Karis

by Grace Brennan

  Blocking him, he gritted out between clenched teeth, “Don’t you fucking do it. Use your gift on her, and I’ll be ripping your throat out. I know that shit hurts.”

  “Whoa,” Kian said, giving him a sharp, probing look. “No one’s ripping anyone’s throat out. And you don’t need to use your gift on her to force a change, Luke. Look at her. She’s holding him still until he admits defeat or someone steps in. She’s not going to kill him.”

  Eyeing Karis in speculation, Luke then studied Arya and nodded before stepping back. “I can see that. Someone get her something to wear and contain him. She needs to shift back, because something tells me he won’t do so willingly. But I need answers, so I’m going to have to force it.”

  Zane left and came back quickly with a blanket, and Kelly took it from him, approaching Arya while Zane, Kian, and Jameson hovered over Shiloh. Holding out the blanket, she urged her to change back, but Arya flicked her eyes around nervously.

  Realizing what was making her hesitate, Karis barked, “Anyone whose eyes aren’t on Shiloh to keep him contained, look elsewhere. If I catch one person trying to sneak a peek of Arya, I’ll have your fucking hide for a rug. Look away.”

  Mikhail shot him a look that was half amused, half curious, and he realized he was acting far out of character. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. Arya had him so jumbled up inside, he didn’t know what anything was anymore.

  His tiger sighed with exasperation inside him, but he ignored it as that wave of something special washed over his skin. She’d just shifted back.

  “I’m covered now,” Arya said softly.

  Turning, he saw her wrapped burrito style in the blanket. Already, there was a patch of blood staining the fabric by her shoulder. Fury burned through him, but before he could step forward and end Shiloh like he deserved, she looked at him. Unable to help himself, he glared at her, hoping she could see how unhappy he was about her fighting another tiger. And the little minx just gave him a wry smile and a shrug.

  Like it was no big deal.

  Like she hadn’t just battled a tiger who was second only to Karis in skill, when she herself had no training.

  Like she couldn’t have just had her throat ripped out.

  “What the hell were you thinking, Arya?” he bit out as his tiger growled deep in his chest.

  An answering growl came from her, but she swallowed it down. “I was thinking Shiloh was about to attack you while you were in human form. I was thinking he could kill you because you were unprepared. I was thinking I needed to help you, Karis Sanderson, and you don’t get to try to reprimand me for it.”

  Stunned, he stared at her, trying to wrap his mind around what she said. She’d put herself in danger for him? He didn’t know whether to throttle her or kiss her.

  “Shiloh, change back,” Luke ordered, his voice crackling with the energy of his gift.

  The tiger on the ground roared as he tried to fight it, but it was inevitable. The growl turned into a man’s moan, and then he was lying on the ground in human form, naked, bleeding, and panting from the pain of the forced change.

  “Shouldn’t have fought it. It wouldn’t have hurt so much,” Luke muttered.

  “What was the meaning of the stunt you pulled, Shiloh?” Kian demanded.

  Glaring at them with hate-filled eyes, Shiloh remained silent, mouth set in grim lines. Noah, another Enforcer, stepped forward.

  “You should know my gift is sensing other’s gifts and taking them for my own. And there’s one here whose gift is compulsion. They might be reluctant to use it, but I won’t hesitate to borrow it. You can tell us willingly, or I can pull it out of you.”

  Karis glanced at Noah in surprise. He hadn’t known that was his gift, but it sounded like a handy one for an Enforcer to have. If they came across a shifter with a gift that allowed them to evade capture, or made it difficult to take them in, Noah could use their gift for himself.

  He caught a glimpse of Kian shuffling uncomfortably, and he looked over at him. It was his gift Noah was talking about borrowing. Compulsion and likeability were Kian’s gifts, though he hated to use them. Actually, Karis couldn’t remember a time when he had. Much like Arya, he kept his gifts buried and under tight control. No doubt, letting them out would make the transition to the new rules easier, but Alpha refused to do that. Said it would make him no better than his father, forcing his will on others.

  “Because he needs to go down,” Shiloh spat, glaring at Karis. “Always so smug about being the best. Always ordering everyone else around, always threatening them.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Karis stared at the naked man on the ground. “You sound like a petulant, whiny five-year-old instead of a full-grown man and warrior. I’ve never been smug about my position, but I am the best, as was proved today. And it’s my job as head warrior to order you around, to do what I have to do to keep you in line and train you properly.”

  “And all the changes are bullshit. There was nothing wrong with the tribe as it was.” Sneering, Shiloh switched his glare to Kian. “You all need taken out. I hid my skill so no one tried to step in and stop me. I was going to take Karis down as head warrior and then rally the other warriors to take out Zane and Alpha.”

  “Let me guess. Once you took us down, you’d take the position of alpha for yourself,” Zane said, his dry tone unable to hide his fury.

  “I’d do a thousand times better than any of you would. You’re going to run this tribe into the ground.”

  Kelly snorted. “I think he’s delusional. He’s got mental issues, that’s for sure.”

  Shiloh growled at her and Zane responded, taking a step toward him, his intent to go after him for growling at his mate written all over his face. Luke and Noah quickly stepped between them.

  “No killing him. He belongs to us now,” Noah said. Glancing at Luke, he gestured to the man on the ground. “Take him in, get him booked, and throw him in the prison.”

  Nodding, Luke looked at Kian with a grin. “At this rate, one of our prisons is going to be full of War Cats in a month or two. I’m going to need the shifter suppressant. I’ll be right back.”

  At any other time, Karis would feel for a shifter who had their animal suppressed. But right now, he thought it wasn’t nearly enough. Shiloh had been plotting against them this whole time. And not just that, he’d fought Arya. She might have been fighting to subdue, but Shiloh had been fighting to kill.

  Luke was back quickly with the suppressant and shifter handcuffs. After Shiloh was wrestled into the cuffs, which were made of metal even shifters, with their enhanced strength, couldn’t break, Luke injected him with the suppressant. Karis found a grin as Luke jabbed it in none too gently. The Enforcers hauled him off, and Kian cleared his throat, looking at the audience.

  “Let this be a lesson to anyone thinking of trying something like this. It won’t work. Now let’s get on with the ceremony.” Glancing at Arya as she made to move away, Kian shook his head. “Stay here for a bit, please.”

  Her brow wrinkled in confusion, but she nodded and stayed where she was. Kian began listing the rankings of the warriors, starting from the bottom. But it wasn’t until he listed Vynn as third place that Karis frowned. Vynn should have moved into the second position, behind him, now that Shiloh was gone.

  “I’m sure you all have done the math by now and are wondering why Vynn’s not in second position. That’s because Arya earned that right today.” A gasp went up, smattered with angry shouts and murmurs. “She won the archery competition, and she was clearly the winner of the fight with Shiloh. And we all saw that he was second only to Karis, and she did this with no training at all. Imagine how good she’ll be once properly trained.”

  A smile curling his lips up, Karis glanced at Arya. Her lips were parted and her bright blue eyes were wide and stunned. She looked at him, and he bowed his head with respect to her. Yeah, he was still kind of pissed that she put herself at risk for him, but he couldn’t deny that she did amazingly well.

/>   “But she didn’t participate in hand to hand combat,” someone in the crowd protested.

  “No, she didn’t. And that’s something she’ll undoubtedly need training in. But can any of you deny that she would be a major asset in battle? I didn’t think so.”

  “But she’s a woman,” Ben muttered with a scowl.

  Kelly frowned. “You guys need to get over that crap. Women can do everything men can, and I think Arya just proved that. She whipped Shiloh’s ass, when none of you save Karis could.”

  “What do Karis and her father think of this? Are you two really going to allow this?”

  “I’ve always encouraged Arya to do what she wants. An unpopular way of raising a daughter in this tribe, maybe, but look how well she turned out.” Mikhail looked at Arya, warmth and pride in his expression. “If this is what she wants, I’ll support her in it, as well.”

  She smiled shakily and then her eyes flew to Karis’. Clearing his throat, he said, “She earned the spot. I have no objections.”

  Kian nodded, looking to Arya. “So, how about it? You weren’t officially competing, so it’s up to you whether you accept the position or not.”

  Her gaze flew from person to person as her smile widened and reached her eyes. “I accept.”

  Most of the crowd loudly let their displeasure be known, but Kian ignored them, going on to officially announce her as second ranked warrior. But Karis barely heard him. He was too busy staring at Arya. She was wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket, her hair was a tangled mess, and she had a smudge of dirt on her cheek. But her eyes were bright, and her smile was wide. Joy was radiating off her in waves, and she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

  He fought to draw in a breath, rubbing his hand over his chest where it hurt. What the hell was going on? How did this slip of a girl affect him so thoroughly? Why did she, and how did he get it to stop? This was wrong on so many levels, even though it felt more right than anything ever had before.

  I guess I’m going to have to spell it out for you, his tiger said in exasperation. I was waiting for you to be ready, but I don’t think you will ever be truly ready, because you’re too dense to accept the truth. She’s our mate, dumbass.

  Eyes widening, he stared at Arya as she laughed at something Kian said, stunned to his bones. Arya was his mate? What. The. Fuck.

  It was a good thing he was a disciplined warrior, because the shock of his tiger’s words might have been enough to literally knock him on his ass if he was a lesser man.

  Chapter Eight

  Karis stared out at the calm lake and then flicked his wrist, sending the stone skipping across the surface. It hit seven times before finally sinking, and he stared at the ripples it left in its wake. The once calm surface was still feeling the aftereffects of the stone, much like he was still feeling the aftereffects of his tiger’s declaration.

  Exhaling heavily, he dropped to a sitting position on the shore. He still felt stunned and he wasn’t even close to sorting his thoughts and emotions out yet. Hell, he wasn’t even sure where to start.

  Finding a mate had never been on his radar. He’d spent most of his life working to get where he was, wholly focused on first becoming head warrior, and then keeping the position. Recently, in the past year or so, he’d occasionally thought it might be nice to find someone to share his life with. But he was thirty-five, and most shifters found their mates by the time they were thirty. He’d thought the chance was long past.

  Thirty-five. He was thirty-five, and his mate was twenty-three. The age difference was staggering to his mind. There were twelve years between them, and they might as well be fifty, the way it felt.

  He’d had the opportunity to live his life. His goals, his dreams, had been fulfilled. He’d traveled as much as he cared to, done most of what he wanted. Sure, he’d always thought a few cubs would be nice one day, but without a mate, it hadn’t been possible. Some of the males in the tribe didn’t wait for their true mates, instead picking a suitable woman and starting a family.

  Karis never wanted that kind of life. He’d have a family with a true mate, or none at all.

  And now he had a true mate, but how could he ask that of her? She was just starting to live her life. Now that the rules had been changed, she could do and be whatever she wanted. All the things that had been denied to her were now wide open. She could do what she wanted, and he knew she had so many things she wanted to accomplish. How did he ask her to settle down, when her life was just beginning?

  Her life was just beginning, and his was mostly over. The answer was, he didn’t ask her. He let her go out and do everything she wanted to do. Maybe one day, when she’d achieved everything she wanted, he’d tell her what she was to him.

  Don’t be a—

  Don’t fucking say that word again, he told his tiger.

  He was reminded of a show he used to watch, That 70’s Show. The dad, Red, called his son a dumbass all the time. His tiger was quickly on track to catching up where that word was concerned.

  How long have you known? he asked his cat.

  About two years. Neither of you were ready then.

  Two fucking years. You still could have told me.

  You would have run as fast and far as you could.

  Finding the right stone shape, Karis flicked it at the water. Eight skips. Hell, he couldn’t deny what his tiger said. He would have run. Even a year ago, when he first noticed Arya as a woman and felt attracted to her, he ran. Stopped going to dinner at her house, and quickly ended conversations when she joined them. Put an end to all the jokes and laughter they used to share.

  He’d felt like a dirty old man. Called himself a sick pervert any time he noticed how beautiful she was. In the beginning, it didn’t happen very often. Certainly not every time he saw her. But in the last few months, the attraction he felt was amped up a thousand-fold, and he couldn’t look at her without wanting to kiss her.

  You’re probably right, but I still had a right to know, he told his animal.

  I was waiting until you were ready. I’ve been trying to nudge you along lately. Telling you she’s a woman, not a girl. Encouraging you to see her, spend time with her.

  You should have also said the words.

  No. My way was best.

  Karis rolled his eyes. The sound of footsteps hit his ears, and he turned his head to see Jameson approaching. Nodding to him, his friend sat down beside him.

  “I saw you out here. You seem agitated, and that’s rare for you. You’re always so calm, no matter the situation. What’s wrong? Having second thoughts about Arya being second?”

  He shook his head. “No. She earned it, and did you see her? She did amazing for someone with no training. She could take head warrior in four years.”

  “She was badass, no doubt. But this isn’t going to make her friends. In fact, she probably gained more enemies. Someone is already shooting arrows at her. It could get worse.”

  “The arrow could have been for me. But I wonder if it was Shiloh. He clearly has issues with both of us. Her for daring to be a woman who wants more than the life she had, and me for supporting the rule changes allowing her to have that life.”

  Jameson nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true. It’s probably something he should have been asked before the Enforcers hauled him away.”

  “I’ll call Luke and have him ask Shiloh about it. In the meantime, we’ll keep on as we have, making sure she always has someone with her if she’s out and about.”

  “So if that’s not what’s bothering you, what is?”

  Blowing out a breath, Karis flicked another stone. Only six skips that time. He considered not answering, but Jameson was his closest friend. If he didn’t talk to him, he wouldn’t talk to anyone.

  “My tiger picked my mate.”

  Jameson grinned, slapping him on the back. “Congrats, man. That’s always something to celebrate.” Grin fading, his brow furrowed as he studied Karis. “Wait, why aren’t you celebrating? You’re looking kind o
f grim.”

  “It’s Arya.”

  Jameson whistled. “Are you worrying more about her safety, or something? Because other than that, I don’t see what the problem is.”

  “I’m twelve years older than her, Jameson. She has her life at her fingertips. She’s just now getting a shot at chasing her dreams, and I’ve already accomplished mine. I’ve done everything I ever wanted to do. I can’t ask her to settle down just when she’s getting the chance to fly.”

  “How do you know what she wants? Who’s to say having a mate isn’t part of her dreams?”

  “I don’t want her to feel obligated to me. I don’t want her to give up what she wants just because I’m her mate.”

  Jameson laughed loudly, scaring some birds into flight. “This is Arya we’re talking about. When has she ever felt obligated to do anything? If she doesn’t want to be mates, if there’s more she wants to do before you claim each other, she’ll tell you.”

  “There’s also Mikhail to think of.”

  “What does her dad have to do with it?”

  “He’s the man I’ve most looked up to. He did so much for me. Got me out of the house and away from my son of a bitch father, helped my mom when she needed it. Trained me to be a warrior, taught me what it means to be a real man. And I’m going to repay that by pursuing his daughter? Especially with the age difference.”

  “You’ve got to get over that age difference shit. What does it matter? You’re both grown adults. And you’re seriously not thinking Mikhail would have a problem with this, are you? He thinks the world of you, Karis. I’m sure he’d much rather have her mate you than any of the other dickheads in the tribe.”

  He shook his head, not saying anything. He didn’t agree with his friend’s assessment. Mikhail wouldn’t be happy about an older man stealing his daughter’s freedom when she barely had a chance to explore it. Not just any man, but one he’d done so much for and considered a friend. And the last thing he wanted was to see the disappointment in Mikhail’s eyes when he looked at him.