rebellion, Alex.”
She raised her brows at his condescension but didn’t comment otherwise.
“What makes you exempt from this rule of our people?” he asked. “There aren’t enough females for you to be allowed to forgo mating.”
“I. Never. Run.”
Despite her insistence, her hormones were high, her skin alive with sensation. Tingles of unfocused lust skittered along her nerves, sharper for her anger. The presence of so many ready males made things worse. She wasn’t a slave to her reproductive cycle, but it did make her want in a way that could be hard to control. The call to mate always left her edgy and irritable. Usually, she escaped the need by picking up a human man and taking him to bed for three days. But years of this got old, and all she wanted now was to wallow in her own territory, alone, until the desperation passed.
“No female is allowed to skip the Run,” Nick said, taking two steps closer to her porch. The tigers behind him shifted quietly, low grunts and growls greeting his comment. There was a bristling of fur, a slight adjusting of stance.
Alexis took in their positions and sizes, automatically preparing strategies, both defensive and offensive. The cool air brushed her skin as her senses heightened. She unfolded her arms and let them hang at her sides, loose and ready. Then she held Nick’s gaze as she repeated, very distinctly, “I don’t run.”
The tigers surged forward. Alexis braced for the attack, then sensed the sixth tiger, the one she’d lost track of, coming up on the left from behind her cabin. She cursed, half-turned to face the new threat, and the sixth tiger, a blur of orange, white and black stripes, leapt into the clearing between her and the others.
Facing the others.
Everyone froze. Alexis blinked several times as she took in the fact that this newcomer was standing between her and the males. A moment later, she caught his scent.
Victor Romanov.
Her heartbeat quickened. A combination of panic, shock, and need tightened like a band around her chest. The one man she was susceptible to, the only one she’d ever wanted…
What was he doing here? Especially now, when the call to mate rode her so hard she could barely resist the urge to drag him inside. How could she focus, how could she fight the others with Victor such a powerful distraction?
She gritted her teeth and worked on slowing her pulse. She would question him later. Right now, she had to deal with the more immediate threat.
Nick, still in human form, stared at him. “Victor,” he said quietly. “This isn’t your fight. She has to run. The elders have said she’s no longer allowed to avoid her duty to her people.”
That was news to Alexis and enough of a shock to distract her from having Victor so near.
“What? Elizaveta would never agree to that.” Elizaveta Chernikova, the only female elder, was also her sponsor as a Tracker. And the closest thing she had to a mother since her parents’ death.
“She was a dissenting voice,” Nick allowed. “But she was outvoted. You’ve avoided the Run for too long. Our people need you.”
“I serve our people. As a Tracker.”
“We need you to reproduce now.”
“I’m not just some walking womb,” she growled, her anger making the hair on her neck and arms stand up. She stepped to the edge of her porch. “There are other females. Find them and be happy. But I will not run .”
The four still in tiger form started stalking forward again. Victor lowered slightly on his haunches, preparing to leap. His silence was eerie amidst the other chuffs and low growls. The approaching tigers hesitated. Where their hormones made them brave with her, their instincts didn’t completely leave them when faced with Victor’s heavy silence.
She smiled at Nick. “I could take you all on my own. You know that. I’ve earned my reputation honestly.” She glanced down at Victor, then back at Nick. “But do you really want to face us both?”
“He’s
She raised her brows at his condescension but didn’t comment otherwise.
“What makes you exempt from this rule of our people?” he asked. “There aren’t enough females for you to be allowed to forgo mating.”
“I. Never. Run.”
Despite her insistence, her hormones were high, her skin alive with sensation. Tingles of unfocused lust skittered along her nerves, sharper for her anger. The presence of so many ready males made things worse. She wasn’t a slave to her reproductive cycle, but it did make her want in a way that could be hard to control. The call to mate always left her edgy and irritable. Usually, she escaped the need by picking up a human man and taking him to bed for three days. But years of this got old, and all she wanted now was to wallow in her own territory, alone, until the desperation passed.
“No female is allowed to skip the Run,” Nick said, taking two steps closer to her porch. The tigers behind him shifted quietly, low grunts and growls greeting his comment. There was a bristling of fur, a slight adjusting of stance.
Alexis took in their positions and sizes, automatically preparing strategies, both defensive and offensive. The cool air brushed her skin as her senses heightened. She unfolded her arms and let them hang at her sides, loose and ready. Then she held Nick’s gaze as she repeated, very distinctly, “I don’t run.”
The tigers surged forward. Alexis braced for the attack, then sensed the sixth tiger, the one she’d lost track of, coming up on the left from behind her cabin. She cursed, half-turned to face the new threat, and the sixth tiger, a blur of orange, white and black stripes, leapt into the clearing between her and the others.
Facing the others.
Everyone froze. Alexis blinked several times as she took in the fact that this newcomer was standing between her and the males. A moment later, she caught his scent.
Victor Romanov.
Her heartbeat quickened. A combination of panic, shock, and need tightened like a band around her chest. The one man she was susceptible to, the only one she’d ever wanted…
What was he doing here? Especially now, when the call to mate rode her so hard she could barely resist the urge to drag him inside. How could she focus, how could she fight the others with Victor such a powerful distraction?
She gritted her teeth and worked on slowing her pulse. She would question him later. Right now, she had to deal with the more immediate threat.
Nick, still in human form, stared at him. “Victor,” he said quietly. “This isn’t your fight. She has to run. The elders have said she’s no longer allowed to avoid her duty to her people.”
That was news to Alexis and enough of a shock to distract her from having Victor so near.
“What? Elizaveta would never agree to that.” Elizaveta Chernikova, the only female elder, was also her sponsor as a Tracker. And the closest thing she had to a mother since her parents’ death.
“She was a dissenting voice,” Nick allowed. “But she was outvoted. You’ve avoided the Run for too long. Our people need you.”
“I serve our people. As a Tracker.”
“We need you to reproduce now.”
“I’m not just some walking womb,” she growled, her anger making the hair on her neck and arms stand up. She stepped to the edge of her porch. “There are other females. Find them and be happy. But I will not run .”
The four still in tiger form started stalking forward again. Victor lowered slightly on his haunches, preparing to leap. His silence was eerie amidst the other chuffs and low growls. The approaching tigers hesitated. Where their hormones made them brave with her, their instincts didn’t completely leave them when faced with Victor’s heavy silence.
She smiled at Nick. “I could take you all on my own. You know that. I’ve earned my reputation honestly.” She glanced down at Victor, then back at Nick. “But do you really want to face us both?”
“He’s
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