He took her down to the second floor and to the house’s one bathroom, where Carly shut him out while she ran water and kept up a conversation through the door that he couldn’t make out. Didn’t matter; he just liked hearing her voice.
Carly came out, her hair damp and combed, her face clean of makeup and dust. Tiger took her hand and walked her downstairs to the ground floor, where the smell of pancakes on the griddle filled the big kitchen.
The man standing at the griddle, a towel tucked into his jeans as an apron, was Sean, not Liam. A quick scenting told Tiger Liam wasn’t in the house.
Sean’s mate, Andrea, sat at the kitchen table, her cub on her lap. She held the little boy’s hands while he stood on her thighs, his little bare feet pressing her jeans. Kenny Morrissey was seven months old with a round, chubby face and gray eyes like his mother’s.
Connor puttered around the kitchen as well, fetching things out of the refrigerator for Sean. He glared when he saw Tiger and Carly walk in.
“Goddess, how much sleeping do you think I got with your bed banging away over my head all night? I thought Liam and Kim were bad.”
Carly turned cherry red. “Sorry, Connor.”
“I should run up to bed right now and catch some shut-eye. Either that or I’m trading rooms with you, Tiger. That one used to be mine.”
“Really sorry.” Carly cleared her throat. “Mind if I have some of that juice?” She gestured to the pitcher of orange juice and glasses on the table, the movement elegant.
“Help yourself.” Andrea bounced Kenny and smiled into his face. “Oh, yeah, little man. You’ll be walking soon, won’t you? Look at you go.”
Tiger paused to touch his hand to Kenny’s head, loving the light eiderdown feel of his hair.
“Want to hold him?” Andrea asked him.
For answer, Tiger slid his hands around Kenny’s body and lifted him. Kenny cooed, recognizing Tiger’s touch. Tiger cradled Kenny against his chest, holding him steady in the cup of his palm.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Cubs were magical. No matter how frustrated, confused, or crazed Tiger became, he could always be calmed by holding a cub. He wanted to protect all of them, to not let them be taken away from him or their parents, ever.
If what he suspected was true, he and Carly would have a cub of their own this time next year. The cub would have Carly’s eyes and her smile, and when it became old enough, it would start shifting into a tiny tiger. The thought sent warmth through his entire body.
“Where’s Liam?” he asked.
Kenny gripped Tiger’s shirt, trying to stand on his arm and start climbing him. Tiger put up his other hand so the boy wouldn’t fall.
Sean answered without turning from the stove. “He got a call and had to leave town. Nothing to worry about.”
The words weren’t exactly a lie, at least, the part about Liam having to leave town wasn’t. Tiger smelled the lie in the second half of the sentence.
Nothing to worry about, my ass. “I need to talk to him.”
“Well, he’s needing to talk to you, Iron Man,” Sean said. “When he and Spike get back.”
“Spike went?” Tiger came alert. “Who’s taking care of Jordan? And where are Kim and Katriona?”
The need to know where the cubs were while their fathers were out of Shiftertown rose in a wave of worry. Cubs were vulnerable. Fathers should be with them.
“Kim’s at work, and Katriona is at Ellison’s being babysat by him and Maria. Jordan is being looked after by Myka and Spike’s grandmother.”
“You need to bring Jordan here, or send Dylan and Glory to him.” Tiger’s words came out as orders, staccato, firm. “There’s a danger in town—Walker—and Myka is human. Not strong enough to defend the cub against him. Neither is Spike’s grandmother.”
Sean turned around, spatula in hand. “Calm yourself, now. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but there’s no need for panicking. I’ll tell Dad.”
“Walker is secure?”
Sean’s eyes widened a little at all the military-like talk, but he nodded. “He’s still at Ronan’s. Ronan and Rebecca have got him covered.”
“I will talk to him too. Find out what he knows. No, I won’t kill him.” Tiger handed Kenny back to Andrea, making sure the baby was safely in his mother’s grasp before he let go. “I’ll let Ronan take care of holding him.”
Connor snorted a laugh. “In a bear hug.”
“If necessary,” Tiger said with a straight face.
“Wow.” Connor peered at him. “What have you been doing to him, Carly? I think he just made a joke.”
“We will have breakfast first,” Tiger said, pulling out a chair for Carly.
Carly finished draining her glass of juice. “You bet we will. I’m starving. I can’t remember when I’ve been this hungry.”
Connor burst out laughing. “Well, you would be, wouldn’t you? After that all-nighter?” He winked at Carly as he carried a plate piled high with pancakes to the table. “Better eat up, Carly. I have the feeling you’re going to get hungrier.”
* * *
Filled with delicious pancakes—buttermilk, blueberry, and chocolate chip—Carly walked with Tiger across the yards of Shiftertown to visit the Shifter called Ronan.
Carly had told Tiger he should go to Ronan’s alone while she went home, but he asked her to come with him. Asked her, but with a hint of need, and truthfully, Carly didn’t want to go home, not yet. Her time with Tiger was crazy, but she was floating in a bubble of comfort and warmth, and she didn’t want to burst it. Not yet.
She held Tiger’s hand as they walked, his gentle on hers. He didn’t seem to mind the other Shifters staring, but Carly did.
She saw right away that they weren’t staring at her, but at Tiger. Carly might have been a fly on Tiger’s back for all they noticed her. The Shifters’ gazes were for Tiger, faces unmoving but bodies tense, men subtly stepping in front of the few female Shifters they passed. All looked Tiger up and down, assessing.
Tiger noticed—how could he help it? He turned his head to meet stares, and gazes dropped swiftly when he did that. Heads would lift as soon as he passed, but none of the Shifters would lock eyes with him. That would be a challenge. Tiger might turn from his path, come over, ask why they were watching him.
The Shifters were afraid of him.
No one else wanted me in their house, Tiger had said in the car before the terrible wreck. Carly remembered only bits and pieces of the crash, but she fully remembered the bleakness in Tiger’s voice when he spoke the matter-of-fact words. Tiger lived in Liam’s house because he had nowhere else to go.