A Growl, a Roar, and a Purr

by K. C. Wells

  “I’m going to spend as much time as possible at his side,” Rael said quietly. “Hopefully that will keep him calm.”

  Roadkill sighed. “So we’re not expecting him to shift back anytime soon?”

  Horvan had no clue. “That’s why we’re sending you to pick up the doc as soon as we’re settled in the cabin. Hopefully he might have an idea.” He’d been thinking about the motor home. “We’ll need fishing rods, rifles, anything that makes it look like we’re just a group of guys going on vacation together.”

  Roadkill chuckled. “Then you’d better hope no one wants to take a peek inside. Because unless we cover him up, Dellan will have to do a great impression of a tiger-skin rug.”

  The doorbell rang, and Horvan went to answer it. Hashtag stood there in a pair of gray overalls, complete with name tag. He grinned. “Lord, I need a coffee.” He pushed inside past Horvan, who followed him into the apartment.

  “Where have you been?” Horvan demanded. “And why didn’t you tell us you were going someplace?”

  “Didn’t you get my text?” Hashtag scowled. “Stupid fucking phone. That’s it, into the trash it goes.”

  “When you’ve finished planning your phone’s demise,” Roadkill said, handing him a mug of coffee, “maybe you can tell us why you’re dressed like a janitor.” He peered at the name tag. “Well, I’ll be….” Roadkill laughed. “Have you been moonlighting as a cleaner?”

  “Hey, this was a great plan. No one looks twice at a cleaner. And I got to stick my nose in a lotta places.” Hashtag’s eyes glinted. “Plus I got hold of one of these.” He fished in his breast pocket and removed a plastic card. “That’ll get us into most places.” He shook his head. “These fuckers are so arrogant. It’s like they assume no one would even think of breaking in. I mean it. The security is lousy.”

  “What do you mean?” Rael asked.

  “You know that glass door you went through on the top floor? There’s a remote for it hanging on the wall at the end of the hallway.”

  “But someone might have seen you there,” Crank remarked.

  Hashtag snorted. “I was the only one around at that time, trust me. That’s why I went there early. I figured I’d be able to see what I wanted without fear of being disturbed.” He sank onto the couch and took a long drink from his mug. “Mind you, I had to actually clean shit, in case I got spotted by a camera.” He met Horvan’s gaze and rolled his eyes. “Honestly. Whoever does their security is begging to be taken out and shot.” His stomach growled, and Hashtag glared at Horvan. “What does a guy have to do to get fed around here? I just worked a shift. Feed me.”

  Horvan laughed. “You got it.” He went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and scanned its contents for something he could prepare quickly.

  Rael appeared at his side. “Why does Hashtag sound so disappointed?”

  “Because he thinks this setup is beneath his skills. The jobs we do? They’re usually a lot more… interesting.”

  Rael snorted. “So rescuing a 440-pound tiger doesn’t count as exciting?”

  “Meh.” Hashtag stood in the archway, waggling his hand. “Try getting someone out who has a hundred armed guards and being told you can’t kill anyone because it would spark an international incident. That job was fun.”

  Rael’s lips twitched. “I suppose that would depend on your definition of fun.”

  Horvan thrust a packet of cheese, another of ham, and a stick of butter at Hashtag. “There’s bread in the cabinet. Feed yourself.” He smiled broadly. “You could make sandwiches for all of us if you feel so inclined. It’s almost lunchtime, after all.”

  Hashtag’s scowl was response enough.

  Roadkill came into the kitchen. “After lunch, Crank and I will go shopping for groceries for the trip. That way, our stops can be as brief as possible. Besides, we don’t want Crank running out of munchies, right? He’s gotta have his chips.”

  “You forgot to mention your sodas,” Crank yelled from the living area. “Heaven forbid we run out of soda. You might have to drink water.”

  “And meat for Dellan,” Rael reminded them. “Don’t forget that. Enough to keep him going.”

  “Enough to keep a full-grown tiger going? And how much is that, exactly?” Crank asked.

  “Maybe as many barbecue joints as you can find, okay?” Rael’s gaze flickered to Horvan. “Assuming he’s eating properly.”

  Horvan said nothing. Instead he tried to project calmness, concentrating on sending it in a slow wave toward Rael, picturing it in his head. When Rael’s shoulders lost a little of their rigidity and he breathed easier, Horvan knew his first attempt had been successful.

  That felt really good. Rael regarded him warmly. Thank you for that. I didn’t even know we could do such a thing.

  Horvan smiled. Neither did I.

  HORVAN HAD no idea what had woken him, but his heart was pounding, and his upper body was covered in a light sweat. His chest was tight and his breathing constricted.

  “What is it?” Rael was awake mere seconds later, reaching for Horvan. “You’re agitated. What’s wrong?”

  “Fucked if I know.” Horvan didn’t think he’d been dreaming. At least he couldn’t recall any details, just a feeling of dread that pervaded his whole body.

  Rael switched on the lamp. “Is it Dellan?” His eyes were huge.

  Horvan frowned, doing his best to force calm into his mind and body. “I don’t see how. He doesn’t even know about me, does he?”

  Not yet.

  Rael threw off the covers and climbed out of bed.

  Where are you going? Horvan asked as Rael opened the door.

  To grab the laptop.

  Horvan saw little use in preventing him. He knew Rael would only relax once he’d seen Dellan for himself. Rael crept back into the room with the laptop and got into the bed next to him. He opened it up and logged in. After so many days of checking on Dellan, he clearly knew the log-in details by heart.

  Maybe I’m just wound up before the mission. Horvan got like that sometimes, especially when the stakes were high. So it was understandable in the circumstances.

  The stakes had never been higher.

  When he heard Rael’s sharp intake of breath, Horvan knew it had been more than before-mission nerves that had awoken him. “Show me.”

  Rael turned the laptop toward him, and Horvan groaned inwardly. There was a jaguar in Dellan’s cage, and the two predators were mating. The two guys from the earlier encounter were there, standing by the cage door. But what drew Horvan’s attention was the man standing beside the cage, watching the proceedings and smiling.

  It was not a nice smile.

  “Who is that?” Horvan asked quietly, except he had a sinking feeling he already knew.

  “That is Anson Prescott.” Rael sounded numb.

  Which opened up a whole new can of worms.

  “Does he know that’s Dellan? Because if he does, it looks like he’s in on whatever is going on.” Like there’d been much doubt in Horvan’s mind.

  “That bastard. I want to shift and tear that smile off his face.” Rael’s voice was grim.

  “I promise you, if I ever get my hands on him, I’ll do more than that.” Horvan’s tone was equally grim. Once they’d gotten Dellan out, Horvan was going to pay Anson Prescott a little visit.

  “I may not be able to read what you’re thinking right now,” Rael murmured, “but I sense how you’re feeling.” He shivered.

  On the screen, the men they’d seen previously opened the cage door, and the jaguar strolled out. Seconds later, a tall dark-haired woman stood in its place, showing none of the fear they’d witnessed from the female tiger shifter. Her hair was short, closely cropped. She was calm but clearly exhausted. However, even via the monitor’s grainy image, the loathing in the looks she directed at the men was all too obvious. She stepped into the one-piece garment they held out for her and zipped it up before they led her away.

  Anson remained by the cage, staring
at Dellan. Horvan could see his lips moving, and wondered what the hell he was saying. Finally, Anson walked away, and Dellan was left in peace, licking his fur.

  “Why bring him a jaguar?” Rael placed his hand on the screen as if caressing Dellan’s image.

  “Maybe they’re just keeping him sated.” This mission was raising too many questions, and Horvan hoped to God they could find the answers. If not, that was yet another reason for paying Anson a visit. By the time Horvan was finished with him, he’d be singing like a canary.

  Gently, he closed the laptop. “Well, that’s the last time they get to do that,” he said firmly. He placed it on the nightstand before lying down and holding his arm wide. “Now come here.”

  “Shouldn’t we tell the others?”

  Horvan shook his head. “Let them sleep. We can tell them in the morning.” Then he chuckled. “Later in the morning.”

  Rael nodded, then did as instructed, snuggling up to Horvan’s side, his head on Horvan’s shoulder, his right leg hooked over Horvan’s, Rael’s hand on his waist. His distress was obvious. Horvan concentrated once again on sending out pulses of calm, willing his mate to relax. Eventually, Rael’s breathing grew more even.

  “You sound so confident,” he murmured against Horvan’s chest.

  “That’s because I am. We’re going to do this. And you need to be confident too.” Horvan stretched out his arm to switch off the lamp, then covered Rael’s hand with his. “Sleep, sweetheart. We’re up in a few hours, remember? We need to be rested and alert.”

  “How can I sleep? I’m not tired.” Then Rael yawned, and Horvan had to smile.

  “Yeah, sounds like it.” Horvan made his breaths slow and even, knowing Rael’s would synchronize with his. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before they were in sync.

  He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him. He needed to rest.

  They had a mission to carry out, and despite his earlier words, none had ever been more important to Horvan or, he guessed, to his team.

  Chapter Thirteen

  EVEN FROM fifty feet away, the sight of the crowds gathered outside the Global Bio-Tech building as they approached sent Rael’s heartbeat racing. “There must be hundreds of people,” he said in an awed tone. Hashtag had done them proud.

  In his ear, Hashtag chuckled. “More like a thousand. Seven a.m. and I’ve brought the street to a standstill. Can I cook, or what?”

  Already the sidewalk in front of the building was filled to overflowing, with yet more people hurrying to join in. Banners had been placed against the glass frontage, stark white with the words Free the Tiger in bold red letters. There were even hastily made signs with Tony the Tiger’s picture, each with the words Tigers are Greeeat! Traffic had come to a halt as drivers stopped to watch the commotion. The noise level was incredible as the protesters shouted and booed, accompanied by frequent blasts from air horns responding to a guy with a megaphone who was doing a fantastic job of stirring up the crowd. When the car horns joined in, the volume climbed.

  “That’s Jase,” Horvan remarked. “He’s one of my team. And the tall guy with him is Finn.”

  “They’re about to crash the main door,” Hashtag told them. “Get through the crowd and move to the front.”

  Horvan led Roadkill and Rael to the edge of the burgeoning throng, and they began to weave their way through the mob, who were chanting, “Set it free! Set it free!” Rael’s heart was hammering, and adrenaline coursed through his body. Little by little, they inched toward the entrance, and as they reached it, the door gave way under the pressure of so many bodies. On the other side of the glass, Rael saw the two security guards on their walkie-talkies, obviously panicking.

  The crowd surged through the gap, spilling into the wide entrance hall, cheering and yelling. Rael was nearly carried away on the wave of bodies until a strong hand gripped him by the wrist. Horvan pulled Rael over to him.

  “Stay close. It’s easy to get lost in this pack.” He got out his phone and tapped the keys. Seconds later the volume exploded as the chanting reached fever pitch, and people began spraying the walls with red paint. A cacophony of air horns filled the hall, bouncing off the walls and echoing around.

  “What did you do?” Rael was impressed.

  “Told Jase to step it up a bit. Now, which elevator is it?”

  Rael led them to the last elevator on the right, pushing through the hordes. The security guards were nowhere in sight, swallowed up in the thronging mass of angry protesters.

  “Let’s hope they haven’t killed the elevators,” he said.

  The elevator doors slid open, and they dove inside, shutting out the noise.

  Roadkill chuckled. “Nice one, Hashtag.”

  “Hey, at least someone here was thinking. They tried to shut them down, but we couldn’t have that, could we? We’re standing by, H. Good luck, guys. As fast as you can, okay? The police will be on their way by now.”

  Rael’s heart was pounding as they sped to the top floor, and his hands were clammy. The doors slid open and there was the glass wall of the office. Roadkill scanned the hallway and grabbed the remote.

  “Just like he said. Fucking arrogant. They deserve to be broken into.” He aimed it at the wall, and the panel slid open.

  Rael raced along the hallway to the next door. “This opens with a card.”

  Roadkill fished out the key card Hashtag had procured and slid it through. He scowled. “Fuck. It doesn’t open this one. Okay, gimme a sec.” He knelt in front of it, pulled a screwdriver from his bag, and began removing the panel.

  “The video loop is in play?” Horvan asked Hashtag.

  “Affirmative. And I’ve taken out the camera that would have picked up you guys. Roadkill, you got this?”

  “I got it.” Roadkill threw the panel aside and connected a device to it. “Any… second… now!” Four beeps sounded, and the door opened. “Bingo.”

  Rael was through it in a heartbeat, Horvan and Roadkill close behind. He ran over to the cage, where Dellan lay on his branch, apparently asleep.

  “Whoa. He’s even more impressive in the flesh.”

  Rael barely heard Roadkill’s comment. He knelt by the cage and tapped on it gently. Dellan jerked his head up, instantly awake, and got down from his branch. He strolled over to Rael, his eyes focused on Rael’s face.

  Dellan. Can you hear me?

  Dellan gave no indication, and inside Rael’s head there was silence. “I was afraid of this.” Rael murmured. He got up and went to the cage door.

  “What are you doing?” Horvan demanded.

  Rael paused, his fingers curled around the handle as he slid back the catch, swallowing hard. “Acting on faith.” He was dimly aware of Roadkill removing the tranquilizer gun from the capacious bag at his feet before moving in his direction. Ignoring him, Rael opened the cage and stepped inside, his heart beating like a drum.

  Dellan’s menacing roar sent ice down his back, but he didn’t falter, walking slowly toward Dellan, head bowed, peering at the tiger from under his mop of hair. When he was almost within touching distance, he knelt down, his heart pounding like it was about to burst.

  Dellan stilled, and Rael held his breath. Seconds later, Dellan pounced, knocking Rael to the floor on his back. Dellan landed on top of him, and Rael felt the tiger’s hot breath on his face. Those teeth were sharp.

  “Fuck, get out of there!” Horvan yelled, his hands on the glass.

  Dellan. Dellan. It’s Rael. Your mate. Remember? Rael kept repeating the words over and over inside his mind, willing Dellan to hear him. He could feel Horvan’s fear and knew Roadkill had to be mere seconds away from shooting Dellan.

  Suddenly Dellan licked Rael’s face, and Rael laughed. “Good God, it’s far worse than a house kitty’s tongue.” Relief flooded through him as Dellan nuzzled Rael’s neck and chest. When one word filled Rael’s mind, he burst into tears of sheer joy and utter relief.

  Mate.

  Rael reached up and stroked the thick
fur around Dellan’s neck. That’s right. I’m your mate. The tears kept coming, but he didn’t give a fuck. Horvan’s relief was equally acute.

  Dellan settled, half on top of him, licking any skin he could find. Rael twisted his head and sought Horvan. “Get in here before I drown in tiger drool.” When Horvan didn’t move, Rael glared. “We don’t have time for hesitation. Get your butt in here.”

  Horvan entered the cage, and Dellan lifted his head from Rael’s chest and growled, his body stiffening.

  “Kneel down here. Talk to him like you talk to me through the link.” Rael ignored the weight bearing down on him and concentrated on sending waves of calm over the three of them. He stroked Dellan’s neck, hoping it soothed him.

  Horvan knelt beside them. Dellan? Do you know who I am?

  Dellan got to his feet, his snout inches from Horvan’s face, and Rael didn’t dare draw a breath. Dellan sniffed the air, then tilted his head to one side.

  Mate? Then he flopped onto his back before Horvan, paws in the air.

  Tears trickled down Horvan’s cheeks, and he ran his fingers over Dellan’s furry belly. That’s right, baby. I’m your mate.

  Rael was half laughing, half crying. “Well, I guess we know who’s boss in this relationship.”

  Horvan wiped his eyes and chuckled. “Like there was ever any doubt.”

  Rael drew closer and looked into the tiger’s eyes. Dellan? We’re getting you out of here.

  Dellan rolled over and stood. Out. Out now.

  “Are we good?” Roadkill asked anxiously. “Because if so, we gotta hustle, guys.”

  Rael stroked Dellan’s head and pointed to Roadkill. This is a friend, okay? Not food. He’s going to help you. Can you follow us out of here?