“Would I be here ready to kill you if I knew?”
Broderick didn’t answer, but he didn’t leave either. “I’m coming with you,” he said.
“The f**k you are.”
“You aren’t doing a very good job of finding her, are you? Two heads better than one.”
“But I want your head on the ground,” Ellison growled.
“That’s where I want yours. But we find Maria first. Sure she’s not with one of the Morrisseys?”
“No. And they don’t seem worried.”
“Fucked-up Feline bastards.”
Ellison ignored Broderick the best he could as he made his way back to Liam’s house. Connor and Tiger were still bent over Dylan’s truck.
Ellison stopped outside the property line and hauled Broderick back before the man could run up to Connor, likely to close his hand around Connor’s neck and demand the cub to tell what he knew.
If Broderick did that, he’d lose his arm, because Tiger was already straightening up from behind the hood and glaring at them with those weird eyes of his. Tiger, though only adopted into Liam’s family and clan, was seriously protective of Connor.
Tiger hadn’t been born of Shifter parents—he’d been bred in a research facility and raised in a cage by human scientists for about forty years. They’d been trying to create a super-Shifter—one who was better, stronger, faster, and all that shit, than your average Shifter. They were trying to do what the Fae had done a couple thousand years ago, except without the magic and possibly not the maniacal laughter. The single-minded cruelty had been there, though.
The result was Tiger—superstrong, barely controlled, and not happy with people who messed with Connor. He wore a Collar, but Ellison was one of the few who knew the Collar was fake. Liam had tried to put a real one on Tiger and it hadn’t worked, so a fake one had to do for now.
The man didn’t have a name, either. Tiger didn’t know what it was—the humans who’d created him had called him Twenty-Three. The woman who’d rescued him had decreed that Tiger could pick his own name, but so far, he hadn’t. So everyone called him Tiger.
Tiger wasn’t growling, but he didn’t need to. The stare from the yellow eyes was enough.
“Connor,” Ellison said.
“Yep?” Connor answered, wiping his hands.
“You take Maria somewhere this morning?”
“Nope. But if you’re asking if I’ve seen her, I did. She came out the back door bright and early, said hi to me, said she was going to help Ronan look after Olaf, and said to tell you she could hear you snoring all the way across the street.”
Broderick made a sound that was a cross between a snort and a laugh. Tiger said nothing at all.
“Damn it.” Common sense told Ellison he was running around Shiftertown making an idiot of himself, but his hackles still wouldn’t go down. Something was wrong—didn’t matter if he didn’t know what. Didn’t matter that everyone else was being logical and unworried.
“Thanks, Connor,” he managed to say. “If she comes back, tell her to stay put, will you?”
“Sure thing.”
Tiger’s gaze remained fixed, the big man with his mixed black and orange hair focused in silence on Ellison.
“We go to Ronan’s then?” Broderick asked.
“I’ll go to Ronan’s. You go home.”
“Like I’m letting a Lupine from another pack tell me what to do. I don’t like wolves from my own pack telling me what to do.”
Annoying ass**le. Ellison tried to ignore him as he plotted a course for Ronan’s, and started between the houses to get to the common.
“I will come with you.”
Tiger stepped into their path before Ellison saw the guy move. He was about three inches taller than Ellison, as big as a bear Shifter. He’d be great to have on hand if Ellison needed help with a fight. On the other hand, Tiger was unpredictable, stronger than any Shifter he knew, and not quite stable in the head.
“You need to take care of Connor,” Ellison said.
Tiger remained in place, a wall Ellison wasn’t going to get around. “I will come with you.”
“It’s all right,” Connor said, more to Tiger than Ellison. “I’ll be fine.”
Tiger nodded once and turned away, starting off in the direction of Ronan’s.
Connor stepped to Ellison and spoke in a low voice. “Keep an eye on him. Tiger, I mean. He’s usually fine, but when he gets upset . . .”
“Yeah, I know what he does. I’m having a great morning—my girl’s missing, and now I’m babysitting a crazy Shifter and a wolf from a rival pack.”
“Tiger’s not crazy,” Connor said. “Just . . . intense.”
“Intense. Right.”
The way Tiger turned around and stared back at them told Ellison he’d heard every word.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.” Ellison growled again, ruffled Connor’s hair, and walked rapidly after Tiger and Broderick.
***
One of the foster kids at Ronan’s—Cherie—told them that Maria had come for Olaf early and the two had gone off together. Cherie was a cub going on twenty-one, with brown and lighter brown hair that marked her as a grizzly. She was yawning, the only one at Ronan’s house, and barely awake. Ronan had asked Maria to look after Olaf today, Cherie explained, while everyone else was out. Maria had seemed happy to.
Cherie looked annoyed to be roused out of her sleep-in, but bears were like that. They loved their sleep.
“Where did she take him?” Ellison asked.
“Walking.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maria’s trustworthy, and Olaf likes her. They’ll be fine.” Cherie looked over the three male Shifters as though they didn’t impress her, named a park outside Shiftertown where Olaf liked to go, and retreated with a decisive bang of the door.
The park wasn’t far, a good brisk walk out the other side of Shiftertown and down a few streets. The roads were quiet here, with little traffic. No drivers to stare at Ellison, Broderick, and the giant Tiger with his orange and black hair bringing up the rear.
The park lay vast, green, and open, the eastern edge of it running up to a little ridge full of dense trees. A few joggers shuffled around the paths, but kids had already gone to school, and most adults to work. One or two moms pushed kids in strollers, but the park was largely empty.
Broderick didn’t answer, but he didn’t leave either. “I’m coming with you,” he said.
“The f**k you are.”
“You aren’t doing a very good job of finding her, are you? Two heads better than one.”
“But I want your head on the ground,” Ellison growled.
“That’s where I want yours. But we find Maria first. Sure she’s not with one of the Morrisseys?”
“No. And they don’t seem worried.”
“Fucked-up Feline bastards.”
Ellison ignored Broderick the best he could as he made his way back to Liam’s house. Connor and Tiger were still bent over Dylan’s truck.
Ellison stopped outside the property line and hauled Broderick back before the man could run up to Connor, likely to close his hand around Connor’s neck and demand the cub to tell what he knew.
If Broderick did that, he’d lose his arm, because Tiger was already straightening up from behind the hood and glaring at them with those weird eyes of his. Tiger, though only adopted into Liam’s family and clan, was seriously protective of Connor.
Tiger hadn’t been born of Shifter parents—he’d been bred in a research facility and raised in a cage by human scientists for about forty years. They’d been trying to create a super-Shifter—one who was better, stronger, faster, and all that shit, than your average Shifter. They were trying to do what the Fae had done a couple thousand years ago, except without the magic and possibly not the maniacal laughter. The single-minded cruelty had been there, though.
The result was Tiger—superstrong, barely controlled, and not happy with people who messed with Connor. He wore a Collar, but Ellison was one of the few who knew the Collar was fake. Liam had tried to put a real one on Tiger and it hadn’t worked, so a fake one had to do for now.
The man didn’t have a name, either. Tiger didn’t know what it was—the humans who’d created him had called him Twenty-Three. The woman who’d rescued him had decreed that Tiger could pick his own name, but so far, he hadn’t. So everyone called him Tiger.
Tiger wasn’t growling, but he didn’t need to. The stare from the yellow eyes was enough.
“Connor,” Ellison said.
“Yep?” Connor answered, wiping his hands.
“You take Maria somewhere this morning?”
“Nope. But if you’re asking if I’ve seen her, I did. She came out the back door bright and early, said hi to me, said she was going to help Ronan look after Olaf, and said to tell you she could hear you snoring all the way across the street.”
Broderick made a sound that was a cross between a snort and a laugh. Tiger said nothing at all.
“Damn it.” Common sense told Ellison he was running around Shiftertown making an idiot of himself, but his hackles still wouldn’t go down. Something was wrong—didn’t matter if he didn’t know what. Didn’t matter that everyone else was being logical and unworried.
“Thanks, Connor,” he managed to say. “If she comes back, tell her to stay put, will you?”
“Sure thing.”
Tiger’s gaze remained fixed, the big man with his mixed black and orange hair focused in silence on Ellison.
“We go to Ronan’s then?” Broderick asked.
“I’ll go to Ronan’s. You go home.”
“Like I’m letting a Lupine from another pack tell me what to do. I don’t like wolves from my own pack telling me what to do.”
Annoying ass**le. Ellison tried to ignore him as he plotted a course for Ronan’s, and started between the houses to get to the common.
“I will come with you.”
Tiger stepped into their path before Ellison saw the guy move. He was about three inches taller than Ellison, as big as a bear Shifter. He’d be great to have on hand if Ellison needed help with a fight. On the other hand, Tiger was unpredictable, stronger than any Shifter he knew, and not quite stable in the head.
“You need to take care of Connor,” Ellison said.
Tiger remained in place, a wall Ellison wasn’t going to get around. “I will come with you.”
“It’s all right,” Connor said, more to Tiger than Ellison. “I’ll be fine.”
Tiger nodded once and turned away, starting off in the direction of Ronan’s.
Connor stepped to Ellison and spoke in a low voice. “Keep an eye on him. Tiger, I mean. He’s usually fine, but when he gets upset . . .”
“Yeah, I know what he does. I’m having a great morning—my girl’s missing, and now I’m babysitting a crazy Shifter and a wolf from a rival pack.”
“Tiger’s not crazy,” Connor said. “Just . . . intense.”
“Intense. Right.”
The way Tiger turned around and stared back at them told Ellison he’d heard every word.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.” Ellison growled again, ruffled Connor’s hair, and walked rapidly after Tiger and Broderick.
***
One of the foster kids at Ronan’s—Cherie—told them that Maria had come for Olaf early and the two had gone off together. Cherie was a cub going on twenty-one, with brown and lighter brown hair that marked her as a grizzly. She was yawning, the only one at Ronan’s house, and barely awake. Ronan had asked Maria to look after Olaf today, Cherie explained, while everyone else was out. Maria had seemed happy to.
Cherie looked annoyed to be roused out of her sleep-in, but bears were like that. They loved their sleep.
“Where did she take him?” Ellison asked.
“Walking.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maria’s trustworthy, and Olaf likes her. They’ll be fine.” Cherie looked over the three male Shifters as though they didn’t impress her, named a park outside Shiftertown where Olaf liked to go, and retreated with a decisive bang of the door.
The park wasn’t far, a good brisk walk out the other side of Shiftertown and down a few streets. The roads were quiet here, with little traffic. No drivers to stare at Ellison, Broderick, and the giant Tiger with his orange and black hair bringing up the rear.
The park lay vast, green, and open, the eastern edge of it running up to a little ridge full of dense trees. A few joggers shuffled around the paths, but kids had already gone to school, and most adults to work. One or two moms pushed kids in strollers, but the park was largely empty.
