Kylan: Prince of Tigers – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “I got you, son. I got you.”

  Nodding, he sort of shuffled and was dragged to the chair. Emmie was being held by Aurora, and he reached for her hand. Together they sat down on one of the chairs while the rest of his family gathered around him. It wasn’t until Samson knelt in front of him that he realized he was speaking to him.

  “Did you hear me, Kylan? Olivia saved their lives. My daughters are only here because of yours.” He told him he was so happy for him. “I am as well. When she comes out of this, and I have to believe she will, I’m going to bow before her and be hers forever. The girls were telling me all the things she’d done for them. Even taking a bullet for Lynette. I owe her, Kylan. I owe her the lives of my children.”

  “Kylan, she’s going to live.” He looked up at Aurora and asked her if she was sure. “I am. She called for me. After not being able to find them for so long, she put her blood on the earth and called out to me to save her cousins.”

  “The others said she kept them together and tried not to worry them.” Aurora told Emmie that was what she’d done. “The people that took them. Do you know who they were? I want them dealt with.”

  “They have been destroyed. I have done so myself.” Kylan knew what that meant. There would be no more of the person, nor their families if they knew of this. No one would mention their names, nor would there be anyone to lay claim to their bodies. There would be none. “They were rogue trolls, six of them that were hoping to capture human children to keep them as slaves. Your daughter killed two of them, me the other four. If you knew what it took to kill a troll, you can imagine how my people are rooting for Olivia. The trolls that dared hurt what is mine, they are no more, my children.”

  Thanking her for her help, they were escorted upstairs. The doctor that had been called in said it would take a while, hours, he thought, to help Olivia along. Kylan wondered if Aurora had helped her too but didn’t ask. He just wanted her home, safe and sound.

  Every time he looked at Emmie, he hurt. He’d told her, teased her about how safe Olivia would be there. How the pack would keep her and the others from harm. But he’d been wrong, so very wrong that he wished he could take Olivia’s place. To take her pain as his own. It wasn’t until he was slapped in the face, hard, that he shook himself out of his pain for a few moments.

  “What are you doing?” Kylan asked Emmie what she meant. “Are you still thinking how you failed her? That you failed me somehow? Christ, get over it. Had it not been for— Have you heard a single word people have been saying? If she’d not been there, the other three would have surely died. Olivia was there for a reason, and that reason was to save as many as she could. And she did it, despite how much pain she was in, how badly she was hurt. That is what you should be focusing on, Kylan. Not that she was there when you said she’d be safe, but that she was there to keep the other girls safe.” She hit him again.

  “What was that for?” She kissed him then, kissed him while holding tightly to his arm. “I love you, Emmie. So very much. And if she’ll let me, I’d like for Olivia to adopt me so I can be just like her.”

  They were in for a long wait and sat down with his family. They’d all shown up as soon as they’d heard about the girls. Samson was there for him as much as Kylan was for him. Family, Kylan thought, depended on each other for all sorts of things, but this was the most difficult.

  People came in and out of the waiting room while they were there. Several of the pack came by to tell them they were praying for Olivia. He and Emmie offered their condolences to those who had lost family members. The family of Marie, her body found just where the girls said it was, had been the hardest to speak to. After so many sons, they’d finally had a daughter, only to have her taken from them. Kylan held the mother while she sobbed hard, telling him she was so happy they’d made sure her body was found, as well as the instrument that had been used on her. The bat was what told them which pack member had helped the trolls come into their home.

  “I pledge myself to you, Emmie Prince. I will forever be yours to call upon. Be there when you need my pack. I am now and forever beholden to you so long as there is breath in my body.” She asked Nathan what that meant. “That above all else, even my own health and wellbeing, you will be the one I go to when you call.”

  She slapped him, knocking him backward enough that Bryant caught him from falling. The pack growled at her, but she stood her ground. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked at him.

  “How am I to live with myself if I know when I’m in danger, you might well leave your family? How do you suppose I’ll feel about calling you to my side when you could be leaving your family and pack to a fate worse than mine?” He only stared at her. “You take that back right this fucking minute. So help me— You ever leave your family to come to my aid, and I will hunt you down and tear you apart into so many pieces they’ll never have enough to bury you. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes.” He looked at Kylan. “I think she would make a better pack leader than me, Kylan Prince. You are a lucky man.”

  “I am. And you’d better take it back. If not, she will do what she said to you.” He nodded and took her hand into his. “He’s going to mark you for safe passage, Emmie. This is a good thing he’s doing for you.”

  “I can live with that.” She nodded when he bit into her wrist and then kissed her on the cheek. “Men. I swear to you, they’re all dumber than a can of rocks. Not Kylan. He knows better, but the rest of you are stupid.”

  They both watched her as she walked away. Kylan loved her, and when Nathan laughed, he joined him. He told him she was a good leader and would raise him wonderful cats. As he walked away, he was still laughing. Kylan went to find his mate. He was very proud of her.

  Chapter 4

  It had been five long days since Olivia had been operated on, and Buck had had about enough of hospital food and the smells. Taking Sara by the hand, he led her to the elevator as he told her what he wanted. They weren’t going to leave their son, but they did need to get some fresh air. They were just stepping out of the building when he heard from Bryant.

  The funeral was very nice. Everyone understood why you couldn’t be there. He asked if he’d told them he was thinking about them. I did. They were grief stricken, as you’d know, but they were glad that some of us showed up. There were hundreds there for the funeral, Dad. It was one of the saddest ones I’ve ever been to.

  I bet it was. It’s terrible when a child dies. Worse when she’s murdered like she was. He told Sara what was going on. As soon as I take me a little walk here, I’m going to send the other two out to eat. They can’t be sitting around here all the time like they are. It’s not good for them. That poor Emmie. Bryant, she looks like she could just lie down beside her daughter at any moment.

  I take it she’s not improving. Buck told his oldest that they were saying she was doing good but didn’t know why she was not at least waking a little. I’m sure her body knows what it’s doing. Didn’t Aurora tell us she can feel her thoughts and that she’s dealing with not just her pain but also the way she was hurt? I can’t imagine, after talking to Samson’s daughters, how much she did to keep them safe. And taking on a troll. Dad, I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to do that.

  I’ve been thinking on that too. I think I’d have just curled up in a ball and laid there for him to take me to the other side. Perhaps seeing that little girl all mauled up like she was would have done me in. I have to tell you, Bryant. I’m thinking if she doesn’t wake soon, Kylan and Emmie might just wither away from grief. They’re hurting something terrible. Bryant agreed with him. They were like ghosts now. I’m going to send them out when we go back in. Even if it’s to run home and get a shower. They don’t stink, but they’re needing a little something.

  Buck felt the touch of Kylan and braced himself for the worst. He also knew Kylan was telling them all whatever it was. Everyone would know tha
t the little girl who had touched their hearts so deeply might well have not made it.

  She just woke up and looked at her mom. She asked about her cousins, and after being told they were home, she closed her eyes again. Olivia knew them. The doctor was worried about that with the poison and all, but she knew to ask about them. Emmie is sobbing, and I’m not doing so well myself. Dad wiped his face with his forever handkerchief and told his son he was right proud. She’ll make it. I know she will.

  Of course, she will. Everyone in the loop told Kylan they were happy for them, and Buck could feel the emotions through the link. Sara held him as she sobbed, telling their son she was so happy now. Your momma and I are going to come back in there, Kylan. I think you and that pretty little wife of yours should go home and get some rest. If she’s coming out of this soon, you’ll need to be up to full strength to deal with things. Take a shower and a nap. We’ll both let you know if there is any more to contact you with.

  I’ll have to talk to Emmie. I’m sure you’re right, but she’s not going to want to leave her now. Dad said he’d talk to her too if he wanted. I’ll let you know when you come up here. Even just having her say those few words has made me feel every night of sleep I’ve lost being here. And I’m suddenly starved too.

  Buck and Sara got themselves together before they went back up to the room. He didn’t want either of them thinking they’d not been happy with the news. However, he didn’t want them to think he’d not been thinking she’d be better either. As soon as he entered the room with his Sara, Emmie asked him if he would do just what he’d suggested.

  “I know I’ve been here too long. I’m not doing either of us any good just waiting.” Buck said he’d take good care of Olivia. “I know you will. I know you both love her as much as we do. But she’s my little girl. You understand that, don’t you?”

  “Oh honey, we do.” Sara told them to get going, and they’d be right there when they returned. As she settled in the chair, she spoke again to them. “You might take a long nap, then come back here with a better outlook on things. I know that going home last night sure did me a world of good.”

  After they left, Buck made his way to the nurses’ station. He’d been hanging out there for the last few days to get any information he could on his granddaughter. They were a great deal more informative than the doctor was. Also, since they saw her daily, they knew improvements better than he did. Coming in once a day to look in on Olivia, Buck thought, didn’t give him the entire big picture.

  “Her blood pressure is better than it had been. And this isn’t the first time she’s opened her eyes. She’s not spoken to us when we go in there, but she’ll look at us. I think knowing her cousins are all right is about the best news a person could have.” He agreed with the nurse talking to him. “You’ve been so wonderful to stay here with her, Buck. I know it’s hard on them too, but I was never so happy than to see her parents leaving for a little while. Even if they’re only gone for an hour, it’ll be better for them.”

  “I thought so too. Getting out in the sunshine will do them the best good. Seeing that the world is going on is sometimes all it takes to make you feel better.” Amanda, Buck thought her name was, told him she loved the outdoors. “We all do as well.”

  Going back to the room, he was glad he’d been able to get some information for Sara. She’d been knitting while there, and he noticed that Olivia had on a pair of the slippers she’d been working on. He laughed when he saw they were a mite too big on her small feet.

  “She’ll grow into them. And her feet are forever cold and exposed. Remember when Kylan used to do that? He’d toss off his covers and sleep without even a single sheet over him. He’d be the only one in the house complaining it was too hot. I have to admit, Buck, there are times when I have to remind myself that Olivia isn’t his by blood. She’s already acting a great deal like him.” He laughed again and looked at Olivia while his Sara compared Kylan to Olivia. “Also, I got her to try a little meat the other day. Just some chicken, but she said it was all right. I don’t understand not wanting a little meat with your meal, but then, I don’t know why she chooses not to enjoy a fine steak once in a while.”

  “Her momma told me she’d just decided she didn’t like the way it made her feel after eating it. Sort of too full and bloated. I don’t know if that will change with all this magic she’s gotten from everyone, but she sure is going to need to be fattened up when we get her back home.” Buck would bet that Olivia only weighed about a hundred pounds. Much too thin for a girl her height. The nurses were keeping her full of things for her body to use, but he worried it wasn’t enough for her. But then, Buck had never been a doctor. He’d passed right over trying that out as a fit for himself. The boys had, all of them at one time or another, but not him. Sara had even been a nurse before. But he’d avoided the medical field altogether.

  “Buck, I’ve been thinking on a few things. The trolls that were taking the children. Is that a practice they do? I mean, kidnapping children to keep as their slaves?” He said he didn’t know and asked her why she’d bring that up. “Well, I was wondering how many children are missing because they’d been taken by them. I mean, it makes sense to me that they’d done this before.”

  “Holy Jehoshaphat. That never once entered my mind.” She said she’d been thinking about it for a few days. “My goodness, Sara, I wonder if Aurora has thought of that too. I mean, I don’t know what their plans were to do with the children once they were no longer kids, do you? I never once thought of that. We should contact Aurora now.”

  The beautiful queen came into the room with them when Buck called to her. While Sara explained her thinking, he watched the other woman. She was paying attention to what was being told to her, as she did everything he and his family talked about with her.

  Buck knew Aurora to be older than him, by a great deal, he’d think. However, she never looked a day older than her mid-twenties. But today, he could see that she was also weighed down by what had happened. That she worried for Olivia as much as they had been. Also, he’d bet his last nickel that she felt somewhat responsible for what had happened because the trolls had come from her paradise.

  “I’ll get right to it. Send out an army to look into what we can find out. Thank you, Sara and Buck. I have so much on my mind of late I can hardly make heads or tails of my own life.” She smiled, and the room brightened a bit with it. “I heard she woke to ask about her cousins. You must be happy with that.”

  “We are. I do hope you’re not worrying over this any, Aurora. I mean, you should be seeing this as a good thing. I hate that this little girl here was injured like she was, but you might never have known about it had it not been Olivia they tangled with.” She looked at him with a tiny diamond tear rolling down her cheek. “Don’t you be taking on so. I don’t know if I could take another pretty woman crying today.”

  “Oh, Buck. How did I ever get along before I came to you?” He wasn’t sure if she was telling him he’d done a bad thing or not, so he only nodded. “I love you, dear one. All of your family have been a balm in my heart since the first time I saw you with your kittens. Never a day goes by that you haven’t made me smile, given me something to laugh about and a reason to go on. Thank you ever so much.”

  “You just come on around the next time you’re feeling low. My Sara here can make you smile when she tells you what trouble I’ve gotten myself into now.” He laughed. “She sure does fuss at me, and I’d have it no other way.”

  “You old fart.” He did laugh then when Sara scolded him. “There are days when I’d like to brain that old coot over there, but I don’t know what I’d do without him being there with me all the time. Especially with all these new babies and children coming around.”

  After Aurora left them, telling them she was going to look into things about the trolls, Buck pulled out his little toy, the reader, and began playing games. It relaxed him in ways he’d never
thought possible. Even playing a game as silly as solitaire was just what he needed when he was feeling himself falling into a low spot.

  ~*~

  Olivia looked around. She knew nothing about the place she had awakened in, but it didn’t bother her as much as she thought it should have. When a large beast stood up and looked in her direction, Olivia figured she was no longer in her bed in the hospital but in the kingdom of Aurora, the queen of all the faeries.

  “You are doing very well, my girl. Why do you not wake up and talk to the others? They’re very worried about you.” She looked at the unicorn standing just a few feet away from her. “My name is Rainbow. I so love colors, don’t you?”

  The unicorn wasn’t like any she’d seen on television when she watched cartoons. She was all white with a golden mane down her neck. Her hooves were of the bright color, but Olivia thought them to be actual gold and not just the color. The wings pressed against her sides were as snowy white as the pony was. Standing up, Olivia put out her hand to touch the nose of the magnificent creature.

  “You should be warned that anytime you touch one of the creatures here, you’ll get a bit of their magic. I don’t mind sharing what I have with one so brave as you, but I just wanted to warn you.” Olivia touched her finger to Rainbow’s nose, then moved her hand up and over her nose to her ears. “You have such a gentle touch, Lady Olivia. Just as I imagined it would be. Would you like me to be your guide here?”

  “Yes. Can you please tell me why it is I’m here? I mean, this is a dream, correct? A way for my mind to cope with me dying, perhaps?” Rainbow bumped her head into her and laughed when she fell back. Her butt hurt from the fall, but it taught her just what the unicorn wanted her to learn. “I guess I’m here. My body? Is it going to heal and wake soon?”