Trusting A Tiger (Alaskan Tigers) (9 page)

Harmony
released a relieved sigh, happy that she was no longer screwing up Robin’s life
with her own turmoil. “Then I don’t have to commit to Ty to make things easier
for you. We don’t have to worry about the issues that might cause.”

“You’re
not going to commit to the clan even though you’ve mated with one of the Elder’s
guards?” Tabitha’s voice held a note of surprise and concern.

Shit.
How
was she going to get out of this without sounding ungrateful? She should have
watched her mouth around Tabitha, the Alpha Female and Ty’s mate. “It’s not
that…I had a bad experience with my last Alpha. To commit myself to anyone
might be asking too much of me.”

“But
you committed to Robin and to Felix. Through them you should be able to feel we
are nothing like the one you had experience with.” Tabitha eyed her with
suspicion.

“I’ve
thought about it, and I know it would make things easier for everyone involved,
especially with my mating with Felix. I’m just not sure I can do it.” Harmony
ran her hand through her curls. “I’m torn. I don’t want to be alone, but to
commit myself to a clan and put myself back in the position I was in before is
terrifying.”

“So
you just expect to live here with Felix, know our secrets, and yet not have any
commitments to us?” Tabitha leaned forward, her gaze on Harmony.

“I
didn’t.”

Tabitha
held up her hand cutting Harmony off. “As Felix’s mate you’d be entitled to attend
the Elder meetings, know information concerning threats, upcoming missions, and
more that I don’t even want to think about at the moment. You’d be a security
threat within the walls. We can’t have that. I won’t risk this clan.”

Tabitha’s
words brought home the fact she was still in the same spot she was before. If
she didn’t commit to Ty and the clan, then she’d have issues. She wouldn’t be
able to help Connor with his search, and her computer hacker skills could come
in handy for the clan. Was she willing to risk all to help them just because
she was mated to Felix? Or was she content to sit on the sidelines and let them
handle everything?

Felix
hated being separated from his mate, but this was his job. If Ty asked
something of him, he’d do it. The clan meant everything to him, and mating
didn’t change that. Was he a better guard before his mating? How much was it
going to reflect in him protecting Tabitha, and occasionally Ty?

When
Adam first mated Robin, his attention was divided, part of that was because
Robin was suffering from a panic attack from her time on the run from Pierce.
As Robin began to trust Adam and the clan, he was able to return to his duties
with no issues. Right now Felix could feel his attention divided between his
duties to the clan and his need to be with his mate. He only prayed it was
short term.

“What’s
the issue with Daisy?” Felix asked as he led Ty and Raja toward Daisy’s cabin
on the far side of the grounds. Adam brought up the rear, keeping the Elders
between them. It didn’t matter they were on the compound, they had implemented
strong guidelines when guarding one of the Elders and their mates. The guards
had to think of everyone as a threat to keep them safe.

“We
found her father.” There was a touch of hardness to Ty’s voice, hinting to
Felix that whatever news they were about to deliver to Daisy wasn’t good.

Questions
died on Felix’s tongue as they stepped in front of Daisy’s cabin. He raised his
hand to knock on the door, barging in on her would only frighten her, not to
mention how rude it would be. As a prisoner of Pierce for months, she had been
through too much, including Pierce trying to produce an heir with her. They set
Daisy up in one of the small guest cabins for privacy so she could adjust to
her freedom.

The
door swung open, and Daisy stood there glaring at them, completely covered by a
turtleneck sweater and jeans, which hid her scars. Her red hair flowed around
her while her gaze let them know she was not happy being disturbed. “What?” The
lemony scent of her drifted to them, potent enough that Felix could almost
taste it.

“May
we come in?” Ty asked, stepping forward. As the Alpha of the clan, he had the
right to enter any part of the compound without permission, but he gave her the
illusion of an option to make her more at ease.

She
stepped aside and allowed the four men to enter her small cabin. It was all one
room but was spacious enough that it didn’t feel cramped. The small kitchenette
was just to the right of the doorway with the living area and bedroom space
taking up the back portion. The television was on, but Felix knew from Adam’s
comments when they returned that she kept it on only for the noise because the
silence reminded her of her captivity. Other than that, the only place in the cabin
that looked lived-in was the bed. The blankets were twisted up, and Felix
thought that was most likely from tossing and turning with nightmares.

As
they entered, she scurried away, trying to keep as much distance between her
and them. “I didn’t do it—I haven’t even left the cabin.”

“We’re
not here because of anything you might have done. Why don’t we have a seat?” Ty
nodded toward the small living section.

Shaking
her head ‘no’, she finally met Ty’s gaze. “Please just tell me why you’re here.”

“We
found your father.” Ty leaned against the kitchenette counter. Raja stood next
to him while Felix and Adam stood on each side, with Adam a little closer to
the door to make sure no one else entered.

“My
father.” Relief flooded her voice, and her shoulders relaxed. This was her way
out of Alaska and away from other tigers. She didn’t trust anyone, and being
here surrounded by people was more than she wanted. Instead she hid away in the
cabin, seeing no one. “Where is he? Is he okay?”

Ty
took a step forward, but she backed away. “I’m sorry.”

“No!
It can’t be.” Her legs struggled to hold her before finally giving away, and
she collapsed onto the floor.

Felix
watched her with interest. She looked so much like his mate, the same fiery red
hair, the broken spirit. The resemblance was uncanny. He couldn’t help thinking
that they could have been sisters, but he knew that Harmony’s parents died long
ago, leaving her alone. As far as she knew, there was no other family, except
him now that they were mated.

“Connor
found the records this morning. He was killed nearly six months ago.” Ty’s voice
was soft and full of compassion. From years of working with Ty, Felix had
learned this was one of the duties of the Alpha that Ty detested.

“How?”
Tears welled in her eyes, but none fell. Daisy held her emotions close to the
vest. It’s what kept her alive with Pierce and what helped her from losing her
mind during the days locked in a small crawl space, waiting for Pierce to
decide it was time to use or torture her.

Ty
shook his head. “You don’t need the details.”

“Pierce
said he went looking for me at my father’s. He said he didn’t harm him. Why?”

Felix
wasn’t surprised that Pierce lied to her—after all, he was a rogue. One that
killed many times before Ty, Adam, and the rest of the team eliminated him.
“Why was he looking for you?”

“His
partner Victor did some work with my father. One time, not long after Dad and I
left the clan for his work, Victor was visiting—something to do with the
project Dad was working on. Pierce came with him. We didn’t know it was Pierce
then or Dad would have contacted you. We knew you were hunting him. Victor
introduced him as J.J.”

J.J.?
As in Bethany’s rogue cousin who transformed Pierce into a rogue? Felix looked
at Ty, who shook his head. This was not something that should be mentioned in
front of an outsider, but Ty caught the same thing.

Squeezing
her eyes shut, she took a deep breath. “Did Pierce kill him?”

“What we
found leads us to believe he did.” Ty nodded. “You’re welcome to stay here as
long as you wish or to move on to another clan if you wish.”

“Thank
you.”

With
nothing more to say, they moved to the door, leaving Daisy alone with her
grief. When they were far enough away from Daisy’s cabin, they stopped for a chance
to touch base on what just happened without anyone overhearing them before they
made it back to the conference room.

“Why
would he pretend to be J.J.?” Adam looked at Ty as if hoping he had the answer.

Ty
shook his head, sending his shoulder-length hair flying in the wind. “I don’t know,
but we’ll find out. He wouldn’t have wanted to tell him his name because he had
to realize they would know who he was—but to say he was J.J. seems unusual even
for him.”

Felix’s
brain was working overtime trying to come up with something that made sense. “When
J.J. transformed him, do you think a part of him transferred to Pierce?”

Ty
raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “Why would you ask that?”

“I
can’t explain it, but I think Daisy and Harmony are related. Besides the fact
they look so much alike, there’s something about Daisy that reminds me of my
mate. Harmony met Bethany’s Uncle James and J.J. years ago when J.J. was only a
boy. Maybe part of that stayed with him. If a portion of J.J. transferred over
to Pierce with the bite, it would explain why Pierce had such interest in
Daisy, because she reminded him of someone from the past,” Felix explained,
hoping that it was making sense because his thoughts were all over the place on
it. To him it seemed logical but explaining it was more difficult then he
thought.

“It’s
possible. After the conference, I’ll speak with Doc to see if he thinks it
could happen. For a shifter to bite someone is rare, so we have very little
data on actual weres.” Ty tugged his hair back into a leather strap to keep it
out of his face.

“Are
you sure they’re related?” Raja inquired.

Knowing
what he recognized, he nodded. “Doc could do a DNA test, but I feel something
there. It feels like a family connection, but not one they recognize yet.”

“Very
well. Find out if Harmony has any idea if she’s related to Daisy. We’ll have
Doc do the DNA test if she doesn’t.” Ty shoved his hands into the pockets of
his jeans. “Let’s get back to the women and make some decisions on Henry.”

Felix
turned to continue back to the conference room, and his thoughts turned back to
Harmony. How would she feel about a possible cousin? Daisy was a security
threat to the clan with no loyalties to anyone. He couldn’t trust his mate
alone with her, even if they were related.

He
opened the door, checking the hallway before allowing the Elders to step in
with Adam behind them. Commotion from the end of the conference room caught his
attention.
What the hell is going on now?
He sped up his pace, knowing
the others would do the same. He didn’t bother to order Adam to keep the Elders
away—their mates were there, and all of them would risk their lives for the
women.

“Milo,
please escort Harmony to the cafeteria. You two can have coffee or something,
and Felix will come and get you when this is over,” Tabitha ordered just as
Felix stepped into the room.

“What’s
going on? Ty said Harmony could attend the Elder meetings once we were mated.”

Tabitha
shook her head. “She’s a security threat.”

“What?”
Felix moved further into the room until he was standing next to his mate.

“While
we were talking, she said she would not be committing to the clan. With no
commitment, she has no loyalty to us. I won’t risk the clan.” Tabitha turned to
her mate looking for support on the matter. “You even said she couldn’t help
Connor without the commitment. Same goes for the meetings. There’s too much
sensitive material covered in one of the Elder meetings. Without her loyalty,
there’s no guarantee she won’t betray us.”

Coming
to stand by his mate, Ty nodded. “I believed that once the two of you were
mated, Harmony would be willing to commit to the clan. Now that the bond
between Robin and Harmony has lessened with the mating, there’s no guarantee
that Robin would be aware if there was a chance she’d betray the clan. I’m
sorry, Felix, but you’re too involved emotionally and mentally with her. You
could overlook something because you don’t want to believe that your mate would
risk your clan. Tabitha’s right—without the commitment to the clan, Harmony’s a
security threat.”

“I
can’t believe you’ll stand there and deny my mate after everything I’ve done
for this clan!” Felix was shocked by what he was hearing.

“Allowing
your mate into the private details would risk
my
mate, and I won’t do
that for someone who’s denying a clan that opened its arms and doors to her.” Ty’s
eyes showed the fire of his temper, but his words were calm.

Felix
stared across the room at Ty. His beast wanted to stand up for his mate—to
scream at Ty. The rational part of him knew Ty was right. They couldn’t risk
the clan no matter whose mate she was. It was too dangerous for the Alaskan
Tigers now, but even thinking logically, he couldn’t suppress his beast’s anger.

Harmony
laid a hand on his cheek, forcing him to look away from Ty. “It’s okay. I don’t
want to be somewhere I’m not welcomed.”

Before
he could stifle it, a growl tore through his throat. His beast provoked him to
challenge his Alpha, and he pushed Harmony aside and stepped towards Ty.

Raja
stepped in front of Ty. As the clan’s Lieutenant one of his jobs was to protect
the Alpha, and he stood there, blocking direct access to Ty. “Don’t do
something you’ll regret, Felix.”

It was
enough for Felix to rein-in his tiger. He didn’t want to go up against his
Alpha. Ty and Tabitha were the ones that would bring peace to their kind, and
fighting amongst themselves wouldn’t help things. This was put into motion
because of Harmony’s choice. Even with the mating, she didn’t truly trust him
or what she was feeling. He’d have to find another way to prove himself and the
clan to her.

“You
can join her if you wish, and we’ll have this meeting without you.” Ty pulled
Felix’s attention back to him. Even surrounded by Raja, Adam and Styx, there
was no doubt to anyone in the room that Ty was in charge. He’d fight his own
fight if it came to that with Felix.

“Don’t,
Felix.” Harmony came back up to him. “This isn’t worth it. When I accepted the
mating, I knew who you were and your position. Your clan needs you now.” She
reached out for him, taking his hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. “Find me
when you’re done. You know where I’ll be.” With that, she stepped away from
him.

“Don’t
leave the grounds,” he called after her as she strolled through the door.

“Shall
I go with her?” Milo questioned from his spot by Bethany where he watched
things play out.

“She’ll
be fine.” Felix growled, angry with himself, Harmony, and the whole situation.
“Let’s get this over with so I can get back to my mate.”

“You’re
angry about it now, but you know it’s the right decision. Things are too
dangerous to take any risks.” Tabitha slid her arm around Ty again now that
things had calmed.

“I
know, and that makes it harder. Damn it! Why can’t she just make things easier?”
Felix pulled out one of the leather conference chairs and sank down on it, his
shoulders sagging slightly in defeat.