Tiger's Strength

by Kimberly A Rogers

  “I don’t know. But, there are sympathizers.”

  Raina’s brow furrowed. “I still don’t understand what this has to do with us leaving.”

  I shook her hand off and strode to the wardrobe. “We don’t have time to discuss this. Start packing. We need to be quick in order to reach Allagash by nightfall.”

  “Baran, we promised to stay here through Thanksgiving,” Raina insisted as she stepped around me, keeping me from reaching the wardrobe easily. Her hazel eyes still more golden than not, she added, “Now I don’t know what just happened but if you didn’t get yourself in a fight with the Fringe, then I suspect another fight with your brother. However, that’s no reason to break our word to your mother.”

  “Venetia ceased to be my mother when she betrayed my father,” I snarled.

  Raina recoiled, staring at me in a mixture of confusion and wariness. I realized I was clenching my fists and forced my fingers to uncurl. Looking away from her, I took a steadying breath. I had shocked her. I could smell it breaking past her perfume. I might have even scared her a little. I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t truly want to know for sure. I didn’t want to be the man who scared his wife. I rubbed the back of my neck as I struggled for control.

  Being in this house was bringing everything back. Dragging it too close to the light. I hated it. All of it. There was nothing good here. I blew out a heavy breath and cleared my throat. My voice was still tinged with a growl when I said, “We will discuss it in the morning. That way we can leave early enough to cover a decent amount of ground. If you agree.”

  I didn’t look at her even as I skirted around her to open the wardrobe. I pulled out a fresh set of clothes. “I am going to shower before dinner.”

  When I turned around she was standing close to me. “Baran, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to . . .”

  Her voice trailed off as I moved around her. She reached toward me and I avoided her touch, stating gruffly, “I prefer to be alone.”

  The wafting scent of her hurt, and the memory of her lowered head chased after me as I retreated to the bathroom. The hot water banished the lingering smells of ‘nip and the ambrosia elixir, but not the reminder of how I had snapped at my mate causing her hurt. I had spent so much time this year attempting to better engage with Raina, to be the kind of husband she needed me to be, and I failed as soon as I returned to Venetia’s den. It seemed Madoc was not the only son of Venetia who acted the fool today.

  When I emerged from the bathroom, Raina was waiting for me. She was wearing a floor length grey silk and lace dress that complemented her fair skin and copper colored locks. The same dress she had worn when King Caderyn introduced us as pledged mates. She had the majority of her hair falling over her left shoulder and the silver ash leaf pinned in her hair sat low enough to still cover her right ear. I bit back the wave of irritation that crashed over me as I realized she was doing her best to minimize the appearance of her elven heritage. All to please a woman who would never accept her efforts.

  Raina didn’t say anything as she focused on adjusting the edges of her long sleeves. When she finally did glance at me, it was warier than I ever wanted to see from her again. I couldn’t explain now. I couldn’t even bring myself to try to find the words to tell her she was my strength. Or that I wouldn’t be able to face Venetia at all if she weren’t at my side. I wanted to, but the words wouldn’t untangle themselves enough that I could speak. Instead, I pulled Raina into a hug and breathed deeply of her cinnamon and vanilla perfume. Only then was I able to take my mate downstairs to face the waiting Tigers.

  For some reason, they were gathered in the front hall. Then the little cluster broke apart, and I saw a familiar face. I stopped in my tracks as the Tigress dressed all in silver to offset her pale blonde hair offered a smile. Celeste. She hurried toward me, ignoring the fact I was escorting Raina, as she purred. “Baran. It has been far too long.”

  I stared at her, unable to think of a single word to say. Why was Celeste here? Then, the Tigress dared to kiss me. I instinctively stepped back, and it took all my control to keep from swiping at my mouth. Instead, I glared at my mother. What was she thinking? What were either of them thinking? Raina—

  I abruptly realized my mate wasn’t at my side any longer. She was standing even with Celeste, staring at the Tigress, and then she turned her bewildered gaze on me. I could see the questions rising, but had no opportunity to do or say anything before Venetia joined us. She offered a polite smile as she gestured to Celeste. “Baran, I thought it would be good to have our dear family friend join us for the holiday. Escort her in to dinner. Madoc will escort the Leopardess.”

  Celeste wasted no time in coming to my side, placing her hand on my arm. She simpered up at me. “I’ve missed seeing you so very much, Baran. You must feel the same. Of course, you were always a man of few words.”

  I looked from her to Venetia. What had she been thinking? How could she resort to this sort of underhanded behavior? What was my wife thinking now?

  ΘΘΘΘΘΘ

  Raina

  The Leopardess suggested we claw the cloying expression off the interloper’s perfectly made up face. I was listening to her a little more than I should have been, but it was . . . difficult to completely ignore her prodding when I was watching a complete stranger paw at my husband. And, she kissed him! Why did these Therian women keep coming up to my Tiger and kissing him? And, they both said the same thing. ‘Oh, Baran. It’s been far too long.’

  Please. No one says that. I took half a step toward them, intent on getting my Tiger back, when a hand closed around my arm and Madoc chuckled in my ear. “No, you don’t. We mustn’t have a scene. We’re all civilized Cats here.”

  Okay, I was beginning to understand why Baran hit his brother. Venetia’s cold gaze never even flickered when she glanced at me as she and Roderick proceeded into the dining room. Then my granite faced husband somehow managed to make it by without me clawing at the fake platinum blonde who was leaning on him. No doubt using the excuse of her stilettos since that was how she made herself taller than me. Unfortunately, her over the top, glittering silver dress didn’t catch fire under my gaze. More’s the pity.

  Madoc chuckled again and murmured in a low tone, “I never would have thought of inviting Celeste. You must have truly repelled my mother.”

  Calm thoughts, Raina. Breaking Madoc’s nose wouldn’t help the situation. Pulling my arm free of his grasp, I narrowed my eyes at him. “Well, you certainly seem to be enjoying this evening’s change in players. A little too much perhaps?”

  Madoc smirked, which made him look remarkably close to Baran . . . if one ignored the hair product and the remarkably polished playboy look. There was a hint of the satisfied hunter in his scent that didn’t match the feigned innocence in his tone as he placed a hand on his chest. “What? Me enjoy seeing the great paragon of the Therian Way face the crisis of honoring his mother and also keeping the faith with his little mongrel bride? I would never dream of such a thing.”

  Creator help me, but I could almost like the Tiger for being so facetious. If only he wasn’t talking about my husband and this ridiculous situation. I knew better than to give him any more ammunition to aim at Baran by even showing a hint of amusement, however. I rolled my eyes as I scoffed, “You act like you know everything. So, prove it.”

  Madoc’s smirk grew into a grin and he stepped closer to me, lowering his head slightly. “Well, let’s see. The glorious Tigress Mother invited up here is Celeste, and she has been my big brother’s girlfriend for decades. Mother handpicked her to be the mighty general’s bride since she comes from a line of Tigers almost as old as his oh so ancient one.”

  There was a hint of bitterness in his scent when he said that, telling me for certain that Roderick’s family line wasn’t quite as old and prestigious as Baran’s . . . something Tigers cared about a great deal more than almost any other clan except for Lupines. Something that might have lingered from the ancient days when Tigers fought for pre
stige over Dragons. That bitterness vanished, however, as his tone turned taunting. “Her bloodline is also entirely free of even the faintest whiff of an Elven taint to the blood, which is one of Mother’s great concerns.” He paused and then added glibly, “Mother hates you. In case you hadn’t already figured that out. I believe she’s also praying for you to come to an untimely and rather unsightly end.”

  “Madoc,” came the clipped call.

  The Tiger’s eyes widened and just a frisson of shame entered his scent as he turned to face his father. “Dad, are we being missed?”

  Roderick frowned at his son. “You are, but first you will apologize to Raina for the insults you have offered. You are better than this.”

  A dull flush spread through Madoc’s clean shaven cheeks. He glanced over his shoulder at me and bowed his head. “I apologize. I forgot myself. Allow me to escort you in to dinner.”

  We followed Roderick in and somehow I still felt a twinge of anger and even a little hurt when I saw Celeste seated next to Baran. I knew that was going to happen, but seeing my place usurped by that two-bit Tigress didn’t make the Leopardess happy. And, I was having difficulty controlling her.

  I nearly jumped into another skin when Madoc suddenly whispered in my ear, “Now you look more like a proper Therian, golden eyes.”

  I stomped on his foot and returned my attention to the other side of the table, ignoring the way Madoc hissed. Big baby. The Tigress was practically leaning on Baran, her hand on his arm, and the scent of her attraction was already forming a cloud in the room. Baran, on the other hand, could have been cut out of marble for all the emotion he was showing. Lucky for him, because I would hate to have to kill him too. Watching them, though, I couldn’t believe there was any way they had actually been in a relationship beyond whatever was in Celeste’s head. Maybe popping her on the back of the head would send those fantasies tumbling out her ear . . .

  Madoc suddenly nudged me, and I realized Roderick was speaking to me. I forced a smile I didn’t feel. “My apologies, I was lost in thought.”

  The Tiger on my left snorted, but Roderick looked sympathetic. He didn’t say anything about my inattention or the reason for it as he asked, “Now, you said I could not ask your age. However, perhaps you may share your birthdate.”

  I almost smiled for real. “I was born on All Hallows Eve. And, yes, that means I was twenty-four when Baran and I married, and I am now twenty-six.”

  “Doesn’t being born on that day signify that you are a member of the Unseelie Court?”

  My smile vanished as I met Celeste’s gaze. The Tigress was still leaning against my Tiger, smirking at me as though she had not just offered an insult as offensive as claiming a Therian is Fringe without proof. Unseelie Court, a dark side to the Elves, the haven of old gods and those who pretended to be them . . . the birthplace of Vampyres. Elves who fell away from their Creator, from the light. In the ancient days, at least. These days, the two courts were more a division of labor and vernacular. Mentioning the courts at all was something the humans did as they dealt with the Fae beyond Auberon’s control. And, a fast way to insult Elves was to call back to the old wild days when the Unseelie Court was truly dark. Then, Venetia gave a light laugh. “It is very fitting for such a birthdate for someone like you. My understanding is you carry on the curse quite well with your wild and reckless days.”

  I shrugged a shoulder. It wasn’t first time I had been teased about my birthdate. Or informed I was a cursed hellion because of it. I forced myself to offer a smile as I replied gently, “Well, it does mean that my celebrations involve costume parties and lots of sweets. Very convenient and most entertaining.”

  “How . . . quaint,” Venetia murmured without even a hint of a smile. But, she smiled when she turned to Celeste. “Tell me, dear, how was Paris? And, your charity to aid Therian schools?”

  Celeste preened. “Paris is lovely. If a little louder than it was forty years ago. Baran, you recall the last time we visited the Old World. Wasn’t Paris grand?”

  “I remember it being crowded,” Baran grumbled.

  “Oh come now, you enjoyed visiting the Opera, and what was it you said about the River Seine at night? When we were standing on that bridge. You recall?”

  I stared at Baran. He hadn’t mentioned going to Paris or anywhere else in the Old World. My leopard stirred in response to my rising and decidedly unsettled feelings. My Tiger was apparently fascinated with his plate as he muttered, “You were standing. I was walking. I said you wouldn’t want to fall in it.”

  Celeste touched his arm again and purred, “Nonsense. You were quite eloquent that night. I—”

  She cut herself off with a gasp as my glass shattered in my grip. I stood before anyone could say anything. “Sorry. I can clean this up.”

  I grabbed the linen napkin out of my lap and dumped the bloodied pieces of glass into it, then hurried out of the dining room. I heard Celeste comment, “I do admire the way you are generous enough to invite the help to join you for a family dinner, but really the girl seems rather prone to accidents.”

  My steps slowed before I forced myself to keep moving. I wasn’t going to go back and throw something at her. No one, not even Baran, corrected her. Entering the kitchen, I hurled the broken glass into the trash with more force than necessary, and then wrapped the linen napkin around my cut hand.

  “Raina?”

  It was ridiculous how much I wanted to cry when I looked up to meet Roderick’s concerned gaze. He wasn’t the one I had wanted to follow me. He wasn’t the one who should have followed me in the first place. I sniffed. “Let me guess, they said he would be rude if he left now.”

  Roderick had the good grace to look somewhat embarrassed. He wasn’t immune to the Tigresses’ antics, but he apparently couldn’t stop them. “He is not in danger from Celeste.”

  “Does she know that?” I asked grimly. Then, I shook my head. “Never mind. I’ll handle whatever comes.”

  “Bandages, Dad.” Madoc handed his father the roll of bandages and then grinned at me. “You know it would have been more in keeping with our little soap opera if you had lunged across the table and wrestled her to the floor.”

  I rolled my eyes even as I held still for Roderick to wrap my hand. “I came up for Thanksgiving not to be caught in an episode of All My Tigers.” Madoc chuckled as I added drily, “Thank you for the creative criticism, though. I definitely needed some right now.”

  “Done.” Roderick paused and then asked, “Will you rejoin us?”

  “After I’ve cleared the table.” I needed time to calm down before I really did give in to the urge to smack that Tigress down to size. “Thank you for your help.”

  I was a little surprised when Roderick didn’t immediately leave. Instead, he murmured, “I believe you will do well if you press on. Though I am sorry the challenge has turned into such a debacle.”

  “I don’t intend to lose.”

  “No. Because you’ve already won Baran.” Roderick nodded to me and then glanced at Madoc. “Help her.”

  I waited only long enough for Roderick to leave before I headed for the dining room. I was torn between relief and annoyance when I saw the table vacated. But, I didn’t breathe a word of it to the Tiger beside me. We cleared the table in silence. Madoc even washed off all the dishes so I only had to dry, after he found me a large pair of rubber gloves to put on over my bandage. The cuts stung with every flex of my hand, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. It even matched how I was feeling about the entire ridiculous debacle.

  Tigers were so unreasonable and insolent and cruel and . . . I cut off that line of thought before I grew too angry. I just had to get through Thanksgiving. Venetia obviously preferred Celeste to me, but that didn’t really matter because I wasn’t letting my Tiger go. And, I wasn’t going to let either of the Tigresses drive me off. Not without a fight. I could still turn this around. I could still prove to Venetia that Baran and I worked despite our rocky beginnings and the fact she di
dn’t approve of peace marriages.

  “So, does the Leopard want a proper tour of the Tiger’s den?”

  It was remarkable how similar Madoc could be to my own brothers when it came to being an annoying burr stuck in my paw. I slanted a glance at him and wondered if I should flick him with the hand towel. “I don’t think that’s a very wise idea considering I’m already on thin ice with your mother, and you’ve made it clear that you’re enjoying my trials way too much.”

  “Oh, come on,” he cajoled as he casually leaned one arm on the counter. “Did my big brother offer you a tour or just keep you out of sight?”

  “You do realize that attempting to talk badly about Baran isn’t endearing you to me, yes?”

  The first genuine emotion he showed was his utter surprise as he blinked at me and demanded, “Why?” Before I could respond, he suddenly smirked. “You really are desperate aren’t you? Pretending your peace marriage isn’t a disaster and that you don’t despise each other. If he cared about anything beyond his precious edicts, he would have defied Mother and stayed by your side or at least been the one to help you with your hand.”

  He also had very good aim when it came to throwing darts. I peeled off the rubber gloves as I casually observed, “You must prefer getting punched by your brother.” Madoc gave a derisive snort but said nothing so I continued softly, “Baran’s not as bad as some of the stories make him out to be, you know.”

  I almost asked him why he was so harsh toward Baran but then again, Madoc was only in his early thirties and still enjoying his freedom as a young male Therian. Whereas Baran was more serious, okay, far more serious and he was even worse when I first met him soooo I couldn’t say I was completely surprised. But the rift between the two siblings was only emphasized when Madoc scoffed. “You can’t be serious. Do you actually believe that the paragon of the Therian Way has started to unbend to the point where every tiny infraction of even the most obscure edicts doesn’t bring down his wrath?”