Here There Be Tigers (21 page)

She considered picking up her rifle but was
afraid the males would view that as a threat so she left the weapon
on the floor. When Mitch left his gun leaning against the side of
the couch, he confirmed her thinking. They had to be careful here.
Antagonizing the group would be bad. She wasn’t sure how much use
the guns would be against so many shifters anyway.

As she and Mitch headed toward the glass doors
leading to the balcony, the entire group followed them, but Mitch
kept the tide back with a glare and a growled, “She’ll be safe with
me.”

Once they were outside, Nila noticed the
multi-layer wooden porch up the back of the house led down to the
lake. Mitch walked her to one of the lower levels. She knew the
others could still see them from the house if they made an effort
to look, but the distance provided a little breathing
space.

“
This is overwhelming and scary,”
she murmured, knowing the others probably heard her anyway. “Why
are they being so…attentive?”

“
You’re a female who can give them
children. At least that’s what they think. Hope. All the males in
the area will be courting you soon.”

“
Oh, god, I hope not.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if she
couldn’t just tell them she was with Mitch and put an end to the
attention, but she didn’t want to force him into anything. They’d
had one amazing night together, and they’d gotten a lot out on the
table. But she hadn’t even had time to fully process her feelings
for him. She needed more time to talk with him about his situation
and where that left them. She just didn’t want to do that here.
Until they talked more, she didn’t feel she could lay any claims on
the man.

And she was scared.

What if he didn’t want more than sex? What if,
despite what she’d said about his status, he felt it was a wall
between them that couldn’t be breached? What if he didn’t want to
breach that wall for her? Sex and lust didn’t translate into deeper
feelings. She might be falling, but that didn’t mean he
was.

She’d deal with that when the time came, though
she was afraid the news might break her heart. In the meantime, she
didn’t want to rush the conversation. They had more than enough to
deal with at the moment.

“
They’ll keep a respectful
distance,” Mitch said. “For now. But this is something you’ll
eventually have to deal with. You’ll probably need to establish a
territory. They’ll respect that and stay away unless
invited.”

“
A territory? How the hell do I do
that? And more importantly
how
do I do that when I’m
currently on the run?”

He pulled in a deep breath, his chest expanding
and drawing her attention. Swallowing back a little rush of desire,
she looked out over the lake in an attempt to keep her mind on the
conversation. Oak and hickory covered the area, the oak coming
close to the water’s edge near the cabin, leaving a small beach
below the porch. A wooden dock stuck out into the lake, but no
boats were tethered. The water sparkled in the hot August sunshine,
making Nila crave a dip as sweat dripped down her back from just
the few minutes she’d been outside.

“
For now,” Mitch said, “we’ll worry
about keeping you alive. Once Petrov is out of the picture, you can
figure out the territory thing. It shouldn’t be too hard. You just
need a base, a house or cabin or something, and then let it be
known that’s your space. No one is allowed in unless invited. Then
don’t invite anyone.”

Would you come if I invited?
But she
couldn’t say that out loud. As far as she knew, he intended to go
back to his life after Petrov was captured. He’d told her he wasn’t
in the running as a possible mate. He’d explained why she shouldn’t
even consider him. She was torturing herself imagining the
what-ifs.

“
Would the males just stay away?
What keeps them from…ignoring my territorial
boundaries?”

“
Custom, law, tradition,
instinct.”

“
Can I ask an odd question?” She
looked up to see him grinning at her.

“
Given what’s been going on the last
week, I doubt what you have to ask is as ‘odd’ as what you’ve
learned.”

“
True.” She smiled and looked back
at the lake to avoid getting lost in his gaze. “Tigers in the wild
are solitary and only come together to mate, while tiger shifters
obviously aren’t so solitary since they get married. But, this
place… Is it…?” She was going to say “normal” but given none of
this was normal, her question seemed absurd.

“
You’re wondering if it’s usual for
this many tigers to live in one cabin?” Mitch finished for
her.

“
Yeah.”

“
It’s not normal at all. We don’t
gather up in groups and live together like this. Families, parents
and children, live together, and sometimes those families are
large. But even extended families tend to leave space between their
homes. Uncles and aunts, cousins and grandparents won’t live next
door to one another, nonetheless in a single home. We’re an
independent species, and we like our space.”

“
So, if this is odd, then we might
have gone from the frying pan into the fire?”

He glanced over his shoulder back at the house.
“For now, you’re safe enough. They all want to make a good
impression on you, and they definitely don’t want you
dead.”

“
Which is a step up from
Petrov.”

“
But we’re seriously
outnumbered.”

“
I noticed.”

“
And I’m worried their attention
might get a little too…aggressive.”

“
Fantastic,” she muttered with no
little sarcasm. “So what do we do? Safe for now isn’t all that
safe. But Petrov knows where we were staying. He’s probably
watching the place.”

“
Don’t suppose you have the
cellphone?”

She patted her hip pocket.

“
I think we can risk a phone
call.”

“
Who?”

“
Elizaveta. She can send someone
else to help.”

“
Why her? Why not Irina and Max?
They’re closer and they know where we are.”

“
I’d rather not get Irina involved.
I don’t want her risking her pregnancy.”

Nila frowned up at him. “Why is everyone so
worried about her pregnancy? Is it difficult for tiger shifters to
carry to term?”

“
No. Once we conceive, we generally
have the same success rate as humans in bringing healthy children
into the world. We’re so protective of Irina because her scans have
shown she’s having a girl.”

Nila straightened. “Ah. Now I get
it.”

“
The female tiger who can conceive a
female child is also considered extremely valuable. We not only
want Irina’s baby safe, we want her safe.”

“
And if Max tries helping us, Irina
will follow.”

Mitch chuckled. “I doubt he’d be able to stop
her. She’s very strong willed.”

“
Who do you think your grandmother
will send, then? It’ll have to be someone you trust.”

“
I have a few friends on this coast
that can help if they know where we are. She’ll contact one of
them.”

“
One? Maybe she better send in the
cavalry.” Nila glanced back at the house then met Mitch’s
gaze.

He pursed his lips, frowning in thought. “The
only problem with sending more tigers to protect you is that it
might spark fighting with this group. I don’t know why they’re
gathered here, I don’t know what’s going on with them, but adding
too many additional males to the mix can only complicate things.
One trusted friend coming to give us a lift out of the area will be
less threatening.”

She conceded his point with a shrug. “Should I
call my dad?” she asked as she pulled out the phone. “I’m still
worried Petrov will go after him and my grandma.”

“
You’ll worry your father if you
call before we have a safe place to stay. Petrov knows where you
are now. He’ll continue coming after you directly. He doesn’t need
your family.”

She stared at Mitch without
responding.

He sighed. “Will it make
you
feel better
to talk to him?”

“
Yes.”

“
Okay. I’ll call my grandmother.
Then you call you father. But be brief.” He nodded toward the
house. “They're hearing some of what we say.”

Worry made a fist in her stomach as she waited
for Mitch to finish his call. She stared at the lake, trying to let
it sooth her, but she practically felt the looming house behind her
like a hunting animal crouching in the tall grass. The hairs on the
back of her neck rose, and she shivered despite the summer
heat.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

When Mitch finished his call, he handed Nila
the phone, a pensive expression on his face.

“
What did Elizaveta say?”

“
She’s worried about us being here.
There are rumors of young males gathering in groups. The elders
are…leery. The young males haven’t actually done anything
yet.”

“
Yet being the operative
word?”

He nodded. “There’ve been rumblings,
dissatisfaction, issues with the Mate Run. She doesn’t want us
staying here. Since we have no way to leave just yet, though, we’ll
have to take the risk. At least for tonight. Sanjay was right.
Petrov won’t try attacking this place with so many males.
Hopefully, my grandmother can get someone here by
morning.”

His frown deepened as he glanced up at the
house.

“
What’s wrong now?” she asked,
though there was already so much wrong, she couldn’t imagine what
else might worry him. Her nerves were lit up with the anxiety
crawling over her skin. She wasn’t sure she could take any
more.

“
I’m wondering why I didn’t pick up
signs of them before. I didn’t smell any of them in the territory I
explored around John’s place. Only Max and Irina.”

“
Maybe they’ve been avoiding that
area because of Max and Irina?”

“
Possibly. But I went through the
woods beyond where Max normally goes when he’s here. Not that much
farther, but enough I should have scented…something.”

“
How far are we from John’s? Quite a
ways, right? You never explored too far because you never wanted to
leave me alone for long. Maybe you just didn’t get far enough out
in the right direction. Maybe they spend most of their time in the
woods in the complete opposite direction from John’s.”

“
Why would they, though? John is
human. Max isn’t here all the time. It’s not Irina’s territory. Why
avoid that direction?” He put his hands on his hips and his frown
turned into a full scowl.

She wanted to shrug off his concern, but she
was too nervous about the situation to believe her own excuses. If
Mitch was worried, she was sure the reasons were valid. “Whether
it’s coincidence or not, we’ll be safer somewhere else.”

“
Agreed.”

“
Did your grandmother say who she
was going to call?”

“
My grandmother never says anything
over the phone. I’ll know I can trust the person she sends when I
see him.”

“
How did you let her know where we
are?”

“
I gave her the rough distance and
direction from John’s cabin. She knows were that is
already.”

“
From when you talked to her earlier
in the week?”

“
We haven’t been that detailed on
the phone. I gave hints for her to research. Things only she would
pick up on. She confirmed her knowledge in ways only immediate
family would understand.” His dark expression finally softened. “We
actually have a secret family code. My grandmother is… Well, she’s
a little paranoid and very sneaky—don’t ever tell her I said that.”
He pointed a finger at Nila in warning.

She raised a hand, palm facing him. “Swear I’ll
keep that to myself.”

He almost smiled as he held her gaze. “I can’t
wait for you to meet her.”

“
I’m looking forward to it.” Though
she had mixed feelings about Elizaveta, she really was looking
forward to meeting the woman face to face. It was obvious Mitch
loved her, and her own grandmother had spoken fondly of her Russian
friend for years. Nila’s curiosity was peaked.

But Nila knew Elizaveta intended on pressuring
her into marrying and having children with a tiger shifter. The
only tiger shifter Nila wanted anything to do with had already made
it clear he wasn’t an option, despite what had happened last
night.

Nila shook off this line of thought. She
couldn’t worry about the future when she was worried about the here
and now. They were surrounded by all these tigers she couldn’t
trust. In fact, she’d yet to meet a tiger besides Mitch, Max, and
Irina who didn’t give her the creeps. Even her own half brother—the
one not trying to kill her—had freaked her out. That didn’t bode
well for Elizaveta’s plans of marrying Nila off to a tiger
shifter.

Unless the elders let Nila choose
Mitch…

She let her gaze roam over his handsome face,
down across his beautiful body as thoughts of their night together
teased her. If not for their current predicament, she’d find it so
easy to drag him into the woods, strip him naked, and fuck him
until they were both boneless heaps of satisfaction. The temptation
of his heat and scent drew her a step closer to him.