ΘΘΘΘΘΘ
Chapter Four
Raina
I jerked upright, hissing, as something landed on my legs. I blinked as something else thumped on my legs. What in the world? I blinked against the ridiculously bright bedroom. Baran was standing at the foot of the bed, completely dressed in blue jeans and a dark blue long sleeved shirt that looked really good on him. Focus, Raina! I blinked at him and then looked at the clock. Sleepy admiration for my husband faded as the time registered. “It’s four in the morning! What is wrong with you?”
He managed to look stoic and innocent at the same time. Honestly, I was way too tired to even try to figure him out. I pulled the covers over my head and flopped back down with a groan.
“Start packing, Raina, or I will be the one to pick out your clothes.”
I reluctantly peeled the covers down just enough to peek at him. Was he actually thinking that I wanted to get up now? Not going to happen. I hissed at him. “Go ahead, crazy Tiger.”
I stole his pillow and put it over my head blocking out the annoying light. It was too early to deal with a weird Tiger and his nonsense. I went back to sleep, but all too soon Baran was shaking my foot. I growled and yanked my feet out of reach. Unfortunately, he didn’t take the hint. His pillow was tossed to the side and then his breath tickled my neck as he murmured, “You want to have Thanksgiving in the Tiger’s den, so you are going to have Thanksgiving in the Tiger’s den. Now get dressed. We need to leave soon if you wish to be in Maine in time to share dinner with my mother tomorrow.”
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I blinked at him. This wasn’t some weird dream . . . apparently. I needed a moment to process. “Hold on, we’re going?” I stared at him. “Are you my Baran or have you been replaced by a poorly designed clone because I thought you didn’t want to go.”
Baran just shrugged. “If it makes you happy, I will tolerate a holiday with my mother.”
He was serious! My jaw dropped, and then I took a deep breath. Oh, he was really serious. I had to get up. “I need to get dressed.”
I scrambled to toss the covers back and get out of bed, but stopped when I spotted the bags sitting by the door. There were too many bags for just the TDS. I looked from the bags to him and demanded, “Did you pack for both of us?”
“I warned you.”
ΘΘΘΘΘΘ
Baran
I set the bags at my feet as I watched my mate happily humming to herself while she pulled the tarp off her car. The bright red paint of the little sports car seemed to only draw glaring attention to its utter unsuitableness for winter travel. “We should take my truck.”
“Why? So a troll can dent this one with a giant boulder and send it to the same ignoble fate as its predecessor?”
That little mouse of a pest would bring up what happened to my last truck. “The troll was aiming for you,” I grumbled. Refusing to be distracted, I returned to my original point. “You do realize that we will be dealing with weather and the roads we will need to take to reach my mother’s den will not be very friendly toward your deathtrap of a car.”
Raina placed a hand on the hood of her car, her hazel eyes lit with amusement, as she shushed me. “Don’t say such things. You’ll hurt her feelings.”
My mate was insane. Resisting the urge to go back inside and forego the trip all together, I folded my arms over my chest. “Raina, I agreed to go to Maine for Thanksgiving. We’re already off to a late start, which means we will not get there until tomorrow.”
“Baran,” the cheeky little Leopard intoned with far too much feigned patience as she sauntered over to me. “Don’t be so pessimistic. It isn’t even noon. We will make excellent progress today and that means we will arrive with plenty of time to spare to meet your ama’s deadline.”
I grimaced. “Don’t call her that. It is . . . bothersome.”
Raina’s head came up sharply, her amusement fading as she gave me a searching look. But, she didn’t ask the question I was dreading. Instead, her smile returned as she reached up to tug on the lapels of my jacket. “So formal,” she mused before rising on her toes to press a kiss to my lips. The light returned to her eyes as she suddenly dimpled at me. “Now, when you were packing, did you remember to grab my good shoes?”
“Yes, the combat boots,” I deadpanned. I grunted when she smacked me in the ribs and then chuckled. “I packed everything we will need to survive this holiday.”
“You’re lucky I’m so very fond of you, Tigger.” She tugged on my jacket again as her grin returned. “And, you remember our agreement for holidays?”
“No work computers, I remember.” I wrapped my hands around hers to still the tugging. Bowing my head, I murmured, “Even though I don’t like it, I remember.”
“And?”
I huffed but still responded dutifully, “I only brought one burner cell for work purposes. In case of emergency.”
Raina grinned. “Good. Now was that so difficult?”
“You’re enjoying this far too much,” I grumbled. Heaving a sigh, I glanced away from my mate. That car. “Are you certain the bags will fit?”
“They’ll fit.” Raina tugged one last time on my jacket before she let go. “Now hurry up and put the bags in the car. There’s one thing I need to grab, and then we can get on the road.”
She ducked past me and hurried back into the house. I watched her go, and then reluctantly picked up the bags. Taking a Maserati to northern Maine in November was a ridiculous idea. Yet, I knew I was going to end up in that little can of a car no matter what argument I offered. I rounded the back of the car and shoved the trunk open. With careful placement, I managed to fit all the bags. It would have been easier to fit them into my truck, though. I walked around to the front of the car to fold the tarp back into some semblance of order only to stop when I caught sight of the license plate. “Raina!”
“It didn’t even take me two minutes,” came her muttered response as she returned to the garage, book in one hand and keys in the other. “You and your schedules need to learn how to relax, especially when we’re on holiday.”
“Raina,” I repeated tersely. When she finally finished locking the door and turned back to me with a question in her green tinged hazel eyes, I pointed at the tag. “Why does your car have a vanity plate that says ‘VAMPYR’? What were you thinking? And, when did you get this? “
Confusion gave way to amusement and then that little pest giggled. Instead of providing an explanation for the affront, she laughed. A wide smile bloomed and she dimpled at me. “Wow, TDS, that took you much longer to notice than I thought it would.”
“When did you put this on here? It was not there when you came to my outpost last month.”
Raina’s grin never wavered as she replied with far too much cheer, “I put it on the day you missed our dinner date.”
“I was in a critical meeting with the High General and you decided to spend that time putting a . . . a reckless, impudent, and foolish tag on your car.” The tiger in me stirred at the thought of what would happen if Raina were caught flaunting a reminder of Vampyres. It was a mercy of the Creator that we didn’t live in the Old World. Pretending to be a Vampyre there was a death sentence. But, there were many in the New World who would not look kindly on such a pretense either.
Raina took the folded tarp from me before I realized she had moved. She shoved it onto the wrong shelf and then took my hand. “Baran, relax. It is just a tag. This isn’t the Old World and, honestly, nine out of ten people are going to pass it off as a joke because there aren’t any Vampyre clutches in the New World.”
“It is not wise,” I grumbled. “You count too much on the reasonable reactions of others.”
She rose on her toes and pressed a kiss to my cheek, then breathed in my ear, “Relax, Tiger. Or I will make you put on the Tigger shirt.”
I growled at her, but she only laughed and fairly skipped to the driver’s side. I followed her and opened the door for her to get in. She beamed at me as I adm
itted defeat and shut the door with a sigh. After moving the tarp to the correct shelf, I glanced once more at the vanity plate. I could only pray that she wasn’t inviting more trouble with her insistence on batting at the collective nose of her surrounds.
ΘΘΘΘΘΘ
Baran
I tuned the radio to a news station in a vain attempt to distract myself from Raina’s driving. Remedial driving course, that is what she was getting for Christmas. Insane little Tracker. I leaned back in my seat as the familiar voice of a popular Therian news anchor filled the previous silence. “It can be agreed by all experts that Senator Cunningham’s shift in focus from simply attempting to repeal the Shadowed Lands Protection Act, which has done much to prevent not only humans from blundering past the Barrier but also provided additional protection to the Therian people, to this new registration bill is on the brink of causing a disaster such as we have not seen since fleeing the Purge in the Old World. However, I am not certain everyone outside of the experts understands the danger this bill poses should it pass. To that extent, I am pleased to have Doctor Eteri and General Atticus join me to discuss the repercussions of—”
I glanced at Raina in time to catch her annoyed expression. “What is it?”
She pursed her lips before shaking her head. “I’m not listening to talk radio. You know it drives me nuts and the fact that Eteri of all people is going to be the guest speaker sealed it.”
The tiger in me couldn’t help being pleased even as I strove to keep a neutral tone as I observed, “You still haven’t forgiven her for her behavior in February.”
Golden eyes glinted at me for a brief second before cutting to the road once more. A careful tone entered my mate’s voice as she murmured, “Have you forgiven Stafford?”
Not in the least. Even the thought of the Leopard who had attempted to steal my wife’s heart made me long for a chance to sink my claws into his spotted pelt.
Not trusting myself to answer out loud, I bowed my head in acquiescence. The scent of agitation mingled with Raina’s perfume for several long breaths before vanishing once more. Her eyes were still Therian gold when she glanced at me again. Fortunately, her cheerful nature reasserted itself as she rolled her eyes at me and a smile played across her lips. “It’s only been thirty minutes since we left the house. You could at least try to talk to me.”
“You said not to say anything,” I reminded her even as I braced a hand against the dash as she rounded a curve with far too much speed for my taste. A remedial driving course was definitely in my mate’s future.
Raina either didn’t notice or chose not to care about my reaction to her driving, the latter of which was far more likely. She glanced at me again, a hint of exasperation in her scent now. “I said you couldn’t grumble at me about the vanity plate anymore.”
“You said you would leave me on the side of the road if I talked anymore.”
“About the vanity plate!” She laughed suddenly and then her dimples appeared as she flashed me a grin. She took a hand off the wheel and shook a finger at me. “You know you knew that I was only talking about the vanity plate, Baran. And, we are not spending the better part of two days in silence just because you willfully misinterpreted my ‘stop talking about the vanity plate’ threat.”
When I chose not to respond, she shot me another look torn between amusement and exasperation. Then, she grinned. “Fine. Be that way. I’m going to win.”
“It is not a competition.”
“Is now,” my wife muttered as she redirected her attention to the radio.
She changed it from the news channel so swiftly that I barely made out a murmur that was probably Eteri before she was scanning through the various channels. I heard an annoying jingling for a half second before it struck another news station only for Raina to immediately return to the jingling. I suppressed a groan as Christmas music suddenly filled the little car. Why?
I leaned further back into my seat as Raina started singing along with the radio. Running a hand over my face, a sigh escaped me. Did she not realize it was still four days before Thanksgiving? Christmas music should not play before Thanksgiving was over and done. After two songs, I couldn’t bear it a moment longer. I turned off the radio in the middle of a ridiculous verse about dancing around a Christmas tree.
“Hey!” Raina smacked my hand. “Paws off the radio! I was enjoying that song.”
“It isn’t even December,” I grumbled.
“What does that have to do with anything?’ Raina asked with such genuine confusion that I could only shake my head. She didn’t wait for me to answer, though, as she added, “And, the rules are driver picks the music.”
“The last time we went anywhere you said it was the passenger.” I glanced at her, the urge to smile tugging at my lips, before I added drily, “I think it would be far more accurate to say that you believe Raina should always pick the music.”
She grinned. “That’s because Baran always wants to put it on a boring news channel.” She shook her head before continuing lightly, “In any case, I get to pick the music.”
“Or you’ll dump me on the side of the road?” I suggested with careful gravitas.
Raina laughed softly. “Thinking about it, TDS. But, then I’d probably get in trouble for littering.”
I finally laughed. Raina wiggled her shoulders and a heady wave of satisfaction mingled with her cinnamon and vanilla perfume. It always delighted my mate when my humor got the better of my dignity. Reaching over to rest my hand on her leg, I absently rubbed my thumb against her knee, content for the moment to enjoy how much our relationship had improved since we went hunting for the Beast of Bray Road in May. Until I saw her reach for the radio again. “No Christmas music.”
“Why?”
“I told you, it is November and we are not even past Thanksgiving. No Christmas music, Raina.” When she raised both eyebrows in silent query, I grumbled, “I don’t care for it.”
“Sacrilege!” came the aghast response. I kept hold of her knee in spite of it as the little Leopardess continued, “How can you not like Christmas music? It’s Christmas music. I mean you can hate a couple songs, everyone does if they’re honest, but not liking Christmas music at all?” She shook her head as she stared out the windshield. Drumming her fingers against the steering wheel, she suddenly pronounced, “I married a Scrooge!”
“I am not a Scrooge,” I retorted mildly. “And, will you please focus on the road?”
Raina only narrowed her eyes at me. “I bet you’ve actually gone around humbugging Christmas.”
“Eyes on the road and no, I have not.” I tightened my grip on her knee as I watched the curving road ahead. Creator willing, there would not be a traffic jam around the curve.
“You’ve never said the words ‘Bah humbug’ in your life?”
I sighed. She wouldn’t cease her batting and prodding until I gave her more of an answer. I should have insisted on driving. “Christmas is all well and good, but I don’t like the music.”
“Oh Baran, we’re going to have to fix your holiday spirit.”
I considered a moment. Raina trying to improve my holiday spirit would likely involve disruption, chaos, and a ridiculous amount of tinsel. I quickly shook my head. “No, I’m a lost cause. There’s nothing you can do.”
Raina was finally looking at the road again, but that did nothing to stop her plotting. Another smile curved her pink lips. One I recognized as particularly dangerous given it usually preceded the little pest’s more outrageous schemes. “Nonsense. I can’t give up on you, and I won’t.” Her smile grew as she wiggled in her seat. “Besides it will be fun. Ice skating, snowball fights, caroling, getting the tree, decorating, Christmas party with ugly Christmas sweaters.”
“You can’t think I would ever agree to ugly Christmas sweaters,” I protested. Had she suffered a concussion while in Florida?
“Of course, because I’m going to get you one. We need it for my parents’ Christmas party, anyway.” She glanced
at me, fresh laughter lurking in her eyes, as she added far too sweetly, “It’s a Kemp family tradition.”
“It is not a Demirci family tradition,” I grumbled.
She looked at me for a long moment before she reached down to pat my hand where it gripped her knee as she adopted a pitying tone. “Your cubhood was deprived.”
I rolled my eyes. “We didn’t have ugly Christmas sweaters when I was a cub. We had Sunday best, and we weren’t allowed to call it ugly.”
Raina just patted my hand once more. Then, my mate rather suspiciously allowed the matter to drop. I had no doubt she was plotting. I suppressed the urge to growl. Instead, I blew out a long breath and accepted the inevitable. This December was going to be difficult for me.
Despite her earlier protests, Raina allowed the silence to reign as we drew closer to D.C. and she focused on navigating traffic. Until we came upon a construction zone. Raina mumbled under her breath about the plagues of metropolises, but she didn’t return to the topic of Christmas or ugly sweaters. Instead, she suddenly demanded, “Tell me about your family.”
I would rather discuss ugly Christmas sweaters. However, maintaining my silence would only prompt her to pester me. I cleared my throat as I offered a slight shrug. “There isn’t much to tell.”
“You may not think so, but we’ve been married just over a year and I didn’t know your ama was even still alive until she called the house.” She glanced at me and a trickle of amusement entered her scent as well as her voice as she added, “I was beginning to wonder if the Tracker rumors that you sprang out of the ground after someone accidentally dropped a copy of the Way were true.”
I raised both eyebrows at her quivering lips. “Is that what they say?”
Quivering lips turned into a flash of white teeth as she giggled. “That’s just the most flattering one, TDS. So, about your family?”
Tiger's Strength Page 5