To Tempt A Tiger (14 page)

“What don’t I know?” Rose demanded.

Vlad glanced at her then looked away, not meeting her gaze when he said, “The tigers will expect Zoe to take part in the Run because she’s a shifter.”

“No.” Rose didn’t even think about her answer, it was so automatic.

“Rose…” He held his hands out to the side, palms open, and shrugged as if he didn’t know what to say to that.

She didn’t care what reasonable excuses he might offer. She would not allow the tigers to force her daughter into being a breeder for them. Zoe would grow up knowing she had choices, choices Rose intended to protect fiercely if need be.

The fact that Vlad had kept this little bit of information to himself hurt, and she wondered what else he hadn’t told her.

Alexis looked at both of them as the silence drew out, then said, “That’s a long way off. Nothing you need to even think about yet. The first thing we have to do is make sure Zoe is safe and protected.”

“Which means taking her to the elders now?” Rose asked Alexis.

“Yes. It does.”

She turned to Vlad, her eyes narrowed. “You wanted to wait until Zoe could shift. Is that the only reason you wanted to wait?” Now that she knew he’d kept one important nugget of information from her, she was questioning everything he’d said.

He glanced at Alexis, then back to her. “There are a few of the elders who…more or less agreed with my father’s stance on interbreeding between humans and tigers. They assumed all offspring would be human, and defective, driving tigers to extinction faster. Zoe isn’t human, but…”

“But like your brothers, it might only make things worse because it means the ‘defective’ human gene can hide in a shifter.”

Alexis scowled. “Stupid. That supposed human gene is already part of our DNA, since recent revelations prove the myth is true. Those ancient shifters from the mythical couple had to have mated with other shifters. Which is why you and your mother could have babies with humans.”

“And you think that logic will do anything to change their minds?” Vlad asked. “You know it won’t.”

Rose raised a hand to get their attention. “What does this mean for Zoe?”

“It means I wanted to have a plan in place before going to the elders,” Vlad said. “Some leverage. I wanted to have an arrangement with the ones who aren’t opposed to human-tiger matings to make sure you and Zoe were protected before I got you anywhere near their compound—where you’d be surrounded by tigers.”

“I can speak for Elizaveta,” Alexis said. “You’ll have her support. And all by herself, she’s a force to be reckoned with.”

“I want it in writing,” Vlad said. “I want guarantees they’ll be protected while we’re there. I’m not taking chances with their lives.”

“Keeping them away now is riskier. After Nila, the elders have set a precedent for protecting hybrids. You don’t have any of those protections out here, not without their official backing.”

“I have my own resources and ways of keeping them hidden.”

“I’m not going into hiding,” Rose said, stepping closer to Vlad. “I have a family and responsibilities and a life.”

“Your parents will understand.”

“Yes, they will. In fact, they might even encourage it once I have a chance to tell them everything that’s going on. That doesn’t mean I’m going to do it.”

“You sure you want them to know…everything?”

“Yes. This is their precious granddaughter. They need to know. Besides, she’s three. It’s not like she’s going to keep the ability to turn into a tiger to herself around them. I might, and I mean might, be able to convince her to keep the secret around most people, but with her grandparents, no chance. Even if she tries, it’ll pop out. They’re very close.”

Vlad ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair, making him look even sexier. She was already having a hard time ignoring the fact that his flannel shirt was hanging open, giving her a lovely view of his chest and six-pack abs. She’d always loved his body, but in the middle of discussing their daughter’s future, it seemed wrong to be admiring his physique—especially after discovering he’d been keeping information from her.

The little voice that encouraged her to take risks and go after the adrenaline rushes she loved so much whispered,
You know you still want him. After the last few days, there’s no doubt he wants you. If you seduce him, he’s yours.

That voice was going to get her into trouble. Again. How the hell could she still want him this much, have this much trouble resisting him, when she still couldn’t trust him? She pushed the lust and confusion to the side and tried to focus. “How much longer can we delay taking Zoe to your elders?”

“Not long,” Alexis said before Vlad could answer. “Not if you want to stop your brothers. I wouldn’t even go back to Phoenix. You should head straight to West Virginia.”

Rose squeezed her eyes shut, a hint of an exhaustion headache building in her temples. “Are my parents in danger?”

“Not until they know the truth,” Vlad said. “And only then if we tell them before Zoe has the elders’ protection. After, they’ll be included in the arrangement we make with the elders. I’ll make sure of it.”

She opened her eyes. “Fine. To keep Zoe safe, we’ll do what you think is best. I’ll tell my parents we’re getting specialized help for her. They won’t be happy that they can’t come with us, but for Zoe they’ll curb their suspicions.” She looked at Alexis. “How long will it take to teach her what she needs to learn?”

“To get started and go through her first few shifts, a couple of days maybe. Depends on her, really.”

“Fine. That gives you enough time to arrange things?” she asked Vlad.

“I’ll get it worked out. You better warn your parents my brothers are coming again.”

“They’ll put them off and cover our backs. They’re so protective, they wouldn’t give anything away even if they knew all the details.”

He smiled a little. “I used to worry they were so protective of you they were going to try chasing me off before I could marry you.”

She snorted. “They’re more likely to chase you off now than they would have been back then.”

She stared at him for a long, silent moment as memories of better times mixed with the years of pain in between. Alexis cleared her throat, bringing them back to their surroundings.

“I don’t want to put you out or worry Zoe if she gets up early and spots a stranger on the couch, so I’ll head out. I’ll come back at a more reasonable hour and you can introduce us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Rose waved off her offer. “You sound like Vlad. I’ll crawl into bed with Zoe. You can take my bed. You must be exhausted.”

“I’m okay. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m probably not going to sleep much more tonight anyway.”

“Try,” Vlad said, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing lightly. “It’s going to be a big day.”

She stared up at him, worry clutching her stomach, overriding her reaction to his touch. “She’ll be all right?”

“She’ll be fine. I promise.”

She nodded, but his promise didn’t ease her worries at all. Not now. She motioned them all down the hallway to the bedrooms. After she’d seen Alexis into her room, she crawled into bed next to Zoe, snuggling up with her daughter. This wasn’t the first time she’d done this. Anytime Zoe had an episode, or Rose worried about an episode coming on, she shared a bed with her. It was worth the kicks and occasional punches from her restless daughter to know she was breathing through the night.

Despite her prediction, having the warm, sweet-smelling comfort of Zoe with her allowed Rose to drift back into sleep. All the worries and fear would wait until morning.

“I’m more nervous than she is,” Rose whispered to Vlad as they gathered in the living room after breakfast, readying for Zoe’s first lesson.

“Why you nervous, Mommy?”

Rose sighed. This little girl and her hearing. “I’m nervous to see your first lesson, baby. Just like I was nervous the first time you went to daycare, even though I knew you’d have fun. That was fun, right?”

“Yes.” She nodded with her entire upper body.

“This will be fun, too. I’m just excited for you.”

“Me, too. Wanna be a tiger.”

Alexis met Rose’s gaze and smiled. “This is a good start.”

Hopefully, Rose thought.

Alexis motioned everyone to sit, then settled on the floor, resting on her knees so her face was level with Zoe’s where she sat on the couch. “Okay, I’m going to show you how to turn into a tiger, but it’s going to take some time. So no rushing. This is very serious and important stuff.” She gave the little girl a level look and Zoe nodded solemnly.

Rose pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t grin.

“I need to show you how I turn into a tiger first. We call this shifting. Can you say that?”

“Ssshhhhifing.”

“Close enough. In order to shift, I have to take off my clothes.”

Zoe nodded, not even blinking at that. Yet another surprise reaction. Rose was starting to feel like she didn’t know her daughter at all.

“You are just going to watch at first. I’ll show you how I shift and then how I get back into a people body. This takes a little time and it can look pretty gross. How do you feel about gross things like frogs and slimy worms?”

“Yay, worms!”

Alexis laughed. “That’s what I thought.” She glanced at Rose. “This is a great age for her to learn, because everything is fun.”

Rose was still processing how easily Zoe had taken to Alexis. She just accepted her as one of Vlad’s friends and another person who could turn into a tiger. Rose was having a harder time with this new reality than her daughter.

In some ways, she was grateful for that. Especially since Zoe was the one who had to learn to become a tiger.

Alexis gave Zoe a few more details about the way her body would move and parts would look weird and fur would sprout up. Then she went into detail on how she triggered the shift.

“I picture my body feeling like a tiger. I feel my big, heavy paws. I feel the fur on my skin, the way my ears can twitch, the swish of my tail. I relax and…let my tiger out. Now, once my tiger starts to come out, I don’t resist or try to stop it. Okay? That just hurts. When I relax and let go, it doesn’t hurt. Does that make sense?”

Zoe nodded, frowning a little.

“It’s like if you hold your breath too long. That hurts. But if you just relax and breathe, you don’t hurt.”

This time Zoe nodded with more enthusiasm. “I can hold my breath for long time before it hurts.”

“That’s very good. Are you ready to watch me change? If you get scared, you can close your eyes, and we’ll work on this more when you’re comfortable, okay?”

“Yes. I won’t get scared. Mommy says I very brave.”

“You are, baby. You’re the bravest girl I know.”

“See,” Zoe told Alexis proudly, her little chin tilting up.

“Perfect. But it’s okay if you do get scared. Don’t worry. We have lots of time to learn this.”

“’Kay.”

Alexis stood and pulled her loose sweater over her head. “Rose, I know the whole nudity thing can be…uncomfortable for humans. Are you okay with this? Do you want to stay?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Alexis grinned. “Didn’t really think you would.”

She stripped, laying her clothes across the back of the couch, completely unconcerned with being naked in front of virtual strangers. Rose glanced at Vlad. He looked on impassively, showing no sign that having a naked woman in the room even fazed him. Alexis had a beautiful, lean, fit body. How could he not react to that?

He glanced at her and squeezed her hand. “You okay?” he mouthed so Zoe wouldn’t hear.

“Yes,” she mouthed back. “No.” She frowned. This was all so overwhelming and surreal, she didn’t know how she felt about it. But as she turned back to watch Alexis, she gripped his hand tighter, only a little surprised by the comfort his presence gave her.

“Here I go,” Alexis said to Zoe. “See the way the fur sprouts? Isn’t that funny?”

Zoe nodded, her eyes wide. When Alexis giggled and claimed something tickled, Zoe giggled, too. Alexis talked through the change until her face started to move and show the tiger, making speech impossible.

Rose tried not to react to the sounds of snapping tendons and breaking bones. She worked hard to only show interest and amazement so that was all Zoe would see. Inside, she was as horrified as she’d been when Vlad had shifted for her. The thought of her little baby doing this, going through this, was almost too much to bear.

If she doesn’t learn, she’ll continue to have episodes of severe pain,
she reminded herself.
This is for her own good.

She chanted that phrase to herself like a mantra and when Zoe turned big eyes on her and exclaimed how “cool” it was, Rose nodded and agreed with more enthusiasm than she felt. The entire time, Vlad held her hand, a strong and comforting body next to her.

When the change was done, a giant Siberian tiger stood in the living room. She had beautiful orange and white fur, gleaming black stripes, and a gentle neck ruff that wasn’t as big as Vlad’s. Zoe clapped her hands and bounced on the couch. The tiger swept one of her front legs under her belly, dipped her head, and dropped into a bow. The gesture surprised a chuckle from Rose and another round of cheering from Zoe.

“She changed slowly so Zoe could watch,” Vlad said against Rose’s ear. “Her shifts are usually faster, like mine.”

Rose hadn’t actually realized how long the process took. She couldn’t have timed Vlad’s either. Shock tended to warp her senses.

“Will Zoe have to make a slow shift?”

“Not sure what will happen the first time. Depends on Zoe. Some kids flip back and forth really fast when they first get started and then have to slow down as they get older. Only really, really strong shifters can change quickly, and no tigers can change instantly.”

“You were specific about tigers there. Why?”

“Other shifter species have individuals that can shift in an eye-blink. With leopards, for instance, strength and power depend on birth order and the birth order of the parents. So the first born of two first-born parents will be exceptionally strong. Some of them can shift instantly. Tiger biology follows different rules.”