New Species 07 Tiger (20 page)

“I should be doing something.”

“I understand but you tried to force mate a female.” Tiger’s cell phone rang and he reached for it. “Tiger here.”

“The human female, Zandy Gordon, was attacked at her apartment at human housing.”

Tiger snarled from rage and shock that someone had harmed Zandy again. “How? Who did it? Is she well? Where were the officers I assigned to guard her?”

Timber sounded angry too. “They were near the curb, in front of the building. You said to keep them outside. A human male broke in through a back window. He tried to strangle her in bed but she managed to scream. The human attacker is injured and bleeding. We’re tracking him now and he’s heading toward the Wild Zone. He’s going to be one sorry bastard if he makes it there. The unstable ones will kill him if they find him before our officers do.”

“Is Zandy all right?”

“She’s fine. She refused medical treatment and officers are with her now.”

“I’m in the Wild Zone with Vengeance. I’ll see if I can head him off.”

“He’s bleeding a lot.”

“She did that much damage to him?” That surprised him since Zandy wasn’t a big female but a little pride swelled inside his chest too.

“No. He jumped through a window after she screamed. It must have cut him badly.”

“Good. I’ll call you if I find him or you call me if he’s found.” He ended the conversation.

“What happened?”

Tiger studied Vengeance and fought down his rage. He wanted to punish the human for touching Zandy. “I have a job for you. You’re an excellent tracker, aren’t you? A human male has somehow trespassed onto Reservation and attacked a female human employee. He’s heading this way and I want your help finding him. Just don’t kill him. I want to know what he is doing here.”

Vengeance nodded. “I could use a good hunt.”

Tiger nodded. “Me too. Just remember to keep him alive and he needs to be able to talk. I want a piece of this one myself.”

Tiger and Vengeance got in the Jeep. Tiger would find the male and remove the hand that had tried to kill his Zandy. He forced himself to take deep breaths to try to calm down. If he hadn’t gotten tied up at work, he would have been with her and he wouldn’t have allowed anyone to cause her harm.

He drove to meet the tracking team. A comforter had been taken from Zandy’s bed and offered to all the males to sniff. He spotted the blood stains on the spread and rage gripped him. He didn’t calm until he realized it had come from the male. The stench of the human male mixed with Zandy’s fear set him on edge. He leaped back in the Jeep and glanced at Vengeance.

“Do you have his scent locked?”

Vengeance nodded. “Who is the female? She smells good. She’s showered recently.”

“Forget the human female,” Tiger growled. “Let’s find the male.”

Vengeance stood from his seat and sniffed the air. “It’s faint but I got him.” He pointed. “The wind is blowing from that direction.”

Tiger punched the gas and watched the Species. Canines had a stronger sense of smell than felines. It was the one thing he hated about his heritage. Right now he wanted to be the one to sniff out the human and locate him. His fingers gripped the steering wheel painfully due to his rage. Soon enough he’d have his hands on the male. He’d be one sorry son of a bitch for going after Zandy.

* * * * *

Zandy stared across the coffee table at Smiley as he watched her. She sat on the couch while he’d taken up residence in the chair. “You got to babysit me, huh?”

He shrugged. He’d shown up ten minutes before in a pair of sweats and a loose T-shirt. His hair was wet, hanging loose and he wasn’t even wearing shoes. “Snow was called to Homeland since they needed extra help. You are familiar with me and Timber asked me to sit with you. He wanted someone here that you’ve spent some time with.”

“You were off duty.”

He shrugged again. “I don’t mind. I’d eaten and showered. I was bored anyway. How is your throat?”

“It’s better. I put some ice on it.” She shifted her position. “You don’t really need to sit with me.”

“The human is still at large and we’ll feel better if someone is with you.”

“You’re not even wearing shoes.”

He grinned. “A lot of us hate to wear them but we’re required to on shift. I’m off.”

The silence was a little uncomfortable. Zandy wasn’t sure what else to say. Smiley sniffed and smiled.

“What?”

“Your scent is changing.”

“What does that mean?”

He hesitated. “You will be ovulating soon.”

“What?” She gaped at his out-of-left-field statement.

“You are about to go into heat, Zandy.”

Her mouth opened but no words came out.

“Our females try to hide the scent from our males. It’s arousing.”

“Ovulating? You can smell that? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Bitchin’,” she muttered sarcastically. “How the hell does Richard find this amusing?”

“I don’t understand. Richard warned you already that your heat was coming?”

“Never mind. So, did you enjoy the weather today?” She decided to change the subject quickly.

“It was a nice day. Thank you for asking.” His gaze narrowed as he watched her. “Your cheeks are pinker. Is this an uncomfortable conversation for you? Going into heat is perfectly natural.”

He wasn’t going to let it drop. “Women don’t go into heat. And yes, this isn’t a topic I want to discuss.”

“Females do experience heat. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. My nose doesn’t lie and you are going into heat. You should speak to one of our females about how to hide it from our males before you fully hit that stage. It’s very faint now but every male will scent it when it grows stronger. They will offer to share sex.”

“Why?” She was stunned and curious.

“Nothing smells better or tastes better than a female in heat.” His gaze roamed her body. “May I ask you questions that might make your cheeks pinken more? It is attractive.”

“Um, I guess. What do you want to know?”

“Our females strongly desire to share sex while they are in heat. Don’t humans react that way?”

“No. We don’t even know when we’re ovulating.”

He frowned. “Really?”

“Obviously. You’re telling me something I didn’t know. I had no clue.”

“Don’t you feel an increase in your sex drive?”

She had since she’d met Tiger but he was hot. “No,” she lied.

He leaned back in the chair and his fingers tapped the arms. “Shared sex between us would be good, Zandy. I can be gentle. Are you sure you aren’t interested? Have you had time to think about it?”

Her eyes widened. “Thanks, but no.”

“You want Tiger.” His fingers stopped tapping. “He will never be open to taking a mate. You’re a single female. Don’t you want a mate?”

She was starting to feel uncomfortable. “Look, Smiley. You’re an attractive man but I’m not interested in you. I’m flattered but it’s a firm no.”

“You were aroused by Tiger. You are also human. Our females don’t enjoy bonding with males but I’ve been told yours do. He rarely shares sex with the same female more than twice a year. I haven’t heard about him ever touching a human one. You have needs he is never going to meet.”

“Just because I’m attracted to someone doesn’t mean I want to have sex with just anyone.”

He smiled. “I will never understand human females.”

“It’s not just you. All men don’t understand us.”

“I have something in common with your males then after all.”

“I guess so.” She stood. “You can go home. I don’t need a babysitter and it’s late. I’m going to try to get some sleep.”

He didn’t budge. “Are you sure you don’t want company in your bed? I’m skilled with sex. You’ve had a trauma and shouldn’t be alone. I could distract you.”

The guy was persistent. “I’m very sure.”

“I’ll stay here until the male is caught. That’s what I was ordered to do. I won’t bother you.” His gaze roamed down her body. “I would never go where I wasn’t wanted. Have no worry that I’ll enter your room. Rest well, Zandy.”

“Thank you.”

She fled and closed the door between them. She wasn’t worried he’d come after her. Her gaze drifted to her bed. New bedding had replaced the old ones. One of the officers had made the bed for her.

Tiger wasn’t coming. That was obvious. Disappointment gripped her and she changed out of the heavy sweatpants into a pair of thin shorts. The window had been boarded shut and someone had turned up the heat too much to compensate for how chilled the room had grown after the window was smashed.

A yawn broke from her as she stretched out on top of the comforter. It had been a long, traumatic day. She’d been attacked at the gates and then again on Reservation. The day couldn’t end soon enough. Smiley was in the living room and she knew no one would get past him. She was safe.

* * * * *

Tiger jogged to the left of the trees while Vengeance dodged to the right. The human had taken to the forest and they’d had to leave the Jeep behind. The human had made a mistake since his scent was easier to follow with the thick vegetation blocking the wind. Tiger crouched, sniffed the air and knew he was close to finding his target. The scent was strong and the prey was terrified. He’d made it almost two miles but it wouldn’t be far enough to escape. The human had slowed from exhaustion and his weakness was sure to get him caught.

Tiger ran, following the scent. He saw something ahead and sprinted quickly for it. His eyesight was good at night. It was a gift of his altered DNA. He was grateful for it tonight.

The human was limping. Tiger smelled Vengeance coming from the other side to trap their prey between them. This was the male who’d touched Zandy. He silently slowed before leaping to land next to his target.

The human gasped and fell back on his ass. Tiger roared. The male screamed in response. The stench of terror intensified—a bittersweet smell. The urge to tear the son of a bitch apart was strong but instead Tiger reached down, fisted the male by his shirt and yanked him to his feet. He was big for a human male.

“Why did you attack the female and trespass into her quarters?”

The smell of urine was strong. The human had wet himself. Vengeance laughed. Tiger waited for the human to respond.

“We thought she was Jessie North,” he sobbed.

Tiger growled. “She is not.”

“I know. I saw her driver’s license.”

The man’s front pocket started to beep. Tiger tore the material open, grabbed the cell phone and looked at the caller ID. He growled and turned it to face the male he held. “Who is this?”

“One of the guys. He said he’s going to meet me over the wall to get me the fuck out of here.”

Vengeance growled. “You will not be meeting him. I’m hungry, Tiger. How about you? I say we chow down on this son of a bitch.”

The human moaned in horror, almost causing Tiger to smile. Vengeance was good at terrorizing the stupid ones. He believed they’d eat him now. If the male had a brain, he’d know they didn’t eat people and, even if they did, they sure as hell wouldn’t want something that reeked of body odor and piss.

“What did you want with Jessie North?”

Tiger snarled when the male refused to answer. He knew it was just the thing to do when whimpering sounds came from the human.

“I was ordered to kill her. Okay? I was told to slice her damn throat. She’s betraying mankind by sleeping with one of you animals. It’s just not right.”

“Why did you attack the human female in her bed?”

“She is living with you assholes too. All bitches deserve to die if they let one of you screw them.”

In a fit of rage, Tiger threw the son of a bitch. The male’s back hit a tree hard. He groaned as he fell to the ground and kept whimpering in pain. Tiger had the urge to kill him but Vengeance’s presence prevented him from doing it.

“I am about to lose my temper and we need him alive. Will you haul his ass to the Jeep, Ven? I’m going to make a call. We need to interrogate him and see who he’s working with so we can round up the stupid bastards.”

Vengeance nodded. “I think I will dunk him a few times in the river first. I don’t want to smell him while we take him in.”

“Good idea.” Tiger lowered his voice. “Make sure you don’t drown him but I won’t mind if he thinks you might.”

Vengeance chuckled and hauled the human male to his feet. “Let’s go, piss pants. The river is calling your name.”

The human screamed. The sound was high pitched and Tiger cringed. He heard Vengeance snarl in response.

Tiger opened his phone and dialed Security. “We have the human male. Check all the walls. He said someone would meet him for pickup. Locate and grab them. I have his phone.” Tiger flipped it open. “He made two calls since the attack, to two different numbers. Get ready to trace them. I want all these bastards caught. They thought the human female was Justice’s mate. He was here to kill her. Call Homeland and have them tighten security around Justice and Jessie.” He hung up.