A Tiger's Tale

by Lisa Oliver

  “Thank you,” Seth puffed as he fell back onto Ra’s chest. “Fuck. I thought I was going to spontaneously combust if you hadn’t come when you did.”

  “Is that why you were bouncing around?” Ra asked as he collapsed on his side, pulling Seth with him. Seth’s body was already cooling down.

  “Did I do it wrong?”

  Ra pushed the sweaty curls off Seth’s anxious face and grinned. “You can’t get something like this wrong, precious. I’ll just have to speed my game up a bit to keep up with you.”

  “My dad explained it to me, ages ago,” Seth said, his eyes still worried. “Apparently, mating changes a rabbit. It’s why we stay virgins until we find our mate.”

  “I’m not complaining,” Ra stifled a yawn. “Do you fancy a nap before breakfast, or could you eat something now?”

  “I could nap,” Seth agreed, “but don’t pull out unless it gets uncomfortable, okay?” His lips twitched. “I like feeling you inside of me.”

  Ra didn’t have a problem with that. His tiger was finally quiet after two weeks of angst and his orgasm relaxed him enough sleep was already beckoning. He tightened his arms, closed his eyes and was asleep before he realized it.

  Chapter Eight

  “Oh no, naked bunny. Sex smells and naked bunny. Bad Ra. How could you defile such an innocent sweet little creature?” Seth jolted awake at Liam’s voice, and immediately tried to hide under the blankets.

  “He’s legal. He’s mine. I claimed him. What did you expect? Now, what do you want, Liam? Can’t you see we’re sleeping here?” Ra’s grumpy voice made Seth smile, something he hid in the pillows.

  “You can’t sleep, you’ve got to get up. You’ve got visitors and they ain’t gonna want to smell the state of that wee rabbit. I strongly suggest a quick shower first,” Liam said cheerfully.

  “I can stay here,” Seth said quickly, more than happy to burrow under the warm blankets.

  “No, you can’t,” Liam responded. “Two rabbit peoples are here and they want to see you and the tiger who took their sweet child’s innocence.”

  “My parents are here?” Seth’s teenage fears come to life. He went to scramble out of bed and then stopped. “Hang on a minute. I’m adopted and banished. Why would they be here?”

  “Don’t know,” Liam yawned. “But they want to speak to you and they bought food and some other boxes of stuff. Better hurry, your mom makes a mean bacon and egg pie and the wolves are hungry.”

  Thoughts of his mom’s cooking had Seth leaping out of bed, ignoring Liam’s yells and covered eyes. He dashed into the bathroom and quickly did what he had to do. I’d love another bath, he thought ruefully, staring down at the white streaks on his stomach. He turned on the shower instead, climbing in as soon as the water started to heat.

  Ra strolled in, his cock half hard, scratching his belly, yawning widely. “I would’ve liked a snuggle before you jumped out of bed,” he said, aiming his cock at the toilet. Seth turned away. Knowing mates had no shame with each other and watching his mate piss like a horse were two different things.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, grabbing a bottle of shower soap and sniffing it. Lavender and vanilla. That should be strong enough to wash off any smells of sex. “I didn’t realize my parents would come here.”

  “Why not?” Ra stepped into the shower stall and suddenly it seemed crowded. “You told everyone yesterday how much they loved you. That’s not going to change now you’ve been claimed.”

  “I’ve been banished too. Rabbits stay away from those without a herd.” Seth said furiously scrubbing at his skin. His scent automatically changed the moment Ra bit him, but he didn’t need to throw his having sex in his parents’ faces. No matter how wonderful it was.

  “Have I done something to upset you?” Ra asked quietly, holding out his arms. Shit. I’ve been an ass on my first morning. Taking a deep breath, Seth dropped his washcloth and stepped into them nuzzling Ra’s chest.

  “No, my precious tiger,” Seth said softly, his mood calming with every inhale of Ra’s unique scent. “I’m so proud I’m yours; I just wasn’t expecting to be woken up like that. Is your tiger less edgy this morning?”

  “Purring like a house cat now,” Ra said easily. “Will you tilt up that lovely face of yours and let me get a kiss at least, and then we’ll go and listen to what your parents have to say.”

  “I just hope they’re not mad at me,” Seth whispered as Ra’s lips came towards his.

  “No one can stay mad at you for long,” Ra promised. His lips were full and soft and Seth felt a familiar tingle over his skin. As much as he’d love to stay and rub against his lovely mate until the water ran cold, he just couldn’t let their passion deepen. Fortunately, Ra seemed to understand. Within ten minutes, dried and dressed with Ra’s hand firmly in his, Seth headed downstairs to the communal living room.

  No one was there.

  “They’re in the kitchen,” Ra said, striding in that direction, Seth almost running to keep up. Ra stopped in the doorway and Seth bumped into him almost causing him to fall back. He peered around his mate’s bulk to see his parent’s sitting at a dining table.

  “Seth, come and get something to eat before these big lugs eat everything,” his mom beamed, as she slapped Rocky’s hand away from a casserole dish. She certainly didn’t seem worried to be sitting with a table full of predators.

  “Mom, Dad,” Seth crept into the room. “I’d like you to meet Ra. My true mate. He’s a tiger.”

  “Oh, we know all that,” his dad said, standing up and opening out his arms as he had so often in Seth’s life. “Come here and let me make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine,” but Seth stepped forward anyway, his dad’s hug as warm and comforting as it always had been.

  “You’re very thin. Being on the run must’ve been hard. Why didn’t you come to us?” His dad said and Seth detected a note of hurt in his voice. “You had to know we’d protect you.”

  “I was scared,” Seth confided in a low voice. “I didn’t know meeting Ra was against herd laws. I was just so excited when I scented him, and then I flubbed things up and ran away. I talked to Gareth and he was all excited for me too at first, but then…”

  “Why did you run away from your mate, son?” Seth realized his dad wasn’t accusing him of anything, he just wanted to know.

  “He’s still getting used to my tiger. I got a bit excited when we met for the first time,” Ra said confidently, holding out his hand. “Ra, no last name, pleased to meet you.”

  “Well, Ra, no last name, you’re certainly big enough to protect our boy,” Seth’s mom said decisively. “You can call me Ella, or Mom, whichever you prefer, but for goodness sake, sit down and get some food. These boys are drooling on the tablecloth and I don’t have a spare.”

  Seth noticed Ra’s cheeks were flushed pink, but he did as he was told. Looking at his dad, the kindly face was still the same. “We will want to talk to both of you,” his dad said firmly, “but if the food gets cold, I’ll be sleeping on the couch. Sit down.”

  Sitting next to his mate, in a room full of men twice his size, while his mom gently grilled every last one of them was a surreal experience. But Seth had seen it before. Ella was a beautiful woman, and looking at her no one would know she’d had six children of her own. She encouraged people to talk about themselves, knew how to listen and could charm the birds off the trees with her smile.

  “That is no way to treat youngsters,” she said firmly when Liam confided he and Lucien had been kicked out of their pride by a cruel alpha. “You boys can call me Mom and if you need anything you give me or Charles a call. That goes for you four too,” she said, pointing her fork at Rocky, Mal, Brutus and Simon. “I don’t have favorites. Seth will tell you that. But as far as I’m concerned, you boys were good enough to stand by Seth’s side yesterday at that impromptu meeting and in my book, that makes you family. Understood.”

  From the muttered “yes ma’ams” Seth guessed none of the men
had met a rabbit mother before and he smirked as he stuffed another mouthful of bacon and egg into his mouth. They’d learn, although it seemed like Rocky didn’t have a problem with being unofficially adopted. “Mom’s do baking, right?” He asked with a cheeky grin. “My favorite is chocolate and raspberry cake.”

  “I can make one of them for you every week if you want one,” Ella said quickly, not missing a beat. “But of course, I will expect my wood chopped in return.”

  “I can do that,” Rocky said, his eyes lighting up. But then the smile fell off his face. “I don’t think they’d let a wolf on herd grounds, though.” He looked so sad and Seth felt a pang, wondering how long it’d been since the wolves or anyone in the club really, had parents of their own.

  “That won’t be a problem,” Charles said, holding out his cup to his wife for more coffee. “We bought a new place this morning, about ten minutes down the road.”

  “Dad!” Seth was shocked. He knew how much his mom and dad loved their huge family home. “You’re leaving the herd?”

  “Bunch of morons,” Ella said dismissively. “We had a family meeting last night. Everyone agreed. Charles called the agent this morning. Just as well we did. More than half the families are moving out once people realized why the hunt had been called for you. Poor Linus is rushed off his feet finding new houses for everybody.”

  “I…but…I don’t understand. Simpson told me I was adopted. I never even belonged in the herd.” Seth looked at Ra for answers and Ra’s smile split his face wide.

  “I know you didn’t pay much attention yesterday,” he said softly. “But people care about you.”

  “That’s right,” Mal said. “You should have heard the talk at Cam’s last night. Simpson’s going to be lucky if he can find anywhere to buy a bottle of milk within the week. Even those who didn’t really know you personally were incensed that anyone could be hunted down simply for having a different species mate.”

  “Shifter towns were created so shifters could be themselves,” Charles said gravely. “I don’t know if you boys are old enough to remember, but when humans found out about us, there were some difficult times.”

  Ra nodded and so did Simon, leaving Seth wondering how old his mate was.

  “Laws were put in place preventing us from shifting in public; we had to use specific doctors, modes of transport, live in certain areas and for a long time it was like Apartheid used to be in South Africa, or how the Blacks were treated before the Civil Rights Movements,” Charles continued. “But paranormals were coming out of the woodwork right and left and eventually a new council system was set up to interact with human governments. It was the best thing that could happen to any of us. Remote towns like this one sprang up all over the country, shifters could be themselves in their own home environment and humans stopped worrying about us being a threat to their way of life. It was win-win for everybody.”

  “But what does that have to do with Seth and Ra?” Simon asked while the rest of the table sat silently.

  “The learning process went both ways. I’m not saying that humans were responsible but when the council had to fight for our way of life, it meant they had to examine it too,” Charles said. “That meant a lot of our outdated laws changed at the same time. Shifters live their whole lives hoping to find their mates and the council decreed that any mating, regardless of the sexuality, gender or species of a pairing; it had to be respected. Mates are gifted by the Fates and the council realized it wasn’t something they could or wanted to fight against anymore. Those new laws have been in place for at least a hundred years, but because we all live a long time, some of the old ways can still be found in some areas. Frankly, Simpson is a control freak and felt it was his decision who anyone could take as a mate.”

  “And he’s now learned that’s not the case. We weren’t the only ones packing house overnight,” Ella said. “I’ve heard of three cases just today of bonded rabbit couples mutually agreeing to split up because apparently, their matings were strongly encouraged by the Alpha. Me and your dad were lucky, Seth.” She patted Charles’s hand. “We are true mates, just like you and Ra. But all our kids know they have our support whether they chose to stay in the bond matings they’ve arranged or not.”

  “It was you, we were worried about,” Charles said, winking at Seth. “I kept pointing out all those lady rabbits because there’s been a rumor around the herd Gareth wanted to take you as a mate.”

  “He’s my friend,” Seth said as Ra growled. “That’s just…eww, no, that would be like having sex with my brother.”

  “Ra, no growling at the dinner table and Seth you know my rules. We don’t talk about sex with food,” Ella said sharply as Rocky sniggered. “Simpson wouldn’t allow it anyway,” she continued in a softer tone. “You’re not a brown rabbit, and although Simpson agreed to your adoption and a place in the herd, he would never take you into his family.”

  “Thank goodness for that,” Liam said. “Ra would’ve been in a right state if he’d found his mate bonded to someone else.”

  “Exactly, and on that note, can we please speak privately, you two? I haven’t seen my boy in two weeks. You boys can take care of the dishes, can’t you,” Ella said catching the others with her steely gaze. Seth was reminded of dinners at home. “Make a list of your baking preferences after they’re done, and put the chores you are happy to do for them, next to your name.” She smiled sweetly. “Everyone contributes in our family and Dad’s not getting any younger.”

  Charles was still huffing as they left the kitchen although the mood among the others was a lot happier now they had the promise of cake.

  Chapter Nine

  Ra wasn’t the type to get nervous, but then he’d never been in the situation of having a personal chat with his parents either. His mother was a single parent and once Ra hit fifteen, she kicked him out of the house, the same as she did his brother before him. It was the tiger way, and Ra expected it. Tigers weren’t big on families as a rule, but Ra liked people so he went out and made one for himself. He’d already been saving money for his bike and with a forged license was able to buy one. He set off traveling the country, meeting his club mates over the years, before settling in Arrowtown because for some reason, the town called to him. He knew why now, but he still worried when Charles stared at him with a glare more suited to a wolf than a rabbit.

  “So, young man. I am the first to admit we don’t know a lot about you. Mrs. Hooper goes on about your noisy bikes, the odd hours you keep and your love of jellied donuts, but she wasn’t able to tell us much else and she knows everything about everyone in town. You’re not a drug dealer, are you?”

  “No, sir…er…Charles,” Ra amended when Charles gave him the eye.

  “Guns? Hookers? Anything you wouldn’t want your mother to know about?” Ella added.

  “No!” Ra protested. “Nothing like that. I’m an artist, so I keep odd hours.”

  “Artist?” Charles frowned. “That doesn’t sound very financially stable.”

  “An artist?” Ella echoed and her eyes were narrowing too. “You’re not one of those artsy-fartsy people who spend all their time mooching off friends, and ogling naked men as part of your art, are you?”

  “How can you make money with art?” It was Charles’s turn again. “My boy deserves a stable home. His job doesn’t pay a lot at the library. He’s got his studies to continue as well. You want him to do well, don’t you?”

  “I’ve heard about artists.” Ella and Charles made a good tag team. Ella started talking before Ra had taken a breath. “You read about them in the human papers. Always doing drugs and sleeping with anyone who’ll have them. Not a very respectable crowd.”

  “And where do they get the money to do those things….”

  “Mom. Dad. Stop it,” Seth interrupted his parents quickly. “You’re not giving Ra a chance to say anything. Try listening to him before you jump to conclusions.”

  Ella gave Seth “the look,” one Ra remembered from wh
en he was a child. He quickly opened his mouth to stop a family feud developing.

  “I sculpt,” he said quickly. “Metal sculpture. My work is commission only and sold through a gallery in New York. I never go there. All communication is via email. When a piece is finished, Trent crates the stuff for me and Harry uses his truck to take it into Dayton.”

  “This art place knows you’re a shifter?” Charles still looked concerned.

  Ra nodded. “I was working on that side of the country for a while and an agent happened to see one of the pieces I was working on. He liked what he saw, but he agreed that it was best not to mention my tiger in promotional material. I’ve been selling with him for over twenty years. My pieces sell very well. I only make six a year and they bring in a six-figure income.”

  “How on earth do little metal knick-knacks make that much money?” Ella didn’t look happy either.

  Tough crowd, Ra thought as he stood up. “I think it’s best if I show you the sorts of pieces I make. Would that be all right? I have one almost finished in my workshop. It would normally be finished and sent by now, but I’ve been busy looking for my mate for two weeks.” He threw his own dirty look at Charles who looked away. He hadn’t heard anything about Seth’s parents trying to find him. But his face was smiling when he turned to his mate. “Did you want to see what I do, sweet one?”

  Seth bounced to his feet, his handing finding Ra’s unerringly. “I’m fascinated by art,” he said, his smile bright as if he was trying to give Ra reassurance. “I don’t know a lot about it. I’m doing a creative writing course online.”

  Pleased his mate was also the creative type, Ra escorted his in-laws and Seth out to his workshop. His friends knew better than to ever go into his private space, but with the way things were going with Charles and Ella, he felt he had to do something to show he wasn’t a fake and to knock the money questions on the head before they got much worse. He was proud of his income and his ability to provide for the club but he wasn’t about to show bank statements to his new in-laws, no matter how much it might help reassure busy-body rabbits.