A Tiger's Tale

by Lisa Oliver

  Fuck I wish he hadn’t done that. My proud tiger should never be on his knees…except in the bedroom, because of course, with Ra’s strong scent filling the room, Seth’s cock was filling the front of his pants. He nudged his blanket over his lap so it wouldn’t show, and thanked the Fates for Ra’s strong smell. Hopefully, it would hide his inappropriate arousal.

  “Get up,” he said softly holding out his hand. “No one knew what you’d done until you spilled the beans in front of everyone. I don’t even know how you knew I was here.” He threw a filthy look at Farriday who just shrugged looking unrepentant.

  “You’re hurt,” Ra’s voice broke at the sight of the bandage on his arm as he crawled closer. “Your face is bruised, your arm, I can smell the blood. Tell me who did this to you.”

  “Now Ra,” Joe warned. “You know you can’t take justice into your own hands. Seth’s made a statement; Barney has a video of the whole attack. The guys who did this will be held in lock up until they can be brought before the town for punishment.”

  “I want to know who did this,” Ra’s growl took a menacing tone. Seth wouldn’t lie to his mate, but with Ra’s tiger lurking in his eyes and he knew any answer to that question would result in violence. And it wasn’t just Ra who was angry. Liam, Rocky, even Mal had menacing faces as they crammed into the doorway.

  “Can you hold me?” he said instead. It wasn’t hard to feign being weak when he felt like he’d been run over by a truck. “I need to lie down on something softer than this damn hospital bed and I don’t think I can move on my own.”

  “Of course, whatever you need,” Ra’s tiger didn’t recede but his attention was diverted, just as Seth hoped. “Can I touch you? Where does it hurt?”

  Considering Seth hurt everywhere he managed a wan smile and tried to hide his wince as he was lifted into Ra’s arms. “Oh, I missed you, little bunny,” Ra moaned as he buried his nose in Seth’s hair. “I’m so messed up, so fucking stupid. I didn’t even realize it’d been four days. Did I tell you I was happy about the baby? Guys, we’re pregnant, we’re having a baby.”

  “You told us already,” Rocky said. “In fact, the whole town probably heard considering you were yelling it at the top of your lungs as we rode down the main street. More important. How are we going to get your mate home? He doesn’t look well enough to sit on the back of a bike.”

  “I’ve got a car if someone can drive it.” Seth didn’t trust his reflexes with every limb aching.

  “That’s not a car, it’s a death trap,” Simon said fiercely. “Liam, Lucien, go work your smiley magic on Trent over at the garage. See if he’s got anything Ra can borrow or buy. Doc, do you have somewhere Ra can put his bike until one of us can collect it?”

  “I’ll work something out. Why don’t you guys go and sort out the transportation side of things and give me a bit of space in my waiting room; I need to have a word with Ra about Seth’s care before he can leave,” Farriday said. Seth noticed no one moved until Ra gave a nod. But the testosterone levels dropped considerably as they all left the building.

  “Seth, I’ll go, you know, and I’ll let you know when the town meeting is being held. Do you have a phone?” Joe asked cautiously, flicking his gaze between Ra and Farriday.

  “It’s broken,” Seth said quickly when he felt Ra’s muscles tighten around him. “Call me on Ra’s number when you’re ready or leave a message with my parents.”

  “My phone,” Ra took his nose out of Seth’s hair long enough to snarl. “Call my phone. I know you’ve got the number.”

  The deputy nodded. Sharing a long look with the doctor, he went to leave but turned at the door. “Ra, don’t go getting yourself into trouble over this. With a baby on the way, you need to focus on Seth. Let us handle this.”

  “Then make sure you handle it properly,” Ra growled. Joe inclined his head and with one last heated look at the doctor, he disappeared as well.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Ra, you are a fucking disgrace to shifters everywhere,” Farriday started as soon as Joe left. “Am I given to understand that when you left with Seth Friday night, you took him home and then fucking left him on his own; making him think not only was the baby not wanted but him as well?”

  Ra huffed, his tiger rising in anger, but he pushed his animal half back. As much as he wanted to rant and roar, justifying his actions, he knew what he did was inexcusable. “I won’t do it again,” he muttered quietly.

  “You’re freaking lucky your mate is so loyal to you, or half the town would be chasing you with guns right now. I asked where you were yesterday when Seth came in. He told me you were working.”

  “That’s what Ra told me,” Seth said softly. “It wasn’t a lie.”

  “Well, you’ve got more patience with your mate than I would have, Seth and that’s all I’ll say about that. Now, I presume, given that you and Ra haven’t been speaking since I saw you Friday, you haven’t told him the news I shared yesterday?”

  Seth shook his head.

  “Oh babe, I should have been with you,” Ra said, his voice husky with emotion as he gently stroked Seth’s hair. “I can’t believe I’ve been such an idiot. What did the doctor say, hon? Is this about the baby or your parentage?”

  Seth looked at Farriday, his face pale and his eyes drooping. It seemed Farriday got the message. “Seth is half fae. From the chat we had yesterday, it doesn’t seem that Seth gained any magical ability from his biological father. But it would explain his slender human form.”

  Ra looked between the doctor and Seth. “That’s not a problem, is it? I mean now we’re pregnant?”

  Seth’s lips twitched at his terminology, but it was Farriday who answered. “Fae children are born with their magic, which is why we don’t think Seth has any. His parents would have noticed something different about him as a child and of course, he shifted at puberty, indicating his shifter status. Your baby, or babies, we don’t know how many yet, will be one-quarter fae and there is a possibility the child won’t be a shifter.”

  “But?” Ra saw Seth close his eyes as if shutting out the pain and quickly amended what he was going to say. “It won’t matter at all provided the baby is healthy. I just thought with me being a full shifter and Seth being half that our children would shift into some kind of animal form.” What kind exactly, he didn’t know. He’d been thinking about it a lot though and his favorite idea was a tiny rabbit with tiger stripes.

  “We won’t know until after the birth,” Farriday said. “The problem is going to be getting to that point. Now, do you want to help Seth with his recovery, or should I call his parents?”

  “I’ll take care of anything he needs.”

  “The first thing he needs is for you to keep your tiger under control,” Farriday said sharply. “I don’t want you going off half-cocked when you hear the extent of your mate’s injuries.”

  Ra wasn’t sure he could make such a ridiculous promise. His tiger wanted to tear out the throat of anyone who’d hurt his mate. But Seth picked that moment to tug at his shirt and whispered, “Please,” and Ra knew for the next few weeks at least, he would have to do anything his mate asked. It was with that thought in mind he gritted his teeth until his jaw hurt as Farriday outlined dressing changes, bathing procedures and in particular, the need for Seth to be kept calm and safe.

  *****

  Seth woke and winced as he stretched his arms. His bruises were healing quickly but his ribs were still painful when he moved too fast. Ra’s bed was soft and cushioned him beautifully, but he still had a stiffness in most of his joints and muscles. He peered over to where a large tiger was watching him silently.

  “You’re going to have to talk to me some time, you know,” he scolded the big cat while rubbing his fingers between the large furry ears. “I understand your tiger feels the need to be protective, but I am not kissing furry lips and it’s not as though you can explain yourself in this form.”

  Ra’s tiger’s appearance was inevitable. Ra did his best
not to break the steering wheel as he carefully drove Seth home; but the constant rumbling from his chest, his terse response to Seth’s innocently asked question about picking up his clothes from his apartment and the snapped orders he gave his friends with regards to food, medical supplies and picking up his bike, damn it; Seth was amazed he made it back to the house before clothes tore and a tiger leaped out of the large car.

  Liam and Lucien immediately shifted too; they were beautiful lions and they did their best to shepherd Ra into the house. But when Ra roared at them, the power of his anger pushing at them both, it was Seth’s whimpered plea for them to stop in case he shifted that had two of the three reaching for their clothes. Ra stopped his roaring and didn’t make any further move to hurt anyone, although his tail flicked angrily as Mal helped Seth to the bedroom. It was clear, with the adrenalin and anger running through his veins, Ra couldn’t or wouldn’t shift back.

  And now it seemed, eighteen hours later, Ra’s tiger was bordering on stubborn. Seth glanced out the window. The bright flush of early morning was streaking the sky. His bandages were too tight and he needed food, but Ra wasn’t going to be any help with either of those things without opposable thumbs.

  “Fat lot of help you are,” Seth muttered as he wiggled his butt to the end of the bed, the tiger still staring at him intently. Gentle teeth locked around his arm as he tried to stand up. “Look Ra, I’m doing my best not to get pissed off at you because I’m sure that’s not good for the baby. But I need to pee. I’ve got to find someone to help me with these bandages because I plan on showering and as you’re built like a Mack truck in that form, with no hands, you are about as useless as tits on a bull. Now let go, because you might want to lie around all day, but I’ve got things to do.”

  Ra released his arm and chuffed, a soft huffing noise, Seth found surprisingly soothing. The languid tiger stretched out and rolled onto his back, his legs batting the air, his head tilted back as though inviting Seth to play. “You are so gorgeous, you big doofus,” Seth chuckled. “But I can’t play with you when you’re furry. Is there any chance Liam or one of the others might be up because I really need these bandages off before I can clean up?”

  Still looking at him upside down, Seth didn’t know what to make of the tiger’s expression. “Fine, I’ll go and find someone. But if you weren’t going to help to me, you should have taken me back to my apartment. Mrs. Hooper would have sent one of her boys around to help me.”

  The air shimmered and Ra’s form appeared. “Why do you keep wanting to be away from me?” he growled as soon as he had a voice box.

  “You’re the one who refused to shift,” Seth snapped back. “I get that tigers see things differently than other shifters but if I say I want to shower, it’s because I feel grubby. These bandages are hurting my ribs; my bladder is killing me and maybe, just maybe I’d like to eat seeing as I slept through dinner. What is worse, is that despite your promises to the doctor, you still won’t fucking talk to me. And don’t you dare, don’t you dare say I’m hormonal,” he added as Ra opened his mouth.

  “You’ve been a shit. You hurt me more than my herd, my absent biological parents or the assholes that did this to me yesterday. I get that me being pregnant was a shock. I get that you needed time to think, but what about me? Where, in all that thinking and not caring for yourself, did you think about me and the baby?”

  Ra hung his head. “I am so sorry, I really am. I thought about you all the time. I missed you. I can’t excuse my head and I know saying sorry doesn’t change anything. I just thought we’d have more time just for us. It’s not even three weeks since we met. One minute we’re having sexy times and laughing and loving on each other and then bam. That’s all gone.”

  “What do you mean gone?” Seth frowned, trying to follow his mate’s thought process. It was like herding cats. “I wanted to come to your workshop with you and keep you company when we got the news and you said no. I was the one curled up in this bed every night waiting for you to come and see me. Four nights I waited here for you to come and hold me, kiss me, tell me everything would be all right while we made love. We’re mates, damn it. You should’ve been there for me.”

  “But we’re going to be parents. That means we have to be responsible. Grown up. You know what I mean.”

  Seth looked at Ra unable to believe his ears. “You don’t think parents can have fun?”

  “My mom was never happy she had me or my brother,” Ra said quietly. “She always complained we spoiled her fun and that we were nothing but a hassle, getting in her way and needing things all the time. A chain around her neck she used to call us. By the time I was five, she would leave me with my brother and go off for days at a time. When my brother left at fifteen, I was twelve and stayed by myself most of the time. I got a job at the local store just so I could eat.”

  “Oh Ra,” Seth said sadly, knee walking over the bed to where his big mate sat, his shoulders hunched, his hair covering his face. “Babe, look at me,” he stroked Ra’s hair back and cupped his jaw until Ra met his eyes. “I’m sorry you grew up like that, and if I ever have the misfortune to meet your mom, I’m going to slap her so hard. But she chose to be like that; she chose to make you feel like a burden when it sounds to me like she just had a shitty attitude. My mom and dad had six kids before they found me and they were always having fun. Not just the fun that comes from seeing your kids go through their milestones – the first smile, the first step, their first word. Lots of fun things like camping, sports, vacations. I remember my dad laughing so hard when he tried to teach me to catch a ball, my mom laughing as she taught me how to make my first scones. There was always laughter in our house.”

  “But we barely know each other,” Seth’s heart warmed at the glimmer of hope in Ra’s eyes. Maybe they could find a way through this together. “How will we ever find the time for us during all this fun parenting stuff?”

  “You said the guys wanted to help. We live with six potential babysitters and I’m sure none of them will complain if we want to take off by ourselves sometimes. My mother will be round like a shot once she finds out and you can bet she’ll sign up for grandbaby sitting as well. It won’t be spontaneous like maybe you’re used to, but a lot of couples schedule date nights or long weekends, especially when the children get older. We’ve got an incredibly long lifetime to get to know each other. We’d know a lot more about each other now if you didn’t have a tendency to hide away in your workshop.”

  Seth wasn’t being mean; he just learned the art of communication at a young age by watching his parents. Ra wasn’t anything like the rabbits he grew up with, but he was a smart man and could learn given the right incentive.

  “I’m afraid I’ll get something wrong and hurt the baby,” Ra confessed in a whisper. “My tiger roar already frightens your rabbit even though he doesn’t mean to. What if the baby is a rabbit too?”

  “What if he’s a tiger?” Seth suggested, running his hand over his stomach unconsciously. “Or what if she turns out to be Fae and magicks both our asses?” He laughed at Ra’s shocked face. “We don’t know and there’s a hell of a lot of don’t knows in parenting. But the one thing I learned from my parents is that love and acceptance goes a long way. The rest of it, we’ll cope with as it comes. No point in worrying about stuff that hasn’t happened yet.”

  “How come I’m so old and yet you’re the wise one in this relationship?” Ra grumbled good-naturedly.

  “I’ve had plenty of experience with kids.” Seth winced as his bladder’s need got more demanding. “Can you please help me to the bathroom? I’ve got to pee something awful and I swear these bandages around my chest are cutting me in half.”

  “I’m worried if I hold you, I’ll want to do unspeakable things to you.” Ra slid off the bed and reached over, his arms a natural cradle for Seth to fall in.

  “Farriday never said we couldn’t do unspeakable things,” Seth said, his face heating as it did every time Ra got a sexy rumble in his tone.
“I think a nice warm bath would help us both get in the mood.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You let me worry about that.” Thanks to Ra’s muddled brain it’d been five days since Seth had felt the heat from his mate’s hands. Aching body or not, he was determined to feel those hands on him before breakfast. Or Ra would see just how angry a bunny could be.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ra didn’t know what he’d ever done in a past life to deserve a mate as kind and forgiving as Seth, but he’d be thankful for the rest of his days. The huge hole he’d had in his heart was filled with Seth in his arms yet his need to reclaim his mate was growing by the second. He winced as he carefully unwound the bandages from his mate’s ribs. Even with shifter genetics, Seth’s pale skin was more than fifty percent covered with black and yellow bruises, especially around his ribs.

  “Damn, babe, how the hell are you still standing? You must be in agony.”

  Seth rolled his eyes. “This will heal. Thinking I’d never seen you again hurt a lot worse.”

  “I’d have come to my senses pretty soon, sweetheart. Simon will be pissed off, though.” Ra figured diversion was the best way to stop Seth reminding him again of what an ass he’d been.

  “Simon? What’s he got to be upset about?” Seth clung to Ra’s arm and gingerly stepped over the edge of the tub, not letting go until his butt was firmly seated on the bottom. “Oh my god, this feels amazing. Get shaved, I want you in here with me.”

  “Simon took it upon himself to follow you Monday and Tuesday,” Ra said, lathering up. Gods, he did look a wreck. “He thought you’d be safe in the library so came back Tuesday lunchtime to knock some sense into me. Right about the time those hooligans attacked you.”

  “Huh, I didn’t see him,” Seth lay back in the tub and closed his eyes. “It’s not his fault I got hit, but I don’t understand why he followed me in the first place. I thought that was your job.”