Free Taming The Tigers by Tianna Xander Page B

shouldn’t be any more than what we’re already facing.”
    “Thanks for the warning,” Malik said as he followed the SUV leading the way. Her uncles brought up the rear, keeping them sandwiched in an effort to stop an ambush.
    “What the hell?” He jammed on the brakes as the lead vehicle stopped in front of them.
    He rolled down the window a crack when the man approached. “There’s a tree down. “We’re hoofing it from here.”
    “Son of a bitch!” Malik hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. “What the fuck else can go wrong?”
    “I need you to do me a favor,” he said as he jammed the car in park and killed the engine. “Kitrick will have a momentary lapse in his night vision when we go dark. Take that opportunity to shift into your cat and get the hell out of here.”
    “Won’t he shoot me, even as a cat?”
    “If our luck hasn’t totally run out, he’ll not be prepared to lose the light so quickly and he won’t see you shift. The asshole thinks of himself as an animal rights activist.” He shook his head at the irony. “He doesn’t bat an eye at killing a human, but he’d never purposely target an animal unless it attacked him. Just don’t attack him if you see him. Turn away and get the hell out of there.”
    The last thing Malik wanted to do was leave their mate to her own devices. However, it would look odd, even to a city slicker like Kitrick to see a leopard and a tiger walking through the woods together and it might be enough to make her a target.
    “Shift now!” he counted to five and turned off the lights.
    Carmen wasn’t a fast shifter. If he had to guess, he’d say it had been a long time since she felt the need. Failing to shift regularly could, literally, be the death of them. He would have to talk to her about that, later.
    However, now was the time to hunt. At least this time, if he got shot, he wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to change back into his human. He couldn’t shift. If he did, he could ruin what little edge Carmen had.
    Using the night vision of his cat, Malik scanned the side of the road. He could feel the bastard stalking them.
    Still, he grinned darkly. The asshole didn’t know the scope of their protection. He also had no idea that his prey had just become the hunter. Carmen might not like the idea of killing a man, but her cat would demand survival and if Kitrick threatened her, it would react accordingly.
    Closing his eyes, he reached for the magic he knew resided within him. He thought of Carmen. He pictured her, imagining her scent and the softness of her silky skin and hair.
    Carmen? He attempted to establish a mental link. Such a thing would be easy, had they already mated. However, they had not. Are you doing what we asked of you?
    Yes, came the answer. I don’t have a death wish, thankyouverymuch.
    Good. He grinned at her snarky answer. I do not have a death wish for you, either, kotik.
    Don’t you dare call me pussycat now that I’m strolling through the woods alone with some sort of mad killer looking for me.
    Malik laughed out loud, quickly covering it with a cough. Just be certain that you stay away from the mad killer, kotik.
    You think that Russian accent of yours is sexy, don’t you? It isn’t, you know.
    I think you are lying to me. She didn’t sound at all convincing.
    Well, I’m not. Eeew, eew eew! I think I just stepped in bear poop. Why can’t leopards wear shoes? I have a really nice pair I had to send into the ether when I shifted.
    Bears, there are bears here? He stiffened at the thought that a bear could attack his precious Carmen.
    Of course there are bears here. We’re in the mountains. There’s probably moose or elk around here, too. You know, there’s really no doubt about it, now. I have firsthand experience. Bears really do crap in the woods.
    Malik smiled at her irreverence, both terrified and awed. The thought of her being alone in the woods when a bear could attack her scared the hell out