by R. J. Blain
“You’re claimed,” I informed him. “I just made certain you’d remember that from day one.”
“Oh, I remembered all right. There’s nothing quite like waking up to the knowledge I had my ass handed to me by a woman in a bar who made it clear I was her property. You should have seen Gentry and Todd’s faces when I showed them your little love mark. You had them planning my funeral. Well done, by the way. You made them so nervous they tattled to the First Gentleman and the President of the United States.”
I turned to my uncle for confirmation, as my aunt and her damned rabbit would toy with me for the fun of it. “Were you going to give him a good funeral, Gentry?”
Gentry cleared his throat, and after a few moments, grinned. “The problem was, we had no idea what that color ink meant on a live body. We had to go do research, as none of us had ever seen an assassin mark someone like that. I’ll admit, I was the first one to start ribbing him over having his life and death claimed by a rather notorious assassin. Then for that assassin to be you? He’s never going to live this down.”
“Which part is he not going to live down? Being suckered in a bar by a woman?”
“Not just a woman, his own bride and mate, and you left him with more questions than answers and a property tag.” My uncle raised a brow at me. “We will be having a long talk about your lack of self-preservation skills once you’re ready for a good beating on the mat.”
Damn it. How had I gotten the family that embraced general violence in an effort to teach someone—me—how to do a better job of emerging from my life’s problems somewhat intact? To change the subject back to Anatoly, I asked, “But would you have given him a good funeral?”
“No, because his response to finding out you were Charlotte’s premier assassin was to issue that ridiculous bounty so he could beg you to marry him.”
I narrowed my eyes and considered my tiger. “You issued the bounty after you found out I was an assassin?”
“What man doesn’t want a lethal, capable woman to be his wife? I was ready to start begging. But then you ran off on me, and that was just a challenge I couldn’t refuse. You just keep getting better and better. Then to be a Siberian, too? I am the luckiest man alive.”
Of everyone present, Simmons or Randal might be able to make sense of the madness. As Simmons tended to be even more grounded than Randal, I picked him as the likeliest to help. “Can you explain this?”
“He loves you,” my agent replied. “Of course, he would love you no matter what species. He is just a prideful tiger and you’re a rare jewel of the shifter world.”
My family and friends had gotten to my agents, too. Damn. Before I could come up with a suitable reply to that, Anatoly grinned and said, “It’s true. Hope is lost for me. But your aunt isn’t going to kick me out at night anymore, so I don’t mind at all. I do need to go back to the house to fetch some clothes. I didn’t bring anything, as I expected to get into a roaring match with security before being kicked out tonight.”
My aunt sighed. “It’s like having children again, but they’re even worse. Someone go ask the kitchen to make dinner. We’ll head over to your place after we have a talk about the current situation, Nate. I could use some fresh air.”
With a rather gleeful expression, the First Gentleman bounced for the door. “I’ll make the arrangements, and I’ll make sure everyone knows Nate is supposed to be here after hours when he’s not stuck in a meeting. It can be one of your past owed birthday presents, little girl.”
One day, everyone would stop calling me a little girl. I hissed at the damned rabbit’s back, but he ignored me as usual. “While you’re being a courier rabbit, go tell Todd he needs to get off his lazy ass and make himself useful. He still has a brain. He should come use it for a change.”
My uncle laughed and waved on his way out of the room.
“Is Marie the only problem in Todd’s herd?” I asked, wondering how the stallion would handle the situation if it went beyond his wife of many years to his foals.
While Todd loved his mares, his children always came first.
“That we know of,” my aunt replied. “Some of his newer mares have taken to avoiding her whenever possible, and the foals have generally sided with them. He’ll have to deal with Marie eventually, as her attitude is bringing some conflict to his herd—but she hasn’t done anything to warrant eviction from the herd or a divorce.”
Yet. The word hung unspoken between us. Todd would hold on for as long as he possibly could, as he hated giving up on anyone. I wondered how he would handle the situation as it escalated—and how far Marie would go on whatever mission she was on.
Nothing good would come of that situation, of that I was certain. “And this is because of me?”
“Not entirely. Todd is Todd. He’s kinda and generous with those outside of the herd, and he dedicates a lot of time to his guild, too. You’re just a part of the problem. Marie doesn’t like to share, and she believes she is owed more of Todd’s time and attention. And, if the reports I’ve been getting are correct, she’s willing to neglect her youngest to make sure he stays closer to home. But that hasn’t worked, as the other mares have stepped up to make sure the foals are happy and healthy. This, in turn, has made Marie less than agreeable.”
Marie would become a problem, and when she did, I could only hope Todd was able to deal with it rationally.
Stallions didn’t do rational all that well. They were all pride and fire, and once angered, I’d rather face an enraged grizzly.
Anatoly got up and put his blade away, before taking my new katana. He returned it to its sheath before setting it aside. Sitting beside me, he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. “Try not to worry too much about Todd, Jesse. He’s not stupid, he’s aware Marie is up to something, and he recognizes she has changed a lot over the years—and not for the better. For now, Ferdinand is the real issue. He knows too much about the inner workings of the government, he’s been close to Felicity more than any of us like, and he has a lot of connections from his time working as a mercenary.”
“And he wanted to bite me,” I grumbled.
“And he is a prideful idiot of a wolf, and he won’t care it’s been years since he claimed interest. If he gets a chance at you, he will probably take it—not that it’ll do him any good.” Anatoly growled. “With the rumors of him having bitten multiple women already, he’s going to be a big problem. But, him biting multiple women is a good thing.”
Anger surged through me, but I quelled it before I growled, snarled, or roared at my mate for even suggesting a wolf biting an unwilling woman could possibly be a good thing. “It is? How do you figure that?”
My aunt eyed the paperweight on her desk like she wanted to throw it at someone or through one of the room’s curved walls. “When he’s put down like the mad dog he is, he won’t hurt them nearly as much. He’s stretching his bite’s potency across numerous victims—which means all of those victims will suffer less once he’s dispatched. He still has sway over them, but not nearly as much sway as he would have over one mate. It’s a relief, really. Considering you and Nate have been nipping at each other for a while, Ferdinand has no hope of competing with Nate, and if he has so many bites in place, there’s a chance he won’t even be able to tell his bite didn’t take hold. It’ll give you the element of surprise. But, there’s a catch.”
Anatoly stiffened. “What catch?”
“I asked around and spoke to some wolves with harem packs. Consenting,” my aunt replied, taking a seat behind her desk. “The largest harem pack I found had four women in it, and they’re structured rather like a lion’s pride rather than a wolf pack. The gentleman of that relationship is run ragged all the time because they’re very attentive and hungry women. He says after he bit his third lady, his ability to detect his bite went haywire. Just too many emotions and too many women. His solution was to nip his ladies at least once a week, because that keeps his hold on them. And before you lose your temper, Anatoly, the
y instigate him, just like you instigate with Jesse. It’s rare, but some packs form this way, and they’re happy, so it’s none of my business. We don’t judge Todd and equine herds, so we won’t judge the rare wolf harem. It’s not much different from herd magic, except a mare can leave the herd of her own volition, where a wolf’s bite tends to be permanent.”
“Some mares can leave the herd of their own will,” Anatoly corrected. “It’s nearly impossible to leave a stallion like Todd without his consent. He’s just got too strong of a hold and general control over his herd.”
Life had become complicated again, but some problems had simple solutions. “Is there more to this problem than just Ferdinand needing to be put down?”
“Yes,” my aunt answered, but she didn’t elaborate.
Interesting. “Gentry?”
“The government has received an increasing number of threats since his disappearance. He’s likely involved, as he feels that things should be run differently. He believes wolves have been unfairly treated, but seems to have forgotten all biting species also face the same restrictions as wolves.”
Anatoly grinned, tightened his hold on me, and kissed my hair. “This tigress is mine, and I will enjoy using every loophole in the legal system to keep her safe and mine.”
I elbowed him in the side. “You have this wrong, tiger. I claimed you first. You’re mine.”
“I disagree.”
I growled, twisted in his hold, and nipped his throat. He yelped, and to make it clear he wouldn’t be winning our fledgling dispute, I nipped him again.
Gentry strode over, seized me by the back of my neck, and pulled me off my tiger before I took a proper bite out of his throat. “You’re right, Steph. It’s like having young children, except they’re bigger, even more trouble than the little ones, and can’t seem to behave themselves for ten minutes.”
“Honestly, I’m impressed they behaved for five. Set her on the armchair over there. That might keep her out of trouble for a few minutes. We’ll have to excuse Nate. He’s been waiting for this for a long time, so it’s expected for him to be excitable. There’s no excuse for Jesse.”
“Hey,” I protested while my uncle dragged me across the room and sat me down in the chair of my aunt’s choosing. “Why does he get let off and I don’t?”
“You assaulted him in a bar without his permission.”
As she had a good point, I looked to Anatoly for help.
“I liked it,” my tiger announced. “I liked it so much I’m going to worship her in a lavish wedding ceremony as soon as I can convince her to go along with it. I’ve seen her in dresses, Steph. She’s divine. Do you think I can convince her to wear a white one?”
“She’s hardly pure,” my aunt replied with a disapproving sniff.
“Hey,” I complained. “That’s not fair.”
“It most certainly is. You should be asking Nate what sort of things you can do to make up for tattooing him without his permission.”
“Marry me,” my tiger ordered with his best smirk, the one that made me want to lunge across the room, sink my teeth into his throat, and drag him off to somewhere private. “It’s my fault I gave her ideas. I treated her respectfully. That’s rare in a man, Steph. She just wanted to make sure she got to keep me. And anyway, if she’d asked me, after watching her destroy those mercenaries, I would have said yes anyway. You should have seen her. She was magnificent.”
“I’ve seen her fight before. I’m well aware she’s skilled. If you convince her to accept your rather pathetic proposal, I’ll have Gentry help plan the wedding.”
“Why me?”
“You were whining about how you wanted to adopt Nate. You spent how long chasing him around your guild as a result? You’ve made it clear you’ve accepted responsibility for the tiger, so you have to help plan his wedding.”
“You are a cruel and ruthless woman, Steph.”
“You can make Felicity help with the planning. Unlike you, she’ll actually like it.”
“You’re still cruel and ruthless, but Felicity would enjoy that, so you’re not entirely cruel. You’re definitely ruthless, however.”
“I try. And Jesse?”
I sensed a disaster in my future, and I wasn’t sure how to stop it—or if I wanted to. “What?”
“Half the fun is waiting to give him your answer so you drive him crazy. You want him to worship the ground you walk on, profess his undying love for you, and generally prove he’s in it for the long haul. Of course, he’s a Siberian, he’s already dedicated, and you don’t have to worry about any of that, but it’s more fun if you drag it out.”
“The only wedding I’ve been to was Blossom’s, and I skipped out before they actually had the wedding. If that’s what weddings are, can I skip that to whatever part the actual wedding is?”
My aunt’s mouth dropped open, and she stared at me with wide eyes. “You’ve never been to a wedding before?”
“They don’t really have them in the Blade Clan,” I reminded her. “None of the guard jobs Todd assigned me to involved them before Blossom’s.”
“Technically, she’s already your bride, Nate,” my aunt muttered, and her tone implied she’d given up hope for me doing things in a way acceptable for civilized society. While she wasn’t wrong, I bristled all the same.
I narrowed my eyes. “You make it sound like I’m a lost cause.”
My tiger dared to laugh, and only Gentry wrapping his arm around my shoulders to keep me pinned in place saved him from a bite to the throat.
“Stop trying to goad my niece into killing,” Gentry complained. “She really might.”
“She’d only maul me for a little while before getting other ideas in her head. Let her go. I want to see what she’ll do.” While tigers couldn’t purr, Anatoly made a good effort with his attempt, however growly his chuffs emerged. “Admit it, Gentry. She’s divine.”
“Siberians!” My aunt threw her arms in the air. She then turned on her Secret Service agents and pointed at one of the poor bastards near the door. “Get me a damned court clerk and the legal documentation for civil unions. It’s going to take these two idiots a lifetime to sort their mess out otherwise, and my sister really will try to kill me if I don’t make sure her daughter has a fully secured claim on her tiger.”
“No, Madam President,” the agent replied, and somehow, he managed to keep a straight face while disobeying the President of the United States. “Your sister would not kill you. She would merely make you suffer for a while, as we learned from her last visit several years ago.”
My mother had visited several years ago? I would’ve been in Cheyenne, then, but the evidence she truly existed intrigued me. The agent, someone I’d seen around but hadn’t learned his name, caught my attention for his ability to withstand my aunt’s temper. I leaned back in the chair and tapped Gentry’s arm.
“Yes, little girl?”
“I want that agent. He’s a badass. He just told her no. He could partner with Beverly. Together, they might take over the country.”
My agents somehow kept their expressions somewhat neutral, although Simmons raised a brow.
“Yes, but if he told you no, would you actually listen to him?”
I considered that. “It depends? Why is he telling her no?”
“It’s after hours for the court clerks, and it would involve dragging one from dinner in order to handle a non-critical matter, and however much marrying you to Nate would solve some problems, it isn’t a critical matter.”
I frowned. “I disagree. It’s a critical matter. The Blade Clan will beat him because he’s the groom and the contract hasn’t been fulfilled. He’s not ready for a beating.”
“How do you know that?”
“He hasn’t been training with a sword since he was old enough to carry one. He’s not ready.”
The Secret Service agents, mine included, exchanged looks, and then Randal cleared his throat.
“What is it?” my aunt demanded.
“It would add an extra layer of protection should this wolf attempt to bite her. It would permit a heightened bounty for any involved with the incident.” My agent kept his tone neutral, something he often did when he recognized he said something someone wouldn’t like. “It would offer Mr. Silverston certain legal rights as well. You can still plan a proper wedding for them to celebrate when they have gotten around to properly biting each other and making their mating official. It would also put them both at ease, especially should there be another chain of meetings she can’t attend. It may resolve some of their anxiety issues, and it would count as a legal claim for them. It would be useful.”
My aunt regarded my agent with open suspicion. “Useful for whom?”
“Us.”
I laughed. “I’m sorry we worried you, Randal. You, too, Simmons. We were just tired.”
“When the tigers are so exhausted they can’t be bothered to roar at each other before dancing around each other, it’s time to marry them off, leave them alone, and let nature sort itself out eventually. And, I would like to remind you, that if you have legal documentation proving they’re a mated couple, you will have to spend less time trying to convince palace staff that it’s consenting violence. Ceremonies are currently wasted on the tigress, but she has a solid understanding of legal documentation. When they’re ready for their celebratory ceremony, it can be planned at leisure.”
Simmons grinned. “It would solve a lot of potential issues later. It would also allow us to push on Head Tiger’s Secret Service detail. It would remove his ability to fully opt out of it.”
I frowned. “Why are you trying to talk him out of this? That seems like a way to talk him out of it. From how he acts, he’s allergic to having a detail.”
“It’s coercion. I have what he wants, and he’ll have to put serious thought into cooperating with safety precautions in order to get what he wants. I just turned you into the grand prize in a cage match. Also, don’t even think about it, Nate. I’m fresh. You’re not.” My aunt lifted a brow and engaged my tiger in a staring match, which she won after a few moments.