“I can’t let someone die in my place.” Her compassion was commendable.
“Then to save one person you would sacrifice hundreds, if not more, tiger shifters? You have to admit that doesn’t make a lot of sense.” Raja hit the start button on the coffee machine. As the smell of coffee filled the air, he considered their options.
“You should be able to get what I’m saying. You put your life on the line every day to protect the clan.” Tabitha begged him with her eyes, pleading him to understand.
“No, Tabitha.” Ty ended the argument and pulled her into his arms. She lost the fight against her wild emotions as tears flowed freely down her face. Mated couples could calm each other through touch. “You will stay here. Raja will do what he can. But we have to protect everyone.”
“My Queen, you’re a strong and brave woman, but you are our Queen. It’s our—my duty to protect you. We’ll do our best to save this girl and stop whoever Pierce has behind this abduction, but for us to be able to focus on that we need to know you are safe.” Raja knew it to be a cold comfort, but it was all he had.
The coffee machine had a pause button. He hit it and filled up three mugs before letting it finish its duty. He passed mugs to Tabitha and Ty before claiming his own. The first sip hit his tongue, making him want to purr with appreciation. Strong, dark coffee was a gift from Heaven.
“I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Tabitha stated in a reluctant tone, folding her hands around her own mug.
Just in time. Felix entered, handing over the stuff to Raja.
“Good. Then you won’t have a problem wearing this,” Raja said, slipping the lid off the black box before passing it to Tabitha.
Inside the box was a plain silver bracelet on black tissue paper. Ty eyed him suspiciously.
“A bracelet?” The questioning tone sounded in Tabitha’s voice.
“Yes. It has a tracking chip installed in it. That way we’ll always know where you are. I want it to never leave your wrist.”
“How does it work?”
“It’s an app I created. I have it on my cell phone and once the tracer is activated, you will show up as a little dot.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, hitting a few buttons before handing it to Tabitha. “Tora has one. That’s her dot. Yours would be a different color. We can also install it on Ty’s and Felix’s phones.”
Leaning against the kitchen counter, he watched Tabitha mull the idea over. He knew she was trying to come up with a reason not to wear it, but he wasn’t going to let her off the hook unless Ty decided to back her up.
“I think this is a good idea.” Ty topped off his coffee.
“You would like to see me on a leash.” It wasn’t a question but a statement. “How did Tora ever agree to this?”
“Marcus and I didn’t leave her a lot of choice.” Raja frowned, recalling the events that let up to Tora receiving a tracker bracelet. “Before we moved to Alaska, some of Pierce’s clan attacked. We couldn’t find Tora and thought they got her. Marcus was almost insane with anger. Turns out your mate is pretty good in battle.” Raja chuckled. “Ty got her out of danger. Nearly died protecting her. I can never repay him for saving her that night.”
“It was nothing. You would have done the same if it was the other way around.” Ty’s hand went to the scar that marred his chest from that attack. “Tabby, this will help us keep you safe.”
“So, what do you say? Are you going to wear it?” Raja pushed the box closer to her.
“I don’t think I have a choice. Ty seems convinced this is necessary.” Reaching in the box, she pulled out the bracelet and put it on her wrist. “Happy?”
Raja leaned over the counter to her wrist. He pulled a little pin from the bracelet, activating it. “Now I’m happy.” Her little dot showed up on the screen of Raja’s phone.
“I’ll get my phone and you can put that app on there.” Ty strolled toward the bedroom.
“Great, now I’ll never get rid of him,” she teased.
Raja let out a heartfelt laugh. “It’s a good thing you don’t want to get rid of him.”
They finished programming Ty’s phone when Felix rushed in, carrying a laptop with Connor’s voice coming out of the speakers. “We got the location.”
Raja’s heart skipped a beat, wondering if it was too late. The pain in Bethany’s eyes was enough to break him. He’d seen a lot of suffering and tragedy, but the video of the girl cut deep into his soul.
“Where are they?” Raja’s voice sliced through the air like a dagger.
“On the other side of Fairbanks. It seems to be a remote hunting cabin.”
“I’ll suit up and leave immediately.” Raja was already heading for the door.
“You?” Ty asked.
“Yes. I’ll scope out the location. See if they’re still there. If not, I’ll track their scent.”
“We can send a team to do that. There’s no reason you have to be the one.”
“It’s something I have to do.” Raja didn’t know how to explain it. He needed to be the one to find the girl and make sure the man who’d hurt her paid with his life.
Tabitha laid a hand on her mate’s arm. “Ty, let him go. Raja, don’t do anything to get yourself killed. We can send in a team. We need you.”
He nodded to them before jogging out the door. He had to get to his room, suit up, and be gone before Ty changed his mind.
Chapter Six
“You want to run, don’t you?” Bethany’s captor held her in place by her hair and screamed in her ear. Tears streamed down her face, anxiety clogged her throat and made it hard to breathe.
“Please…” Her voice died when he sat on her chest and wrapped his free hand around her throat.
“Begging for your life, are you? It will do you no good. I only need you for a few more hours and then you’ll be worthless.” He wielded a steel bar. “This will ensure you don’t try to run.”
God help me. He’s going to kill me. Mom, I should have listened to you. If I get out of this, I’ll never doubt you again.
He placed the steel bar to her neck. “I could push this against your throat until you couldn’t breathe. Your death would bring you peace. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
“I don’t want to die.” She whispered, terrified of aggravating him further.
“You’ll be begging for death before long.” He raised the bar from her neck. Rising, he lifted it above his head.
Every instinct begged her to get out of the way before he used the bar to beat her head in. Fear froze her veins and she couldn’t move. He slammed the bar down on her knee. A ragged scream ripped from her throat. Blinding hot pain pulsed through her and nausea rolled her stomach.
He slapped her hard across the face with his free hand. “Don’t think I’m going to let you pass out. That would be getting off easy. I enjoy the sweet smell of your pain.” He leaned close, breathing in her scent. “We have so many other things we can do.” The lust was apparent in his voice.
Not for the first time since waking up in the strange cabin did she wonder what she was doing there. She didn’t know him and when she asked what he wanted, he terrified her, because he only repeated, your screams, your screams.
Raja settled into position in time to see Bethany’s captor slam a pipe into her knee. He swallowed a roar, he couldn’t alert them to his presence. A surprise attack would be the only way to get Bethany out alive. He stood on the hill, watching the window, trying to determine if there was only one captor.
There was no time to wait for backup. He sent a fast text message to Ty: One man with her. I’m going in. Life or death.
He familiarized himself with the area, preparing his plan. The girl wouldn’t be able to walk, which meant he’d have to carry her. If others arrived, he wouldn’t be able to defend them and carry her at the same time. So I’ll have to make sure he’s dead and can’t call for backup.
Fighting on two legs required a different style. He holstered his gun, preferring t
o use a knife when it came to hand-to-hand combat.
Bethany, I’m coming for you. Creeping up to the side of the cabin, he leaned back, lifted his leg, and kicked the door in.
“What the fuck?”
“Get away from her.” When he didn’t move, Raja launched at the other man, and drove him away from Bethany. Tumbling with him across the room, Raja slammed him into the back wall and bounced the man’s head off the logs. “I warned you.”
A citrus scent filled the room. The wildly out of place odor attracted him, punching through his concentration. Shaking it off, Raja focused on his prisoner.
“What do you want?” Blood gushing from his head wound, the captor sagged against the wall.
“Your life. But first tell me who hired you.”
“Hired me?” The captor played stupid as if Raja couldn’t smell the lie on him.
“Tell me who hired you and I’ll kill you quickly. Play games with me and I’ll draw it out for hours, maybe days. Now who hired you?” Raja banged the man against the wall again, hoping to make his point clear.
“It was a friend of a friend who needed me to keep the girl here until they got something they were after.”
“Name?” Raja barely held his fraying temper in check. Bethany’s presence was all that kept him from ripping the man’s limbs off. He could smell her barely hanging on to consciousness behind him.
“The friend said it was for a man named Pierce, but I never met him.” His voice cracked with fear. “Please, man, I wasn’t going to hurt her.”
“You already hurt her!” Raja snapped his neck.
Turning, Raja whispered, “Bethany.”
She tried to scoot away.
“Please…” She inched across the floor, but it was clear every motion sparked a fresh wave of agony.
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
Twisting, she fought to escape, but her knee collided with the floor and she slipped into unconsciousness, her body slumping on the dirty boards.
Now was his chance, he had to get her out of there before she could wake and fight him.
Chapter Seven
Raja looked down at Bethany’s prone form with the same longing Ty spoke of after finding Tabitha. The citrus smell was stronger the closer he got to her. She can’t be…my mate.
He needed to get her to a safe location. Grabbing a blanket off the nearby sofa, he wrapped it around her. Her badly injured knee left him no way to carry her gently. Good thing she’s unconscious.
He grabbed his cell and sent Ty another message so a team wouldn’t show up after he left: Girl’s badly injured but alive. Back soon. Have Doc ready.
Message sent, he lifted her into his arms. It was a short trek to his SUV on the other side of the mountain—short for him, but brutal for her. The sooner he got her to the compound, the sooner the doctor could examine her knee. If she was lucky, she’d be able to walk again.
What a time to find my mate. Danger surrounded him at every turn. Adding a human to the mix with no training to protect herself seemed wrong. Hot on the heels of that thought came a swift possessiveness, he wouldn’t—couldn’t let her go. Even in her unconscious state, her pain was palpable and ground into him. He would have given anything to fix things for her, then and there.
A moan escaped her lips, and he sped up, hoping to make it to the SUV before she woke. No such luck. She cried out. Her fear of him was immediately obvious.
“Shh, Bethany. I promise I’m not going to hurt you. I’m trying to get you help. We’re almost there. Bear with me a little longer.”
“Who are you? How did you know he kidnapped me?” The words rode hard breaths of air, and he almost wished she wouldn’t talk. It hurt her more.
“I’m Raja. He sent the video message to us.”
“Us?”
“It’s a long story. Don’t worry about it right now. Focus on your breathing. I can see the SUV. Almost there. I have a doctor waiting on standby.”
“You’re taking me to a hospital?”
“Something like that.”
“Please, I want to go home,” she moaned.
“We’ll deal with that, but first we need to take care of you.”
The sun was high on the horizon by the time he eased her into the back seat. He grabbed the bag of supplies. “This is going to hurt, but you need to keep your knee elevated.” He slipped the bag under her leg, cringing when she cried out, then reached across and finagled the seat belt, doing his best to lock her in place. Once she was secure, he headed to the driver’s side.
At the compound, Doctor Jacobs—Doc—waited in his medical suite in the main building along with Tabitha, Ty, and Felix. Raja carried Bethany in and laid her on the bed.
“What happened to her?” Doctor Jacobs demanded.
Her left eye was starting to swell shut, her lip was broken and bruised, abrasions and cuts covered her body and her knee—God, her knee was a mess.
Raja growled, and Jacobs took a step back. Everyone stared at him.
“Shit! She’s your mate,” Ty exclaimed. “I can smell it all over you.”
Raja didn’t say anything. No point in denying it, but he wasn’t ready to admit it. He was having a hard time coming to terms with it himself.
“Out,” Doc ordered.
“What?” Hostility surged through Raja.
“You heard me. If you’re her mate, I want you out of here.”
“Being her mate gives me more reason to stay.” Raja refused to abandon her, leaving her helpless and alone.
“Doc’s right, but she’ll be fine, I swear,” Tabitha soothed, sidestepping closer to him and Bethany. “Being her mate will only make this harder for you. We can’t delay treatment. I’ll stay with her and when she wakes up, I’ll make sure you’re here.”
“There’s no choice in the matter,” Ty said firmly. “I’m ordering you out. You won’t risk this girl for your stubbornness. I would hope you’d do the same for me if Tabitha was in that bed.” Sympathy thickened his voice.
Raja ground his teeth. “I’ll be right outside and I want to know the minute she wakes up.” He stalked out the door, his heart breaking with every step.
Chapter Eight
“Raja.” Tabitha woke him with a gentle touch along his arm.
He lifted his head slowly, needing a moment to orient himself. He was on a sofa in the clinic area. “Bethany?”
“She’s out of surgery and resting comfortably. I thought you might want to be with her when she wakes up.”
He shot to his feet, desperate to be with her. Being apart tore at his insides.
“Raja,” Tabitha said, laying a hand on his arm. “Don’t overexcite her. Give her time to recover before you scare her with the mating thing. She’s been through a lot.”
She was right, but it would be damn hard to keep it from her. A mate thrived under the other’s touch. Bethany had no way of understanding and he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from touching her for long. Hell, he knew what to expect and it terrified and thrilled him in the same breath.
“One last thing. Doc says if you stress her out, you’ll be removed. She just had surgery and needs to rest. Don’t make it any harder on her.”
The order irked him. “I can handle my own mate.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Tabitha. I’m not used to this possessive attitude.”
“Adjusting to the mating is the hardest part, but it will happen. Go be with her. I’ll be back later to check on her. Being surrounded by big burly men can intimidate a girl. I’m sure a friendly woman’s face will help.”
“Thank you.” He smiled at her before hurrying to the private rooms.
When he stepped inside, he spotted Bethany, whose still form looked so small and fragile in the large bed. Her face was as white as the blanket covering her. He sat in the chair next to the bed, wrapped her hand in his and lowered his head.
My mate. He loved how that flowed through his mind. Will she accept me once she finds out what I am? Can I claim
my rightful spot with her when I know the danger it will put her in? If not, am I strong enough to walk away from her?
The questions plagued him. He knew the answers to two out of three. He wasn’t strong enough to walk away from her, no matter the danger it would put her in. He would protect her with his life. Could he convince Bethany she was meant for him, that they belonged together? That was another story entirely.
It hit him like a bear at full speed what Ty must be going through with Tabitha. The constant fear that he could be the reason that his mate was in danger weighed heavily in the pit of his stomach.
“Bethany, believe in me and I’ll make you the happiest woman alive. I’ll protect you with my life. Don’t turn away from me when you find out what I really am,” Raja whispered.
Bringing her knuckles to his lips, he placed a timid kiss there.
Raja paced the small room, feeling like a caged tiger. The walls seemed to close in with each passing hour Bethany lay unconscious. Doc assured him it was the drugs from the surgery and nothing to worry about. That did nothing to calm the raging tiger inside him. His mate was injured and he could do nothing but sit and wait.
Waiting wasn’t something he handled well. He needed action.
A soft moan came from the bed. In two quick strides, Raja advanced to the bedside, taking her hand in his. “Bethany, you’re safe. Come on, open your eyes.” She didn’t seem to have moved, he was beginning to think he’d imagined the noise.
Until he heard it again.
Finally, her eyelids fluttered as if she were desperate to see her surroundings.
The room was more like a bedroom than a hospital. Shifters healed fast making medical attention was only required at a minimal level. When they crafted the building, they wanted it to feel like home, not a hospital. They didn’t have a large medical staff, only what they needed—Doc. He could take care of anything including performing surgeries.
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