“So what did he want?” Evie asked, voice muffled by his chest.
“He wants me to go to Chicago. Bring back a leaderless group of tigers.”
“Do these tigers want to be brought back?”
He nodded, his chin brushing her hair. “So they say.”
“Strange weretigers? Unfamiliar city? Sounds potentially dangerous.” Her voice was low.
He couldn’t lie to her, never again—no matter how much he wanted to take away the bit of fear he detected in her tone. He’d lied to her once to get her back, and it had almost broken them apart. “They’re distant relatives of ours—supposedly. But I can’t say for sure there won’t be dangers involved.” He took a deep breath and prepared for the wrath he knew was coming. “I’d like you to stay here with Erick and the rest of the clan. They can keep you safe.”
To his surprise, she laughed. Then she stepped back, out of his arms. “Yeah, I’m just going to stay here with all these strange tigers and let you go after Chicago alone. I’m totally okay with that.”
Despite the mock levity in her tone, her eyes looked too bright.
“I need you safe.”
“And I need you safe.” Her expression was fierce. “No way in hell are you doing this without me. We’re partners, right?”
“Of course we are, but—” Her expression halted the rest of his words.
She narrowed her eyes. “I thought we were finished with this overprotective thing. I’m a strong person, and I will not wait on the sidelines when you might get hurt.”
“Your safety will always be my main concern.”
She closed the gap between them and went to her tiptoes. Then she slid her hand behind his neck and pulled him close. Her lips were soft against his, but he felt the connection between them like fire in his veins. She pulled back just far enough to speak. “Likewise.”
He grunted. He already had much to make up to his mate. If he left her behind, she may never forgive him. That wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.
Chapter Two
Nicolas would have fled the plane, had there not been such a crowd between him and the exit.
“Are you okay?” Evie asked, concern plain in her voice and expression.
“I’m fine.” He cleared his throat. “Really.”
She gave him a tight smile and nodded. Not fooled, but unwilling to push him on it.
The only other time he’d been on an airplane had been when he was chasing Evie down, making sure his mate didn’t get away. He’d been so focused on Evie he’d barely noticed the passengers around him—barely noticed the overwhelming feeling of being trapped in a tiny, metal box thousands of feet above the earth.
The airport didn’t smell any better than the plane had. Too many people, too much activity to take in, and far too many unpleasant scents. The plane was bad, but the airport was almost worse.
Evie took his arm in a firm grip and led him through the Midway airport, cell phone firmly affixed to her ear. He carried the luggage, but she dragged him along like a child. But he couldn’t complain. She was obviously more comfortable with all of this than he was.
She’d been quiet on the airplane, except for the occasional glance and squeeze of his hand to make sure he was okay. Come to think of it, she’d been rather silent the night before, too.
Was she as worried about all of this as he was? His mind reeled. All of the unknowns of the trip concerned him, but he couldn’t help but be excited about reconnecting with his people, with his brother. Sure, Erick wasn’t the overly friendly sort. Nicolas didn’t foresee a lot of heart-to-hearts and hugs and their future. But he was the only family Nicolas had left—well, until he’d found out about this unknown aunt. And it wasn’t just Erick. Being around the other tigers… It was exhilarating. Freeing.
Finally, they reached the outside, but it was still hot, muggy, and sticky—overwhelming. Horns sounded, car engines filled the air with noise, and it felt like all around him, people chattered and yelled. He knew from their flight path that they had landed right in the city. Like a colossus, he could feel it around him. Suffocating.
A red economy car that had seen better decades swung onto the curb before coming to a dramatic stop in front of them. A woman hopped out and gave them a quick wave. She had reddish-blond hair and a smile that was bright and welcoming.
He glanced at Evie and realized she’d hung up from her phone call. Was this who Evie had been talking to? He’d been so lost in his own thoughts, so lost in the overwhelming environment around them, that he hadn’t paid any attention.
Curvy and pretty, the redhead bounced up to them with a big smile on her face.
“Evie! Nicolas! So nice to meet you.”
Before he could respond, the young woman pulled him into a tight hug. He went stiff, not sure what to do. Had he ever been hugged by a stranger? He didn’t think so. Seemed like something he would remember.
The woman released him and pulled Evie into a hug, as well. Unlike him, Evie recovered quickly and hugged the woman back.
“Hi, Annabel. So nice to meet you, too,” Evie said.
Of course. Daniella had mentioned that her best friend lived in Chicago. She must’ve arranged for her to come pick them up. Had Evie told him that? Maybe on the plane when he’d been concentrating so very hard at not turning into a tiger in front of the hundred and twenty other people at ten thousand feet.
Daniella had mentioned her friend was human and that she didn’t know anything about their world—shifters, vampires, or other things like them. Why would Daniella have her come pick them up when she had no idea—and couldn’t be told—why they were in the city?
Annabel opened the trunk and took the bags from his hands to put them in the back. She tried to wrestle with the heaviest one, but he gave her a look and put it in the car himself.
“Are you guys hungry? I have some leftovers at the house, but I’m not sure what you guys like to eat. I’m a vegetarian, so…”
“We appreciate the ride,” Nicolas said. “But we don’t want to trouble you. Happy to grab dinner at the hotel.”
The woman blinked. “Absolutely not. No family of Daniella’s is going to stay at some ratty hotel. I have a nice guestroom with its own bath. You guys are staying with me.” She smiled. “How do you feel about drive-through?”
Before he knew what was happening, Nicolas and Evie had been hustled into the car. He found himself in the back seat while the two women chatted in the front.
“So Daniella tells us that you two met in high school,” Evie said.
“Yes. We’ve been friends for ages. Ever since freshman year English. I was new, and Daniella took it upon herself to make sure I was welcome. Not something a whole lot a fourteen-year-old girls will take upon themselves, believe me.” Barely glancing at the road, Annabel drove through traffic, swerving in and out of lanes. Nicolas broke out in a sweat and gripped the backseat hard.
“We really appreciate the offer to stay at your house, but you don’t have to do that,” Evie said. Relief rushed through him. With any luck, his subtle mate could get through to this strange woman where he could not.
“No way!” Annabel gripped the steering wheel and made a hard left. Nicolas’s stomach shifted with the car, and he swallowed. “I won’t hear of it.”
Why was she so insistent? Suspicion blossomed in his chest. Daniella had almost been killed by a vampire only months before—and Erick’s second, Owen, had been kidnapped. His nose told him that the woman in the front seat was definitely human, and no scent of any other kind of being lingered around her. And yet… Daniella was a royal tiger—a were capable of making a full shift into a tiger. A rare and prized female. Could this be some sort of trick? Nicolas himself was a royal—a far less valuable one, as he was male, but still.
He tried to shake off the suspicion. The woman didn’t seem deceptive, exactly, but she was definitely odd.
“So I hear you guys are in Chicago to pick up some friends and get them moved back to Colorado.” An
nabel swerved again, hitting the gas and narrowly missing a truck much larger than the tiny car they were trapped in.
“Yep,” Evie said. “Moving isn’t fun, but we thought we’d come help.”
“It’s such a drag,” Annabel agreed. “Real nice of you guys to fly this way. So where are we headed tomorrow?”
Once again, Nicolas found himself speechless. Thank God for Evie.
“Oh, goodness. We don’t expect you to show us around for the whole trip. We’re happy to get a cab tomorrow to take us down there. Heaven forbid you get dragged into helping strangers move.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Like I said, family to Daniella is family to me.” She gave Evie a big smile, once again taking her eyes off the road far too long for Nicolas’s comfort. “I haven’t seen her in ages. And it’s hard to get the good scoop over the phone. I’m counting on you guys to fill me in.”
Evie smiled but held on to the oh-shit handle above her door like her life depended on it. “Honestly, I’ve known Daniella less than a week. Not sure how much gossip I can give you.”
Annabel laughed. “We can start with giving me the down low on this man of hers.” She coughed. “Men. I mean men. I’m going need a lot more info on that.”
He could hear the smile in his mate’s voice when she spoke, going into some detail about Erick and Owen’s muscular physiques. Too much detail for his comfort.
He remained silent, but worry coursed through him. What were they going to do with this human following them around? He couldn’t exactly be rude to her, not with how much she obviously meant to Daniella. But it didn’t seem like anything short of that was going to dissuade the woman.
They’d just have to make the best of it. And somehow keep this human from getting suspicious.
Two words came to mind as Evie stood in front of the RV park. Desolate and depressing.
She’d seen nice RV parks in her day. Well kept, little, portable neighborhoods with small homes that were obviously tended to by their owners. Loved.
The small corner of Chicago in front of them showed no such feeling.
“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Annabel asked, voice finally losing some of its happy bounce.
Nicolas didn’t look away from the small park, didn’t seem to notice she and Annabel were there anymore. Then again, she’d barely been on his radar since they’d arrived at his brother’s.
She quashed the worry rising up inside of her at the thought. Nicolas was dealing with a lot—not only was he back in contact with the family he’d thought he’d never see again, but he’d been entrusted with something important to his clan.
The question was: why?
Erick had made it sound like the job here was simple. Easy. But something about the evaluation in his gaze, the way he watched Nicolas as if weighing his every action, made her fear this assignment wouldn’t be so simple.
“I’m not sure about leaving you two here,” Annabel murmured to her, obviously not realizing that Nicolas had inhumanly good ears.
Thankfully, despite her exuberance at the airport, Annabel had been convinced to leave them to their own devices for the day. Evie’d had to spin their story a bit—telling her that the people they were here to help were distant family who weren’t comfortable with strangers.
Practically the truth.
Nicolas glanced at her and arched a brow. The unspoken question was clear—he still wanted her to go and spend the day with Annabel. For her own safety, he’d said the night before—the closest thing to pillow talk she’d gotten all week.
Nicolas was concerned with nothing if not her safety. But it still stung that he didn’t want to include her, even though she understood why. She was his mate, right? In her mind, that meant sticking together when things got tough—not hiding away so her big, strong man could take care of things for her.
“I’m good,” she said.
Annabel gave her a quick hug, double-checked that Evie had her cell, then, after one more nervous glance at their surroundings, walked back to her car
After the sound of her engine faded, Nicolas finally turned to her. “Are you—”
“Let’s do this.” Without looking at him, she marched toward the first RV. A curse came from behind her, then—long legs giving him an unfair advantage—Nicolas was by her side.
He halted at the door, and she raised her chin to meet his gaze. His eyes were steady, but he looked almost…eager.
Dread curled in her stomach.
He knocked on the door.
Chapter Three
The woman looked about as rough around the edges as the RV park she resided in. A hint of what was once a lovely face peeked through dark, heavily lidded eyes seated in deep wrinkles and speaking of long, weary years. Her brown hair, graying at the temples, was pulled back into a severe ponytail. Maybe it was her hawkish nose—or her suspicious expression—but the woman instantly reminded her of Erick. Nicolas, too, even though such a look on his face would be more foreign.
Instead of asking what they wanted, or offering a polite greeting, the woman sniffed. Her eyes narrowed at Nicolas, and she ignored Evie completely. “Erick?”
Evie blinked. Apparently they weren’t expected.
“Nicolas,” he said simply.
She bared her teeth, and Evie’s foot slid back. She managed to keep her place, but her heart thudded in her chest.
The woman’s fangs were showing. From what she understood, such partial shifts were either a sign of great weakness or great power. Only the strongest of shifters could willfully change only part of their appearance, but were able to change more if they willed it. Royals, the most powerful of the tiger shifters, could change fully into tigers. But weaker shifters could sometimes only change part of their body. The woman’s resemblance to Erick and Nicolas made her suspect the woman was not weak.
“My brother sent me,” Nicolas continued, voice even.
Confusion flashed across her features. “You’re Ryland’s boy?”
“Yes.”
Sweat touched her top lip, but her stance closed in, becoming less aggressive. “I’m Dara. Your aunt, I guess.”
Nicolas nodded, expression grave. “It is an honor to meet you.”
The woman snorted. “An honor, eh?” She stepped out of the RV and shut the door behind her. She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her back pocket and tapped one loose. “Let’s go around back. We’ll talk there.”
The woman led them around the RV. There wasn’t a yard, but there was a barbecue grill and a picnic table. A sad, old swing set and slide were a short distance away with a small area of grass between them. A common area, then, but not an inviting one. The place was old, dilapidated. But it was clean. And the grass, what there was of it, was well taken care of. From their new vantage point, other RVs were visible. A dozen, maybe more. A mix of fifth wheels and 80s motorhomes. How many tigers were living here? Moreover, how could the wild creatures live in such a confined, non-wild place?
“Why didn’t your brother come?” Dara inhaled a long drag from the cigarette. Some of her suspicion had faded. Maybe she saw some of herself—some of her dead brother—in Nicolas.
“He’s got a clan to lead. A new mate with a cub on the way.” Before Dara could push for more information, he went on the offensive. “I understand you’re in need of a royal.”
Her eyes dropped to the ground, and she fiddled with her cigarette. “Ken—my husband—held things together after the old man died. Did a decent job of it. Clan’s never been wealthy, but we got by, stuck together. Managed to keep our independence despite that master vampire trying to run the whole Goddamn city. Not bad work for a man who wasn’t even a royal.”
Nicolas raised his eyebrows. “Not bad,” he echoed.
Dara looked up, eyes bright. “Didn’t hurt that my brother was a royal, of course. That my dad was. That I came out near enough you couldn’t tell the difference. Hell, half the clan probably hoped I’d whelp a royal. Cubs weren’t something that ever
happened for us. And now, even if I weren’t too old, Ken’s gone. And I ain’t about to try with some other fucker.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Evie said automatically.
For the first time, Dara looked at Evie. “Who is this human, and why does she speak to me like an equal?”
Evie gasped in outrage, and Nicolas wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. But he didn’t look at her. His very serious—yet annoyingly nonviolent—gaze was locked on his aunt. “You will not speak that way about my mate.”
It was Dara’s turn to sneer in outrage. “She is human.” She sniffed the air but didn’t come any closer to them. “Unless my nose is broken, she doesn’t have a drop of tiger blood running in her veins.”
The woman’s tone was hateful, almost vicious. Evie had caught the looks among Nicolas’s clan. The occasional side eye and whispering glance. That she was human hadn’t escaped any of his people. But no one had been so openly rude, so outright shocked. Was that because their mating was more accepted among Erick’s people, or had the clan simply been warned before they got there? Warned not to be rude to Nicolas’s mate?
Did they actually hate her as much as this woman seemed to?
Her stomach dropped and her pulse raced.
“She is human.” Nicolas’s voice was a rumble against her side. “And she is mine.”
Dara blinked and looked away from him. “The others will not understand this.”
“They don’t need to understand it. The only need to do as I say.”
Only through sheer force of will was Evie able to keep her face straight—not that it mattered, since Dara was looking anywhere but at them. Nicolas sounded…confident. That was good, right? Why was she so bothered by his tone?
Because he sounds like a stranger, a traitorous voice in her head whispered.
It was ridiculous. She knew how much Nicolas cared for her—how much he loved her. Heck, his arm was wrapped around her while he gave his long-lost aunt the stink eye for being mean to her right this second. And yet…
Prime Series Collection: (Broken Prime, Prime Desire, Mated Prime) Page 10
