A Tiger's Claim (2 page)

He clamped his hand over Cam’s, stilling her endless snap-unsnap of the holster. “Stop or I’ll give you something to fondle.”

She leaned into him, pressing her lips to his ear. “You promise?” she purred. He was nanoseconds away from dragging her into the forest to give her exactly what she taunted him with. Fast and hard, exactly what they both needed right now.

The clearing of a throat made him raise an eyebrow at the newest resident of Ashwood Falls, a human named Nevan Mathews, Danica’s mate and the head shrink in town. “You have problems, empathy?”

Nevan’s mouth twitched. “Nope. Just want to get back to my own mate.”

Blaine laughed then frowned as uneasiness settled in his blood. Cam stiffened beside him and he asked, “You feel that?”

Cam nodded. “Something’s not right.”

He connected telepathically with his brother, who was in town setting up surveillance cameras with Dane—one of the wolf enforcers. “
Have you heard from Shay? Is she back from her run
?”

“
No, I haven’t seen her
.”

Fuck.
He knew he should have placed someone on her trail and never let her go out alone. But, damn it, she was twenty-five years old, an adult and fully capable of taking care of herself.

“
Blaine, she’ll show when she cools down
.”

Alec was right. Shayna had to learn to be on her own, even though their father didn’t see it that way. “
I know. How are the security cameras coming
?”

Alec laughed. “
Great. We just caught the Russell twins sneaking around Nevan and Dani’s new place.
”

“
Those two are always in trouble. Go see what they’re up to
.”

“
We’re on it
.”

Blaine dropped the link with Alec and peered at Nevan. “The twins are sneaking around your new home.” As a mating gift, Keegan was having a house built in town for the happy couple.

Nevan shook his head. “Last week they put mud in the drain pipes.”

“When do you two move in?” Cameron asked.

Blaine slid his gaze toward her at the hint of joy in her statement. Despite her dominance and ability to kick ass along with the rest of the enforcers, she loved her family and friends. And she also loved to drive him to the brink of insanity and need. What frustrated him the most was the fact that she wouldn’t complete the mating. They were mates. There was no denying it, yet she was still waiting for something. Blaine didn’t push because he, too, felt as though something was off, or missing, in their lives.

Nevan checked his watch. Blaine wasn’t sure if it was out of habit or he was meeting Dani somewhere. “In about two days. Construction is finished. Dani wants to paint the inside herself.”

Blaine cast a glance around the forest then back at the barbwire fence. “We’ll have to find a witch or two to strengthen the wards.” He fisted his hands at his sides then turned toward his truck.

He heard Nevan following him. Blaine allowed a smile to spread across his face. The human didn’t like being teleported, so Blaine had offered to drive. Stopping at the driver’s side door, he peered over at Cameron. “Call Dane to help with that.”

She waved her hand at him in a dismissing manner and ripped the fence out of the ground then proceeded to roll it up. Blaine shook his head.
Damn stubborn jaguar
.

Before climbing into his truck, he tensed. A female scream cut into his thoughts, and a cold sensation went up his spine the same time as a sharp pain stabbed his temple. Staggering back several feet, he swung around to find himself nose-to-nose with Cameron.

Dead fear shown in her dark gaze. “Shay. Something’s happened…”

His heart pounded fiercely behind his ribcage as he reached for Cam and tried to think.

“Blaine, man? What is it?” It didn’t surprise Blaine that Nevan could sense something was wrong. He was an empath after all.

Blaine tossed his keys to him. “Go tell Keegan that Cam and I are searching for Shay and to send backup.”

Cameron was the first to shift. Her clothes dissolved as a soft flash of white light completed the transition from woman to black jaguar. Blaine shifted into his leopard and ran beside her through the forest at supernatural speeds, following their instincts and the faint connection to his adopted sister. 

He prayed like hell he found her alive.

Chapter 2

Travis Hunter’s blood froze in his veins at the piercing female scream that echoed through the forest. He was moving just as the sharp scent of blood tinted the crisp mountain air mixed with the rancid smell of the rogue mutants. His night vision, along with the silver glow of the full moon, allowed him to maneuver around the trees with ease. Just before reaching the rogues, he took one last leap and shifted in mid-air, his clothes dissolving in a flash, then replaced by brown fur. He landed on a human-like rogue and locked his teeth onto the male’s throat. With a jerk, Travis snapped his spinal cord at the base of his neck. Dropping the limp body, he turned in time to take the full force of a mutant as he attacked. They rolled in a tangle of limbs until slamming against a large rock.

Travis bit back the pain that rocked through his body. Fury built inside him and called the internal flame he kept contained since the night his burned his den down. Heat grew in his cells, consumed him fully until he glowed in a reddish-orange hue.

The mutant’s eyes grew round in fear with the knowledge that Travis held the power to call fire at will. Or, in this case, out of pure rage. Travis snapped his teeth and growled at the half-wolf, half-man, then slammed his paw into the creature’s chest and shoved the heat into the mutant. The fire consumed him in a flash of orange and blue flames.

Travis whirled away from the screams of the burning male and froze. Several feet away another male, this one in human form, crouched over the still body of a female.  A low growl escaped from his throat as he charged. Travis barreled into the large male. He tackled him to the ground and bit down on the male’s neck, hard enough to break through the skin and bone.

After throwing the dead male aside, Travis shifted back to his human form and went to the female. Crouching down beside her, he pressed two fingers to her throat. Relief washed some of the rage away when a weak pulse fluttered under his fingers. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her home.

It took ten minutes too long to reach his small one-bedroom cabin. Once inside, he carried her straight to the bedroom, flung the comforter back, and laid the female on his bed. As soon as her leg touched the mattress, she groaned in pain. Frowning, he walked to his dresser, grabbed a pair of joggers, and put them on.

He went back to the bed and sat down next to her, jarring her hip. Another painful groan made him pause. He lifted her sweater to undo her jeans so he could look at the wound. When he touched the button, she flung opened her eyes, screamed, and swung her arms wildly.

Damn it
.

He fought with her for a few seconds before he got hold of her arms and pinned them to the bed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Her eyes held a wild fear he hoped never to see in a female again. The claw marks etched into both her cheeks fueled his fury more. He breathed in then out slowly.

Calm down before you scare her more than she already is
.

“My name is Travis Hunter. You’re safe.”

She blinked then looked around the room. “Where…am I?”

He growled low in his throat. The tremor in her voice cut through him. “My home.”

She tried to break from his hold, and he tightened his grip. “You’re safe. I killed the rogues.”

The woman stilled and searched his face, the wildness still heavy in her blue eyes. “You’re a wolf.”

He smiled and nodded. “And you’re a tiger.”

“A white tiger.”

To match her white-blond hair. “And a beautiful one.”

She offered a weak smile, but her scent still held fear and anxiety. He loosened his grip on her arms and sat on the bed beside her. She tried to move away, but cried out and he instantly stood to hover over her. “What is it?”

“My hip…”

He laid his hand on her thigh. “I’m going to have to touch it to see how bad it is.”

“Are you a Healer?” The hope in her voice almost too much to bear.

He shook his head. “No, but I know what to look for.”

On her reluctant nod, he touched the top of her leg where it met her hip and felt his way around to her ass. When she sucked in a gasp, he cursed. It was dislocated.
Fuckin’ rogues
. Locking gazes with her again, he said, “I’m going to have to pop it back in place.” He moved off the bed then looked down at her. “I’ll be right back.”

When she nodded, he quickly walked down the hall to the bathroom. Opening the linen closet, he grabbed a couple of washcloths and the first aid kit. He moved to the sink, pulled out a small basin from underneath, and filled it with warm water. Stopping to regain some of the little humanity he had left, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He had a cut below his right eye, and blood discolored the ends of the light brown curls that lay on his forehead. No wonder she was scared of him. He looked like a rabid dog.

With a heavy sigh, he returned to the bedroom, sat on the edge of the bed, and rolled up one of the washcloths.

He handed her the rolled piece of terrycloth. Her forehead creased as she frowned at it. He sighed, placed it in her hand, and crawled farther on the bed to kneel between her thighs. “Put it in your mouth. On the count of three, I’ll pop your hip back in place.”

He took her thigh into his hands. She placed her hands on his forearms. “Wait.”

He waited as she placed the washcloth in her mouth, picked up a pillow to clutch to her chest, and buried her face into it. “Ready?”

She nodded into the pillow. With a quick jerk, he popped her hip back into place. His heart skipped a beat when she screamed into the pillow. He rubbed her outer thigh up to her hip to message the tension out of her muscles.

She lifted her head and removed the washcloth from between her teeth. Her blue gaze shone with moisture, her chest heaving in ragged, painful breaths. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome.” Travis gave her a gentle smile and moved to sit next to her. He dunked the clean washcloth in the basin. After ringing the excess water from the cloth, he raised it to her face and cleaned the scratches. With each touch, she flinched, but she said nothing.

The female was captivating and exotic. She might be a tiger-shifter, but there was something else in her blood. He’d scented it when he first arrived at the scene in the forest. His wolf shifted uneasily under his skin. The animal part of him wanted to bite, to see if she tasted as good as she smelled.

Shaking free of the thoughts that he shouldn’t be having, he focused back on the situation. Meeting her blue glaze, he frowned and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Shayna. Everyone calls me Shay.”

He repeated the name softly and liked how it rolled off his tongue. “Why were you out alone and on my property?”

He raised his hand to clean her wounds, and she gripped his wrist. “Your property?”

“Yes. Hunter’s Ridge, just north of the Tennessee border.”

She shook her head. “Not possible. I was hunting and lost track of time…” She looked around the room for something then back at him. “What time is it?”

“Almost nine-thirty.” He searched her face, wondering what was going through her mind. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head again. “I left home after dinner and ran for about an hour. I don’t understand how I got so far north.”

“Were you in tiger form?”

“Yes, but it’s not like me to lose the sense of where I am.”

He set the basin and the washcloth on the nightstand. “It’s easy to get distracted during a run.”

“You don’t understand. I spent my whole life training and focusing on my surroundings so I wouldn’t end up somewhere I’m not supposed to be.” Her eyes widen and she peered nervously around the room again. The metallic scent of fear rolled off her.

Travis fought the urge to touch her. “Were you angry? Running from someone? Upset?”

She stared at him for a moment then dropped her gaze. “I argued with my father.”

Not wanting to pry into her business, he stood and went over to his walk-in closet and pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of sweats. He walked back to the bed and held out his empty hand toward her. “Would you like to take a shower?”

Her face brightened, making him smile. “Oh, yes.”

“Come on then.”

“No.”

Of all the times to be stubborn. “No?”

“Not with you.”

The scent of panic rose from her and he offered her a gentle smile and said, “I only meant to help you, not bathe you.”

Her cheek flushed, and she bit her lower lip. “Oh.”

Lifting her chin, she gestured for him to go first. He grunted and took her arm when she tried to stand. She protested, knocking herself off balance. When she straightened, she sucked in a sharp breath. Travis gripped her elbow and pulled her into him, trying like hell to ignore the electric flow of energy that nipped at his skin. She felt too right tucked into his side.

“Lean on me until your hip can carry your weight.”

She didn’t look at him, just nodded, but he could smell her irritation. He wasn’t sure if it was because of him or herself. Maybe a little of both.

She straightened again, leaning into him to balance on both legs. Breathing in and out slowly, she stood for several moments before speaking. “Okay, I’m ready.”

He led her down the hall to the bathroom. He stopped, handed her a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, and stepped aside to allow her to go in on her own. She limped in and shut the door before he had the chance to go in behind her. He chuckled and spoke loud enough that his voice would carry through the wood. “Fresh towels are in the linen closet, and toiletries are in the right-hand drawer.”

He waited a few seconds before hearing a soft, “Thank you,” and turned toward the living room.