by Aubrey Rose
“She's lying.” This voice spoke behind me.
The small audience gasped, and I spun around to see Hannah standing in the front row, fixing her eyes on me with a nasty smile.
“I saw her myself,” the bitch continued. “Seemed like something fishy, so I followed them to the Shaman's place. On the way back, they were ambushed. This cat was never in any real danger. The men didn't lay a single claw on her, but they did hit James in the head over and over with a rifle.”
One of the Elders coughed loudly, breaking the pause. Hannah sniffled and ran a hand over her face, a sorrow so exaggerated my eyes nearly popped out of my head.
“I tried to warn him. He wouldn't listen. I saw her giving the tigers gestures, signaling them the minute they came out of the shadows.” Hannah paused uncomfortably again. “I know, it's sick and wrong, but the girl has our Alpha all wrapped up in her stripes. She led him into the fight. I'm not sure why she spared him and called off the ambush...but what the hell do I know about tigers?”
“It's not true! The only one here lying is this jealous bear who won't leave my husband alone.” I faced the Elders again, fuming like mad.
My tiger's fury prickled at my skin, sharpness brimming on my teeth. One more push and I wouldn't be able to stop myself from shifting.
“That's it!” Elder Baron slammed his gavel. “Lady Gray and Mister Meade, have you heard enough of this shill's testimony?”
I growled as the two Elders looked at their leader and nodded.
“Congratulations, young tigress,” he turned back to me. “You've just landed yourself in the middle of a war between Denali and Tiger Bay. Consider yourself a prisoner.”
“Gods! I told you the truth! Why aren't you like him? Why are you so dense?”
My angry words wouldn't help my cause, but I didn't care. Greg and Cuddy came up behind me, a physical intimidation. Behind me, Hannah laughed.
My tiger wanted blood. Hers, specifically, a thirst much greater than any I'd ever known.
“Enough!” Baron roared, his eyes darkening with a bear's rage.
“You may have gotten through James' defenses and warped his brain, but I can assure you we're not so simple minded.” He cleared his throat, and then spoke more loudly. “The council must take emergency action to deal with vipers in our den. All in favor of dragging this treacherous cat to a holding sell until we decide what to do with her, raise one hand and say 'aye!'”
Their old hands went up simultaneously, and the chamber echoed with their gleeful affirmations.
The gavel slammed. “Second order of business. With this tiger a prisoner of war, she can't be wed to any bear. All in favor of annulling the marriage between James Roark and Laura Hisch?”
“Aye!”
“You can't do this!” I sputtered. “You can't...”
I collapsed to my knees, too devastated to fight back, even as the two men grabbed me. Jacob looked at me with panicked eyes and turned to the council.
“Elders, please, can't we wait until our Alpha returns? I'm sure there's a way to explain all this.”
“We've waited long enough,” Baron snapped. “When James Roark lumbers back here, we'll also have to decide if we still have an Alpha at all. He's gone behind our humps and withheld vital security information. You, Jacob Browner, will report to us now. Not him. National security, you understand.”
I shouldn't have looked up. Jacob's sad, apologetic eyes followed me all the way out the door as the men dragged me into the darkness outside.
They told me I had nothing left to lose. I shifted, snarling and clawing at the brutes holding onto my limbs.
“Tranquilizer! Get this beast into holding, now!” Baron shouted.
My sharp teeth nearly got a hold on Greg's neck when I felt something sharp digging in near my left hind leg.
My tiger gave me the strength to roar as I went down onto the ground. Pure venom pumped through my brain, and the whole world turned into a numb, dreamless blur.
“Is she good for this? The drug won't mess with her blood?”
I winced. My head felt light as a feather, thoughts jagged and slow. I tried to sit up, but the slightest tilt of my head instantly sent me crashing back to the ground.
“No, Hannah, it won't matter at all with the way you want it refined.”
“Purrr-fect,” she growled, noticing I was awake. “Oh, you're awake, sleepy cat. Had to call in a lot of favors to get here so soon.”
I forced my eyes open. She stood over me, and a man's hands were on my shoulders. They felt smaller and weaker than the men who'd dragged me to this dank room. It looked like an abandoned cabin, the walls worn gray with age and neglect.
“Huh? What the hell is this?” I groaned. Just speaking those few words made my head throb.
“Hold still,” the man whispered. “If you cooperate with us, it'll all be over soon.”
I sensed him pulling my arm out, and then a sting at pit of my elbow. My head moved quick to see what was happening.
It was a large needle attached to a tube in my flesh, its plastic running into his black bag. The man wore thin spectacles and a sad, reluctant expression clouded his face. Almost like he didn't want to be doing this.
Blood began draining from my body, swirling through the plastic length. I groaned, already too weakened by the tranquilizer to try to pull the needle out.
“Hurry it up,” Hannah hissed. “The guys are changing shifts in ten or twenty minutes. I've only paid off Greg and Cuddy...the others could land us in front of the Elders, doctor.”
“I'm going just as fast as I can. Listen, if I take any more from her any faster, she's gonna have a real problem. I'm not okay with that. I didn't agree to recklessness.”
“Stop being so fucking nervous, Reed! Or I'll tell wifey everything. You'll wish the Elders sent us into exile when she finds out you've been screwing Penny in the woods.”
A low growl slipped from Reed's lips. There was a shuffling sound in his bag when he reached into it, almost like a pump or something whirring to a higher speed.
My vision blurred for the dozenth time tonight. I coughed. What felt like nano-seconds must've been five minutes.
When I opened my eyes again, Reed and Hannah were struggling, practically tearing the tube out of my arm. Fearsome bear growls echoed in the chamber.
“You incompetent shit! Faster, faster, or we're not gonna get what you said we'd need.”
“Give me a chance!” Reed bellowed. “I'm confident I can fashion the perfume with what we've got. You crank that thing up and you'll endanger her life. We've got what we need, Hannah.”
“No!” she squealed. “I need a tiger's essence. You're trying to take the easy way out, trying to deny me what I need to have my mate!”
“You're crazy. This...this is not a magic love potion. It's something that might give you a leg up attracting him. I won't let you believe there's anything special or certain about–“
Crack! Reed's words were silenced by a sound like wood rending apart.
Hannah's fists flew and fell on his forehead. Way louder than any bare fist should. He fell, crashing down on the floor next to me. His glasses jerked up over his ears, crooked on his face as I watched the light go out in his eyes.
There was something hard and thick in her hand. Whatever it was, it put him out cold.
Next thing I knew, she was crouching next to me, and the droning sound inside the bag grew louder. Hannah hummed with pleasure, tapping her long fingernails on the concrete near my head.
“If you're a lucky girl, you won't wake up. Don't worry, hon. With any luck, James will smell you on me forever. I'll stink like a tiger if that's what it takes to set this right.” She flashed me a nasty smile. “Old Spark was right – destiny is never a certain thing. I'm taking matters into my own hands to make sure James and I have the right one, and there's no room in it for you.”
I opened my mouth to scream, howl, or spit, but the droning filled my ears like a tsunami sloshing ashore. All my
senses died and I went slack on the ground.
The last thing I heard before I passed out were Hannah's feet clicking loudly on the ground.
VI: Deal With the Devil (James)
Everything about Tiger Bay made my bear's hair stand up on end.
On the surface, it was a Potemkin village so perfect even the gods would've been fooled. Beneath it all, Shane ruled everything with an iron fist.
Ironically, the only place his guard was down was at his own estate. Nobody in the town had tried to break into the Alpha's house since it was built. I was sure all its fine gardens and gourmet kitchens on every floor made some tigers jealous, but not so jealous they were willing to risk their necks against a man who had no mercy.
Quickly slipping past an isolated section of the iron fence and a run up a tree brought me to the balcony. The door popped beneath my hands easily enough.
I sniffed the sterile air, and soft potpourri went up my nostrils. Eerie waves flared along my spine, and my bear growled his disapproval.
Laura really grew up in all this? No wonder it took a disaster to give me her heart.
The place was so clean and perfumed I could barely smell tiger underneath it. Still, it was there, a scent with faint traces of Laura, but stronger, more masculine, and way more malevolent.
Shane was in his office, sitting at a fancy cherry wood desk with papers sprawled out beneath him. I spied him through the crack in his door. For all I knew, they were maps to plan the invasion of Denali, blueprints for destroying everything I loved and vowed to protect.
I took a deep breath. I had to hope that just this once, my bear would match a tiger's speed, and I could get to him before he flipped a switch or tapped his phone to summon his guards.
Ready or not, here I come...
I hit the center of the door as hard as I could. It swung open, crashing against the wall a second later.
Shane looked up, impetuous and surprised. I doubted anyone ever disturbed him unannounced, and certainly without knocking.
I was only two steps from his desk when his face went white with surprise. He recognized me from the wedding. The horror in his face turned to rage.
“Bear!”
He shifted. The tiger ripped through his suit and crashed over his desk, hitting me in the chest so hard I went down on the floor. By the time I began to wrestle him, my bear was out, gnashing its teeth at the scruff of his neck.
We rolled, clawing at each other's fur. The crash against the wall sent a pile of heavy old books falling on Shane's striped back. He roared with annoyance.
I let my bear's instincts take over. I went right for his face, holding his lean body against my furry chest with all my might. My jaws opened wider than his, and I bit down on his forehead hard.
The tiger's head thrashed in my mouth. After several panicked seconds, he realized it wasn't a death bite. He didn't dare try to tear himself away from me again – not when my teeth would rip his skin in the process.
His paws tapped my chest several times. I loosened my grip, just enough for him to move back, and felt his body go into convulsions.
We flew apart and sprawled on the floor, becoming men again. Now that I'd overpowered him, I had to see whether or not he was ready to listen to reason.
He was older and weaker than me. I had a five second head start to run to his desk, snatching the cell phone laying there, and blocking him from reaching anything else in his private space.
I smiled as he got on all fours and looked up at me, small scratches caking his face. Good thing shifters healed far faster than humans did.
“Outrageous grizzly brute! What's the meaning of this? Where's my daughter?”
He sounded delirious. The fight must've really rattled his head. Didn't mean I was going to fucking stop and lighten up, though.
“I'm here to talk peace,” I said. “And I know what it takes to make a tiger listen. You gonna give me the floor, or will I have to throw your striped ass against these pretty books again?”
Shane growled, climbing to his feet and folding his fists at his sides. He looked flushed, unsure of himself.
How long had it been since he'd shifted and really had to fight when he least expected it?
The tigers were far more insulated from nature than bears. At least the SOB in front of me was. He sent other men to do his dirty work so he didn't have to.
My bear snorted in disgust. It was hard to respect a man who gave so much control to his human side.
“Well? You gonna let me talk?”
“I'm not letting you do anything until she's safe!” Shane stepped forward, planting his hands on the desk.
We were face to face. I looked into his small, cold, murderous eyes.
“Laura's okay. Better than safe because she's away from you and your plan to invade Denali. That's what I've come here to stop. Need to see if I can get through your thick tiger skull before it destroys us both.”
“Sorry, I don't negotiate with perverts. You dare to talk about my brains? You! A sick, mangy, stupid bear...” He wrinkled his nose with a full body shudder. “You brainwashed her. I sent my men to rescue her from your degeneracy. Couldn't believe it when they told me she fought to stay with you.”
“There's no brainwashing a girl like Laura. She's just as stubborn as her father, but only when she's in the right. That's the difference between you and your daughter.”
Growling, a small dusting of orange hair lined his arms, and his nails lengthened. I bowed up in case he shifted again, but the features receded at the last second.
“What the hell do you want? Speak, if you must, but I won't promise you anything. You can kill me where I stand. You won't stop me from rescuing my only blood and ending your barbaric threat forever.”
“Then how about we start by ending the stupid arranged marriages causing this problem in the first place?”
Shane threw his head back and laughed. “Is this a joke? You'd give up the only thing keeping you safe from tiger fury? Well, now you've got my interest.”
His hands shifted halfway again, fresh claws tearing at the wooden desk.
“Why don't we learn to share instead? I'll permit tigers on Denali lands if you'll let us into your waters for fishing. The gods know the caribou herds have grown so large we can't thin them all down ourselves every season.”
His eyes narrowed, highlighting his dark pupils, now turned to slits like a tiger's. “These waters are precious to us, and a hell of a lot richer than your forests. If you want our salmon, you'll have to offer something much better. You know that.”
“I do. That's why we're also prepared to export wood from our forests.” I watched his face tighten in surprise. “I know enough about Tiger Bay to understand you can't keep this place growing at the same rate forever. You've exhausted most of your own resources, and the fees the humans charge you to bring lumber up here will only get higher. It'll give my boys some work chopping and packing up the lumber too.”
“Trading partners? With stinking bears?”
He shook his head, and then slammed his fists on the table. The whole room rattled.
“No! This is insane. I won't consider it. Not unless you bring her back. You want to end the marriages and alter an age old treaty? Then start by annulling this abomination between you and my daughter!”
I stared at the hot-head in front of me. The wild madness in his eyes told me this was a sticking point I couldn't overcome today, no matter how well I wrestled him or how many concessions Denali made.
This is one dense, bigoted, high strung fucking tiger. Not like I expected anything else.
Learning to think like a tiger wasn't as hard as it seemed. I reached out, grabbed his arm, squeezing it hard when he growled his annoyance.
“If that's what it takes to stop this crazy bloodshed. I don't want to give her back, but I will.” His eyebrows went up in surprise as soon as I said it. “Only thing is, you're gonna have to come to Denali with me.”
He ripped his arm away from me
. “I'll never be caught dead on bear land – not unless I own it! Are you crazy?”
“Totally serious. Let's cut the crap and be completely fucking honest here.” I paused. “You don't think I'll follow through with returning her to you, and I doubt you'll table your invasion plans. Fuck, the second I walk out of this room, you're likely to have me shot in the head and get on with the show, right?”
He growled, low and long, like a tiger unable to reach a choice cut of meat. He didn't deny it.
“You think bears are barbaric...stupid...gullible. I actually don't give a shit what you think, Shane, but you've met your match. If you want an honest agreement, you're gonna do things my way. The good news is my way is what's best for us both. Besides, I'm not the only one who has to approve this deal...”
“I know!” he spat. “You're not man enough to lead. You're a puppet for your Elder council.”
It was my turn to growl. He had me there, but I could deal with them when we got back. I'd always been able to twist their votes and make them see reason before. The hard part was getting his orange ass to follow me home.
“You know the drill, and I know how to work bear politics. Come with me. I'll break off a little before dawn tomorrow and let my people know to expect you and your men.”
“What makes you think I won't come alone?” he said with a sneer.
Slowly, I looked him up and down. If this guy was coming, he was coming on four wheels. I doubted he'd been out in the Alaskan wild since Laura was a cub.
No, hunting and fishing on his private acreage sure as hell didn't count.
“Bring two men. Any more than that won't be permitted in our borders. Let's make it swift and easy, Shane. This time tomorrow, we can have this all wrapped up, and Laura will be home.”
I extended one hand. He took it, squeezing my arm in his much clammier, softer grip. He was trying way too hard to match a bear's strength, and he didn't come close.
“I'll make sure nobody gets in the way when you leave...”
Reluctance lingered in his voice. Wasn't hard to tell he would've liked nothing better than to sic a dozen tigers and have me torn limb from limb. I stepped away from his desk and walked, taking the same route I came.