A howl echoed from the top of the mountain, stopping her in her tracks. The wolves of the area didn’t seem to like her being in their domain. They could smell her tigress but couldn’t find it, all they could find was a human. Some humans would be scared off, but her beast only laughed that the wolves were on edge. She wanted to shift, to make the territory her own, just in spite. There was no time for games, though, not tonight.
She quickened her pace—she had to make it to Fairbanks in order to catch the eight o’clock flight to Seattle if she was to get away before Felix found her. Seattle would allow her the distance and crowd to hide from him. If their mating had been more conventional and he was able to feel her feelings even before the mating was complete as most were, she wouldn’t have been able to slip off the compound grounds without him noticing.
Damn Henry for ruining everything! If it weren’t for him, she’d have been able to claim her mate like she was destined to do. They’d share the bond that mates do from the start, but the bond with Henry was getting in the way of what she should have had with Felix. Eliminating him would put everything back to where it should have been and would give her the life she was destined to have—the life she didn’t know she wanted until earlier that day. Now, she’d stand and fight for it with her dying breath.
Chapter Eight
Felix leaned against the black SUV in front of Adam’s cabin waiting for Robin and Taber. He was eager to just jump into the SUV and drive off, leaving the others behind. However, the Alaskan Tigers were about teamwork, not going off half-cocked by yourself. Taking a deep breath, he filled his lungs with the night air, catching teases of his mate’s scent before letting it out slowly. He needed to keep himself and his beast under control if he was going to keep his head in the game.
Adam came out of the cabin, his arm tightly around Robin’s waist. “I’m trusting you to protect my mate and bring her back just as she is now.”
“She’ll be safe, you have my word.” Felix nodded to Adam, knowing that, even with the bond between them, sending his mate off the compound without him was difficult. “Robin, are you armed?”
“Yes.” She pulled her lightweight jacket back to reveal the gun riding just in front of her hip. “I have a knife strapped to my ankle as well.”
“Very well. We’re just waiting for Taber, and then we’re ready.” Felix pushed off the SUV and stood straight. “Adam, I’ve asked Theodore to cover my guard duty in the morning. He’ll meet you at Alpha’s quarters. Hopefully we won’t be longer than that.”
“Don’t worry, I have it covered. Tabitha will be protected.” Adam turned Robin into his body, wrapping both arms around her. It was as if he was trying to stock up on the attention so that when she was gone he wouldn’t feel as alone.
“Thorben and Tad are available if anything comes up,” Taber stated, coming around the front of the SUV.
“The clan will be fine. You need to focus on finding Harmony and bringing everyone back safely.” Adam kissed the top of his mate’s forehead. “Be safe and listen to Felix. If he says run, you run. Don’t question him. I want you back here uninjured.”
Robin pulled back enough to look up at her mate. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’m not going to do anything stupid.” She leaned up to kiss him.
Felix couldn’t stand the intimacy any longer, not when his mate was out there alone. He did the only thing he could in that moment, he turned around and headed to the driver’s side. Taber followed, taking the passenger’s side. It would give the mates a moment of privacy before Robin climbed into the backseat.
He was determined to get Harmony back and convince her she was his mate before anything else could happen. Giving her time to accept him was great in theory, but it also left things incomplete, including the mating bond. She’d never again be able to hide something so big from him…their bond would ensure that.
“We’ll find her.” Taber’s deep voice pulled Felix out of his thoughts.
“What?” Felix looked over at Taber.
“You’re putting indents in the steering wheel.” Taber nodded to the wheel that Felix held in a death grip. “I know you’re worried about Harmony.”
Felix took a deep breath and loosened his grip on the steering wheel. “I know we will, and when I get my hands on Henry, I swear I’ll make him suffer for everything he did to her—for causing this rift between us. His connection to her is why the bond isn’t already there—the reason I didn’t know she had this planned. Damn him!”
“We’ll deal with him, but first we’ve got to get your mate back to safety. Then, if you want, we’ll go after him. Do you know where he is?”
Felix shook his head. “Not yet. He’s closer than he has been, but all I know for sure is that he hasn’t made it to Alaska. There’s something about the glimpse that I caught that makes me believe he’s in Colorado, but I’m not sure.” The back door opened, and Robin slid in. Felix turned to meet his partner’s gaze. “She’ll be back soon.”
“Be safe,” Adam told them before turning his attention back to his mate. “I love you.”
Felix turned the key, bringing the engine to life before gazing back at Robin in the rearview mirror. “So where to?”
Robin scooted to the middle seat, positioning herself between Taber and Felix. “She’s slinking through the woods, heading to Fairbanks. Take the road towards Fairbanks. Once we’re closer, we’re going to have to do the rest on foot.”
Steering the SUV toward the main compound gate, Felix could suppress the anxiety of taking Robin on this mission. “I don’t like the idea of taking you to traipse through the woods.”
Robin leaned forward between the seats. “Unless you want to wait until she makes it to Fairbanks, I don’t see any other option.”
Felix could think of at least two different options, but neither of them seemed like a better decision. After all, he needed her to find Harmony quickly. Traipsing around the woods in the middle of the night was dangerous enough. Most animals would stay away from them once they caught the scent of their beasts, but having Robin with them would slow them down. She didn’t have the night vision that Taber and he had, so they’d have to lead her through the woods if she was going to come out uninjured.
“She’s about half-way to Fairbanks and less than a half-mile in from the road. There’s a wolf stalking her from a distance, and it’s making her uneasy.” Robin leaned back, her eyes closed. “She’s doing this for you—for you and for the clan. If she can take out Henry without bringing danger to the clan, she’ll feel like she can finally accept you as her mate, to truly be a part of our clan.”
“Damn it, she didn’t need to do this to be a part of the clan! She is a part of us because she’s my mate.” Hitting the main road, Felix put his foot down on the gas, closing the distance between him and his mate.
“She didn’t want to bring any more danger to Tabitha or the clan. There’s been too much lately. Now that Pierce has been eliminated, there was hope that the clan could relax before taking on the next challenge, but she came along and brought more danger.”
Taber turned in his seat, looking back at Robin. “Wait, how does she know about Pierce?”
“I told her,” Felix explained, not taking his eyes from the road. He had done it before Ty expressed his desire to keep the clan’s business confidential until Harmony decided where her loyalties lay. “She was concerned we wouldn’t find Henry. Trying to lessen her fears, I told her that we had the best people available working on his location. That Connor was amazing with his computer skills, and we’d find him, just like we did with Pierce. She had to know this wasn’t our first rodeo and that we’d find him before he could get to her.”
Silence filled the car. It was almost as if they knew there were many more battles in the future of the Alaskan Tigers before they’d be truly safe. Even without the threat of Henry, there was still the Texas Tigers and Avery that posed a threat. With Tabitha’s upcoming announcement as Queen of the Tigers, more threats could be w
aiting on the horizon. Only time would tell what was in store for the clan.
Felix’s cell phone vibrated in his shirt pocket. He pulled it out, sliding his finger over it to answer before putting it to his ear. “Hello?”
“She went over the fence near the creek. There isn’t a camera there. It’s one of the unmonitored spots that will be addressed, but there’s footage of her going down by the creek. Mike didn’t think it was unusual since she’s been spending a lot of time down at the creek over the last few weeks,” Ty told him, a shuffle of papers in the background let Felix know he was still working.
Felix knew Harmony enjoyed the creek, especially the little hiding spot she made for herself, so he couldn’t blame Mike for not finding it suspicious. “I appreciate you finding out. When I return, I’ll go over any unmonitored area of the perimeter with Mike, and we’ll secure them. If Harmony can leave that way, it’s possible an enemy might use it to attack.”
“I’d have had the information to you sooner, except something came up. Hold on.” There was a mumble as Ty spoke to someone else, and more papers were shifted before he came back on the line. “Korbin called. Randolph sent a message asking for any of the Ohio shifters loyal to him to meet him in the spot they’ve held their meetings. Korbin and Jinx are trying to find out where, but so far they’ve had ten members leave the clan.”
“Ten members? The clan only had twenty members to begin with. How much did Randolph have his hands in?”
“From what Korbin has gathered so far, the Alpha and Randolph have been preaching the need to kill Tabitha. It seems as though Randolph will be leading a small clan of his own—the rogues by his side—with the main goal of killing Tabitha.” The anger seeped into Ty’s voice.
It was insane that a group of tiger shifters wanted to kill Tabitha when everyone believed that if she was killed before her line could continue, the tiger shifters would cease to exist. Why would they want to kill off their own kind? None if it made sense to him.
“We knew there’d be opposition to Tabitha, especially once she comes out at Queen. This changes nothing. Any idea where Randolph is?” Felix careened around the corner quickly, sending Robin toward the door.
“I suspect he’s in Ohio, but Connor is on it. There’s a hit that Henry is in Colorado. He bought a ticket to Seattle, leaving tonight. Does that mean anything to you?”
Seattle? “No, should it?”
“I don’t know. It means nothing to us, and no lead was found as to why. If he were coming for Harmony, why wouldn’t he fly into Fairbanks? Or into one of the other airports in Alaska if he didn’t want to deal with Border Control while crossing in and out of Canada?” Ty’s confusion mixed with the anger.
“Stop,” Robin called from the backseat.
“I’ve got to go.” Felix slid the SUV to the shoulder.
“Find her and bring her home,” Ty added before ending the call.
Putting the SUV into Park, he turned to Robin. “This is where she is?”
Robin nodded. “About a half-mile in from the road. She made exceptional time for staying in her human form. The longer we wait, the more distance she puts between us. Let’s go.”
“Won’t she smell us coming?” Taber drew his hand through his shaggy hair.
“We’ll have to stay downwind from her if we’re to get to her without her smelling us first.” Felix pushed open his door, his steel-toed boot hitting the cement as he lowered his legs to stand. The road was quiet, no animals scampering though the woods. The scent of Harmony’s tigress had sent them scattering. To add his tiger and Taber’s bear into it would scare off any remaining wildlife.
Robin stepped out, coming to stand next to him while buttoning her lightweight jacket. “I agree. We go downwind of her, but when we get close, you’ll need to let her smell you. She’s spooked and has a gun. I don’t want any of us at the wrong end of it and end up with a bullet hole for our troubles.”
“I’ll go first. Stay close, and, Taber, you’re in charge of protecting Robin. If anything happens, get her back to the SUV and get her to safety.” Felix tossed the spare keys to Taber who was coming around the front of the SUV.
Taber caught the keys midair. “You hear that, Robin? You’re stuck with me.”
“We can’t just leave you if something goes wrong,” Robin tried to reason.
He spun toward Robin. She was a foot shorter than him, yet she had enough spitfire of someone twice her size. “I’ll be fine, but I promised Adam I’d bring you back safe. Now if you’re going to argue, I’ll have Taber take you home now.” When she remained silent, he nodded. “With that settled, let’s go.”
He led the way into the woods, knowing that Taber would take up the rear so Robin was in between them for additional protection. Entering the dark woods, he heard a faint click from behind him, and a pin light reflect off the ground. Turning, he found Robin holding a small pen-sized flashlight in her left hand. Her gun hand was free in case she had to go for it.
“What? I don’t have the same freaky night vision you two have.”
He couldn’t help but smile. Robin had only been with the clan a few months, but she fit in like she had always been there. The easy nature she had with him proved she was truly part of the family. Shaking his head, he turned back around, heading deeper into the woods. He was able to pick up a whiff of his mate. The scent drifting to his nose was like a direct line to his shaft and nearly made him stumble over a log on the ground.
His beast charged forward, claws digging into his insides as if fighting to be released. Taking a deep breath, he tried to push his tiger down, but all it did was fill his body with her essence and make his tiger more anxious. They were pushing the limits of their beasts, denying this mating. The time he had to find her and get her back to the compound before his tiger would no longer be suppressed was narrowing by the second.
Taber stepped up next to him. “You haven’t claimed her yet.”
Felix looked to him, trying to decide if it was merely a statement or a question. Even in the dim light of Robin’s flashlight he could see the questions in Taber’s eyes. “I was giving her time to accept it. Tonight, almost…damn it, that’s why she pulled away tonight.”
Earlier in her studio, he thought he’d finally get to claim his mate, but she pushed him away, claiming she was tired. She knew then she was going after Henry, and he didn’t even suspect it. How could he be so blind to his mate?
“The pain is going to set in soon if you don’t. She might already be suffering from it.” Taber whispered, keeping his voice low so Robin didn’t hear him even though she was right behind them.
“What’s going on? Something wrong?” Robin inquired, scanning the woods.
“Everything’s fine. Let’s go.” Felix stepped over the log he almost tripped over, double-timing it in the direction of his mate. He wasn’t sure he could even slow down if he had to. The beast within him controlled him more then he should have allowed.
Chapter Nine
Pain had tingled along each of her nerve endings since Felix left her apartment that night. If that wasn’t bad enough, waves of horrific agony now coursed through her, doubling her over with each hit. Chills shook her body, making it hard to walk. The mating desire hit her full force, and there was no end in sight. She’d never make it back to the compound like this, nor did she suspect she could make the last few miles to Fairbanks. She’d suffer until her beast turned on her, driving her insane with need in the middle of the woods miles from her mate.
“Shit, can I do nothing right?” She collapsed onto a fallen tree, resting her back and head against a second tree covering it. Her heart beat so loudly in her ears that she couldn’t even focus on where the wolf that was stalking her was. He had kept on her trail for the last few miles, watching her from a distance as if to make sure she left his territory.
A stick crunched twenty yards to her left, and she turned toward it, trying to get her eyes to focus. She also tried to smell whatever lingered in the sha
dows, but she couldn’t get herself together enough. Pushing away from the tree, she tried to get her legs to hold her weight. Not knowing what was there, she had no choice but to continue.
The pain stole her breath, but she wouldn’t sit and die without at least trying. If she couldn’t run, she at least had a weapon. She pulled the gun, trying to calm herself enough so that she wasn’t shaking, and pointed it where the sound came from. “Don’t come any closer or I’ll put a hole in your ass!” She pulled the trigger, aiming just to the left of the noise to let whoever was there know that she was serious.
“Harmony, it’s Felix.” He stepped out of the clearing, his hands held out before him.
The sight of him stole her breath. She wanted to run to him, to feel his arms around her. More importantly, her tigress wanted to feel his hands on her body and his shaft buried deep within her. She might have gone to him if she didn’t hear more leaves rustling as someone came up behind him. “Who’s with you?” She aimed the gun slighting to the right of him, ready to take out whoever was behind him.
“Robin and Taber. We’ve come to find you,” he explained as Robin stepped up next to him. Taber stayed a step in front of her, but Harmony could see his hand was still resting on his gun.
“Put up the gun, sweetie. No one is here to harm you. We came to find you, to bring you home.” Robin tried to sooth her.
Harmony let out a sarcastic laugh, unable to stop it. “Then why’s his hand on his gun?”
“Taber,” Robin whispered.
Trusting A Tiger (Alaskan Tigers) Page 6