Excessica Anthology BOX SET Winter (61 page)

“Listen
to me you hard headed son of bitch, unless you want the whole world to know
about shifters, calm the fuck down, or I’ll give them a show they won’t soon
forget!”

* *
* *

Deep
inside the tiger, Gregory stared at the woman. She smelled of tiger and was
talking about shifters. Nuzzling her, he tried to determine if she was a shifter.
Despite the deep pain his front leg was giving him, he could smell the
intriguing scent of Bengal and something else—something wild he wanted to
claim as his.

Straddling
the woman’s body, he trembled over her as she ran her hands down his heaving
sides, taking care not to jar his injured leg. In the background, he could hear
his brother speaking softly, reminding him of the humans watching, to move
before they ‘tranq’ed’ him. Ignoring his brother and leaning in closer, he
tried to get a better smell of her. The Bengal scent was fresh but the
underlying smell of human soap did little to disguise the wild scent under it.
It’s
addictive. I’ve got to have more of it.
Pushing aside the neck of her
shirt, he exposed her skin. The moment he got a deep whiff her scent, darkness
swam over him.
What the hell…

“They
tranq’ed you.”
The soft whisper in his head surprised him.

“I
claim you…”
Fighting the effects of the tranquillizer, he tried to focus on
her.
“…as mine.”

* *
* *

Her
heart racing, Shu looked over the heavy body of the tiger at Daniel. He was
pale and cursing at Dr. Chen.

“Get
him out of here.” Her voice was hoarse as the full weight of the tiger sank
down on top of her. Security, which had finally arrived, rushed towards Daniel.
“No. Take Dr. Chen and the others out of here. Leave Daniel and Ry-lin. They
can help me with the tiger.”

The
guards looked bewildered.

“Now!
I’m the specialist. Dr. Chen needs rest and in his tranq’ed condition the tiger
isn’t going to be giving me or anyone else any trouble.”

They
nodded their agreement. They’d seen her work in the past and knew she often
worked with only Ry-lin at her side. Shu heaved a sigh of relief when they
disappeared around the corner with the doctor and his assistants.

“Help
me with him, Ry-lin.” Shoving at the large heavy body pressing against hers,
she could barely move him.

Ry-lin
moved forward when Daniel stopped him.

* *
* *

Daniel
crouched down next to Shu and the tiger. Running his finger over the skin his
brother had managed to expose, he brought it to his nose. Pulling his hybrid’s
sense of smell forward, he took a deep breath. The wild scent of cat was
unmistakable. “You’re a hybrid.”

Narrowing
her eyes up at him Shu smiled. “If you don’t help move him off me, you’re going
to find out all too well. And we have eyes watching. We need to move him now
before the tranq effects more than the cat. If he changes in front of the
camera, we’re going to have big issues.”

With
a nod, he gestured to Ry-lin to help him. With a bit of grunting and a lot of
cussing they finally managed to lift the three hundred and eighty pounds of
sedated tiger off her. Rolling out from under him, she winced.

“You’re
bleeding, Shu.” Ry-lin’s voice was pitched low and Daniel barely caught his
words.

“Did
my brother hurt you? Or was it the attack earlier?”

She
shook her head. “It’s nothing. Neither tussle caused it.” She turned to Ry-lin.
“Do you have the room prepared?”

* *
* *

Shu
had just shut the door behind them when Daniel cursed.

“Ah
hell. He’s changing.”

She
turned around and watched as the tiger they’d lowered to the floor shimmered
and changed into an unconscious man. Dark skinned and slender, Daniel’s brother
looked nothing like him. His long black hair spread out under him, covering his
features, and he was naked as the day he was born. Trying to ignore the fact
that her hormones jumped at the sight, she focused on the nasty wound on his
right bicep as she dropped to her knees.

Ry-lin
appeared at her side with clean gauze and antiseptic. Looking up at him, she
took the supplies.

“Thank
you.” Without looking up, she cleansed her hands before speaking to Daniel. “I
need you to hold his shoulders. This is going to hurt like a bitch.”

Once
Daniel was in position, she dumped a generous portion of antiseptic over the
wound. Gregory groggily jerked against his brother’s hands.

“Easy,
brother, we’re almost done.” Daniel kept his voice low and steady. He met Shu’s
eyes and nodded for her to continue.

Taking
the gauze, she dabbed away the clotted blood and antiseptic. She frowned as the
injury became clear. “This isn’t a wound from a trap, Daniel. It’s from a
gunshot.”

“You
hard-headed son of bitch.” She realized he was talking to his brother. Looking
up at her, he caught her eyes. “How bad is it?”

His
soft question had her realizing he wasn’t surprised. “Not bad, it’s a flesh
wound. A few stitches and he’ll heal up fine.”

Taking
the curved needle and thread from Ry-lin , she stitched him quickly and
efficiently. When she was done, she pressed clean gauze over it to stem the
fresh trickle of blood. After wrapping a clean bandage around it, she gave him
a shot of antibiotics.

“Okay,
I’ve done what I can but we’ve got a problem here. The tranq is going to keep
him out of it for at least eight hours. We’re not going to be able to keep Dr.
Chen away that long."

“I’ll
take care of it.” Daniel’s voice was flat.

“Take
care of what?” She looked up in surprise when he grabbed a clean scalpel off
the tray. Shock washed over her when he slashed his own arm.

“What
are you doing?” She watched as he started to slip out of his clothes. Folding
them neatly, he placed them next to his brother.

“Our
base forms are very close in size and coloring, Shu. I’ll take his place. Take
him back to the hotel and keep him there until the tranq wears off. Then you
can bring Gregory back to retrieve me. As the Head of the
Xiamen
Tiger
Preserve, he has the authority to transport
Xiamen
tigers back to the
Preserve near Nanning.” He pulled the tie holding his hair loose. “One other
thing, Shu, if you don’t mind?”

“What’s
that?”

“Once
I’ve changed—stitch me up. I don’t want to get an infection because my
dumb ass brother decided to play hero instead of waiting for me.”

“You’re
asking her to stitch up a three hundred and fifty pound tiger without tranqing?”
Ry-lin stepped forward. “Are you crazy?”

“Actually,
I’m closer to three-eighty, but yes I am.”

“Relax,
Ry-lin. He’ll be in complete control of his tiger. Won’t you, Daniel? As the
Protector, you’re always in control.” She readied a fresh needle and thread.
His
words from earlier now make sense. A true protector of a pack is a scary
thing—complete control, savagery and protectiveness in one package. God,
I’m glad I’m taking the other back. The only thing worse than the protector is
the Alpha of the pack.

A
shimmer flowed over Daniel’s body as the change overtook him. He gracefully
moved over towards her, his gait just a bit off from the self-inflicted wound.

“Lay
down on your side, Daniel. It’ll be easier to stitch if you’re not putting any
weight on it.”

He
rolled to his side without protest. The only sign he felt her stitching was the
sudden intake of breath before he relaxed. Finishing quickly, she also gave him
a shot of antibiotics as an extra precaution.

After
cleaning up the mess and making sure Daniel was comfortable, she helped Ry-lin
dress Gregory in his brother’s clothing. Keeping her eyes diverted she managed
to keep her touch impersonal. Deep inside, she could feel her tigress moving
closer to the surface. Gregory’s earlier words had awakened her hybrid and she
wanted to come out and play with the tiger who’d claimed her. Sheer willpower
had been the only thing keeping her from shifting in the hallway when he’d
pinned her to the ground. The need had eased once he’d shifted into his human
form and needed her medical attention.
How the hell am I going to resist him
when he’s awake? Perhaps he won’t remember…

“Keep
telling yourself that, Shu, but the one thing my brother does have is a mind
like a steel trap. When he decides he wants something, he takes it.”
Daniel’s
calm voice filled her head. “
That’s why he’s the next alpha.”

“Wonderful.”
Her sarcasm left him chuckling.

* *
* *

Once
back at the hotel, Shu helped Ry-lin carry Gregory in. Settling him on the
queen sized bed in the middle of the room didn’t take much time nor did
undressing him. The body difference between the brothers had them holding
Daniel’s pants up for Gregory as they carried him. The moment they let go, the
material dropped and pooled around his feet.
Amazing that their cats are
similar but their bodies so different.

“Will
you be okay, Shu? I can stay if you like.” Ry-lin placed the folded clothing on
the small stand next to the bed.

“Go
home to your mate, Ry-lin. You’ve done enough today. The day I can’t handle a
cat is the day I hang up my medical bag and go back to my pack and become the
beta.”

“I
don’t understand your pack, Shu. Why do they treat you so?”

When
she just shook her head, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You
can’t let them to continue to affect you this way. What will you do when
they’ve scarred you until you’ve come to the point you won’t shift? Or has it
already happened? In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never once seen you in
your base form.”

“I’ve
a very good reason for not shifting in front of other shifters, Ry-lin.”

“Times
are changing as our kind travel greater distances. Surely there is a pack out
there which will accept you.”

She
knew he was trying to be kind but she just didn’t think she could handle
another rejection. She knew the only way she’d ever be accepted into another
pack would be as a mate. “Let me show you something.” Peeling back the edge of
her top, she exposed the long furrows on her shoulder. “This is what happened
the last time I changed into my base form in front of other shifters. In my
base form I’m damn near four-hundred pounds of tigress…if you could call me
that. My father’s jaguar blood is stamped all over me. If any zoo or human saw
me, I’d be either locked in a cage or made into a rug for some one’s floor. Thanks
but no thanks. I am meant to travel and care for other shifters. Mating is not
for me.”

“We
shall see about that.”
The groggy, masculine voice washed over her and
teased her senses. Spinning around, she expected to see the man sitting up and
instead saw he’d reverted back to his tiger form. It seemed as if the tranq had
rather strange affects on him.

“Has
a
Xiamen
shifter ever been tranq’ed before?” she asked over her
shoulder.

“This
one has. Gregory is always rushing in where only fools or angels dare tread.
This is the third time he’s been tranqed that I know of. Which is why I called
both you and Daniel in; I needed you to tend his wounds and Daniel to get him
out of the zoo. He’ll shift back and forth until the tranquillizer finally
wears completely off.”

“Wonderful.
I guess I’ll be sleeping on the floor.”

“Like
hell.”

This
time the voice didn’t take her by surprise. Ignoring it, she escorted

Ry-lin
to the door after assuring him once more she’d be fine and she’d call in the
morning when Gregory was ready to spring Daniel from the zoo.

Locking
the hotel door after placing the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign out, she turned and
examined the large tiger curled up on her bed.

“What
the hell am I going to do with you?”

This
time Gregory didn’t answer. With a sigh, she took her cotton sleep shorts and
tank top into the bathroom, leaving the door ajar so she could hear him.

* *
* *

Lying
on the bed, Gregory watched the woman who was sprawled uncomfortably in a chair
through slit eyes. As his brother had predicted, he remembered everything that
had occurred before Dr Chen had sedated him. He knew to the marrow of his
bones—she was his. It mattered not if she was a hybrid, even though he
strongly suspected she was. He wasn’t letting her go either way.

Until
this damn tranq wears off, I’m powerless to do anything about my desire to mate
with her, but there’s no need for her to sleep in such an uncomfortable manner.
Letting a low growl escape, he watched as she stirred. Her beautiful blue
eyes opened for a moment before lowering once more. He growled a bit louder and
twitched on the bed. This time she jerked upright in the chair. If he could’ve
smiled in tiger form he would have.

“Damn.”
Running a hand through her dark thick wavy hair, she sent it into more disarray.
She now had a sleepy just-loved look. Another growl escaped him. Standing up
stiffly, she stumbled towards the bed. Sinking down on the edge she yawned.
“What’s the matter, boy? Do you need painkiller?” She rubbed the scruff of his
neck with a gentle hand. “I wished I had something to give to you but being a
hybrid, the local anesthetic they give regular tigers may interfere with your
unique chemistry.”

She
seemed startled when a soft purr escaped him. “Ah, I see you just wanted to be
touched.” It was common knowledge that tigers were very affectionate cats.
Continuing to rub him down, she carefully avoided the wound on his foreleg.

More
purrs escaped him. Her hands felt wonderful. When they slowed, he opened his
eyes to look up at her. Her own eyes were closed and she was swaying, obviously
exhausted but still trying to care for him. Gathering his remaining strength,
he spoke to her mind to mind.