Chase, Zara - Tigers' Temptation [Impulse 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (11 page)

“So they
do
exist,” she said softly.

“You’ve heard of shifters, outside of Hollywood?” Philo asked.

“There have been one or two supposed sightings, a few intelligent papers written on the subject.” She spread her hands. “It’s right up there with UFOs and proof of previous lives. There are a lot of questions that haven’t been satisfactorily answered, and people are fascinated by the possibilities. But because they don’t see the evidence with their own eyes, they can’t or won’t accept that there’s anything in it.”

“I’ll be darned,” Philo said, grinning. “A lady with an open mind. I’m definitely in
lurve.
”

“Philo!” Mikael barked.

“Just sayin’.” Philo blew Mikael a kiss. “Don’t worry, big boy. She won’t come between us.”

A smile blossomed beneath Layla’s drying tears. “I’m a reporter, and I learned a long time ago never to take anything at face value. Besides, the clues here in Impulse were already stacking up. The way you all move with…well, with feline grace, I guess, is the only way to describe it. The way Vadim and Zayd leapt from that boat yesterday. The way you all seem to communicate without words.” She paused. “That paw print on the window ledge.”

“So you believe us,” Mikael said.

“Let’s just say that I don’t disbelieve you.” She cupped her chin in her hand. “Tell me more.”

“Eons ago all of Florida was a haven for shifters,” Mikael said. “Lots still live in the state and all over America, blending in with their human counterparts. But only Impulse and one or two other small places have the special atmosphere necessary—”

“The thin air?” she asked slowly.

“Right. The reason you couldn’t find my name on the honor roll at Yale is because I graduated sixty human years ago.”

“You what!”

Mikael smiled. “Finally, I’ve surprised you. Here in Impulse, the ions in the atmosphere mean that shifters—”

“And their human mates,” Philo put in.

“Right, and them, age one year to a human’s three.”

“So you’re—”

“In human years, pushing eighty.”

“Incredible!” She shook her head. “Go on.”

“We’re alpha tigers. I’m a Bengal. This freak is a Bengal, too, but he’s white.”

“And very rare,” Philo added, preening. “The stripy kind are a dime a dozen.”

“Your hair, your eyes—”

“Exactly. But going back to the age thing, outside of Impulse we’d age at the same rate as humans.”

“And the age extension thing only applies when shifters reach adolescence. Our kids age normally until then,” Philo explained. “As did we.”

“Rafe and Vilas are alpha panthers and leaders of the colony. Vadim and Zayd are alpha jaguars in charge of security, and…well, I’m sure you get the picture.”

“Did you cure those kids?” she asked breathlessly, the desperation in her eyes willing him to say
yes
.

“Yes. A combination of Philo’s herbs and my powers made it possible.”

“I understand why you don’t want any publicity,” Layla said. “If this got out, you’d be inundated with desperate people and those out to profit from your abilities.”

The guys shared a glance. “Precisely. We can’t cure the ills of the world. Besides, the planet’s already overpopulated and underresourced. We choose the most-deserving children, bring them here because we can only do this within Impulse’s atmosphere, and try to help them.”

“How come they don’t remember anything afterward?”

“We have the ability to wipe their minds. Vadim slipped up with Billy. We give the kids those globes to play with while they’re here. The rain is actually healing atoms that help with their recovery. Vadim should have made sure Billy gave it up before he left.”

“I’m glad he didn’t,” she said softly. “And I’m not thinking about my daughter when I say that.”

“Then what?” Mikael asked, unsure if she was playing him.

“If I hadn’t seen that globe, I never would have come to Impulse and wouldn’t have met the two of you.”

Mikael searched her mind for signs of insincerity, but could find none. He flashed a full-wattage smile her way for the first time. “Thanks for that.”

“My pleasure,” she responded, holding his gaze.

Christ, she was killing him! The haunted expression in her eyes when she thought about her sick daughter tore at his heartstrings and he knew that, regardless of the cost to himself, he would do what he could for the little girl. The deep sense of oneness he felt whenever he so much as looked at Layla had hit him in the gut the first time he saw her. Nothing had changed in the interim. Philo was right. She was the one for them. He felt it in his tiger soul, and in his human one, too. Under different circumstances he would have gone all out to persuade her to marry him and Philo and stay in Impulse for the rest of her life. Hell, he wanted her so much he carried it with him like a permanent physical ache.

But the circumstances were the way they were, and Mikael couldn’t ask it of her. She’d say or do anything it took to get her daughter well, he understood that, but he also knew he’d never be sure if she loved them for the right reasons. Besides, once she realized how things really were here in Impulse, the reality of their daily struggle to hold on to the place, she’d run a mile. Mikael would rather lose his powers than allow himself to fall in love—or any more in love than he already was—with Layla, only to lose that love when she came to her senses and had time to think about it. Given Philo’s personal history, he was astonished that his buddy didn’t feel the same way.

“I’ve helped a few kids, but that’s as far as it goes,” Mikael said. “I don’t have the strength to try the cure on adults.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Mikael uses my herbs,” Philo said, “but has to literally drag the disease out of the child by placing his hands on him or her and absorbing it into his own body.”

“You can really do that?” Layla gasped. “But that’s incredible!”

“Yeah, it is,” Philo said, frowning. “But it’s also killing him.”

“Oh.”

“That’s another reason why we don’t want word of this getting out. The herbs might help, but only someone with shifter powers can pull the disease out.”

“Not only that,” Philo amended. “It takes a special kind of shifter, and only us tigers seem to have the ability. Medicine and botany are in our souls, you see. I can’t do it, but a few of the beta tigers have some skill. Not up to Mikael’s standard, though.”

“We’re also under constant attack here,” Mikael said. “There’s a pride of lions, werewolves, and bears all trying to get their paws on Impulse. They want the age-slowing atmosphere, of course, but also want to commercialize what we do here for the terminally sick.”

“I thought it was only human animals who were motivated by greed.”

“Don’t forget that shifters
are
half-human,” Philo said.

“Yes, that’s true, I suppose, but the thought will take some getting used to.”

“It must be a lot to take in,” Philo said. “It’s hard for us to see it that way, given we’ve always lived like this.”

“I’m sorry I said mean things about your qualifications,” Layla said meekly to Mikael.

He roared with laughter. “Don’t give it another thought.”

“So who really finances your efforts here?”

“The entire colony.”

“Really?”

“Sure, we support one another in everything. All the souvenir shops, you’ve seen them, right?” Layla nodded. “We encourage the myth about our strange atmosphere, aware that no humans can take it for long, which means they’re all gonna try, especially the macho guys. They come down here on air-conditioned buses, stop right outside the shopping mall that—”

“Let me guess,” she said, smiling. “It’s air-conditioned.”

“Right. They spend their money on lots of tacky souvenirs, just to prove they survived, get back into their air-conditioned bus, and get the hell out of Dodge.”

“We realize how privileged we are, being able to live the way we do, and for so long,” Philo said, taking up the story. “So we try to give something back, without upsetting our privacy and risking being labeled as freaks. It’s a delicate balance, but the best way to do it, we all agree, is by helping sick kids.”

“No arguments from me there,” Layla said, the shadow returning to her eyes.

“Our puma shifters are awesome when it comes to investments. They look after the colony’s finances and turn a healthy profit on the stock exchange.”

“Basically, every business in Impulse turns over a percentage of its profits to keep the Institute in business. The council sets the rules, but it’s hardly necessary because everyone wants to help.”

“The council?”

“Yeah,” Philo said. “The alpha of each species sits on the council, chaired by Rafe. We make the rules, all the important decisions, on behalf of the colony.”

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“No, he can’t help your daughter,” Philo said, scowling.

“That’s not what I was going to ask.”

Mikael quirked a brow. “Then what?”

“Well, I’ve never touched a full-grown, tame tiger.”

“Honey, there’s nothing tame about us,” Philo said, grinning. “We’re wild animals, in all respects—big, bad, and dangerous. I thought you’d know that much by now.”

“Even so.”

“Aw, she wants us to shift for her,” Philo said. “How sweet.”

“I assume you’ve been out on the…er, prowl,” she said, glancing at the still-open window.

“We were working,” Philo said. “Organizing the troops to gather herbs.”

“That must be a sight worth seeing.”

“This is another one.”

Philo indicated Mikael with his eyes. He was on all fours on the rug, huge cock dangling beneath him, his bones popping and cracking as fur appeared on his arms. She gasped when his fingers extended and vicious claws appeared in place of nails.

“Amazing!”

Mikael completed the shift and stalked across the room to rub his head against her legs. He could see that she was fascinated rather than appalled. She was
so
the right mate for him and Philo, but he was still determined not to tell her that. Nor would he mention that they needed a human mate to restore their powers.

“My, what a beautiful tiger you are.” Layla dug her fingers into the top of his head and then kissed his nose, tugging his long whiskers for good measure. Mikael purred loudly, rubbing against her thigh this time.

“He’s okay,” Philo said. “If you like the stripy type. Just wait until you see me. Now, I’m
really
beautiful.”

Layla laughed. “And modest, too.”

“Hey, I got nothing to be modest about,” he said, indicating his half-erect cock.

Mikael rolled on his back and waved his paws in the air, inviting Layla to scratch his belly.

“Aw, now he’s just showing off. Don’t encourage him, honey,” Philo said when Layla leaned forward and gave Mikael the desired belly rub.

Mikael rolled lightly to his paws and shifted back.

“Feel free to carry on scratching,” he said flippantly.