“Don't scream, Tabitha. You didn't meet me tonight. I wanted to make sure you were all right. When I arrived, there was blood in the hall, your door was open, and I came in. There was more blood in your apartment. I called the hospitals, and they had no listings under your name, so I stayed here to see if you would return.”
While he spoke, she noticed his body. He must have been two hundred and twenty pounds, all of it muscle. He had arms the size of her waist. He reminded her of one of the biker guys who came into the restaurant. His chin-length black hair and broad shoulders gave him a menacing look. The only thing that hinted he might have a softer side was his spectacular, ocean blue eyes. His hair, brushing against the collar of his shirt, made her want to run her hands through it to see if it was as soft as it looked. But not right now.
“Back up. How do you know my name?”
“Didn't you get the note I left on your door yesterday? My name is Ty Reynolds. I was a friend of your father’s.” He sat there on the couch watching her, careful not to move as if worried he’d scare her.
Shock must have shown on her face, because before she could say anything, he added, “I'm not here to hurt you. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done so already. I made a promise to your father that when you were old enough, I would tell you everything, and I would do everything I could to protect you.”
My caseworker must have had the information wrong. If this man was a friend of dad’s, then he had to be a murder or into some deep shit.
At this moment in time, however, she didn’t care. “I don't care who you are. I want you out of my apartment!” She walked over to her door and opened it. “Please leave.”
“Listen, Tabitha, I know you’re scared, but you need to listen to me. Please just give me ten minutes.”
“You broke into my apartment and now you want me to listen to you? I don't want anything to do with you.”
He made no attempt to even move toward the door. “Tabitha, I know you’re not feeling like yourself. You’re running a fever of one hundred and one that no matter what you take, it won’t break. You can't sleep. Your body hurts and is sore. You feel your body doing things it hasn't before; you’re faster; you can smell and see better. If you read that note...just holding the paper would have eased the symptoms. I can help you if you will just listen to me.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“Because you’re a shapeshifting tiger.”
A what?
Tabitha stared at him in disbelief for a moment, unable to believe what she heard. Her vision narrowed as black dots danced before her eyes before blackness consumed her and she passed out.
* * *
When Tabitha came to, she was on her sofa with a wet wash rag on her forehead. She couldn’t believe how sweet and friendly the stranger was being. It wasn't something she expected from a man his size. He appeared more likely to throw a man across a bar than attend to a fainting woman.
She tried to scoot away from him but there was nowhere to go on the couch. He made the place feel small, he was so big. “I thought it might have been a nightmare.”
“Sorry, it’s not. I’m real, and everything I have told you is the truth.” He handed her a glass of water as he talked.
“How do you know about my fever and my other symptoms?”
“All shifters have the same symptoms when they are going through the change. If you are among your clan, it would be less intense but still there.”
“But this stuff is only in books and movies. It doesn't happen in real life.” Tabitha took the glass with a shaky hand, struggling to steady it as she raised it to her parched lips.
He perched on the sofa next to her. The heat from his body warmed her even as the cool water slid down her throat.
He brushed a strand of her hair away from her face, leaving a trail of fire on her skin. “I know it’s hard to believe. Trust me, I had a hard time believing it at first also. Your father is the one who helped me through it. I was a foster care child, just like you. If it wasn't for your father, I wouldn't have made it through. Tabitha, you’re going to need my help. I don't want to scare you, but if you don't have the help of an elder during this time, the chance of your death is higher. I know you have no reason to trust me, but please, let me help you.”
“Were my parents also tigers?”
Was that why my eyes change from their normal hazel color into a fiery orangish when I’m angry? Or why as a child I would purr in my sleep?
It was so bad that she was sent home from a sleepover when she was seven for scaring the other children.
“I don't believe your mother was. I never met her. I know your father was. All the gene needs is for one parent to be a shifter.” He knelt beside her, covering the cloth with his hand and pressing the coolness firmly against her skin.
“You said you promised my father you would help me and protect me. Why would he make you promise that? You don’t even know me.” Her hands were still shaking as she set the glass aside.
“Your father was receiving death threats. He knew there was a possibility he wouldn't live until you were old enough. He asked me to take care of you if he wasn't.”
Could this be real?
She sat up fully, her heart racing, her palms sweaty. She might have forced him to leave if she wasn’t interested in learning more of her parents. “Why would someone want to kill my father?”
“Your father was the leader of the tigers. Someone from another clan wanted to take over our group. Your father fought him and won, but the other clan wouldn't give up. They sent him death threats and before he could take care of the tiger behind the threats, he was killed.”
“My parents were killed in a car crash.” Tabitha’s mind reeled with this new data.
“Tabitha, there is much you need to learn about the shifters, especially the tigers. Your parents didn't die in a car accident. A car accident might have killed your mother, but it wouldn't have killed your father. Your father was shot in the head with a silver bullet. They just made it look like a car accident. The police officer who investigated it wouldn't have been able to tell. It was a very gruesome scene.”
“If what you say is true, wouldn’t they have found the silver bullet?”
“They didn’t do an autopsy. They closed the case as an accident.”
The tears welled up in her eyes.
Why was everything I’ve been told a lie?
She’d grown up thinking her father had slid behind the wheel drunk, resulting in the accident. She’d always assumed it was his fault she was in foster care.
“But I’ve blamed him my whole life.” She placed an unsteady hand over her mouth as though a part of her wanted to keep the truth inside. To speak it aloud carried a stinging shame.
Ty leaned forward and clasped her hands in his as he stared at her intently. “I know what your caseworker told you. I wanted to step in and tell you the truth, but you couldn't find out about everything until you were ready. I couldn't put the whole clan at risk. There are so few of us now.”
As she cried harder, Ty pulled her close. “Tabitha, your father was a great man, and he wanted the best for you. I will tell you all about him if you want.”
Between the tears, she nodded. “Yes, that would be great. I never knew anything about him. I have a picture, but that's it.”
They sat in silence for a long time, Tabitha lost in her thoughts while Ty quietly gave her the time she needed. All of this was a shock for her...his revelations, his presence, the feelings he aroused within her.
Finally, she got the courage to ask, “What happens next?” Her heart skipped a beat as she pondered what his reply would be.
Chapter Four
“What happens next is up to you. I must return to Alaska soon. You can stay here and continue on with your life. I can find a local tiger to help you through your transition. Or you can return to Alaska with me.”
Tabitha sat up straight. “I can go to Alaska with you?” She tried to keep the excitement out of her voice.
“If you want to. You know, most people wouldn't be so excited about relocating to Alaska and the cold weather.” He sat next to her in the place where her legs just vacated.
“Well, I’m not most people. I have always wanted to go there. Something about it calls to me. I can’t explain it.”
“That's not surprising. You would have the desire to go where your clan is. Right now, our small clan is in Alaska, and not everyone is happy about that.”
“Why Alaska, if the clan isn't happy?” She was interested in learning about the clan and her new life. She didn't know where to begin, but Ty had given her an opening, and she took it.
“I took over the clan five years ago. Once I did, I assessed the situation here in Pittsburgh and realized staying here would only to lead to more problems. At that time, there were a few tigers in Alaska that needed help organizing. My Lieutenant, Raja, and I talked and decided it was best to move there and form one clan.” Ty tossed the rag he used on her forehead into the kitchen sink with perfect accuracy. “We gave the other tigers a choice to stay in Pittsburgh and be prey to others since they would be without a clan or come to Alaska. All but two chose to come. The two who didn’t come to Alaska were a husband and wife pair, and they needed to stay close to the Pittsburgh area due to an ill human family member. We found them a home with the Columbus, Ohio clan, because of their special circumstances.”
Listening to him, Tabitha could hear the love in his voice. It was his family. Would going to Alaska give her the home and acceptance she longed for? Would they consider her part of their close-knit family? She tried to put her worries into words without sounding scared or childish. “Will the clan accept me? I’m an outsider.”
Ty put his arm around her and gently pulled her close. “Aww, Tabitha, they will accept you. You are part of us. Everyone will be glad to have you back as part of the family. Many of them wanted to get you out of the system and give you a home among us, but we were unsure if you would even go through the change. Children with one shifter parent have a seventy-five percent chance of shifting, whereas if both parents are shifters, the child will be too. Growing up, you would have been in danger, because if you didn't change, you would be put at risk. No one wanted to risk your life. Since no one beside the clan knew of your existence, we knew you would be safe even if that meant in the state's care.”
What about Alice? How can I run off to Alaska with a man I don’t even know and leave Alice hanging after what Mike did to her?
“Ty, I’m sorry, but I won't be able to go with you.” Before he could say a word, she was up and in the bathroom with the door locked. The tears ran down her face, and sorrow tightened her chest, making it hard to breathe.
“Tabitha, I don't know what I said to make you cry. Come out here and let’s talk about this. If you don't want to go to Alaska, I understand, but there is still more you need to know before I can leave,” Ty said from outside the bathroom door.
She tried to pull herself together enough to speak. Her throat constricted. “Please just leave me alone.”
“Tabitha, I can't leave you alone. Now come out here. I will break this door down if I have to.”