by Thorne, Elle
He gritted the word out as if he were biting on a bullet. He didn’t say it loudly because he didn’t have to. His team’s shifter hearing picked it up.
Gavin’s men froze. The stranger was still staring at Lila, still unmoving. Gavin’s team turned to look at him then their eyes fell on Lila.
Lila and Gavin’s history was no mystery to any of them. They knew the fireworks that had flown between them.
She glared at them. She was pissed Gavin dared to defy her. This was not the way to show allegiance or respect for her position.
She snapped her fingers and nodded for his men to leave the cage. The one nearest the cage’s door turned away from the stranger and took a step toward it, unlatched it, and moved out. Single file, each of Gavin’s men followed then one of them latched the door behind him, turning the thick key once. A loud click confirmed the door was locked. They walked toward Lila and Gavin.
She held her hand out, expecting the key. Lucky for the man holding it, he didn’t look at Gavin. As pissed as she was, she’d have shifted and gone for Gavin’s jugular, knowing he wouldn’t do anything to defend himself because of her position.
Passing Lila and Gavin silently, Gavin’s men lined up and waited by the warehouse exit. She glanced at the stranger, finally able to get a full, unobstructed view of him.
Lila tried to look at him objectively, but there was a huge problem. Her tigress had leapt to full attention and focused on the man with an intensity that almost scared her. No, her tigress wasn’t focused on the man; her tigress was fully engrossed in his tiger. It was as if the man and Lila had both ceased to exist, leaving two tigers and an emotion burning between them with a fierceness that was almost tangible.
Lila pushed her tigress aside and could tell from her tigress’s reaction the man was trying to do the same with his tiger, but he wasn’t having anywhere near the same amount of success Lila had at harnessing her tigress.
What the hell is this about? She’d never seen her tigress act like this. With her tigress’s flare-up under control, Lila took the chance to scrutinize the stranger.
God, he was huge. Taller than Gavin by a bit, she’d guess, and Gavin wasn’t short. His eyes were dark. How dark? She’d have to see them up close to find out. His hair would have reached his collar, if he’d had a shirt on. Black, wavy, thick. She swallowed a lump as she scanned his shoulders and chest. The man was built.
Next to her, Gavin cleared his throat. She fought to keep her pulse under control but was pretty sure Gavin had already picked up on the way her tigress had reacted to the stranger. Damn him. Gavin knew her way too well.
“Who is he?” She turned toward Gavin, her voice husky, though she didn’t want it to be. She cursed her tigress for her attraction to the stranger’s tiger.
“An interloper.” Gavin’s words were cut from ice.
“Obviously.” She didn’t hide the sarcasm in her remark. “Other than that?” She bit back a remark her tigress was ready to spit out—Gavin’s security skills were lacking if he didn’t know who this stranger was who’d managed to reach their territory. Then she was glad she hadn’t said it. She’d already hurt Gavin enough, judging by the way he still reacted around her. Plus, his job wasn’t to keep shifters from crossing their boundaries; no one could really do that. His job was to be sure no Tiero came to harm, and none had on his watch.
“He’s not talking.” Gavin crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s what we were trying to rectify when you interrupted.”
“Not even his name?” Lila looked back at the man who still hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
“Not even that.” Gavin exhaled. “Yet.”
The stranger shifted his weight, as if he were in discomfort. That’s when Lila picked up on his signal, one she was certain he didn’t want to transmit. Maybe his tiger had let it slip. The man was wounded. Seriously.
“Leave us.” She turned back to Gavin.
A tiny shake of his head let her know he didn’t want to agree.
“Now.” Then she gave him a consolation. “If you wish, you can wait outside.”
“What if he’s a rover? Or one of those who attacked Kane.”
Lila frowned. “What are you talking about? You mean the shifter who saved Sophie when she was attacked?” Why did she feel so out of touch? Why did Gavin seem to know more than she did?
Gavin nodded, which was just his way of not answering directly. He knew more than he was letting on. Did Vax’s absence for a few days have anything to do with it?
“Leave us.”
Gavin hesitated.
“Now.”
“I’m supposed to take care of you in Vax’s absence.”
“I’m not a child. I don’t need taking care of.”
Chapter Five
Cy watched the blonde with hips he’d—
Jesus.
Why was he thinking like this? Here he was, his ass beat to a pulp, his body begging for mercy, and all he could think about was the scent and taste of this woman. Okay, he couldn’t take all the credit. His tiger was in a mode Cy had never seen him in before.
Wanting her. Needing her. Seeking to bond with her, with a single-mindedness that was alarming, confusing, and premature. This was way too premature. He barely knew her.
The blonde walked his way, those hips swaying, her hourglass figure encased in a green evening dress that sparkled with every step she took, catching the dim lighting and reflecting tiny bits of light. Her hair reached halfway down her back and moved with every step. He liked her attitude. This was a woman he’d like to know better. In his chest, his tiger rumbled agreement.
She stopped in front of the door. Emotion flowed through Cy and his tiger. She was stunning. Her eyes were an emerald green that picked up the dress’s sparkle. She tapped her finger on her lip, and of course Cy couldn’t concentrate on anything but those full pink lips.
Without saying a word, she kept those mesmerizing eyes glued on him while she assessed him, vivid green lasers traveling up and down his body as she surveyed him.
“You’re hurt.”
Jesus. Her voice was like honey being poured into his mouth. He swallowed down the lump she left in his throat and hoped she didn’t notice the one she’d raised in his pants. “I’m fine. I need to go.”
“That’s a bit complicated,” she said. “There are questions.”
“I’m not answering them. What makes you think no one can hear our conversation right now?”
“True.” She nodded. “Sync? I’m coming in.”
He was taken aback. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“No, but if you did succeed in killing me, you wouldn’t live one moment after Gavin found my dead body.”
“Fair enough. I wouldn’t do that anyway.”
“I know.”
She unlocked the door and stepped inside the cage with him. He was stunned. What made her think she could trust him? She closed the door behind them then took the key out of the lock and tucked it into her bra. He shifted immediately.
She shifted, too. She was a beautiful white tigress, majestic and queenly.
More beautiful as a tigress than as a human, his tiger rumbled.
Not a chance, Cy argued. She’s more stunning as a human.
His tiger snarled. Look at those curves. She wouldn’t have curves like that if she wasn’t a tigress.
Lila and her tigress stalked around him, a wide circle, her green eyes dark and inquisitive. Why are you here? Why are you in Tiero territory, unannounced and uninvited?
First, your name, tigress. What is it? He couldn’t imagine not knowing the name of the woman he would make his mate. Yes, he’d decided, and there was no doubt in his tiger’s mind either.
Lila Tiero.
Ah, one of the Tiero. He nodded his appreciation for her honesty. Lila. He liked her name as much as he liked—craved—needed—wanted her.
You haven’t told me yours.
He made a wide circle around her, assessing. He wasn’t ready
to discuss his name, so he answered her other question. My sister came down with a group of interns for a job interview. The others returned. She did not.
Lila gave a quick snarl, maybe in acknowledgment he hadn’t answered her question. What makes you think she’s in Tiero territory?
It’s the last place she called me from. Dallas.
Foolish of you to come here like this, during a time when we have heightened security. We’ve had issues with our boundaries being infringed upon.
You are not Vax Tiero. He stated the obvious.
No, that’s my big brother.
So little sisters now answer for alphas? His tiger growled. Cy was anxious to go and answering questions wouldn’t help him get out of here any quicker.
She bristled visibly at the insult she clearly perceived. Instantly, he regretted it.
So you don’t think I’m capable? Is that it?
Please accept my apologies. My tiger interferes with my thoughts. He shouldn’t have.
So that is the way your tiger feels? I would guess you’re unmated and likely to stay that way.
A part of Cy wanted to laugh at the way she and her tigress had put him and his tiger back in their place, completely taking them down a notch. The other part of him remembered he was his tiger, and they were one.
You didn’t want to contact the authorities to look for your sister?
He gave her a look of disdain and cocked his head. That would be pure foolishness. Shifter business stays in the shifter world. I don’t want humans involved in this. I’d think a Tiero would understand that better than anyone, considering how proud the Tiero are of shifter codes in general and their own codes, specifically.
That code is history. She stood taller, proud of what she was saying. Why are you, her brother, here seeking her, instead of her father?
We have no father or mother. I am the closest thing my baby sister has to a father.
You can’t just roam in and out of territories at will. You could be confused for a rover or a subversive on an assignment, or an enemy looking to increase your territory.
You’re right. Please, release me so I can find my sister.
Chapter Six
The stranger was a beautiful, vivid, orange and black Siberian. The most beautiful that Lila had ever laid eyes on.
He was massive. Deep within her, Lila’s tigress was purring and practically preening. She wanted to caution her tigress to contain her emotions. To contain herself, but a part of Lila was just as attracted to the man as her tigress was to the Siberian. Lila wanted him, and she didn’t even know the name of the man she’d be willing to—
Why the hell was she thinking this way? This wasn’t like her. She shook her tigress head to clear it and to stop her tigress from influencing her, though Lila knew it wasn’t the tigress alone.
Your name? She would give him another chance to answer.
Cyric Villa. My friends call me Cy.
I’d like to call you Cy. Oh for fuck’s sake. Where did that come from? She cursed at herself and her tigress. Flirting? When the man was here looking for his sister? The best thing she could do for him was help him find Petra, who had probably run off with a new boyfriend or something.
Get over yourself and these damned bonding and mating hormones she told her tigress—and herself.
He couldn’t believe she wanted to call him Cy. It was almost as if she was flirting with him then, the next moment, she looked angry. Damn, this woman was confusing.
You’re not telling me everything. Lila’s eyes narrowed. What are you holding back?
He paced back and forth in the cage. There are rumors of a production.
Be more specific. She sat on her haunches, her neck long and elegant, her muscles sleek, her body lush, a tigress in her prime, just as she was in her human skin.
Cy stopped pacing and faced her. His inner voice was taut as he fought to keep his fierceness out of his tiger’s sync voice. Fights. Between shifters. Sometimes men, sometimes women. They drug them up and have them fight. Some of the opponents are genetically enhanced shifters.
She snorted and made a snuffling sound. That’s unbelievable. The most incredible spinning of a story I’ve ever heard.
I’m telling you what I heard. There’s an organized fighting ring, to the death, between shifters and sometimes against enhanced shifters.
Who puts these on? Who watches them? Disbelief colored her tigress’s sync voice. Enhanced? What’s that mean?
A shifter puts them on, that’s what I’ve heard. Both humans and shifters watch. That’s all I heard. Enhanced, whatever that means. He wondered if it meant those shifters had special abilities, or if they were genetically enhanced. How the hell would that even happen?
Lila’s posture became defensive. Not in this territory. Vax wouldn’t allow or support anything like that. What’s your sister’s name?
Then in a nearby territory. I’m sure of it. Her name is Petra. Now let me out.
No. I’ll look into it. Trust me. Please. She shut the sync down.
She shifted, dug the key out of her pocket, unlocked the door, and left.
Cy couldn’t hurt her, and he didn’t stop her. He had to trust her, even though he was working on another plan.
Chapter Seven
“Not in this territory,” Lila had told Cy, and that was the truth. If it was happening, Vax would have found out and put a stop to it, and she would have heard about it. Vax would have brought it up at one of their meetings.
She needed a plan. She paused, leaning against the warehouse wall near the exit. She stared at the shifter, watching him turn from that beautiful Siberian tiger into a really gorgeous man.
She stood in the shadows, and yet his eyes stayed glued on her, watching her from behind the bars. Why did she have to meet him under circumstances like this? She’d love to have a chance to get to know him better, to get to know his tiger better.
She shook her head, took out her cell phone and dialed Veila so she could talk to her. No, she couldn’t do that. Gavin was just outside, or at least one of his men was. She could hear the heartbeat. They’d tell Gavin whatever she said. She didn’t need any interference. She hung up quickly.
Texting was better. No one could listen in, and that way, no one could ask a bunch of questions—that someone being Veila.
She texted Veila that she was looking into the shifter matter and would contact her later.
Lila pressed send and looked at the man named Cy. She’d help him. She believed him. The only problem was she couldn’t let him go. Doing so would be foolish and could actually get him hurt. Gavin would come after him because Cy was trespassing and, in Gavin’s eyes, could be a threat.
Yes, the safest place for Cy was in a cage right now.
His tiger’s heartbeat was strong, beating a rhythm that called to hers. Why did she have to meet him like this? Urgency to save his sister and to keep this giant of a shifter from the pain of burying a loved one fueled her adrenaline with a need to act.
With one final glance at the Siberian shifter and a rumble of protest from her tigress for leaving him behind, Lila slipped out the exit and into the darkness of the night.
Gavin and his men were still there, standing by the SUV. She approached Gavin but didn’t say a word.
He took her cue. “Leave us,” he said to his men.
Lila stood up as tall as she could and stared him in the eye. “I’m going to look into something.”
“What did he tell you?” Gavin’s eyes narrowed; clearly, he didn’t trust Cy. “Did he tell you his name? Who he is? What he wants?”
She nodded, turning. She didn’t owe Gavin an explanation.
He put his hand on her arm. “You can’t go alone. Vax wouldn’t want that.”
She looked at his hand pointedly. “That’s not your place to say.” She was tired of Gavin always being overprotective.
He took his hand off her arm. “I’m going to Vax for approval.”
“You’re not to bother
my brother. He needs some time with his mate.” And I need to figure out what the hell is going on here while I get a little bit of distance from that sexy Siberian because his presence is way too distracting.
She kept the key to the cage in her safekeeping. She didn’t want Gavin to be able to get to Cy… and she didn’t need Cy following her or interfering.
Chapter Eight
Lila’s figure was a glorious hourglass silhouette as she walked away from him. Her ass was a round shelf bringing to his mind visions of cold nights, warm fires, and log cabins. He shook his head to clear it, or to clear his tiger’s.
She had almost made it to the warehouse exit when she paused and turned to the left, showing him a different silhouette—lovely full breasts, her stomach, and thighs—round, and made for pleasure. She swiveled and leaned against the wall. Then she didn’t move. In the dimness, he could see and feel her emerald gaze intent on him.
Cy kept his eyes on her while she leaned against the warehouse wall. Surely, she knew he could see her. She was a shifter; she knew their capabilities. Yet she just stood there, watching him. Her breathing ranged from normal to escalated, as though adrenaline began to pump throughout her body.
His tiger reached out to her tigress, letting her hear his heartbeat, listening for hers.
After a few moments, she reached for her phone. It looked like she sent a text or an email, then she squared her shoulders as if preparing for battle and went outside.
With his tiger hearing, he overheard Lila tell Gavin she was going to look into this on her own.
Had she lost her mind? What made her think she wouldn’t be in danger? If they’d kidnapped his sister to put her into the illegal shows, they’d do the same to Lila. Now he’d have to worry about saving two females.
Christ. What the hell was she thinking?
His tiger seethed, grunting and growling, not giving Cy a moment to think. He couldn’t concentrate on coming up with a plan because of the noise his tiger was making in his head.