by Dianna Love
The Guardian added, “Adrian is correct. One reason we work with Scarlett is because she has an extensive underground network it would take years for us to develop. For even one of her resources to destroy a relationship with her would be a costly mistake. I am going to guess that resource did not choose to betray her. For that to be the case, the Pagan Nomads probably fed their intentions of grabbing female shifters in the Great Smoky Mountains into the information network. They knew she’d go hunting those women. She told me how she’d gotten the location. She’s savvy. This was not a mistake on her part or an accident, but a high-level operation.”
Adrian couldn’t contain his question any longer. “Knowing all that and how little time Gan has been a shifter, why would you allow him to go with Scarlett ... sir. Sorry. I don’t mean that to sound critical. I’m not smooth right now.”
“I understand, Adrian, and it is a valid question.” The Guardian steepled his fingers, appearing contemplative for a long moment. “All of you have met Scarlett. What is your impression?”
The question surprised Adrian.
Landon looked at Shawn, then said, “We only met her for a short time in that barn. She seems confident and in charge. Takes no crap off anyone. Smells like a cat.”
Shawn nodded in agreement.
“She’s shared that she’s a cougar,” their boss confirmed. “Anything else?”
Shawn said, “I think she’s also an alpha. She was putting off some strong power mojo.”
Grunts of agreement followed. Vic said, “Every time we meet her, I recognize her as a shifter, a cat, and strong, but it feels like she’s got more under the hood that she’s hiding.”
Adrian had been so busy dealing with his wolf the whole time he hadn’t noticed much. Just another sign that he was not valuable in the field right now, but neither was Gan.
The Guardian said, “You are all correct. I felt that she was controlling everything about herself in the first meeting.”
“You mean like her heart rate, because of being around other shifters?” Vic asked.
“Yes, but more than heart rate. I don’t have specifics or any evidence, but she’s definitely powerful. More than she wants anyone to know, is my guess.”
Coming from their boss, that was major.
Glancing at Adrian, the Guardian said, “Back to your question about allowing Gan to leave with Scarlett. Gan shifted into his tiger and attacked all the Pagan Nomads. Before handing Scarlett the phone, Vic told me Scarlett had shifted into her cougar. The cats fought together. I would have expected a tiger with so little experience in the world to have attacked her cougar. Did that happen?”
Vic frowned. “I’ll be honest. I had a sword in my gut while they fought and was trying to remain conscious.”
“I was in pretty much the same shape,” Adrian admitted. “I couldn’t help them. Hell, I couldn’t move. I heard more than I saw.”
The Guardian said, “Understandable. I allowed Gan to go with Scarlett because I have no doubt her cougar can hold its own with Gan and it appears Gan’s tiger did not attack her cougar. If it had, I’d think she would refuse to take Gan with her and definitely not request him.”
Vic rubbed his chin. “You have a point.”
“I also believe Gan has a natural protective streak you all possess,” their boss added. “In fact, I think females bring that to the surface for him.”
Adrian sat up and regretted the too-fast change in position. He rubbed his chest. “You may be onto something, boss. The morning you came to get us, he shifted as he jumped from a boulder down to knock my wolf away from a baby bison.”
“Oh, man. You were eating little bison?” Vic said in a chastising tone.
“Give me a break would you?” Adrian muttered. “My wolf was tracking the scent of the adult and saw the baby first. Anyhow ...” He shot Vic a glare to shut the fuck up if he wasn’t going to help. “Gan went on and on about never harming babies or mamas.”
Smiling, the Guardian said, “And that is why I decided to take a chance and leave Gan with Scarlett. She may be just the influence he needs. He’ll have to control himself around her or she will insure he does.”
“Damn, boss. That might work,” Vic agreed.
“There is one potential problem,” Adrian interjected, though he hated to bring it up. But Gan being free of Wyoming was on Adrian as much as anyone. “He may make a run for it.”
“Where?” Vic asked.
“I don’t know his exact destination,” Adrian admitted.
The Guardian remained silent and stoic, pushing Adrian to come as clean as he could.
“I’m not saying he will take off for sure,” Adrian clarified. “But he asked me about how far Canada was and made a comment about wanting to live where it was cold.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s going to run,” Shawn argued.
“No, but Gan doesn’t always say exactly what he’s thinking. I’m still concerned about him being off with Scarlett even if she is a ... shoot, what is she if she’s not just a shifter?”
“I don’t know yet,” the Guardian admitted. “But I don’t believe she would have chosen Gan to go with her unless she could manage him. To be honest, my concern is that might be exactly why she chose him to go with her. She may think she can control him.”
Adrian shifted his shoulders and stretched his neck, not wanting to say more, but knowing he had no choice. “She may be in for a rude awakening if she pushes him too hard.”
A pair of steely eagle eyes narrowed at Adrian. “What are you saying?”
A prickle of concern ran up Adrian’s spine. Busted. “I don’t think Gan can control his tiger as well as he claims, and I should have said so up front but ...”
“You wanted to leave the compound as much as Gan did after you read the letter, correct?”
“Yes, sir.” Adrian leaned over his arms on the table and lowered his head to run his hand over the scruffy hair. Stupid of him to be in this position. “I’ll go bring him back if that’s what you want, sir.”
Silence hung over the room like heavy blanket.
The Guardian studied Adrian. “Can I trust you to not go rogue?”
Not what Adrian expected his boss to say, but he sat up and faced his boss. “Yes, sir. I’m not taking off. I would like to remain here long enough to get in touch with someone from my past. Once I get that done, I’ll go wherever you wish at that point, even back to ... Wyoming. No argument.”
Moving on quickly as if that exchange decided something for the Guardian, he said, “Thank you for offering to go for Gan, Adrian. I’ll take that into consideration. Now, do we have any intel on the Pagan Nomads?”
Vic leaned forward, tapping his fingers on the table. “Not that I know of, but we will. I’ll put out word with our contacts. Scarlett may get more out of the women once she’s back.”
Nodding to Vic, the Guardian said, “The sooner the better. I’m concerned they may have captured more women to use as bait.”
Shawn spoke up. “If you’re concerned about Gan’s control, how long are you going to let him be on his own?”
“I gave Scarlett three days. I want a team ready if she calls before that deadline.”
Landon asked, “What if she doesn’t call and he runs?”
“I would call him home, just as I would any rogue shifter.”
Adrian had a chill raise goosebumps over his skin at the Guardian’s tone. That eagle shifter was a man of his word and fair to a fault, but Adrian would never cross him and expect to live long.
Vic asked, “Does Gan know you can do that?”
Everyone looked at Adrian, who lifted his shoulders. “I don’t think so.”
Sounding more than a little exasperated, the Guardian asked, “You didn’t tell Gan?”
“To be honest, sir, we didn’t really talk until the last day when you showed up. There’s a lot he doesn’t know.”
Chapter 16
Gan had kept to himself during the drive, mainly because Scarlet
t occasionally growled softly, and not a happy sound.
Her green eyes would brighten then she’d blink, pushing her animal back down.
His beast had been restless, but not battering his insides as usual. That tiger remained settled only around Scarlett.
Gan thought hard on this and silently nudged his tiger. Why calm now and not before?
She is ours, his tiger sent back.
Scarlett? Ours?
Yes.
What was his tiger talking about now? Having anyone talk in Gan’s head bothered him, but an animal made it even worse. Still, Gan had so few people to talk to and needed to understand this beast so he would be able to help Scarlett when the time came.
He argued, Scarlett is not ours. She is not happy with us.
Not happy with you, his tiger corrected.
I did not attack her cougar, Gan shot back, angry all over again about his animal hurting Scarlett. He ordered, Do not hurt her again.
No. Protect her now.
Scarlett sent an impatient look at Gan. “Are you having a problem with your animal?”
How could she know this? “We are fine.”
“That crap is not going to fly with me, Gan. If you’re struggling to hold on to control, you should let me know. I don’t want to be inside this cab with a Siberian tiger looking for dinner.”
“You are safe.”
“Really? I should believe you after your tiger struck my cougar?”
Gan propped his elbow against the car door. He had become tired of being inside this rolling box the first hour. They were into hour number three, but getting irritated and reacting to her anger would not put her at ease.
He explained, “Yes, you should believe my words. Tiger now understand cougar and you are same. I told you, you are first person he does not want to kill.”
Tension eased from her face.
She kept her gaze on the road, glancing at him once. Her thumb bumped against the steering wheel like a tiny fist pounding out her thoughts.
“Why does your animal not want to kill me?” She quickly added, “Don’t get me wrong. I like not having to worry that my cougar won’t have to watch for an unexpected attack. I just want to understand what is going on with you and your tiger.”
So did he, but saying that would create more problems than help. “I have no answer. I only share what I know. This is first time tiger is almost quiet. Only with you.”
“What is almost quiet like?” she asked with sincerity.
Gan thought on it. “At first, tiger want out every minute, mad at everyone, most of all me. I am just as unhappy with animal. I spend sixteen days in Wyoming. Tiger take control, run hard, look for wolf to fight. Red wolf hunt tiger, too. I wait one day, maybe more. When tiger eat and sleep, I change to me. Tiger wait one day, maybe more. When I sleep, he take over. Always same.”
The long pause of quiet pushed his gaze to Scarlett.
She watched the road then looked over at him with disbelief. “You have to be kidding.”
“Why you always accuse me of make joke?”
“Dammit.” She ran a hand over her face then clutched the wheel again. “You can’t live that way as a shifter, Gan.”
“You think this is news to me?” he quipped, but not in humor. Everyone kept telling him how he was wrong about this and wrong about that. If they’d asked him, he’d tell them he had managed pretty good since he and the tiger had been shoved together in this body.
Scarlett’s pretty face scrunched with a frown. “Hasn’t anyone explained how you and your animal need to become one?”
“We have one body.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.” Her tone turned serious. “I’m going to have a talk with that eagle shifter when I see him again.”
He had no idea what she rambled about and waited for her to make sense.
“Let’s start at the beginning,” she said as if teaching him. “Do you call your tiger anything?”
“Prick. Idiot.” He had to think what else from his limited English vocabulary. “Moron.”
“No.” Scarlett sounded appalled. “Do you two talk at all?”
“More like yell. He is moron many times.”
“Gan, you have to find a way to become friends with your tiger.”
“Why? He is not friend.”
“Why?” she echoed at him. “Because failure to bond with your animal will mean being unable to live in this world. You will never have control of your animal if you allow your tiger to force the change when you’re asleep. If your tiger breaks free and harms a human or shifter without acceptable cause, that’s an immediate death sentence.”
He knew that.
He had figured that out on his own when he fought the tiger for control of his body. But he had no idea how to be the one in charge every minute.
That was why he planned to slip away as soon as he and Scarlett took care of her friend. He would find his way to the far northeast until he reached a wilderness with plenty of snow and cold air. He was not excited to live alone, but he would take that over living under the thumb of an eagle shifter.
It was not as if he had many years.
His camp sister explained if he did not take a mate, he would die from a curse.
No woman would live in the wilderness.
His sister had given him a phone number to memorize in case he ever needed her. Once he left Scarlett, he would contact his sister and have her tell everyone he escaped, but he’d make it clear Scarlett was not at fault.
He would tell his sister to ask the Guardian to let him live in peace, promising he would not be near humans.
When he hadn’t spoken for a while, Scarlett offered, “I can help you, but you have to really put your heart into it. Will you do that, Gan?”
He did not see how anything they tried would change the way he and his monster fought for control of this body, but he said, “I will try.”
“Let’s start out by giving your tiger a name. Don’t you dare utter something mean like moron. Think of a name you’d like to have as a friend, then suggest it to your animal.”
He had no friends. How was he supposed to figure that out? Instead, he asked, “What do you call cougar?”
Scarlett’s lips curved. “Chica. I didn’t name her at first, but my cougar and I got along fine so I hadn’t thought on it much. I was working for a family of fox shifters who owned a restaurant when I was first out on my own. Any time it got busy in the restaurant, some of the workers would call me Chica, a generic name for a young girl, when they needed something. My animal rumbled happily every time they used that name so I gave it to her.”
Shifting her attention back to Gan, she added, “Your tiger will let you know when a name sticks. Just start trying some out. Like I said, choose a nice name.”
He wanted to keep Scarlett happy so he tried, but after a few minutes of struggling with this he ended up irritated. “Names I know not good.”
“Why?”
“I did not have friends. I lived in camps with jackal shifter guards, not friends. Those names make me angry.”
“Hmm. I see your point. What if I give you some suggestions?”
Shrugging, he said, “Is fine.”
“What about Tigger?”
“What is that?”
“A cartoon tiger.”
Gan asked his beast, who growled. No.
Gan shook his head.
“Are you originally from Russia?”
“No. Guardian say I am born in Ukraine. I live in different camps in other country. Cadells bring me here ... I don’t know how many months ago. Four maybe five. Is hard to tell time when prisoner.” He only shared simple facts.
Why did he smell sadness on Scarlett?
Gan stilled at that realization. Had he just figured out an emotion with his nose?
She smiled. “Okay. Let’s try regional names since your tiger was actually born there, too.”
He hadn’t considered that his tiger had been with him since birth, but
if his mother and father were tiger shifters that made sense.
“What about Anton?” she asked with a quick look at him.
Gan put it to his tiger, Do you want name Anton?
No.
Again, he shook his head at her.
She kept trying. “What about Boris?”
When he tried that one, Gan’s tiger said, Stupid name.
Gan told him, Do not be mean to Scarlett.
Then it dawned on him to just not repeat what his tiger said.
That went on for the next ten minutes without solving anything. His tiger did not like any suggestion. When Scarlett stopped offering them, he asked his tiger the one question that should make this easier. Do you want name?
No.
Gan may have failed to choose a name, but her idea had accomplished something that had not happened before now.
He and his tiger had spoken to each other in a normal way for a while.
No calling each other names or yelling threats.
He’d have to think on this some more. It would be foolish to believe he could really live near humans, but he’d like to not spend what time he had left alone.
Every day from childhood, he’d longed for a life with a family and friends. He’d had a few friends in spite of what he’d told Scarlett, but they had all died. All except the young girl he befriended in the last camp and claimed as a sister. She would have died if he had not forced her to run and escape.
The guards had beaten him for helping her escape.
He had not cared, because he wanted her safe. Besides, he also found his way out the next day.
The Guardian called his sister a Gallize female when she accepted Rory as her mate and power burst around them. She did not shift into an animal like her Gallize mate, but she had special powers, which had kept her safe when the Cadells hunted her down.
Gan would not find such a woman.
He cast a look in Scarlett’s direction. She would not be a Gallize. She was already a shifter.
Why waste his time thinking on these things?
Because Scarlett wanted to make him better.