White Tiger (A Shifter's Unbound Novel) (32 page)

“Here,” Tiger said. “This is the best way in.”

Zander scanned the ground, his white braids swinging. “You see a hidden door that I don’t? Nothing here but solid earth.” He stamped one booted foot on the grass.

“Here,” Tiger said, and started taking off his clothes.

A
ddie stared as Tiger’s body came into view, then she spun on her heel when he started to slide down his jeans. She saw the jeans land on the grass, a very small pair of underwear on top.

There was a rush of air, and Zander said in awe, “Holy shit.”

Addie risked a glance behind her. The giant tiger that had confronted her at Charlie’s ranch stood like a statue on the vast plain, the dying sun’s light burning its orange fur golden. Tiger let out a tiger growl, then he planted his sharp claws in the grass and started to dig.

“Seriously?” Zander said to him. “You’re going to dig forty feet down with your bare paws?”

Tiger paid no attention. In the space of a minute, he had soft earth moved aside and was going deeper.

“Thirty-nine feet now,” Addie said, coming to the hole. “Don’t stop him unless you have a better idea.”

“A backhoe and a giant drill,” Zander said. “But what the hell. I can’t let a tiger best me.”

He threw his duster to the ground, tugged off his boots,
and peeled his T-shirt from his torso. He was as tightly built as Tiger and almost as big.

Addie averted her gaze as Zander slid out of his jeans, and saw that Jaycee was undressing as well.

Zander growled and Addie looked at him in time to see him complete the shift to very large, snowy white polar bear. Addie had never seen a polar bear apart from ones in zoos, and then only from a distance. Now she stood an arm’s length from Zander, who was larger than any wild polar bear would ever be. His black nose and claws stood out vividly from his pale fur, as did his very dark eyes.

Zander gazed at her soulfully for a moment, then he put his giant paws down next to Tiger’s and began to dig.

Jaycee was much smaller than both of them but her leopard was a thing of grace. She darted in between the males and began to dig, her paws spewing up dirt faster than they could.

Addie, not to be outdone, found a piece of board and joined them. She couldn’t dig as well as they did, but she could scrape the loosened earth out of the way.

They worked while the sun sank, bathing the sky in hazy purple twilight. By the time it was fully dark, a half-moon rising, they’d made it down about fifteen feet.

Zander decided they needed to shore up what they’d dug out, or the walls would collapse. He shifted back to human to ask Addie to help him drag over the doors from the hidden entrance, and used the timber to brace the shaft they were creating. Zander didn’t bother dressing for this, but by this time Addie was used to Shifters thinking nothing of standing around naked. Zander was beautiful, though, the man with stark white hair and black eyes, touched by moonlight.

Kendrick was even more beautiful.

Zander sent Jaycee running back to the main house to bring help and more supplies. They’d need rope if they were going to climb down and fetch Kendrick.

Tiger said nothing at all, never returned to his human form. He simply dug.

The moon was high by the time Dylan had arranged for more diggers, equipment to move the earth and solidify the hole, and rappelling gear.

“You know I’m going down there,” Addie said to Dylan.

Dylan looked at her a long time, then amusement entered his hard eyes. “I know.”

“Don’t be crazy,” Zander said. He still hadn’t bothered with clothes. “I’m a
Shifter
healer. There’s nothing to say I can help
you
if you get hurt.”

Addie faced him, hands on hips. “Well, one thing about working for Bo is he was good about making sure his employees had an insurance plan. If I’m hurt, just drive me to a hospital in Austin. I’m covered.”

Zander stared at her, eyes unmoving. “Not my point.”

“I know. But if I worry about shit like that, I’ll break down and never get up. I
have
to go down and help Kendrick. That’s all there is to it.”

Zander watched her for another moment. “If you’re hurt, you know he’ll kill me.”

Addie shrugged. “Suck it up.”

Zander gave her another black-eyed stare, then he nodded. “You’re his mate. What’cha gonna do?”

Jaycee wasn’t so sanguine but she declared she’d go down right in front of Addie. She’d been assigned to be Addie’s bodyguard, and that was that.

Finally they had the shaft clear to the depth Tiger wanted it, the ropes and pulleys ready.

“I go first,” Tiger said.

No one argued with him. Addie was coming to understand, both from observation and comments by the others, that Tiger had unique abilities for search and rescue.

Tiger had resumed his jeans, shirt, and boots before he approached the hole and settled the rappelling gear around his chest and thighs. Now he leapt backwards into the hole, not bothering to wait to see if Dimitri, who was securing the ropes, had done it right. He simply trusted Dimitri had.

The nylon ropes whirred as Tiger went down, snapping
tight when he stopped. He made his way gradually down into the darkness—he had no light, saying he could see better without it.

The ropes went slack abruptly, then Tiger tugged at them, indicating Dimitri should haul them back up. “Wait,” Tiger called, then went silent.

Addie heard a faint clinking of metal against rock. After an interminable time, Tiger’s gravelly voice floated back to them.

“I’m through.”

Addie breathed a sigh. Tiger had found a way into the tunnels after all.

“Me next,” Zander said.

“No,” Tiger called upward. “No room. Jaycee, then Addison.”

“No,” Dimitri said abruptly. “Z-zander, and that’s it.”

Jaycee glared at Dimitri. She’d restored her clothes, but they were too shredded to cover her much. Dimitri glared right back at her, his red hair shining in the moonlight.

“Addie’s insisting,” Jaycee said. “Which is her right, as mate. And I have to take care of her. That’s my job.”

Dimitri’s wolf gaze landed on Addie. “Add-Addie . . .”

“I’m going down there, Dimitri,” Addie said. “Jaycee doesn’t have to come.”

“Yes, I do.” Jaycee heaved an exasperated sigh. “What am I supposed to do? Disobey an order from my alpha to keep his
mate
safe? Because
you
might be worried?” She pointed at Dimitri. “There’s no connection between you and me. I don’t care if we had a great night in the sack.”

The other Shifters crowding around didn’t pretend to mind their own business. They listened, interested.

“No c-connection?” Dimitri asked, rage in his eyes.

“Nope. So you have no call to tell me what to do.”

Dimitri drew himself up. “Jaycee Bordeaux, under the light of the Goddess and in front of witnesses, I claim you as mate.” His voice rang clear, his stammer gone.

“What?” Jaycee shrieked. “Are you out of your mind?”

“No.” Dimitri said. “You going to refuse?”

Jaycee opened her mouth, very likely to hotly say
yes
. Then she subsided. “No. I don’t know. I have to think.”

Dimitri’s eyes flared with triumph. “Mate-claimed. Stay out of the hole.”

“Don’t even start with me.” Jaycee grabbed the harness and began buckling herself in. “You’re not my mate yet, and you can’t override the alpha’s command until then.”

Addie twined her fingers together to keep herself from grabbing the gear from Jaycee and plummeting downward herself. She asked Dimitri, “Does she mean you can tell a Shifter leader to stuff himself if you think his orders might hurt your mate?”

“Yep,” Dimitri said. His smile beamed. “L-looking forward to it.”

“What if your mate
is
the Shifter leader?” Addie went on.

Jaycee snapped the last strap into place and lifted the supplies she’d carry down with her. “Then you’re screwed. Watch that rope real close, Dimitri.”

Dimitri growled, the wolf in him responding, but Jaycee didn’t wait for any more argument. She sat on the lip of the opening, swung her legs over, and disappeared inside.

Dimitri sweated while the ropes played out, holding the end even though it was secured by a big hook to an equally large metal loop driven into the ground.

He didn’t relax until Jaycee called back up, “I’m down,” and sent the gear to the surface again.

Addie shook as Dimitri helped strap her into the harness. She’d never done any rappelling before, or any even moderately dangerous sport for that matter. She took walks, went on occasional country hikes with the kids, and that was it.

“You sure this will hold me?” she asked Dimitri nervously as she slipped on the leather gloves he handed her.

“It held Tiger,” Dimitri said. “And he’s much bigger than you. You don’t have to go down,” he added.

“Yes, I do. Thanks, Dimitri.” Addie impulsively gave the man a hug. Dimitri responded gladly, squeezing her in a tight embrace. “I’ll tell Jaycee she’d be a fool to refuse you.”

Jaycee yelled up, “I can hear you! Don’t encourage him.”

Addie patted Dimitri’s shoulder, sat on the edge of the
hole as she’d seen Jaycee do, braced herself, and gingerly slid into the shaft.

The ropes zipped through the buckles faster than Addie thought they would, and she yelped. She applied the brake as Dimitri had showed her, and yelped again as she dangled in mid-air.

Jaycee had brought a flashlight with her, knowing Addie couldn’t see in the dark like Shifters. Jaycee shone it around now, and Addie saw a wall with dirt brushed away from it, a hole in the wall, and empty space beyond.

She released the belaying device and let herself down a little more slowly, grateful for the gloves. When she reached the bottom, a tight space, Jaycee helped her unlock the ropes and step out of the harness.

Tiger waited for them at the opening. Without speaking, he turned and squeezed through. Addie went next, and Jaycee followed, holding the flashlight so it would light Addie’s way but not blind Tiger.

They moved through an almost round tunnel shored up with solid stone pressed together and mortared. Someone had made this long, long ago.

“What is this?” Addie asked. “What’s it for?”

“Escape tunnel,” Tiger said. “Looks like it was abandoned. There’s air coming through it.”

Addie had noticed that. Instead of the stuffy, dusty air she’d expected, it was cool, with a flowing breeze.

Tiger led them unerringly down this tunnel, their feet crunching on gravel. It was very dry, no dankness announcing the presence of water.

After a long time of trudging, the opening left far behind them, Tiger stopped. Though the tunnel went on, beside him was another opening, half filled with rubble.

He started digging through this, the rocks rolling out behind him. Jaycee started pushing the debris he shifted ahead of them into the tunnel, so it wouldn’t block their way back. Addie, after realizing what she was doing, helped.

Tiger stopped digging. “Addie,” he said.

Addie went to him, her heart beating faster. He’d found something.

Before Addie could ask a question, Tiger boosted her up and over the pile of rocks he’d tunneled into. She slid down a slope on the other side, skittering and bumping in the dark, heading for a faint glow below.

As she neared the glow, a large form rose in front of it, and she ran headlong into it. Addie tried to stop herself, but was lifted and steadied by the strong arms of Kendrick.

*   *   *

“A
ddison—what the hell?”

Kendrick’s words were a croak, his voice gone after hours of being trapped beneath with no water.

Addison’s cool hands were on him as she touched his chest, arms, face. “Kendrick—thank God you’re alive.”

She flung her arms around him, and Kendrick held her, the relief that she was safe and whole almost making his knees buckle. He lifted her against him, tension flowing away as he clung to his mate. Addison was all right.

Addison kissed his cracked lips. “Tiger found a way down.” She called behind her. “Jaycee, get him some water.” She turned to Kendrick again, then started as she saw Darien on the rubble a few feet away. “Hello . . .” Her breath brushed Kendrick’s face. “I’m Addie. We’re here to rescue you.”

Darien stared, then he let out a breath. “She’s your mate all right. Damn, Kendrick, you move fast.”

“When it’s important. Give Darien the water, Jaycee. He’s been hurt.”

Jaycee was already unstrapping a bottle of water she’d carried down. “Whose side is he on?”

Her voice held all kinds of suspicion, but she went to Darien and unscrewed the cap of the water bottle. Darien took it.

“The Guardian’s side,” Darien said. “He proved himself the better.” Darien sipped water but didn’t take much before he was passing the bottle to Kendrick.

“Kendrick shouldn’t have to
prove
himself to you,” Jaycee told Darien hotly. “You should have trusted him.”

“Enough.” Kendrick drank, wiped his mouth, and tried not to crumple in gratitude for the cool liquid in his throat. “Tiger, Jaycee, take him out of here, and call Zander to come out and look at him.”

“Zander’s here,” Addison said. “Just outside. You go first, Kendrick. We’ll take care of Darien.”

“Doesn’t work that way.” Kendrick helped Darien to his feet. “Jaycee, get him out safely and stay with him. Don’t let anyone kill him. I’m relieving you of your duty to look after Addie and assigning you Darien.”