Loving the Tiger Page 4

  How dare he! What? asked her tiger timidly. He didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. She may harbor hopes, but in truth, Clay would want to try and mate a higher ranking. He was born middle ranked, but he was handsome, smart and strong – and was slowly working his way up. Mating a high ranked female would give him a boost.

  Yes, well, even if it’s true, Carrick didn’t have to say it Lauren argued. He could have kept it to himself!

  Why didn’t he? her tiger wondered.

  Carrick was cold and distant with all pride members, so why come out of his shell to tell her that? Maybe he wanted to hurt her. That made her feel uneasy. Carrick wasn’t openly vicious – not with words anyway. She doubted he would go out of his way to insult her; he was mostly indifferent to pride members, not openly mean. So why say anything if he didn’t care?

  The male was utterly confusing, yet…

  The baby started crying pulling her from her strange thoughts.

  Four

  Carrick nodded at the bartender, Jo. He ordered a beer and drank in silence. Jo knew him well enough not to bother trying to talk to him.

  Lauren’s rebuke echoed through his head. Why should she be bothered? She wasn’t dumb; surely she knew that Clay wasn’t interested in her. He was just voicing thoughts she must already have; yet she was hurt and annoyed by him.

  He didn’t like it one bit, and his tiger liked it even less. The flash of emotion in her eyes irritated him and his tiger. He wanted to seek her out and snarl at her that she wasn’t ever allowed to look that way in front of him again because he didn’t like the way it made him feel. Yet, that approach would probably just make the matter worse.

  Carrick didn’t know why it should bother him. He’d insulted pride mates before and couldn’t give a shit. Why would he? They meant nothing to him. So why did it bother him if a strange young tigress would be hurt?

  He heard the loud, obnoxious voices of some male pride mates approaching and retreated to the darkest corner of the bar.

  Occasionally his tiger craved being social – like once every couple of years at most, but that only extended to the one or two older pride members who didn’t expect him to talk. Males who had seen enough violence to enjoy the silence too. This was not one of those times, and these were not the males he would want to spend any time with.

  Carrick stared at the beer bottle trying to ignore his loud pride mates.

  They leered at Jo who snorted at the young men and told them to take a hike before she went back to her office and left Steve in charge. The tigers made a few comments about Jo, all filthy, but unlikely to be anything she hadn’t heard before.

  “Don’t think she was interested in your suggestion,” laughed one of them. Lee.

  “Who cares, she’s not a fucking tiger,” one of the males snarled. Samuel Carrick thought.

  No, that was generally the attitude outside the pride – any female who wasn’t in the pride was fair game, and they didn’t need to bother treating her with any respect, she was just there to be used in any way they saw fit. Not that the females in the pride were treated much better, but they were for mating, not just for fucking.

  All the males in the pride were told from a young age they needed to mate with a tigress and produce cubs, and they fiercely pursued this. With so few females in the pride, competition was strong for them, and the alpha wouldn’t allow them to mate with other species. Carrick supposed after being told their whole lives they shouldn’t, most didn’t want to anyway.

  It was so bad that the alpha was trying to bargain with other alphas for their females, but there wasn’t a huge amount of tiger prides in the country. City tigers preferred to go their own way, and he could imagine the derision if the alpha ever approached them about joining the pride.

  “Millie’s eighteen, won’t be long until she’ll be available.” Derrick thought Carrick sourly.

  The males greedily considered Millie’s attributes. Tall, lithe and fairly pretty. Even Carrick could see that, although the snooty female spent a bit too much time in Nita’s company for his liking. He couldn’t imagine wanting to tie himself to her for any length of time.

  “She’s a good cook – fills my freezer up with meals for me.”

  “She does my laundry.”

  Carrick tried not to laugh while his tiger growled. He understood that whenever Millie was asked to do anything, she sought out Nita, complained of a headache and Nita had another female do it for her. Probably Lauren he thought with a snarl. Those two would think nothing of working her to death, and he doubted the foolish girl would say anything to stop them.

  “Lauren will be nineteen in a couple of months.”

  His tiger stilled, and Carrick gripped at his beer bottle.

  Samuel sneered, “I don’t know what turns me off more, her big eyes or her fat ass.”

  “The eyes, she looks like fucking Gollum.”

  “She’s not that fat.”

  “Have you seen her tiger run?” chuckled Derrick. “She can barely even fucking shift and when she can, she can’t control her legs - she waddles like a duck.” The male made some quacking noises to much laughter.

  “That what you want to pass on to your cubs? Fat duck genes?”

  Carrick’s jaw cracked. The males always talked derogatorily about females, and he generally ignored them - idiots, but then the subject of Lauren never came up before.

  His tiger snarled and crashed against the barriers Carrick put up to stop the involuntary shifts that had dogged him after his initial release. It didn’t matter what they thought of her. Sounded like none of them would be her mate anyway, at least his tiger hoped that was true. The idea of Lauren’s spirit being crushed under one of those buffoons was… unpalatable to say the least.

  “If the option is no cubs at all then yeah, who cares what she looks like?” continued Lee. “Besides, all you’d need her for is the cubs. Just mate her when she’s in heat and gagging for it. The rest of the time - ignore her. There’re plenty more interesting options in town.” The male nodded at a pneumatic human. “Lauren doesn’t complain about anything. She’d stay at home doing whatever I wanted while I could be out enjoying myself.” He gave an exaggerated leer at a couple of female humans, and the rest of the males laughed.

  “Yeah, we have to mate the tigresses, we don’t have to be faithful. Ask the alpha, he wasn’t faithful to his mate.”

  “You’re quiet,” said Samuel.

  Clay grunted.

  “Maybe Lauren’s not so bad,” said Derrick thoughtfully. “Reckon you could get her to do anything you wanted, and she’d probably thank you for it.”

  “She’s low in the ranking,” murmured Clay dismissively.

  The others were quiet for a moment before agreeing.

  As much as he loathed the male, Carrick was glad of his disinterest. The other males would listen to him. Clay was naturally quite dominant – in an easy, friendly way, and other males naturally tried to impress him. Carrick was also dominant in an ‘agree with me or I’ll rip your head off’ kind of way – not that he really tried to enforce that.

  Samuel chuckled. “Doesn’t matter anyway, I heard the beta was interested.”

  Carrick felt a chill.

  “No way, maybe he’s sick of chasing after Sandra.”

  “Ready to settle down with his own little plaything.”

  “You ever seen his basement, it’s…” Lee trailed off as Carrick lumbered to his feet, and the male caught sight of his hulking form.

  All the males stiffened slightly; Clay almost succeeded in looking like Carrick’s presence didn’t bother him. Carrick ignored the nods and averted eyes as he left the bar.

  His tiger sneered. Call themselves predators; they didn’t even scent his presence.

  Useless males.

  But they weren’t half as bad as the beta. He judged the male to be about his own age – nearing forty, but he had never been mated. He was strong enough, but he kept his rank through viciousness. The rumors of his se
xual proclivities abounded through the pride.

  Carrick didn’t care enough to judge, and he knew from his own visits to brothels that different people liked different things – and hey, that was up to them – but the beta seemed to prefer partners who were not exactly willing.

  More than one pride member – those whose mates had died – had made a complaint about his treatment of them, trying to force them into a sexual relationship with him.

  Thankfully, he stayed away from them now, although he had been trying to pressure Sandra – a pride mate with severe burns - into a full mating with him. Since that didn’t seem to get him anywhere, maybe he was going to settle on Lauren.

  Did he think no other male in the pride would want her? His tiger howled to think of what the awful male would do to the sweet young woman.

  But what could he do? It was none of his business who she mated with.

  Why would he care? His claws pushed out of his fingers as he felt his chest tighten in fury. The tiger shook the internal cage holding him back, and Carrick started running towards the edge of the pride grounds.

  He tore off his clothes just in time as he shifted and roared into the night.

  *

  Lauren crept into her bedroom, pausing to check that Lois was still sleeping. She smiled and her tiger let out a rawr at her little sister, curled into a tiny ball. She was the spitting image of Lauren.

  Their house was by no means small – no pride homes were, but with four younger brothers, it meant nearly everyone doubled up.

  Lauren and Lois shared the smallest room – the larger rooms being reserved for the males who could actually bring honor to the family. Their double bed virtually filled the whole room, the only benefit being that they had their own small shower room so they didn’t have to share with their rambunctious brothers.

  She felt a pang and her tiger mewled as she watched Lois’ small chest rise and fall. A couple of months from now and she’ll be all alone thought her tiger sadly.

  Lauren knew from experience that life in this house as a female – especially a chubby female – was hard work. Maybe if she had been beautiful, born petite and svelte like Nita, or with a perfect round face and even features like Millie, things would be different. Maybe then her parents would have taken pride in her, and she wouldn’t be the drudge of the pride.

  But no, she was a large girl, with too-big eyes, a too-small mouth, a slightly crooked nose, a ruddy complexion, and a tiger with ugly coloring.

  She didn’t consider it odd that she found the same features on Lois to be cute, but then self-esteem had fled long ago around about the time that her father started snorting like a pig whenever she was eating. Or when she saw the looks of horror on her parents’ faces when her tiger emerged and they saw her true color. The beast hung her head, and Lauren soothed her. There was nothing really wrong with her – she just wasn’t considered beautiful enough.

  At dinner – which she cooked and served while her heavily pregnant mother tried to relax – her father casually reminded her that her nineteenth birthday was fast approaching. He was trying to glean as to whether any males had shown interest in her, but she had nothing to say on that matter. Certainly not to her father.

  Any day now, the alpha would announce to the pride that she was open for business and anyone who wanted to make a claim could. Course she had the right to reject any claim made – it gave the illusion that females had some right to choose their mates. But if she didn’t accept one, at least a month before her birthday, the Alpha would declare a competition, either a run or a fight between any males who would want her and she would belong to whoever won. Then after she turned nineteen, they would be mated. The end.

  Maybe no one would want her.

  Maybe no one would claim her or fight for her.

  Maybe she could remain single and could remain as an unpaid slave to her parents, the alpha, the mated females… pretty much anyone in the pride.

  Yay.

  But she doubted it would come to that. Some male would probably deign to want her. Probably so she could be a live-in slave and – yeuch – sex on tap for the gross male, and in twenty years she could have six cubs, a mate who generally ignored her and be as miserable and bitter as her mother.

  Neither option was particularly palatable. Though she had to admit the idea that she wouldn’t be treated as a slave by half the pride – particularly Nita – was appealing. But whether that was a good thing would depend on which male mated her.

  She could leave the pride. They didn’t like females leaving and tried to stop them and track them down and force them back – if rumors were to be believed, and she could well believe the males of that. But ultimately, leaving wasn’t illegal, but it would mean abandoning all her family, and she wouldn’t be allowed back.

  Lauren flicked her gaze to Lois. She couldn’t take her with her – that really would be illegal, but she couldn’t leave her to the mercy of the pride.

  Maybe when Lois is older… but not now.

  Perhaps Clay…

  Irritation lanced through her as she recalled Carrick’s words. He didn’t know for sure that Clay wasn’t interested, maybe he would be. She’d make him a good mate, she’d be quiet, and she’d take care of him, she’d… she’d do whatever he wanted in the bedroom. She tried to repress that thought.

  Carrick just wasn’t interested in mating, so it soured the issue for him to everyone. Just because he wanted to be alone. She shook her head, not being able to imagine what he was like in private.

  Although the one time she had been in his house while he was there wasn’t so bad. He actually seemed pretty… normal.

  Lauren shrugged and retreated into the tiny bathroom to brush her teeth. She slipped into her nightshirt and moved to close the window; her little sister was a demon for leaving them open.

  A slight movement caught her eyes, a sliver of dark orange in the moonlight. It wasn’t so unusual for pride mates to prowl around at night, but they didn’t usually get so close to each other’s houses, and she could hear her parents arguing in their room – it couldn’t be her father.

  She held her breath as the giant beast moved almost soundlessly through their garden and slumped on the ground.

  Carrick.

  No other pride member was so big or so brilliantly orange. What was he doing there? She wasn’t angry or fearful, more… surprised.

  Instinctively, she felt he must be there because of her, but why, she really had no clue.

  She closed the window and carefully slid into bed. A strange sense of peace and security eased through her as she found it unusually easy to fall into a dreamless sleep.

  Five

  Locke, the pride alpha smiled thinly as Carrick entered his study. The beta was there, lounging on a chair and smirking. His hands gripped the arms of his chair and for a moment Carrick thought of those pale, thin fingers touching Lauren and his tiger howled. He gritted his teeth and forced a semblance of control. Now was not the time.

  It wasn’t often that he approached the alpha to ask for something, in fact, he never had, never needed to. The alpha was always the one to come to him. Needing something was new to him, and Carrick wasn’t sure how to go about it. Probably just grabbing the alpha and shaking him until he submitted wasn’t the way to go.

  Yes, Carrick couldn’t be deferential and could never roll out honeyed words. No, he demanded, he growled, he snapped – he didn’t beg.

  The alpha gestured to a seat, but Carrick remained standing. Locke shrugged, possibly used to Carrick’s habits over the years.

  “You wanted to see me?” Amusement passed over Locke's face.

  Carrick grunted, finding the words heavy on his tongue. “That boy, Clay…”

  “What about him?” The alpha became slightly guarded. Clay was a popular young tiger, and while Locke was fond of him, preferring his company to his own sons, the older male never got too close to anyone. He was perhaps worried that Clay might want to challenge him one day for leader
ship.

  “He offered to teach an unmated female how to drive.”

  Even as he said it, he knew it sounded weak, but his tiger was agitated. He’d spent all night outside Lauren’s house, and he was tired and cranky. He didn’t know why he had been there. What did he think was going to happen? Did he imagine Samuel or Lee or even the beta would go barreling in there demanding Lauren mate them? But somehow he felt better for being there.

  On his way home that morning, he overheard Derrick talking to another male, making innuendos about Clay teaching Lauren and how they had arranged a lesson for later that day.

  Over. His. Dead. Body.

  The alpha raised an eyebrow and Patrick the beta rolled his eyes.

  “You think that Clay is taking advantage of this female?”

  Carrick grunted. No, he didn’t think that. Didn’t think Clay would really chase after Lauren, but that didn’t mean he wanted the slimy little bastard anywhere near her either.

  Locke leaned back in his seat. “Horny young tigers, what can you do with them?”

  Rip their heads off suggested his furious tiger.

  “Who is it?” asked the alpha. “Millie?”

  “Lauren,” he said, mustering a little control.

  Patrick snorted. “I hardly think Clay is interested in her.”

  Carrick growled. Locke watched him with curiosity as the beta cowered ever so slightly. Was Patrick truly interested in Lauren? Or did he think she would be an easy win for himself? Did he believe he could mate-claim her and get a docile, sweet mate without the hassle of having to fight for her? His beast prowled his mind, impatient to be away from him. He could not abide the male at that moment; the thought of his lascivious leer being directed at Lauren bothered him. The insidious male shouldn’t be allowed to breathe the same air as Lauren!

  The alpha hummed for a few moments. “I suppose you are right. We can’t have our young tigresses doing something crazy.” His face darkened slightly, and Carrick wondered how many other tigresses had done something ‘crazy’. The females were supposed to be pure for their mating night – but he doubted all of them were.