by Jane Jamison
It wasn’t until he was shaking Boyd violently that he finally noticed.
Boyd was already dead.
He jumped off the weretiger. Blood flowed from a gunshot wound to the heart. His amber eyes were glazed over, already looking into the other world beyond the earthly one. Shock rippled through him. He’d wanted Boyd dead, but he still wasn’t prepared for it.
“Darion.”
He turned his massive head to find David, already returned to human form, kneeling next to Kristal. Fear blotted out every ounce of anger. “Is she…?” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
“She’s alive.” David brushed hair away from her face. “Boyd must’ve knocked her out when he landed on her.”
Darion glanced down at Boyd. Transformation blurred his features as the shapeshifter returned to the body of a man. Soon, no trace of the tiger remained.
“Shit.”
“He’s dead?”
“Fuck.” Grief hit Darion. Although the boy had broken the pride’s number one rule, he couldn’t help but mourn the kid. Boyd had led a short and troubled life that had eventually brought him to his death. “Yeah.”
“Damn it.” David, his clothes shredded from his shift, lifted Kristal. “We need to get her back to the ranch. Call Dr. Effers. Tell him to lock up the pharmacy and meet us there.” Like a lot of people in a small town, Dr. Effers held two jobs. First as the town’s doctor and also as the owner of the local pharmacy.
Darion stood, unable to look away from the young man’s dead body. “Will do. I’ll get Boyd’s body into the pickup.”
David cradled her in his arms. “Make it fast.” He took one sad glance at the boy, then turned and strode away.
Darion pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial number for the pharmacy. The first call would go to the doctor. The second would go to one of the pride’s council members. Boyd’s father would have to be contacted soon, too, but not before the pride decided how to handle the situation.
He shoved the camera and binoculars into the duffel bag and slung the rifle strap over his shoulder. Bending, he scooped up the young man’s limp form and lifted him into his arms. “Damn it, Boyd. Why couldn’t you have listened to reason?”
He was heavy, making the trip back to the pickup parked down the road difficult. If David had already gone—which he wouldn’t have blamed him if he had—then he’d have to carry Boyd’s body all the way into Twisted. He trudged on, his breathing becoming heavy.
David stood by the pickup. “I was about to take off. Hurry up.”
Darion shot him a hard glare, not wasting the energy it would take to snap back at him. Instead, he waited for his brother to lower the tailgate. He gently placed the body into the back. “Let’s go.”
He scooted into the cab and cradled Kristal’s head on his lap. “She should’ve come to by now.”
“Keep hold of her.” David slammed his foot on the gas pedal. “She opened her eyes a minute ago.”
He gazed into the serene face of the woman they loved. If they lost her now, they’d be lost as well. “Did she say anything?”
“No.” David’s focus stayed on the road. He dodged as many potholes as he could.
“She saw him shift.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“What are we going to tell her?” He stroked her cheek, silently urging her to open her eyes. He would’ve given the ranch to see her smile up at him.
“The truth. We don’t have a choice any longer.”
“Good. It’s time we let her know everything.”
David look haunted. “Even that she killed a man?”
Pain cut into him. Knowing Kristal, she’d be tormented at taking another person’s life. “She didn’t have a choice.”
“We know that, but will she think the same way? I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts she won’t.”
Her chest rose and fell with steady even breaths. He concentrated on her breathing, knowing it was a good sign. “We’ll get her through it one way or another.”
“And the pride? What about Boyd’s father?”
It was strange for David to seek answers from him. Usually it was the other way round. “The pride will understand. How can they blame her when it was self-defense? Boyd was asking for trouble by shifting in the daytime. Especially after he knew about the video and after everyone warned him to stop. Hell, I’ll bet he came there hoping she’d see him.”
“Damn stupid, kid.”
“Yeah.” He wouldn’t glance at the dead body in the back. “But then again, we were all stupid kids at his age.” He held on to Kristal, keeping her body close to his. “Just get us home, bro. Just get us home.”
“I’m working on it.” David gripped the steering wheel, his face tight, his jaws clenched.
* * * *
Where am I?
Kristal swam to the surface. The darkness surrounding her was warm, but a chill still seeped through her bones.
Something was coming for her. She had to run. Had to shoot. If she didn’t, incredible, horrible sharp fangs would sink into her skin, tearing her apart. Her blood would run freely until it could run no more.
She sat up with a start, her eyes opening, her heart pounding threatening to break out of her chest.
“Easy, girl.” Darion took her by the shoulders, forcing her to meet his gaze. “You’re all right. You’re safe at home.”
Her breath came out in harsh pants and burned her throat. At first, nothing made sense. She’d been outside when…
When what?
“Kristal, try to breathe naturally. Don’t force it. Give yourself time to figure everything out.” David was on the opposite side of the bed.
Her heart started to slow down. Their worried expressions calmed her. She was safe as long as she was with them.
“What happened?” Her brain still refused to lock into place, to center on one thought at a time.
The men exchanged a glance, a silent passing of information. The looks on their faces didn’t make her feel any better.
“You’re going to be okay. The doc was here to examine you and said to make sure you took it easy. You had a big scare and passed out for a while, but you came to soon enough.”
“I did? I don’t remember.”
“Do you remember being out in the pasture?” Darion studied her. “The place where the tiger video was taken?”
Her memory came barreling back like a runaway locomotive. She inhaled, held her breath, then let it rush out as images swamped her.
A young man with amber-filled eyes.
The man changing, his form blurring.
A white tiger, the shape of its eyes different, yet still powerful, still amber.
The tiger launching its body at her.
She lifted the gun, but didn’t have time to aim.
The memory of what happened hit her hard, making her relive every moment until she’d blacked out. She clutched at their shirts, tugging them toward her.
“Oh, my God. I saw him. I saw the man change into a tiger.” She was both horrified and excited. “The video is real.” Looking from one to the other, she pleaded with them to believe her. “It’s real. I saw him change.” She sucked in a breath. “I can show you. Where’s my camera? I took a video of him.”
“Take it easy, Kristal.”
But she couldn’t. Instead, she pushed at Darion, trying to get him out of her way. “Let me go. I want my camera.” But where was it? “Did you bring it back with you? Please tell me you brought it back.”
“Calm down, baby. It’s right here.” David bent low to retrieve the camera from the lower shelf of the nightstand.
She snatched it from him, exuberant to have indisputable proof. To her relief, it wasn’t damaged. She brought up the video and hit the playback.
She was relieved when she saw the man transform into the tiger. “It’s true. It’s really true.” She replayed it, holding it out for them to see. “Watch and tell me this isn’t real.”
They did as she
ordered. And yet they showed no excitement, no surprise. Instead, they appeared saddened.
She searched their faces, their eyes. “You believe me, right? Didn’t you see this?” She hit the replay button again. “This is the story of the century. Right?” Why weren’t they happy for her?
“It’s real. We don’t need to see it again.” David dropped his gaze to the bed before lifting it again and meeting hers. “What you saw was a young man shape-shifting into a white tiger.”
She struggled to understand. “Wait. So you knew all along? You knew he existed?” They’d hidden the truth from her. But why?
Darion tried to take her hand again, but she pulled away. They’d lied to her and they were still holding something back. She could sense it along with the wonderful sizzle of the connection flowing between them. Her joy was gone, filled with the ache of betrayal. “What’s going on? Tell me everything.”
At first, she worried that they’d try to keep lying. Then David took in a long, slow breath.
“His name was Boyd Hodgens.”
“You knew him? How?” She stared at him as though seeing him for the first time.
“He lived in Twisted. His family’s been here for decades.”
“And you knew what he was?” Her voice came out in a whisper. Talking was too hard with the tightening of her chest.
“Yes.”
“You let me try and find him all this time and you never told me you knew?” She pushed Darion’s hand away again. “You lied to me. You said the video was a fake, but you knew. You knew.” If she said the words enough times, would she believe them? How could they have done that to her?
“We had to, Kristal.” Darion didn’t try reaching for her again. He knew not to now.
“Why?” She brought her knees up to her chest and clutched the camera as hard as she could. “How could you lie to me?”
“Because we can’t let the rest of the world know shifters exist,” answered David.
“Shifters? Like people who can change into animals?” They were real. The myths of shape-shifters throughout history were true and not stories dreamed up to frighten children.
“Boyd was a weretiger. We couldn’t let you expose him.”
“A weretiger?” If she stared at David harder, would she be able to understand better? “Wait. You said ‘was’.” Fear stiffened her body. A memory of the tiger’s face surfaced, slicing into her.
“He’s dead.” David dragged in a hard breath.
“Dead?” The vision of her lifting the rifle whipped into her, stunning her. She remembered the sound of the shot, remembered the amber eyes widening in surprise.
“Oh, my God. I killed him, didn’t I? I shot him.” She dropped the camera to her side. Horror unlike any other emotion she’d ever experienced burned into her stomach. “I killed him.” Still, she fought against the truth. “No. I can’t have. I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“You didn’t have a choice.” Darion grabbed her hand and wouldn’t let her pull away. “If you hadn’t killed him, he would’ve killed you.”
“But I killed him.” She’d never hurt anything in her life. Even spiders and bugs were taken outside instead of squashed. Hot tears stung her eyes.
“Don’t blame yourself, damn it.” David took her by the chin. His stern expression was fierce, but it was the amber flecks in his eyes that held her to him. “It was self-defense. Boyd attacked you. You had to shoot him to stay alive.”
She’d shot a man. Or had he been more animal than man? Did it make a difference? Either way, she’d taken the life. “I killed him.” Sorrow filled her. Did he have a family? Had she taken a son away from his mother?
“You can’t let it get to you, baby. There was no other way. It’s our fault. We didn’t get to you fast enough.” David shook his head. “We shouldn’t have let you go there.”
“You were there?” How had she not seen them? How had she not felt them?
“Yes. We hid behind the bushes.” Darion ducked his head, avoiding her eyes.
She shook her head, trying to deny everything once and for all. Maybe she was only dreaming, locked in a fantasy world. “No. I would’ve seen you. I would’ve known you were close by.”
“We stayed far enough away for you not to sense us.” Unlike his brother, David didn’t flinch when he met her gaze.
“We’re very good at hiding. Even in plain sight,” added Darion. “It’s part of who we are. What we are.”
“What you are? I don’t understand.” She put her hand to her forehead, fighting to make sense. They leaned closer, but she couldn’t let them touch her. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t.
“Kristal,” Darion’s tone was soft yet firm as though comforting a disobedient child, “we’re like Boyd.”
She drew her knees closer to her chest. Was he serious? Could it be real? Her mind warred at her, shouting at her not to believe him. Not to believe what she’d already accepted in her heart.
She pointed, accusing him. “He had the same color in his eyes that I’ve seen in yours.”
“We all do at times.” David jaw was set. He was determined to make her believe.
“I don’t understand. Why do your eyes change?”
Again, the men exchanged a look. A new kind of fear enveloped her, but she pushed back, unwilling to accept what she knew they were about to tell her.
“Our eyes change when the tigers inside us start pushing to the surface. The closer we are to transforming into our tiger bodies, the more amber shows in our eyes.”
David was serious. But how was she supposed to believe something so incredible? Even though she’d seen a transformation with her own eyes, she couldn’t force her mind to accept the reality of men changing into animals.
“Baby, we’re weretigers, too.”
The woman who loved them struggled to stay even as the part of her that knew the truth told her to run. To get out of their house and never look back. But the other side of her, the inquisitive reporter who had never backed down from finding out the truth wouldn’t allow it.
“Prove it. Show me.”
“Right now?” Darion frowned at her. “Don’t you think you’ve been through enough today? We can show you another time when you’re stronger. Until then, you’ll have to take our word for it.” He motioned toward the camera. “And your own evidence.”
“No. I want to see you shift and record it happening so I can play it back and see it again. That’s what it’s called, right? Shifting?” She pulled her body straighter. She was terrified, but she was resolute, too. She’d stick it out and make them show her what they were.
“Girl, this isn’t what you need.” Darion’s tone was low, almost mean.
David stood up and backed away. “No, Darion. I think it’s exactly what she needs.” He started disrobing, tugging off his shirt then working on his jeans. His boots thumped against the floor. “She’s the type that has to see for herself.”
“She did. She saw Boyd.” Although he argued with his brother, Darion still got to his feet and began taking off his clothes.
“She has to see us change. It’s not like we were never going to show her.”
Even as frightened as she was, she couldn’t help but get turned on. They were so massive in every sense of the word. From their wide shoulders and down their sculpted chests and flat abdomens, they made her blood run hot and her sinful nature rev to life. Their cocks were erect. Were they excited by her? Or did they get hard every time they changed?
“Whatever happens, no matter how scared you are, remember we won’t hurt you. Not as men and not as tigers.”
She nodded at David as though she actually understood. Her fear had morphed into a cold reality that didn’t diminish the onslaught of her panic.
“Baby, remember what we told you? That you’re meant for us? About the connection?”
For a moment, her fear diminished a little. But it soon came rushing back. “Yes.”
“We’re shifters and you’re our mate.”
>
She fought to understand. She’d fallen in love with them, but how did she feel now that she knew what they were? “The connection? Then it’s a tiger thing?” She tried to pull in a long breath, but could only manage a short, quick inhale.
“It’s a shifter thing.” Darion started toward her, but stopped when she lifted her hand, warning him to stay back.
“And I’m your mate. Like a tiger has a mate?” Were they talking about her becoming like them?
“Yes, except that you have the both of us,” explained David. “We want you to stay with us forever.”
“And have kittens?” She laughed, but cut it off short. Either she was insane and living in a fantasy world or they were.
David’s face darkened. “Not kittens. Babies. Children.”
“Like Kylie will do with the Asher men,” added Darion.
She’d thought they couldn’t have surprised her more, yet Darion had managed to do it. “Kylie’s a tiger? And the Asher brothers are, too? They’re her mates?”
“Kylie hasn’t gone through the transformation yet, but almost everyone in Twisted is a weretiger. Including the Ashers and Lena.”
She pressed her palm to her cheek. Did she have a fever? “I can’t believe this. No. It’s crazy. I’m crazy.”
It was all too much. If only she could calm down, maybe she’d grasp what they were saying. But she couldn’t. “Show me. I won’t, I can’t believe you until…” She shook her head, trying to make her mind think clearly. “You have to show me.”
If they could transform into tigers, would she believe it then? Or would the rational side of her finally win out and break her fantasy apart? She gripped the camera, ready to record them.
“Let’s do this, bro.” Darion nodded at his brother.
When their bodies started to blur, she blinked several times then rubbed her eyes.
When their faces became obscured, she felt her pulse pick up speed.
When their bones broke, going into odd angles then reforming, she gripped the sheet underneath her, clinging to anything that was solid and real.
When they dropped to the floor going onto all fours, she had to suck in each breath as though it were her last.