“Oh, brother.” Mira smirked. “She’s feisty.”
“I stand up for you, and that’s what I get.” Victoria shook her head.
“Mira, I’m only concerned for your safety.” David tried to get them back on topic.
“Don’t you understand that I needed to come? I needed to see for myself the damage that’s been done. Dad hasn’t spoken to me, and I hoped I could…” Tears welled in Mira’s eyes. “Now I’ll never be able to.”
“Once we find him, you’ll be able to. Dad’s stubborn just like you, and I wasn’t following what he wanted. He left to teach me a lesson, and when he’s ready, he’ll come back. Or he’ll at least be in contact with one of us. He’s a strong man, and his pride is too great to stand by while I change everything he ever wanted for me and this clan.” David glanced toward the windows that lined the wall of the dining hall. “This clan might not be as big as the one Dad grew up in, and it’s surely not the size it was when you left, but it’s mine. We’re pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps and making changes. This is like a new world for all of us, and I won’t let the past dictate how I rule or what our future will be.”
“I want to see the clan. To visit with them…I don’t know. I need reassurance that everyone is okay. Please, David.” Mira’s voice quivered slightly. “I know we shouldn’t have come here like we did, but we can help. Styx is the best there is, and he can get your guards ready in just a few sessions.”
“Absolutely not.” David couldn’t believe what she was asking. Visiting was one thing, but this was a whole different idea. “He’s why everyone here is terrified. There’s no way I’m going to force them to work with him. One injury and they’ll not only come after him but all of us.”
“No physical training unless they want it, but let me supervise them with another trainer. Either Adam or Carran. I can still help you, and you’ll have the protection you might need in the coming days,” Styx added.
“Coming days? Is there something we don’t know?” Victoria demanded.
David glanced at her.
She added, “Over the years, I learned a lot about the way people say things. The subtle ways they drop accidental hints. There was nothing subtle about that.”
“Mira had a vision. There will be more Washington D.C. Tigers joining the others outside. They want to claim this clan as their own and expand their territory. You need to be ready.”
“He’s right, David.” Mira took her hand from Styx’s and leaned forward. “You’re Alpha here, so it’s going to be your fight if they make a direct challenge. I don’t want to lose you, too. I don’t want to lose anyone. That means your guards need to be trained. Ryder and Reece. Think this through before you tell us to leave.”
“I can’t guarantee your safety here.” He hated to admit it, but sometimes the truth was a bitter pill to swallow. He might need Styx’s help, but he wouldn’t take it if the cost put his sister in danger.
“She’ll always be guarded, and if there’s any threat, both her and my guys know what to do. I wouldn’t have allowed her to come if I wasn’t sure she’d be safe. If things get precarious, I’ll have Adam and Theodore fly her out of here. Let me worry about my mate. You worry about this clan.”
“But where are you going to stay? There are no guest quarters, and mine aren’t big enough. Anywhere else and you’re too close to the rest of the clan and in danger.”
Mira adjusted in her chair. “Lorraine’s.”
“What?”
“It’s perfect because her parents’ room is directly attached. Styx and I can have one, and Adam and Theodore can share the other. They’ll be close in case we have any issues, and it’s close enough to your quarters that if we need you, we can call you.”
“They were killed before I even left. Hasn’t anyone moved into their rooms yet? Theirs is the only place with a window.” Victoria glanced at David.
“No. Frank considered it off-limits. It’s going to take some time to clean it. I’ll get Heidi to start, and maybe she can get some of the others to help.” He took his arm from his mate’s shoulders and stood. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.”
“You know it’s for the best.” Mira rose from the table and went to him. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed everyone.”
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. His little sister was all grown up and mated. Seeing her before him brought back the pain of losing Shelly. She’d never grow out of her rebellious stage, never mate, or have cubs of her own. Their family had been denied so much by Frank’s rule. Now they had the chance to move past all of it, and Shelly and their mother weren’t there to witness it.
Dad might have been against everything he stood for now, but Mom would have appreciated the changes he was making. She had joined the clan when she mated with his father, so she knew what a normal clan was like. Instead of making a fuss or demanding a change, she had kept her head low to avoid any problems. He realized now that she wasn’t avoiding the problems that might arise with Frank, but those that might have come from her mate. She had sacrificed so much for her mate, but David suspected she never lost her will. There had to have been something different about her, because she had three cubs when the other clan females were lucky if they had one. Mom, you didn’t die in vain. I’ll turn this clan around.
* * *
It had been hours since Mira had arrived, and everyone had been busy. While some of the clan members were cleaning the rooms they’d use, Victoria and Mira sat in the dining hall catching up on the last few years. The tigress clawed within Victoria, demanding she find her mate. She needed to feel his hands on hers. They needed to cement this mating before her beast gave up on being patient, and there wasn’t just a twinge of pain every now and then but full-blown agony.
Mira sat a mug of her favorite spicy chia tea in front of her. “This may be a little forward, but why have you not allowed him to claim you?”
“You mean you haven’t seen it?” Victoria snapped before she reined in her claws. “Sorry, I’m a little moody.”
“I wonder why.” Mira shook her head, sending her long dark brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail swaying. “It would seem you both want it, so I don’t get why you’ve delayed it. He told me you arrived here days ago. What’s the hold up?”
“I’m not sure this is any of your business.” She tried to be nice but what was happening between her and David was between them, no one else.
“You’re putting yourself at great risk. You’re putting him at risk, too. This clan needs their Alpha as strong as possible, and that means mated. Dividing his attention like this could get someone killed.”
She wrapped her hands around the mug in front of her and leaned in closer. “This is between David and I. We’ll work it out at our own speed. Don’t think you can just drop in for a visit and run things, especially not my mating.”
“I’m only trying to warn you that if this isn’t complete by the time the Washington D.C. Tigers advance, someone will die. I don’t think you want that any more than I do.” Mira rose from the table and headed toward Theodore, who stood near one of the doors. He was her guard while Styx and Adam got the lay of the compound.
“You knew all of this, didn’t you? You knew I was his mate.”
Mira turned back to her but stayed where she was. “Yes. I knew you’d leave the clan, but eventually you’d come back and when you did, you’d find David. It’s why I knew you could do it if you trusted yourself. If you didn’t run, Frank…” She shook her head.
“Frank what? Would have killed me?” She expected that. Actually, she always wondered why she had lived as long as she had. What Frank wanted, he always got. At least until her.
“Let’s not bring up unpleasant memories.”
“Memories.” She couldn’t stop the deep chuckle. “Memories are something you can shove into a box and forget about it, like pictures from a long forgotten day. What Frank did to me, what he wanted me for, and all the suffering he caused…
none of it can ever be forgotten. It’s the demon in the closet. There’s only so long you can hold him off before it haunts you again. Something you see might spark a memory, or a familiar smell might bring it all back. Or worse, those nights when it haunts your dreams until you’d rather stay awake and die from exhaustion than sleep for even one more second. Now, whatever you were going to say couldn’t be worse than the nightmares that haunt me, so why don’t you just say what you were going to and we can get it out in the open?”
Mira glanced toward where Reece stood at the other door across the room before she nodded and strolled back to the table. “Very well.”
Victoria waited as Mira sat back down across from her but even after that, the silence stretched on until it became slightly uncomfortable. Part of her wanted to demand that she just come out with whatever she was going to say, while another part screamed for her to forget it. Frank was dead, so what did it matter?
“Inside David’s closet, behind the back wall, there’s a hidden door.”
“So?” She wasn’t surprised that there was a hidey hole they didn’t know about. Frank had been a secretive person, so maybe it was his escape or a better place for him to watch the clan. Whatever it was, she didn’t understand why it mattered now.
“Didn’t you ever wonder where Frank kept his mate before he killed her?” Before she could answer, Mira continued. “Hidden away from all of us because she wouldn’t listen to him. She wasn’t submissive enough, and so he punished her. Though, his version of punishment was much different than most. His was torture. He wanted to put you there and do the same things to you. If you wouldn’t have ran, you’d have found yourself there.”
“My family wouldn’t have…” She wanted to say allow it, but that wasn’t the truth. Her parents had been submissive enough they’d have let him do what they wanted as long as he didn’t come after them.
“He had plans to deal with your family before any issues could arise.” Mira pushed her own tea mug aside and leaned in closer. “He had planned to make it look like you and your family left when actually you were hidden away and your parents were dead.”
This information sat in her stomach like a lead brick. If she had stayed, she’d have been even more of a prisoner. She’d have also put her family in danger. Had Frank killed them and made it look like they had left? It would have been the perfect way to get back at her. If David had found her and dragged her back, Frank could have used it against her, that he’d killed her family because she tried to escape.
“Catnip,” Styx called from the open door by Theodore. “The rooms are ready.”
Mira nodded and stood. “Victoria, for what it’s worth, I’m glad your back. I knew you’d return and make things right here. My brother needs someone like you by his side.”
She wasn’t sure what to say, but David stepped through the door beside him and suddenly she didn’t care about the past or even the future. All she cared about was the man strolling toward her. Some said that being in love wasn’t the same thing as mating. What flowed through her at the moment seemed so much more than just her body reacting to a mating match. She couldn’t say she was in love with him, but the feelings of love and desire were there. She wanted to be with him, and it wasn’t just the tigress within her that wanted that.
“David…” His name came out like a whisper as she pushed her chair back with such force it toppled over. She made her way around the table and closed the remaining distance between them. His arms wrapped around her, and he drew her close until she was pressed up against his body. This had been the first truly intimate touch they’d shared since she arrived. Before now, it had been a little hand holding or a brush along the arm. This hug brought them closer than they had ever been before. “I need you.”
“I know.” His lips pressed against the top of her head. “We have an hour before the clan has dinner, but after that, I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean? Surely you’re not going to start the training tonight? Everyone’s exhausted. The training has been nonstop for days.”
“I’ve called the clan together. I’ve got to address the situation with Styx. The rest of the announcements and business I had planned to deal with in the morning will also be dealt with tonight. There’s no reason to gather everyone back together in the morning as well. So…”
“What are you waiting for? You said we had an hour. Let’s go.” She took his hand into hers and dragged him toward the door.
“My eager tigress,” he teased, but kept pace with her.
Eager was an understatement for what was going through her. Since finding out she was his mate, the desire level grew stronger with each passing hour. Today, though, it had begun to throb. Now she’d claim her mate and they could continue working to rebuild their clan. Her life was changing, and she was glad that she could be a part of everything that was happening here.
The door clicked shut behind them, leaving them alone in their quarters, and nerves sank in. “I…I want you.”
“I assumed that from the high speed dash up here.” He stalked toward her. “I want you naked.” His voice changed into more of a growl.
She took hold of the hem of her shirt, slowly pulling it up until a small part of her stomach showed. “Just because we’re short on time doesn’t mean I’m just going to hop into bed with you. Maybe I should make you work for it.”
He stepped in front of her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing her against his body and forced her against the wall. With her back pressed against the wall and his body flush with hers, he lowered his head to the curve of her neck. He nipped and licked along her skin, working his way toward her ear, gently purring. His body vibrated against hers, and his shaft pulsed against her thigh.
She couldn’t stop herself from touching him. She reached out and caressed the arch of his hips, teasing along the curve and up his sides. Desire poured through her, and she wasn’t sure how long she could hold out before she begged him to take her.
“Sweet, but there’s a hint of spice to your taste.” He sucked her earlobe into his mouth, his teeth grazing around her earring, his hand sliding down her body, following her curves.
By the time he got to her hips, she was practically panting. She needed him, and she couldn’t hold it off any longer. “Naked, now.” She reached up for him, her fingers closing around the buttons of his jeans.
“But I thought you weren’t planning to strip naked and hop into my bed?” he teased.
She worked her way past his button and continued on the path to what she wanted. “Just get naked.”
He pulled off his shirt, tossing it to the floor.
She tugged down his zipper and slipped her hand inside the rough material. Her fingers wrapped around his shaft, tearing a growl from deep within him. “Take these off.” She slid his jeans down his hips.
Instead of doing what she asked, his fingers twisted around the material of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head.
Her beast was growing tired of waiting, wanting his body pressed against her. “David!” His name emerged as more of a groan than she had planned, but he had slipped her bra off and his lips had found her nipples. While the first time they made love shouldn’t be rushed, she could no longer suppress her need.
Taking matters into her own hands, she slid her hand between them and unbuttoned her jeans before wiggling them down her legs. The apprehension and nervousness that had been there when they entered were gone. The mating desire rolled within her unwilling to be denied. She just hoped it didn’t return with a vengeance later.
They stripped out of their remaining clothes, and he lifted her up, forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist as he carried her toward the bed. “Ready or not, you’re about to be claimed as my mate.”
“Oh, I’m ready.” She purred as her nails dragged along his back.
He laid her down on the bed and in one quick movement, he was on top of her. His hands slid down her body as his lips circled her nipple, grazing his
teeth over it until her back arched into him.
“David, please,” she moaned.
He tore his lips away from her breast, leaning up to look at her. “Please what? I know you like it. I can feel your tigress vibrating just under the surface, begging for more.” Watching her, he waited for an answer.
She lost all train of thought as he slipped a hand between her legs. The gentle caress as his fingers slip between her folds sent her mind reeling. A moan tore from between her lips. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she arched into him, wanting him to explore deeper within her. His finger slipped into her as his thumb teased along her clit, exciting the bundle of nerves.
“Watch those nails, or I might have to return the favor.” He gave a gentle squeeze to her most sensitive spot that had her arching toward him.
“I need…” She grabbed hold of his arm to stop herself from clawing down his body.
“What is it that you need, my sweet mate?” He slid his hand away and brought it to her hips.
“You.” Her tigress growled.
“I had planned to take this slow, to enjoy every second of it. No rushing.”
“Time is limited,” she reminded him. “Even if it wasn’t, I need you now. There’s time for slow, but with this mating desire…that time isn’t now.”
He leaned over her, pressing his lips to hers for a soft kiss. When he pulled back, he let his lips hover just above hers. “Just remember that you gave me permission to take my time later. You might regret that because there will be no begging me to speed it up then. You will be mine.” Before she could reply, he kissed her again, this time deeper, more passionately, stealing the breath from her.
He pulled his mouth from hers and kissed a path down her neck. His breath was cool against her skin, sending goosebumps down her body as he nipped and kissed along her shoulder. She had wanted to say that she looked forward to that, but the words were stuck in her throat as she fought to keep the screams of desire from springing from her. Sensations collided and threatened to overwhelm her, but she pushed her beast away, trying to savor the moment.
Healing the Clan: Alaskan Tigers: Book Ten Page 8