Trusting A Tiger (Alaskan Tigers) (3 page)

“Okay,
I have it centered over the target, now what?” Her arms shook slightly with
nerves.

“Take
a deep breath and gently squeeze the trigger when you’re ready.” He stood next
to her, careful not to touch her so not to spoil her concentration.

The
bang of the bullet exiting the chamber cut through the silence, filling the air
with the smell of gunpowder, and Harmony let out a surprised squeal. “It’s
okay, you’re fine.”

She
lowered the weapon toward the ground. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect that.”

Caressing
the small of her back, he nodded. “The first time it can be scary, but look—you
shot just to the right of the bullseye. That’s amazing for your first shot. See
if you can do it again.”

With
each shot, she became more at ease with the weapon in her hand and liberated.
He watched as her nerves and fears over the gun were replaced by the liberation
of being about to protect herself. She’d no longer have to feel being at
someone’s mercy again, and that made him feel good. This was one step to
overcoming the wall that Henry erected between them.

Harmony
lounged on the bed, glaring at the gun that sat on the bedside table. Somehow
she let Felix talk her into taking a gun back to her room. Target practice went
better than she could have expected. She was actually a pretty good shot for
never holding a gun before and most of her nerves died away with practice. Yet
there was still something tingling inside her that made her hesitate, a gun was
nothing to mess with. Felix assured her that with more practice she’d be
completely comfortable with the gun and had promised to take her out shooting
as often as she wanted.

A
knock at her door pulled her thoughts away from the gun and Felix. Rolling over
onto her back, she sniffed the air to find out who was at her door without
getting up. “Come in.”

Robin
entered, her thin frame looking even slimmer than normal, and the light circles
under her eyes screamed to anyone looking that Robin wasn’t sleeping enough. Felix’s
words rang in Harmony’s mind again. Robin was doing too much. She needed to
focus on her mate not on Harmony’s problems. Her blue jeans and short-sleeved
blouse looked comfortable and ready for anything, but the heels are what caught
Harmony’s attention. It had been months since she’d worn heels, she missed the
way her legs looked in them. Maybe she could order a few things online to spice
up her wardrobe.

“Sorry
I didn’t get to come by yesterday, I was feeling ill. I heard Felix took you
out for a drive.” Robin strolled closer to the bed.

“Yesterday
was an eye-opening day. I wanted to talk to you about something.” She moved her
legs so that Robin could sit on the bed. “Felix told me you’re spending extra
time with Connor going through everything that they find. You’re doing too
much, and you’re making yourself sick and for what? We’ll eventually find
Henry.”

“You
sound too much like Adam for my tastes today.” Robin dragged her hand through
her curly long brown hair. “That’s a big change from two days ago. You were
dying for someone to find him—you even threatened to go out and start looking
for him yourself. What brought this on?”

“Yesterday
with Felix, being outside of the compound, it’s just what I needed. I’ve been
here weeks now, and it’s time I start living again.” She moved close enough so she
could lay her hand over Robin’s. “Henry is not only a threat to me and this
clan but to everyone. I’m not saying that we should give up the search, but I
want you to back off a little. You’re freshly mated. You should be enjoying
your mate not wrapped up in my issues.”

“How
can I be otherwise when I feel your pain when you speak of him?” Robin pushed
off the bed, closing the small space between the bed and window she gazed outside.
“I’ve seen what he did to you, how can I not do something?”

“You’ve
what?” Anger, sadness, and a mixture of other emotions raced through Harmony.
She never wanted anyone to know the shit she went through with Henry. They were
her dark secrets, to know someone else knew it was embarrassing.

“These
visions come to me in dreams, yet I know without a doubt they are real. They’re
your memories.” Robin turned back to Harmony, sadness in her eyes. “I’ve only
spoken to Adam about it. I couldn’t keep it from my mate, he knew something was
wrong when I woke in a cold sweat. It’s hard to hide anything from your mate
when they can feel your emotions. He believes this connection between us is
giving me your dreams, and he wanted to talk to Ty about it to be certain. Ty
being Alpha of the clan and having the same connection to his people that I
share with you might give us some insight on this. He might know of a way for
me to block them.”

“You’re
having my dreams. You see it all don’t you? Everything Henry did to me?”

Robin
nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

“Felix
is taking me to speak with Ty and Tabitha this afternoon, so I’ll bring up the
subject. If he can help, I’m sure he’ll meet with you afterwards. Maybe
committing myself to the Alaskan Tigers could relieve the strain of my emotions
on you.” She scooted up on the bed, pressing her back against the headboard and
running her hand along the red and black satin comforter. Oh, how she loved the
bed and comforter. It was so much more than she’d had in more years than she
cared to remember, but the colors, she knew, made her seem paler than she was.

“You’re
thinking about committing to the clan?” Robin turned to face her.

“I
might have no choice. If I’m to be mated with Felix, I’ll have to.” Things were
so confusing when it came to her mating. When Felix wasn’t there, her body and
tigress longed for him, but when he was there, she would do almost anything to
get away from him. Sharing the face with the man who raped her for sport
countless times was almost more than she could bear, not to mention the torture
he put her thought just to hear her scream.

“Felix?”
Robin’s eyes grew as big as saucers with both amusement and concern.

“Yeah,
I know. It’s a really screwed-up situation, but what are we to do?”

“I
thought there was something different about you when I walked in, but I wasn’t
sure what. Maybe we should talk about this, I’m sure this is bringing up more
memories of what you went through.” Robin came away from the window, her gaze
fully on Harmony as she sat back down on the edge of the bed.

“It
hasn’t brought up anything I wasn’t already dealing with. Either way, right now
I don’t need a therapist; I need a friend.” Harmony wasn’t sure Robin could be
anything than what she had been, but she didn’t want to be analyzed now. She
wanted someone to tell her that things would work out. After all, they had to…didn’t
they?

“I’m
that, too. I’m just concerned about the progress we made. I don’t want this to
set you back. I’m not sure I completely understand this mating thing. I can
feel it between Adam and I, but I don’t really understand how it works. Do you
have the right to deny your mate?”

“Not
really. Eventually the desire between the mates will be so overwhelming and
painful that it will force the two together. A human mate wouldn’t feel it as
strongly as shifters do because our desire would keep our beast on edge until
we gave in.” She tugged her sweater down, straightening all the winkles from
it. “I know Felix is a different person, but…” She let the words die on her
tongue.

“But
he looks identical to Henry,” Robin supplied.

“Yes.
Every time he’s around, it’s impossible for me to deny what happened in Ohio.
Felix brings it all back to the forefront of my mind. There are slight
differences in their features if you look closely but they are still identical
twins. Personality-wise, they are completely different, and there’s no
mistaking one for the other.”

“The
biggest question is: can you get over what he reminds you of, or will that
always be a sore spot in the mating?” Robin nodded to the gun on the
nightstand. “What’s that all about?”

“Felix
took me target practicing yesterday.” She couldn’t help but smile as warmth
filled her with the memories of the afternoon they spent together. “He gave me
a way to protect myself, to ‘liberate me from my fears,’ as he would say.”

“Protection
isn’t a bad thing if you’re comfortable with it. When I was on the run from
Pierce and his rogues, I had a handgun. When Adam found me holed up in a crumby
motel room and brought me back here, he let me keep it, knowing it would give
me comfort since I was terrified of him—of everything even my own bloody
shadow. It gave me peace of mind knowing that with it I stood a chance of
getting away from a shifter. Are you comfortable with it?”

She
nodded. “Getting there. We spent a good part of yesterday shooting it until I
got comfortable. He’s bringing me a hip holster when he comes back, and we’ll
go to the range on the compound after I speak with Ty.”

“Seems
as though you two are getting along well. I told you he’s a good man. He’ll be
a good mate if you can overcome your past. Maybe when Henry is no longer a
threat, it will be easier.” Robin ran her hand over the comforter smoothing out
the wrinkles. “You know, if you need anything, I’m here for you, or if you want
to talk, I’m always here for you.”

She
nodded, knowing Robin was eager to get back to her mate. “I know, thank you.
But I’m serious—I do want you to take a break from helping Connor. I have a
feeling everything’s going to work out.”

“Okay.”
That single word didn’t seem very convincing, but it’s all Robin gave. “All
right, I promised Adam I wouldn’t be long, so I better get going before he’s
knocking down your door.” Robin rose from the bed, plastering a smile on her
face.

“Go
enjoy your mate.” Harmony wondered if there would ever be a time when she could
do the same. Accepting Felix as her mate might be the hardest task before her.

Robin
moved through the small studio apartment, making her way to the door before she
turned back. “Oh, I forgot, Kallie invited us to have lunch at her place
tomorrow with Bethany and Tabitha. Are you interested in going?”

“Sure.”
It was time she started getting out of her hidey-hole, but if she were honest
with herself, she’d have to admit it wasn’t just getting out. It was also the
fact that with Tabitha there she’d at least get another glimpse of Felix. Damn
her mixed feelings about him—damn everything that happened that led her here.

“Wonderful,
I’ll be over just before noon tomorrow, and we’ll go together. Call me if you
need me.” Robin closed the door behind her, leaving Harmony alone again.

For
years she had spent her time alone, enjoying the peace of it, but now the
silence was deafening. Though she was a member of the Ohio clan most of her
life, she was never a part of the clan. She had a place in the woods away from
everyone and everything, never bothering with clan life until her Alpha called
her. The life suited her until that final challenge from her Alpha—the one she
failed, landing her in Henry’s hands.

She
tried to push the thoughts of Henry away, to enjoy the silence, turning her
thoughts to Felix. But no longer was silence enjoyable—Henry had seen to that.
There was no longer anything easy about life. She didn’t want to be alone, but
she couldn’t stand to be surrounded by people, either.

She
focused her thoughts on Felix, trying to change away the anxiety that thinking
about Henry raised. Could she find a way to look past the looks that reminded
her of the horror she went through and cherish the man she was destined to be
with?

The
cell phone she picked up on her run rang, sending panic through her. In all her
time at the compound, not once had the phone rang. She only purchased it after
she escaped Henry’s confinement in case of emergencies. No one had that number.
Figuring it was a wrong number, she debated not answering.

Timidly
she grabbed the phone, bringing it to her ear. “Hello?”

“You
thought you could run to my brother for protection, and I wouldn’t find you?” Henry’s
angry voice filled the line, stealing her breath. “I’m coming for you. It won’t
be long now.”

“How
did you get this number?” Her hand shook so much she was surprised she was able
to keep the phone pressed to her ear.

“Stupid
bitch,” he spat, “you registered the phone in your own name when you got the
number. After that, it wasn’t hard to find you. Randolph knows what he’s doing.
I paid him well to find it, and for that you’ll be screaming for forgiveness when
I get my hands on you.”

“I
just want you to leave me alone!”

His
voice sounded angrier. “Do you know why I chose to keep you alive when all the
other ones they sent me died within hours from the torture?” When she didn’t
say anything, he continued. “I knew you were to be mated with Felix. I could
sense it. He won’t have you when I’ll have no mate. If you thought the sex was
painful before, it will be tenfold now that you’ve found your mate.” With that
the line went dead, leaving her in more of a panic then she already was.

She
knew he was coming for her, but now she couldn’t help wondering how he knew she
was in Alaska. Felix’s connection to Henry was strained and didn’t work like it
would if both twins could shift, but how did Henry’s connection to Felix work?
Was it strong, more accurate? Or was it as simple as tracing the phone?