A Tiger's Claim (12 page)

The poison. Or, was it the mutant virus? But, how was that possible?

Damn it!

Fear threatened to turn on the flames again. He would not watch his little girl turn into a half-shifted monster unable to control her bloodlust.

“She’s going to shift.” Travis picked Josie up and turned to Shay. “Where’s the medical center?”

Shay looked confused, but to his relief, she didn’t argue. “This way.” She led him a few feet to the building next to the Alphas’ offices.

By the time they walked through the door of the medical center, Sasha was there, taking Josie from him. He let the Healer take over, knowing all too well that arguing with her would be wasted time and breath. Not even the Alpha argued with the Healer.

He followed the petite blond to a large room in the back of the center. He felt Shay at his side, as well as his mother, Blaine, and two others he didn’t recognize, nor did he care at the moment.

“Why is her wolf awake? She’s too young. She has about six more years…”

Shay’s cool fingers twined with his, halting his rambling. Her touch soothed him enough to take a deep breath and think. Or, at least try to. His mind whirled with scenarios. The one that kept coming up was that Josie had been infected with the mutant serum.

How?

Josie whimpered, and Travis rushed forward to take her hand in his. “Daddy’s here.”

Sasha dragged an EKG machine over while Dani brought over a plastic box with needles and tubes. Dani straightened Josie’s arm and slid the needle into her vein with quick ease.

“Nevan,” Dani called when Josie started to thrash.

Helplessness blanketed Travis and threatened to suffocate him. He couldn’t lose Josie, not like this. Not like he’d lost Mara.

The human he met at the fencing site the day before came into view. He looked from Travis to Josie as though he was unsure about something but moved to stand behind Josie’s head. Lifting his hands, Nevan ran his fingers through Josie’s hair then massaged her scalp until she calmed.

“What?” Travis looked at the human for several moments. Nevan offered a weak smile, then Travis remembered Blaine had said the human was empathic.

Travis dropped his shoulders. Most Packs had an Empath to aid the Alpha in balancing emotions and gauging any issues that might arise within the Pack. However, he had never met a human empath with Nevan’s strength. “Thanks.”

Dani took the vial of blood to a table in the corner as a large male dressed in black slacks and a white dress shirt came into the room. Travis’s wolf pealed back his teeth and paced under his skin. There was something about the way the male moved that put his wolf on alert.

The male came to a stop next to Nevan but didn’t look at anyone except Josie. Travis growled and moved to push the male away from his daughter, but Shay tightened her grip on his hand in a slight command to stay put.

“Jared?” Nevan asked with a raised brow.

“The child is infected.”

“Impossible.” Travis stood in disbelief, his heart hammering, and his wolf let out a whine in his head. “I kept her and my mother in a safe house no one knew about.”

Even as the words left his mouth, he knew it was bullshit. Nothing or no one was ever safe. The rogues were like roaches, harder than hell to kill and they showed up everywhere. Taking a deep breath, he asked, “How is it possible if she wasn’t bitten?”

Jared shrugged and moved to sit on a small sofa against the wall. “It may have been in something she ate or drank. Since neither you nor your mother is affected, I would guess it was something only she likes.”

His mom gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth. “Her strawberries.” When everyone fell silent and stared at her, she continued. “I’m allergic to strawberries. I have to wear gloves when preparing them for her. Oh, God.”

Travis wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him.

Dani came back to the bed. “Her cells are changing, but at a steady rate. I got in touch with a geneticist through the Network. Do I have your permission to send him my notes and the sample?”

Travis nodded. “Yes, whatever it takes.”

Sasha spoke next. “It may not have been the strawberries. It could have been anything she ate or drank. The serum could have not been strong enough to affect you too.”

Travis gave a short nod and reached out to stroke his daughter’s hair. She was now sleeping, and he knew that Nevan had helped. Travis was grateful. Keeping Josie calm would hopefully buy them some time. “How long do you think she has before she turns?”

Sasha drew her brows together and frowned. “Not sure. Twenty-four hours, maybe less.”

Chapter 13

Ten minutes later Travis paced Keegan’s office. His fear had heated into anger toward the bastards who’d infected his daughter. He wanted to tear every one of them apart with his bare hands.

Yet, he still didn’t know how it could have happened.

“So tell me again how Shay can help my daughter.” Travis’s mind was a whirlwind of thought and emotion.

It was Cameron who spoke. “My brother was implying that Shay is naturally immune to the serum. She carries the brand of the Onyx, because she was born in the Pack. We already know this, but it also means she has their blood. The Onyx would make sure they’re immune to their own pathogen if needed…”

Travis stared at her, unbelieving and unsure. Jared moved slightly so his shoulder touched his sister’s.

Looking away at the subtle display of affection between siblings, Travis swallowed his sadness and fear for Josie. Footsteps, followed by the opening of the door, drew his attention. Relief poured over him at the sight of Josie, awake and smiling in Shay’s arms.

Shay stopped in front of him and lowered his daughter to his lap. Josie smiled brightly at him. Her green eyes still held the light of her awakened wolf. “Daddy, guess what. I’m going to shift into a wolf like you. I wonder if I’ll be brown like you. Nana says mommy was a black wolf.”

He drew her to his chest and laughed softly at her rapid speech filled with excitement. He peered up into Shay’s watchful gaze. She sighed and twirled a stray curl of Josie’s hair. “Sven, the geneticist, confirmed she’s infected with the mutant virus.” She paused, and he waited, knowing what she was about to say.

He took her hand and brought it to his lips to place a kiss on her knuckles. “I know. Do you think your blood will help her?” Hope bloomed inside him, but he couldn’t let it grow. Not yet.

“It will if mixed with mine.”

Travis turned his gaze toward the sound of Luna’s voice. The Alpha went straight to Keegan, and they spoke quietly for a few moments. By the lines in Keegan’s face, Travis could tell the leopard Alpha was not pleased. But, he nodded and touched Luna on the cheek. Her shoulders tensed for a brief moment before she reached out to touch Keegan’s cheek lightly with her fingertips.

It was an odd form of affection between shifters, but then again Travis had never known of two Packs merging and still keeping both Alphas. He’d definitely never heard of a wolf and leopard Pack merging.

Shay sat next him and whispered, “Like me, Luna has a natural shield against Keegan’s telepathy. Only through touch can they mind link.”

Travis frowned. “Isn’t that an inconvenience?”

Shay shook her head. “The Alphas aren’t allowed in the field at the same time. Both Marshals make sure of it. Besides, Luna doesn’t have a problem with letting people know what’s on her mind. I don’t think she likes to mind link. She always seems uneasy with it.”

He focused his attention back on Luna, who was now sitting in a large armchair that nearly swallowed the small female. She met his stare and grinned, apparently reading his expression. “I may be small, but small packages can make big booms.”

The tension in the room lifted as she laughed at her own joke. “And no, I can’t read your mind. Your expression told me what you were thinking.” Her smile faded as her tone grew direr. “Your daughter is very sick. Sven analyzed the blood sample and said the gene is progressing at a slow rate, based on what he can tell from the data Danica sent him. However, we do need to move quickly. Shayna came to us as a baby. She was barely two years old. I’m sure you’ve seen her mark. She is immune to the virus, and Dani tested her blood against a small sample of Josie’s. Shay’s blood holds an antidote, but a weak one.”

Travis’s heart beat furiously in his chest. “So Josie can be cured?”

Shay placed a hand on his arm. “In order to make sure the antidote works, Luna will need to force the change.”

His heart stopped for a beat of time. “She’s too small, too young.”

Luna sat up in the chair and sighed. “There is always a risk with the first change. But, I fear this is her only chance. If the virus takes her, I will be forced to kill her.”

Travis snapped his gaze at her. Anger ignited his internal fire, making his hands grow warm. He needed an outlet soon. His frequent hunts for rogues offered that release of power so the fire within him didn’t consume him along with the anger. Hayden—Luna’s eldest son, who’d already been in the office when Travis got there—moved forward but stopped when his mother held her hand up. “You of all people know what a newborn mutant is like. Did you not burn your den down to keep the virus from spreading?”

A gasped from Shay cooled his flames a little. Memories of that night filtered into his mind. He’d surrounded the entire den in a circle, and called the fire and spread it out to consume everything inside the circle. The only way it worked was that he remained inside to control the burn. It had always amazed him that the fire never touched his own skin.

Coming back to the present, he looked into Josie’s face. “Do you understand what will happen?”

She looked at Shay then her grandma. “Yes. Nana explained. I have to get a shot, and then we go to the circle. Luna calls magick and gives me her blood to drink.” Her nose crinkled in disgust. “I’m not going to like that, but Luna says it will only be a little bit. Then I’ll turn into a wolf.”

Travis closed his eyes and squeezed her tighter to him. “The first shift will hurt.” There was no use lying to her.

She nodded into his chest. “I’m a big girl, and I’m strong. Luna said so.”

***

It was an hour before sunset, and Travis had never felt so helplessly on edge in his life as he stood in his bedroom. He was about to participate in a ritual that would force the change in his daughter. He’d only witnessed one forced shift in his life.

The kid had been seventeen and past the age in when the shift should have occurred. Travis’s father was Alpha at the time and agreed to the ritual after the boy came to him pleading. Travis didn’t understand at the time, but the boy would have never shifted without the Alpha’s intervention.

Now he got to watch his daughter shift into a wolf at the age of four, about six years too early. God, what was he doing? The first shift was violent. There was a seven-to-three survival rate. The rate was lower the younger they were.

But, the virus would kill her humanity and force her to kill everyone in her path. He would have to stop her because he wouldn’t allow Luna the horror of killing a child.

Josie was his child and his responsibility.

The thought sent a wave of fear through him, a wave so hot the fire within him threatened to consume him and his wolf. He wished he could take the pain from his baby when she shifted in a few minutes.

The sweet scent of pumpkin spice wrapped around him. He took a deep breath before he turned around to face his very brave preschooler. Her long brown curls hung loose, and she carried her Hello Kitty doll in the crook of her elbow.

He knelt down to her level. “How do you feel?”

She gave a little shrug as she traced her finger over the bow on Hello Kitty’s ear. “My belly feels yucky.”

He tugged her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “I know, baby.” He pulled back and framed her face in his hands. “I wish I could take the hurt away.”

She touched his face with her tiny fingers. “It’ll be okay, Daddy. Don’t be scared.”

He drew her to him again, but this time he stood, picking her up. His little warrior, so brave and strong.

His mother and Shay waited by the door when he entered the living room.  When he stopped next to them, his mom kissed Josie on the nose and rose on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Luna is very powerful.”

He nodded and hugged her. “I know, Mom.”

Shay stood silently, her nervousness flowing off her in waves. “Come here,” he commanded in a hushed tone. She walked in between Josie and his mother, laying her head on his chest and wrapping one arm around Robyn and one around Josie. The three of them stood, locked in an embrace for several moments before Shay pulled away, wiped her cheeks, and opened the door.

They walked to the Pack circle in silence, none of them knowing what to say. What could they say?

The circle, formed from stone and large tree trunks, sat in a clearing several yards from the center of the den. Magick hummed in the air, making Travis feel as though tiny needles pricked at his skin.

He breathed in deeply and smiled.

This was the heart of the Pack, the power that fused everyone together, and the sacred strength of their spirituality.

God, he longed for the connection to his Pack. But, they were gone.

All because he’d failed.

Pushing away the dark thoughts of a past that couldn’t be undone, he scanned the area. Everyone from the den was there, some in their animal form, some in human form. Travis hadn’t realized how big the Packs were together until now. They were spread out around the clearing and in the tree line. Looking up into the trees, he spotted several leopards lying on the thick branches.

He did notice that the children were grouped together in a section close to the circle with a couple of den mothers and Cameron, dressed in her usual all black.

Shay touched his arm, drawing his attention to her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” He kissed Josie’s temple and set her down on her feet. “What about you, Jos?”

His daughter looked at him wide-eyed. “It feels weird here.”