Trusting A Tiger (Alaskan Tigers) (6 page)

Felix awoke
with a start, his heart beating against his ribcage and his whole body
screaming something was wrong. He opened his shields to check on Ty and Tabitha
just down the hall. They were safe and sleeping peacefully. Lying there,
listening to the ear transmitter, everything seemed calm. He laid there after coming
to the conclusion that it had to be a dream, his eyes drifting shut when his
phone rang.
Adam.
He’s not on guard duty with Tabitha. What the hell had
Adam calling?

Sliding
his finger over the answer button, he brought it to his ear. “Hello.”

“I
need you here. Robin is freaking out. You need to get over here now.” The alarm
thickened Adam’s voice.

“I’ll
be right there.” Jumping out of bed, he ended the call. It had to be about
Harmony.

He
slipped into the jeans and shoes that he always kept close to the bed for
emergencies before slipping on a T-shirt. Grabbing his shoulder holster, he
charged out the door. There wasn’t a minute to spare if something was wrong
with his mate. He set off in a steady jog until he made it outside, then he ran
through the night almost at tiger speed. Thoughts of what could have happened
raced through his mind. He knew no one was on the compound grounds, so Henry
couldn’t have made it this far yet.

Skidding
to a halt in front of Adam’s cabin, he sent dirt flying through the air. He
jumped onto the porch as Adam pulled open the door. “What’s going on?”

“Inside.”
Adam nodded.

Felix
stepped around him, and Robin came into view. She sat on the sofa, the cinnamon
and spices from the tea she was clutching drifted toward him. Her eyes looked
haunted and full of regret. What had happened since he retired for the evening?

“Oh,
Felix, you’re here.” Tears fell down her cheeks, but he wasn’t sure if they
were tears of pain or gratitude.

“What
happened?” Felix moved in, coming to sit across from her but leaving the
comforting to her mate who would do a better job at it.

“Harmony.
Oh, Felix, you have to help her. She’s gone!” She cried out as Adam wrapped his
arm around her shoulder, comforting her.

“What?”
Felix nearly jumped from the chair. “I just saw her—she was tired and going to
bed. What do you mean ‘she’s gone’?”

“I was
asleep, thrilled that I wasn’t sharing one of her dreams again. I thought maybe
the tricks Ty taught me this afternoon were working. When I woke, I realized
why I wasn’t having her nightmare—she’s not sleeping.” With shaking hands, she
reached out to set the tea mug aside. “I can feel her, but she’s left the
compound. She’s determined to take Henry down herself instead of bringing the
danger to the clan. You have to do something.”

“Where
is she?” Felix could kick himself for not seeing it earlier. After Ty delivered
the news that she couldn’t help with the search, she had gone quiet. He should
have realized that she was working on plans of her own. Damn it—what kind of
mate was he that he didn’t even know she was planning something.

“She’s
got at least an hour head start on us. She’s heading toward town, hoping to
catch a ride,” Robin explained, her head resting against Adam’s chest.

Felix
rose, he’d have to wake Ty and let him know before he could find his mate.

“I’m
going with you.”

“The
hell you are, Robin!” Adam kept his arm around her, stopping her as she tried
to stand from the sofa.

“I
must go with Felix if we’re to bring Harmony back. He needs me with him in
order to find her.” She ran her hand over Adam’s leg. “If we both go, we have a
better chance of bringing her back tonight and keeping her out of trouble.”

“I’ll
find her myself,” Felix told her. “Call me if you have any other information.”

Robin
laid her hand over Adam’s, but her gaze was on Felix. “Henry is going to be
drawn to her, knowing that she’s alone. We have to bring her back tonight. In
order to do that, you need me with you. I’ll be able to feel her stronger as we
get closer to her.”

“I
don’t like the idea of my mate leaving the compound without me, but she’s
right. If you stand a chance of bringing Harmony back tonight, you need Robin
with you.” Adam kissed the top of Robin’s head, sending a danger through
Felix’s heart at the display of love between them. “Don’t discount my mate
because she’s human. She’s a good shot, and with our mating, she’s faster and
stronger than the average human. She can hold her own.”

“We
can’t both leave Tabitha unprotected,” Felix told Adam, softening a little to
the idea. He’d do whatever he could to find his mate quickly, including using
his best friend’s mate as a compass if he needed to. If Henry made it there
before he could get the women back to safety, it was going to be tricky to
protect both women.

“I
know. Take Taber or Thorben with you. I trust them to help if things wrong.”
Adam dragged his fingers down Robin’s arm. “If it was anyone else but you, I
wouldn’t agree to send my mate, but I know you’ll protect her as if she was
yours.”

Felix
nodded. “You have my word.”

“Very
well. I’ll let Ty know. You get one of Kallie’s mates and gear up. Robin will
be ready when you are.”

Robin
turned her head, resting it in Adam’s shoulder, her lips hovering above his
neck. “Thank you.”

“I’ll
get an SUV and be outside your cabin in twenty minutes.” With that, Felix took
two quick strides to the door. With one final look back at the couple, he
opened it.
Damn Harmony for not only risking herself but the people that had
come to care about her.

Felix
headed to recruit Taber for the newest mission, but the command center caught
his attention and raised his anger. Whoever was on duty wasn’t doing their job
if Harmony was able to sneak off the grounds without raising alarm. It would
add a few minutes to the lead Harmony had on them, but if the compound was
going to be safe, he needed to stop there and drill a few lessons into whoever
was behind the cameras. Tonight it was someone sneaking off, but next time it
could be someone attacking the compound.

He pushed
the door open, ready to tear someone’s head off. Felix was shocked to find Mike
sitting behind the computer station, cup of coffee in hand. Mike was one of the
most dedicated on command-center duty. It was unlike him to let someone slip in
or out of the compound.

“Felix,
what can I do for you?” Mike asked, sitting his coffee aside.

Taking
a deep breath, Felix’s jaw set. “We had someone leave the compound under the
cover of night. I want to know how it happened.”

“Who?
When?” Mike turned back to the monitors, scanning them again.

“Harmony,
about an hour ago. I want to know how it happened and where, and I want to know
now.”

Mike
shot a quick look over his shoulder back to Felix. “Are you sure? I haven’t
seen any unusual movement.”

“Damn
right I’m sure. She’s not here. I want to know how you managed to overlook her
climbing a fence.” Felix slammed his hand against the door, splintering it.

“Felix.”
He turned to find Ty coming up the stairs. “Go find her. I’ll deal with Mike,
and we’ll figure out how this happened.”

“If
someone can leave the compound unnoticed, someone can get in. Tabitha’s in
danger if people aren’t doing their job.” Felix’s nails dug into the palm of
his hand.

“There
are a few spots on the compound that the cameras don’t cover. New cameras have
arrived but have yet to be put up. The guards know of the spots, and they monitor
them closely,” Mike defended. “I’ve been on duty and haven’t left my post…I
haven’t seen anything, Felix.”

“This
is unacceptable.” Felix’s beast’s attention was caught with the anger coursing
through him.

“She
was never a prisoner here—none of the members are.”

Spinning
toward his Alpha, a growl erupted from Felix. “She’s my mate. If it was Tabitha,
wouldn’t you be angry?”

“If it
was my mate, I’d be searching for her and figure out how the hell it happened
later.” Ty glared at Felix for a moment. “Harmony pointed out a flaw in our
protection. She had time to study us. Anyone who’s attacking won’t be able to
do that. We’ll deal with adding more cameras and possibly more guards if
needed, but now it’s important that you find Harmony before Henry does.”

His
Alpha was right. He’d deal with Mike and whatever flaws laid in their security
after he found his mate. “Fine.”
Harmony, I’m coming for you.

* * *

Creeping
through the woods with the darkness covering it like a thick blanket had Harmony
on edge. In the security of the compound over the last few weeks, she forgot
how much she hated hiding in the woods, the darkness clinging to the trees and making
the forest seem sinister. Occasionally, she’d catch a glimpse of the twinkling
stars overhead, which eased the pulse rising in her throat.

If
she’d shift, she could make the twenty miles from the compound to Fairbanks in
less than an hour. But in her tiger form, the connection to Henry was stronger.
With her shields down in tiger form, she couldn’t block the connection as well.
He’d pinpoint her location before she could get far enough from the clan to
keep the danger away. The whole point of her running was to protect those she
had come to care about. She couldn’t risk them now, she’d have to continue the
journey on foot. With luck on her side, she could make Fairbanks by morning.

A howl
echoed from the top of the mountain, stopping her in her tracks. The wolves of
the area didn’t seem to like her being in their domain. They could smell her
tigress but couldn’t find it, all they could find was a human. Some humans
would be scared off, but her beast only laughed that the wolves were on edge.
She wanted to shift, to make the territory her own, just in spite. There was no
time for games, though, not tonight.

She quickened
her pace—she had to make it to Fairbanks in order to catch the eight o’clock
flight to Seattle if she was to get away before Felix found her. Seattle would
allow her the distance and crowd to hide from him. If their mating had been
more conventional and he was able to feel her feelings even before the mating
was complete as most were, she wouldn’t have been able to slip off the compound
grounds without him noticing.

Damn
Henry for ruining everything! If it weren’t for him, she’d have been able to
claim her mate like she was destined to do. They’d share the bond that mates do
from the start, but the bond with Henry was getting in the way of what she
should have had with Felix. Eliminating him would put everything back to where
it should have been and would give her the life she was destined to have—the
life she didn’t know she wanted until earlier that day. Now, she’d stand and
fight for it with her dying breath.

Felix
leaned against the black SUV in front of Adam’s cabin waiting for Robin and
Taber. He was eager to just jump into the SUV and drive off, leaving the others
behind. However, the Alaskan Tigers were about teamwork, not going off half-cocked
by yourself. Taking a deep breath, he filled his lungs with the night air,
catching teases of his mate’s scent before letting it out slowly. He needed to
keep himself and his beast under control if he was going to keep his head in
the game.

Adam
came out of the cabin, his arm tightly around Robin’s waist. “I’m trusting you
to protect my mate and bring her back just as she is now.”

“She’ll
be safe, you have my word.” Felix nodded to Adam, knowing that, even with the
bond between them, sending his mate off the compound without him was difficult.
“Robin, are you armed?”

“Yes.”
She pulled her lightweight jacket back to reveal the gun riding just in front
of her hip. “I have a knife strapped to my ankle as well.”

“Very
well. We’re just waiting for Taber, and then we’re ready.” Felix pushed off the
SUV and stood straight. “Adam, I’ve asked Theodore to cover my guard duty in
the morning. He’ll meet you at Alpha’s quarters. Hopefully we won’t be longer than
that.”

“Don’t
worry, I have it covered. Tabitha will be protected.” Adam turned Robin into
his body, wrapping both arms around her. It was as if he was trying to stock up
on the attention so that when she was gone he wouldn’t feel as alone.

“Thorben
and Tad are available if anything comes up,” Taber stated, coming around the
front of the SUV.

“The
clan will be fine. You need to focus on finding Harmony and bringing everyone
back safely.” Adam kissed the top of his mate’s forehead. “Be safe and listen
to Felix. If he says run, you run. Don’t question him. I want you back here
uninjured.”

Robin
pulled back enough to look up at her mate. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’m not
going to do anything stupid.” She leaned up to kiss him.

Felix
couldn’t stand the intimacy any longer, not when his mate was out there alone.
He did the only thing he could in that moment, he turned around and headed to
the driver’s side. Taber followed, taking the passenger’s side. It would give
the mates a moment of privacy before Robin climbed into the backseat.

He was
determined to get Harmony back and convince her she was his mate before
anything else could happen. Giving her time to accept him was great in theory,
but it also left things incomplete, including the mating bond. She’d never
again be able to hide something so big from him…their bond would ensure that.

“We’ll
find her.” Taber’s deep voice pulled Felix out of his thoughts.

“What?”
Felix looked over at Taber.

“You’re
putting indents in the steering wheel.” Taber nodded to the wheel that Felix
held in a death grip. “I know you’re worried about Harmony.”

Felix
took a deep breath and loosened his grip on the steering wheel. “I know we will,
and when I get my hands on Henry, I swear I’ll make him suffer for everything
he did to her—for causing this rift between us. His connection to her is why
the bond isn’t already there—the reason I didn’t know she had this planned.
Damn him!”

“We’ll
deal with him, but first we’ve got to get your mate back to safety. Then, if
you want, we’ll go after him. Do you know where he is?”

Felix
shook his head. “Not yet. He’s closer than he has been, but all I know for sure
is that he hasn’t made it to Alaska. There’s something about the glimpse that I
caught that makes me believe he’s in Colorado, but I’m not sure.” The back door
opened, and Robin slid in. Felix turned to meet his partner’s gaze. “She’ll be
back soon.”

“Be
safe,” Adam told them before turning his attention back to his mate. “I love
you.”

Felix
turned the key, bringing the engine to life before gazing back at Robin in the
rearview mirror. “So where to?”

Robin
scooted to the middle seat, positioning herself between Taber and Felix. “She’s
slinking through the woods, heading to Fairbanks. Take the road towards
Fairbanks. Once we’re closer, we’re going to have to do the rest on foot.”

Steering
the SUV toward the main compound gate, Felix could suppress the anxiety of
taking Robin on this mission. “I don’t like the idea of taking you to traipse through
the woods.”

Robin
leaned forward between the seats. “Unless you want to wait until she makes it
to Fairbanks, I don’t see any other option.”

Felix
could think of at least two different options, but neither of them seemed like
a better decision. After all, he needed her to find Harmony quickly. Traipsing
around the woods in the middle of the night was dangerous enough. Most animals
would stay away from them once they caught the scent of their beasts, but
having Robin with them would slow them down. She didn’t have the night vision
that Taber and he had, so they’d have to lead her through the woods if she was
going to come out uninjured.

“She’s
about half-way to Fairbanks and less than a half-mile in from the road. There’s
a wolf stalking her from a distance, and it’s making her uneasy.” Robin leaned
back, her eyes closed. “She’s doing this for you—for you and for the clan. If
she can take out Henry without bringing danger to the clan, she’ll feel like
she can finally accept you as her mate, to truly be a part of our clan.”

“Damn
it, she didn’t need to do this to be a part of the clan! She is a part of us
because she’s my mate.” Hitting the main road, Felix put his foot down on the
gas, closing the distance between him and his mate.

“She
didn’t want to bring any more danger to Tabitha or the clan. There’s been too
much lately. Now that Pierce has been eliminated, there was hope that the clan
could relax before taking on the next challenge, but she came along and brought
more danger.”

Taber
turned in his seat, looking back at Robin. “Wait, how does she know about
Pierce?”

“I
told her,” Felix explained, not taking his eyes from the road. He had done it
before Ty expressed his desire to keep the clan’s business confidential until
Harmony decided where her loyalties lay. “She was concerned we wouldn’t find
Henry. Trying to lessen her fears, I told her that we had the best people
available working on his location. That Connor was amazing with his computer
skills, and we’d find him, just like we did with Pierce. She had to know this
wasn’t our first rodeo and that we’d find him before he could get to her.”

Silence
filled the car. It was almost as if they knew there were many more battles in
the future of the Alaskan Tigers before they’d be truly safe. Even without the
threat of Henry, there was still the Texas Tigers and Avery that posed a
threat. With Tabitha’s upcoming announcement as Queen of the Tigers, more
threats could be waiting on the horizon. Only time would tell what was in store
for the clan.

Felix’s
cell phone vibrated in his shirt pocket. He pulled it out, sliding his finger
over it to answer before putting it to his ear. “Hello?”

“She
went over the fence near the creek. There isn’t a camera there. It’s one of the
unmonitored spots that will be addressed, but there’s footage of her going down
by the creek. Mike didn’t think it was unusual since she’s been spending a lot
of time down at the creek over the last few weeks,” Ty told him, a shuffle of
papers in the background let Felix know he was still working.

Felix
knew Harmony enjoyed the creek, especially the little hiding spot she made for
herself, so he couldn’t blame Mike for not finding it suspicious. “I appreciate
you finding out. When I return, I’ll go over any unmonitored area of the
perimeter with Mike, and we’ll secure them. If Harmony can leave that way, it’s
possible an enemy might use it to attack.”

“I’d
have had the information to you sooner, except something came up. Hold on.”
There was a mumble as Ty spoke to someone else, and more papers were shifted
before he came back on the line. “Korbin called. Randolph sent a message asking
for any of the Ohio shifters loyal to him to meet him in the spot they’ve held
their meetings. Korbin and Jinx are trying to find out where, but so far
they’ve had ten members leave the clan.”

“Ten
members? The clan only had twenty members to begin with. How much did Randolph
have his hands in?”

“From
what Korbin has gathered so far, the Alpha and Randolph have been preaching the
need to kill Tabitha. It seems as though Randolph will be leading a small clan
of his own—the rogues by his side—with the main goal of killing Tabitha.” The
anger seeped into Ty’s voice.

It was
insane that a group of tiger shifters wanted to kill Tabitha when everyone
believed that if she was killed before her line could continue, the tiger
shifters would cease to exist. Why would they want to kill off their own kind?
None if it made sense to him.

“We
knew there’d be opposition to Tabitha, especially once she comes out at Queen. This
changes nothing. Any idea where Randolph is?” Felix careened around the corner
quickly, sending Robin toward the door.

“I
suspect he’s in Ohio, but Connor is on it. There’s a hit that Henry is in
Colorado. He bought a ticket to Seattle, leaving tonight. Does that mean
anything to you?”

Seattle?
“No,
should it?”

“I
don’t know. It means nothing to us, and no lead was found as to why. If he were
coming for Harmony, why wouldn’t he fly into Fairbanks? Or into one of the
other airports in Alaska if he didn’t want to deal with Border Control while crossing
in and out of Canada?” Ty’s confusion mixed with the anger.

“Stop,”
Robin called from the backseat.

“I’ve
got to go.” Felix slid the SUV to the shoulder.

“Find
her and bring her home,” Ty added before ending the call.

Putting
the SUV into Park, he turned to Robin. “This is where she is?”

Robin
nodded. “About a half-mile in from the road. She made exceptional time for
staying in her human form. The longer we wait, the more distance she puts
between us. Let’s go.”

“Won’t
she smell us coming?” Taber drew his hand through his shaggy hair.

“We’ll
have to stay downwind from her if we’re to get to her without her smelling us
first.” Felix pushed open his door, his steel-toed boot hitting the cement as
he lowered his legs to stand. The road was quiet, no animals scampering though
the woods. The scent of Harmony’s tigress had sent them scattering. To add his
tiger and Taber’s bear into it would scare off any remaining wildlife.

Robin
stepped out, coming to stand next to him while buttoning her lightweight jacket.
“I agree. We go downwind of her, but when we get close, you’ll need to let her
smell you. She’s spooked and has a gun. I don’t want any of us at the wrong end
of it and end up with a bullet hole for our troubles.”

“I’ll
go first. Stay close, and, Taber, you’re in charge of protecting Robin. If
anything happens, get her back to the SUV and get her to safety.” Felix tossed
the spare keys to Taber who was coming around the front of the SUV.

Taber
caught the keys midair. “You hear that, Robin? You’re stuck with me.”

“We
can’t just leave you if something goes wrong,” Robin tried to reason.

He spun
toward Robin. She was a foot shorter than him, yet she had enough spitfire of
someone twice her size. “I’ll be fine, but I promised Adam I’d bring you back
safe. Now if you’re going to argue, I’ll have Taber take you home now.” When
she remained silent, he nodded. “With that settled, let’s go.”

He led
the way into the woods, knowing that Taber would take up the rear so Robin was in
between them for additional protection. Entering the dark woods, he heard a
faint click from behind him, and a pin light reflect off the ground. Turning,
he found Robin holding a small pen-sized flashlight in her left hand. Her gun
hand was free in case she had to go for it.

“What?
I don’t have the same freaky night vision you two have.”

He
couldn’t help but smile. Robin had only been with the clan a few months, but
she fit in like she had always been there. The easy nature she had with him
proved she was truly part of the family. Shaking his head, he turned back
around, heading deeper into the woods. He was able to pick up a whiff of his
mate. The scent drifting to his nose was like a direct line to his shaft and
nearly made him stumble over a log on the ground.

His
beast charged forward, claws digging into his insides as if fighting to be
released. Taking a deep breath, he tried to push his tiger down, but all it did
was fill his body with her essence and make his tiger more anxious. They were
pushing the limits of their beasts, denying this mating. The time he had to
find her and get her back to the compound before his tiger would no longer be
suppressed was narrowing by the second.

Taber
stepped up next to him. “You haven’t claimed her yet.”

Felix
looked to him, trying to decide if it was merely a statement or a question.
Even in the dim light of Robin’s flashlight he could see the questions in
Taber’s eyes. “I was giving her time to accept it. Tonight, almost…damn it,
that’s why she pulled away tonight.”