Harley: Prince Of Tigers, Book 5

by Kathi S. Barton

  Sitting up when Rowan asked him to, she sat on his lap to hold him. Even though his arms were wrapped tightly around her, Toddy knew it was her doing the comforting, and he loved her all the more for it.

  “Aurora explained to me that the man had been starving. His family as well. As it was now, they would perish without the man around to supply even the very little he managed to find for them. She told me the last time there was food on the table was several days ago. They’d only been eating what could be foraged from the branches and melting snow.” He laid his head on Rowan’s. “After she put me to the ground, I looked at the destruction a hungry human could do. Mother would have done no less to have fed me; I knew this. Looking up at Aurora, I asked her how I could, as a small cub, take the body of my mother to the family and let them know the man had perished.”

  “Well, I believe it would take great magic to do something so kind. I can do that for you,” she told him. “But it will cost you as well, I’m afraid. You will do my bidding when I need you. Also, you will never die from old age.”

  “She told me that she would only need for me to take care that the bears from this day forward would be able to forage for themselves. To make it safe for them to sleep the winter away. That I, a young cub, would teach them the ways of survival. I told her I would gladly do anything for her.” Toddy laughed a little when Rowan pointed out he should have been at least a little cautious. “I wasn’t. I should have been. However, she never harmed me. Never once asked me to do anything that would harm others. I was, she told me, to be the king of bears from that day until forever. I have served her all these years.”

  Toddy told Rowan of the magic he’d been given that day. “She only touched her fingers to my heart. The pain of it was mild, I assure you. I believe to this day that she made it easier for me, being as young as I was. But I changed into what I am today. A man. One of great strength, and with all the knowledge I’d need to teach others of my kind how to keep their young ones safe.”

  “You did take your mother’s body to the family, didn’t you?” He said he had. “And you kept giving them meat and other food too. I don’t know why I believe that, but I do. You’re a good man.”

  “Thank you. You didn’t think so when you first met me.” She smacked him on the arm and laughed with him. “I cared for the family for a great many years. Then when the children grew to be strong men and women, I cared for their mother. Mrs. Grimes, she gave to me when she could as well. Blankets when it was cold. I had socks she knitted for me. Hats and gloves as well. She never knew I was a bear shifter. Never knew I was the son of the first good meal they’d had in a long time. It wasn’t important. Not then or now. When she died one winter, I grieved her passing as I had my own mother’s. Then I buried her next to the clothing I’d laid upon the body of my mother when I had carried her to their door.”

  “You buried her in the cemetery not far from here.” He said it was a special cemetery meant for bears and humans that had given him so much. “There are no other humans buried there, are there, Toddy? The only human that ever gave you anything was the woman you cared for like she was your own mother.”

  He looked at her by pulling her chin so he could look into her eyes. “You, my dear, are much too smart for your own good.” Smiling, she pointed out that one of them had to have the brains. Laughing when she took off running, Toddy chased her around the compound, having laughed more in the few days she’d been here with him than he had in too long to remember.

  Toddy? He paused in his fun and told Rowan that her sister Micky had contacted him. Roone needs to speak to you about some property you own. Also, I have a deal to work out with you if you don’t mind working with the wolves around here.

  I would like to work on something with you, Lady Micky. It would be my pleasure. I would like to, if you’ve no trouble with it, make a connection between all of your brothers and sisters. That way, I can speak to them all. She told him that was something else she wanted to see him about. When would you like to meet us? I will bring Rowan if you don’t mind.

  I’d love that. Very much. If you have time now to meet me at the clinic, I’m going to need a great deal of muscle, I think, to get things working the way I want them. Then I have a very large project that your bruin and the wolf pack can work together on. He said they’d meet her there in half an hour. Also, if you have it, I’d like to see the paperwork you have on the land you own. I’ve been looking over the paperwork here on land agreements, and I want to check it for loopholes. Not for the city that is renting from you, but loopholes for you. All right?

  Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I have a favor to ask of you as well. Could you have your faeries there look into the mind of your sister and see what sort of house she would like to live in? Micky asked him what was wrong with the house they had now. It’s nothing more than a log cabin, my lady. Surely she would want more than just that.

  Micky laughed, and he smiled. I believe if I were you, Toddy, I’d ask her. I’m thinking that after all is said and done, my sister is happier than she’s ever been living in a log cabin with you. It’s quite large too, she told me. He told her how many rooms it had. Ten rooms seems quite large to me. But you ask her before you set faeries into her mind. I’m sure they’ll wonder where your head is if they have to only renovate the one you have now.

  So he did. Putting her hands on her lovely hips, Rowan glared at him for a full minute before she spoke. “Micky was right. Get your head out of your ass and ask me the next time you want to make changes on my behalf.” He told her that Micky had said nothing about his head being in his ass. “She should have. Of all the things…. Do I strike you as a woman that needs someone to tell me what I want and need? No, I am not. I’m reasonably sure that if I wanted a bigger house or anything I don’t have right now, I’m quite capable of not only requesting it but beating the ever-loving shit out of you until you do it. Not that I think I’d have to resort to violence, but I might if you set faeries to work on this wonderful home.”

  “Will you marry me, Rowan? Will you live with me for the rest of our days?” She hadn’t moved her hands from her hips, and he got down on one knee. “I don’t have a ring for you, but I will find one for you if you were to tell me that you’ll marry me.”

  “It’s about time, don’t you think, that you got around to asking me? What took you so long?” She stomped by him as she spoke over her shoulder. “Men. I’m going to get into the truck and head to my sister’s house. If you’re going to go with me, you had better haul ass. I’m not in the mood to—”

  Toddy picked her up and swung her around. When she was laughing as much as he was, he set her down on the ground and kissed her. He loved this woman with all his heart, and he was sure she would do just what she said. But she wasn’t going to drive his truck.

  “Your brothers warned me about your driving. They said it’s much like one of the car rides at carnivals that bump into walls and other cars.” Her lower lip only made him want to hold her more. “We have to see what your sister has gotten herself into. Did you know that Harley was out of town this morning? He was called to a birthing tiger to help bring another black into the world. It was his turn, I was told.”

  They talked all the way to the clinic. He only just then remembered he’d not gotten the paperwork Micky had asked for. Calling his cook, May, he asked her to have one of her sons bring it into town to him and that he’d buy him lunch. The boy had only just gotten his license and was willing to drive anywhere someone needed him to.

  As soon as they pulled up in front of the clinic, he knew there was going to be trouble. All of the Prince family was there, with the exception of Harley. Micky’s family was there as well. Standing with Bryant, he asked him what was going on.

  “As you heard, they’re charging people to come in to get taken care of. Under the table sort of work.” He nodded as he watched Micky, with Roone standing with her
, going head-to-head with a man in scrubs. “Did you know that all of them, except for Mark, are attorneys? I didn’t. Anyway, they know their shit. Roone is there as protection. Before you think it’s for Micky, think again. He’s there to keep her from killing Doctor Simmons. The man who has been taking the money from the people.”

  “She asked me to come here for muscle. Now that I see her in action, what did she really want me here for?” Bryant grinned at him. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

  “You might. I don’t know yet. However, she wants to make sure all the beds in the place are emptied of the people currently occupying them. That would include the mayor’s son, who is there to get himself dried out. An actress that needs to recover from some kind of plastic surgery. I guess she figures no one would recognize her way out here. Then there are three men in there that work for a mobster from New York. Gunshot wounds, I heard.”

  “So we get to go in and empty out the place, so people who need the clinic are able to get help. I’m assuming the doctor is going to be the first to go?” Bryant said that was his job. “Thank you for that. I’d like to show him what it’s like to mess with your family.”

  “I’m to explain to you anyway I need to that you’re now a part of this family. Just as my brothers are, you are our brother as well. The Bronson family is now my family too.” He asked what would happen to him if he disagreed. “Let’s just say you agreed and leave it at that. I would surely hate to have to tell Harper or any of the other woman, including your mate, that you didn’t want to be considered family.”

  Toddy couldn’t help it. He threw back his head and laughed. Of course, everyone turned to him, and he smiled. He’d not had this much fun in ages. When Harper asked them to come forward, the doctor drew a gun. Not that it scared Micky any, apparently.

  When she jerked the gun from the man, Micky popped the man in the head with it. As soon as he fell to the ground, she kicked him several times in the ribs. Toddy was just close enough to her to hear her berating the man for being so stupid as to bring a gun when she had an army of not just bears, tigers, and wolves, but faeries as well. The movement at the corner of his eye had him turning toward the right.

  The pip, a great gathering of faeries, was making enough noise with their wings fluttering that he was surprised he’d not heard them before. But that wasn’t what had him startled so much. It was the sight of Fisher as his tiger, covered in armor, and his mate, Piper, dressed in the same fashion, holding a sword at the ready.

  “Christ.” Bryant agreed with him. “What the hell have they been taking? Fisher looks twice your size. And little Piper? I swear to you, Bryant, she’s fucking glowing.”

  “They work for Aurora. And command the faeries. They’re here to make sure nothing stupid is done. I would have thought they might have attacked when the gun was pulled out, but Micky—she’s something else, isn’t she?—took care of it on her own.”

  With his nose bleeding and a few ribs broken, the doctor moved out of the way. Sadly, none of them got to be rough on the man. However, there was some trouble inside the building when guns were drawn by the crooks. Once the family members shifted and showed that they weren’t to be fucked with, the crooks too gave up their guns and left with the Feds. All in all, it was a good day for the clinic.

  “Mark is going to take over the clinic for us. Not only that but the mayor was arrested this morning for being a part of the clinic scandal.” Bryant grinned at him, and Toddy had a feeling he was going to be asked to do something he’d rather not do. “You’re going to run the police department with Rowan. I’m saying it like that because it was Rowan’s idea that the two of you work together on this.”

  “I don’t like people.” Bryant only continued to grin. “No, I’m not going to do it. I have a new mate, with hopes of a family too. I don’t want to be working in the police department.”

  “Too bad.” Rowan kissed him on the mouth. “I thought with the two of us working together, I could chase you around the office and have my way with you on your desk. You’ll need a bigger one, I guess. You and I will have so much fun. And while we’re at it, perhaps we can make a difference around here.”

  “I can’t.” She kissed him again. “You can’t work around me by kissing me all the time. I don’t want to be working in the police department.”

  “How about we go and have a look at your new office? That way, we can figure out what sort of desk you’ll need.” He told her again he didn’t want to do it. “Then, after that is finished up, you can take me in the woods like you did yesterday and fuck me until my head explodes. Are you coming?”

  Toddy knew as surely as he loved Rowan that he was going to be working for the police. Not only that, but he’d have a large desk that would hold them both. Following her to the station, he smiled. Loving this woman was going to be the best thing that had ever happened to him. He might even learn how to be a little easier around men being too close to Rowan. Maybe not, he thought with a laugh. But he’d be quieter about how much it bothered him in the future.

  Chapter 5

  Harley laughed every time he thought about his little mate taking on a man with a gun. Bryant had told him in great detail how she’d not just kicked the man several times but managed to break four of his ribs and his wrist before he’d been taken off to jail. The doctor had lost his license to practice too when the board found out what he’d been doing. He was able to pay his own bond, so he was out of jail for now.

  “The trees are coming along nicely, sir.” Harley told Sunshine that he could see they were doing well. He asked her about the buds only just showing themselves. “Those are plants that are no longer in the human world. When they are well enough to travel, we’re going to take them to different parts of the world and plant some of them. They will be discovered, and humans will be able to see them once again. I don’t understand humans. Why would they kill such a wonderful thing as flowers until they are all gone?”

  “That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer, but I have thought of that for a long time as well.” Harley bent to look at the small seedling just coming out of the ground. “Thank you for making sure all the Bronsons have a faerie. I meant to tell you how much I appreciated it the other day. Lydia is very fond of Colors. Why did he choose that name? Do you know?”

  “All of the other colors were taken by the time he was found. Not even the name Rainbow was his to use. So he thought he wished to be all the colors, and that is why he picked that name.” She laughed a little. “Have you noticed that he is very colorful too? Sometimes it hurts my eyes to watch him change into different colors all the time.”

  Touching the little seedling, he wasn’t surprised to see it grow a little more. Looking at the other seedlings, he loved how they were in neat rows just as the trees were. Walking around more, he was careful not to step on any part of the beautiful garden.

  “Micky is working with my family on contracts. She found two things on the one that Toddy has with the city that will give him more land. They have voided the contract by letting the river that runs along the fields near his home become waste dumps. He was furious with them, and I was happy to know that Rowan calmed him before they went to the city offices. It seems the town has been derelict in all sorts of things going on around here.” He knew that he was emptying his head. He could talk to Sunshine like he did Micky, telling her things that were on his mind, and while she listened to him, she didn’t try and fix whatever it was he was talking about. “Are the faeries working on the buildings Micky purchased from the city?”

  “We are. All we have done so far is clean them up. The gym is the one she wished to be worked on first. There is now a cafeteria that will serve soup and sandwiches to the children that come by. Harper donated a great many games that she had in storage to the building as well. Even some of the parents who have little ones that are alone until they get home from work are helping out with the project. Th
e art building, what she has been calling it, has a great many crafting items coming in that have been donated to it. Your mate is very smart. I do hope you tell her that often.” Harley laughed and said she told him often enough. “Good for her and you. She has made you a different man. A better one, I think.”

  “She has. And I love her all the more for it.” Wandering through the rest of the lines of plants, he came to the end. “I must not have my head on right, Sunshine, but it’s warmer in this area than it is out in my yard where there are no trees. By a great deal. Is that for the plants?”

  “Yes. Your mate suggested it to the queen for us. That way, the faeries will be able to work more diligently since they aren’t freezing. Lady Micky also asked Queen Aurora if it would be possible for her to grow sugar cane for the little ones. She was most pleased with the idea. Also, the little ones are very happy with the taste of the canes. They can use the stalks for other things as well. New roofs for their homes and such.” Harley said that was wonderful.

  Sunshine told him of all the projects going on right now. It was some time before he realized he was all alone in the woods. There wasn’t a sound or even a movement of leaves on the larger trees that he could see. Looking around for something that might have caused the quietness, Harley leaned into a tree so he could make sure he wasn’t caught any more unawares.