The Tiger's Heart (19 page)

“
Understood. Lukas is my
best warrior. You could say he’s my unofficial head of security. He
is powerful enough to be my Lieutenant but prefers being in the
field. We were discussing your issues with Pierce, and he’s
interested in being in the front lines of this war. He planned to
approach the subject with you but needed to seek my approval first.
He has my consent. If you would be interested in his skills, he can
stay here among your clan. I believe he would be of great service
to you.” Jinx handed the book back to Tabitha.

“
He’s more than welcome to
stay as long as he understands the hierarchy here. He’s young and
would need to work his way up. Prove his worth, per say. He seems
to fit well with the other guards and clan members. Raja?” Ty
opened the floor for Raja to give his thoughts about
Lukas.

“
I’m in agreement with Ty.
Lukas is young. He’ll need to prove himself not only to us but to
the guards and members. Due to his injuries, I haven’t seen his
fighting skills yet, but if he’s as trained as you say. We need
someone to start training some of the younger clan members. With
his age he might be perfect for the position.”

Raja’s ear bud sprang to
life.
There’s a tiger out here asking for
you, Raja.

He sent Ty a look to let him know
something was happening before slipping out from under Bethany.
“Excuse me,” he said to the room, moving toward the window. He hit
the button on his ear communication to allow the guard station to
hear him. “What’s his name?”

He could see the main gate, the guards
gathered there blocking the entrance, but he couldn’t make out what
or who they were keeping out.

“
Says his name is Galen.
He has some crazy story about a dream telling him to come here and
ask for you. He seems nervous.”

Raja recognized Korbin’s voice. He was
one of the regular bounder patrol guards. “I’m sending Shadow. If
she believes his story, escort him back with her.”

He turned the button again to end the
communication with the gatehouse and turned to find all eyes on
him. “Galen’s here. Shadow, as a precaution go listen to his story.
If you believe him, bring him back.”

Shadow nodded and stood, slipping away
without a word.

“
Ty, Tabitha, I think it
would be best if you weren’t here. I know the book says he brings
us no harm, but it’s best to be safe.” Raja looked back out the
window to see if Shadow arrived yet.

“
I disagree,” Tabitha said
when Ty stood. “If Gavin’s a healer, we need him. Maybe we could
convince him we need him here. If we’re going to war with Pierce,
having a healer handy could mean the life or death of one of our
members.”

“
She’s right.” Bethany
turned slightly, allowing her to see Raja.

“
Felix, get Marcus and
Styx in here. If you’re going to stay I want more guards here now.”
Raja ran his hand through his hair. “I still think you two should
be somewhere safer. If things go ape shit…”

“
Things will be fine,”
Tabitha reassured Raja.

“
Now you see what I go
through. She’s stubborn.” Ty laughed. “I’d say they’re going to
keep us on our toes,” Ty joked.

The men laughed while Tabitha and
Bethany eyed them.

Chapter Thirty

“
My Queen.” The old man in
his seventies dropped to his knees mere steps inside the door, his
head hung low. “All my life I’ve waited for you. I knew one day I’d
find you. I tried not to let my devotion waver but it was hard at
times. People doubted the legends, but I knew the
truth.”

“
How do you know?” Raja
asked, taking his place in front of Ty and Tabitha, who had both
stood when Galen dropped to his knees. If Galen meant them harm,
Raja wanted to be close enough to take him out before he had a
chance to go after the women or Ty.

“
I had a dream when I was
a child about the Tiger Queen who would someday be in need of my
service. I’ve traveled, hoping to find her. It wasn’t until two
days ago I had another dream and it was pressed on me to come
here.” He looked up at them, focused on Tabitha. “My Queen, I’m at
your service. Anything I can do for you. I’ve been waiting all my
life to be in your presence.”

“
Galen, is it true you can
heal with your touch?” Tabitha asked, coming to stand next to
Raja.

“
Yes, my
Queen.”

“
Please call me Tabitha.
Besides the people in this room no one else is aware I’m the Queen
the legends speak of.” When Galen nodded, she continued, “If it’s
true, heal Raja’s mate, Bethany.”

Watching Galen reach toward his
injured mate, Raja was unable to suppress the growl in his
throat.

“
I mean her no harm. In
order to heal I must place my hands on her. Come hold your mate.
Her injuries are extensive, and this may cause some
discomfort.”

Raja took the place behind Bethany,
wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her temple.
“You okay with this?” he whispered in her ear.

“
Let’s get it over with.”
She nodded.

“
If you could come stand
by her as well? You might need to hold her still if she bucks.”
Galen asked Ty as he slipped off his gloves.

“
You said there would be
discomfort. I can handle it. Why would I need Ty to hold me down as
well?” Bethany asked. Raja could hear the worry in her
voice.

“
It depends on the injury
and the person’s pain threshold. You knee is seriously injured.
Without my healing it’s possible you’ll always have a limp after a
long recovery period. I won’t lie—this could be more painful than
just some discomfort, but it will get you back up on your feet
today. It’s your choice, ma’am.” Galen kneeled next to the
couch.

“
It’s your choice, love.
If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.” Raja held her
close. The thought of his mate being in pain at Galen’s hands made
him want to tear Galen’s head off.

“
Let’s do this.” Bethany
gritted her teeth to brace herself for whatever pain was in
store.

“
Very well. Whatever
happens, Raja, do not take your hands off her. Maintain
skin-to-skin contact. A mate’s touch will help the pain be more
bearable.” Galen undid the air cast, sliding the pant leg up. “I
have to have skin contact,” he said when Raja softly
growled.

Control
yourself
. Raja scolded himself, trying to
regain the control over his basic instincts. His muscles
constricted with tension, his claws threaten to spring forth if he
let any more control slip. “Let’s get this done.”

“
Everyone ready?” Galen
asked, his hands hovering inches from her knee.

As his hands made contact with her
leg, a warm, golden aura formed around her knee. Bethany screeched
with pain, struggling under Raja’s grasp. He held tight to her,
trying to take her pain. “It’s almost over, love.”

I can’t stand seeing her
in this kind of pain. She’s my mate and I couldn’t stop her injury.
Now she’s suffering more for me.

When he didn’t think he could take any
more, his heart breaking from the pain his mate was suffering, it
ended as quickly as it began. Bethany collapsed against him, softly
moaning.

Galen bent back on his heels, shaking
his head. “It can’t be,” he said repeatedly.

“
What can’t be?” Raja
asked, still soothing his mate.

“
She’s human.” Galen said
still not making any sense.

“
What are you mumbling
about?”

“
Her body fought
me.”

“
So? You told us that
would happen. What are you going on about? Is she not healed?” Raja
was getting frustrated.
If she went
through all that pain and isn’t healed, someone will have some
serious explaining to do.

“
That’s different.
Normally they show signs of pain, fighting to get away, struggling
and hollering. They don’t normally fight the healing. She did.”
Galen slipped his gloves back into place, still watching Bethany
closely.

“
What does that mean?”
Tabitha asked, coming to stand next to her mate by the
couch.

“
It shouldn’t be possible,
since she is human…but she’s a healer.”

“
Then wouldn’t she heal
herself?” Raja held Bethany close, could feel her fatigue as if it
were his own.

“
Most would. Except she
hasn’t accepted her gift.” Galen rose from the floor, moving back
to his chair. “Bethany, have you ever noticed anything different
about yourself?”

She shook her head, eyes
closed.

“
Have your injuries ever
healed quicker?”

Realization filled Raja. “He tried to
strangle her. There were marks on her from where his fingers dug
into her, and there were bruises as well. They’re gone. I never
realized it before.”

“
It proves my point.
Bethany, you’re a healer. I can work with you, teach you the
skill.”

“
But I’m human,” the
exhaustion she was feeling clearly heard in her voice.

“
You must have shifters in
your family somewhere or you wouldn’t have the gift.” Galen looked
down at her for confirmation, but it never came. “She needs her
rest. Whenever she’s ready I’ll work with her. It shouldn’t take
long for her to develop the skills, as she was already beginning
the process on her body without her knowledge.”

“
Galen, we would like for
you to stay with us if you have no other commitments. The future is
dangerous, and to have a healer here would be beneficial.” Tabitha
looked down at Bethany. “Well two healers. We can provide you with
a guest cabin if you wish to stay.”

“
Thank you. As I told you
before, I’m at your service. I’ll stay as long as I’m
needed.”

“
Very well. Felix, could
you have one of the guards show Galen to a guest cabin?” Ty looked
to Korbin, who still stood near the door. “Korbin, we’d like to
speak with you in our quarters about what you heard here. Raja,
we’ll be back thirty minutes before the memorial service, and we
can all go together.”

Chapter
Thirty-One

The living room was quiet, Bethany
curled up beside him, his arm around her, as they watched the
aurora borealis lights through the large floor to ceiling
windows.

“
It wasn’t all a dream—I’m
really a healer?” Bethany’s head rested on his shoulder.

“
It would seem so. Galen
has offered to work with you to bring your ability out, if you’re
willing.”

“
I want to learn. It will
be a great asset for your people.”

“
For our people. You’re a
leader of this clan as well.” He ran his hand through her hair.
“You should get some rest. Galen said you would be tired from all
that your body went through during the healing, not including the
stress of everything else.”

“
Soon.” She stared out the
window. It was clear something was weighing on her mind but Raja
didn’t want to press her after all she had been through that
day.

“
Bethany.” Using his
finger he gently guided her head so she could look at him. “Are you
okay?”

She gave him a halfhearted smile. “If
I…” Her voice trailed off.

“
What love?”

“
If I had been
there…maybe…I could have healed them.”

He was painfully aware she meant her
family. “He would have killed you as well.”

“
If I could
have…”

“
Say you came in after it
happened, after he was gone…there still would have been nothing you
could have done. You didn’t even know you had this ability. Without
training it you wouldn’t have been able to call it forth and heal
them.” He ran his thumb over the dimple in her chin. “Bethany,
listen to me. There’s nothing you could have done to change this
outcome. If you were there, it would have just meant one more life
lost at Pierce’s hands.”

She was silent for a few minutes as if
she was accepting what he said. “The memorial service was
beautiful. Now that I’m back on my feet, could we have Tora and
Marcus to dinner to thank them? I’ll cook…tomorrow if you could
arrange it. She put together a wonderful service for people she
didn’t even know.”

“
I’ll call her in the
morning if you’re still up for it.” He kissed the top of her
head.

I can never repay Tora for
putting it together. It brought his mate the peace she needed. The
appreciation in Bethany’s eyes at the service was more than I could
have hoped for.

“
Bethany, there’s a place
on the edge of our compound lot. It’s a small sitting area,
beautiful views…my parents are buried there. I thought after the
ashes of your parents came back you would like to bury them there
with your sister.”

“
I would like that.” She
looked up at him. “I love you, Raja.” She kissed him.

She kissed him with such passion that
made his body crave more. She slipped on top of him, straddling
him. He felt her hands in his hair pulling the leather strap he
used to tie it back with pull free. “I love your hair when it’s
loose. I want to run my hands through it while you’re inside me. I
need you now.”