by Jane Jamison
Her mouth was open, and the shock he’d seen on her face at the barn morphed into confusion and fear. “Oh, thank God. Where were you guys? What’s going on out there?”
He started up the stairs, going slowly. “It’s okay, Kylie. Everything’s all right.”
“All right? There were tigers behind the barn. And wolves. Didn’t you see them? Didn’t you hear them?” Her stunned gaze slid over him to Heath. “Why are you naked? Why are you bleeding? Oh, shit, were you attacked?”
She’d taken a step forward at the mention of their wounds. He kept moving upward, but she stopped and frowned. “Your wounds. They’re healing.” Her frightened gaze met his. “How can you be healing so fast?”
Her rapt attention fixed on the wound on his arm as the skin slowly closed up, leaving no sign of the injury. “Kylie, take a deep breath. We’ll explain everything.”
Even as she back up, her gaze stayed on his arm. “This doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense.”
Her fear was taking complete control of her. Her eyes started glazing over, her body stiffening, making her movements jerky. If he didn’t snap her out of it soon, he wasn’t sure what would happen next.
“Is Davey all right?”
His question had the desired effect. She blinked, then nodded. “He’s fine. He’s asleep. I was going to take him to town, but I didn’t want to leave you behind.”
“Kylie, baby, we need to talk. Can you come and sit with us?”
Braden almost laughed. Heath asking her to sit down with a couple of naked men was comical.
“No. I can’t. I don’t understand.” She darted her gaze away, but it soon came back. “What happened to your clothes? No. This is too much.”
His beast sensed her attempt to flee before she made the first move. Heath must’ve sensed it, too, because he leapt toward her.
She darted to the side to run down the hallway, but didn’t make it a yard before Heath caught her and locked her in his arms.
“No! Let me go!” She fought him, kicking and scratching, adding more superficial wounds to the ones the wolves had inflicted.
“Take it easy, Kylie. We just want to talk. Give us a chance to explain everything.” When she wouldn’t look at him, he cupped her face and forced her to meet his gaze. “Calm down. You know we’d never hurt you.”
She struggled some more, but she was wearing out fast. Her chest rose and fell with her labored breaths, but at least her terror seemed to be receding. At last, she slumped in Heath’s arms.
“Will you listen to us?” If she didn’t, they’d have to keep her there until she calmed down enough to do so.
“Like Braden said, we’d never hurt you. Not for anything,” added Heath.
He waited, giving her time to let their words sink in. Time to feel the connection and instinctually know they’d never turn on their mate. At last, she nodded. “Good. Let’s take this into the bedroom. We don’t want to wake Davey up.”
“You’re not going to run, right?” Heath tilted his head to see her face.
Again, she nodded. Her face was pale, her lips thinned.
“Okay.” He took the lead, putting Kylie in the middle in case she decided to make a break again. Opening the door, he let her pass by first, then Heath. She was shaking, but she appeared to be more in control than she’d been before.
“Take a seat on the bed.”
Instead, she moved to the window and pulled the blinds open. If she started to unlock the window, he’d have to use the cuffs in the nightstand to restrain her. Although he’d dreamed of cuffing her, he’d never wanted to do it against her will.
“You’re not going to try and get out the window onto the roof, are you?” asked Heath.
She turned to face them. At least her face had a little more color in it. “No. But start talking. Once you’ve finished, I’m leaving.”
“If that’s what you want to do, then you can. We hope you won’t go.”
He’d thought about how to tell her so many times. Heath and he had planned to take it slowly, to ease into explaining what they were. Yet now that the time had come, he couldn’t remember the speech he’d practiced.
“Did you see the tigers and wolves?” Her voice trembled and her face was filled with alarm and hope as she tried to confirm the existence of the unbelievable.
“Yes.” He gave her a hint, hoping to help her fight to understand. “We were there.”
“There? With the tigers and the wolves?”
“Yes.”
“But I didn’t see you.”
He met her gaze, putting every ounce of his meaning into his eyes. “Yes, Kylie, you did.”
She moaned and shook her head. “I don’t get it.”
He wanted to hold her and tell her not to worry. That she’d understand tomorrow. That for tonight, she’d have to trust them. But even if she’d agreed, it would only be delaying the inevitable.
“But where were you? Were you hiding? Did the animals…” A frown marred her forehead as she studied them, searching for wounds that were no longer there. “You were hurt. I saw the blood and the wounds, but now they’re gone.”
His tone was patient, understanding. If he had to, he’d repeat everything as many times as she needed. “We heal fast.”
“But I saw them. What happened to your cuts? How is it possible? No one heals that fast.”
He looked to Heath, but it was obvious his brother wanted him to handle the telling. It figured.
“We do. We heal very fast.”
“But how?” She stared at him, her struggle to comprehend written on her face.
“Just trust us, Kylie, and let the wounds go. Think about what you saw.”
“Wait. I saw two tigers the night I was walking into town. And then I saw two men. Naked men walking in the middle of nowhere. Was it you?”
“Yes.” He dragged in a breath. “To both.”
“To both? I don’t understand.” Her hand went to her forehead. “I’m so confused. Everything’s getting jumbled up in my mind. Where did the tigers go? How can you be around them and not get hurt?”
“There’s no easy way to tell you, so I’m going to come right out and say it.” He tipped his head toward Heath. “The tigers won’t hurt us…because we’re them.”
“What?” She bit her lower lip as dawning realization sparkled in her eyes.
“Kylie, we’re the tigers. That night when you walked into town and tonight. We are the tigers.”
She shook her head, snorting a laugh filled with disbelief and pain. “Do you think I’m stupid? What I saw behind the barn frightened me, but it didn’t drive me crazy.”
Heath tried to help. “We don’t think you’re stupid or crazy. But what you saw was real.”
Braden pushed ahead. There was no turning back now. “Kylie, I know it’s hard to wrap your mind around this, but what we’re telling you is the truth.” He drew in a breath and plunged ahead. “We can change into tigers. White tigers.”
Her initial reaction was the one he’d expected. Disbelief wiping away everything else.
“You’re saying you can change into animals. Tigers.” She shivered as though caught in a chilly breeze.
“Yes. That’s what I’m saying.”
Her next reaction wasn’t unforeseen, either. She chuckled, but the sound had a tightness to it. “And the wolves? I suppose they’re men, too?”
“Not the ones you saw.” He winced, thinking he’d gone too far. First she had to accept them as weretigers before telling her that other shifters like werewolves and werebears existed, too.
“You’re crazy.” She laughed again, brittle and hard. “Or maybe I actually am. I’m not sure which.”
“Neither one.” Heath moved closer, but still kept a solid distance between them. “I know it’s hard to believe, but he’s telling you the truth.”
“No. You can’t think I’d believe such an incredible story.”
“You will. If we show you.”
She crossed her arms
. Although she was still afraid, she was desperately trying to pull herself together. “Okay. Show me.” It was more of a dare than a request. More of a hope to prove they were lying than a desire to see the impossible.
He could still smell the fear on her. Would showing her push her fear into terror? Would it make her run again? But what else could they do? She had to know.
“Okay, we will. Promise us you won’t run?” asked Heath. “Even as tigers, we know who you are and we’d never hurt you.”
“If you believe nothing else, believe we’ll never hurt you.” He searched her glittering eyes. “Do you, Kylie? Do you trust us?”
“Yes.”
Pleased that she’d answered without hesitation, he looked to Heath. “Let’s show her.”
“Maybe only one of us should change.”
“In case I do run?” She shook her head, her jaw clenched. “No. If you want me to believe this insanity, then I need to see both of you.”
“Let’s do this.” Braden let his inner beast free. The tiger swept forward, all grace and power, consuming him. At once, the world around him lost its color and turned to varying hues of amber. Pain seared into him as bones cracked then broke in several places. Fur spread over his skin, tingling in a flash of heat. Practiced at transforming, the shift took only a few minutes.
Her face had gone pale again. Her back was pressed against the window, and the scent of fear grew stronger. He hated to see her afraid of him.
Dropping to all fours, Braden found Heath beside him, fully morphed into his tiger body. He rumbled a low growl. Not one borne of anger, but of frustration and his own brand of fear. If she ran, if she couldn’t accept what they were, they’d have to let her go. As much as it would kill them, they wouldn’t keep her against her will.
Kylie’s eyes were huge circles. Letting out a small cry, she slumped to the floor.
* * * *
They’re tigers. Huge, white, beautiful, deadly tigers.
Was everything she’d seen real? Was she on drugs? Had they put something in her drink? And yet, she knew in her heart they’d never do anything to jeopardize her, including drugging her.
The stress of the day, the fear that had taken her over had worn her out. Seeing them change had taken what little strength she’d had left and sucked it right out of her. She sat on the floor, her arms limp in her lap and stared at the wonder of them.
They were massive creatures, their bulk taking up a good portion of the room. Their amber eyes glittered as they swished their tails back and forth like the family dog greeting its owner. Flat faces with whiskers and catlike grins reminded her of a house cat she’d once had, but these were no feline pets. These animals were beasts of the wild. They were beautiful with their flawless white coats and black stripes.
A low growl flowed over her, bringing warm breath and a hint of animal scent. She hugged herself, unsure if she was more afraid or more intrigued.
The tiger Braden had become padded closer. His paws were big enough to be the width of both of her hands placed next to each other. Claws clicked on the hardwood floor. When he was close enough to put his muzzle against her leg, he lay down at her feet. Heath followed his brother, but moved more to her side before getting on his stomach.
“Well, hell. Will you look at you two?” It was a ludicrous thing to say, but it was the first thought to pop into her mind.
Are they tilting their heads at me?
Their eyes, so mysterious, so filled with amber, sparkled. Were they enjoying themselves? Did they like seeing her afraid? But she wasn’t. Not really. Not any longer. Curiosity had won out over panic.
Curiosity killed the cat.
Not according to Lena.
Oh, my God. Does Lena know?
She giggled and heard the high-pitched sound of it. She concentrated on drawing in one breath after another.
I’m sitting on the floor with two white tigers. Tigers who were men a few minutes ago.
“You’re tigers. Honest-to-God tigers.” She laughed again. “You’re shape-shifters, aren’t you? Like werewolves on television and in the movies.”
Braden’s long tongue whipped out and slicked along her ankle. At first, she jolted, then calmed. His tongue felt rough, but warm, much like the man he was.
“I’m going to touch you.” She lifted her hand and waited. Braden had said they’d still know her, but did they still understand her? When they didn’t move, she leaned forward and gently rested her hand on top of Braden’s wide head.
He’s so soft.
She found herself stroking him before she realized what she was doing. Reaching out with the other hand, she did the same to Heath.
The connection whipped between them. Not in the sexual way it had before, but at a gut level, a primal force that would hold them together no matter what form they held.
Are they purring?
Their soft thurrring sounds comforted her. She scratched Braden’s right ear and Heath’s left ear. As she’d hoped, the purring grew louder.
I’m scratching two men who changed into tigers. Holy shit.
She leaned forward a little more. Her fear wasn’t gone, but joined together with curiosity and wonderment. How many people got to pet a tiger let alone two tigers? Tigers who were really men?
Emotions ran rampant in her. Fear, elation, worry, joy tumbled over and over inside her. How had she gone from being an average, everyday teacher into a woman who’d witnessed a cold-blooded murder and then two men changing into tigers?
Frank. Oh, my God. Frank.
The memory of seeing Frank standing over the man ripped into her. For a few days, she’d managed to push thoughts of him to the back of her mind. At night, those same thoughts, uncontrolled, would burst forth to bring nightmares. But she’d thought she was learning how to deal with what she’d seen. At least while awake.
She’d thought wrong.
She’d been wrong to fear the tigers, too. The real threat was still searching for her.
Jerking back her hands, she covered her face and brought her knees to her chest. Everything she’d gone through since the horrible day she’d seen the murder tore into her. Sobs wracked her as she pulled her knees to her chest and started to rock.
Chapter Nine
“Kylie, sweet one, please don’t cry.”
She didn’t look up. Braden had changed back into his human form. The bond between them strengthened with the presence of his hard, sexy body.
“He’s right. We’re sorry we frightened you. Please, baby, Braden and I can’t stand to see you cry. Hit him if it’ll make you feel better.”
She lifted her gaze to Heath’s and tried to smile through the tears. “I don’t want to hit him. Besides, I’m not crying about you two.”
“You’re not?”
She closed her eyes as a shudder took her. When she opened them again, both of the men had moved closer, the worry etched in their faces. “Yes, seeing you as tigers scared the hell out of me. But then when you changed and I touched you…”
How could she ever explain? She’d touched them and the familiar zing that came every time she saw them swept into her again. As tigers, she wasn’t attracted to them sexually, but she was still drawn to them. She still wanted to be with them, to stay with them, if they wanted her. Seeing them in their animal forms hadn’t lessened the bond between them. Instead, it had intensified it in a different yet intriguing way.
“What are you crying about, sweet one?” Braden searched her. “We know you’re running from something or someone. Is that it? Please tell us so we can help.”
She’d wanted to tell them, had ached to tell them, but until the moment she’d seen them shift, she hadn’t fully trusted them. Trust went both ways. If they trusted her enough to reveal what they were, then how could she not bare her soul to them?
“Kylie, we’re here for you. We’ll always be here for you.”
They were such strong, virile men. The kind of men every woman dreamed of. The kind of men who would keep
her safe against all the odds.
“You trust us, don’t you?”
Maybe it had taken seeing them as tigers for her to realize it, but she did trust them. She trusted them with her life and her heart. How could she not trust them with the truth?
“My boyfriend—”
Both of their faces grew dark.
“My ex-boyfriend killed a man.”
Had they heard her? She glanced from one to the other.
“He killed a man.” Heath sat beside her, his shoulder touching hers. “What do you mean? Did he hurt someone in a car wreck? In a bar fight?”
“No.” She couldn’t stop shaking. It was as though the truth was physically coming out of her in waves. “He took a gun and blew a man’s brains out.”
She hadn’t meant to say it so crudely, but then again, that was how she kept seeing it in her mind. The brutality of it was crude. Another shudder racked through her.
“He murdered a man?” Braden put his arm around her. “And you saw it?”
The image of the killing rushed back, harder, more detailed than ever before. Tears rushed down her face, and she let out a cry.
“He killed him, he killed him, he killed him.” She couldn’t stop saying the words as though getting them out would be the only way to stay sane.
Braden pulled her to him, cradling her against him. Heath closed in on her other side, capturing her between them.
“Easy, sweet one.”
Their nude bodies spread much-needed warmth into her. She pressed against Braden’s chest with Heath resting against her back. “He saw me.”
Braden stiffened. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. He chased after me, but I got away.”
She sensed something pass between them. An unspoken message. A hard look.
“That’s why you were on the bus without knowing where you wanted to go.”
She nodded and wiped away a tear. Having her body next to theirs made her feel better, safer and…hungry. The powerful tie between them whipped even wilder. It was crazy to think so, but she couldn’t help but get turned on. The heat flowed into her pussy, wetting her between her legs.