White Tiger (A Shifter's Unbound Novel) (17 page)

“Oh, you go right ahead,” Addie said brightly. “I understand.”

Jaycee nodded. “Good. I know it’s hard for humans when they first come to us, but you’ll catch on.”

I’d bitch-slap her if I thought I could land it before she broke my arm.
Addie swallowed her rage, picked up her tote bag with a jerk, and stalked out of the room.

She found Charlie in the kitchen doing a final cleanup. The dishwasher was running, humming and filling the room with the scent of soap.

“Charlie, will you give me a ride?” Addie asked.

Charlie tossed a last towel into the washing machine in the laundry alcove and returned to her. “Sure thing. Where do you want to go?”

“Home. It’s in Loneview.”

Charlie’s face fell. “Aw, honey, you aren’t going to leave me out here with all these Shifters are you?”

Why, when Charlie said
honey
did Addie feel warmed, but when Jaycee said it, Addie bristled and wanted to smack her?

“It’s time for me to go. Dimitri is looking after the kids, Jaycee wants to clean every trace of me out of the house, and I shouldn’t leave my sister to cope on her own. I think it will be safe enough now for me to go back.” She’d find a real lawyer and ask Bo to vouch for her if the police went back to accusing her of abetting the shooting. She’d make them realize she had nothing to do with it.

Charlie shook his head. “I don’t think you should run just because that woman is giving you a hard time. Stand your ground.”

“It’s not that.” Addie drew a breath, surprised how much her chest hurt. “If I stay, I
will
stand my ground, and she’ll break every bone in my body. I need to get away and think.”

Charlie studied her, then gave a conceding nod. “I get it. You’d fight for him but you don’t want to have to.”

“I don’t know
what
I’m feeling. That’s why I need to just . . . go.”

“Maybe you should talk to Kendrick first.”

Addie hesitated. She’d been geared up to run, but Charlie was right. She should at least tell Kendrick to his face what she wanted to do instead of simply disappearing.

Plus, she could watch his reaction and see whether he really wanted her to stay or go. Men went on about not understanding women when
they
were harder to figure out than differential calculus.

“Where is Kendrick?”

Charlie shook his head. “That, I do not know. I saw him go up toward the barn, but that was right after breakfast.”

“Thanks, Charlie.” Addie slung the tote’s long strap onto her shoulder and went out the back door.

Kendrick wasn’t in the barn. The mare had been turned out into the large open corral behind it and was enjoying herself running around, but Kendrick was nowhere in sight.

Grinding her teeth, Addie headed back down the slope toward where Charlie kept his truck at the end of the long drive. She’d sit in the pickup and wait for Kendrick to return from wherever he’d gone, but she wasn’t going back into the house. Not with Jaycee busy trying to eradicate Addie’s scent from every inch of it.

As she went around the truck to the passenger door, a gigantic Bengal tiger shot out from the shadows of the tall cottonwoods and came right for her.

A
ddie was too stunned to even scream. The tiger was orange and black, had intense, golden eyes, was larger than any animal she’d ever seen, and had her cornered against the truck in a heartbeat. Sunlight glinted from a silver and black Collar around its neck.

“Good tiger,” Addie said. “Nice kitty.”

The tiger’s eyes narrowed but it didn’t move. Addie reached for the door handle of the truck.

Instantly the tiger’s heavy paw was on her hand. No claws, but Addie wasn’t going to touch the truck anytime soon.

. . . There aren’t any other tigers,
Kendrick had said. Just the one she’d seen in the parking lot in San Antonio.

“How the
hell
did you find me?” she asked him.

The tiger growled again, but before it could finish, a black and white streak flashed around the pickup, and a white tiger bowled into the orange one. Both tigers went down in an explosion of dust.

Addie flung her tote bag through the open window of the truck and turned to face the snarling ball of teeth, claws, and striped fur. What she thought she could do, she didn’t know, but just standing there wasn’t going to cut it.

She turned around, cupped her hands over her mouth, and shouted, “Dimitri!”

Addie didn’t need to bother yelling for him, she realized a moment later, because the red wolf was already charging down the hill, followed by the smaller, faster missile of a leopard. Both Dimitri and Jaycee hit the hindquarters of the orange tiger, whose roar rattled the truck’s windows.

Kendrick was fighting hard, giant paws batting, huge mouth opening, ears back, snarls unceasing. The red wolf bit down on one of the Bengal’s back legs, and the Bengal shook him off so hard Dimitri went tumbling. The leopard—Jaycee—darted in, her moves quick and precise.

But the Bengal was fast. He whipped around, swatted Jaycee aside, and returned instantly to battle Kendrick, giving him no time to take advantage of the distraction.

Dimitri gathered himself and tried again, this time aiming to land on the Bengal’s back. Again, the orange tiger whipped around in a lightning-swift move, smacked Dimitri out of the way, and swung back to Kendrick. Dimitri fell to the dirt, landing hard. He tried to get to his feet, but collapsed with a whimper. Jaycee, who’d leapt at the tiger while he’d batted Dimitri, was hit with a giant paw, and went down.

Just as Addie started to go to her and Dimitri, the Bengal managed to throw off Kendrick and get around him to lope toward the house.

The cubs were up there. Addie started running for the porch, Kendrick ahead of her. Behind her, she heard Dimitri yelp again, nothing at all from Jaycee.

Kendrick was one stride behind the Bengal but couldn’t catch him. The only reason Addie reached the porch first was that the Bengal stopped suddenly at the bottom of the steps, and Addie let her momentum carry her around both tigers.

“No!” she yelled. She stretched out her arms shielding the boys—who had all shifted—from the threat of the Bengal.

Addie knew she was completely useless. The tiger could fling her aside as easily as he had Dimitri and Jaycee—even more so.

The cubs and the wolf pup had crowded onto the porch
swing, watching with wide eyes. Kendrick used the Bengal’s sudden stillness to land on top of him.

But the orange tiger, instead of spinning to fight, dropped to his belly. He extended his front paws, lowered his head, and huffed through his mouth.

Addie came down one step. “Kendrick, stop!”

Kendrick held himself back from bringing his open jaws down on the tiger’s neck, but he kept his chest on the Bengal’s back, pinning him.

The Bengal huffed again. Brett and Zane peeked down at him, then to Addie’s astonishment, they half jumped, half fell from the swing and padded down to the orange tiger. Robbie as wolf followed more cautiously.

The Bengal did nothing. Brett, the bolder of the boys, touched one tiny white paw to the Bengal’s giant one.

The Bengal let out another breath. Brett touched his nose, his green eyes full of interest.

“He’s not going to hurt them,” Addie said softly.

She didn’t know how she sensed that. A part of her knew that the Bengal could be playing possum in order to snap his mouth over the vulnerable cubs, but Addie for some reason didn’t believe that. The tiger had stopped his charge, had ceased fighting altogether, because he’d seen the cubs.

Kendrick very slowly eased himself from the Bengal’s back. The Bengal remained still, doing nothing even when Brett bit his ear. Zane, encouraged by his brother’s daring, tapped the Bengal’s front paw.

Kendrick shifted into his human form, standing up slowly. “Tiger,” he said, his voice gravelly rough. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

*   *   *

J
aycee, Kendrick saw when his trackers staggered to the porch, had only been winded—heavily so—but Dimitri had a broken wrist.

Kendrick remained standing over Tiger, his arms folded, while his cubs, growing evermore courageous, started crawling on him. Tiger raised his head and Kendrick tensed, but Tiger only met Kendrick’s gaze without hostility.

Won’t hurt them
, Tiger was saying, in tiger.
Protect the cubs.

“Get the hell away from them!” Jaycee came panting up, clutching her bare stomach. “Damn it, Kendrick, what are you doing?”

“Leave it alone,” Kendrick snapped.

Kendrick was an alpha Shifter, a massive tiger, for the Goddess’s sake, and neither he nor his crack team had been able to stop Tiger rushing for his cubs. Only Addison had managed to put herself in front of them, to try to keep the giant Bengal from the little ones.

A stupid move. Kendrick glared at Addison. Tiger could have killed her—easily.

Addison scowled right back at him. “This is the Shifter I saw, right? In San Antonio?”

Kendrick gave her a nod. Jaycee said angrily, “You mean she led him to us? He’s Collared, Kendrick. We’re screwed, because of her. What were you thinking? No humans are supposed to enter our territory until they’re thoroughly vetted. Who made that rule? Oh, yeah.
You
.”

While this was true, Kendrick’s temper frayed. “Addison is under my protection, and when the hell did you start questioning my judgment?”

“When you started thinking with your gonads,” Jaycee snapped. “This is another thing trackers are supposed to do—point out when you’re being an idiot.”

Kendrick snarled at her. If she’d kept her leopard form, he’d have swatted her across the weed-choked lawn. As it was, he kept his admonishment a very loud growl.

Addison let out an exasperated breath. “Screw this. Charlie, can I get that ride now? You come with us, Dimitri. You need a hospital.”

Dimitri hobbled toward them, cradling his arm, muttering in Russian. He never spoke Russian unless he was furiously angry or in serious pain. The man who conversed in fluent English without an accent couldn’t remember a word of English in extreme circumstances. He didn’t stammer when he spoke Russian either.

Charlie had come around the house to watch from a safe
distance. Now he averted his eyes from Jaycee’s very full breasts and kept them on Dimitri’s broken arm.

“I’ll get you some pants,” he said to Dimitri.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Kendrick broke in. “I’ll treat him, and he’ll be fine. Shifters heal fast.” In fact, if Kendrick didn’t set the arm very quickly, it would heal wrong and have to be re-broken by the end of the day. “Dimitri, come here.”

Dimitri moved to him obediently, still cursing in Russian. Jaycee put her hands on her thighs, breathing hard.

Dimitri shouldn’t have shifted—bones were different in each shape, and he might have caused more damage. Kendrick felt the arm, finding the pieces that moved. A clean break at least. He’d be fine by tomorrow.

“Charlie, do you have any bandages?” Kendrick asked. “A splint would be even better, but I’ll take what you have.”

“Lemme see.” Charlie went, in his limping trot, around to the back of the house—not past the tiger lounging on the steps.

Kendrick caressed Dimitri’s arm. “I’ll do it quickly.”

Dimitri nodded. He knew what was coming, but he gave Kendrick a stoic look.

Kendrick kneaded Dimitri’s shoulder and then neck, trying to loosen him, send reassurance. But it would hurt, and any painkiller Charlie might have, short of a hefty dose of tranquilizer, wouldn’t help.

Addison watched anxiously, dividing her attention between them and Tiger. Kendrick dimly wondered where she was asking Charlie to take her, but first things first.

He put firm hands on Dimitri’s arm, waited until Dimitri steeled himself, and then snapped the bones back into place.

Dimitri yelled once, then let the yell cut off to be replaced with snarls. No words this time, just noise.

Charlie came hurrying with bandages and a sling. Kendrick had Charlie hold them while he quickly and competently wrapped Dimitri’s arm. He’d done this kind of thing before—setting breaks, sewing up shallow wounds, removing bullets and pellets from Shifters who ran into hunters. Trackers had their jobs; Kendrick had his.

Dimitri’s face was chalk white, moisture in his eyes, but he bore up, letting Kendrick settle his arm in the sling.

“You keep it still all day, even when it feels better,” Kendrick admonished. “
Perfectly
still, you got that?”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Dimitri said, his voice barely above a whisper. Apparently, he remembered English again. “H-hey, Addie, wanna play n-nurse?”

“He’s all right,” Jaycee said, her usual robustness dimmed.

“Good,” Addison said. “Now what are you going to do about the tiger on the porch steps?”

She had a point. Kendrick approached, lifted a protesting Brett from Tiger’s back, and nudged the Bengal with his foot. “You need to talk to me.”

Tiger glanced up at him, worry in his tawny eyes.
She was trying to leave. She must stay.

Kendrick didn’t need to ask who he meant. His gaze shot to Addison. “Where were you thinking to go?”

She gave him a stubborn look. “Home. Only I didn’t want to make a big production of it. Obviously, that ship has sailed.”

“Why?” Kendrick asked, but he was drowned out by his sons who swarmed off Tiger and made for Addison. They clung to her legs, the little tigers’ mewling shrill. Robbie sat down and howled.

“You can’t leave the cubs,” Kendrick said firmly. At the same time, he wanted to howl too. The thought of her going, and him discovering her absence too late, made a hole open up inside him. “You volunteered to help with them, remember?”

“You have plenty of people to take care of them now,” Addison said. “I came along to make sure they were all right, and they are.”

“Dimitri’s down for a bit,” Kendrick continued. Dimitri gestured at his sling, agreeing. “I need you here.” Kendrick turned his head and scowled at Jaycee. “Jaycee, why didn’t you tell me she was trying to leave? You were supposed to be watching out for her.”

Jaycee flicked a hard glance at Addison. Addison returned the look neutrally.

Jaycee swallowed. “It’s my fault,” she said in a quiet voice. “I told—”

“No, it isn’t,” Addison broke in quickly. “I’m feeling bad about leaving my sister alone, that’s all. I knew I couldn’t stay here forever.”

“Why?” Kendrick demanded. “Why can’t you stay?” Robbie’s wolf howls increased, an eardrum-piercing pitch.

Addison shouted over them. “Why? Because I have a life.”

“The life where you work low-paying waitress jobs, go home, get up, and start all over again?” Kendrick snarled. “That’s what you told me.”

“Don’t throw that back at me.” Addison pointed her forefinger at him. “It’s a better life than many people get. Plus I love my sister and kids, and they need me.”

“
I
need you.” Kendrick moved swiftly to her. “Get that through your head, Addison. Grab your things out of Charlie’s truck and put them back in our room.”

Addison didn’t move, except to lower her hand. “And if I choose not to?” she asked.

“You. Can’t. Choose. Not to.” The words jerked out of Kendrick, his desperation growing. He couldn’t let her out of his sight, and he couldn’t safely be around her either. This was going to kill him.

“Way to woo a girl, Kendrick,” Addison said, sparks in her eyes. “Who can resist commands and an implication that she’s slow on the uptake?”

“What?” Kendrick had no idea what she was talking about. Addison belonged with him, the cubs loved her, he needed her, end of discussion. Why Dimitri looked like he wanted to burst out laughing, Kendrick didn’t know. A second ago Dimitri had been tight with pain.

Jaycee, on the other hand, looked ashamed. Kendrick didn’t know the why of that either. In fact, the only being in this group who didn’t look tense was Tiger.

“Fine,” Kendrick said, his voice hardening. “I’ll woo you. Addison Price, under the light of the Father God and in front of witnesses, I claim you as mate.”