by Kym Grosso
“Do it.” Dimitri’s gaze fell to Gillian, whose eyes were glazed with tears.
He watched as his friend peeled off her clothes and even though he was altogether comfortable with nudity, possessiveness stabbed at his chest. He didn’t want anyone else looking at her right now but him. He took a deep breath and shook off the disturbing emotion.
Dimitri and Jake had been too focused on Gillian when a wolf attacked Jake from behind. Jake fell to the ground and spotted the silver chain that had been around the female. His finger extended, scooping up the metal. The smell of his burnt flesh wafted into the night but he didn’t let it deter him from his task. Within seconds, he’d tied it to the wolf’s forearm, rendering him back to his mortal form. Dimitri never once let go of the Alpha as he watched Jake with confidence, knowing he’d subdue the lesser wolf.
A roar cut into the melee, alerting everyone of the new danger that had arrived. Dimitri nearly dropped his prey as his eyes focused on Gillian. Spectacular. It was the first word that popped into his mind as he watched the white tiger leap onto a second wolf and tear its throat open. Blood sprayed into the air, and the great feline shook her head in delight.
“What. The. Fuck?” Jake transformed back to his mortal form, slowly backing away from the enormous animal. A smile broke across his face when he realized it was Gillian. “You win, D. She’s not a bear.”
“Told you she’d be awesome.”
Dimitri contemplated what to do with the Alpha, who’d gone still in the presence of Gillian’s beast. The ramifications of killing the Alpha weren’t worth the price. Dimitri knew that if he ended Chaz’s life, he’d have to take over his pack. While he had the strength and heart of an Alpha, his loyalty belonged to Acadian wolves. As he considered his dilemma, he looked to Gillian and decided there was no rule against giving him to her. I love loopholes. He smiled, throwing the bound Alpha at her feet.
Dimitri watched with pride as the slender cat eyed her nemesis, stalking toward him, emitting a low menacing growl. Within seconds, Chaz unraveled the whip and transformed into his wolf. He curled his lips upward, and assumed a defensive posture. Gillian’s dark eyes fixed on his neck. A thunderous roar exploded from her muzzle as she attempted to pounce on the Alpha. Faltering, she missed her target, grazing his hindquarters with her paws. Chaz yelped in response. He seized the opportunity to escape, sprinting off into the night.
It was clear to Dimitri from the wolves’ hasty retreat that Chaz knew he’d never survive a fight with a tiger. The magnificent feline could have easily caught the wolf had the fight been fair. But apparently, she was still reeling from being poisoned. After nearly a one hundred yard chase, she came to a stop, glaring at her prey.
Jake approached Dimitri, the two men still nude. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s sick,” the beta observed, rubbing dirt from his eyes. Shit. He’d wanted so badly to kill the Alpha but consequences were a bitch. He’d made a calculated decision to let him live. It was the right choice, he knew. But his wolf thirsted for blood.
“The silver,” Jake agreed. He looked to Gillian who’d circled around, slowly padding toward them. “You didn’t kill him.”
“Nope.” Dimitri’s lips tightened.
“The fucking asshole was about to whip her.”
“He’s sadistic,” he replied, growing annoyed with the topic.
“That must’ve taken some great restraint…not to end it.”
“You know it fucking did, but number one, I have no desire to lead that asshole’s wolves. Two, I love my own pack. And three, well, we both know Logan’d have my nuts in a sack if I’d killed him. Things are just getting settled down at home. The last damn thing he needs is to lose his beta and have to deal with the shit people will give him about my mistake, which was thinking I could have two fucking minutes in the sand without declaring my presence to a pack.”
Dimitri blew out a breath, realizing that he’d just taken a well-deserved rant. He caught sight of Gillian staring at him in the distance. She’d gone still, her gaze upon him like a thick fog. He’d raised his voice and she’d heard. Goddammit. She’d been attacked and was traumatized. He knew better than to yell, especially after he’d just gotten finished demonstrating his dominance over the man who’d tortured her. Was she expecting him to do the same?
He needed to try to get her to shift, to get her back to the car. Despite their short-term victory, it was the middle of the night and dangerous to remain in the desert. For all he knew, they could return any second with a high-powered rifle and take out all of them.
Dimitri eyed Jake and gestured to the ground. In order to make himself less imposing, he knelt on one knee. Jake followed and they both faced off with the tiger.
“Gilly, it’s okay now. I won’t hurt you,” he said, his voice soft. The great cat growled in response and he tried again to earn her trust.
“Jake won’t hurt you either.” He glanced to Jake and gave her a small smile. “Darlin’, as much as I love seeing your beautiful kitty cat, we’ve gotta get moving. You wanna shift? We’ll go to the car, drive to the airport. All three of us. I’m goin’ to make sure you get home safe. I promise.”
The majestic beast took a few steps toward him and bared her teeth. A hiss tore through the air.
“Okay, okay. No shifting.” Dimitri held up his palms, letting her know he wasn’t going to fight her. Frustrated, he couldn’t fully communicate with Gillian, but he was certain she understood him. “Look, Gilly. We’ve got to go. They could come back any minute now…with weapons.”
He didn’t want to scare her but it was the stark reality of the situation. She turned her head as if she was looking for the enemy.
“That’s right, baby. You don’t need to be afraid of me. You know that. I know you saw what I did to the Alpha, but I’d never hurt you…ever.”
Gillian stalked toward him a few more steps, and he sighed in relief. He was getting through to her.
“Come to me, Gilly,” he gently instructed, extending his hand. “You know my scent. You healed me, touched my skin. You’re safe.”
Dimitri held his breath as she approached, pressing her head upward into his hand.
“Aw yes, darlin’. You’re so soft. So gorgeous. I know,” he whispered. “The silver is hurtin’ you. It’ll be okay in a few hours. If you want to stay how you are for a while, that’s fine, just fine.”
As he lifted his head, he looked over to Jake whose jaw was wide open in disbelief. Dimitri gave a small chuckle, unashamed of his interaction with his kitten. Fuck, since when is she my kitten? He knew it was ridiculous to feel this kind of connection to another shifter, but there was something about her. But in the heat of the moment, he wasn’t going to try to overanalyze it. In the past seventy-two hours, both she and he had been attacked. She’d saved him. He’d saved her. Maybe it was a hero complex but he didn’t care what the hell Jake thought.
“She’s not going to hurt you, man,” Dimitri said with a grin.
“Okay, whatever you say. You did just see her tear through that wolf’s throat, right? It’s not like the fight was even close.”
“I saw it, and you were awesome,” he cooed, rubbing her ears.
“Oooookay. Well, I’m a wolf. And she’s, uh, a little scary.”
“Did you hear that, Gilly, girl? Badass Jake is actually afraid of something. I want to remember this moment.” He stopped to laugh and look at Jake, who huffed, not at all amused. “So, you need to go easy, okay, kitten. Jake and I are going to shift and the three of us are goin’ to run back to the car. We won’t be able to communicate when I’m wolf, so just follow us back. Your sense of direction might be a little off…it’s just the poison.”
Dimitri waited on Jake to go first, concerned how Gillian would react to him. As his friend took off toward the car, he let his hand fall from her mane. He recalled how she’d embraced him in her human form, her soft tendrils caressing his skin. Letting the pleasurable memory drift, he focused on their task.<
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“Time to go, cher,” Dimitri said, as he called on his wolf. With the transformation complete, he and Gillian ran together toward safety.
Chapter Three
Gillian contemplated her fate, staring into Dimitri’s dark eyes. If she’d let arousal rule her thoughts, she’d have capitulated long ago. From the second she’d laid her bare skin against his, she’d known Dimitri was powerful. But the sight of him nearly killing Chaz confirmed her suspicions about his abilities. The image of the beta almost killing her captor, an Alpha, was seared in her mind. Why he’d let him live, she wasn’t sure. Instead, Dimitri had thrown the flailing wolf at her feet, as if he’d bestowed on her a precious treasure. As much as she appreciated the gesture, he’d overestimated her ability to catch prey, her body sickened from the silver.
When he’d called for her, she considered running away. But her beast recognized his actions as one of an Alpha, and she found herself respecting, fearing and desiring him all at once. The way he’d easily restrained and commanded Chaz demonstrated to her that she should be wary of him. It was true that she was lethal in her own right, but it was in that moment she knew that Dimitri could do her far more harm than she could ever inflict on him.
How Chaz had discovered her in the first place, she wasn’t sure. Even though her mom had isolated her and had gone as far as to change her name after her father’s death, Gillian’s birth was well known. Given Chaz’s influential status, he would have access to detectives who must have unearthed her identity. The existence of her breed, while rare, was known in the feline community. The secrets surrounding her kind, however, were kept closely guarded. The undesired destiny that could befall her was not one that she advertised. Her mother had warned her of what would happen should she meet a wolf who was her mate, a wolf that would be so devastatingly compelling that her beast would gladly submit to him. This man would destroy her nature, transforming her into a weaker being. No longer would her tiger surface. Generations of women before her had suffered the same fate. If Gillian found her mate, she was destined to lose herself, possibly losing her immortality altogether.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy for her race. Other than immediate family, the great cats wandered life as loners, never congregating like prides or packs. Even if she was lucky enough to find another tiger, they’d be reluctant to breed with a hybrid, to continue the impurity of her line.
Gillian’s mother, hopelessly in love, had relinquished her status, mating with an Alpha. As a result of doing so, she was left mortal, unable to ever shift again. After her mate died in an attack, she’d left his pack, relocating them to Washington. It was there in the open space of the mountains where Gillian had learned how to shift into her cat. Strong and swift, she had grown up secure, knowing that she could protect herself from virtually anything.
Upon graduation, she’d moved to New York City to attend NYU. It was in the rich cultured city where she’d learned photography. From a distance her mom had encouraged her hobby, which soon grew into a profitable business. At twenty-eight years old, she wasn’t in the top echelon yet. But her career was advancing and she’d slowly started picking up editorial shoots here and there.
Gillian couldn’t risk being around wolves, accidentally finding her mate. There was no such thing as fate, only determination, at least that was what she told herself. She loved being a tiger, and wolves represented her death. If she happened to find a tiger, she’d consider it. But since the odds of that happening were slim to none, dating humans was the only safe option. She’d never met a man who’d broken her resolve, someone who’d light every one of her nerves on fire just by breathing the same air…until Dimitri.
Gillian was drawn out of her reverie as the beta patted the car seat. He talked to her as if he were speaking to a lover, his voice sweet and gentle. She hated it…mostly because it was working. She was scared. But it was his witty repartee that made her want to know him more. When he’d saved her, demonstrating his commanding nature, one that would match hers, the man had been magnificent. He’d been incredibly dominant, yet promised not to hurt her. She told herself not to trust him, because if she did, it would only give her an excuse to be near him, to breathe in his scent like she’d done in bed….his delicious, intoxicating scent.
She looked to his nervous friend. He feigned nonchalance, but nude, he defensively flexed his hands, poised to shift. Does he seriously think I’m going to eat him? Well, had she gone truly feral, she might have, she supposed. Sure, she’d killed the wolf, but he’d participated in her torture, allowing his Alpha to attack her again. They’d held her captive, intent on breaking her beast’s spirit. But Jake, he, too, was a man of honor, one who’d risked his own life to save hers.
Dimitri smiled at her as if he’d read her thoughts and the battle shield around her heart cracked. Slowly she crept toward him, gingerly taking a place on the seat. The simple act of allowing him to touch her fur had been submission in itself. What if he has the capability to steal my beast away, to mark me? She could feel her feline nature rebel at her concern, yearning to take him. No, she couldn’t allow that to happen.
Gillian fought a yawn. So tired…if she could just nap for a bit, heal her own body, she’d thank them and say goodbye, thwarting the developing lust that grew in her belly. As a hybrid wolf, there was always a chance that he’d be the one. The one for whom she’d make the ultimate sacrifice. As she fell asleep in his lap, she gave him her trust.
Dimitri took a deep breath and nodded. Fuck it all, he was about to let a two hundred pound cat get into the back seat with him. I must be an idiot. No, just horny, his brain answered. Jake gave her a wide berth, not wanting to get too close, but Gillian still hadn’t gotten into the car. It occurred to Dimitri that perhaps he wasn’t the only one having second thoughts. Summoning up the courage, he decided a few encouraging words were in order.
“Now I know it looks like a tight fit, but you know you want to cuddle up with me. You’re a very tired kitty. Come on, now. Let’s go. Poor Jake is going to get cold out there. Just look at him.” Dimitri cocked his head and smiled at his friend, who’d hesitated to get dressed. He suspected that Jake didn’t want his clothes to restrict him, not until he was sure that Gillian wasn’t going to attack. As long as he was naked, he could easily shift back to defend himself if necessary.
Unlike Jake, Dimitri had yanked on a pair of pants. There was no way in hell he was about to get into closed quarters with a clawed tiger, leaving his dangly bits swinging in the wind.
“Remember your first time?” Yeah, it all came back to sex for him. Maybe she wouldn’t get the analogy but it was the best he could do, given the circumstances. “Is this the first time you’ve shifted with wolves? I bet it is, cher. Well this is our first time, too. Jake’s a little nervous over there. We’re all a little nervous. I’m tellin’ you that you can trust me, trust us. Come sit with me, come rest. You can stay tiger as long as you need to,” he reassured, patting the seat.
“She can’t go on a plane like that…” Jake started to say, when Dimitri held up his hand to shush him.
“Gilly just needs a little time. She needs to be with me, don’t ya, darlin’?” he coaxed sweetly. His breath caught as she pushed a fat paw onto the leather seat, and he was relieved that she hadn’t extended her nails. With the grace of a ballerina, she quietly ascended into the interior and settled down next to him. The crushing weight of her forearms on his thighs was yet another reminder of her power. But as she relaxed her muscled body against his chest, the pressure became more comfortable. Both his hands moved to stroke her fur. “That’s a girl. Just rest. I’ve got ya.”
“Your girlfriend is a cat,” Jake stated with a blunt tone.
“She’s not my girlfriend, but if she was my girlfriend,” Dimitri looked to the giant tigress in his lap, who gently snored, “it wouldn’t matter what she was. She’s brave. And funny. And she smells nice.”
“What’s, up, Pussycat….ooooooh,” Jake broke out in his best Tom Jon
es impression.
“You’re hilarious.”
“And I thought Logan was bad enough bringing one home from the pound. You topped him, all right. You slept with one, and not in the cuddle-me-kitty kind of way.”
“Hold up. Sure, she was on top of me…I’ll give you that. But we didn’t have sex. The bottom line is this; no matter how much I’d like to get to know her,” he shook his head, wishing they’d met under different circumstances, “she’s not pack. Therefore she’s not my mate.”
“That hasn’t stopped you before. You just fucked a vampire, for Christ’s sakes.”
“Yeah, well, Lacey is a lovely little memory. But she knew the score. One night or two….nothing but play. There’s been no play with this one. Oh no, she tied me up. Not that I mind a little bondage, but shit, she just left me there.” Dimitri stroked his hand over her fur and sighed. “Gilly, here, is on the run and not just from that Alpha back there. She’s got a thing about wolves.”
“She’s got a thing all right…a bad thing.”
“Yep. She’s spooked.”
“As well she should be. You saw what they did to her.”
“He marked her,” Dimitri said softly, disgusted at the thought of another wolf piercing her creamy white skin. “It makes no sense.”
“Probably just a dominance thing. The guy doesn’t strike me as mentally stable, shall we say.”
“Ya got that right. Hell, he was gonna fucking whip her. Something’s missing, though. He knew she wasn’t wolf. The question is, did he know she was a tiger? And if he did, why is he trying to keep her? Why mark her as his own in front of others?”
“Look, you and I were just guessing what she might be. Maybe they guessed right…or knew exactly what she was.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. I know we’ve gotta get home, but before we leave, I intend to get answers. Kitty, here, has some explainin’ to do.” Dimitri gingerly reached into Gillian’s backpack, which Jake had thrown onto the car floor. He fumbled inside, finding his phone. “I’m texting Logan. I’ll give him the deets when we get back, but for now, I want him to send the jet. It’ll take a while but who knows how long she’s gonna stay cat.”
