by Sam Crescent
“I’m not happy anymore. I love Dana and you. You’re my family and always will be. I’ll miss these get-togethers, but I don’t think this is my future anymore. My parents hate having me around. I’m tired of being somewhere I’m not wanted.”
“Then stay with us.”
“I can’t. This will be something I do for me, Felix.”
They were quiet for a few seconds. “You’ve not told Dana your thoughts, have you?”
“No, I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet.”
“Please don’t make any rash decisions.”
“I won’t, I promise.”
The song came to an end. A shadow fell over her. Looking up, she saw Ben with Dana stood beside them.
“Swap partners,” Ben said.
Heather tightened her hold on Felix. “Sure, I could have a word with my sister.”
Within a second, Heather was in Ben’s arms, and Felix was moving away with his sister.
She tensed as Ben’s arm went behind her back, pulling her closer.
“You’re close to Felix and Dana?” he asked, starting up a conversation.
“They’re my real family.” Glancing up, she saw his dark brown, almost black, gaze on her. She felt his gaze deep down as if he could see into her heart.
“They are good people. They make you feel part of their world,” he said.
“Yes, they do.”
Relaxing in his arms took time. When he made no move to let her go, Heather took a deep breath and relaxed in his grip.
“Thank you.”
“What’s going on with Dana? Are you using her, or are you going to make an honest woman out of her?” The words blurted out of her mouth before she could contain herself.
“You’re looking out for your friend?”
“She deserves a good man. A man who won’t use her until he tires of her,” she said.
“I’m not going to hurt Dana. She knows the score.”
Heather tensed at his words. She stopped dancing and glared at him. “No, Dana doesn’t know the score. She thinks you’re the one. If you’re not going to be serious about this then you need to back off.”
She saw they’d gained some attention. Hating their eyes on her, Heather left him alone on the dance floor. Not all men were like Mark. She needed to remember that.
Walking into the empty house, Heather poured herself a drink of water. She didn’t know how it was possible for her to sense him close, but she did. He stood so close she could almost smell him.
Turning back, she saw Ben frowning down at her. “Dana’s not the one. She’s a leopard shifter and knows the difference in knowing who the one is and not.”
“Dana wants to settle down. She wants to settle down with you.”
“It’s not going to happen with me. Dana will know that.”
“What? Why? She told me.”
He didn’t look away from her. Heather didn’t know if she wanted him to look away or not. Her body was getting hot. He leaned forward, dropping a hand on either side of the sink, trapping her against him.
“Until the moment I met you I was going to give Dana a chance. Now that I’ve seen you, scented you, Dana has to go.”
“What? You can’t do that.”
“Yes, I can,” he said, cutting into her words.
“Why?”
“This is why.”
His lips claimed hers in a searing hot kiss, and Heather was lost to anything else.
****
Ben moaned as her plump lips opened to his. The glass she’d been holding dropped between them, smashing on the floor. The music was too loud outside for anyone to hear. Moving his hands from the sink, he wrapped them around her waist, bringing her flush against him. Her soft curves moulded to his.
She was full and curvy in all the right places.
Growling low in his throat, he picked her up and landed her ass on the counter. She was so small and compared to him, light.
Running his hands up and down her body, Ben allowed himself to learn every inch of her curves. He was never letting her go. Heather was his woman.
“No,” she said, pulling away. “I’m not doing this. You shouldn’t be kissing me. I’m not the kind of woman to do that to her best friend.”
She shoved at him, but Ben didn’t let her go. He couldn’t.
“I’m not asking you to.”
She shook her head. “No, you’re Dana’s. This is not happening. I’ve already gone too far, and that’s not fair.”
Holding her head between his palms, Ben tried to calm her down. “I can never be Dana’s because you’re mine, Heather.”
He’d intended to break the news to Dana later tonight. Instead he was telling Heather, and from the look in her green eyes, she didn’t like the truth.
“What?”
“You’re my mate, Heather. Nothing is going to change, I promise you, but you’re mine, and I can never be with Dana.”
Tears filled her eyes. Her lip wobbled, and the news appeared to have devastated her. “No, that’s not possible. I’m human. This can’t be happening.”
“We can have human mates, Heather. Please, calm down.”
She shoved him away, hitting out at him. “No! This is not happening. I’m not your mate, and you can’t make up.”
Heather jumped off the counter, trying to move away from him. Ben felt his tiger close to the surface. She was pushing him away, and he was panicking. This was the first time his future had felt so right. Heather’s reaction was pushing him over the edge.
Grabbing her arms, he tried to calm her down.
“I can’t control this. You’re mine.”
“No, I’m not yours. I’m no one’s. I’m a free person, a free woman.”
“You’re my mate.”
“No!”
Ben cried out as his beast took over. His woman was trying to get away from him, and he couldn’t contain the tiger within. He shouldn’t have come tonight, and before Ben could gain control, his beast erupted. His hands turned to claws sinking into her flesh.
His woman screamed as he hurt her. Ben scented her blood and the pain coming off her in waves.
The tiger within him lashed out. There was no time to stop it. Even as Ben controlled the movements, the claws had already lashed out. The stripes stood out on Heather’s face seconds before she collapsed to the floor.
Blood was everywhere, and Heather was passed out.
“Fuck, Dad!”
He turned to the door in time to see Felix and Dana stood in the doorway.
“He’s a tiger, Felix.”
Within seconds two leopards were staring at him.
“Come away from her, man. You don’t want to do this.” Felix spoke to him through his mind. All shifters in their animal form could speak to one another.
“I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
Dana’s parents, John and Kathleen, charged through the back door. In the short time it took for them to arrive, Ben was distracted enough for Felix to pull him out of the house.
He was away from Heather. Her blood and scent consumed him along with the guilt of hurting her.
“I hurt her.”
“What the fuck is going on? Why did you hurt Heather? She’s my friend.” Dana’s leopard sounded close to tears.
“You’ve got explaining to do. Change back, Ben. You’re stronger than this. Dana deserves an answer in human form.”
Ben knew it was the truth. He owed Dana the truth, and right now he needed to prove his control.
Concentrating on Heather he forced himself to turn back into a human. Felix and Dana did the same. They were all naked. Shifters didn’t have a problem with being naked around each other. Clothes were more foreign to them that anything else.
“I need a doctor in here,” John said, shouting through the door.
They all went for Malcolm, the doctor for the shifters.
He made to move toward Heather. Felix stopped him.
“You can’t go in there,” he said.
Dana gasped, bringing his attention back to her. “Heather’s your mate?”
“Yes, she’s my mate. I didn’t plan on this happening. I promise. I never intended to hurt you at all.”
“You’ve hurt my friend, Ben. I don’t care about me. Heather is everything to me, and you’ve hurt her.” Dana stormed away from him, leaving him alone with Felix.
Staring at the other man, Ben groaned. “I need to go to her.”
“No, you don’t. You’ve hurt her, Ben. I can’t let you do that.”
Biting his lip, Ben stared at the door. He’d never hurt a woman before in his life, and now he’d hurt the one woman who meant the world to him.
“What happened in there?” Felix asked, standing by his side. They were both naked, and he didn’t care.
“She fought me. Heather wouldn’t accept me as her mate. Before I knew what was happening my animal was fighting for control.”
“And your tiger won?”
Ben nodded. There was no need for him to voice his thoughts. He’d not been the one in control, his tiger had. For a split second he’d lost control, and this is what he’d done.
“Heather’s a fighter.”
“She shouldn’t have to be.”
“She’s got no choice.” They stood there waiting. He heard Malcolm at work setting up a drip and trying to bring Heather around.
“My dad killed my mom,” Ben said. He’d never spoken about his own family. “Tigers are not complex. Mated men are control freaks. We’re dominant men, and I don’t mean shit with leather and chains and flogs and crap. I’m talking about being the head of the household.”
“Fuck, man, I had no idea.”
“It happened a long time ago. I don’t talk about it. My family are the past.”
He didn’t know how long he was stood there until John and Kathleen came out of the back door. By that time, most of the guests were sat waiting for the news.
John lashed out, punching him in the face. Taking the hit, Ben went down.
“She’s fucking human. You’ll be lucky if she survives the night. Get the fuck out.”
“John?” Kathleen said. “She’s his mate.”
“Not tonight, she’s not. She’s our family, and I’m not letting him anywhere near her. Get the fuck off my property, and you call before you stop by.”
Clothes were thrown at him. Ben held them close, leaving John’s home. He couldn’t believe he was leaving his woman behind, but he didn’t see any other choice. He’d hurt Heather, and he couldn’t even forgive himself, let alone expect others to forgive him.
Chapter Three
Heather felt the pain the instant she woke up. She’d never known anything like it. Her memories charged at her from all angles making it difficult for her to breathe. Then she realised she couldn’t see. Her face was covered in darkness.
“Sh, don’t worry or panic,” Dana said, trying to calm her down.
“I can’t see.”
“I know. It’s some gauze, and you’ve had stitches. You’re not a shifter, Heather. We’re doing everything we can to protect you, honey. I promise.” Someone gripped her hand. The hand was too big to be Dana’s.
She couldn’t contain her scream.
“No, it’s me, Heather. It’s Felix.”
At hearing his voice, Heather calmed down. “I’m scared.”
“We know. The doctor will be here to see you soon. We’ve set up a room for you on the top floor.” Dana was the one who did most of the speaking. Felix kept hold of her hand.
“Please, tell me what’s going on and what happened. I remember everything. I just, I need to hear it from you guys’ lips.”
There was silence, which only made her nervous.
“I can’t see. I don’t know what’s going on, and both are you are making me freak out. Please, put me out of my misery.”
She felt the tears that were close to the surface. How could her friends be willing to keep this from her? She needed to know the truth.
“Ben told me the truth. You’re his mate. You’re the one who is supposed to be with him for life.”
“He told me that. I promise, Dana, I didn’t have anything to do with it. There was no encouragement on my part.”
Someone touched her hair. “I know, sweety. I know you. You’d never do anything like that. I trust you.”
The relief was short and brief, but at least Dana knew the truth.
“What happened next?” Heather asked.
“I can’t. Felix, tell her.”
Felix cleared his throat. “You fought him. Ben lost control over his tiger, and before he knew what was happening, he changed.”
“I remember.” Heather remembered the pain as his claws sank into her arms and back. His grip had tightened sinking his claws deeper into her body.
“I’ve asked Ben what else happened, and he said that his tiger had already lashed out at you before he got the chance to stop it.”
She tried to lift her free hand, but Dana caught her before she could.
“Did he get my eye?” Heather asked, needing to know if she’d ever see again.
“No, he didn’t get your eye,” Dana said.
“The claw marks go across your face from your nose down to your neck. Also, he punctured a lung. At some time his hands must have grabbed you in such a way that his claws sank into your body. They were sharp. Malcolm, our doctor, was able to fix the problem.” Felix finished off the explanation.
“So, I’m scarred on my face and on my body.”
“And down your front. Ben had clawed down your front, but those marks were not as deep as others.”
The tears she’d tried to keep down came up. She couldn’t see, and from what Felix and Dana said, when the bandages came off she wasn’t going to look any better than she imagined.
“Dad won’t let him in until you wake up or until you want him.”
“Wait? What?”
“You were losing a lot of blood, and with your parents close by we had to move you. Malcolm called in some favours, and we transferred you up to the mountains. You’re in our holiday cabin. Everything is fine, and Malcolm is close by to check on you. We’re all here, and we’ve told your parents that you’re spending some vacation with us,” Dana said. “Ben has been asking after you.”
“Dana!”
“What? She has a right to know.”
She sensed a lot of hand movements going on above her.
“I don’t want to see him. Not at all. How long have I been here?” she asked.
“It has been a week since the initial attack. We didn’t think you were going to make it. You took us all by surprise,” Felix said.
Heather listened to them talk for several hours. Her friends didn’t want to leave her alone, and they only did when it was time for dinner. She was being fed a drip and wouldn’t need actual food.
Being alone in a room without her sight was frustrating. Her sight meant everything to her.
Please let my sight be okay.
“Dana and Felix told me you were awake,” John said.
“I’m awake.”
“You’re not feeling good though, right?”
“No, I’m not feeling great at all. When do you think these bandages can come off?” she asked. “There’s nothing wrong with my eyes.”
“Malcolm said a couple of weeks, and he couldn’t be sure if infection has spread. The scars are too close to your eyes, and he doesn’t want to risk further complications. It’s only a precaution because we’re shifters. We don’t know how you’ll respond to it. He wants to be certain that there’s no chance of infection. You’re a delicate little thing, Heather. He’s concerned about you. We all are, and you’re human.”
She nodded. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“Honey, I know you didn’t. What happened couldn’t be changed. You’re a fighter, and you’ll pull through this.”
“Will you be honest with me, John?”
“Yes, of course.”
“How bad will I look?” She’d never been a vain person in her life, but her parents didn’t like anything that wasn’t perfect. Her weight had been a huge issue for them, or at least, Heather thought it was. They couldn’t stand for her to be overweight and would always make comments about it. “You know my parents. You’ve probably scented all kinds of stuff from them. Will they accept me like this?”
She didn’t have a home if they didn’t. Heather lived with her parents in order to be closer to Dana.
“I don’t want you thinking about that.”
“Please, the truth.”
“I really don’t know, Heather. You could heal up fine, but if you don’t, you’ll always have a family with us.”
She wasn’t heartbroken about her parents. In her heart and mind, Dana’s family were her family as well.
“Before I go I also want to let you know that Ben is close by.”
“I don’t want him here, John.”
“He’s staying away. I should warn you, Heather, I can’t keep him away forever. You’re his mate, and he’s going to come for you whether you like it or not.”
John left her alone to the quiet after his statement. She could never be with Ben. He’d hurt her, scarred her, and there was no way she could ever love him.
****
Ben waited near the thick forest of trees. It was in the height of summer, and in a few short weeks fall and winter would be fighting for their claim. Every morning, afternoon, and night, he came and stood by these thick trees, waiting for Dana.
The only way he got information about Heather was by waiting for her. He would wait for all eternity if he had to.
He heard the rustle of trees followed by the scent of Felix and Dana. They’d not long eaten. He’d gotten good at recognising their timetable of activity.
“How is she? Is there any change?”
John wouldn’t let him near Heather or give him any information. This was the first time in his life since his parents’ death when he’d felt helpless. He was giving John what he wanted. It was only going to be a matter of time before his natural instinct to claim Heather took over. Until then, he was doing everything he could their way.
There was no way Heather would trust him.
Every other time he’d asked those questions both siblings would shake their heads. Now, they looked at each other, unsure what to say.