A Growl, a Roar, and a Purr Read online

  “Well? What can you tell us?” Rael asked.

  “Other than he appears to be healthy? Very little.” He glanced at Horvan. “What’s his appetite like?”

  “From what I’ve gleaned, normal for a tiger. He’s eating more now than he was on the way here.” Horvan helped the doc to his feet. “Let’s sit somewhere more comfortable.”

  “That would be much appreciated.” Doc went to the nearest couch and sat, leaving his bag at his feet. He sniffed the air. “Is that coffee I can smell? I’d love some. Anything would be preferable to that muck they gave me on the plane.”

  “I’m on it.” Hashtag headed for the coffee machine.

  Horvan sat at the other end of the couch, while Rael stayed with Dellan. “We think he was drugged.” Quickly, Horvan told him about the female tiger shifter and the way the men had injected her with something.

  Doc frowned. “You think they gave her something to force a shift?” He shivered. “That’s diabolical. Who would create such a drug, and for what purpose?”

  “So we thought that’s how they kept Dellan in his present form.” Rael gazed earnestly at the doc. “And if that’s the case, how long will it be before the drugs are out of his system and he can shift back?”

  Doc gave Roadkill, Hashtag, and Crank a wry smile. “I imagine you three have had quite an education this last week.”

  Crank snorted. “Not so much as you’d think.” He pointed to Horvan and Rael. “These two know diddly squat about shifters. But yeah, as for finding out shifters even exist? That was… unexpected.”

  “Not to mention totally cool,” Hashtag added, his eyes gleaming as he handed the doc a mug.

  “Can we get back to Dellan, please?” Rael asked anxiously.

  Doc gave him a compassionate glance. “Okay. In a human, we’re talking two to four days, max, for drugs to leave the body. I don’t know much about tiger physiology, but let’s assume there’s little difference. How long has he been out of their clutches now?”

  “Fifty-six hours, give or take,” Horvan told him.

  The doc nodded. “Then all you can do is wait. He could shift today, tomorrow, or any day after that. But it’s not just the drugs. From what you’ve told me, there’s a possibility that Dellan might be keeping himself in tiger form.”

  “Is there nothing we can do?” Rael’s heart sank.

  Doc sighed. “All you can do is what you’re already doing—make him feel safe and loved. Because he’ll only shift if he feels that.”

  “He knows we’re his mates,” Rael said softly, stroking Dellan.

  “And that is wonderful.” Doc shook his head. “You three are the first mates I’ve ever encountered.”

  “Seriously?” Horvan’s mouth fell open. “I felt sure you’d have come across others.”

  Crank huffed. “It sounds like you don’t know much more than we do, Doc.”

  “And we have so many questions,” Roadkill added. “Like, where do shifters come from?”

  Doc chuckled. “You may not believe this, but if I’m honest? I don’t have a clue.”

  Hashtag stared at him. “But… you’re one of them. How can you know nothing about your own origins?”

  Doc scrubbed a hand over his lined cheek. “There are a lot of rumors, of course. Some say we came about because of something the government did that got out of control, but that’s nonsense. I get the feeling shifters existed before there was such a thing as government. Others believe we’re an evolutionary offshoot, and there are even those who think shifters are the children of a moon goddess.” He shook his head. “For every shifter, there are a dozen different stories and ideas. Sadly, we aren’t immune to conspiracy theories any more than humans are.”

  Crank chuckled. “That part right there… you saying ‘humans’ like that….” He shuddered. “Welcome to the world of the paranormal.”

  Roadkill sagged into the couch. “So you don’t know anything?”

  The doc shrugged. “Nothing concrete. When I was little, I used to wonder all the time where we came from. As I grew up and saw man’s inhumanity to man and animals alike, I felt that shifters were the better species, but after some of the things you’ve told me….” He sighed heavily. “It would seem shifters are just as susceptible to greed and lust for power as any human.”

  “We don’t know shifters had anything to do with this,” Horvan insisted, even though Rael’s gut told him otherwise. The doc said nothing but gazed steadily at Horvan.

  “So you can’t help us.” Rael had hoped for more information.

  Doc held up a single finger. “Now, I didn’t say that exactly, did I? I do know some people you could probably talk with. Just… keep in mind you’ll need to take everything they say with a grain—or maybe a saltshaker—of doubt.”

  “That sounds more promising.” Hashtag sat upright. “How do we find these people?”

  Doc laughed. “Patience, my boy. I’ll get in touch with them initially. After that, they will approach you, not the other way around. Remember what I said about conspiracy theories, that’s all.”

  Crank chuckled. “This gets more and more interesting by the day.”

  “You have no idea. The first time I met one of them, I got the distinct feeling he already knew everything about me.” Doc gave another shiver. “Very unnerving.”

  “Now you’ve got me intrigued.” Horvan cocked his head to one side. “Do you trust these people?”

  “That’s the strange part. Yes. However—” He speared Horvan with an intense look. “—if you do get to meet with them, be careful.”

  “Why?” Rael blurted out. “What does your gut tell you?”

  The doc locked gazes with him. “That they’re dangerous.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  RAEL STARED at the doc. “You’re kidding, right?” His heartbeat sped up a little. “If they’re dangerous, then we shouldn’t even be thinking of meeting them.”

  Doc smiled. “Rael, did you ever stop to think that you’re sharing a cabin with four dangerous men?”

  He laughed. “They’re not danger—” The word died in his throat. What do I know about them? They’d been in the military together, hadn’t they? That didn’t exactly suggest they were members of a sewing circle.

  Horvan nodded knowingly. “Fifty-seven ways, remember?” His eyes twinkled.

  Rael took a deep breath. “Then if these guys do come calling, I’m in the right company.”

  “You know it,” Roadkill said, his voice brimming with confidence.

  “Can I ask you something?” The doc’s gaze alighted on Dellan. “Have you tried to get him to shift?”

  Rael cleared his throat. “Not exactly.” When the doc gave him a quizzical glance, he sighed. “Okay, it was… in a dream. Only perhaps it was more than that.” He looked the doc in the eye. “Dellan came to me in a dream. I know that sounds strange, but—”

  “I wouldn’t even think of presuming such a thing,” Doc declared. “You three can hear one another in your minds. If that isn’t evidence that there are things we know nothing about, then I don’t know what is.” He smiled kindly. “Tell me about the dream.”

  Rael tried to remember Dellan’s exact words. “I asked if he could switch back to human, and he said he wasn’t human like me. He was a tiger.”

  “Which you might expect if he’s been locked in this form for so long,” the doc said, nodding.

  “We were waiting for the drugs to wear off before we asked him to try,” Horvan added.

  “But maybe things have changed,” Doc declared. “Those nightmares of his… was he a tiger in his memories? Or a human? Because if he can recall that, maybe it’s a step in the right direction.” He indicated Dellan with a nod. “Why not give it a try?”

  His heart racing, Rael lowered his head until he was eye-to-eye with Dellan. Remember your bad dream? When that man shot you?

  Dellan curled back his lips, baring his teeth, and a low roar filled the air. Rael cupped his head. You’re safe here. With
your mates and friends. He can’t hurt you. He glanced over at Horvan, who was off the couch and beside Dellan before Rael had time to blink. He laid his hands on Dellan, gently rubbing him.

  Rael looked into those beautiful green eyes. In the dream, were you a tiger?

  Dellan stilled, and Rael felt the waves of confusion that rippled through him. The room was silent, so silent that Rael couldn’t hear anyone breathing. Please, Dellan, he begged. Try to remember.

  Suddenly, Dellan was on his feet, pulling away from them and pacing the room, his tail thrashing from side to side. Rael didn’t dare move or breathe, sensing Dellan’s extreme agitation. Horvan was staring at Dellan, following his every move. The others appeared to have frozen in place, all eyes on the agitated tiger.

  And there it was again in Rael’s head, that fragment of a memory. Anson and the stranger, standing in that office. “That’s it, Dellan,” he called out excitedly. “Remember.”

  Then his heart stuttered when he saw in his mind a hand, stretched out toward the two men as if to stop them.

  Dellan’s human hand.

  Dellan was human. Like mates. Dellan stopped pacing, and Rael scrambled over to him and put his arms around him. He pushed his face into Dellan’s ruff.

  “Yes. Dellan is human too.” Rael wanted to weep.

  Horvan crawled over to them and stroked Dellan’s nose. Dellan, you’ve seen me and Rael shift from human to bear and lion. Can you do that? Can you shift to human?

  How?

  Even inside Rael’s head, that one word carried so much frustration.

  Think. Concentrate. See yourself as human. Let it happen.

  Rael was caught up in the elation that coursed through Horvan. His excitement was addictive. You can do it, Dellan. Tremors spiked through Dellan’s body, and Rael held him, willing his mate to be calm.

  When Dellan let out a roar, his body stiffening, Rael knew it wasn’t going to happen. Horvan was there instantly in his head, sending out thoughts of calm to Dellan, and Rael thanked God for him when Dellan responded, leaning into Horvan.

  Doc crossed the room to them and knelt before Dellan. “Even I could feel his frustration. Don’t push him any more today. I think one breakthrough was enough.”

  When Dellan was calm again, Rael expelled a long breath. For the first time since they’d freed Dellan from the cage, he was awash with relief.

  I feel it too. Horvan met Rael’s gaze. He’s going to shift back. Not right this second, but soon.

  Rael nodded. Dellan would shift when the time was right, but it would be his timing, not theirs.

  “Now… what does a man have to do around here to get fed?” Doc’s lips twitched.

  “Leave that to me.” Roadkill got up off the couch and went into the kitchen area, Hashtag following.

  “You’re gonna stay tonight, right, Doc?” Crank inquired. “We’ve got plenty of beds downstairs, plus some real comfy couches.”

  Doc didn’t take his eyes off Dellan. “I’d love to,” he said quietly. He glanced at Horvan. “What do you know about Dellan? His family, I mean.” Then he returned his gaze to Dellan.

  “His parents are dead. Dellan’s father, Jake, died when Dellan was seven. Well, we assume he died. He was declared dead when Dellan was fourteen, after he’d been missing for seven years. His mother married Dellan’s stepdad, but she passed a year or so ago.”

  Doc froze. “Jake? As in Jake Carson?”

  “Yeah. Why do you ask?”

  “I knew him,” Doc said simply. “Way before Dellan was born. Jake was a tiger shifter too. Immensely strong and fast.” He stroked Dellan’s flank. “He’s exhausted. All this agitation has worn him out. Let him sleep a while.” He made as if to stand, and Rael helped him to his feet. “Thank you. I seem to be aching more than usual today.”

  “One thing’s for sure, Doc,” Crank told him. “You won’t go hungry around here. Not the way Roadkill cooks. Of course, it might not look that appetizing….”

  “Fuck you, Crank.” Roadkill gave him the finger from across the room.

  Doc sat on the couch, his focus still on Dellan, who was lying on his side, eyes closed, paws crossed, his flank gently rising and falling as he slept. “I don’t suppose you know his mother’s first name.”

  Horvan chuckled. “Rael will. His memory is amazing.”

  Rael laughed. “Thanks for the accolade. And yes, her name was Miranda.”

  Doc’s face lit up. “Oh. Oh, that is wonderful. They were childhood sweethearts. I’m so happy they stayed together. She was a tiger shifter too.”

  “I wonder what happened to him,” Rael mused. “It must have broken her heart when he disappeared.” Not to mention Dellan’s. Losing a father at so tender an age had to be hard.

  “How and when did she die?”

  Even Rael had to consult his notes for that. He got out his phone and scrolled through. “About a month before Dellan was declared missing. As to how, I don’t know. It wasn’t in the records.”

  Doc’s brow furrowed. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”

  “What do you mean?” Horvan asked.

  “Too many coincidences.” Doc pursed his lips. “Think about it. His father goes missing. No one knows what happened to him. His mother dies a month before Dellan, too, is declared missing. Only we know exactly where he was. But her dying like that? Very convenient.”

  Cold spread over Rael’s skin. “Why convenient?”

  “Because if Dellan was drugged and unable to shift back, it’s very likely she would have known about it. The bond between shifter parents and their offspring can be incredibly strong. And I don’t think for one second that she would sit back and do nothing. Miranda was a fighter.”

  Horvan’s eyes widened. “You think Anson had something to do with her death? But… she was his mother too. He may be a bastard with designs on his half brother’s company, but to resort to matricide?”

  Doc blinked. “You’re right, of course. And it may be that I’m reading too much into these events. Ignore my paranoia.”

  Except it was too late for that. Rael couldn’t get his mind off the doc’s propositions.

  What if he’s right?

  DELLAN LAY snuggled against the bear, sharing his warmth. The lion slept there too, and the thought gave him comfort. Safe. I am safe. He couldn’t see the other men, but he knew they were close by. The place was quiet, and the only sounds came from outside, the hoot of owls looking for mates and the scurrying of other night creatures. The nest of mice beneath the floorboards was active, and he could hear the patter of their tiny feet as they went on their nocturnal maneuvers.

  Dellan should have been sleeping as well, but there was too much going on inside his head for that to happen. He had never wanted anything like he wanted to shift right that second.

  Time was kind of a fuzzy concept and had been for a while. He had no idea how long he’d been in that cage, but since his mates had freed him, things seemed to have moved fast. His thinking seemed sharper, his reactions quicker. The arrival of the Good Man—Doc. His name is Doc—had set something in motion. It was nothing short of a revelation.

  I am human too.

  The key had been that remembered fragment from his dream. He remembered shouting at—the name eluded him for a moment, and then he had it—Anson. He’d shouted at Anson, something about the man Anson had brought to see him. He recalled the fear that raced through him when the man raised the odd-looking pistol and pointed it at him. Then there had been the sharp pain in his neck, followed by a burning sensation that had spread from the point of entry, and he knew no more. The next time he was conscious, Dellan had awoken to find himself in the cage, somehow locked into his tiger form.

  I need to tell them. He had to warn his mates, but to do that required a conversation that wouldn’t be possible in his present state.

  I need to shift.

  He recalled what Horvan had said, something about concentrating, seeing himself as human. Dellan focused on the
memory of that hand, imagining the body that it belonged to, and for one moment, he felt something ripple through him, a surge of energy. Then it was gone.

  The energy had dissipated, but what remained was a sharply focused mind.

  Anson. Dellan was certain Anson was the key. He scoured his memories for more clues, more information.

  “No one is coming.”

  Those words. Anson had said those words. And the look on his face. How could Dellan have forgotten that? His lips twisted into a cruel smile. His eyes dark and dangerous as he stood over Dellan, who was clearly on the ground. That gloating voice.

  “And you can forget about shifting, brother dear. You’re going to stay as you are for a long time to come.”

  Rage surged through Dellan, and he let out a roar that made his own ears ache, reverberating inside his head.

  I will not let him win. I will not let him win!

  There was that ripple of energy again, and his whole body tingled. A primal scream filled the air, and Dellan wanted to know what could cause so much anguish. The cry came from neither of his mates, who were suddenly awake, shifting back into their human forms. They instantly reached for him, and Dellan was dismayed to see tears spilling down their cheeks.

  What’s wrong? he asked them.

  Horvan pulled Dellan into his arms, his tears dripping onto Dellan’s bare shoulder as he held Dellan to his chest. “Oh thank God.” His voice quaked.

  “Mates,” Dellan croaked.

  Wait. What?

  “You did it. You did it,” Rael whispered before leaning in to kiss Dellan on the lips, his hand curved around Dellan’s stubbled cheek.

  I have lips. Shoulders. Stubble. The scream had been his. And the tears coursing down his face were his too.

  Holy fucking God, he was human again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  BEFORE DELLAN could rasp out another word, there was the sound of feet thudding on stairs, and men piled into the room, all in varying states of dress. They came to a halt when they saw him.