A Tiger's Claim (15 page)

Travis turned to the man and started to walk toward him. Shay growled, fiercely. Travis peered at her with confusion in his eyes.

She whimpered, and then tried something she could only do with her brothers and a few of the enforcers. She focused solely on Travis and sent him a thought, hoping he’d hear her. “
That is not my father.
”

“
What?
” He looked back at the man then at Shay. “
Twins?
”

Shay nodded, so happy that their bond was strong enough for her to mind link with him, and sent out a mental distress call to her father and brothers.

Shifting back to human form, Shay scooped up Josie and ran. Heart hammering in her chest, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Leland was dead. Her father said he’d died during the attack on the Pack over two hundred years before.

But, it had been Blaine who’d told her that Uncle Leland aided the rogues and turned against his twin and Pack. By the dark magick rolling off him like a sheer black fog, she believed it. The man oozed with cruelty.

She darted around a large willow tree and set Josie down. “Josie, listen. Run as fast as you can and find Rhea. She’ll be in the nursery and will take you to Luna and your nana. Okay?”

Josie whined but nodded.

“Good girl. Now go!”

Josie took off, running as fast as her little wolf legs could carry her. When she crossed the den border, Shay ran back to Travis. She reached him just as Leland thrust his hand out, hitting Travis with some kind of invisible force that knocked into her mate, making him skid across the ground. He crashed into a tree and went limp. She screamed and searched over his still form with her gaze and was relieved when she saw his chest rise and fall.

Fear and anger ignited inside her. An energy stronger than she’d ever felt wrapped around her. Her natural shield that blocked her father from reading her mind, along with the small amount of magick she’d inherited from her mother, sparked to life and intensified until she was covered in a sheen of bright pale-blue light.

She was aware when Blaine materialized beside her but couldn’t look at him or speak to him. What the hell? It was as if she was being held in place.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, she locked gazes with Leland. The bastard smiled at her. “There’s no use fighting it, my dear.”

“Shay?” The fear in Blaine’s voice only fueled the magick building inside her.

When she didn’t answer, he spoke again, but this time it was directed at Leland. “You should have stayed dead.”

“Now, is that any way to greet your uncle?”

“My uncle died the day he decided to work for the enemy.” Blaine’s voice held more malice than Shay had ever heard from him.

She tried to link to her brother but hit a wall. When she searched for the bond to Travis, she almost cried in relief. That meant Leland had blocked her mind, but not her heart. Or, maybe he’d only blocked her from her family, not knowing she was mated. It was a desperate hope, and she knew the chances were slim at best, but it was all the hope she had.

Focusing on Travis, she tried to wake him. “
Travis. Please hear me. Come on. I need you.
”

A hint of awareness filtered through the bond, and a few moments later, his wonderfully husky voice filled her mind. “
I hear you, kitty. Fuck. You have to break his hold on you. He’s put a spell around you, trying to weaken you
.”

Fear burned through her. “
Weaken me? Why?
”

“
Most likely, to take control of you and your magick.
”

Her tiger paced beneath her skin, snarling and wanting to claw Leland’s eyes out. Then Travis’s words sank in. Her father had never been able to read her mind or mind link with her unless she consciously allowed it. Could the same shields that kept her father out also prevent Leland from taking complete control over her? She was guessing the answer was yes.

“
Travis. I’m not strong enough to overpower him.
”

“
I’m going to push as much strength as I can through the mating bond. You have to accept it. It will help you break his hold
.”

“
What about you? You need your strength to heal
.”

“
I’ll heal later
.”

She focused her gaze back on Leland and saw several mutants step in behind him.
Shit, shit
. Those monsters were harder than hell to kill.

“Shay!” Cameron yelled from behind her, followed by Blaine’s voice saying, “Don’t touch her.”

She heard several male curses as the rest of the enforcers drew closer and charged forward. In a rush of bodies, the enforcers fought with the mutants. She caught a glimpse of Blaine taking a punch to the jaw, and he staggered back a few steps before charging at the beast with his gun drawn. He fired, blowing a hole in the half-man, half-wolf’s head.

Travis’s energy filled her in a sudden burst, drawing a gasp from her. She felt Leland’s control start to slip and his focus on her waiver. Glancing at the male, she was happy to see her father had distracted him. She wasn’t sure what he had done, but Leland started to build more power and direct it at her father. Her heart hammered, as she feared for her father’s life.

“Okay, Shay. You can do this.”
Travis’s voice inside her broke through the fear and helped her focus back on what she needed to do.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the magick that had build up in her chi and pushed it out through her arms then down to her hands. Sparks arced from her fingertips, and she smirked. A pleased, yet scary, laugh exited her as she thrust her hands out.

Someone yelled for everyone to get down. Bright white light exploded, knocking her on her ass.

Everything around her went still. No one moved. All she could see were bodies everywhere. Her heart leaped, and dread sliced through her.
Oh, no. What did I do?
“Dad? Blaine? Alec! Travis!”

She stared to shake.
No. Please don’t tell me I’ve killed my family
. A hot tear slid down her cheek at the same time male arms lifted her off the ground. Forest and spice surrounded her in a warm embrace. Alec.

“Dad?”

Alec held her close. “Shh. They’re fine. I’m taking you to Dani.”

“Travis…”

“Already in the truck.”

She sagged against him and let the darkness overtake her.

Chapter 17

Travis woke with a raging headache.
Damn, what the hell
?

Oh, yes, Keegan’s evil twin and the mutant werewolves.

Well, didn’t that sound like something out of a B-movie
.

Then there was that bright-as-hell lightning that shot out of Shay’s hands.

Shay
.

He sat up, only to fall back on the mattress as another wave of searing pain threatened to split his head open.

A light touch on his shoulder startled him. He opened his eyes again to a beautiful and welcoming sight. Both of his girls peered down at him.

Shay smiled and lowered Josie to sit on the bed next to him. “Hello, my wolf.”

“Hi…” He frowned at the crack in his voice. He went to speak again, only to be stopped by Shay placing a finger over his lips.

“When I released all the built-up power at the rogues, you took most of the recoil.” She frowned, and worry laced her face.

He lifted his hand, and she took it, kissing his knuckles. She smiled again. “I love you, too.”

His chest grew tight. This female was his. His smile faded as a new fear turned his blood cold. “Baby?” he croaked out.

“Happy and healthy. Apparently my tiger is very attached to the little guy, or girl.” She laughed as he stared at her blankly. How long had he been out? She patted his arm. “You funneled so much energy into me that you fell into a coma. You’ve been asleep for four days.”

He drew his brows together. “Four days?”

She swiped a loose curl from his forehead and smiled. “My tiger has saved our baby twice now. I just meant that she’s not going to let anything happen to her or him.” She leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. He groaned at the feel, the smell, and the taste of her.

Blaine walked in and sat in the chair behind Shay. He inclined his head before speaking. “Leland was the reason why the rogues were able to break the wards. Being the twin of the Alpha gave him access through his blood. Now that he’s dead, we can strengthen the wards so they can’t cross the lines without a full alert going out.”

Travis nodded. That was good.

Blaine stood. “I’ll let you rest because, as soon as your strength returns, training starts.” Travis dipped his eyebrows in question. “I heard you might be the right guy for the job.”

The male left the room, and Shay dragged the chair closer so she could sit. “Sasha says you can come home today if you promise to rest.”

Oh, good. He wasn’t keen on the idea of sleeping in the medical center. His own bed would be great along with a hot shower and the two females in his life.

He kissed Josie on her forehead and squeezed Shay’s hand. “I love you.”

She stood, walked around the bed, and climbed in beside him. She kissed him then said, “Love you too. Stop trying to talk and rest. We’ll take care of you.”

He hugged them to him and let this new life and fresh start sink in. He’d found his true mate, and Josie had a wonderful stepmother. He was a lucky man.

Epilogue

The Pack circle was full of life, magick, and love. Shay stood in the middle of it all with her mate, life partner, and the father of her unborn child, and Josie too, who was now hers as well. Joy filled her so completely she felt as if she’d burst. Her legs felt rubbery, and if it wasn’t for Travis holding her, she was sure she would fall, or at the very least, be sick.

Travis’s fingers tightened on hers, forcing her to meet his gaze. He smiled, and she sighed. He was hers. The mating bond had been completed several weeks ago, when she, once and for all, had killed her uncle and a dozen or so mutants, but the Pack wouldn’t let their princess go without a mating ceremony. Plus, they had wards to set and a Pack to help protect.

“We are here tonight for two reasons. One, we will be strengthening the outer and inner wards. Two, we are celebrating the union of Travis Hunter and Shayna Andrews.” Her father’s deep voice hushed the murmurs of the crowd. He held out his hand to Luna. She linked her fingers with his and settled by his side.

The Enforcers stepped inside the circle and stood around them. Shay’s stomach did flips and her skin tingled at the pull of magick in the air. She’d never been included in setting or even strengthening the Pack wards and she was nervous.

Even though Travis had said it would take the power of three, both Alphas, the Enforcers, and sentries had to offer their power to the mix. This ensured that they knew the instance the magickal boundaries were breached.

Plus, the energy from all of them would create a very powerful wall of protection.

Keegan’s voice cut through the crowd and drifted around each member of Ashwood Falls. “We are going to replace the wards one at a time starting with the outside layer.” He held his and Luna’s linked hands in front of them.

Shay, Travis, and Robyn layered their hands on top of the Alphas’. Wolf and leopard magick twined around each of their arms to encircle their bodies in a magickal energy field. Closing her eyes, Shay focused on the power as Travis told her to. She watched through her third eye as their combined power moved around the five of them and reached out to Pack Enforcers, then to the sentries.

An iridescent circle formed. Shades of colors mingled and lightened to a soft white glow.
The ward
. It was a beautiful bubble of rippling energy and magick as they held it in place, letting the power build.

Shay felt a tug from her father, then Luna and knew it was time to move it. As a unit they pushed the circle out in all directions, willing it to grow and strengthen as they set it in place along the outer border of Ashwood Falls, which had about a hundred mile radius.

Luna and Keegan spoke the invocation at the same time. “Protect us from all who seek to harm us.”

With a snap, the ward set and broke off from them. Shay smiled and opened her eyes. Wild magick raced through her and she giggled. She couldn’t help it. She felt too alive, too energetic.

Luna lifted a brow at her. “One more. This one won’t be as big, and then we can ground the energy.”

Shay nodded and closed her eyes again. They repeated the power transfer and extended the smaller protection circle to about a half mile outside the den, half the distance to the outer ward. When the second ward settled itself in place, the five of them willed the extra power they raised into the earth to ground and balance the power.

Wolves and leopards cheered at the renewed sense of protection and strength. Shay’s tiger pranced inside her, wanting to come out and run off some of the extra energy.

Travis pulled her into him and captured his lips in a hard, needful kiss.

Shay’s father cleared his throat to break them apart, and spoke to the Pack. “Now, for the mating ceremony. Travis and Shay’s mating is strong and comes with many blessings.”

Travis pulled out an elegant vintage diamond ring and placed it on her finger. “Shayna Andrews, my mate, my heart, I will love and protect you always.”

Tears stung her eyes as she peered at the three-carat, princess-cut diamond encased in white gold. Runes were engraved into the band to symbolize strength, love, peace, and protection.

“It’s beautiful,” she said softly, trying not to cry.

Travis kissed her softly on the mouth. “It was my mother’s.”

The tears spilled over her lashes, and she stole a quick glance at Robyn. Her new mother-in-law smiled and nodded. Shay’s heart swelled even more.

Looking back at Travis, she spoke her vow. “Travis Hunter, my mate, my heart, I promise to love and protect you always.”

Cradling her head in his hands, Travis kissed her. His tongue dipped inside her mouth, and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close as she could.