“You didn’t answer the question, Daddy. Did you kiss her?”
Surprised, he stared at her, unable to answer her question. She hadn’t called him Daddy since she was very small, and his heart swelled impossibly big in his chest. When she first came to live with him, she rarely even addressed him at all, and now here she was, calling him daddy. The change in her was truly remarkable.
Clearing his throat of the emotion clogging it, he replied, “That’s not something I’m going to tell you, squirt.”
She squealed, clapping her hands together. “That means you did! You would have just said no if you hadn’t. That’s great! Good job, Dad.”
A smile curled his lips, but he still felt compelled to caution her. “Whether I kissed her or not, it’s still not a done deal, Shelby. Please don’t get your hopes up. I haven’t pulled this off yet.”
“You will,” she said confidently. “You got this. And I’ll help you in any way I can.”
Shaking his hand, he started to reply when she grimaced, clutching her stomach. It was a gesture he’d come to know well in the last few months.
“Do you need to shift, sweets?”
Looking reluctant to answer, she finally sighed and said, ?
??Yes. I’ve been putting it off, but I guess I should.”
“Honey, it’s okay. Shifting is perfectly natural, and you have all this open space to roam in. And I’ll be with you every step of the way. It’s okay,” he repeated firmly, infusing his voice with all the conviction he could muster.
Nodding, she said, “I know you think so. I’ll go to Seth’s shed and shift. Meet you in the woods.”
Heart heavy, he watched as his daughter walked to Seth’s old workshop, small shoulders slumped and posture stooped. He wished with all his might that he could make things better for her, but he couldn’t. Or better yet, go back in time and be able to stop the atrocities committed against her.
If Farrah was standing in front of him right now, he didn’t think he’d be able to stop himself from wrapping his hands around her throat and squeezing.
Turning, he headed to the woods, pulling his shirt off as he went. When Shelby started shifting at age five, Farrah, and the other tigers, put her in a cage. They said because of her low status, she wasn’t worthy of roaming the woods around their village, like the other tigers.
As a result, Shelby’s tiger was unruly and unmanageable. And despite the freedom to roam here, Shelby still hated shifting, putting it off until it physically hurt her. She had flashbacks, and she was nervous of her tiger, scared sometimes that her animal wouldn’t give her her body back.
Hitting the tree line, he quickly finished stripping, immediately shifting into his tiger. It was quick, a blinding flash of pain while his bones broke and reformed, the sound of the pops echoing through the woods and bouncing off the trees. In moments, he was standing with all four paws planted on the ground. Twitching his tail, he opened up his senses, taking in his surroundings while he waited on Shelby. Shifting with him made it a tiny bit easier on her, so he always shifted and roamed with her.
He’d just spotted Shelby’s small tiger, still more cub than anything, coming toward him when he caught a flash of orange from the corner of his eye. Hackles rising, he quickly put himself between Shelby and the unknown tiger, hissing out a warning. No one was going to get to Shelby, and he’d die before he allowed her to be hurt.
The other tiger approached slowly, slinking low to the ground, head canted and neck exposed in a position on submission. Still tense, Ian held himself ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. The tiger turned its head slightly, locking eyes with him, and it was then Ian relaxed, recognizing those dark brown, yellow flecked eyes. A sniff of the air when the tiger was closer confirmed what he knew. It was Kian.
Growling in annoyance, Ian dismissed him, turning back to Shelby. His cub bounded up next to him, rubbing her body along his before going to Kian without hesitation and doing the same. They all turned as one and started walking deeper into the woods, Shelby bounding away to romp and play with youthful energy.
They stayed out there for almost an hour before Shelby tired. When she was ready, they walked back toward Rocky River. Ian and Kian stopped at the tree line as Shelby continued on, heading to the shed to shift back and dress.
Focusing his energy, Ian shifted back to human form, glancing at Kian. “Go dress and come back to the main house. You can have dinner with us.”
Kian inclined his head in a regal nod, turning and walking away while Ian quickly dressed. He wasn’t sure why Kian showed up today, but he was grateful. He’d been worried that withholding the information about Zane had damaged his friendship with the prideful prince, but Kian coming over today said that not all was lost.
Ian owed Kian so much, and he’d hated to think he’d repaid that with something that hurt him. Kian’s tribe, the War Cats, was Farrah’s tribe, as well. He’d been absent for most of Shelby’s life, traveling the world, staying in India, his family’s home country, for most of that time. And when he came back home, he was appalled at Shelby’s treatment.
He’d been kind to Shelby, stepping in as her protector, and lobbying hard with his father to let Ian have custody of her. Ian had been fighting for just that for the majority of Shelby’s life, but he hadn’t made any headway, and he knew without Kian, he never would have gotten her back.
He’d never be able to repay the prince for what he did. Kian had his eternal gratitude.
Walking up to the house, he met Shelby as she was coming back from the shed, and he could see Kian coming up toward them, as well. Seth came out of the house, throwing a wave Kian’s way.
“I went and picked up dinner from the diner for everyone. I got your usual, and Kian’s, too. I saw him in town and he mentioned coming over today,” Seth said as he reached them.
“Did you get me a giant, gooey cheeseburger with extra pickles?” Shelby asked hopefully.
He ruffled her hair with an indulgent expression. “You know I did.”