Here There Be Tigers (30 page)

A third tiger came out of nowhere, charging up
to them and then running beside them. Friend or foe, she wondered,
tightening her grip. But before she could decide, the new tiger
changed directions again and headed back the way she and the others
had come. Her mount and escort didn’t even pause. They ran at a
steady uphill angle, weaving deeper into the woods.

Nila’s muscles screamed from the effort of
trying not to fall. When they finally slowed to a trot, then a
walk, she nearly slid to the ground in a heap. Her mount stopped
and let her crawl off. She tumbled onto the leaf strewn muddy
ground and made no effort to get up. The three animals stood
staring at her as if waiting for her to do something. She stared
back with her eyebrows raised.

“
If you need me to run on my own,
you’re gonna have to give me a minute.” She wasn’t entirely sure
she could stand nonetheless run. Her muscles quivered from overuse
and her limbs refused to move. A weird sensation of cement-like
heaviness and an airy floating feeling ran through her
body.

After a moment of staring, Mitch moved forward
and nudged her arm with his head, then nodded toward something
behind her. She glanced back. A large dark hole opened up in the
side of the mountain-face.

“
A cave?” she asked, facing Mitch
again.

He nodded.

“
You want me to go in?”

The tiger Nila had been riding moved to the
entrance, glancing back once before disappearing inside. A moment
later, to Nila’s complete amazement, Irina stepped out of the
cave.

She was fully dressed. Nila was sure there
hadn’t been enough time for her to have shifted so she knew the
tiger that had gone inside wasn’t Irina. Irina had even said she
couldn’t shift while pregnant. But the transition still took Nila a
moment to process. Then she found her voice.

“
What are you doing here? I thought
no one wanted you involved in this? You shouldn’t be here. You
might get hurt.”

Irina smiled a little as she crouched down in
front of her. “Can you stand or are you hurt?”

“
I can limp. I just need a minute
for my muscles to stop shaking. Where’s Max?”

“
Covering your trail and confusing
the scents. Your estrous scent is strong, but he should be able to
confuse the others enough that we’ll be safe for a while.” Irina
looked past her to Mitch. “Long enough for you to heal
anyway.”

Nila turned to Mitch and took in his injuries
closely for the first time. She let her veterinarian’s eye view the
wounds, knowing that was the only way she’d be able to face seeing
what had been done to him.

“
You’re going to need stitches,” she
said. To Irina, she asked, “Do you have a first aid kit or
anything? Can we get him to a hospital?”

Irina shook her head. “No hospital. And he’ll
heal on his own pretty quickly.”

“
One of those wounds is nearly to
the bone. Infection will set in. I can suture him up.”

“
No need.” Irina laid a gentle hand
on her arm. “See, the claw marks on his face are nearly gone? The
wounds will all close up before infection can happen. He just needs
to rest so he stops losing blood.”

“
You’re sure?” All her medical
training balked at leaving those deep gashes untended. They need to
be cleaned and closed. But as she looked closer, she realized Irina
was right, the cuts across his nose had nearly healed already. And
that was while he was running. How much faster would he heal with
some rest?

Mitch nudged her again, more
insistently.

“
He wants you inside,” Irina said.
“Out of sight. We should go. I have some food, if you think you can
eat.”

“
I’m sure I’ll want food in a bit,
but I can’t even think about it right now.”

“
Fair enough.” Irina grinned. “You
sound like me when I had morning sickness.”

With a firm grip and surprising strength, Irina
helped Nila stand. With Mitch on one side and Irina on the other,
Nila shuffled to the dark cave entrance. “Any non-tiger creatures I
should know about?”

She liked bats, but she didn’t particularly
want to try resting in guano. Irina chuckled.

“
Nothing but us big cats,” she said
and flicked on a flashlight Nila hadn’t noticed.

With the line of light, she gave Nila a quick
view of the cave roof and front portion of the space. It wasn’t
very deep but went far enough back to keep them concealed. Irina
flicked the flashlight off and Nila took a minute to let her eyes
adjust to the dimness. Come nightfall, this place would be pitch
dark, but enough daylight filtered in now to allow her to see where
she was going. The tiger that had remained behind with them moved
to the back of the cave, disappearing into the shadows. A moment
later, a woman walked out of the shadows. She was fully dressed in
loose fitting jeans and a t-shirt, stood almost six foot tall, and
carried the kind of lean muscle any professional athlete would
envy. Her brown hair brushed her shoulders in a neat, simple
bob.

She smiled as she crossed to Nila and held out
her hand. “I’m Alexis Tarasova. Elizaveta sent me.”

A soft growling rumble came from Mitch, a sound
of greeting rather than aggression. Nila glanced down at him. This
must be the Alexis he considered a sister.

She took Alexis’ outstretched hand. “Thanks for
your help. You didn’t just go back there, did you?”

“
That was my mate, Victor. He’ll be
out in a minute.” She glanced down at Mitch. “We’ll keep an eye on
her.”

Mitch nodded and padded toward the rear cave
shadows.

“
He’s not going to try shifting, is
he?” Nila asked.

“
The change will help speed up the
healing,” Alexis said. “But he won’t be able to shift back to human
for another half hour or so. The blood loss has left him pretty
weak. Victor will see he gets food and water and will make him rest
until he can change.”

“
What about the others? Are we safe
here for a half hour? Shouldn’t we leave?”

“
The young tigers were busy with
Petrov’s followers when we left. It’ll take time for that chaos to
break and still longer for them to attempt to track us. Meanwhile,
Max is confusing the trail. We have time for Mitch to recover
enough to get to the cars. We left them a few miles from
here.”

Nila glanced at Irina. “Are you okay hiking
that far?” It was a silly question given she must have hiked to
this spot to begin with. Still, everyone was so worried about
her.

Irina rolled her eyes. “I’m perfectly
fine.”

“
She’s strong and the exercise is
good for her,” Alexis added.

Irina laughed. “Alexis is the only tiger I know
who isn’t trying to coddle me. It’s great!”

“
I’ve had a few cubs myself. I know
how it goes.”

“
But…” Nila bit her bottom lip, not
sure if she was allowed to know about the sex of Irina’s
baby.

“
Irina’s having a girl?” Alexis
asked with her brows raised. “That’s all the more reason for her to
stay healthy and physically active while she can. It’ll make labor
easier.”

“
I’m all for an easier labor,” Irina
groaned. She tilted her head and studied Nila. “You look like you
might fall down. Let’s sit.” She gestured to a few blankets spread
on the hard ground and a single fold out camping chair. With a
grimace, Irina said, “Max insisted on the chair. I can still get up
and down off the ground, but try telling him that.”

Nila smiled. “Did you all hike in in human
form?”

Alexis said, “Max and Irina did, Max carrying
some gear for us. Victor and I led the way in tiger form.” She
studied Nila as they settled onto the soft blankets. “You’re taking
all this tiger business pretty well, considering.”

Nila snorted. “I haven’t had much choice in the
matter. I’ll freak out and fall apart when we’re somewhere
safe.”

Irina rested a hand on her shoulder. “You are
safe now. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of you.”

“
What are you and Max doing here?
Mitch didn’t call Max on purpose.”

Irina leaned back in her seat and frowned.
“Well that’s an interesting story. Vlad came to us, to tell us
Petrov had tracked you to John’s cabin.”

“
Vlad?”

“
Max called Elizaveta,” Alexis took
up the story. “She told him that we’d been contacted, and we all
agreed to come help.”

“
At my insistence,” Irina said. “If
Vlad came to Max, Petrov was close to you and you were going to
need all the help you could get.”

“
Thank you,” Nila said, as untimely
tears stung in her eyes. “I didn’t know how to help Mitch. Those
others, they were going to kill him.”

Alexis and Irina exchanged a long look, Irina
frowning.

“
Can you tell us what was going on
at that house?” Alexis asked. “Elizaveta was sketchy in her
details.”

“
To tell you the truth, I’m not
entirely sure what was happening either. I was completely creeped
out by the group of young men living there. Well, except one. But
he was going along with the group so I’m not sure how I feel about
him.”

“
How many were there? We didn’t
really have time to count,” Alexis said.

“
I lost track. At least twelve. I
think. They were led by a man named Gregory.”

Irina sucked in a sharp breath.

Nila focused on her. “He said he knew you and
Max. That he’d participated in some of your Runs.”

“
He fought Max during my last Run,
even though I’d conceived at that stage.” Irina’s frown deepened.
“What did he say? Do you have any idea why he and the others have
gathered here?”

“
Not really. Only that Elizaveta was
worried about it, and according to Mitch, the elders have known
something was up for a few months.”

“
Max alerted them to Gregory,” Irina
confirmed. “But this gathering… And so close to John’s
place.”

“
I got the impression that wasn’t a
coincidence.”

Alexis cursed under her breath. “Irina, he’s
still after you. You and Max need to keep clear of him. You
shouldn’t have come. As soon as he gets Max’s scent, there’s no
telling what he’ll do.”

“
He won’t hurt me. Not right now.
We’re safe enough.”

“
But he might go after Max
again.”

“
Again?” Nila asked.

“
About two weeks after Max and I
were married,” Irina said, “Max saw Gregory stalking him. He never
actually attacked Max.” This last she said to Alexis. “Max beat him
in their fight. He was hardly going to fight him again.”

“
I don’t trust him,” Alexis
said.

“
And you shouldn’t. He’s crazy,”
Nila said. “Mitch even said he smelled off. I don’t know about the
smell thing, but he definitely gave me major worries. I felt like I
was in a scene from Psycho or something.”

“
See,” Alexis said to Irina. “As
soon as Max gets back, you two need to return to the cars. Victor
and I can look after Nila and Mitch.”

“
No. Petrov is out there somewhere
with his people, and there are at least twelve young tigers lead by
a crazy man. We’re out numbered as it is. We will stick together.”
Irina shrugged. “Besides, not a single one of them is likely to
hurt me at the moment so what better security could you
have.”

“
They might not hurt you directly,
but they might go after Max,” Alexis said.

“
Max is tough. I’m not
worried.”

Irina might not be, but Nila sure as hell was.
She wasn’t going to feel safe until they’d put several states
between them and Gregory’s tigers. Not to mention Petrov. She felt
what little energy she had left draining into the cold stone
beneath the blanket. How could they survive this? They couldn’t
keep running indefinitely.

Out loud, she said, “Where the hell are the
Trackers? Why is Petrov still free?”

Alexis and Irina exchanged another long
glance.

“
Good question,” Alexis said. “I’d
like to know the same thing. Elizaveta said they were zeroing in on
Petrov, but…”

“
But why did you all get here in
time to help us and they didn’t?” Nila finished for her. “Maybe the
Trackers want me dead, too. Mitch said Petrov wouldn’t be the only
one.”

A long silence descended, so quiet Nila
actually heard a faint trickle of water from somewhere deeper in
the cave.

Finally, Irina leaned forward and patted her
shoulder. “You’re safe now. We’ll work the rest of it
out.”

Nila wished she could believe that.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE

Nila managed to force down some food, and her
muscles relaxed enough that she didn’t think she’d throw it all
right back up, which was a good thing. Max returned, in tiger form,
just as she finished eating. He stepped up to Irina and rubbed his
big head against her cheek, then moved into the shadows.

This time, no one immerged for long minutes.
Nila kept checking the time with the two women, even as she
attempted to recover enough energy to leave the cave. She almost
fainted with relief when Mitch finally appeared, flanked by Max and
the other man—Victor—all in human form. Mitch was even dressed, in
jeans, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes, more than he’d had on when they
ran from John’s cabin.