Healing the Clan: Alaskan Tigers: Book Ten Read online

  The gate opened, and a man strolled toward them, authority pouring off him. The way he carried himself screamed control, and power, but she didn’t recognize him. Didn’t Reece say David was Alpha? Could David have changed that much since she’d left?

  “Ryder, what’s up?” Reece called to the other man as he neared.

  “Tim informed us of the visitor, and I’ve come to escort her to David. He’d like to have a few words with her before she continues on her way.” Ryder came to stand in front of them.

  The resemblance between them had everything clicking into place. Even though there was clearly an age difference there was no denying they were brothers. The same wild red hair, only his had a slight wave to it, and the sea green eyes that seemed to look past what was on the outside and dig deeper. If someone had to take over the clan after Frank’s demise, she would have guessed it had been one of them. They both seemed to have the drive to get beyond working the compound grounds and gate duty.

  “It’s good to see you, Ryder.”

  “You too,” he quickly responded before turning his attention back to his younger brother. “David wants to see you in twenty minutes.”

  Reece paled slightly and nodded.

  “If this is because of me, I’m sorry…I’ll leave.” She stumbled, mentally cursing herself for causing problems. She didn’t want anyone to suffer because of her choices. Didn’t Reece mention that David had been working with Frank? Was he leading the clan the same way? Why wouldn’t the rest of the clan rise and overthrow him before he got himself firmly in power? The questions tumbled through her thoughts, each one sending a new wave of nausea through her.

  “This has nothing to do with you. It’s a completely different matter,” Ryder reassured her. “Now, if you’ll come with me.”

  She glanced at Reece. He didn’t seem as sure of himself as he had been only a moment before, and she wanted to comfort him in some way. The nagging worry that she had gotten him into trouble weighed on her shoulders, but she wasn’t sure what to say to make it better. If she got into her car and drove back to where she had come from, would it make things better or worse for him? What was she going to find when she made it inside to the Alpha’s quarters? The questions continued to pile up unanswered.

  “Go ahead. If you give me your keys, I’ll move your car inside.” He held out his hand to her, waiting for the keys.

  She glanced back at the car, mentally questioning if she could get safely inside and get away before they caught her. It might make her fate worse, or maybe they’d just forget about her again. She wasn’t anyone special, so surely David had better things to worry about than a former clan member.

  “You won’t be kept prisoner here.” Ryder smirked. “So there’s no need to stand there questioning if you should escape now. If you want to leave, you’re free to do that, or you can come inside and speak with our Alpha and have your questions answered. Your choice.”

  “Go,” Reece urged.

  Their words helped to ease her panic, and she nodded. “Keys are inside.” In the excitement of Tim’s questioning and seeing Reece again, she hadn’t taken them out of the ignition.

  She had come all this way; it was too late to turn back now. Destiny would demand that she see this trip to the end and close up her loose ends. Without her parents here, she’d have to figure out what her next step would be. Surely they had heard about Frank’s demise, so maybe they’d come back. Just in case, she might have to leave some kind of contact information with David.

  She waited until Reece opened the door before she glanced at Ryder. “Lead the way.”

  Strolling through the compound brought back old memories, both good and bad. Memories of her parents, which were a part of her. It was the memories of her, Mira, and Shelly that tore the deepest. Poor Shelly. She was too young to be snatched out of life before she had a chance to live it. The three of them had been close as children, but as Frank became more paranoid and controlling, their contact with each other was limited, and even more so once Frank had begun to take an interest in her. She had hoped that by distancing herself from them, she’d keep her friends safe from what she knew would eventually be the outcome.

  “I had begun to wonder what the delay was,” a man stated as he strolled toward them and pulled her from her thoughts.

  David. In three years, he had become a man. The sun-kissed skin, his brown hair, and his face were handsome enough he could’ve been a model. Through his honey brown eyes, he watched her as she took him in and where there’d once been a sparkle, there was only concern and sadness. How much horror had happened since she had left the clan? What level of destruction brought them to this new position and him as their Alpha?

  “It would seem our guest is a little hesitant now that Reece told her that her family is no longer among us,” Ryder explained.

  “Ah, well, I’m glad you’ve persuaded her to come.”

  “I just didn’t see the reasoning in me being here.” She tried to push confidence into her words, but they came off more as a question. “I might as well be on my way.”

  “What if I told you I might be able to help you find your parents?”

  She took a deep breath and swallowed her hope. “Do you know where they are?”

  “No, but I might be able to find them.”

  She shook her head and shoved a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, which the wind had tossed into her face. “If they’re smart, they’ll live off the grid like I was, making it nearly impossible for you to find them unless someone stumbled upon them.”

  “That’s why I knew where you were.” David’s lips curled up into a coy smile. “You can find anyone if you know where to look.”

  “If you knew…” Once again, she shook her head and refused to believe it. “That’s not possible. If you knew, Frank would have sent someone after me, either to drag me back home or eliminate me. He wouldn’t have allowed me to be free. Not after what I did to him.”

  “He ordered me to search for you, and I did. I followed you all the way to Alabama, to your little cabin.” He nodded to the bench a short walk through the grass, and without asking her if she’d like to sit, he began to stroll toward it, leaving her no choice but to follow if she wanted to hear what he said. “I searched the area for possible threats to you and then called Frank. I told him I lost your scent.”

  “You’d have risked your life for me if you’d have done that.” She couldn’t place her finger on it but she believed him. He had risked his own life for her.

  “Frank was beginning to trust me. At that time, it wasn’t clan knowledge that my father had me working under Frank but I was.” He sat down on the bench and looked up at her. “I counted on the fact that Frank would take my word for it and wouldn’t send anyone else after you. Otherwise, he’d have killed us both.”

  “I’d have been dead if I had stayed.” She sank down next to him. “His final demands were more than I could suffer through. I’d have rather been killed than do what he asked.”

  You shall be my mate and produce a proper son for me who will lead this clan. He held her against the wall, sliding his hands down her arms. A proper son. Not like that piece of shit one I have now. His mother spoiled him, and by the time, I killed her it was too late. He’ll never lead this clan like I do. Our son will.

  Even now, as his words played through her thoughts, the vile memory made her ill. He’d have raped her every night, and in his disillusion, he’d have believed they could produce a son, but she couldn’t stand by and allow that to happen. They were not like humans; she would never conceive a child with him because she wasn’t his mate. Instead she had suffered immense pain from every touch and she couldn’t live with that.

  “Are you listening to me?”

  “Huh?” She shook her memories away.

  “I said that I know what was happening between you two.”

  “Not here.” The panic rose in her voice. “Too many could hear.” The only one she could see was Ryder, who
was still standing on the sidewalk where they had left him, but that didn’t mean there weren’t others lurking about somewhere. She had learned long ago that the walls had ears and there was always someone watching. The lessons she’d learned while living here were quickly awakened, and even with the new Alpha before her, she couldn’t help but worry that there was someone waiting in the shadows ready to report back and gain a few points in their favor. Old habits died hard.

  “Come with me. We’ll go back to my quarters and discuss things further.” He rose from the bench and waited for her. “No one will overhear us there.”

  Those words sounded too much like what Frank had said to get her back to his quarters alone. When she looked up at David, she could almost see Frank standing before her. It was crazy because neither of them looked anything like the other one. My mind is playing tricks on me. Frank is dead. He’s not coming back for me.

  “What about Ryder?” She didn’t know him very well, but she wanted someone else there, a witness perhaps to keep David in line. But would it even matter? It hadn’t when Frank was Alpha. Clan members had witnessed his behavior to her, and no one tried to stop him. No one dared to go up against him. Would things be different with David, or were the remaining clan members so broken they’d let it happen again as long as they weren’t on the receiving end?

  “Ryder, with us,” he ordered and began walking toward the building before them.

  Unless things had changed since she’d been away, the Alpha’s quarters were on the second floor of the building. The first floor had been the stadium where Frank had gathered the clan for meetings, torture sessions, and anything else. The dining hall where everyone took their meals was next to it, and beyond that were the one-room apartments each family had. It almost reminded her of a boarding school, except they were adults, families, and a few mated couples. There were some children when she had left, but their numbers were dwindling because Frank refused to allow the members to seek mates outside of those within the compound.

  One thing that stood out to her as different was the people who were moving about the grounds, coming and going as they pleased. A group of women sat around a table in the dining hall chatting, while a child played quietly with her doll on the floor. It almost seemed like a normal clan compound instead of the hellish one Frank had them living in all these years.

  “I see you expected things to remain the same,” David remarked when she stopped to watch the women.

  “I guess I thought that since you worked under Frank, you’d be the same.”

  “Don’t take it personally. She jumps to conclusions a lot.” Following behind them, Ryder chuckled.

  “You’d think since I followed you once you left here but never told Frank you would realize I wasn’t such an evil person.” He stopped at the landing that led to his quarters and opened the door.

  She noted that it hadn’t been locked and there was no guard outside his door, yet another change. Frank had been so paranoid it was always locked and a guard would alert him if any of the members got the nerve to venture upstairs. “That was three years ago. A lot could change in that time.”

  “A lot has.” He gestured her inside.

  “I see.” She tried to take in the changes just within his quarters. The space was open, and unlike everyone else’s quarters, there was a kitchen just off the living area. The bed was off to the far side, and just beyond that was a sliding glass door that opened onto a balcony that overlooked the grounds. Where it was once dark and a fearful place, it was now full of light and seemed welcoming. The family photos were spaced out around the area, inviting a homey feeling. “But are the changes only on the surface? How are you going to run this clan? Like Frank did?”

  “A woman who cuts straight to the heart of things. I like that.” David went to the kitchen and poured three mugs from the coffee pot. “It’s fresh, but if you’d prefer me to make another one for you so you can witness I’m not poisoning you, I will.”

  “That thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but you’re avoiding my question.”

  “Here, Ryder.” He held out a mug to him. “Take a seat. I think we might be here a while.”

  “You only have about fifteen minutes before Reece and thirty minutes before the call.” Ryder took the mug and went to the small dining table.

  “What call?” She took her own mug and joined Ryder at the opposite side of the table.

  “You asked before if I was going to rule this clan like Frank did. The answer is no.” David sidestepped her question as he came to sit between them at the head of the table. “I have my own hopes for the clan, and there will be many changes coming soon. I don’t expect you to believe me without seeing it, but you’re more than welcome to stay here as long as you’d like. You left once, but this is still your home and I’m sure you’re tired of living away from our kind. Rejoin us.”

  “There are too many unknowns to join you. Too many questions left unanswered, too many you’ve sidestepped.”

  “Let me see if I can answer some of your questions.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Here’s one you asked and one you haven’t yet but I’m sure you’re wondering. The call is with Ty and Tabitha of the Alaskan Tigers. I will be vowing my commitment to their cause, and they will be sending guards to assist in turning this clan around. The guards will train Ryder, Reece, and the others to protect the community from the threats that surround us. Once we have things under control here, we will do what we can to support Tabitha in her quest to free our kind. The second part is Ryder’s role in all of this. A few minutes before you arrived, I made him my Lieutenant.”

  “That sounds too good to be true.” She wrapped her hands around the coffee mug but didn’t bring it to her lips. She tried to consider what she knew, instead of just jumping in with both feet because she wanted to believe him. Hadn’t David’s family been supports of Frank for as long as she could remember? Even now, Tim’s anger implied he wanted this clan led as Frank would have. Would David go against his father after working so hard to please him? “You worked under Frank for years, and now you’re willing to lead the clan through a complete turnaround. What changed? Are the Alaskan Tigers threatening you? If you don’t commit to them, will they eliminate you and put someone else in your place who will submit to them?”

  “Nothing like that. I’m doing this of my own free will. It’s for the clan, for me, and for our future. Alphas like Frank need to be eliminated. We need to stop hiding and living in fear that humans will find out what we are. Our future generations deserve to live in a world where they don’t have to hide away such a big part of themselves. They deserve to live freely and be allowed to pursue whatever opportunities interest them. The future Tabitha is trying to create will do just that.”

  “Frank had all of us so scared of our own shadows that so many of the clan members never ventured from this compound. There’s a big world out there that everyone deserves to see,” Ryder added. “A world of beauty, with so much to offer.”

  “Mates.” The wistful hint in David’s voice had her turning to look at him, and he smiled at her. “Don’t look so surprised.”

  “It is surprising.”

  “I’m the Alpha of this clan, and that means I want it to survive. We need mates and children. Fifteen of our members survived the fight that brought down Frank, and out of those, there’s only one mated couple. Three widowed mates and the rest are single tigers and tigresses. Go to any other flourishing clan, and you’ll see they have more mated couples than singles. Mates. That’s what each of us long for.”

  “This is all such a change…”

  “What did you expect?” David asked.

  “I don’t know…a leader like Frank, perhaps.”

  “I’d say I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not.” He leaned forward, interlacing his fingers on top of the table. “If you want an Alpha like that, you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m bringing my people out of hell, and we will live again. If you’ve come home for that, you might want
to get back into your car and be on your way because you’ll only be more disappointed the longer you stay.” He pushed his chair back from the table and stood.

  “Wait,” she called to him before he could move away. “That’s not what I meant. I’m happy for the clan and to be honest a little envious. I miss clan life, and I’m tired of living alone in hiding. I guess that’s what brought me home—the need to be around my own kind again. You’re right about having to hide what you are. I never realized it before, but these last several years have taught me a lot. I’ve missed my clan, my parents, and maybe more than anything, I’ve missed being able to shift. For three years, the only time I’ve felt safe enough to shift is within the walls of my cabin and let me tell you that does nothing to please the beast.”

  “Then come home.”

  Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door. It was like the ringing of a bell, saving her from the knockout punch. She was reeling from everything and had almost said yes. She wanted to be around her own clan again, so much that she’d do or say almost anything. She had to be careful. If she got stuck in a bad situation again, she might not make it out alive this time.

  3

  Chapter Three

  By the time David took care of the business with Reece, committed the clan to the Alaskan Tigers, and worked out the details on the guards’ arrival, the sun had made its way over the horizon and would be disappearing in the next few hours. He was exhausted, but his work wasn’t over yet. Ryder was out looking for Victoria, and he’d escort her back so they could finish their chat from before. He hoped that spending the last several hours among the clan had brought her up to date on what had happened since she’d left and what was happening now that he had taken over. Maybe it would give her a better understanding of what he was doing, and she’d rejoin their clan.