Healing the Clan: Alaskan Tigers: Book Ten

T
his is a work of fiction
. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to actual person—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Sunshine Press. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

D
avid is left
to pick up the pieces of the Connecticut Tigers and protect what remains of the clan as their many enemies descend upon them. Now that he is Alpha, most of the clan is looking to him for answers. At the same time, others want him to seek revenge on the one they blame for the fall of their clan and the death of their loved ones. He must find a balance between justice and protecting what is left of his family.

Victoria escaped the Connecticut Tigers clan years ago to seek out her own path, or at least that’s what she wanted everyone to believe. In truth, she couldn’t deal with the former Alpha’s demands any longer. Now that he’s dead, she must make the journey home. It is time for the truth to come to light and for those who survived to live again.

The clan has been suppressed for so long, its members have forgotten how to live without someone controlling every aspect of their lives. The clan will face many challenges ahead, but those may not be the ones they expected.

F
or weeks
, David had been trying to piece together his badly damaged clan. With only fifteen members remaining, it was appalling the level of destruction they had suffered at the hands of the former Alpha. He should have challenged Frank years before and taken over the Connecticut Tigers, but it was tragedy that finally forced him to make his move. When his youngest sister, Shelly, made a stupid decision, it had not only resulted in her death and the deaths of many members of the clan, but it almost killed his other sister, Mira, as well. The clan was ravaged by disaster, and every time he attempted to put it back together, something else would fall apart.

If things inside the clan weren’t bad enough, shifters were sniffing at his territory. Alphas wanted to expand their rule, and Lieutenants sought to strike out on their own and overtake the Connecticut Tigers. They were beginning to close in on him, and soon he’d have to battle to keep his clan—a battle he wasn’t sure he’d win, especially if multiple parties descended on them at once.

His combat skills were minimal at best. Since taking over the clan, he had been working hard to ready himself but the clan’s needs came first. Now, he regretted that decision. As the threats intensified, he was almost helpless to defend himself and the clan. Under Frank’s control, none of them had been trained as guards. At this point, it was now or never.

He had always planned on committing to the Queen of the Tigers, Tabitha, and the future she was trying to build for the shifter population, once he got the clan under his rule. They had been through so much that adding another adjustment they had to overcome would make things harder. With their current volatile situation, he questioned his decision to wait.

His sister Mira’s last comment to him ran through his thoughts:
A safe world for our kind without Alphas like Frank—what could be so bad about that?

“Nothing.”

“What was that?” Tim, his father, strolled across the living area. Even in his mid-sixties, his father remained toned with only a few gray hairs mixed into the light brown, adding character instead of age.

“I was just thinking about Mira and the offer again.” He met his father’s gaze and waited for his disapproval to show. One of the biggest disagreements they had since he took over was committing to Tabitha. His father wanted nothing to do with that and couldn’t see any of the benefits or changes she’d bring to their population.

“It’s your choice. You are, after all, the Alpha here. Who am I to question your judgment?”

“Dad, that’s exactly what I’m trying to stop.”

“An Alpha’s role is to be the dictator over the clan.” Tim sank down into the chair across from David as if a ton of bricks rested on his shoulders. “You need to remember that. Otherwise they’re going to kill you. I’ve lost enough already. I don’t want to add my son’s death to that list.”

Family dynamics might be different for tigers than for humans, but his family had lived in one room his whole life. This resulted in them building a weird relationship. He wouldn’t say they were close but definitely closer than a lot of shifter families. Lately, a new tension had developed between him and his father he wasn’t sure how to deal with. Dad hadn’t just lost his youngest daughter, but his mate had also been killed at Frank’s hands. Still, David suspected his father blamed him and Mira for the loss. They might not have been the ones who took their lives, but it was Mira’s support of Tabitha that had turned the bad situation into a disastrous one. While she was safe in Alaska with her new mate, David was stuck here trying to deal with the outcome.

He had been keeping Dad’s attitude from Mira so she wouldn’t worry additionally about them. He wouldn’t allow her to come to Connecticut yet, and he hadn’t been able to leave the clan to see her, so all they had were a few short video messages every few days. Things were too unsafe for her there at the moment, and having her mate by her side would only make things worse with the clan. Frank had instilled fear in the members, vowing to hand them over to Styx if they didn’t obey. Torture and death proved more than enough of a deterrent to convince them to fall into line. No one had known Styx was no longer the bogeyman of the tiger world. He had given up the life of an assassin to join Tabitha and the Alaskan Tigers as an Elders guard.

Even knowing things had changed with him didn’t eliminate all of David’s concerns that his sister was mated to a former assassin. While she might be protected from some of his enemies, there would be others who would see her as a way to take revenge on Styx. He didn’t like the new danger that now surrounded her.

“Are you even listening to me?” Dad’s voice cut through his thoughts.

“Yes, Dad.” He nearly growled before he regained control of his frustration. “I’m ruling this clan the best I can.”

“Siding with them isn’t going to make things easier.”

“I know you’re against it, but it’s for the best. You need to accept this is what’s needed at this time. This clan won’t survive without some help. Mira’s right—”

“I don’t want to hear about Mira.”

“Dad.” He took a deep breath. Mira was a sensitive subject between them because, as far as their father was concerned, she had been the root of what happened and had betrayed their family. Although not the truth, it was what he felt, so there was no use trying to change it. “You might not want to hear it, but she’s right. There are worse things for our kind than what Tabitha and Ty are trying to do. Alphas who like how Frank used to operate need to be eliminated.”

“Frank was a good man, and if you’d run this clan like he did, you’d be a great Alpha.”

“Enough!” He jumped to his feet and began to pace. “This is my clan, and because you are my father, I’ve listened to your comments—but no longer. I’m not Frank and never will be him. I won’t run this clan as he did. He was a vindictive Alpha who brainwashed and tortured his members.”

Tim glared at him, anger seeping off him. “I thought pushing you toward him and having you as his right hand man would have taught you something.”

“It did teach me something. It taught me how
not
to do things. Being an Alpha is more than ordering people around. An Alpha is responsible for his people’s safety and well-being.”

“Enough. You’ll do what you want, so let’s just leave it at that.”

A knock on the door interrupted David’s response. “What is it?”

The door opened, and Ryder stepped through. “Sir.” He bowed as Frank had always required but it only served to upset David.

“You don’t need to do that,” David reminded him. It didn’t matter how many times he told the clan they didn’t need to bow whenever they came before him. Years of conditioning under Frank wouldn’t be erased overnight.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, sir.”

“Don’t worry, Ryder. I’m leaving.” Tim stood and walked toward the door. “You and our
Alpha
can deal with whatever brought you here.”

Even as his father left the room, anger rose in him. While in private, Dad had made little effort to hide the fact he believed David wasn’t running the clan as he should. His tone as he uttered
Alpha
marked the first time he’d revealed his disgust to another. If Ryder caught the snide comment, he didn’t acknowledge it.

“Come in, Ryder, and tell me whatever new issue has arisen.”

Ryder stepped farther into the room. “Some of the clan members are in an uproar because Heidi is packing. They see her brother arriving this evening to take her away as another loss to our family.”

“Is this what she wants, or what her family is demanding?” Heidi had come from another clan when she mated one of their members. He was trying to remember the details but all he could think at the moment was it was somewhere out west and that her family had been unhappy when she had come there.

“I tried to speak with her, but she’s extremely upset and it’s difficult to understand what she wants. She says one thing and then another. It’s unfortunate because we’ve lost so much already. I was hoping you might be able to talk to her. If this is her decision, then I’ll make sure the clan members understand and support her instead of making it harder on her. She’s already suffered a great deal. We all have.”

David watched the man before him and appreciated the eye contact. Ryder was unlike the other members of the clan who barely looked at him and would have never come to his quarters, a thought that made David once again consider promoting him to Lieutenant. He’d had the initiative to speak with Heidi and try to calm the clan members before seeking out the Alpha, which granted him another point in David’s book.

“Bring her here. I’ll speak with her.”

“Yes, sir.” He started to bow before he stopped himself with a shy smile. “Sorry, old habits die hard…”

“Once this is settled, we need to have a discussion as well.” Something clicked in that moment, and he made the decision to promote him. This was his first decision as an Alpha and for the clan, but it wouldn’t be the last.

While he waited for Ryder to return with Heidi, he glanced around the Alpha quarters. He had effected minimal changes but there were other things he wanted to do. His list was growing, but once he had a Lieutenant he could count on, there would hopefully be less to stress about. The clan was important to him and, if they were going to survive, he had to make their safety a priority. If there was one thing Frank had taught him, it was that a clan had to be run with an iron fist. Anything less would leave him open to challenges. He wouldn’t be vindictive or torture his members, but there would be no doubt as to who held control. Their sustained future and survival demanded that much from him.

He grabbed his phone from the makeshift desk he had constructed near the window so he could look out over the clan’s grounds as he worked. Green grass stretched ahead for as far as the eye could see. The summer would be coming to a close soon, and the cool winds of fall would blow colorful leaves all over their land. As he looked out, he realized there was one thing missing.
Homes
—it was something he wanted to rectify, and soon. With only fifteen members, fourteen if Heidi left, they deserved their own space.

All his life, his family of five—his parents, two sisters, and he—had lived in one room. He wanted better for the clan and he’d make that happen. They were moving into the future, and that meant they needed to stand on their own feet. They must get out and spread their wings. No longer would they live in rooms that were nearly as dark as tunnels with one small window per unit that wasn’t even big enough for someone to climb out of because Frank was always concerned with people trying to leave after curfew.

“Frank, you sure did a number on us. It will be years before we function like other clans. I’m going to fix this.” He slid his finger over the cell phone screen and unlocked it. The time had come for him to vow his commitment to Tabitha, the Alaskan Tigers, and the future of their population. This decision would cost him, and he only hoped he was doing the right thing.

He shot a quick text to Mira.
I’m ready. Set things up with the Elders.

Being mated to Styx, one of the Elder guards of the Alaskan Tigers, she’d have a better chance of setting up a conference call without him having to interfere with their schedules. Having her deal with that would also allow him to handle Heidi’s situation first.

With the text sent, he slid his phone into the pocket of his jeans and glanced down at the pad on the table. His to-do list stared up at him without a single thing crossed off. It seemed like it was getting longer by the minute.

Ryder stood in the doorway. “Sir, if you’re ready.”

“Bring her in.” He moved away from the desk and back to the sitting area with the hope that it would seem less formal and intimidating.

“Heidi, he’s ready to see you now.”

The young woman with golden brown hair that fell around her shoulders stepped into the room. Terror filled her eyes as she looked toward him. The loss of her mate had left dark circles under her eyes, and no longer was there a smile on her face or a sparkle in her eyes. The Heidi who had come to the clan a few months ago was no longer standing before him. Only the shell of the woman remained. Losing a mate was like losing part of yourself. Mating brought two pieces together and made both of them whole. Now that he was gone, Heidi would need time to grieve and adjust, but she would always know that he had died protecting her.

“Sir…” Her voice cracked as she bowed to show her respect.

“Come have a seat, Heidi.” He didn’t bother to tell her the bow wasn’t necessary as he gestured toward the sofa.

Out of the remaining clan members, she was the only one who hadn’t vowed her loyalties to him. When the rest of the clan had done it, she had been distraught over her mate and he had another member escort her to her private quarters. As the weeks passed, he hadn’t pressed, giving her time to grieve and decide what she wanted. Even now, he wouldn’t force it, except the current situation required that she make a decision to stay or return home. If she wanted to stay, he couldn’t fight her family and her former clan without her commitment to him as her Alpha.

“I’ll wait in the hall in case you need me.” Ryder turned back to the door.

“Join us.”

There was a moment of shock and maybe a dash of fear before Ryder joined them in the sitting area.

With Heidi on one end of the sofa and Ryder on the other, David took the chair. “Ryder informed me of your leaving.”

“With Brad gone…” She took a deep breath and visibly tried to force the tears away. “I don’t belong here any longer.”

“This is your choice?” He made sure it was a question instead of a statement, but she didn’t answer. “You don’t have to leave. This is your home if you wish to stay.”

“It’s been made clear that it isn’t.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “My brother will be leaving soon, and he’ll escort me…”

“You paused just than because you couldn’t say
home
. That might be where your family is, but it’s not home to you anymore, is it?” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “I’m telling you that you can stay here. No one else’s opinion matters unless they plan to challenge me for my position of Alpha.”