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“I’ll be fine once my animal calms down. I can’t shift here or I might hurt someone by accident.” I pulled in a deep breath. “He caught me off guard.”

“Maybe you should stay somewhere else until he’s gone.”

“I can’t move my dad in the middle of the night.

Besides, I’ve got new steel doors, so we’ll be fine.

He’s too spooked right now to try anything else.

Don’t worry about me, Connor. This isn’t my first time dealing with disgruntled inmates taking a parting shot.

We had a few lunatics back in San Antonio who could give Marcus a run for his money.

Just watch your back. He’s on the run tonight, and I want to make sure he doesn’t go after anyone else.

Can you let Hiroki know? It’s probably best if we all lock our doors and stay aware of our surroundings. If you own a stunner, keep it handy.”

“Take care of yourself, honey. I’ll give Hiroki and the guards a ring. We’ll find him. Go home and fix your arm.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget about the Arrowhead peace party.

The last one in this town was more like a private affair.

Tak invited everyone, and it sounds like it’s gonna be big.

Don’t say no, Connor. Hiroki can’t make it, so we both need to be there.

It’s important we show up at these events and strengthen the bonds in Storybook. You can’t be a hermit in this job.”

“Aye, so they say. Take care of yourself, lass.”

“Good night.”

After ending our call, I sped home, dizzy from the adrenaline and anger. Being a Councilwoman meant fighting my Shifter instincts, but what I really wanted to do was unleash my tiger and hunt him down like prey.

As I pulled up to my house, security lights switched on and illuminated my property. I glanced around before opening the garage door. Uncertain if Lucian was working in the attic or needed garage access, I left the car out front.

Lucian’s vehicle was parked inside on the left, and as I drifted farther in, he descended from the attic ladder ahead.

“Hey.” Lucian didn’t look at me as he walked toward the door. But before he reached it, he drew in a deep breath and froze. When he did a slow pivot and saw me shirtless with a tourniquet, his luminous eyes were blazing. “What happened?”

“I was attacked.”

He blurred across the room. A dark look flashed in his eyes when he saw the blood. Lucian lifted me into his arms and stormed into the house like a hurricane reaching shore.

“You don’t have to be so dramatic,” I insisted.

Secretly, I ate up his hero energy. It made my tiger purr like a kitten.

Once inside the kitchen, Lucian set me on my feet and deftly untied my blouse from the wound to assess my injury.

“We had a scuffle, and my attacker stabbed me before running off.”

When Lucian spoke, his emotionless tone raised the hair on my neck. “ Who stabbed you?”

“The Council’s handling the situation. Can you do me a favor and get the food out of the car?”

“Food? Are you serious right now?” he asked, his voice tightly caged. “Your arm is bleeding because some soon-to-be dead man attacked you with a knife, and all you care about is food?”

“Actually, yes.” I covered the painful wound with my hand.

“After you get our dinner, be sure to shut all the doors and stay inside. I need to shift, and my tiger isn’t in the best mood right now.

I’m going to try to rein her back in so I can check on my father, but I can’t guarantee that’ll happen.

If she doesn’t shift back, heat up the food and take it down to my father.

Don’t even think about stepping outside until I come back in. ”

He growled his response.

I pinched his chin and leveled him with my gaze. “I’m dead serious. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Lucian’s fangs were out as he stared at my arm. Then he lifted a handful of my hair and drew in a deep breath. “It was him —the Mage.”

I reeled back. “Don’t do anything stupid.

I mean it, Lucian. Men like Marcus love to drag people down to their level, and he’s not worth losing your freedom over.

You aren’t the law; I am. And if you do something foolish, my hands will be tied.

” I tossed my bloody blouse into the trash can.

“I’ll be outside. Whatever you do, don’t open the door.

Even if I meow and scratch on it,” I quipped.

Still rattled, I crossed the living room and went out back.

I waited for the sound of the garage door closing in front.

The new back door was thick steel, and Lucian had bought a custom-made one with beautiful wood designs on the exterior shell so it wouldn’t look like I was living inside a bank vault.

Unlike my last door, it didn’t have a window I could see through.

Since my cat was large enough to rip through my clothes during the shift, I took off my skirt, underwear, and shoes and set them on a chair. When my bare feet touched the warm grass and earth, I summoned her with a calming surrender.

Sliding into the background, I watched my tiger burst free.

She roared, fury pulsing in her veins. I let her know that everything was fine and I needed her to go back in for now.

I flashed images in my mind of taking care of my father so she would understand—visions of me curled up beside him while he slept.

After a few puffs of night air, she surrendered control.

I ran my fingers over the wound and realized it hadn’t fully healed, so I shifted once more and back. The process wore me out quickly.

Instead of putting my clothes back on, I headed inside and changed into an oversized T-shirt and panties.

“Are you okay?” Lucian asked from my bedroom door.

“I’m tired. Tired of people acting a fool.”

He took my hand and led me into the living room, where a tray of food was sitting on my couch. “Eat something.”

“I need to take my father his dinner first.”

“He already ate an hour ago.”

My eyebrows popped up in surprise. “What?”

Lucian stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I know how you like to feed him as soon as you get home, but you were running late. I rummaged around in the fridge and made chicken quesadillas and rice. No big deal.”

No big deal?

I sat in stunned silence that Lucian had fed my father. Stopped his work, prepared a meal, and carried it down to him.

“He didn’t have any complaints,” Lucian added while putting the tray on my lap. “I went down to check on him and he’d practically licked his plate clean, so I guess he liked it.”

“I appreciate that so much. I’ve never made him those before.”

Even though I usually ate at the dining table, I devoured the delicious meat loaf from the sofa. Having someone take care of me was a nice change. After I finished, Lucian collected the tray and then covered me with a thin blanket.

I curled up at the end of the couch with my feet on the cushions.

“You have a big pussy,” Lucian said dryly as he handed me a steaming cup. “I saw her through the window.”

I laughed and smelled the tea. “My tiger really wants out, but it’s not good to let her roam around when she’s still angry.”

He nodded and sat on the other end. “Tak’s the same way. He usually waits until he calms down to heal himself.”

“Doesn’t he have full control as an alpha?”

“I guess you only have so much control over a pissed-off wolf.”

The evening’s events occupied my thoughts. “I’m going to go downstairs in a while and let her out. She loves my father, and I think she’d feel more useful protecting him.”

Lucian studied me closely but didn’t say a word.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

“Things I shouldn’t say out loud.”

I sipped the tea. “Aren’t we past that? One of your best qualities is your honesty.”

“I thought it was my big dick.”

I chuckled softly. “That too. Tell me.”

“When he attacked you, why didn’t you shift and take care of him?”

“Because I don’t have the same privileges as everyone else. Smart people don’t wield that power since our animal’s actions could result in deadly consequences.”

“He stabbed you.”

“Mm-hmm. But I can’t die from being stabbed, and he knows that. It’s not attempted murder, and even then, that falls in a grey area. He wasn’t trying to kill me; he was trying to dominate and frighten me.”

“For what gain?”

“It’s an intimidation tactic—one criminals pull with smaller Councils.

If I had shifted, my tiger would have ripped his head off.

All officials, even those who work for the higher authority and Mageri, have to maintain a level of integrity and control to build public trust. If they see me as reactive and violent, they’ll demand I step down from this role. ”

“That sounds like a load of bullshit.”

“Maybe so, but killing him would have ended my career—at the very least. There weren’t any witnesses, and if you kill someone, you definitely want a witness. His goal wasn’t to die, but that’s how it could’ve gone. My job isn’t to be the executioner before a trial.”

“People around here might think you’re weak.”

“Is that how you see me?”

He furrowed his brow. “No.”

“It takes a lot of control to cage a tiger, and the leaders around here know it. They’ll respect the way I handled the situation.

Just look at Packmasters for example. People goad them all the time and even instigate fights, but how often do you see a Packmaster exploding into violence?

They understand the consequences, and so do I.

Maybe you haven’t dealt with Shifter Councils in the past, but I’m sure your Chitah elders are no different with how they handle themselves in volatile situations.

How many instances can you think of where they flipped their switch and murdered someone?

I’ve been a Councilwoman for a long time, Lucian, and I am not about to let a low-class juicer with bad breath and cheap shoes take this job away from me.

Once we catch him, he’ll be the Mageri’s problem. ”

Lucian watched our muted reflection in the television. The fireplace next to it whistled when a gust of wind echoed down the chimney pipe.

“We haven’t seen each other much this week,” I threw out, wondering how to broach the topic of our affair.

“I’ve been trying to finish so you can get your father up here.

” He scratched beneath his whiskery chin and cast his gaze upward.

“I’m almost done rewiring. I was checking out the attic space, and I think you could fortify a few spots.

Cheap materials, but it’ll make it harder for someone to climb up there and break in.

If you want to Vampire-proof this place, that’ll take more upgrades.

But there aren’t many Vamps around here, so it may not be worth it. ”

“Whatever it takes.” I closed my eyes for a moment. Visions of Marcus bringing down that knife filled my head, and I rubbed my eyes.

“Don’t tigers live in groups?”

“Some might, but there’s no structural order with us like in packs or dens. Most of us are loners or live with close family members.”

“By choice or by nature? You’d be safer in a group.”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve always been independent and never tried living with others.

It might be nice since I enjoy people so much.

It gets lonely out here. That baby shower showed me what I’ve been missing.

You’re lucky.” I closed my eyes, drained from all the excitement and shifting multiple times.

Lucian cleared his throat. “Since you’re going downstairs, I’ll finish up in the attic. It’s cooler at this hour, and I’m a night owl anyhow.”

“Thanks for taking care of my father.”

“He’s not a bad guy. I can tell by his scent that he doesn’t hate me, but he sure as hell doesn’t trust me either.”

“You’re crawling around in his daughter’s house. A father’s job is to worry.”

“He’s good at Jeopardy —he almost beat me.”

My eyes popped open. “He let you stay in there with him?”

“He had the show on, and we were answering the questions at the same time. He’s competitive, so I hung out until it was over. I like that show, but it was an old episode.”

“I bet you’re the smartest person in your family, aren’t you?”

He shrugged one shoulder but didn’t seem flattered. No blush to his cheeks or his chest puffing out. It seemed he simply knew it to be true.

“If your siblings ever come down, I’d love to tell them what an asset you are to this community.

I hope they appreciate you as much as I do.

You’re perfect the way you are, so don’t let anyone get in your head.

When you let down your guard, you’re easy to talk to.

Once people get to know you, they’ll figure out when you’re being factual, insulting, or even funny.

If nobody wants to try, it’s their loss. ”

A veil of silence descended, and I had so many questions I wanted to ask that were better left unsaid.

If he wasn’t feeling chemistry between us, I didn’t want to push it, especially given he was working for me now.

He might feel pressured—like he had no choice and rejecting me would lead to consequences. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

“I’m going downstairs for the night.” After getting up, I gazed down at Lucian, whose eyes were fixed on his lap. “Lucian?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Everything. All that you’re doing here to keep us safe, looking after my father, your concern, and feeding me. Bear made an extra plate, so one of those containers in the fridge is yours. Be sure to eat something for me.”

His gaze rose to meet mine. “Whatever you desire, female.”