
“One against the mighty slew.” Victoria chuckled. “After all that this clan has been through, I doubt they’re going to just let you walk out of here after you’ve killed their new Alpha. Are you willing to risk your life?”
Tiger fur sprouted through Harry’s skin as the transition began. Bones morphed and shifted, turning the six-foot-tall man into a tiger. He fell forward onto his paws and roared. His front paws barely hit the ground before he leaped toward Victoria.
David spun toward her, giving the tiger his back for a moment, and wrapped his hand around her wrist. Tingles of electricity surged through the contact, and his glance met hers. He had a moment to take in her wide eyes before claws raked down his back, sending pain through him. He shoved her toward Ryder and let his own tiger surge forward. His beast sprang out, another benefit of being an Alpha. His beast responded quicker.
Before Harry could get his claws into David’s back again, he spun toward him and growled a warning that if he pressed this, David would have no choice but to kill him. Instead of backing down, Harry sprang forward again. David shook out his fur, adjusted to his new size, and waited. He’d let the lesser tiger take another move, and when he did, it would be the last one. He’d kill him, because he was a threat and if he didn’t do it now, he’d have to do it later.
“Harry, stop this!” Heidi screamed, but her brother paid her no attention.
“He’s made a direct challenge to the Alpha. It will be a fight to the death.” Ryder stood in front of Victoria, with Carran by his side.
David had a moment to question if his Lieutenant realized he was protecting the Alpha’s mate. Had he realized the quick exchange for what it was before all hell broke loose?
Harry’s paw made contact with the side of his neck. Fighting dirty, huh? Using the advantage of him being off-balance as he swung, David arched back onto his hind legs and launched himself toward Harry, swinging him over to land hard on his back with David on top of him. Harry’s teeth locked onto David’s shoulder, sinking deep into the skin. He tipped his head back and roared as his shoulder was ripped apart.
“David…” Victoria’s voice cut through the pain, just as Harry’s mouth came off his shoulder and went for his neck.
Knowing he didn’t have a second to spare, he locked his mouth around Harry’s neck. The moment he did, the other tiger went still. It didn’t matter whether he knew he was beaten and was doing it as an act of submission. His tiger teeth sank deep within the skin, blood seeped into his mouth, and he ripped through the muscles, tearing the throat out. Arteries tore, blood squiring everywhere.
Harry’s tiger form shifted back to human and stilled beneath him. He rose off of him and spit the remaining blood from his mouth. His first kill as an Alpha left him with nothing more than an understanding that it most likely wouldn’t be the last. He didn’t regret it because his beast knew that it was a necessary evil of being an Alpha. The only pang of guilt he had was for Heidi. She had lost so much already, and now she’d have to grieve for her brother.
Standing here naked, covered in blood, he looked at Heidi as tears streamed down her face. He wanted to apologize that she had witnessed it, for the loss of her brother, but he didn’t know where to begin. I’m sorry didn’t seem adequate in a situation like this. When it was Frank, he’d just strolled off and left the rest of them deal with the fallout. He never apologized for his actions, never stayed around long enough to pick up the pieces. But he wasn’t Frank and he never would be. Where did an Alpha draw the line?
“Har…” Tears streamed down Heidi’s face as she pushed past Carran and went to her brother’s dead body. She cradled his body against hers, getting blood all over her clothing, and sobbed. “Why didn’t you listen?”
“Heidi…”
“Please, don’t.” She didn’t even look up at him.
Not knowing what else to do, he stepped back toward the bed and snatched a pair of shorts off the corner of the mattress. He tugged them on and prepared to deal with issues at hand. First, he had to deal with the dead body, then Heidi, and last but not least, he needed to face this mating issue that presented itself at the worst possible moment. Somewhere in there, he’d have to deal with the wounds that marred his body. The shift had started the healing process, but not enough to close them completely.
An Alpha’s duty was never done.
4
Chapter Four
Needing to get some air, Victoria stepped out onto the deck while David and the others dealt with the fallout. She couldn’t comfort Heidi for her loss when her thoughts were too tangled up in her own personal mess. Destined mate to an Alpha…wasn’t that a twisted
sense of irony? She ran from the clan because Frank had wanted to take her as his own. It didn’t matter that they weren’t destined mates; it only mattered that he wanted her. The pain from having sex with someone who wasn’t her destined mate had been one thing that had driven her to run. At that time, she had wanted happily ever after, the man who would cherish and protect her. That man couldn’t be an Alpha. His duties would lie not only with his mate but also with the good of the clan.
She wasn’t completely sure what David thought was good for the clan. She wanted to believe him, that he wouldn’t be like Frank, but she couldn’t trust herself. This had been her first time out of her little cabin in three years, except to get supplies. Her tigress might be jumping to conclusions based on what she wanted and not on what was true. It could lead her to believe things that weren’t accurate, things that would end up putting her back in the same position she had been in before. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
Her mother’s last words played through her thoughts. You can’t deny a mating, no matter how much you don’t want it. Only, she’d been talking about Frank. Her mother had believed Frank’s statements, that the two of them were destined to be together, that she was his mate. Brainwashed. At least, that was the only way she could explain why her parents would believe him over her. That, or they didn’t care as long as he was happy. A happy Alpha meant a safe clan, at least for a time. When Frank was happy, he wasn’t torturing someone for the joy of it.
She had tried to deny him, to ignore his requests and advances, but the day she’d left had been the final straw. He had warned her that he wouldn’t be put off, that she would be his, and he’d make it clear the following evening after dinner. If she hadn’t left, she would’ve been dead before the month was over.
Here she was, back home, in the Alpha’s quarters, only this time the Alpha actually was supposed to be her mate. What if he wasn’t different? Could she live being mated to someone like Frank? Things were so dangerous she wasn’t sure what either option meant.
His commitment to the Alaskan Tigers could be a benefit. It could be a security net of sorts. There was no way they’d allow him to stay in power if he continued running the clan as it had been run. They would eliminate him and put one of their people in his spot, although that led to a whole different set of problems. Could she really stand by and allow them to kill her mate?
She was so full of questions and the answers were nowhere to be found. She let all of the questions circle around her thoughts as she stared out at the compound. Reece still stood guard, but there was a younger man with him now. Surely it had to be the shift change to relieve Reece who had been there all day.
Other than that, the grounds were quiet. No one moving about, or even out enjoying the cool night air. It reminded her too much of when Frank was in charge, but it would take time for everyone to adjust to their new freedom. An owl hooted in the distance, drawing her attention toward the hills that surrounded the area. David and the others told her there were dangers lurking in the trees, watching the clan. Who else was there besides the Washington D.C. Tigers? How much danger was this clan in?
Being home stirred all types of feelings within her, both good and bad. Since arriving here, things had been so crazy she hadn’t been able to give much thought to her parents. She hadn’t even visited their old room, which she had been informed was still vacant. Where were they, and would she ever be reunited with them?
She leaned back against the chair and let her eyelids drift shut. She let her thoughts wander back to happier times, when she was too young to realize the dangers that lurked in the shadows. Sneaking down to play with Shelly and sometimes Mira. Shelly had always been a daredevil, wanting to push everything too far, while Mira urged her younger sister to stay out of trouble. Then there was her—somewhat a mixture of both of them. She’d risk things only when she was sure there was a limited chance anyone would catch her.
It wasn’t until Frank had taken a deeper interest in her that she realized keeping out of trouble was actually hurting her. He had wanted a submissive mate, who would stand by his side and not say a word unless he told her what it was, someone who wouldn’t lead an uprising against him. He thought he’d found that in her. Maybe if they were destined mates, he would have, because she had been too scared to really stand against him. But they weren’t, and that changed things on every level.
The door slid open, and someone joined her on the deck but she didn’t open her eyes. She could smell it was David and he was alone. The one thing she had been trying to deny since she’d stepped outside was about to make itself known, and she’d have to deal with it. She couldn’t pretend she hadn’t realized the sign of mating.
“What are we going to do about this?” she questioned, wanting to face the matter head-on.
“You know it can’t be denied.” David leaned against the railing and looked at her. “The mating desire will grow in each of us until we can’t stand it any longer and then the pain will come. As for how long we have before that happens…I can’t tell you because it’s different for each of us. There are so many factors.”
“One of the biggest is your rank within the clan.” Her lips curled down into a frown as more memories flooded back. “Dad told Mom that’s why Frank wasn’t showing the signs of our so-called mating and that he was shielding me so I didn’t suffer through the desires. They blamed me for his mood because I wouldn’t accept my destiny.” She shook her head and tried to push the recollections of those last few weeks with the clan away.
“You have to realize this is different. You must have felt the current sizzling between us, the draw that’s there.”
“I do.” She pulled her legs up onto the chair and hugged them to the front of her. “This is all so sudden and unexpected.”
“For both of us. With everything that’s happening, I didn’t expect to find my mate.” He let out a deep sigh and grabbed the railing. “Actually, I haven’t given much thought to mating. When Frank was in command, I didn’t want someone he could use against me. Since I’ve taken over, there hasn’t been much time to consider anything but the clan.”
“The clan should be your first priority. Finding a mate now is bad timing.”
“Or maybe it’s perfect timing.” His smile made his eyes sparkle. “Maybe it will take both of us to make this clan what it should be.”
She tried to get all her thoughts in order. “Just imagine for one minute that I believe you and that you’ll run this clan differently. It could be the reason you’ve found your mate. It would give the clan a more solid footing from the beginning. They say that when the Alpha is mated, his clan thrives and the fertility rate is slightly better than that of a clan without a mated Alpha.”
“The fertility rate will be restored when Tabitha has united us all, and then maybe our clan can start to grow in size again. We were the last generation with Shelly being the last baby born into our clan.”
“Why? Things didn’t get bad until later, so why aren’t there more children?” That had always been something she never could figure out. Other clans had children. They were few and far between, but there were still children. It wasn’t like the parents could decide not to have children. Their beasts wouldn’t let them go very long without being intimate, and birth control didn’t work for their sort. So why had they been cursed with infertility?
“Shortly after Shelly was born, Frank’s sanity snapped. It’s when he mated. He hated his mate. She wasn’t submissive enough for him. Their first intimacy brought him a son. He once told me that he planned to kill her after she gave birth but kept her around to raise his son. During that time, his sanity started to slip, and when he finally killed her a few years later, he was completely off the deep end.” He turned away from her and stared out at the grounds.
“By that time, the son was already spoiled by the mother and Frank wanted little to do with him,” she added, remembering the conversation she had with Frank. You’ll give me a son who will be fit to rule t
his clan. Not like that piece of shit one I have now. “He wanted another mate to give him a proper child.”
“But you weren’t his mate.” He growled. “You were young, and he should have left you alone. I tried…”
She rose off the bench and stood next to him. “I know. You wouldn’t admit to it, even Mira wouldn’t tell me the truth but that time…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it. Images of him strung up by his wrists as Frank whipped his back before driving knives into his stomach and poking him with a burning hot fire poker played thought her thoughts. Even though no one would admit it, she couldn’t stop the idea that he was tortured because of her. “You stood up for me and paid for that.”
“This isn’t a discussion of the past but of what the future will hold.” He didn’t look at her.
“It’s the truth, though, isn’t it?” When he didn’t answer, she took that as its own answer and placed her hand over his, squeezing lightly. “Thank you.”
He laid his other hand over hers, and they stood there in a peaceful silence. Something had changed between the two of them. She went from doubting him to knowing that if he would stand up against Frank to try to protect her he couldn’t be that bad of a guy, and if that was the case, then surely he wouldn’t run the clan the same way. He had to want better for all of them. She’d give him a chance to prove it.
“It’s been a long day.” He stopped and turned toward her. “Those who are watching the compound might have seen you, so you can’t leave without placing yourself in danger and I won’t have that. I had planned on you staying in one of the guest quarters, but you’re mine.”
“There’s no way I’m sleeping in your bed, so just get that out of your head. Destiny might say we’re mates, but I have a ton of questions that need to be answered.”
“I hadn’t considered my bed.” When she raised an eyebrow, he smirked. “Okay, maybe a small part of me did, but realistically I didn’t consider it. I need to know you’re safe, and without trained guards, I can’t guarantee that unless you’re with me. You have two choices. You can stay with Carran in one of the guest quarters, or you can have my bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa. Either way, I’ll know you’re safe, although I have to say I’d prefer you to stay here.”
Healing the Clan: Alaskan Tigers: Book Ten Page 5
